YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan – A change to the Far East tournament format will keep last year’s Division I and II boys singles champions from facing each other in a state championship-equivalent rematch.
For the first time, the Far East divisional tournaments will be played in separate locations, Division I at Kadena and Division II at last year’s Far East site, Matthew C. Perry.
Aaden Otteson of Nile C. Kinnick won the D-I title last year and Yokota’s Ryunosuke Roesch the D-II before going on to beat Otteson for his third straight overall Far East title last October.
“I think I’ll just go out there and play,” Roesch, a senior, said Thursday at Yokota’s fall athletics media day. He said he was hopeful of facing fellow senior Nathan Hwang of Humphreys. “They’re good,” Roesch said of the Blackhawks. “But I’ll focus on Division II.”
Roesch and the Panthers begin their DODEA-Japan season next weekend when they host Robert D. Edgren. Zama and E.J. King also get their schedules underway next Friday and Saturday.
A handful of competitions took place this weekend, with Nile C. Kinnick’s tennis and volleyball teams traveling to Matthew C. Perry and the Red Devils’ cross country team to Edgren.
Dylan DeGuzman is one of three returning seniors in Perry’s lineup. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Wyatt Kitko is one of three returning seniors for Perry. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Maia Minton is one of three returning Perry seniors. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Zama sophomore Maya McElroy is seeking to take the last step to a Far East D-II singles title this season. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Caden Crow is part of an Edgren tennis team that has 24 players sharing three courts. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Yokota senior Ryunosuke Roesch is going for his fourth straight Far East title. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Tennis
Just because Roesch has gone unbeaten in DODEA-Japan and Far East singles competition doesn’t mean there isn’t somebody out there better or who might pull an upset, Roesch said.
“Tennis is a very mental sport,” he said, adding that he’s concerned only about who’s across the net from him. “You never know what will happen. I could have a bad day, he (opponent) could have a good day.”
Roesch and senior Laivey Tsai headline a Yokota team that welcomes its fourth coach in four seasons, Jen Horne.
Otteson is joined by his twin brother Noah, each four-year Red Devils starters, and senior Tavi Shah. A freshman, Dan Watanabe, is already showing promise. Sophomore Marisol Hindie and junior Lisa Gallow headline Kinnick’s girls lineup.
Zama is short on experience, but returns three from Far East last year, seniors Ennis Montgomery and Dayne Marble, and sophomore Maya McElroy, who lost to teammate Jolie Nguyen in the D-II Far East singles final after going through the season unbeaten.
“I feel like I’ve gotten better since last season,” McElroy said. “I’m very motivated, especially after last year.”
Edgren has its largest tennis team in recent memory – 24 players sharing space on the Eagles’ three courts.
Senior Maeve Wierzbanowski transfers in from New Mexico. She’s joined by seniors Angela Kim, Tomas Gamez and Christopher Alvey; juniors Caden Crow, Julian Anderson and Lanea Eda; and sophomores Sophia Avram and Samantha Christiansen. Freshman Alissa Farrar is showing promise.
King is senior heavy with a deep lineup of veterans: David Armstrong, Taisei Shimakura, Katelyn Rheaume, Eliana Lachica, Olivia Bell and Brandon Albolera. Junior Rose Johnson also returns, along with Jin Bergman.
Perry has three seniors but is in rebuilding mode. Wyatt Kitko and Dylan DeGuzman head the boys lineup and Maia Minton the girls.
Senior Aniah Little and E.J. King hope to take the last step to a Far East D-II title this season. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Junior Miya Benavente joins E.J. King’s lineup. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Senior Nanami Crump helps anchor King’s lineup. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Perry sophomore Meliyah Bevett also plays softball. Her father was a Yokota High School student in the 90s. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Senior Kira Herring is aiming to exit her Zama volleyball career as a champion, adding to the Trojans’ softball Far East title last spring. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Phoebe Shoda is one of three setters in Kinnick’s lineup. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Senior Cocoro Jones is in her fourth year playing Yokota volleyball. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Sophomore Carmela Sudo is one of three setter-defenders in Kinnick’s lineup. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Senior Ai Kina is one of three setters in Kinnick’s lineup. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Gabriella Strauss is one of four prime hitters in Kinnick’s lineup. (Courtesy of Kinnick volleyball)
Adrianna Dogojo is one of four prime hitters in Kinnick’s lineup. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Volleyball
The PCS plane giveth and the PCS plane taketh away. For Kinnick’s girls volleyball team, the inbound PCS riches brought two setter-defenders, senior Ai Kina from King and sophomore Carmela Sudo from Perry.
Sudo “has grit, determination and has been a really pleasant addition to the team, and Ai has been a great addition,” Red Devils coach Joe Mohn said. “So, we have a strong contingent of setters, which is hard to come by.”
Complementing them is returning starter Phoebe Shoda. They will set for hitters Adrianna Dogojo, Gabriella Strauss, Florence Kitts and Samantha Smith. Cameron St. Germain returns in the back row.
While Sudo departed Perry, the Samurai return a strong core of sophomores and juniors who have played other sports, Meliyah Bevett, Jazelle Beltran, Naiya Burford, Gabby Martens and JoJo Johnson.
Yokota also brings athletes in from other sports, including soccer striker Angelina Velez-Soto and softball player Gracie Kenney. Setter Cocoro Jones returns for her fourth season.
“Having good team chemistry and being there for each other is why we won in 2023” when Jones was a freshman, she said.
King also lost Mila Nishimura-Reed to graduation. But returning senior hitters Aniah Little and Nanami Crump are joined by freshman Kira Lopez, sophomore setter Mila Neff and junior outside hitter Miya Benavente. The Cobras have three straight Far East final four finishes.
Zama is on the young side, featuring freshmen Sydney Helton and Ayami Phillips, along with senior outside hitter Kira Herring. The freshmen are not new to the sport and Herring is coming off a softball season when the Trojans went a perfect 30-0 with a Far East D-II title.
Edgren graduated eight seniors and returns a small core of veterans, sophomores Kahley Johnson and setter Arianna Cabrera and senior outside hitter Kaiya Pasion. Rebuilding is a rite of passage at Edgren, coach David Carrano said.
Zama’s cross country team got some transfer help and is faster than last year, coach Katrina Kemper said. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Yokota’s cross country team welcomes a new old coach to the helm, the father of the coach the last two seasons. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Cross country
As is the case with tennis, the Eagles cross country team is flush in runners, both veterans and newcomers, coach Timothy Schwehr said.
“It’s the biggest team I’ve fielded yet,” Schwehr said of a unit featuring 11 boys and 10 girls. “I’m happy.”
Seniors Alexia Kuhn and Isabella Lyon head the girls lineup, while freshman Emery Bedo won the season-opening race at Misawa. Freshman Kaitlynn Broncheau has given the team a boost, too, Schwehr said.
Senior twins Aiden and Luke Lehner and their freshman brother Caleb –dad, Brett, coaches baseball – head the boys lineup, along with freshman William Sangster, “who has amazing potential,” Schwehr said.
Perry also has its largest lineup in several seasons. Juniors Ethan Ongkeko and Peaccy Roces return, along with Mikai Rossiter and Aien Vann. Adelynn Lopez is a freshman with potential.
Two-time defending Far East D-II school champion Yokota brings in a new old coach. Danny Galvin, a former Far East champion who coached the Panthers the last two years, has taken a teaching job in Uzbekistan, and his father, Dan, returns as head coach.
Liam Kirby and Barrett Reed are the prime boys runners, while defending D-II team relay champion Madeline Frost is back for the girls.
Kinnick “took some very big hits,” coach Luke Voth said. “The boys have some potentially good young, runners, but the girls lineup is the thinnest I’ve had in six years. We’re definitely in rebuilding mode.”
Junior Emmett McNamara is back for the boys, while Mya Shah, a sophomore, returns for the girls.
The transfer plane blessed Zama with sophomore Max Ivulich, who moves from Ramstein, Germany. He joins senior Deron James and Kayleigh Weibeld and junior Hailey Manning in the Trojans lineup. “They’re faster than last year,” coach Katrina Kemper said.
Stars and Stripes received no information on King’s cross country team.