Bluejays sign nine athletes for various sports

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN
Nine more athletes have signed letters of intent to compete at Tabor College this coming year.

— Jason Dechant, Kit Carson, Colo., has signed a letter of intent to play men’s basketball, according to coach Don Brubacher.

“Jason is an excellent shooter who understands the game very well,” Brubacher said. “He also has a great work ethic and plays extremely hard. I am excited to have Jason with us and expect him to contribute a great deal to our team next year.”

Dechant is a 6-foot-3 guard and forward.

— Ashley Liston, Tishomingo, Okla., has signed to play golf.

Liston placed in the top 10 among the Class 2A golfers in Oklahoma this year. She was also named most valuable player at the Kingston Classic, where she had the lowest average from 2000 to 2004. She was Tishomingo’s “All Around Athlete” for 2003-04.

— Philip Michael-Morgan Aitken, Yuma, Ariz., has signed to play football for coach Mike Gardner and compete in track and field for coach Dave Kroeker.

Aitken played running back, defensive back and special teams at Cibola High School. He exceeded 1,000 yards rushing and was named “Offensive Player of the Year” for the 2002-03 season.

Aitken ran the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, the 4×400-meter relay, the 4×100-meter relay and the 400-meter dash. He was the city champ for three years and held the school record in the 110-meter hurdles for two years.

He qualified three years for the regional and state track meets, won the “Gatorade: Will to Win Award” and was named to the all-region team three years.

— Sonny Kaesbauer, Whittier, Calif., has signed to play football.

The 6-3, 214-pound linebacker and tight end was an all-defensive player at Servite High School, and was a three-year starter for the Division I high school.

During his sophomore season, Kaesbauer scored six touchdowns and caught 21 passes. His team finished with a 6-4 record last year.

“We are really excited about having Sonny,” said Gardner. “He’s going to be a great addition to Tabor College.”

— John Sigle, Council Grove, has also signed a letter of intent to play football.

Sigle, a 6-1, 175-pound tight end and outside linebacker, was named first-team All-Cottonwood Valley League tight end his junior and senior years, and second-team linebacker last year. The Emporia Gazette named him an all-area tight end his senior year.

“We’re looking forward to having John join our program,” said Gardner. “He is going to be a great addition to campus.”

— Justin Wilczak, a 5-feet 10-inch, 175-pound outfielder, and Josh Letourneau, a 6-1, 165-pound outfielder and pitcher, both from Hayden High School in Topeka, played key roles in Hayden’s Class 4A regional championship team, which finished the season with a 16-7 record.

Wilczak hit .360 with 24 runs batted in to earn second-team all-city and honorable mention all-state honors.

Letourneau hit .340 with 14 RBIs, earning honorable mention all-city and All-Centennial League honors while posting a 2-2 record on the mound.

“We are very pleased that Justin and Josh will be part of our program next year,” Sparks said. “Hayden has consistently been one of the better 4A teams in the state, and we are fortunate to have two fundamentally sound players from their program. We look to Josh and Justin to make an immediate impact next season.”

— John Bishop Jr., a 6-0, 150-pound center fielder from Colorado Springs, Colo., earned Class 4A honorable mention and “Who’s Who in Baseball” honors. The three-year varsity letter winner also earned a place on the Coast to Coast baseball team which played in Puerto Rico earlier this summer.

He was also named a Gatorade special teams player of the year in football and earned a scholarship for volunteer work.

— Josh Craig, a 5-9, 185-pound catcher from Mendocino Junior College in northern California, earned honorable mention all-conference honors his freshman and sophomore years, hitting .320 as a freshman and as high as .360 this season before injuring his hand.

Craig was a three-time team most valuable player while attending Cordova High School, earning league MVP his senior season.

“We are thrilled to sign a player of Josh Craig’s ability,” Sparks said. “The last piece to our recruiting puzzle was finding a quality catcher. We feel we definitely have succeeded in our goal by signing Josh.”

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