MALE
Jake Schoenegge, Columbus East junior wrestler
Schoenegge won all three of his matches with first-period pins to win the 145-pound weight class in Saturday’s Jennings County Sectional and help lead the Olympians to the team championship.
His performance last week: “It’s a good start for the state series and something to go off of for semistate and state.
Do you do anything special to prepare? “I just kind of focus on my wrestling rather than anyone else’s and just get ready anyway like listening to music, resting up and getting my mind set.”
Favorite drink: “Mr. Pibb”
Favorite food: “Pizza”
Favorite book: “The Percy Jackson series (Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan)”
Favorite class: “Newspaper”
Role model: “Rashaad Trapp. He was my elementary coach.”
Best advice: “Focus on you, and everything else will come into play. Focus on what you do rather than focusing on what other people do, and eventually you’ll win.”
Athletics goal: “State champ. That’s what the goal has always been.”
If you could travel anywhere: “Anywhere tropical. I just like beaches.”
FEMALE
Kaitlyn Niebrugge, Columbus North junior swimmer
Niebrugge was part of wins in three consecutive events in the Bull Frogs’ victory against Oldenburg Academy. She led off North’s winning 200-yard freestyle relay, then won the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke back-to-back.
Her performance last week: “We’re going into championship season, so I’m feeling really strong in the water and ready to race this weekend.”
Do you do anything special to prepare? “The girls team calls it my ‘Behind the Block Heaphones.’ I listen to my music all the way up to the race. I take my jacket off and my headphones off right before I hop in the water.”
Favorite drink: “I drink a lot of water, but Arizona Green Tea is really good.”
Favorite food: “Spaghetti”
Favorite book: “Out of My Mind”
Favorite class: “Biomedical engineering”
Role model: “My mother and father (April and Jeff Niebrugge). They push me to be the best that I can be. They want me to be the best as possible, so I aspire to be as good as they want me to be.”
Best advice: “You always get to write the end of your story. It doesn’t have to be the end. You get to pick how it ends.”
Athletics goal: “I would like to win the 100 backstroke at sectional this weekend.”
If you could travel anywhere: “I’ve always wanted to go to Venice. It’s a gorgeous city. I read about it all the time.”
