The West Liberty Comets fall 2023 sports schedule is in the books, and it featured a number of outstanding achievements throughout football, volleyball and cross-country.
From setting new personal records on the course, to an explosive victory on the gridiron and a home tournament championship, all of this season’s athletes had something to smile about.
Check out each team’s highlights, as well as full statistical recaps for Comets fall sports, in the sections below.
Volleyball
West Liberty volleyball finished its 2023 season with a 32-12 record. 32 wins is the second-best mark for the team since 2015.
The Comets spent the majority of the season ranked inside the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Class 3A rankings, peaking at No. 11 in the final rankings release on October 16.
While there was no trip to Coralville this year, the Comets had reason to celebrate on their home floor as champions of the West Liberty Invitational on Saturday, September 16.
Coach Ruben Galvan led his team to a perfect 6-0 record with four sweeps mixed in. The Comets defeated Moline twice, Davenport North, Fort Madison and Washington before taking out area rival Muscatine in the championship.
It was déjà vu as just two weeks earlier, the Comets defeated the Muskies in Muscatine to win the Muskie Invite Tournament.
West Liberty bounced back from an opening 0-2 loss against Durant to defeat Burlington and Williamsburg before facing the hosts in the championship.
September was a big month for tournaments as the Comets also made the championship match of the Bobcat Invitational in Western Dubuque. However, they were outclassed by Class 5A state qualifier Pleasant Valley in the winner-take-all match.
This year’s team was led by seniors Sophie Buysse (336 kills, 424 digs), Maelyn Wainwright (214 kills, 50 blocks) Rilee Han (190 blocks, .424 efficiency, 58 blocks) and junior Ava Morrison (643 assists).
Seasonal stats overview
Kills: Sophie Buysse 336; Maelyn Wainwright 214; Kaylee Pelzer 211; Rilee Han 190; Ava Morrison 143; Laney Esmoil 56; Alissa Sanchez 8; Gaby Morales 1; Emma Yoder 1.
Assists: Ava Morrison 643; Emma Yoder 352; Gaby Morales 76; Sophie Buysse 14; Tenley Nixt 8; Jayleen Kivi 7; Kaylee Pelzer 3; Laney Esmoil 3; Maelyn Wainwright 2; Rilee Han 1.
Kill Efficiency (min. 20 kills): Rilee Han .424; Maelyn Wainwright .332; Sophie Buysse .295; Ava Morrison .280; Kaylee Pelzer .234; Laney Esmoil .030.
Digs: Gaby Morales 586; Sophie Buysse 424; Ava Morrison 239; Jayleen Kivi 186; Kaylee Pelzer 143; Tenley Nixt 139; Emma Yoder 120; Maelyn Wainwright 43; Laney Esmoil 36; Madi Buysse 25; Rilee Han 17; Brynn Cassady 7; Alissa Sanchez 1.
Blocks: Rilee Han 58; Maelyn Wainwright 50; Kaylee Pelzer 14; Ava Morrison 11; Sophie Buysse 9; Laney Esmoil 8; Emma Yoder 2.
Aces: Kaylee Pelzer 49; Ava Morrison 40; Sophie Buysse 33; Gaby Morales 25; Madi Buysse 21; Tenley Nixt 16; Emma Yoder 13; Jayleen Kivi 3; Brynn Cassady 1.
Serve Efficiency (min. 20 serves): Emma Yoder .975; Sophie Buysse .967; Ava Morrison .951; Tenley Nixt .949; Madi Buysse .930; Jayleen Kivi .905; Gaby Morales .889; Kaylee Pelzer .888.
Football
West Liberty’s football team had a much tougher go of it compared to season’s past. The Comets only put one win on the board, which is their lowest number since the 2015 season.
The lone win was an exciting one, however, as West Liberty put on a show for their home fans in a 27-7 win over Class 2A playoff qualifier West Burlington.
The Comets had a number of long touchdown scores, including a 75-yard screen pass from Jayce McHugh and a 34-yard passing score down the middle of the field from Caden Laughlin.
In total, quarterback Ryker had 220 yards on 15-20 passing and four touchdowns, with Diego Sanchez and Seth Axsom also finding the endzone.
West Liberty nearly won its first game of district play, falling 21-11 at Tipton City Park to the Tigers.
Outside of these two games, the Comets lost their other six games by multiple scores.
Seasonal stats overview
Passing: Ryker Dengler 110-182, 1407 yards, 7 touchdowns, 8 interceptions; Jayce McHugh 1-1, 23 yards.
Rushing: Alexis Michel 30 carries, 137 yards, 1 touchdown; Diego Sanchez 32-80; Ryker Dengler 60-64; Bryson Garcia 12-26; Jayce McHugh 8-22; Morgan Lehman 3-13; Seth Axsom 7-10; Axell Polanco 3-(-2); Crager David 1-(-6).
Receiving: Jayce McHugh 49 receptions, 687 yards, 3 touchdowns; Seth Axsom 41-491-2; Caden Laughlin 5-64-1; Alexis Michel 4-58; Diego Sanchez 4-48; Morgan Lehman 5-40; Owen Daufeldt 1-13.
Total Tackles: Cameron Iske 31; Ryker Dengler 28; Alexis Michel 24.5; Caden Laughlin 23.5; Tytan Griffith 18.5; Crager David 16.5; Diego Sanchez 16.0; Seth Axsom 16.0; Bryson Garcia 14.5; Morgan Lehman 14.0; Jayce McHugh 13.5; Hunter Kleier 11.5; Perry Lehman 10.5; Evan Beal-Henderson 7.0; Joe Akers 5.5; Owen Daufeldt 4.0; David Mahoney 2.0; Jake Underbakke 2.0; Ryan Noble 1.0.
Sacks: Morgan Lehman 2; Cameron Iske 1; Alexis Michel 1.
Tackles For Loss: Cameron Iske 3.0; Morgan Lehman 2.5; Alexis Michel 2.5; Perry Lehman 2.5; Evan Beal-Henderson 2.5; Caden Laughlin 2.0; Crager David 2.0; Tytan Griffith 1.5; Seth Axsom 1.5; Bryson Garcia 1.5; Jake Underbakke 0.5.
Fumble Recoveries: Ryker Dengler 2; Seth Axsom 1.
Interceptions: Jayce McHugh 1; Ryker Dengler 1; Jake Underbakke 1.
Kicking: Alexis Michel 2-2 on FGs, 1-2 on PATs; Diego Sanchez 1-1 on FGs, 3-4 on PATs.
*Editor’s note: West Liberty football individual statistics for the game against Camanche were unavailable as of Monday afternoon.
Cross-country
While extremely young, this year’s Comets cross-country teams still packed a punch while on the course.
The primary goal of this season was to set up success for future seasons, and there was no better example of the progress made than each varsity runner hitting a personal record at the district meet last month.
On the boys’ side, freshman Jonathan Juarez was the best of the bunch with a team-best time of 20:21.5.
Three other runners were able to get well under 21 minutes, including junior Manu Garcia Blanes (20:28.4), senior Joaquin Elizondo (20:31.2), and sophomore Cameron Elizondo (20:35.7).
Sophomore Ben Tharp (23:21.6) and freshman Wesley Heath (25:00.2) also set season best times and will have plenty more opportunities to go low in future seasons.
The five fastest Comet girl this season are all freshmen. As they build times and peak together, they are a group to watch going forward.
Only two runners competed at the district meet: Madelyn Deahr (23:50.0) and Addison Guerra (24:48.1).
The three next fastest girls throughout the season were Ximena Valenzuela (32:03.0), Jaylyn Burroughs (34:52.0) and Danielle Tompkins (38:35.2).
Winter sports on the horizon
Those yearning for more Comets athletics won’t have to wait too long.
The first varsity winter sports competition is a girls’ wrestling tournament on Saturday, November 18 at Independence High School beginning at 9 a.m.
Boys’ wrestling won’t begin until Thursday, November 30 with a road dual against at Cascade.
Boys’ basketball gets under way with a matchup at Calamus-Wheatland on Monday, November 20 at 5 p.m.
The girls’ season starts after the Thanksgiving break. They will join the boys in a varsity doubleheader at Camanche High School on Tuesday, November 28.