Van Meter girls soccer is a family affair, girls golf heads to state

The Van Meter girls soccer team is continuing its postseason run after knocking out Chariton and Centerville during the first two regional rounds, however some might notice something unusual if they take a look at the Bulldogs’ roster.

Van Meter’s varsity roster has four sets of siblings on the team, including two pairs of twins as well.

Although it’s an interesting tidbit about the team, head coach Tim Jacobs said it’s not as noticeable as people would probably think.

“Once we start playing or practicing, they kind of all just gel and fit in as if they were teammates, not sisters anymore,” Jacobs said. “It’s easy to forget even sometimes that they are all siblings.”

Senior Shae Bernhardt and sophomore Regan Bernhardt, senior Zoie Vaught and freshman Katie Vaught, juniors Clare and Mary Kelly and freshmen Paige and Grace Garrison not only make up about a third of the team, but since they all start, they make up a good chunk of the starting lineup as well.

Shae said one of the nice things about having so many sisters is that while they’re all teammates, there is also the added sister aspect that makes the team even closer.

Jacobs said one of the upsides to having so many sibling duos, aside from the fun dynamic, is that they are all good at soccer and good athletes.

“Probably the advantage too is that they’re always playing together, whether it’s with our team now or in past years,” Jacobs said. “So it helps them I think where they have someone they can always kick the ball with or work on getting better.”

Two players who can probably take advantage of that most are the Bernhardts, with Regan being the starting goalkeeper and Shae playing midfield.

Shae said when they have time, they will practice shooting, although since both players are pretty busy, she said they don’t get to do as much as they would like.

With the Bernhardts and Vaughts, Jacobs said Shae and Zoie were also able to help Regan and Katie by letting them know what to expect when they first joined varsity.

Shae echoed this sentiment, saying how she helped Regan through starting as a freshman goalkeeper on varsity last year.

“My goal was to just kind of help her through that while still giving her criticism, but in a positive way so she could keep her morale up while still getting better,” Shae said.

She added that she loves playing soccer with her sister, with her favorite part being celebrating after the games.

“Normally I’ll give her a big hug, tell her she did good or pick her up if we just lost,” Shae said. “But I just overall really like playing with her and going through that experience with her.”

The Bulldogs will next play Solon in regional final at 5:30 p.m. May 26 at Van Meter School.

Girls golf heads to state

The Van Meter girls golf team has advanced onto state after competing at the second round of regionals May 18.

The Bulldogs placed second at the meet, finishing with a score of 367 to secure their spot at state.

Leading the team at the meet was senior Shae Bernhardt, who finished as meet medalist with a score of 84 and qualified individually for state. Sophomore Regan Bernhardt qualified as an individual for state as well, placing third with a score of 89.

Also scoring inside the top 10 for Van Meter was sophomore Danielle Jones, as she finished seventh with a score of 95.

The Bulldogs will next compete at state beginning at 9 a.m. May 26 at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course.