Athletes Worth Watching | Eastern Shore | May 2009
By Andrew Keatts
Jake Yarber
North Caroline High School
Soccer, Wrestling, and Baseball
After receiving All-Bayside Conference honorable mention during his junior year, Jake Yarber resolved to improve his batting average from a respectable .280 to an impressive .350 this season. Yarber contributes in the infield, outfield, and on the pitching mound at NCHS, but is unsure what position he’ll play at Chesapeake College, which he hopes to attend in the fall. “I like getting involved in all the action at shortstop,” he says. “But in the outfield, there’s a lot of ground to cover, and I’ve got the speed to do it.” NCHS has experienced a few frustrating seasons recently, which Yarber says is more a matter of chemistry than talent. “We always have a lot of skill, but we can never seem to put it together for a successful season.” Early in the season, the team had already won as many games as the year before, the result, according to Yarber, of both improved defense and team chemistry. Yarber is a three-sport athlete, wrestling during the winter and playing soccer in the fall. He was named to the All-Bayside Conference first team for soccer. He wrestled in the state-wide, post-season senior all-star tournament this year, as well. Though he hopes to play baseball at Chesapeake, Yarber says wrestling is his favorite sport. “There’s no other feeling like the one right after a wrestling match,” he says. Yarber carries a 3.25 grade point average. He is an instructor for Sunday baseball clinics. His parents are Jon and Jennifer Yarber.
Whitney Kellermeyer
North Caroline High School
Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Lacrosse
North Caroline High School (NCHS) did not have a lacrosse program when Whitney Kellermeyer transferred there from Saints Peter and Paul High School (SSPP). Three years later, the team is in the midst of its first season as a varsity program, and Kellermeyer is the team’s captain. After learning the game in middle school at SSPP, Kellermeyer hoped to play in high school. Without a program at NCHS, she ran track during the spring of her freshman year, hoping the school would hire a coach before she graduated. Kari Mielke stepped forward to coach the team the following year, allowing the team to play as a junior varsity program for two years while the girls learned the game. One game into the team’s first season as a varsity program(as of press time), NCHS is undefeated. “Our success really shouldn’t be defined by how many games we win, but how we play together and how we learn,” Kellermeyer says. “Everyone’s stick skills are getting much better, which is the only way we’d ever be able to compete with most teams.” Kellermeyer carries a 4.0 grade point average, is a Maryland Distinguished Scholar (honorable mention), and a member of both the National Honor Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She hopes to attend either the University of Florida or Towson University, planning to major in either business or sports management. She also plans to get her pilot’s license sometime in the future, and is considering pursuing it as a career. “It’s a safe profession because you know it will always be there,” she says. “And also, if you find a job you love, then it won’t be like work.”
Joey Buckley
Kent Island High School
Football, Basketball, and Baseball
Joey Buckley has a one-track mind when it comes to his teams’ goals. He was part of Kent Island High School’s (KIHS) state championship team during his sophomore season, and says his only goal for the team during his junior season is to repeat as state champs. “My only goal for any sport I play is to win states,” he says. Buckley received All-Bayside conference honorable mention for football as both a tight end and linebacker this fall. He serves as a utility player for the basketball team, and plays both corner-infield positions (first and third base) for baseball. As of press time, the baseball season is still young, but Buckley says the team has started slower than he would have liked. “The mentality of being a state champion seems to have made a few kids forget that it is a brand new season, and last year doesn’t matter,” he says. Still, the team’s hitting seems to be coming around with plenty of time to accomplish Buckley’s ultimate goal. He wants to be a three-sport athlete in college and is looking to attend Widener University or Coastal Carolina University, among other schools. He is a member of the history club and carries a 3.3 grade point average. Still a junior, he anticipates being named first team all Bayside Conference for football during his senior season, in addition to his aforementioned goal of winning another state championship. He hopes to one day own his own restaurant, and he is the son of Joseph and Regina Buckley.
Jen Cosgrove
Kent Island High School
Soccer, and Lacrosse
Jen Cosgrove is one of the best junior lacrosse players in the country. As a sophomore last spring, she broke Kent Island High School’s (KIHS) all-time record for goals in a season, scoring 86 times, besting the previous mark of 75. She was named the team’s most valuable player and won the All-Shore player of the year award. A few months later, Inside Lacrosse magazine ranked her as one of the top 25 rising juniors in the country. She carries a 3.3 grade point average and expects to play division-one lacrosse, preferably at the University of North Carolina or Johns Hopkins University if she opts to stay in state. She plans to major in sports medicine and looks to pursue a career in either coaching or physical therapy. In the meantime, she and her team expect to defeat top-rival Stephen Decatur High School on the way to winning the Bayside championship. To do so, she says the team needs to “improve every day, and focus on all the little things that go into winning a game.” Though she considers herself one of the team’s leaders, KIHS doesn’t name team captains, deciding instead to give everyone a chance as a captain for one game apiece. She is the daughter of Pete and Gail Cosgrove.
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