Trenton Teams Begin Summer OTAs

Ainsley Tolson hasn’t really stopped playing basketball since Trenton began its high school season last November. When the Bulldogs closed their historic run to the Class 3 Show-Me Showdown in Columbia, Tolson went right into spring ball, playing with the Missouri Mavericks traveling team and working on her game at the Ketcham Community Center in her free time.
This week, Trenton’s all-state guard is back at it as the Bulldogs are holding their first organized team activity since the season ended with a fourth-place trophy at state. Trenton Head Coach Brian Upton has brought in the Midwest Elite Camp, headed up by the trio of Cory Hoff, Lizzie Nessling and Adam Hocking. The three are leading Trenton through its team camp – the first step toward getting back to state.
“We are just working hard and trying our best – trying to get better,” Tolson said. “My dad always tells me what gets you there won’t get you further. We are just trying to keep building our game, so we can get back to state this year.”
Trenton’s run back to state will have one major obstacle as the Bulldogs will have to replace Whitley Richman, who graduated this spring. Trenton will look to find options for her vacated forward position this summer during the team activities.
Outside of Richman, however, Trenton brings back its entire team, which captured Grand River Conference, Gallatin Tournament, Lawson Tournament, Hamilton Tournament, district and sectional championships last season.
The Trenton girls camp wrapped up today. The squad will travel to the Chillicothe Shootout next week, playing games on Thursday and Friday, June 8-9, as the summer OTAs continue.
The Trenton boys opened camp this week as well, taking the first step in defending their Grand River Conference championship. The Bulldogs will be seeking scoring at their camp. Seniors Spencer Harris, Connor Cotton and Corbyn Guile accounted for nearly 80 percent of the team’s scoring last season in the Bulldogs’ championship campaign.
“Everybody’s role is going to have to shift,” Trenton Head Coach Jeremy Austin said. “We are going to have to get better. We looked like a team that was trying to figure out who our scorers were going to be on our first day and I expect to see some progress on that as we go forward. There were some hints as to who it was going to be and what kind of team we are ging to be, but right now we have a long ways to go before we are happy.”
The Trenton boys camp runs through Friday and the Bulldogs will be playing games at Chillicothe’s Phoenix Camp as well with competition slated for today and Thursday.