By Blake Chadwick
A season ago, Wellington finished second in class 4A after reaching the state championship game and losing to Bishop Miege 75-64.
The Crusaders bring back seniors Val Norwood and Brit Zeka and they are on the quest back to the state championship game where they have some revenge to get.
“Val and Brit represent everything good about a student-athlete, as they represent our community, our school, and our program in a first class way,” head coach Eric Adams said.
Norwood and Zeka have been playing together since they were in elementary and are now both committed to play basketball next season at Lindenwood and Fort Hays state respectively.
“We have great chemistry with one another,” Norwood said. “I can always find her when she’s open and confident that she’ll knock down the three for us. She has great energy and just a joy to be around on and off the court.”
The girls have all the trust in the world for each other and also have the trust of their other teammates.
“The girls on our team have looked to me for leadership since my sophomore year,” Zeka said. “I know what they and the coaching staff expect from me and they know what I expect from them. This season my main goal as a leader is to get everyone to have the mindset of ‘We are going to win.’ I want to set the tone from our first practice on, that we have to work as hard as possible every single day.”
Zeka has been an all-league first team player all three years including breaking the career threes at Wellington. Norwood has been just as consistent, being named the 4A player of the year, while breaking the career steals and assists record.
