T-R FILE PHOTO - West Marshall senior Cameron Bannister was named to a Class 2A all-district team for the third year in a row, gaining first-team honors for the second-straight season after helping the Trojans win 27 games and their fifth consecutive NICL West Division championship.

Cameron Bannister’s importance to the West Marshall baseball team’s run of five-straight NICL West Division titles has been immeasurable, but one standard is postseason accolades.

For the third year in a row, Bannister has been named to an all-district team, this year earning first-team honors in Class 2A for the second-straight summer.

Bannister, a four-year starter for the Trojans, posted a 7-1 record on the mound this season with a 0.58 earned run average, striking out 58 hitters in 48 2/3 innings. Offensively he scored a team-leading 54 runs while hitting .376 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 24 RBIs. He also stole a team-leading 23 bases on 24 attempts.

In Bannister’s four seasons as a starter at West Marshall, the Trojans averaged 24.5 wins per season.

Bannister was joined on the 2A all-Central District first team by sophomore teammate Kaden Davis, who hit .456 with 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs and a team-high 45 RBIs. Davis was named a first-team outfielder, while Bannister was pegged for one of four utility spots.

North Tama senior Hale Hulme also occupied a utility position on the 1A all-Central District first team for the second year in a row, leading a cast of six locals voted to the squad. Hulme was joined by teammates Ryan McLean, a junior pitcher, and senior outfielder Tyler Morrison. Gladbrook-Reinbeck standout junior pitcher Tyler Tscherter earned all-district first team for the first time, while GMG seniors Aaron Fleming (first base) and Blaze Krull (catcher) earned first-team honors for their first all-district awards.

Hulme led the Redhawks with a .385 batting average, 26 RBIs and 22 stolen bases, while McLean was named the Iowa Star Conference South Division’s Player of the Year after going 4-1 on the mound in league play and 5-3 overall. Morrison hit .347 with two triples and two home runs.

Tscherter closed his junior campaign with team-highs of a 48 hits, 39 runs, 11 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs and 48 RBIs. On the mound, Tscherter was 8-2 with a whopping 106 strikeouts in 65 1/3 innings, compiling a 1.61 earned run average.

Krull led GMG with a .435 batting average, scoring a team-high 39 runs to go with nine doubles, two triples and 24 RBIs. He successfully stole 41 bases, which ranked ninth in the entire state. Fleming hit .420 with five doubles, a triple and 24 RBIs while stealing 20 bases and scoring 25 runs.

Marshalltown senior Wade Canaday was promoted from the second team to the 4A all-North Central District first team this summer, and he was joined on the first team by first-time honoree Joseph Harris, a junior. Canaday went 8-2 on the mound with a 1.54 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings, and offensively he led the Bobcats with a .378 batting average, adding 24 runs scored, 13 doubles and four home runs. He shared team-high RBI (31) honors with Harris, who hit .358 with 25 runs, 16 doubles and two home runs.

South Tama County’s top pitcher and leading hitter both moved up from the second team to gain 3A all-Northeast District first-team honors. Senior pitcher Carter Kriegel went 8-1 on the bump with 87 strikeouts and a 1.68 ERA in 62 1/3 innings of work. He also hit .319 with a team-high 14 doubles. Kellogg, Kriegel’s batterymate at catcher, closed the season with a team-best .437 batting average, tallying seven doubles and a Trojan-best 21 RBIs. He struck out just six times.

Garnering second-team all-district honors from the area were: Marshalltown senior pitcher Tate Kuehner, West Marshall senior outfielder Jake Tollefson and freshman shortstop Kinnick Christensen, East Marshall junior pitcher Zach Jacobson, GMG senior outfielder Brock Baldazo and senior utility Kolton Gill, BCLUW senior utility Jack Garber and sophomore outfielder Noah Gallentine, and North Tama freshman second baseman Gabe Kopriva. Gill was the only repeat second-teamer of the bunch.