Mears, Liechty named to All-District team

One Mt. Pleasant player and one coach were named to the Class 4A All-Southeast District team, which was announced this week. Panther senior Anni Liechty and head coach Troy Mears were both selected to the team, which was made up of a stacked group of Class 4A teams, including two state tournament qualifiers.

Liechty finshed the year with a .361 batting average, five doubles, one triple one home run. She always finished in the top 15 in Class 4A with 40 RBIs.

Liechty played for Coach Mears' Panther squad more than anyone else in his tenure. She started at shortstop since eighth grade.

Mears was named the coach of the All-District team after flipping the Panthers' record in 2019.

After losing a boatload of seniors from their 2017 state tournament squad, Mt. Pleasant had a 13-26 record in 2018, losing their last nine games of the year and winning just six games in conference. They lost their top hitter, Chi Glaha, to graduation but still turned it around in 2019, going 23-13 overall on the year and 12-4 in the conference.

Mt. Pleasant jumped to as high as No. 12 in the Class 4A rankings this season. They split games against SEC rival Fairfield in the regular season, but were defeated 12-4 by the Trojans in the regional tournament.

Listed below is the full All-District team for Class 4A in the Southeast Region.

CLASS 4A ALL-SOUTHEAST DISTRICT TEAM: Megan Doty (12), Grinnell; Kamryn O'Brien (11), Dallas Center-Grimes (11), Emery Neer (12), Knoxville; Hayle Hacker (10), Oskaloosa; Maddie Parks (12), Pella; Haley Downe (10), Norwalk; Peyton Maher (12), Newton; Allison Rebling (11), Fairfield; Hannah Simpson (9), Fairfield; Anni Liechty (12), Mt. Pleasant; Briley Sodergren (12), Norwalk; Ashley Kindley (12), Oskaloosa; Makaylin Powers (12), Burlington; Molly Cooney (11), Dallas Center-Grimes; Kellie Dallmeyer (10), Washington.

CLASS 4A ALL-SOUTHEAST DISTRICT COACH OF THE YEAR: Troy Mears, Mt. Pleasant.