Kierra Goos may not have grown up in Manhattan, but the mark she’s left on its softball community won’t fade any time soon.
This season, the senior ace pitcher helped Manhattan High reach its first state tournament since 2004, since before she or her teammates were born. Goos threw nearly 2,000 pitches in 112 1/3 innings, striking out 204 batters and posting an earned-run average of 2.181. At the plate, she led the Indians with a .462 batting average, 27 runs batted in and five home runs.
Her all-around performance has garnered her a host of postseason honors, including The Mercury’s 2023 Spring All-Flint Hills Female Athlete of the Year award.
Goos played just three seasons with Manhattan after moving to town from Blue Springs, Missouri, in early 2020, midway through her freshman year of high school. But that softball campaign never happened thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Goos is one of the few seniors in the state this season lucky enough to get four years of high school playing time. In Missouri, the softball season takes place during the first semester, so Goos competed for Blue Springs South as a freshman in the fall of 2019. That year, Goos tossed 66 1/3 innings as the Jaguars’ secondary pitcher, which was a rarity for someone her age. Blue Springs South went on to win the Class 4 state championship in 2019, but Goos wouldn’t play again for her hometown team.
Instead, she had to start over at a new school in a new city and a new state, where the softball culture didn’t have quite the hold as it did where she came from. It was a difficult transition for her, and as so often happens, she began battling with her own mental health. Seeing a therapist helped, as did meeting her new softball family in Manhattan.
“Softball was my place and what got me to be who I am today,” Goos said. “Before the fall of my sophomore year, when I didn’t really know anybody, it was really hard for me. And when whenever I finally got to start softball conditioning and we got to try out sophomore year, that was big, because I got to meet people who had shared interests and I found my place in Manhattan.”
The benefit turned out to be mutual. Indians head coach Connie Miller quickly realized that this new player, who had basically fallen into her lap, was something special.
“We were like, ‘Wow, this is a great gift here,’” Miller said. “She was someone we could really build around, and really use her talents.”
Initially, Miller thought Goos must have been a multi-sport athlete simply because of her fitness and athletic ability. But Goos had long ago given up other sports — a variety of which her parents had encouraged her to try from a young age — in pursuit of her one, true love.
While Goos showed up in Manhattan as a veteran two-way player, she wasn’t always that way. She adored pitching, but at lower age levels, she struggled, and her parents asked whether she thought her time might be better spent developing her skills at other positions.
But Goos wanted the ball in her hand. In middle school, she began working with Samantha Honeycutt, a former Division I pitcher and now an assistant coach at Kansas City. Goos could throw hard, but her pitches often sailed past the catcher and struck the backstop. Honeycutt helped her to adjust her mechanics to gain more control and, crucially, to deliver a rise ball.
“Whenever I started throwing my rise ball and throwing it well, that’s when I really fell in love with it, and when I started working for myself, instead of like, ‘Oh, I’ll pitch good because it’ll make my dad happy,’ or, ‘I’ll pitch good because it’ll make my parents proud,’” Goos said. “They always reminded me they’re proud of me regardless, so once I started to realize that as I got older, I really fell in love with it.”
Goos, now with more internal motivation, threw her rise ball about 70% of the time in high school, by her estimation. The pitch gets to the plate rapidly and breaks upward late, leaving batters little time to adjust to it. The catchers to whom she pitches on her travel team — several of whom are headed to Division I schools — have told her it’s difficult for them to catch.
“If it’s hard to catch, it’s hard to hit,” Goos said.
It’s not just her pitching that made her an irreplaceable asset for the Indians. She’s dangerous with the bat in her hands, and when she’s not pitching, she’s a solid first baseman. Additionally, she’s the proverbial field general, according to her coach, who said her “softball savvy” was exceptional.
“She controls the pace of the game,” Miller said. “When she’s on and knows what’s coming next, she can relate that to her teammates and communicate with them, make sure they know what to expect. It’s really good to have a pitcher who can be that, and make sure everybody’s ready to go.”
Being a leader on the field seems to come naturally for Goos. She said her teammates are her greatest motivation, and that, for them, she puts forth her best effort into everything she does. In return, knowing they’ve got her back on defense makes it easier for her to relax in the circle and attack the next batter.
But now it’s time for Goos to move on from her teammates in Manhattan and join a new group. In the fall, she’ll head to Brookings, South Dakota, where she will play for South Dakota State and major in psychology. She’s thrilled about the opportunity and is ready to gush enthusiastically about her love for the coaching staff, the facilities and her fellow Jackrabbits at a moment’s notice.
Miller is excited to see her play at the next level but quipped that she’d love to have another iteration of Kierra Goos to take her place. While the Indians this season were far more than a single player, it’s hard to overstate Goos’s importance to Manhattan softball.
“Her mindset, her drive really helped us turn the corner with this program,” Miller said. “We had lots of upward mobility with our program for many years, and she just helped us accomplish that. … Kids the next three years are going to know her name and remember her. When she goes on to the next level and plays college ball, they’re going to follow her and keep up with her. She’s just a great kid, a great person.”
When considering her legacy with the Indians program, Goos doesn’t necessarily want to be an untouchable paragon of greatness. Rather, she hopes that what she’s accomplished inspires others to forge their own paths.
“It’s really important to me that little girls continue to play the sport, and that they see that ,with enough hard work and enough drive behind the work you put in, and if you do it for yourself, you can see something of it,” she said. “... Regardless of what you do, I think it’s important that all people have something that they’re passionate about. I think that it’d be really cool if more girls in Manhattan played softball and were passionate about it like I am.”
THE MERCURY’S ALL-FLINT HILLS SELECTIONS
How we made our selections
We chose athletes from those who qualified for state in their respective sports. We considered coaches’ recommendations, statistics and post-season success.
Softball
First Team
Kierra Goos, senior, Manhattan
Avery Hafliger, senior, Manhattan
Ashten Pierson, senior, Wamego
Peyton Hardenburger, sophomore, Wamego
Maya Gallagher, senior, Wamego
Trista Hoobler, senior, Wamego
Teagan Zenger, sophomore, Rock Creek
Sam Killingsworth, junior, Rock Creek
CJ Rignell, senior, Riley County
Second Team
Takara Kolterman, senior, Manhattan
Reagan Neitzel, junior, Manhattan
McKenzie Reid, senior, Manhattan
Jaden McGee, junior Manhattan
Kyla McAdam, senior, Wamego
Brooklyn Plummer, junior, Rock Creek
Brynna Zoeller, freshman, Rock Creek
Addy Zeller, sophomore, Riley County
Paxton Meyer, senior, Wabaunsee
Honorable Mention
Anna Wollenberg, junior, Manhattan
Jordan Diehl, senior, Wamego
Gracie Scofield, sophomore, Riley County
Taryn Shepard, junior, Riley County
Sarah Denton, freshman, Wabaunsee
Ava Meinhardt, junior Wabaunsee
Track and Field
First Team
Harli Omli, Manhattan, 1st in 400-meter dash, 2nd in 200-meter dash, 2nd in 4x100-meter relay, 4th in 100-meter dash
Hanna Pellant, Manhattan, 2nd in 4x100-meter relay, 3rd in 100-meter dash, 8th in 200-meter dash
Aylani Barron, Manhattan, 2nd in 4x100-meter relay
Avery Larson, Manhattan 2nd in 4x100-meter relay, 13th in long jump
Alessandra Porres, Manhattan, 3rd in triple jump
Sariah Pittenger, Wamego, 2nd in 4x800-meter relay, 7th in 4x400-meter relay
Grace Skylar Schoenbeck, Wamego, 2nd in 4x800-meter relay
Morenz, Wamego, 2nd in 4x800-meter relay
Liz Adams, Wamego, 2nd in 4x800-meter relay, 6th in 800-meter run, 7th in 4x400-meter relay
Isabella Wilber, Wamego, 2nd in 200-meter dash, 3rd in 400-meter dash, 7th in 4x400-meter relay
Peyton Wurtz, Wabaunsee, 2nd in 3,200-meter run, 2nd in 1,600-meter run, 2nd in 400-meter dash, 3rd in 800-meter run
Emma Hardwick, Frankfort, 34d in 300-meter hurdles, 3rd in 4x100-meter relay, 6th in 4x400-meter relay
Ellie Studer, Frankfort, 3rd in 4x100-meter relay, 6th in 4x400-meter relay
Ashlyn Dalinghaus, Frankfort, 3rd in 4x100-meter relay
Hattie Gros, Frankfort, 3rd in 4x100-meter relay, 6th in 4x400-meter relay, 8th in 200-meter dash
Second Team
Jillian Harkin, Manhattan, 8th in 4x800-meter relay, 16th in 800-meter run
Haley Henningson, Manhattan, 8th in 4x800-meter relay
Talia Tindall, Manhattan, 8th in 4x800-meter relay
Saylor Salmans, Manhattan, 8th in 4x800-meter relay
Jorryn Hall, Manhattan, 7th in shot put
Faith Kratochvil, Manhattan, 8th in high jump
Sarah Jones, Wamego, 7th in 4x400-meter relay
Ambree Portelli, Rock Creek, 4th in 4x400-meter relay
Kya Klingenberg, Rock Creek, 4th in 4x400-meter relay
Ayla Klingenberg, Rock Creek, 4th in 4x400-meter relay
Kyra Nippert, Rock Creek, 4th in 4x400-meter relay, 11th in 1,600-meter run
Anne Toerber, Valley Heights, 7th in 4x800-meter relay
Maggie Toerber, Valley Heights, 7th in 4x800-meter relay
Tessa Miller, Valley Heights, 7th in 4x800-meter relay, 13th in javelin
Taya Smith, Valley Heights, 7th in 4x800-meter relay
Breleigh Ebert, Frankfort, 6th in 4x400-meter relay
Eve Corkill, Blue Valley, 7th in 4x100-meter relay
Amelia Moses, Blue Valley, 7th in 4x100-meter relay
Lexi Weixelman, Blue Valley, 7th in 4x100-meter relay
Landry Zoeller, Blue Valley, 7th in 4x100-meter relay, 9th in long jump
Honorable Mention
Abigail Gruber, Manhattan, 11 in shot put, 12th in discus
Makayla Anhorn, Manhattan, 14th in shotput
Avery Higgins, Riley County, 9th in 4x800-meter relay
Meredith Baumann, Riley County, 9th in 4x800-meter relay
Mikaila Frese, Riley County, 9th in 4x800-meter relay
Anna Lambert, Riley County, 9th in 4x800-meter relay
Rebekah Stuhlsatz, Wabaunsee, 10th in 3,200-meter run
Alexus Ford, Wabaunsee, 15th in high jump
Sienna Jones, Wabaunsee, 9th in triple jump, 13th in long jump
Brooke Porter, Valley Heights, 9th in long jump
Soccer
Taylor McHugh, senior, Manhattan
Emonie Christion, senior, Manhattan
Crinnia, Turner, senior, Manhattan
Katelyn Purdom, senior, Manhattan
Emery Ruliffson, junior, Manhattan
Reese Snowden, junior, Manhattan
Swimming
Samantha Tarter, sophomore, Manhattan
Ruth Perez, junior, Manhattan
Sophia Steffensmeier, senior, Manhattan,
Juliet Balman, senior, Manhattan
Breanne Sanneman, junior, Manhattan
Audrey Conley, senior, Manhattan
Avery Inman, senior, Manhattan
