By Hayden Swope

Southeast’s Duane Cornwell ended his junior season proudly, but knew the work wasn’t over. As soon as last season ended, Cornwell was already preparing for the next year.

“We stop high school season in May, so over the summer and in the fall I was playing with some travel teams and tried to work on my form for catching,” Cornwell said. “I also lifted in the offseason trying to get as strong as possible so I can become a better all around athlete.”

Taking it one game at a time, Cornwell is hoping to improve his team, his stats, and himself all around.

“This year I am planning on taking my team to 6A regionals and if we can do that I will be happy with this year,” Cornwell said. “I would also like to get All-City honorable mention as a catcher and try to improve my batting average from last year.”

In a rival game last season, the Buffaloes were cheered on by the community, which gave Cornwell the excitement to play with everything he had.

“My favorite memory would have to be when we were playing Wichita Heights last year in game two of our double header,” Cornwell said. “A lot of people had showed up to cheer us on. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a crowd so big at one of my baseball games. That was just a fun game to play and it was a great night.”

After high school Cornwell will get to continue playing baseball at the next level at Tabor.

“This fall I will be attending Tabor College,” Cornwell said. “I was recruited by many NAIA schools in the KCAC, and eventually decided to play my sport at Tabor. I am planning on studying business there.”