Tenholder gets to kick around with elite company

Jackson High School's girls soccer program has had its share of strong soccer players in recent history.

Two Jackson graduates, Erin Hartmann and Julie Wunderlich, played for Southeast Missouri State University this past season, and senior Molly Hartmann has already become one of the most prolific scorers in Missouri over her first three high school seasons.

Jenni Tenholder, an incoming freshman, will try to add to the Indians' talent base next season.

In the meantime, the 14-year-old St. Mary's School graduate will travel to DeKalb, Ill., on Tuesday as a part of the 18-member Missouri 1989 team for the Olympic Development Program. Tenholder, who made the team after a tryout in Jefferson City, Mo., is the only Southeast Missouri representative on a team dominated by St. Louis area players.

"I'm basically competing against the best girls in the nation, so it's pretty exciting," Tenholder said. "It's a real privilege being chosen."

Tenholder and her teammates will be competing with 13 other state teams during the six-day camp. In addition to game competition, the event is used to select the Midwest Region ODP team, from which players can be selected for the national pool.

Some of the credit for Tenholder's ODP appearance can be traced back to the Southeast soccer program. Tenholder said Southeast coach Heather Nelson suggested she attend the tryout, and Nelson's husband Paul has helped train Tenholder this past season.

"It was exciting to have a professional soccer player coach you," Tenholder said of Paul Nelson. "It was fun to meet them. They helped me out a lot."

The trip to DeKalb will be Tenholder's first official game of the summer. Tenholder, who played for the Southeast Soccer Club, was without a team once her former teammates entered high school this past year.

"It's actually a relief," Tenholder said of getting back on the field. "The girls I played with are in high school, and I've played with them since the second grade. Now, I'm not playing with anybody."

In the interim, Tenholder trained against high school boys teams.

"I was training with the high school guys, which is pretty cool," she said. "You know they're going to compete pretty hard."

In the spring, Tenholder will look to team up with her older sister, senior Amber Tenholder, to help Jackson make another run into the state playoffs. The Indians were eliminated in the sectional round last season after making it to the quarterfinals the year before.

Tenholder, a midfielder, said getting to share the field with her sister on the high school squad should be pretty exciting.

"It's going to be pretty intense," she said.

While she may not have started her high school career yet, Tenholder already has at least one goal in mind.

"I'm going to work in high school as hard as I can, because I want to play in college," she said. "I've always dreamed of playing in college."

jjoffray@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 171