Marion Names New Girl's Basketball Coach

The Marion girl's basketball team has a new head coach, and the name will be familiar to many at the school. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that Henry Martinson has been selected as the new head coach for the Marion Indians, soon to be Wolves.

Martinson replaces Josh Claypool who resigned after two successful seasons. Marion was 35-11 under Claypool. Martinson was actually an assistant for Claypool during the 2019-2020 season. Martinson told the Gazette that this is his dream job. "Its what I've always wanted. This is the job for me."

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The 47 year old Martinson spent last year as the head coach for Central City. Last season he led the Wildcats to a 12-10 record, their first winning season in 10 years. He coached at Central City for three seasons overall, compiling a record of 27-39.

The Gazette reports that Martinson returns to a Marion program that has been cruising right along as of late. Marion has won six straight WAMAC Division titles and have averaged over 20 wins the past seven seasons. Marion was 14-9 last year, but returns over 70% of its scoring for the upcoming season.

Four starters return for Marion, according to the Gazette, including third team All-Stater Sadie Struchen. Other key players include Madison Prier, Regan Rice, and Ella Bockenstedt. Martinson says that this year's team might look and play a bit different than previous Marion squads. He added he wants to be less dependent on the three point shot and learn to get points in other ways.