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Senior Spotlight: Cordell Tinch – Bay Port boys basketball, track & field, football

BY RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT


Bay Port senior Cordell Tinch very well could be the best high school athlete in the state. He was first-team all-conference at wide receiver for the Pirates’ football team that went 11-1, is currently averaging 13.2 points per game for the FRCC champion basketball team and is a two-time state champ in track & field, setting a state record in the triple jump last June.

Tinch will be attending the University of Minnesota next fall on a football and track scholarship, where he expects to be redshirted in football his freshman year. Cordell plans to study either kinesiology or human physiology.

Name: Cordell Tinch
Nickname: Cordizzle
Parents: Elizabeth & Tyler
School: Bay Port
Sports: basketball, football, track
Twitter: @cordizzlepinch

You were originally in the Green Bay Preble School District? “Yes. I went to various elementary schools there, Edison for sixth and seventh and then moved to Bay View for my eighth-grade year.”

Do you come from a sports family? “I grew up mainly with my mom in Chicago and sports were her way of keeping me on the right path.”

When did you realize you could really do something with athletics? “Honestly, probably not until my freshman year of track when I qualified for state. My stepdad had told me as early as my first year of flag football that he knew I could do something with sports if I stayed in them.”

How about a sport you wish you could have done? “I think the three sports I currently do fit me the best, but I think volleyball would have been cool because it’s an intense, fun sport.”

Talk about the grind of playing three sports a year! “I haven’t had much of a break, but with the way things have gone for me, I enjoy it more. I have thought about what it would have been like to explore my summers a bit more, though.”

How do you deal with the pressure/high expectations? “I can’t tell you the last time I’ve felt pressure. I prefer when people are watching – the more there are the more fun it is for me.”

Is there a sport where you feel more pressure than the others? “I feel like I should say track because of the goals others put for me and the expectations I have to meet, but it doesn’t faze me much. I feel people watching are more nervous for me than I am for myself.”

Talk about the recruiting process … why Minnesota? “They were the first bigger school to reach out to me right after state last year and after we visited we really liked it. I felt like I need to visit some other places to see, but after visiting Iowa, Illinois State and then talking with Nebraska a bunch, Minnesota was a better place for me and my parents.”

You could have possibly played football with your good buddy Jack Plumb at Iowa? “It did cross my mind, but in the end Minnesota was the right fit.”

Let’s talk basketball … state or bust? “I always have the goals in my head that I want to be the best of the best, so that’s the standard I hold my team to. We are just taking it one game at a time – it’s play to our best or bust.”

Twenty-six dunks this year? “Something like that. The excitement that comes with a dunk is something you can’t match in other sports. The energy level picks up and changes the game. It’s not like football where if you score a touchdown – it’s exciting at the time – but then there’s the extra point and the kickoff … things calm down; but in basketball after a dunk, you just keep playing.”

You’re a state champ in the triple jump and long jump, and you took second in the high jump and 110-meter hurdles last year … what are your track goals for this season? “My goals are lofty – I want four state titles and to set state records in all of them. That’s all I have set for myself.”

What’s your vertical jump? I’ve seen dunks where your head is above the rim! “I haven’t had it measured since my freshman year, but it was 36 inches then.”

Do you have a most embarrassing sports moment? “When I went into track season last year with my hand all taped up. I couldn’t come up with a story quick enough, so I had to tell my teammates the truth – I had a light bulb in my hand and fell down the stairs. I cut my hand open and had to have surgery.”

Congrats on winning Mr. Bay Port! “I participated in another contestant’s performance and that really helped me. I did basketball impersonations and I didn’t expect that to go over as well as it did. I surprised everyone when I started singing for my talent.”

Are you a better singer or dancer? “That’s a tough one. I’d like to say a better singer, but people would probably say a better dancer.”

Is there something about you most people wouldn’t know? “People look at me as being an accomplished athlete, but I don’t do much outside of that. I like to sit in my room and play video games.”

If you could have lunch with any person, who would it be? “Triple jumper Christian Taylor.”

Carpet or hardwood? “Hardwood.”
Tree house or tiny house? “Tree house.”
Pizza or spaghetti? “Pizza because there are more choices.”
Read the book or watch the movie? “Watch the movie.”
Lie on the beach or ski down the slopes? “Definitely lie on the beach because I hate winter.”

So after graduating from Minnesota you’ll be going somewhere warm? “I’ll definitely be taking my talents somewhere hot (laughing).”

How will Cordell Tinch be remembered at Bay Port? “I want to be remembered as someone who lived their life as a normal person but did whatever they could for their team to better them.”

What will you miss most about Bay Port? “The ‘Bay Port Bowl.’ It has popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes and corn in it. It shouldn’t be passed up by anyone.”

Favorites

Subject: math
Candy: Hershey chocolate
Ice cream: Cookies ‘n cream
Holiday: Thanksgiving
Phone app: Snapchat, Twitter

Notes: suggestions for the Senior Spotlight can be submitted to Rich via email ([email protected]) or by Twitter (@richpalzewic)… all spotlights can be found online at thepress.media. Check out last week’s spotlight on Bay Port band member Caden Swanson.

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