The trio that is Brett Bond, Kyle Kinner, and Shane Benes, started off with just a game and a rivalry. Bond and Benes had played on the Hammerheads baseball team since 4th grade. Year after year, the team came face to face with the same team. The two formed a strong sports rivalry, and one kid in particular would play like no other. The rivals were the Attacks, and that little kid was none other than Kinner.
For four years, the play offs provided wins for both teams, but when Bond and Benes won a spot on the Prospects, none other than Kinner was there to greet them, as he too had won a spot on the team. Benes and Kinner had met before, Brett however had no other knowledge of the skinny kid, other than he was his rival.
“I felt very indifferent about Kyle when we first met,” said Bond.
Their teamwork piad off and the Prospects, already a great team, gained a record of 96-4, all thanks to the trio of rivals turned brothers.
Over the next few years, the trio continued to play for the summer and then go their separate ways. But Bond and Kinner longed for a more Christian environment, something that was non-existent at their other schools. Then along came Benes. He brought it to the attention of Bond, and then Bond brought it to Kinner.
“My family encouraged Brett and Kyle to come to Westminster,” said Benes’ older sister Bailey, senior.
The trio was excited, and when considering all the circumstances that had to go right for them to get together, they all were amazed at the outcome.
“I think that it was God’s will that all the things brought us together,” said Bond.
Fast forward to March 2012. The baseball season was just getting started. Benes had been playing for Westminster for two years now, and had a solid reputation. Bond was the new guy, but quickly proved that he was worth the fuss. Kinner on the other hand couldn’t play baseball that year, a little bit of a downer to the group.
“ I was fine, and I cheered on my friends all season,” said Kinner.
The 2012 baseball season marked a second State Championship for Wildcats, and Benes, bond, and Kinner were all happy about the win.
“It was the greatest moment in my life in 2011, and then it happened again,” said Benes.
The duo had brought another happy moment into their friendship. It brought the memories of the back-to-back playoff appearances during their time with the Prospects. And even if only two played that day, they all were together as a trio.
While Benes was done making history for the year, Bond and Kinner were just getting ready to change Westminster football.
For Kinner, while baseball is a knack of his, football is his first love.
“When I was younger, my dad put me in baseball because I was way too small for football,” said Kinner.
It was just another one of those circumstances that brought these guys together. Coming off a 2-8 season, the football program was going through a change when Bond and Kinner moved up to the varsity ranks. Right away the chemistry that had aided them on the diamond was now making them the dynamic duo of the gridiron.
“I think our success is based in how well all of us on the team and in the program as whole get along,” said Kinner.
The football team tied the record for the winniest season.
For Benes and Bond, their sports seasons extend into basketball season as well, with both playing a role in Varsity’s 4-1 record.
Sports obviously provided the vehicle for their friendship, but their brotherhood now goes a long ways past the game itself.
While Benes and Bond been friends long before Kinner came along, today they all have the same strong bond with each other.
“I know in our friendship we can do crazy things together. Some of my best memories are with these guys,” said Benes.
Bond thinks that the key to their friendship is that it is Christian based.
Education also ranks highly on each of their radars.
“Before coming to WCA, I didn’t care about education. That changed when I came here because sports wasn’t everything and not all the popular kids were athletes,” said Bond.
Looking to the future, things seem on the rise for the trio. While they might go their separate ways, their friendship will always be strong.
“We will always be friends no matter what. We have a special bond, no pun intended,” said Kinner.
All the guys’ dreams are in order. Benes, who has commited to Mizzou, hopes to play in the pros some day soon, continuing a legacy. Bond also wants to attend Mizzou and wants to play pro baseball someday and coach after getting out of the league, “pulling a Mike Matheny” as he put it. Kinner wants to attend Iowa for college.
By the time they leave in 2014, their mark will be left. Their legacy will be set in the stone of Westminster sports. Their friends will remember them, a few keeping close to them.
From on all fields, the names Benes, Bond, and Kinner, will become legacy as the sports was just the backdrop to the the brotherhood, that was so strong and mighty, not even time itself can break it. But the true story will be the story itself. The story of a little circumstance and a lot of chance. And no matter what happens after they leave high school, they will forever be known as a triple threat.
