Columbus East Messiah Trapp shoots the ball while being guarded by Purdue Poly Englewood’s Coreah Lewis at Columbus East, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023.
The Republic file photo
When Messiah Trapp’s father took a job in South Carolina, it looked like her basketball career at Columbus East might be over.
Trapp played with the Olympians only one week over the summer, thinking she might be headed south for her senior year. But while Rashaad Trapp, a longtime youth wrestling and assistant wrestling coach at East, headed to Charleston to manage its Cummins plant, Messiah ended up staying in Columbus with her grandparents.
“He wouldn’t have moved until I would have already started school in South Carolina, so we just decided it was best for me to stay here and live with my grandparents,” Trapp said. “I had decided if I moved to South Carolina, I wasn’t going to play basketball. So staying was really important to me because basketball is a huge part of my life, and I really wanted to play my senior year.”
First-year Olympians coach Kaitlyn Phillips is glad she did. Trapp leads the team with 7.1 rebounds a game and is second on the squad with 7.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.3 blocks per contest.
“I tell her often how excited I am that she did not move to South Carolina,” Phillips said. “I just texted her that (Tuesday) night again because she has meant so much to us, just her composure and leadership.”
Columbus East’s Messiah Trapp shoots against Floyd Central at Columbus East, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.
The Republic file photo
In that game on Tuesday, Trapp led East with 13 points in a 43-38 win against Floyd Central in its Hoosier Hills Conference opener. She was coming off a career-high 17-point game in last week’s 52-50 loss at Bloomington North.
“I’m definitely just getting more comfortable with my position, and I’m getting more passes and learning how to finish,” Trapp said. “I think we’re definitely starting to trust each other more, just knowing that we can pass to each other and hit shots and that it doesn’t just come down to certain people. We can all play together and play as a team. It’s been very helpful. Especially after going on the losing streak, this win was very helpful for our confidence going into next week against (Columbus) North.”
Columbus East’s Messiah Trapp drives against Purdue Poly Englewood’s Coreah Lewis at Columbus East, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023.
The Republic file photo
Trapp has been instrumental in helping fill the void left by the graduation of Indiana All-Star Saige Stahl. Stahl, who now plays at Indiana State, was one of the state’s leading scorers last season.
“Just knowing that we lost Saige, I knew I had to step up and be a big contributor to the team,” Trapp said. “I knew it wasn’t just about rebounding and passing. I knew I also had to go up, so that was something we’ve all worked on a lot during preseason and during the summer.”
“She’s one of those kids who from Day 1, especially in the fall, she been one of our hardest workers every single day at practice,” Phillips added. “She competes her butt off, and I think the first few games of the season, she wasn’t seeing that portrayed in the way that she wanted to, and now, it’s all flowing together, and she’s seeing the results of all the time and effort that she’s put in.”
Messiah Trapp
Trapp played soccer in middle school and competed in the high jump and sprints for the East track team as freshman and junior and is leaning toward returning to the track team this spring. But basketball has been her main sport from a young age.
“I never grew up wrestling, but I was at wrestling meets all the time,” Trapp said. “I went to wrestling meets with my dad every weekend. I went to every practice. I love watching the sport. My cousin actually introduced me to basketball, and I played with her at Foundation For Youth, and ever since then, I’ve kept playing.”
This likely will be Trapp’s last year of competitive basketball. She is hoping to go to North Carolina A&T and major in biology with the goal of becoming a psychiatrist.
“It’s always been one of my dream schools,” Trapp said. “They have a great biology program, and that’s what I want to study.”
Until then, Trapp wants to make the most of her senior year. The Olympians return to action Saturday afternoon against Jeffersonville, then travel across town to Columbus North on Dec. 14.
“I definitely want to continue winning,” Trapp said. “I think that’s going to be really important for us. We go against some really tough teams like Jennings County and BNL, so we just have to have confidence going into those games. I think as we started losing more and more, our confidence went down, and (Tuesday) was just a huge confidence booster. So going into Saturday, knowing that we can play together and finish games is really important.”
