In the past few weeks I have been to 11 different schools doing football previews for the new season. From those 11 schools, four had new coaches. OK, that doesn't sound like that big of deal, but in week one I saw seven teams and all four new coaches were in those seven teams. So the coaching turnover rate of my first week of football was more than half. WOW
I went into this season thinking I would have it easier than last because all of the coaches already knew me. I knew of two of those changes but the other two were shockers. One thing I am thankful for is that I'm in southwest Kansas, every team out here is super happy to get any coverage so typically the coaches want me there.... first season or twentieth.
Jetmore was the first stop I made. New coach, Russell Durler, a former Longhorn. Durler graduated in 2003 from Jetmore high school and from there went on to a one year stint at Garden City Community College coaching the defensive line. Durler has a tough task with only four starters returning. Last season the Longhorns went 4-5... two seasons ago they were 9-0. In those seasons it was Chad Cahoon pulling the reins. Cahoon left this season only because he said he was burnt out.
Moving over to Jetmore's rival, Spearville. Longtime Lancer head coach Kelly Lampe left after seasons of 3-6 and 5-5. This season the new option heavy offense the Lancers will run was introduced by Matt Fowler. Fowler is also bold enough to do some position transitions. The biggest for the team will be moving quarterback Ryon King to fullback... I mean he does have and extra 20 pounds on him this season. Fowler says the teams discipline will be what leads them to victory in '09.
Now more south. Minneola adjusts to former assistant coach Aaron Schilde stepping into the head coaching role. Schilde will have some hefty shoes to fill of former head coach Curtis Albin, after last season's 7-2 record, 4-1 SPIAA record and a trip to the playoffs. He does however, have seven returners which includes 1,300 yard season QB Ethan Ediger.
So the furthest south, Liberal. Former defensive coordinator at Tulsa Union High in Oklahoma, Wade Standley is now the big dog at Liberal. Liberal's a team who is typically good. For the past few seasons good turned to not so good. Just 2-2 in the WAC for the past two seasons. The Skins even had the player of the year on their team in Nate Davis, and they still couldn't win? So Standley has brought the Spread...a running option game... and his multiple stacked Defensive. The players are responding well to him and because of that he has found the quirks that make the team tick. First and for most.... the team's speed. Ranked third in the WAC coaches preseason poll, Standley hopes for an even better post season.
Keep looking for updates of these school at the CIK website!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Class 2A Boys Preseason Cross Country Rankings
Seemingly everyone is returning in Class 2A this year on the boys side with 17 of the top 20 from last year’s state meet set to return.
Team Rankings
1. Berean Academy – Last Year: 89 pts – 2nd overall Returners: 78 pts – 1st
There is nothing not to like about this team. All seven runners return from last season’s state team. Not only do all seven return, but they are very strong one through seven. Numbers four through seven all finished within 12 spots of each other and were all in the top 45. Berean does not have a true frontrunner, but its depth cannot be ignored.
2. Stanton County – Last Year: 93 pts – 3rd Returners: 107 – 3rd
Stanton County had a great showing at the state meet last year led by a pair of top 10 finishers in Eric Ruth and Johnathon Carrisco. Both runners have shown great improvement from last year to previous high school years. Ruth was 53rd as a freshman, 14th as a sophomore and fourth last year. Carrisoco was 80th as a freshman and sixth last season. The same is true for its fifth runner with Chris Sierra moving up from 88th as a sophomore to 54th last season. Even the sixth man (fifth fastest return for Stanton County) moved up from 97th place to 81st place in one year. If Stanton County continues its recent tradition of improvements by leaps and bounds then there is no reason it will not be second.
3. Maranatha Academy – Last Year: 86 – 1st Returners: 90 – 2nd
Maranatha has a higher returner score than Stanton County, but top returner Brant Asbell had a tough state meet and got beat in the 3200 by several runners he had no trouble with at the state cross country meet. Stanton County got a great showing out of Ruth and that is what gives it the edge over the defending champion. There is also potentially a lack of depth. A solid five do return for Maranatha though.
4. Minneapolis – Last Year: 140 – 4th Returners: 108 – 4th
I like this team a lot. It took me a while to talk myself out of ranking it in the top three, but there is just too many questions about the back half the team. There is not a better one-two-three punch in the state than Garrett Daugherty, Collin Trickle and Dylan Hackett. They were all three top 15 at 2A state last year. Minneapolis was led by Daugherty and his meteoric rise from 52nd to fifth last year. The four through seven runners are an issue though. If Minneapolis can find two more runners to run sub-19-minutes at the state meet then I think it will be the state champion team this year in 2A.
5. Jackson Heights – Last Year: 168 – 7th Returners: 147 – 6th
Cory Keehn leads Jackson Heights as the returning individual state champion. The one and two are solid, but past that there is not much. Olpe could also be in this spot but it depends on whether Lance Sadler goes out for Cross Country or not this year.
Individual Rankings
1. Cory Keehn – Jackson Heights, Junior
Last season Keehn came got fully back from life threatening health problems and won the cross country title. He took second in the 3200 at the state meet, but has to be the favorite coming back after winning the title last year by 19 seconds.
2. Eric Ruth – Stanton County, Senior
Ruth has turned himself into a runner. He went from 53rd as a freshman, to 14th to fourth last year. Everything came full circle as he outkicked Keehn for the 3200 meter state championship this past spring. If it comes down to a kickers race then my money is on Ruth.
3. Cody Miller – Wathena, Senior
Continuing our theme of improving runners is Miller. He has gone from 30th to 19th and finally to third last year. I think he gets leapfrogged by Ruth, but still holds on for another third place finish. There is just so much experience returning in this class that it will be very interesting to see how things pan out.
4. Brady Johnson – Plainville, Sophomore
Last year Johnson took 12th, but continued to improve in his freshman season as he placed third in the 3200. Improvement like that over the winter for a freshman is impressive.
5. Garrett Daugherty – Minneapolis, Junior
When runners get a taste of the top after being a middle of the pack runner they generally do what they can to stay up there. Daugherty went from 52nd to 5 between his freshman and sophomore years. He has solid training partners up there in little Minneapolis.
Is there a runner or a team you think I omitted? Let me know what you think of the rankings by leaving a comment or e-mailing me at cparker@kwch.com.
Team Rankings
1. Berean Academy – Last Year: 89 pts – 2nd overall Returners: 78 pts – 1st
There is nothing not to like about this team. All seven runners return from last season’s state team. Not only do all seven return, but they are very strong one through seven. Numbers four through seven all finished within 12 spots of each other and were all in the top 45. Berean does not have a true frontrunner, but its depth cannot be ignored.
2. Stanton County – Last Year: 93 pts – 3rd Returners: 107 – 3rd
Stanton County had a great showing at the state meet last year led by a pair of top 10 finishers in Eric Ruth and Johnathon Carrisco. Both runners have shown great improvement from last year to previous high school years. Ruth was 53rd as a freshman, 14th as a sophomore and fourth last year. Carrisoco was 80th as a freshman and sixth last season. The same is true for its fifth runner with Chris Sierra moving up from 88th as a sophomore to 54th last season. Even the sixth man (fifth fastest return for Stanton County) moved up from 97th place to 81st place in one year. If Stanton County continues its recent tradition of improvements by leaps and bounds then there is no reason it will not be second.
3. Maranatha Academy – Last Year: 86 – 1st Returners: 90 – 2nd
Maranatha has a higher returner score than Stanton County, but top returner Brant Asbell had a tough state meet and got beat in the 3200 by several runners he had no trouble with at the state cross country meet. Stanton County got a great showing out of Ruth and that is what gives it the edge over the defending champion. There is also potentially a lack of depth. A solid five do return for Maranatha though.
4. Minneapolis – Last Year: 140 – 4th Returners: 108 – 4th
I like this team a lot. It took me a while to talk myself out of ranking it in the top three, but there is just too many questions about the back half the team. There is not a better one-two-three punch in the state than Garrett Daugherty, Collin Trickle and Dylan Hackett. They were all three top 15 at 2A state last year. Minneapolis was led by Daugherty and his meteoric rise from 52nd to fifth last year. The four through seven runners are an issue though. If Minneapolis can find two more runners to run sub-19-minutes at the state meet then I think it will be the state champion team this year in 2A.
5. Jackson Heights – Last Year: 168 – 7th Returners: 147 – 6th
Cory Keehn leads Jackson Heights as the returning individual state champion. The one and two are solid, but past that there is not much. Olpe could also be in this spot but it depends on whether Lance Sadler goes out for Cross Country or not this year.
Individual Rankings
1. Cory Keehn – Jackson Heights, Junior
Last season Keehn came got fully back from life threatening health problems and won the cross country title. He took second in the 3200 at the state meet, but has to be the favorite coming back after winning the title last year by 19 seconds.
2. Eric Ruth – Stanton County, Senior
Ruth has turned himself into a runner. He went from 53rd as a freshman, to 14th to fourth last year. Everything came full circle as he outkicked Keehn for the 3200 meter state championship this past spring. If it comes down to a kickers race then my money is on Ruth.
3. Cody Miller – Wathena, Senior
Continuing our theme of improving runners is Miller. He has gone from 30th to 19th and finally to third last year. I think he gets leapfrogged by Ruth, but still holds on for another third place finish. There is just so much experience returning in this class that it will be very interesting to see how things pan out.
4. Brady Johnson – Plainville, Sophomore
Last year Johnson took 12th, but continued to improve in his freshman season as he placed third in the 3200. Improvement like that over the winter for a freshman is impressive.
5. Garrett Daugherty – Minneapolis, Junior
When runners get a taste of the top after being a middle of the pack runner they generally do what they can to stay up there. Daugherty went from 52nd to 5 between his freshman and sophomore years. He has solid training partners up there in little Minneapolis.
Is there a runner or a team you think I omitted? Let me know what you think of the rankings by leaving a comment or e-mailing me at cparker@kwch.com.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Class 3A Preseason Girls Cross Country Rankings
The 3A Girls rankings were by far the toughest to do. The upper crust is easy, but after number three there is definitely a fall off. Freshmen will have a bigger impact in this class than any other. Four freshmen finished in the top 20 last year. Several teams are only one newcomer away from being in the top five come October.
Team Rankings
1. Riley County – Last year’s score and place: 52 – 2nd
Riley County has been second or first in each of the last five years at state. Belle Plaine had a Cinderella season last year and knocked it off the top after a three year reign, but Belle Plaine has come back down to earth while Riley County just reloads. Its returning score of 53 is 18 points better than the second place team on this list. I also will not be surprised to see Riley County churn out another star freshman. Last season its top three runners at state were all freshmen. There is virtually no way Riley County loses if it returns even just four of its five. Programs like this always have backups to turn to.
2. Southeast of Saline – Last year: 115 – 3rd
Southeast of Saline returns a pack and the big difference between it and the number three team on this list is at the number five spot. Last year Southeast of Saline’s fifth returner finished ahead of both Remington’s four and five. The lack of a front runner makes it very vulnerable though.
3. Remington – Last year: 120 – 4
Morgan Trible finished sixth as a sophomore and is the second fastest returner, so Remington has the frontrunner to compete. Its sixth runner last year finished 75th overall and will need to step up closer to the fourth runner if Remington is to beat Southeast of Saline and get second.
4. Wichita Collegiate – Did not qualify
Yes, you read that right. I am putting Collegiate as a top five team in 3A this year after not fielding a team last season. The reasons for this are threefold. First, 3A is extremely weak this season. Graduation ravaged its ranks and there will be a major fall off after three teams where anyone can win it. Second, the Newlin twins (Maggie and Ellie) showed great improvement in track. Maggie was only 10 seconds behind 28th place finisher from the state cross country meet Camille Christensen at the MCAA league meet. Her sister is capable of running with her. Both have trained this summer and are top 25 capable in a weak field. Both twins did fall off at the state meet. The third factor is Megan Duggins. Duggins fell off the map due to an injury that derailed her entire sophomore campaign in cross country and most of her track season. She was well enough at state track to bust out a 2:24 and give Amanda Callaway from Belle Plaine all she wanted to handle for 600 meters. Remember, as a freshman Duggins beat Callaway at the state track meet when she finished eighth and Callaway was 9th. That second place finish in the 800 proved she still has it. Collegiate will field a team this year and their four and five are decently solid from what I have heard.
5. Kansas City Christian – 187 – 6th
You probably expected to see the defending state champion Belle Plaine Dragons here, but I do not think they will even qualify as a team for the state meet. Taylor Scott, Ivy Wellman and Amelia Hunt all have the ability to lead a team, but Belle Plain likely cannot field a team unless some newcomers step in. Belle Plaine only raced six girls at the regional and state meets last year. Losing two top 10 performers (including the state champion) will likely be too much to overcome. Kansas City Christian has a solid core of returners, but no frontrunners. Its five scored 50 team points last year and will have to step up along with an unknown runner.
Individual Rankings
1. Rebecca Strecker – Ellinwood, Sophomore
She did not run cross country last year, but showed up on the track and took second in the 3200 at the state track meet. Her 11:52 was 40 seconds faster than any other returning runner. I don’t know if she is going to run cross country, but if she does she will be the immediate favorite.
2. Megan Duggins – Collegiate, Junior
I am going out on a limb with my top two runners, but wrap your mind around this. Duggins was the MCAA Cross Country champion by 41 seconds with a time of 16:44 in the 4k. She did it off of virtually no training as she recovered from an injury. Duggins will be a force to be reckoned with this year.
3. Kimberly Smith – Northern Heights, sophomore
Smith stepped up in her first season and went toe-to-toe at the state cross country meet with Norton’s Laura Lee Baird, who is now running at Kansas State. She lost by five seconds, but the experience is there.
4. Karly Ruggle – Riley County, Freshman
Ruggle did not have a great state track meet, but Riley County will put at least one runner in the top five and Ruggle is the top returner. Teammates Emily Collins or Kelly Thomson (also only sophomores) could easily be in this spot as well.
5. A newcomer you have not heard much about – School: ??
Class 3A is so wide open this year that somebody is going to burst onto the XC scene and make a top five in her first season. I cannot venture a guess as to who yet, but it will be somebody. Have any of you heard what freshman/new girls will make some noise in 3A? Let me know because I know some of you have an idea!
You can contact me by emailing to cparker@kwch.com or leaving a comment. Come back tomorrow for more rankings.
Team Rankings
1. Riley County – Last year’s score and place: 52 – 2nd
Riley County has been second or first in each of the last five years at state. Belle Plaine had a Cinderella season last year and knocked it off the top after a three year reign, but Belle Plaine has come back down to earth while Riley County just reloads. Its returning score of 53 is 18 points better than the second place team on this list. I also will not be surprised to see Riley County churn out another star freshman. Last season its top three runners at state were all freshmen. There is virtually no way Riley County loses if it returns even just four of its five. Programs like this always have backups to turn to.
2. Southeast of Saline – Last year: 115 – 3rd
Southeast of Saline returns a pack and the big difference between it and the number three team on this list is at the number five spot. Last year Southeast of Saline’s fifth returner finished ahead of both Remington’s four and five. The lack of a front runner makes it very vulnerable though.
3. Remington – Last year: 120 – 4
Morgan Trible finished sixth as a sophomore and is the second fastest returner, so Remington has the frontrunner to compete. Its sixth runner last year finished 75th overall and will need to step up closer to the fourth runner if Remington is to beat Southeast of Saline and get second.
4. Wichita Collegiate – Did not qualify
Yes, you read that right. I am putting Collegiate as a top five team in 3A this year after not fielding a team last season. The reasons for this are threefold. First, 3A is extremely weak this season. Graduation ravaged its ranks and there will be a major fall off after three teams where anyone can win it. Second, the Newlin twins (Maggie and Ellie) showed great improvement in track. Maggie was only 10 seconds behind 28th place finisher from the state cross country meet Camille Christensen at the MCAA league meet. Her sister is capable of running with her. Both have trained this summer and are top 25 capable in a weak field. Both twins did fall off at the state meet. The third factor is Megan Duggins. Duggins fell off the map due to an injury that derailed her entire sophomore campaign in cross country and most of her track season. She was well enough at state track to bust out a 2:24 and give Amanda Callaway from Belle Plaine all she wanted to handle for 600 meters. Remember, as a freshman Duggins beat Callaway at the state track meet when she finished eighth and Callaway was 9th. That second place finish in the 800 proved she still has it. Collegiate will field a team this year and their four and five are decently solid from what I have heard.
5. Kansas City Christian – 187 – 6th
You probably expected to see the defending state champion Belle Plaine Dragons here, but I do not think they will even qualify as a team for the state meet. Taylor Scott, Ivy Wellman and Amelia Hunt all have the ability to lead a team, but Belle Plain likely cannot field a team unless some newcomers step in. Belle Plaine only raced six girls at the regional and state meets last year. Losing two top 10 performers (including the state champion) will likely be too much to overcome. Kansas City Christian has a solid core of returners, but no frontrunners. Its five scored 50 team points last year and will have to step up along with an unknown runner.
Individual Rankings
1. Rebecca Strecker – Ellinwood, Sophomore
She did not run cross country last year, but showed up on the track and took second in the 3200 at the state track meet. Her 11:52 was 40 seconds faster than any other returning runner. I don’t know if she is going to run cross country, but if she does she will be the immediate favorite.
2. Megan Duggins – Collegiate, Junior
I am going out on a limb with my top two runners, but wrap your mind around this. Duggins was the MCAA Cross Country champion by 41 seconds with a time of 16:44 in the 4k. She did it off of virtually no training as she recovered from an injury. Duggins will be a force to be reckoned with this year.
3. Kimberly Smith – Northern Heights, sophomore
Smith stepped up in her first season and went toe-to-toe at the state cross country meet with Norton’s Laura Lee Baird, who is now running at Kansas State. She lost by five seconds, but the experience is there.
4. Karly Ruggle – Riley County, Freshman
Ruggle did not have a great state track meet, but Riley County will put at least one runner in the top five and Ruggle is the top returner. Teammates Emily Collins or Kelly Thomson (also only sophomores) could easily be in this spot as well.
5. A newcomer you have not heard much about – School: ??
Class 3A is so wide open this year that somebody is going to burst onto the XC scene and make a top five in her first season. I cannot venture a guess as to who yet, but it will be somebody. Have any of you heard what freshman/new girls will make some noise in 3A? Let me know because I know some of you have an idea!
You can contact me by emailing to cparker@kwch.com or leaving a comment. Come back tomorrow for more rankings.
Class 2A Girls Preseason Cross Country Rankings
Class 2A Girls is an absolute mess this year with 30-percent of the girls who stepped to the line at the state cross country meet last season leaving for college. The team rankings start out where they ended in 2006 and 2007.
Team Rankings
1. Bennington - Last Year Score and Place: 2nd – 92 points
This one is the easy call. Seven girls return to a traditionally powerful cross country program (two of the last three titles belong to Bennington). Bennington has everything you would like to see out of a top team. Jillian Stratman (second last season and fifth as a sophomore) provides stability at the top. Kaitlyn Wolf was a top 20 finisher last season at 14th overall. Jordanne Ehrhart and Sadie Gantovoort are to top returning three and four runners in the state as well. Add in the bad taste for having a two-year winning streak snapped and that is a formula for a dominant Bennington squad.
2. Clifton-Clyde – Last Year: 7th – 156
The next two teams on this list also return a full scoring team of five runners. Clifton-Clyde has a score of 108 if you just score the returners, they just barely edged by Republic County’s 107 returner score. I give the edge to Clyde because of the better frontrunners it has returning Karly Van Campen and Kenzie George were both top ten finishers last season. These two teams are almost mirrors of each other though.
3. Republic County – Last Year: 3rd – 98 points
Republic County does have frontrunners; they just are not as good as what Clifton-Clyde has to offer. Jaclyn Sheets and Kelsey Keefer finished 12th and 13th last season as individuals. This race is really too close to call.
4. Shawnee Maranatha Academy – Last Year: 1st – 62 points
After the top three it gets tough. Maranatha won last season’s title and was runner-up to Bennington in the two years previous. It gets this ranking from me out of pure respect for what the program has produced in the last several years. From the success of the girls teams to Zach Zarda setting the 2A 3200-meter record in 2008, there has been a lot of success that is no accident and a product of good coaching. Only three girls return, but Bethany Zarda is a good place to start as she took fifth last year. Class 2A is wide open and if Maranatha can field a decent four and five then it could easily remain in the top five after losing four girls (numbers one, three, four and six to be exact) from last season’s championship team.
5. Olpe – Last Year: 9th – 193 points
Frontrunners are the story in this class and this choice came down to Olpe and Berean Academy. Defending champion Katelyn Henderson is the difference. Berean’s top girl finished 46th last season and is only 33rd fastest returner. No top five team regardless of class or gender had a number one runner outside of the top 25 last year. It is not impossible, but it is tough to get a top five finish without a solid number one runner. Berean runs a great pack, but it will likely just not be enough. Olpe is another program with tradition as it boasts two girls champions in the last two years (Henderson and Sharon Zeller was 1A champion in 2007), it also has three team championships in the last five years (all 1A championships). With numbers four and five on this list I am going with the thought that “tradition never graduates.”
Individual Rankings
1. Katelyn Henderson – Olpe, Junior
Henderson is a stud and should be the favorite to win this year and next. She watched teammate Sharon Zeller win a championship in 1A when she was a freshman, and then she picked up right where Zeller left off in class 2A. Henderson was fourth as a freshman and has shown great progression as a runner. She also has a track 3200-meter championship to her credit with a runner-up in the 1600 this past spring.
2. Jillian Stratman – Bennington, Senior
Stratman is another runner that has only gotten better as her running career has gone on. She took 16th as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and second last season. Unfortunately, Henderson stands in her way. She did beat Henderson in the 800 in track, but that was after Henderson had already won the 3200 and beat Stratman by 10 seconds in the 1600. Stratman is a clear candidate to finish second again, but I don’t think Henderson will relinquish the top spot.
3. Bethany Zarda - Shawnee Maranatha Academy, Senior
Keeping up with the theme of improving ladies, Zarda is the poster girl for improvement. She did not run at the state meet as a freshman, was 26th her sophomore year and stepped up with a seventh place finish her last year. I am not sure if she has any relation to Zach Zarda, but if she is then the pedigree is there to run fast. She was fourth last spring in the 1600.
4. Karly Van Campen – Clifton-Clyde, Junior
Van Campen took fourth last year and continued taking the momentum into track where she was third in the 3200. The top Clifton-Clyde harrier was seventh as a freshman, but the three ladies in front of her are solid as well.
5. Lauren Carter – Elkhart, sophomore
If Carter can continue to improve then by her senior year she should have no problem locking up a title, but that championship year is still a couple away. She was the fastest freshman in 2A last year by 46 seconds. Carter proved her ability was not a fluke by taking fifth in the 3200 on the track as well.
As always and comments or suggestions leave a comment or contact me at cparker@kwch.com.
I’m about to cheer for Oklahoma?
What I am about to write is going to be painful. It may cause me to lose every friend I’ve ever had, and be disowned from my family.
I am a life-long Kansas State University fan. I have two uncles who are proud graduates of K-State, and I myself was enrolled.
And so, the University of Oklahoma has not been a favorite team of mine through the years, to say the least.
But, with all the athletes I have been following in Kansas high schools now putting on Oklahoma uniforms, I will have to swallow my pride and cheer for the Sooners.
This will be a world of uncharted territory for me.
Perhaps the most recognizable Kansas high school star heading to Oklahoma is Blake Bell. All eyes will be on the Carroll senior quarterback and OU commit this year. Last year as a junior, Bell obliterated defenses, completing over 63 percent of his passes for 3,240 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Add in 336 yards rushing with a 3.7 yard average and 12 rushing touchdowns, and you have the number two-ranked quarterback in the country.
Bell is only one of two returning starters on Carroll’s offense, but his presence alone puts the Golden Eagles in the discussion at the top of the GWAL this year with Heights, and Northwest.
Gone are the receivers that picked up the vast majority of Bell’s passing yardage last year. So, this year’s crop of receivers better get ready, because the ball will be on target. 63 percent is a number achieved only with great decision making, combined with accurate execution.
On the hardwood this winter, look out for recent Derby graduate, and now OU basketball player Joanna McFarland. McFarland left a huge mark on the Derby record books, with school records in single game scoring (47), season scoring (587) and career points (1,818).
If you want to know exactly what McFarland is capable of, ask the Wichita Southeast Golden Buffalos. In a game against Southeast last year, McFarland exploded for a 47-point, 31-rebound performance.
47 points and 31 rebounds?
Really?
I did a spit-take the first time I heard those numbers. Oklahoma lost the Paris sisters off last year’s Final Four team, but made a big addition to the team for the next four years with McFarland.
McFarland’s brother Jacob, a K-State engineering student, feels the full force of this rooting interest dilemma, and agreed whole-heartedly when I explained my discomfort with rooting for the Sooners to Joanna. McFarland’s older sister Jessica played basketball for K-State from 2002 to 2006. Middle sister Jackie started her Big XII basketball career at Colorado in 2004.
Keeping things in the winter season, we move on to the handful of Kansans that joined an OU wrestling recruiting class ranked in the top three in two different national rankings.
Tyler Caldwell, who will redshirt in his freshman year at OU, along with Goddard teammate Boaz Beard, put themselves in the record book last year, becoming the only teammates to graduate as four-time state champions.
Caldwell is the 43rd-ranked wrestler in the country and is the eighth-best wrestler in the country at 160 pounds.
Caldwell’s roommate at OU, Wichita Heights wrestler Kendrick Maple, finished his career as a Falcon with a perfect 81-0 record and two state championships in his junior and senior years.
Wrestling is not nearly as easy as Maple made it look at last season’s state tournament. Every one of his matches was won by fall, or technical fall, including a technical fall in 2:17 of the championship match.
Kyle Detmer completes the Kansas trio of OU wrestlers. After being upset in the state finals two years ago, Detmer wore the Bishop Carroll singlet with a vengeance last year. Detmer cruised to a 5A state title at 160 pounds and left an impressive wake of destruction, including a win over 2008 Cadet Greco National Champion Chase Nelson in the finals of the Carroll tournament.
This venture into OU sports will be a difficult one for me, but it is not a venture of obligation. Despite my disdain, OU has one of the premier athletic departments in the country. The Sooners do not accept anything but the best athletes in their programs. These Kansans have earned their spots at OU, and we will all be extremely proud of them, and the way they have represented our state.
Even if it kills us.
I am a life-long Kansas State University fan. I have two uncles who are proud graduates of K-State, and I myself was enrolled.
And so, the University of Oklahoma has not been a favorite team of mine through the years, to say the least.
But, with all the athletes I have been following in Kansas high schools now putting on Oklahoma uniforms, I will have to swallow my pride and cheer for the Sooners.
This will be a world of uncharted territory for me.
Perhaps the most recognizable Kansas high school star heading to Oklahoma is Blake Bell. All eyes will be on the Carroll senior quarterback and OU commit this year. Last year as a junior, Bell obliterated defenses, completing over 63 percent of his passes for 3,240 yards and 37 touchdowns.
Add in 336 yards rushing with a 3.7 yard average and 12 rushing touchdowns, and you have the number two-ranked quarterback in the country.
Bell is only one of two returning starters on Carroll’s offense, but his presence alone puts the Golden Eagles in the discussion at the top of the GWAL this year with Heights, and Northwest.
Gone are the receivers that picked up the vast majority of Bell’s passing yardage last year. So, this year’s crop of receivers better get ready, because the ball will be on target. 63 percent is a number achieved only with great decision making, combined with accurate execution.
On the hardwood this winter, look out for recent Derby graduate, and now OU basketball player Joanna McFarland. McFarland left a huge mark on the Derby record books, with school records in single game scoring (47), season scoring (587) and career points (1,818).
If you want to know exactly what McFarland is capable of, ask the Wichita Southeast Golden Buffalos. In a game against Southeast last year, McFarland exploded for a 47-point, 31-rebound performance.
47 points and 31 rebounds?
Really?
I did a spit-take the first time I heard those numbers. Oklahoma lost the Paris sisters off last year’s Final Four team, but made a big addition to the team for the next four years with McFarland.
McFarland’s brother Jacob, a K-State engineering student, feels the full force of this rooting interest dilemma, and agreed whole-heartedly when I explained my discomfort with rooting for the Sooners to Joanna. McFarland’s older sister Jessica played basketball for K-State from 2002 to 2006. Middle sister Jackie started her Big XII basketball career at Colorado in 2004.
Keeping things in the winter season, we move on to the handful of Kansans that joined an OU wrestling recruiting class ranked in the top three in two different national rankings.
Tyler Caldwell, who will redshirt in his freshman year at OU, along with Goddard teammate Boaz Beard, put themselves in the record book last year, becoming the only teammates to graduate as four-time state champions.
Caldwell is the 43rd-ranked wrestler in the country and is the eighth-best wrestler in the country at 160 pounds.
Caldwell’s roommate at OU, Wichita Heights wrestler Kendrick Maple, finished his career as a Falcon with a perfect 81-0 record and two state championships in his junior and senior years.
Wrestling is not nearly as easy as Maple made it look at last season’s state tournament. Every one of his matches was won by fall, or technical fall, including a technical fall in 2:17 of the championship match.
Kyle Detmer completes the Kansas trio of OU wrestlers. After being upset in the state finals two years ago, Detmer wore the Bishop Carroll singlet with a vengeance last year. Detmer cruised to a 5A state title at 160 pounds and left an impressive wake of destruction, including a win over 2008 Cadet Greco National Champion Chase Nelson in the finals of the Carroll tournament.
This venture into OU sports will be a difficult one for me, but it is not a venture of obligation. Despite my disdain, OU has one of the premier athletic departments in the country. The Sooners do not accept anything but the best athletes in their programs. These Kansans have earned their spots at OU, and we will all be extremely proud of them, and the way they have represented our state.
Even if it kills us.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
5A Girls Preseason Cross Country Rankings
Class 5A is going to be plain fun to watch this year with several great storylines already on the table. Lets jump right into the team rankings.
Team Rankings
1. St. Thomas Aquinas – Last Year’s Score and Place: 74 - 1st Returners: 74 – 1st
This is a close one. There are a ton of returners in 5A and there will be a definite separation between the top six or seven teams and the rest of the field. Aquinas was the champion last season and this year should be no different with four top 25 runners returning from last year’s championship team. Leading the pack, like she has for three years, will be senior Ashley Washburn. Washburn is a three-time runner-up in her time at Aquinas. Amanda Pigott and Betsy Donahue are both in the top 20 returning runners.
2. Kapaun Mt. Carmel – Last Year: 84-2nd Scoring Returners: 129-3rd
Don’t be fooled by the low returner score. Katie Hand took last as a sophomore last season, but is top seven capable if she runs to her abilities. Head-to-head last year she beat the likes of Great Bend’s Rubi Torres (fifth at 5A state XC), Kristen Sponsel of Carroll (14th at 5A state) and Molly Milbourn (Class 4A State XC Champion). Hand has the ability to give the Crusaders a legitimate number two runner. Mackenzie Maki returns and there is no reason to doubt that she could be the champion once again. Her biggest competition likely will come from a freshman (more on that later). The difference is going to be all on Caroline Kastor. Kastor is a soccer star for the Crusaders and ran well for Kapaun through the Oklahoma State Jamboree, but then disappeared from results. I am not sure why that happened, but if she comes back then watch out. Kastor ran only six seconds back of Ark City’s Valerie Bland (6th at 5A state) early last season. Then at OSU she was 34th out of 163 with a time of 12:29 for the two-mile. That is three girls with top 10 potential. If Maki, Hand and Kastor all step to the line at state this year, the Crusaders will win the title, but until the uncertainties are answered the defending champs get the nod.
3. Bishop Carroll – Last Year: 165 – 5th Scoring Returners – (Only four return)
Kaelyn Balch. Get to know the name if you are a fan of running in the state of Kansas. Balch stepped to the line at the River Run in Wichita last year close to the end of her eighth grade year and ran a 36:36 10 kilometer race to take 13th overall. That is 5:53 per mile for a 14-year-old girl. Over 2,000 runners stepped to the line for the River Run and Balch finished before all but 12 of them. That same pace converts out to a 14:32 pace for the 4-kilometer distance. If Balch can hold her 10k pace from May this Halloween, then she will at the least be the runner-up (Maki won with a time of 15:12). Carroll always has a solid team and adding a runner like Balch gives them the edge over the next team on this list. The top four from last season’s state team return, including 14th place finisher Kristen Sponsel.
4. Great Bend – Last Year: 102-2nd Scoring Returners: 78-2nd
Great Bend returns all seven from last season’s third place team. It returns a front runner in Rubi Torres (fifth place last season). There is a lot to like about this team, but its lack of performance on the track this spring scares me. Great Bend did not qualify a single girl for state track in a distance event. Torres did play soccer last spring and number four runner Erin Sullivan did swim team instead and Heilman did track, but failed to make state in the mile. For the other four girls they are unaccounted for. If the girls are in shape and healthy then they will battle Carroll, but I still like Carroll’s supporting cast better this season even though Great Bend is proven.
5. Emporia – Last Year: 170 – 7th Scoring Returners: 136 – 4th
Emporia’s story is much the same as Great Bend. A host of young girls return from last season’s team (the top six to be exact). Jenna Stanbrough is back after her 11th place finish last season. She had a solid season on the track with showings in the 800 and 1600 at the 5A state meet.
Individual Rankings
1. Mackenzie Maki – Kapaun, Junior
This season is going to be fun to watch with Balch and Maki going head-to-head five times before region. They will likely meet up seven total times. Maki gets the nod as the defending state champion and after her stellar performance on the track this last spring.
2. Kaelyn Balch – Carroll, Freshman
Some will say Balch is too unproven to get this high of a rank, but 36:36 in the 10k speaks for itself. To put that in perspective, she was less than a minute slower than two runners who did the 10k at the USA National Championships in late June. Those ladies are professional runners who were peaked and running on the track. Her and Maki should develop a great rivalry.
3. Ashley Washburn – Aquinas, Senior
She has never been here before with her three consecutive second place finishes, but Washburn will just be a victim of bad timing with young runners transferring and moving into high school in her latter years of high school.
4. Paige Miller – Pittsburg, Senior
Yes you read that right, Miller is down in Pittsburg now. She transferred after running at Valley Center for her first three years. She was third last season and I don’t see any reason that trend does not continue.
5. Brooke Vining – Valley Center, Senior
This is the only way that Miller and Vining can finish their high school careers. They have been mentioned in the same breath for three years, but now are at separate schools. The state cross country meet will be the first time they meet and you can bet the fierce rivals will be amped up to race each other one more time at Rim Rock.
What class ranking do you want to see next? Let me know by leaving a comment or sending an e-mail to cparker@kwch.com.
Team Rankings
1. St. Thomas Aquinas – Last Year’s Score and Place: 74 - 1st Returners: 74 – 1st
This is a close one. There are a ton of returners in 5A and there will be a definite separation between the top six or seven teams and the rest of the field. Aquinas was the champion last season and this year should be no different with four top 25 runners returning from last year’s championship team. Leading the pack, like she has for three years, will be senior Ashley Washburn. Washburn is a three-time runner-up in her time at Aquinas. Amanda Pigott and Betsy Donahue are both in the top 20 returning runners.
2. Kapaun Mt. Carmel – Last Year: 84-2nd Scoring Returners: 129-3rd
Don’t be fooled by the low returner score. Katie Hand took last as a sophomore last season, but is top seven capable if she runs to her abilities. Head-to-head last year she beat the likes of Great Bend’s Rubi Torres (fifth at 5A state XC), Kristen Sponsel of Carroll (14th at 5A state) and Molly Milbourn (Class 4A State XC Champion). Hand has the ability to give the Crusaders a legitimate number two runner. Mackenzie Maki returns and there is no reason to doubt that she could be the champion once again. Her biggest competition likely will come from a freshman (more on that later). The difference is going to be all on Caroline Kastor. Kastor is a soccer star for the Crusaders and ran well for Kapaun through the Oklahoma State Jamboree, but then disappeared from results. I am not sure why that happened, but if she comes back then watch out. Kastor ran only six seconds back of Ark City’s Valerie Bland (6th at 5A state) early last season. Then at OSU she was 34th out of 163 with a time of 12:29 for the two-mile. That is three girls with top 10 potential. If Maki, Hand and Kastor all step to the line at state this year, the Crusaders will win the title, but until the uncertainties are answered the defending champs get the nod.
3. Bishop Carroll – Last Year: 165 – 5th Scoring Returners – (Only four return)
Kaelyn Balch. Get to know the name if you are a fan of running in the state of Kansas. Balch stepped to the line at the River Run in Wichita last year close to the end of her eighth grade year and ran a 36:36 10 kilometer race to take 13th overall. That is 5:53 per mile for a 14-year-old girl. Over 2,000 runners stepped to the line for the River Run and Balch finished before all but 12 of them. That same pace converts out to a 14:32 pace for the 4-kilometer distance. If Balch can hold her 10k pace from May this Halloween, then she will at the least be the runner-up (Maki won with a time of 15:12). Carroll always has a solid team and adding a runner like Balch gives them the edge over the next team on this list. The top four from last season’s state team return, including 14th place finisher Kristen Sponsel.
4. Great Bend – Last Year: 102-2nd Scoring Returners: 78-2nd
Great Bend returns all seven from last season’s third place team. It returns a front runner in Rubi Torres (fifth place last season). There is a lot to like about this team, but its lack of performance on the track this spring scares me. Great Bend did not qualify a single girl for state track in a distance event. Torres did play soccer last spring and number four runner Erin Sullivan did swim team instead and Heilman did track, but failed to make state in the mile. For the other four girls they are unaccounted for. If the girls are in shape and healthy then they will battle Carroll, but I still like Carroll’s supporting cast better this season even though Great Bend is proven.
5. Emporia – Last Year: 170 – 7th Scoring Returners: 136 – 4th
Emporia’s story is much the same as Great Bend. A host of young girls return from last season’s team (the top six to be exact). Jenna Stanbrough is back after her 11th place finish last season. She had a solid season on the track with showings in the 800 and 1600 at the 5A state meet.
Individual Rankings
1. Mackenzie Maki – Kapaun, Junior
This season is going to be fun to watch with Balch and Maki going head-to-head five times before region. They will likely meet up seven total times. Maki gets the nod as the defending state champion and after her stellar performance on the track this last spring.
2. Kaelyn Balch – Carroll, Freshman
Some will say Balch is too unproven to get this high of a rank, but 36:36 in the 10k speaks for itself. To put that in perspective, she was less than a minute slower than two runners who did the 10k at the USA National Championships in late June. Those ladies are professional runners who were peaked and running on the track. Her and Maki should develop a great rivalry.
3. Ashley Washburn – Aquinas, Senior
She has never been here before with her three consecutive second place finishes, but Washburn will just be a victim of bad timing with young runners transferring and moving into high school in her latter years of high school.
4. Paige Miller – Pittsburg, Senior
Yes you read that right, Miller is down in Pittsburg now. She transferred after running at Valley Center for her first three years. She was third last season and I don’t see any reason that trend does not continue.
5. Brooke Vining – Valley Center, Senior
This is the only way that Miller and Vining can finish their high school careers. They have been mentioned in the same breath for three years, but now are at separate schools. The state cross country meet will be the first time they meet and you can bet the fierce rivals will be amped up to race each other one more time at Rim Rock.
What class ranking do you want to see next? Let me know by leaving a comment or sending an e-mail to cparker@kwch.com.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
6A Girls Cross Country Preseason rankings
This season, barring injury or nonparticipation, 74 of the girls who stepped to the start line at last season’s state meet will be back racing this fall. Eleven of the 12 teams that qualified for state last year return at least five runners.
As always freshmen will play a huge role in how this season shakes out (six freshmen placed in the top 15 at state last fall), but these rankings are based on what teams have coming back and how the track season went.
TEAM RANKINGS
1. Derby: Last year’s Score and Place: 86 - 1st Scoring only Returners: 98 - 1st
This season’s preseason rankings start where last season’s ended, with Derby on top. The Panthers pulled off a huge upset by becoming the first school outside of Northeastern Kansas to win a 6A girls cross country title. Tenth place finisher Laura Burke has moved on to Wichita State, but numbers two through six return. When I broke out only returners from last year’s meet, Derby is still the champion with 98 points based on only returners. Super sophomores Emily Hornbeck and Amber Green should return. Last fall they placed 11th and 12th respectively at the state meet. Hornbeck surprisingly failed to qualify for the state track meet as an individual thanks to a brutal regional meet where her 11:33 in the 3200 was not good enough to be in the top four and qualify for state. That same time a week later would have been good enough for fourth at the state meet. Her teammate Green finished 10th in the 1600 last spring at the state meet. Tori Lewis, Valerie Nielson and Brenna Kleman all should also return.
2. Blue Valley Northwest – Last Year: 157 – 7th Returners: 128 – 3rd
Blue Valley Northwest is one of the perennial 6A powers that slipped a little last year. After winning in 2007, the graduation of Laura Roxberg was felt and Northwest slipped to seventh. They return their 1-2-4-5-6 runners including top 25 finishers Catie Miller and Anna Roxberg. Roxberg slipped to 24th overall last year after a 10th place finish on the state championship team.
3. Manhattan – Last Year: 106 - 2nd Returners: 149 – 6th
Much like Blue Valley Northwest, Manhattan gets this high of a ranking based on tradition. Marley Crusch and Brooke Grieger are gone, but three consecutive second place finishes speak for themselves. Brianna Heikkinen showed she has the capability to be an elite runner as she finished 15th last year as a freshman. She also had an excellent spring finishing fifth in the 3200 and 12th in the 1600 at the state track meet. The 5-6-7 runners will have to step up or a freshman will have to burst onto the scene, but Manhattan has the tradition to hold in the top three.
4. Shawnee Mission South – Last Year: 127 – 5th Returners: 103 – 2nd
Shawnee Mission South returns an impressive pack only losing its number four to graduation from last year’s team. The knock on this team will be a lack of a front runner. Hayley Cline, Jordyn Smith and Allie Antrim provide a solid pack up front. A lackluster spring on the track is another worry. Shawnee Mission South did not qualify any of its ladies from the cross country team for the state track meet in a distance event.
5. Topeka Washburn Rural – Last Year: 167 – 8th Returners: 148 – 5
Washburn Rural is my darkhorse team. They are young (three of last season’s top four were freshmen). They have now experienced number one in Avery Clifton to lead them. They got valuable experience at last season’s state cross country meet. Things are heading in the right direction with the Junior Blues. Clifton has set herself apart in class 6A as she dominated both track on the track last spring after improving all through her cross country season. Aparna Dasraju, Rachel Graf and Alyssa Golz should return to be a solid group of sophomores. Like Shawnee Mission South, Washburn Rural did not make much noise at the state track meet outside of superstar Clifton, but I like this team a lot if all the girls return.
Individual Rankings
1. Avery Clifton – Senior, Topeka Washburn Rural
Clifton has become a dominant force in the Kansas XC scene and even has potential to make noise nationally. She has the ninth fastest 3200-meter time in Kansas history with her 10:40 performance last spring. The Junior Blue senior will dominate Rim Rock this year.
2. Danielle Walker – Senior, Maize
Walker has continued to steadily improve as she has become more focused on distance. This last spring she dropped the 400 at state track to focus on the 800-1600 double. It paid off in the form of a gold in the 800 and a silver (two seconds behind Clifton) in the 1600. Walker has the speed and there is no doubt about that, so I like her just slightly over the next runner on this list due to that speed.
3. Lisa Imgrund – Senior, Shawnee Mission Northwest
Imgrund is a very experienced runner with back-to-back top five finishes at the state cross country meet. The Shawnee Mission Northwest senior was third as a sophomore and fourth last year. She took second in the 3200 (37 seconds behind Clifton) last spring and was fifth in the 1600.
4. Emily Hornbeck – Sophomore, Derby
Now is when it gets a little harder. Hornbeck finished 11th as a freshman and failed to qualify for the state track meet as an individual last spring. Her 11:33 at regional would have stood up well at the following weekend’s state track meet. Hornbeck should be hungry after a disappointing finish to her freshman track season.
5. Brianna Heikkinen – Sophomore, Manhattan
Heikkinen will lead a very strong program this year. She got a chance to watch senior Marley Crusch lead the pack last season, but now it is her time if Manhattan is going to stay in the top three at state. Heikkinen finshed fifth in the 3200 and 12th in the 1600 at last spring’s state track meet.
There you guys have it. My 6A Girls team and individual rankings. Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at cparker@kwch.com. If you like these type of rankings I will do the same for all of the other classifications for both boys and girls.
As always freshmen will play a huge role in how this season shakes out (six freshmen placed in the top 15 at state last fall), but these rankings are based on what teams have coming back and how the track season went.
TEAM RANKINGS
1. Derby: Last year’s Score and Place: 86 - 1st Scoring only Returners: 98 - 1st
This season’s preseason rankings start where last season’s ended, with Derby on top. The Panthers pulled off a huge upset by becoming the first school outside of Northeastern Kansas to win a 6A girls cross country title. Tenth place finisher Laura Burke has moved on to Wichita State, but numbers two through six return. When I broke out only returners from last year’s meet, Derby is still the champion with 98 points based on only returners. Super sophomores Emily Hornbeck and Amber Green should return. Last fall they placed 11th and 12th respectively at the state meet. Hornbeck surprisingly failed to qualify for the state track meet as an individual thanks to a brutal regional meet where her 11:33 in the 3200 was not good enough to be in the top four and qualify for state. That same time a week later would have been good enough for fourth at the state meet. Her teammate Green finished 10th in the 1600 last spring at the state meet. Tori Lewis, Valerie Nielson and Brenna Kleman all should also return.
2. Blue Valley Northwest – Last Year: 157 – 7th Returners: 128 – 3rd
Blue Valley Northwest is one of the perennial 6A powers that slipped a little last year. After winning in 2007, the graduation of Laura Roxberg was felt and Northwest slipped to seventh. They return their 1-2-4-5-6 runners including top 25 finishers Catie Miller and Anna Roxberg. Roxberg slipped to 24th overall last year after a 10th place finish on the state championship team.
3. Manhattan – Last Year: 106 - 2nd Returners: 149 – 6th
Much like Blue Valley Northwest, Manhattan gets this high of a ranking based on tradition. Marley Crusch and Brooke Grieger are gone, but three consecutive second place finishes speak for themselves. Brianna Heikkinen showed she has the capability to be an elite runner as she finished 15th last year as a freshman. She also had an excellent spring finishing fifth in the 3200 and 12th in the 1600 at the state track meet. The 5-6-7 runners will have to step up or a freshman will have to burst onto the scene, but Manhattan has the tradition to hold in the top three.
4. Shawnee Mission South – Last Year: 127 – 5th Returners: 103 – 2nd
Shawnee Mission South returns an impressive pack only losing its number four to graduation from last year’s team. The knock on this team will be a lack of a front runner. Hayley Cline, Jordyn Smith and Allie Antrim provide a solid pack up front. A lackluster spring on the track is another worry. Shawnee Mission South did not qualify any of its ladies from the cross country team for the state track meet in a distance event.
5. Topeka Washburn Rural – Last Year: 167 – 8th Returners: 148 – 5
Washburn Rural is my darkhorse team. They are young (three of last season’s top four were freshmen). They have now experienced number one in Avery Clifton to lead them. They got valuable experience at last season’s state cross country meet. Things are heading in the right direction with the Junior Blues. Clifton has set herself apart in class 6A as she dominated both track on the track last spring after improving all through her cross country season. Aparna Dasraju, Rachel Graf and Alyssa Golz should return to be a solid group of sophomores. Like Shawnee Mission South, Washburn Rural did not make much noise at the state track meet outside of superstar Clifton, but I like this team a lot if all the girls return.
Individual Rankings
1. Avery Clifton – Senior, Topeka Washburn Rural
Clifton has become a dominant force in the Kansas XC scene and even has potential to make noise nationally. She has the ninth fastest 3200-meter time in Kansas history with her 10:40 performance last spring. The Junior Blue senior will dominate Rim Rock this year.
2. Danielle Walker – Senior, Maize
Walker has continued to steadily improve as she has become more focused on distance. This last spring she dropped the 400 at state track to focus on the 800-1600 double. It paid off in the form of a gold in the 800 and a silver (two seconds behind Clifton) in the 1600. Walker has the speed and there is no doubt about that, so I like her just slightly over the next runner on this list due to that speed.
3. Lisa Imgrund – Senior, Shawnee Mission Northwest
Imgrund is a very experienced runner with back-to-back top five finishes at the state cross country meet. The Shawnee Mission Northwest senior was third as a sophomore and fourth last year. She took second in the 3200 (37 seconds behind Clifton) last spring and was fifth in the 1600.
4. Emily Hornbeck – Sophomore, Derby
Now is when it gets a little harder. Hornbeck finished 11th as a freshman and failed to qualify for the state track meet as an individual last spring. Her 11:33 at regional would have stood up well at the following weekend’s state track meet. Hornbeck should be hungry after a disappointing finish to her freshman track season.
5. Brianna Heikkinen – Sophomore, Manhattan
Heikkinen will lead a very strong program this year. She got a chance to watch senior Marley Crusch lead the pack last season, but now it is her time if Manhattan is going to stay in the top three at state. Heikkinen finshed fifth in the 3200 and 12th in the 1600 at last spring’s state track meet.
There you guys have it. My 6A Girls team and individual rankings. Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me at cparker@kwch.com. If you like these type of rankings I will do the same for all of the other classifications for both boys and girls.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Is this the year the City League breaks through?
It has been more than two decades since the City League has won a state football title. Kapaun was the last to do it 1987 when it won a 5A title. The last 6A title was won by Wichita East in 1983, the second of two consecutive titles for the Blue Aces.
This year there are several City League teams that could break through and contend for the title.
Southeast returns 14 total starters including superstar Joseph Randle who has a chance to be first team all-league on both sides of the football.
Northwest has Demarcus Robinson and an offensive line head coach Weston Schartz think could be one of the best Northwest has seen.
Heights lost a lot, but Rick Wheeler has the Falcons contending every year it seems.
Bishop Carroll has Blake Bell and a proven system. Unfortunately it also has to deal with Hutchinson.
So if a title is going to happen for the City League this year it will likely have to come out of 6A as Hutchinson is the clear favorite to romp through Class 5A. Class 6A is wide open this year and it is anybodies guess as to who could win it.
If I had to pick a City League team to make a run at the title I think Northwest has the best shot. The Grizzlies will be able to run the ball whenever they want with Robinson and a big, experienced line. If the defense can hold up its end of the deal then Northwest will have a good shot.
Which City League team do you think has a chance to make a run at a state title or do you think it will be another year without a title for the City League?
This year there are several City League teams that could break through and contend for the title.
Southeast returns 14 total starters including superstar Joseph Randle who has a chance to be first team all-league on both sides of the football.
Northwest has Demarcus Robinson and an offensive line head coach Weston Schartz think could be one of the best Northwest has seen.
Heights lost a lot, but Rick Wheeler has the Falcons contending every year it seems.
Bishop Carroll has Blake Bell and a proven system. Unfortunately it also has to deal with Hutchinson.
So if a title is going to happen for the City League this year it will likely have to come out of 6A as Hutchinson is the clear favorite to romp through Class 5A. Class 6A is wide open this year and it is anybodies guess as to who could win it.
If I had to pick a City League team to make a run at the title I think Northwest has the best shot. The Grizzlies will be able to run the ball whenever they want with Robinson and a big, experienced line. If the defense can hold up its end of the deal then Northwest will have a good shot.
Which City League team do you think has a chance to make a run at a state title or do you think it will be another year without a title for the City League?
Monday, August 17, 2009
Back to Work
Black rubber pellets. A few minutes ago I dumped a whole pile of them out of my tennis shoes and onto the newsroom floor.
In locker rooms around Wichita, hundreds of high schoolers did the same after the first round of two-a-days on all of these brand new, artificially turfed football fields – complete with about 9,000 tires worth of rubberized filler. Welcome to the 21st century, Wichita!
South, Heights and Northwest practiced for the first time today on their new, school bond financed field turf. Southeast and East will have theirs in place within the next couple of weeks. Bishop Carroll also joins the club with its own privately financed field of dreams, bringing the city up to speed with many of its suburban neighbors.
A year ago the GWAL was without a single turf field. This year only Kapaun will play its home games on a natural grass field. Now that’s some quick progress!
So when storms ripped through the area in the morning hours and isolated showers persisted throughout the afternoon, it was little more than a minor nuisance. Two hours after the big rains stopped, Carroll went to work on a completely dry field...
Well, almost completely dry. By the end of their workout, a couple of Golden Eagles had already lost their breakfasts, presenting an entirely new problem for veteran coach Alan Schuckman.
“I’m not sure how you deal with that. We’ll either have to hose it off or maybe just hope it dries and flakes away.”
At South, the Titans gathered eagerly around the locked gate to Carpenter Stadium. For most, their first opportunity to sample the new carpet turned into a quick baptism by rubber pellets, as South High athletic director Michelle Kuhns instructed them to lay down on certain spots to form large letters. Visible to a birds-eye camera high above the field, the message: “Thank You, Wichita.”
Weston Shartz has been through 25 opening days as a coach. “Here’s the best thing. We actually have lines on the field. I don’t think I’ve ever practiced with all of the lines, and here we have a real football field.”
Half way across town East coach Brian Byers shook his head while discussing the weather forecast. He’ll have his turf field in a few days, but not this week when rain is expected to be part of the equation in each of the next four days. He also doesn’t have his regular practice field thanks to ongoing construction work around the campus. He’ll need to be a little creative to avoid tearing up what little grass he has to work with in the season’s first week.
Southeast is in the same boat, so to speak – counting down the days while trying to dodge rain drops. West and North will have to wait until at least next year for their fields. But, overall, today has been a big step forward for a league still several behind other parts of Kansas.
The GWAL hasn’t had a state champion since Kapaun won it in 1987. The last USD 259 representative to do it was East in 1983.
Artificial turf alone won’t win titles, but it sure won’t hurt, either. At the very least it gives a long under-served group of kids a chance to feel big time for a short time during their high school careers. That alone is worth the money.
In locker rooms around Wichita, hundreds of high schoolers did the same after the first round of two-a-days on all of these brand new, artificially turfed football fields – complete with about 9,000 tires worth of rubberized filler. Welcome to the 21st century, Wichita!
South, Heights and Northwest practiced for the first time today on their new, school bond financed field turf. Southeast and East will have theirs in place within the next couple of weeks. Bishop Carroll also joins the club with its own privately financed field of dreams, bringing the city up to speed with many of its suburban neighbors.
A year ago the GWAL was without a single turf field. This year only Kapaun will play its home games on a natural grass field. Now that’s some quick progress!
So when storms ripped through the area in the morning hours and isolated showers persisted throughout the afternoon, it was little more than a minor nuisance. Two hours after the big rains stopped, Carroll went to work on a completely dry field...
Well, almost completely dry. By the end of their workout, a couple of Golden Eagles had already lost their breakfasts, presenting an entirely new problem for veteran coach Alan Schuckman.
“I’m not sure how you deal with that. We’ll either have to hose it off or maybe just hope it dries and flakes away.”
At South, the Titans gathered eagerly around the locked gate to Carpenter Stadium. For most, their first opportunity to sample the new carpet turned into a quick baptism by rubber pellets, as South High athletic director Michelle Kuhns instructed them to lay down on certain spots to form large letters. Visible to a birds-eye camera high above the field, the message: “Thank You, Wichita.”
Weston Shartz has been through 25 opening days as a coach. “Here’s the best thing. We actually have lines on the field. I don’t think I’ve ever practiced with all of the lines, and here we have a real football field.”
Half way across town East coach Brian Byers shook his head while discussing the weather forecast. He’ll have his turf field in a few days, but not this week when rain is expected to be part of the equation in each of the next four days. He also doesn’t have his regular practice field thanks to ongoing construction work around the campus. He’ll need to be a little creative to avoid tearing up what little grass he has to work with in the season’s first week.
Southeast is in the same boat, so to speak – counting down the days while trying to dodge rain drops. West and North will have to wait until at least next year for their fields. But, overall, today has been a big step forward for a league still several behind other parts of Kansas.
The GWAL hasn’t had a state champion since Kapaun won it in 1987. The last USD 259 representative to do it was East in 1983.
Artificial turf alone won’t win titles, but it sure won’t hurt, either. At the very least it gives a long under-served group of kids a chance to feel big time for a short time during their high school careers. That alone is worth the money.
Catchy Awards by the numbers
After the second annual of the Catchy Awards some interesting trends have developed. In the first years a total of 5,488 votes have been cast by you, the fans. Here are some other trends and numbers that have stood out:
-A total of 35 different schools can boast at least one Catchy Award winner
-Andover Central leads all schools with six Catchy award wins in the first two years.
-Wichita Heights is second with five Catchy winners
-Tiffany Bias was the only individual athlete to win the same category in back-to-back years as she won the female multi-sport star category. It gives her three Catchy awards in her high school career.
-The only other back-to-back winners are Hutchinson and Smith Center football.
-Wichita North has two bowler of the year awards to its credit, but they are different bowlers. Ally Johnson won the first bowler of the year award and Nesa Hubbard won the honor this season.
-In all 13 schools have had multiple Catchy winners
To see the 2008-09 Catchy Winners click here:
2009 Catchy Award winners announced
Thanks again for making the Second Annual Catchy Awards a success!
-A total of 35 different schools can boast at least one Catchy Award winner
-Andover Central leads all schools with six Catchy award wins in the first two years.
-Wichita Heights is second with five Catchy winners
-Tiffany Bias was the only individual athlete to win the same category in back-to-back years as she won the female multi-sport star category. It gives her three Catchy awards in her high school career.
-The only other back-to-back winners are Hutchinson and Smith Center football.
-Wichita North has two bowler of the year awards to its credit, but they are different bowlers. Ally Johnson won the first bowler of the year award and Nesa Hubbard won the honor this season.
-In all 13 schools have had multiple Catchy winners
To see the 2008-09 Catchy Winners click here:
2009 Catchy Award winners announced
Thanks again for making the Second Annual Catchy Awards a success!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Communities build champions
With the success the Smith Center Redmen have enjoyed over the past few years, comes a deep loathing from everyone not associated with the team. The Redmen, like the Yankees, Patriots and Red Wings, are constantly up against hoards of people who want nothing more than to see them fall.
I was one of those people.
New York Times writer Joe Drape recently released the book, “Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen.” Drape moved to Smith Center and chronicled the undefeated state championship football season of 2008.
I picked up this book, not wanting to become a fan. I fought with every ounce of my being to resist liking this Kansas football juggernaut.
My fight did not last long.
Reading this book, it becomes instantly apparent the heights the Redmen have reached, are the result of a big hoist from every last member of the Smith Center community. The adults view the school system, and more importantly, the students in it, as the heart and soul of the town. And they are all deeply invested in making sure the kids succeed, on and off the fields of competition.
There is a philosophy in which all students are viewed and even loved, as if they were the biological offspring of everyone in town. It is one singular group; mentors tirelessly working to give the youth every tool, and every advantage necessary to grow into upstanding citizens.
Of course there is a special sense of pride when one’s own kid makes a play, but this community does not talk about my son, as much as our boys.
This is a structure that stoked jealousy in me. Not the kind of putrid, infuriating jealousy caused by a sports dynasty, but a thought provoking, awestruck kind of jealousy.
It is possible for a poison, me first, attitude to creep into the fabric of small towns. Unfortunately, it is a phenomenon that usually starts with the so called, “grown-ups,” and trickles down to affect the youth, who find themselves as pawns in an adult-sized version of a high school popularity contest.
While it is always better to win than lose, the more pressing issue is how my kid performed individually. Because if my kid looked good, then I look good, and have maintained my status within the community. And if I am lucky enough to have my kid play a great game, then just maybe, I will move up in status.
As if high school kids don’t have enough to worry about, trying to maintain their own reputations within the cruel world of adolescence, but they have now been given the burden of maintaining the popularity of…their parents?
And so, athletes enter team sports as lone-wolf individuals, with no real idea what it means to be part of a larger community. They never had a chance to learn what it means to be fully accountable to a group, more important than any individual.
A team may have enough talented players to win some games and have a good year. But the lack of accountability to each other and an unwillingness to accept roles within the group prevents them from having a great year.
And so it goes.
In the world of sports journalism, the temptation while covering a team is to turn they won the game, into we won the game. As sports fans, we do this all the time. However, we did not win, or lose anything.
But what makes high school sports special, is the fact that using we is absolutely appropriate. The sport itself is a small part of the collective effort to raise the youth of a community. And because of this effort, the entire town has its fingerprints all over the product on the field, for better or worse.
Does a tight-knit sense of community support guarantee a seemingly unending, Smith Center-like string of championships?
Of course not.
The fact remains there can only be one champion per class. However, this doesn’t mean only one team per class has achieved greatness.
By the time a student reaches high school, wins and losses start to matter. But the learned ability to work together as a group and improving every day, in an effort to exceed expectations, is much more important.
The current Smith Center winning streak, which is a state record, stands at 67 and counting. It is understandably a tremendous source of pride for the community. But this community is more proud of the young men themselves, than anything they could ever accomplish on the football field.
I was one of those people.
New York Times writer Joe Drape recently released the book, “Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen.” Drape moved to Smith Center and chronicled the undefeated state championship football season of 2008.
I picked up this book, not wanting to become a fan. I fought with every ounce of my being to resist liking this Kansas football juggernaut.
My fight did not last long.
Reading this book, it becomes instantly apparent the heights the Redmen have reached, are the result of a big hoist from every last member of the Smith Center community. The adults view the school system, and more importantly, the students in it, as the heart and soul of the town. And they are all deeply invested in making sure the kids succeed, on and off the fields of competition.
There is a philosophy in which all students are viewed and even loved, as if they were the biological offspring of everyone in town. It is one singular group; mentors tirelessly working to give the youth every tool, and every advantage necessary to grow into upstanding citizens.
Of course there is a special sense of pride when one’s own kid makes a play, but this community does not talk about my son, as much as our boys.
This is a structure that stoked jealousy in me. Not the kind of putrid, infuriating jealousy caused by a sports dynasty, but a thought provoking, awestruck kind of jealousy.
It is possible for a poison, me first, attitude to creep into the fabric of small towns. Unfortunately, it is a phenomenon that usually starts with the so called, “grown-ups,” and trickles down to affect the youth, who find themselves as pawns in an adult-sized version of a high school popularity contest.
While it is always better to win than lose, the more pressing issue is how my kid performed individually. Because if my kid looked good, then I look good, and have maintained my status within the community. And if I am lucky enough to have my kid play a great game, then just maybe, I will move up in status.
As if high school kids don’t have enough to worry about, trying to maintain their own reputations within the cruel world of adolescence, but they have now been given the burden of maintaining the popularity of…their parents?
And so, athletes enter team sports as lone-wolf individuals, with no real idea what it means to be part of a larger community. They never had a chance to learn what it means to be fully accountable to a group, more important than any individual.
A team may have enough talented players to win some games and have a good year. But the lack of accountability to each other and an unwillingness to accept roles within the group prevents them from having a great year.
And so it goes.
In the world of sports journalism, the temptation while covering a team is to turn they won the game, into we won the game. As sports fans, we do this all the time. However, we did not win, or lose anything.
But what makes high school sports special, is the fact that using we is absolutely appropriate. The sport itself is a small part of the collective effort to raise the youth of a community. And because of this effort, the entire town has its fingerprints all over the product on the field, for better or worse.
Does a tight-knit sense of community support guarantee a seemingly unending, Smith Center-like string of championships?
Of course not.
The fact remains there can only be one champion per class. However, this doesn’t mean only one team per class has achieved greatness.
By the time a student reaches high school, wins and losses start to matter. But the learned ability to work together as a group and improving every day, in an effort to exceed expectations, is much more important.
The current Smith Center winning streak, which is a state record, stands at 67 and counting. It is understandably a tremendous source of pride for the community. But this community is more proud of the young men themselves, than anything they could ever accomplish on the football field.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Sunflower State wins Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup
After losing for three consecutive years, Kansas golfers defeated Nebraska last week in the Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup.
The competition took place Aug. 3 and 4 at ArborLinks in Nebraska City. Next year’s match-play event will be in Hutchinson.
The Kansas delegation included a group of 2009 high school graduates: Elliott Soyez of Goddard, Sam Schulte of Buhler, Jeff Jarvis of Phillipsburg and Jeremy Gant of Chanute. The other Sunflower State representatives were Michael Gellerman of Sterling and Jack Cantele of Kapaun Mt. Carmel, both incoming juniors, and Caleb Childs of Bishop Carroll and Thane Ringler of Hutchinson, who will be seniors.
All four pairs from Kansas won their foursome matches Aug. 3, which gave the state a 4-0 lead. In four-ball matches, the team of Gellerman-Jarvis and the pair of Soyez-Schulte prevailed. Kansas won that round 2.5-1.5.
The next day featured singles matches. Winners were Ringler, Cantele, Schulte, Gant and Soyez. That awarded Kansas a 4.5-3.5 victory and a final result of 11-5.
The last time Kansans won was 2005, when they edged Nebraska 10-6.
The 2009 group’s victory also evened the overall series at 12-12. Next year’s contest – the 25th anniversary – will be at Prairie Dunes.
The competition took place Aug. 3 and 4 at ArborLinks in Nebraska City. Next year’s match-play event will be in Hutchinson.
The Kansas delegation included a group of 2009 high school graduates: Elliott Soyez of Goddard, Sam Schulte of Buhler, Jeff Jarvis of Phillipsburg and Jeremy Gant of Chanute. The other Sunflower State representatives were Michael Gellerman of Sterling and Jack Cantele of Kapaun Mt. Carmel, both incoming juniors, and Caleb Childs of Bishop Carroll and Thane Ringler of Hutchinson, who will be seniors.
All four pairs from Kansas won their foursome matches Aug. 3, which gave the state a 4-0 lead. In four-ball matches, the team of Gellerman-Jarvis and the pair of Soyez-Schulte prevailed. Kansas won that round 2.5-1.5.
The next day featured singles matches. Winners were Ringler, Cantele, Schulte, Gant and Soyez. That awarded Kansas a 4.5-3.5 victory and a final result of 11-5.
The last time Kansans won was 2005, when they edged Nebraska 10-6.
The 2009 group’s victory also evened the overall series at 12-12. Next year’s contest – the 25th anniversary – will be at Prairie Dunes.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Golfers compete in Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup
Eight boys golfers from Kansas are taking on eight Nebraska athletes today and Tuesday, Aug. 3 and 4, in junior cup match play.
The golfers are facing off at ArborLinks in Nebraska City. Kansas representatives include a mix of recent high school graduates and returning high school students.
The 2009 graduates are Elliott Soyez, Goddard; Sam Schulte, Buhler; Jeff Jarvis, Phillipsburg; and Jeremy Gant, Chanute. Rounding out the Kansas group: Michael Gellerman of Sterling and Jack Cantele of Kapaun Mt. Carmel, both incoming juniors, and Caleb Childs of Bishop Carroll and Thane Ringler of Hutchinson, who will be seniors.
Nebraska players have won the past three junior cups, and they lead Kansas in the overall results 12-11. The Sunflower State contingent could even the tally in 2009, the 24th year for the Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup.
The Kansas team features a defending state champion, Gellerman, who won the Class 3A title this spring.
Next year’s junior cup will be at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson.
The golfers are facing off at ArborLinks in Nebraska City. Kansas representatives include a mix of recent high school graduates and returning high school students.
The 2009 graduates are Elliott Soyez, Goddard; Sam Schulte, Buhler; Jeff Jarvis, Phillipsburg; and Jeremy Gant, Chanute. Rounding out the Kansas group: Michael Gellerman of Sterling and Jack Cantele of Kapaun Mt. Carmel, both incoming juniors, and Caleb Childs of Bishop Carroll and Thane Ringler of Hutchinson, who will be seniors.
Nebraska players have won the past three junior cups, and they lead Kansas in the overall results 12-11. The Sunflower State contingent could even the tally in 2009, the 24th year for the Kansas-Nebraska Junior Cup.
The Kansas team features a defending state champion, Gellerman, who won the Class 3A title this spring.
Next year’s junior cup will be at Prairie Dunes in Hutchinson.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wrestling coaches leave alma mater after top finishes at state
A shake-up in Kansas high school wrestling resulted in two coaches leaving an alma mater – and a successful program – for another traditionally strong program in the state.
First, Greg Buckbee left his state-championship team at Emporia to take the reins at Arkansas City. Buckbee coached for five years at Ark City before another five-year stint at Emporia, which he led to the Class 5A state title in February.
Buckbee wrestled for Emporia and won a 6A title at 98 pounds in 1983. After leading the Spartans to their first state crown since 2000, he will resume his tenure in Ark City.
Buckbee’s replacement at Emporia is Dennis Charbonneau, who just completed his 13th season at the helm in Clay Center. His Clay Center squad won team titles in four of the past eight years; the Tigers placed second in Class 4A in February.
Charbonneau won individual wrestling titles as a Clay Center athlete in 1981, 1982 and 1983. The Tigers earned a team championship in 1981.
Now Charbonneau – and his wrestler son, Brandon – are headed to Emporia. Brandon will be a sophomore Spartan. He and future teammate, Chase Sanchez, an incoming junior, participated in the ASICS/Vaughn Junior & Cadet National Championships last week at Fargo, N.D.
In the cadet Greco-Roman category, Chase placed seventh at 145 pounds and Brandon finished eighth at 119 pounds. Chase also placed at the state tournament in February, where he was third at 145 pounds in 5A.
First, Greg Buckbee left his state-championship team at Emporia to take the reins at Arkansas City. Buckbee coached for five years at Ark City before another five-year stint at Emporia, which he led to the Class 5A state title in February.
Buckbee wrestled for Emporia and won a 6A title at 98 pounds in 1983. After leading the Spartans to their first state crown since 2000, he will resume his tenure in Ark City.
Buckbee’s replacement at Emporia is Dennis Charbonneau, who just completed his 13th season at the helm in Clay Center. His Clay Center squad won team titles in four of the past eight years; the Tigers placed second in Class 4A in February.
Charbonneau won individual wrestling titles as a Clay Center athlete in 1981, 1982 and 1983. The Tigers earned a team championship in 1981.
Now Charbonneau – and his wrestler son, Brandon – are headed to Emporia. Brandon will be a sophomore Spartan. He and future teammate, Chase Sanchez, an incoming junior, participated in the ASICS/Vaughn Junior & Cadet National Championships last week at Fargo, N.D.
In the cadet Greco-Roman category, Chase placed seventh at 145 pounds and Brandon finished eighth at 119 pounds. Chase also placed at the state tournament in February, where he was third at 145 pounds in 5A.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Which league is best?
Based off the CatchItKansas.com All-Sports rankings we figured out who the best sporting schools in the state were this last year. I then found myself wondering what league is the best sporting league in the state?
Using the All-Sports rankings I took the leagues with the schools that finished highest in the rankings. The leagues I looked at were the Wichita City League, AVCTL Division I, Eastern Kansas League, Sunflower League and the Centennial League.
It was not even close.
The Eastern Kansas League was easily the best sporting league last year. Buoyed by St. Thomas Aquinas the league averaged 2.25 state championships per school and scored an average of 40.25 points in our All-Sports Rankings.
The other schools in the league are Blue Valley Northwest, North, West, Stilwell and Miege.
Second place was a tie between the Centennial League and AVCTL Division I. The Centennial League featuring 6A All-Sports Champion Washburn Rural and 4A champion Topeka Hayden had an average of 1.3 championships per school to the AVCTL Div. I’s average of 1.2.
AVCTL Div. I school averaged 32.08 point in the All-Sports Standings compared to 28.65 for the Centennial.
The City League brought was last in both average All-Sports points and average championships with an average of 21.22 All-Sports points and only .33 championships per school in the 2008-09 school year.
The Sunflower league averaged 24.08 All-Sports Points and .58 championships.
Do you agree with this ranking? Which league do you think is best?
Using the All-Sports rankings I took the leagues with the schools that finished highest in the rankings. The leagues I looked at were the Wichita City League, AVCTL Division I, Eastern Kansas League, Sunflower League and the Centennial League.
It was not even close.
The Eastern Kansas League was easily the best sporting league last year. Buoyed by St. Thomas Aquinas the league averaged 2.25 state championships per school and scored an average of 40.25 points in our All-Sports Rankings.
The other schools in the league are Blue Valley Northwest, North, West, Stilwell and Miege.
Second place was a tie between the Centennial League and AVCTL Division I. The Centennial League featuring 6A All-Sports Champion Washburn Rural and 4A champion Topeka Hayden had an average of 1.3 championships per school to the AVCTL Div. I’s average of 1.2.
AVCTL Div. I school averaged 32.08 point in the All-Sports Standings compared to 28.65 for the Centennial.
The City League brought was last in both average All-Sports points and average championships with an average of 21.22 All-Sports points and only .33 championships per school in the 2008-09 school year.
The Sunflower league averaged 24.08 All-Sports Points and .58 championships.
Do you agree with this ranking? Which league do you think is best?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Boys, girls golf tournaments plentiful next week
The Kansas Golf Association’s junior section team championship will be July 21 and 22 at Carey Park in Hutchinson.
Hutchinson’s Thane Ringler, Dylan Schmitt and Sam Schulte will play on their hometown course. Other area players who are scheduled to compete include Augusta’s Trey Hayden, Mulvane’s Jason Cain, McPherson’s Treg Fawl, Sterling’s Michael Gellerman and Michael Hendricks, Derby’s Shane Gilbert and Eric Mode, Marion’s Luke Gordon, El Dorado’s Dominic Lara and Salina’s Brooks Brown, Benjamin Hargrave and Ben Shoup.
Wichitans who plan to attend are Jared Burns, Grant Burnside, Caleb Childs, Joshua Cork, Matthew Gilbaugh, Caleb Haight, Craig Howell, Kramer Howell, Max Lazzo, Hunter Leichner, Andrew Munds, Colton Sorlie, Sam Stevens and Alec Wilbert. Western Kansas golfers slated to participate are Dodge City’s Levi Bone and Zach Kirby, Hays’ Trey Herman and Nick VonLintel, Garden City’s Taylor Larsen and Juan Ollarzabal, and Phillipsburg’s Jeff Jarvis.
On the same days – July 21 and 22 – girls golfers will be in action at Newton’s Sand Creek Station. The Kansas Women’s Golf Association Tournament of Champions will feature eight junior golfers in match play. They include Wichita’s Audrey Meisch, McPherson’s Audrey Yowell and Salina’s Hannah Martin and Lindsay Chapman.
Immediately following those tournaments, 16 boys will travel to Hutchinson for the junior match play championship July 23 and 24. This time, the site will be Cotton Hills Golf Club. The 16 golfers will be chosen following the junior section team championship.
Hutchinson’s Thane Ringler, Dylan Schmitt and Sam Schulte will play on their hometown course. Other area players who are scheduled to compete include Augusta’s Trey Hayden, Mulvane’s Jason Cain, McPherson’s Treg Fawl, Sterling’s Michael Gellerman and Michael Hendricks, Derby’s Shane Gilbert and Eric Mode, Marion’s Luke Gordon, El Dorado’s Dominic Lara and Salina’s Brooks Brown, Benjamin Hargrave and Ben Shoup.
Wichitans who plan to attend are Jared Burns, Grant Burnside, Caleb Childs, Joshua Cork, Matthew Gilbaugh, Caleb Haight, Craig Howell, Kramer Howell, Max Lazzo, Hunter Leichner, Andrew Munds, Colton Sorlie, Sam Stevens and Alec Wilbert. Western Kansas golfers slated to participate are Dodge City’s Levi Bone and Zach Kirby, Hays’ Trey Herman and Nick VonLintel, Garden City’s Taylor Larsen and Juan Ollarzabal, and Phillipsburg’s Jeff Jarvis.
On the same days – July 21 and 22 – girls golfers will be in action at Newton’s Sand Creek Station. The Kansas Women’s Golf Association Tournament of Champions will feature eight junior golfers in match play. They include Wichita’s Audrey Meisch, McPherson’s Audrey Yowell and Salina’s Hannah Martin and Lindsay Chapman.
Immediately following those tournaments, 16 boys will travel to Hutchinson for the junior match play championship July 23 and 24. This time, the site will be Cotton Hills Golf Club. The 16 golfers will be chosen following the junior section team championship.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Leddy leaves alma mater; local grads return for tennis event
After one season coaching the McPherson College men’s and women’s tennis teams, Dan Leddy has resigned.
Dan was a successful coach of boys and girls at Kapaun Mt. Carmel before leaving to coach for his alma mater, McPherson College. His first season was rough since the college teams lacked depth and experience.
Sydney Bwalya has been hired to replace Dan. Sydney, who is from Zambia, played for Barton County Community College and then coached there for the past four seasons. He has three children who also play tennis, including Nina and Besa, who battled in the girls’ 16 singles bracket at June’s Mid-Continent Junior Open. Nina won the bracket, defeating Wichita North’s Lauren Cheeseborough in the final. Besa won the consolation bracket at Riverside Tennis Center.
More recently, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association held a summer circuit event at Wichita State University. Last weekend’s competition featured graduates of Kapaun, Wichita Southeast and The Independent School.
Nate Kirk, formerly of Southeast, now plays for the University of Illinois-Chicago. He advanced to the singles final last weekend. Nate lost to Rajeev Deb-Sen, who will be a sophomore at Columbia University, 6-2, 6-1.
Ryan Norman, a recent Independent graduate, will compete for Creighton. He and his doubles partner, Harry Walsh – director of Genesis Junior Tennis Academy – won the doubles. They prevailed in the final 9-8 (11-9), edging Rajeev Deb-Sen and James Seagraves, who will be a sophomore at the University of Tulsa.
Ryan’s brother, Jake Norman, will be a freshman at Independent this fall. He lost in the first round and then beat two college players to win the consolation.
Other competitors from the area included Kelly Gebert, who previously played for Kapaun, and Suzan Lisenby, a Southeast alumnus. Her fellow Golden Buffalo, Nate, won No. 6 singles in April at the Horizon League Men’s Tennis Championship.
The University of Illinois-Chicago advanced to the league final for the fifth year in a row. Nate defeated a Cleveland State opponent in the final. The league features 10 schools, including Valparaiso and Butler.
Dan was a successful coach of boys and girls at Kapaun Mt. Carmel before leaving to coach for his alma mater, McPherson College. His first season was rough since the college teams lacked depth and experience.
Sydney Bwalya has been hired to replace Dan. Sydney, who is from Zambia, played for Barton County Community College and then coached there for the past four seasons. He has three children who also play tennis, including Nina and Besa, who battled in the girls’ 16 singles bracket at June’s Mid-Continent Junior Open. Nina won the bracket, defeating Wichita North’s Lauren Cheeseborough in the final. Besa won the consolation bracket at Riverside Tennis Center.
More recently, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association held a summer circuit event at Wichita State University. Last weekend’s competition featured graduates of Kapaun, Wichita Southeast and The Independent School.
Nate Kirk, formerly of Southeast, now plays for the University of Illinois-Chicago. He advanced to the singles final last weekend. Nate lost to Rajeev Deb-Sen, who will be a sophomore at Columbia University, 6-2, 6-1.
Ryan Norman, a recent Independent graduate, will compete for Creighton. He and his doubles partner, Harry Walsh – director of Genesis Junior Tennis Academy – won the doubles. They prevailed in the final 9-8 (11-9), edging Rajeev Deb-Sen and James Seagraves, who will be a sophomore at the University of Tulsa.
Ryan’s brother, Jake Norman, will be a freshman at Independent this fall. He lost in the first round and then beat two college players to win the consolation.
Other competitors from the area included Kelly Gebert, who previously played for Kapaun, and Suzan Lisenby, a Southeast alumnus. Her fellow Golden Buffalo, Nate, won No. 6 singles in April at the Horizon League Men’s Tennis Championship.
The University of Illinois-Chicago advanced to the league final for the fifth year in a row. Nate defeated a Cleveland State opponent in the final. The league features 10 schools, including Valparaiso and Butler.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Need a mascot? Consider the Hungry Termites
CatchItKansas.com recently featured stories about Maize South High School, which will open in August, and Goddard Eisenhower High School, which is planned for 2011. It was interesting to hear about each community’s process to choose a mascot and school colors.
Maize faced a dilemma of whether to stick with a bird theme and a red color scheme. (The Maize Eagles are part of the town’s tradition.) Goddard, on the other hand, is now susceptible to the inevitable jokes: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Since the Goddard Lions and Goddard Eisenhower Tigers will be cross-town rivals, it makes sense that if a third high school ever opens, the Bears should be strongly considered.
For some reason, birds and big cats are especially popular. Think Falcons, Hawks, Ravens, Eagles and, for a slight variation, Golden Eagles. Then there are Lions, Tigers, Cougars, Jaguars and Wildcats – not to mention Panthers, which are a dime a dozen.
At the 2008 state tournament, I covered a pair of girls basketball games that featured the same mascot: Falcons vs. Falcons (Wichita Heights and Olathe South) then Lions vs. Lions (Goddard and Lawrence).
I like original mascots, and Kansas colleges have no shortage: Kansas Jayhawks, Washburn Ichabods and our local Wheatshockers. If we must incorporate animals, why not use something really original, like the White-Lipped Tree Frogs. Oh, sure, it sounds ridiculous, but if Texas Christian University can have the Horned Frogs, then is this really such a stretch?
It’s funny how different mascots become scarier after we reach adulthood. How about the Hungry Termites? Anyone who has paid for termite damage would be filled with dread. (Trust me.) Or maybe the Fightin’ Bats. I have a friend who plays for the symphony and for some theater productions, and she told a story about a bat that flew into the pit at Century II. Ever been trapped in an orchestra pit with a bat that can’t find its way out? It’s intimidating, from what I hear.
And this would be an especially appropriate mascot in the spring, when baseball and softball seasons start. Make way for the Bats!
I really like the alliterative names, like the Lawrence Lions, Lansing Lions, Paola Panthers and Macksville Mustangs. But the winner would have to be the Lyons Lions. Some might consider that a copout, but what other choices remain? The Lyons Tigers? I don’t think so.
If I ever get to choose a mascot – and I’m not holding my breath – it will be the Fireworks. Of course, this would require a fireworks show to kick off each season. Fans can yell, “Go, Fire!” for short. Some hapless student can dress up as the mascot, a giant firecracker. If it’s a Black Cat, we can even pull in the animal theme.
Maize faced a dilemma of whether to stick with a bird theme and a red color scheme. (The Maize Eagles are part of the town’s tradition.) Goddard, on the other hand, is now susceptible to the inevitable jokes: Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Since the Goddard Lions and Goddard Eisenhower Tigers will be cross-town rivals, it makes sense that if a third high school ever opens, the Bears should be strongly considered.
For some reason, birds and big cats are especially popular. Think Falcons, Hawks, Ravens, Eagles and, for a slight variation, Golden Eagles. Then there are Lions, Tigers, Cougars, Jaguars and Wildcats – not to mention Panthers, which are a dime a dozen.
At the 2008 state tournament, I covered a pair of girls basketball games that featured the same mascot: Falcons vs. Falcons (Wichita Heights and Olathe South) then Lions vs. Lions (Goddard and Lawrence).
I like original mascots, and Kansas colleges have no shortage: Kansas Jayhawks, Washburn Ichabods and our local Wheatshockers. If we must incorporate animals, why not use something really original, like the White-Lipped Tree Frogs. Oh, sure, it sounds ridiculous, but if Texas Christian University can have the Horned Frogs, then is this really such a stretch?
It’s funny how different mascots become scarier after we reach adulthood. How about the Hungry Termites? Anyone who has paid for termite damage would be filled with dread. (Trust me.) Or maybe the Fightin’ Bats. I have a friend who plays for the symphony and for some theater productions, and she told a story about a bat that flew into the pit at Century II. Ever been trapped in an orchestra pit with a bat that can’t find its way out? It’s intimidating, from what I hear.
And this would be an especially appropriate mascot in the spring, when baseball and softball seasons start. Make way for the Bats!
I really like the alliterative names, like the Lawrence Lions, Lansing Lions, Paola Panthers and Macksville Mustangs. But the winner would have to be the Lyons Lions. Some might consider that a copout, but what other choices remain? The Lyons Tigers? I don’t think so.
If I ever get to choose a mascot – and I’m not holding my breath – it will be the Fireworks. Of course, this would require a fireworks show to kick off each season. Fans can yell, “Go, Fire!” for short. Some hapless student can dress up as the mascot, a giant firecracker. If it’s a Black Cat, we can even pull in the animal theme.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Bidding War
Just a few days ago, soon to be Heights sophomore Perry Ellis received yet another scholarship offer, this time, from Kentucky and John Calipari. This brings the grand total of offers to three for a kid who can't even see R-rated movies by himself yet. Granted, Calipari has technically offered Ellis twice, once when he was still with Memphis and now while he's with Kentucky. A lot of the chatter on different websites has people asking, "is this way too soon to offer a kid a scholarship?" My answer, well, I think it depends on the kid. Perry has shown himself at a very young age to be very mature both on and off the court. He works extremely hard, doesn't let the hacking fouls get to him in games, and was most recently the only member of the class of 2012 invited to the Vince Carter skills camp down in Orlando. This kid is going to be a star and what makes me even happier about that fact is that he's going to do it in the right way.
Which brings me to my next point of contention today: Xavier Henry. Wow, that's really all I can say about this kid. Quick disclaimer, I've never met him, never interviewed him, and yet already I'm annoyed by him. He has no desire to go to college, no desire whatsoever! Add this in with the fact that his father, Carl, is saying things along the lines of, yeah Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor are nice and all, but CJ (Xavier's brother) is better. CJ has never played a game in college. Check out this article on Deadspin.com.
Essentially, this just makes me like Perry Ellis and his family even more. He's good, his family knows he's good, he knows he's good, and they're acting like they've been there before. Hopefully, Ellis takes one of those college scholarships, much like his sister did, and realizes that sports can actually be more about the game and not the money.
Which brings me to my next point of contention today: Xavier Henry. Wow, that's really all I can say about this kid. Quick disclaimer, I've never met him, never interviewed him, and yet already I'm annoyed by him. He has no desire to go to college, no desire whatsoever! Add this in with the fact that his father, Carl, is saying things along the lines of, yeah Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor are nice and all, but CJ (Xavier's brother) is better. CJ has never played a game in college. Check out this article on Deadspin.com.
Essentially, this just makes me like Perry Ellis and his family even more. He's good, his family knows he's good, he knows he's good, and they're acting like they've been there before. Hopefully, Ellis takes one of those college scholarships, much like his sister did, and realizes that sports can actually be more about the game and not the money.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Nice to see some basketball in the offseason
Saturday night’s Border Battle between graduated seniors from Kansas and Nebraska was a fun event. For basketball fans like me, it was nice to see some basketball games in the offseason. It was a perfect time for indoor sports, too, because a rainstorm occurred that evening.
The games took place at Park City’s new arena, Hartman Arena. It’s a nice facility, if you don’t mind the $4 bottles of water and the $5 parking fee (unless you have a carpool group of four or more, or you’re driving a hybrid – then it’s free).
Despite the oddball policies, there was plenty of parking space available and adequate room to move inside. I remember the bottlenecks that used to occur at Big 12 tournaments in Kemper Arena, where people were cramped just moving through the hallways. Of course, Hartman isn’t as big as Kemper was, and the Border Battle didn’t attract as many as the Big 12 tourney. But the fans were about as vociferous, especially during boys basketball action.
That was the most exciting game. Kansas trailed 58-49 near the 8-minute mark of the second half, but the boys rallied and pulled out a 69-66 victory. The girls’ game wasn’t quite as close; the exciting period in that contest took place early, when a 13-4 Kansas deficit transformed into a Sunflower State lead, thanks to Derby’s Joanna McFarland (above) and Concordia’s Alex Muff.
It was interesting to watch Joanna dominate the game, aided by Alex and Goddard’s Lindsey Keller. Joanna, who will play for the University of Oklahoma this year, was named MVP. The Kansas roster featured considerable talent: Lindsey, who will play at Oklahoma State; Alex, who received a volleyball scholarship to Kansas State despite her impressive basketball and track talents; and Washburn Rural’s LaSharra Riley, who will join Lindsey at Oklahoma State. LaSharra’s absence from the game was disappointing. She had to sit out due to a fractured right wrist, but she was there to support her Kansas all-star teammates.
The scoreboard operator left a lot to be desired, but Hartman Arena should be able to work out those kinks before it hosts additional sporting events. After all, it is early in the arena’s existence, and the games were for charity anyway.
Some wondered what the Border Battle would be like if it included all-stars from every grade in high school, not just recent grads. The format is similar to an established event, the Kansas basketball coaches’ all-star game in August. The Border Battle would be fun if it included younger players like Tiffany Bias of Andover Central and Perry Ellis of Wichita Heights. Nebraska no doubt has some younger players who could compete well, too.
The only low point in Saturday’s showdown was after the boys’ game, when Nebraska’s Jarrell Crayton was named MVP and was greeted by a smattering of boos from the crowd. That’s not sportsmanlike, especially at a charity event, and he was the most deserving player. It’s tough to argue with 20 points and 22 rebounds.
All in all, it was a worthwhile way to spend time and it provided entertainment that an entire family could enjoy. But to keep it affordable, you might want to borrow a hybrid car – and bring your own water.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Three's A Crowd
Jordan Ottley of Victoria was invited to play in every single post season football all star game in Kansas. But because he will walk on with Fort Hays next fall, he had to turn one down.
Ottley, who played quarterback and safety for the Knights, was invited to play in the East/West Kansas 8man All Star game, the Shrine Bowl and this weekend's Kansas/Nebraska 8man All Star game in Hays. Jordan turned down the East/West game so he could still remain eligible to play for the Tigers.
Seems ridiculous, but a lot of things that the NCAA does is ridiculous, i.e.; the BCS. Ring a bell?
More importantly, Ottley was invited to play in the Shrine Bowl in Wichita - an 8man player will battle with the best in the state in 11man. We'll see how he does. Ottley is one of only two 8man players invited to play in the Shrine Bowl.
Funny enough, Ottley will be playing with the Bruna brothers of Hanover, John and Alex, against Nebraska. Hanover beat Victoria in the 8man Division II title game, and now they are playing on the same team! HA! And the coaches of both teams are coaching on the same side against Nebraska! HA again!
They haven't had a chance to talk about it yet, but Doug Oberle, Victoria's head coach, said some comments had been shared and some friendly ribbing is going on. Ottley said they talked about it but have moved on.
I guess in this case, three isn't a crowd, but it's company.
Ottley, who played quarterback and safety for the Knights, was invited to play in the East/West Kansas 8man All Star game, the Shrine Bowl and this weekend's Kansas/Nebraska 8man All Star game in Hays. Jordan turned down the East/West game so he could still remain eligible to play for the Tigers.
Seems ridiculous, but a lot of things that the NCAA does is ridiculous, i.e.; the BCS. Ring a bell?
More importantly, Ottley was invited to play in the Shrine Bowl in Wichita - an 8man player will battle with the best in the state in 11man. We'll see how he does. Ottley is one of only two 8man players invited to play in the Shrine Bowl.
Funny enough, Ottley will be playing with the Bruna brothers of Hanover, John and Alex, against Nebraska. Hanover beat Victoria in the 8man Division II title game, and now they are playing on the same team! HA! And the coaches of both teams are coaching on the same side against Nebraska! HA again!
They haven't had a chance to talk about it yet, but Doug Oberle, Victoria's head coach, said some comments had been shared and some friendly ribbing is going on. Ottley said they talked about it but have moved on.
I guess in this case, three isn't a crowd, but it's company.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Boys tennis featured repeat champs, nice-guy Dippel
Boys tennis featured repeat team champions at two of its four state tournaments this year. Salina Central, which won its sixth consecutive title in Class 5A, may struggle to add a seventh since numerous seniors graduated this spring.
However, Wichita Collegiate still looks promising after picking up its second championship in a row – and its third in four years – at Class 3-2-1A competition. The Spartans are in good shape since only one of their six semifinalists was a senior. Collegiate sent two singles players and two doubles teams to the state semifinals.
The doubles team of Paul Abromeit and Wyatt Kesler emerged in first place. The pair faced half of last year’s state-championship doubles team, Brandon Somerhalder, in the final.
Brandon, also of Collegiate, won last season with teammate Miles Dunne. He played doubles this year with senior Varoon Bashyakarla.
Independence nearly put together a four-year run in Class 4A, but Smoky Valley dethroned the three-time defending state champ. It was Smoky Valley’s first team title since 1997.
The 4A state final pitted last year’s 4A singles champion, Smoky Valley’s Chase Dippel, against last year’s 3-2-1A singles winner, Independent’s Ryan Norman. The Independent School moved up to 4A this year, so only one of the seniors could defend his title.
Ryan barely escaped 7-5 in the first set at Oakdale Park in Salina, but he cruised 6-1 in the second set of the championship. Despite ending his season with a loss, Chase was in good spirits after the contest. He and Ryan are friends, and it probably didn’t hurt that Chase and his teammates secured a team title.
I asked Catch It Kansas high school prep editors to name, in their opinion, the athlete with the best sportsmanship – but it had to be a player who didn’t attend their school. One writer gave a resounding endorsement of Chase.
“He is a superb athlete in football, basketball and tennis, and he’s not cocky at all,” said the prep editor. “He was his school’s best player – and really the only player – but he just worked hard regardless and never gave up. During a basketball game when someone yelled, ‘Hey, Dippel! Remember football season when I tackled you?’ all Chase did was turn around during the game and smile, saying, ‘Yeah, man, I still do.’
“As my friend put it when they played in tennis, ‘He’s the kind of guy you want to hate because he’s so good and he beats you, but you just can’t because he’s so nice. He’s seriously like the nicest guy ever.’”
However, Wichita Collegiate still looks promising after picking up its second championship in a row – and its third in four years – at Class 3-2-1A competition. The Spartans are in good shape since only one of their six semifinalists was a senior. Collegiate sent two singles players and two doubles teams to the state semifinals.
The doubles team of Paul Abromeit and Wyatt Kesler emerged in first place. The pair faced half of last year’s state-championship doubles team, Brandon Somerhalder, in the final.
Brandon, also of Collegiate, won last season with teammate Miles Dunne. He played doubles this year with senior Varoon Bashyakarla.
Independence nearly put together a four-year run in Class 4A, but Smoky Valley dethroned the three-time defending state champ. It was Smoky Valley’s first team title since 1997.
The 4A state final pitted last year’s 4A singles champion, Smoky Valley’s Chase Dippel, against last year’s 3-2-1A singles winner, Independent’s Ryan Norman. The Independent School moved up to 4A this year, so only one of the seniors could defend his title.
Ryan barely escaped 7-5 in the first set at Oakdale Park in Salina, but he cruised 6-1 in the second set of the championship. Despite ending his season with a loss, Chase was in good spirits after the contest. He and Ryan are friends, and it probably didn’t hurt that Chase and his teammates secured a team title.
I asked Catch It Kansas high school prep editors to name, in their opinion, the athlete with the best sportsmanship – but it had to be a player who didn’t attend their school. One writer gave a resounding endorsement of Chase.
“He is a superb athlete in football, basketball and tennis, and he’s not cocky at all,” said the prep editor. “He was his school’s best player – and really the only player – but he just worked hard regardless and never gave up. During a basketball game when someone yelled, ‘Hey, Dippel! Remember football season when I tackled you?’ all Chase did was turn around during the game and smile, saying, ‘Yeah, man, I still do.’
“As my friend put it when they played in tennis, ‘He’s the kind of guy you want to hate because he’s so good and he beats you, but you just can’t because he’s so nice. He’s seriously like the nicest guy ever.’”
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Draft: Show Me the Money
It's hard to imagine what the phone call would be like. "Hi, Garret Gould, are you ready to become a Los Angeles Dodger? We're willing to pay you, an 18 year old kid, XX amount of millions of dollars to come play for our club. Oh, and if baseball doesn't work out for you, don't worry. You can keep that signing bonus and we'll pay for you to go to college for four years. So, what'll it be?" How in the world can anyone say no?
I covered a kid back in Washington, Travis Mattair, who was an excellent ball-player. He was taken in the compensatory first round by the Phillies a couple years back and given almost half a million dollars to join the club. Of course he said yes, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity with a huge "Ka-ching" attached to the end of it. I check up on Moose (that's his nickname) every once in awhile to see how he's doing. He's doing alright I guess, still toiling around in single-A ball though. I mean, he's just a kid, never really had to face big league arms in high school. Would his life in the majors have been different if he had in fact accepted his full ride to Oregon State, one of the premier baseball schools in the country?
A good friend of mine back in Washington was drafted by the Yankees out of high school. I don't care who you are or if you hate the Yankees or what, if you get a phone call saying the Yankees want you, you're going. Jason had a big-league arm, but injured his shoulder in the minors and wasn't the same after that. The Yankees then paid for him to go to school and start a new life. What a deal, huh? But would his arm have been thrown out by a good pitching coach in college or not? It's an answer he'll never know.
I am a huge baseball fan. I went to my first game when I was literally one month old. My oldest brother is 6 years older than me and every spring and summer of my life was spent at the ball field. My family used to plan our vacations around what baseball field we hadn't been to yet, which is how I got to see Fulton County, Dodger Stadium, Candlestick and Wrigley all before I was in high school. My family is obsessed with the sport. Our family dogs we had growing up, all named after baseball players. It's a tradition that carries on today, my dog is named Lou Gehrig and my mom has Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth. Seriously, my mother could probably tell you more about baseball than you would ever expect from a 58 year old woman. I'm making another trek to Wrigley this summer with one of my best friends because she's never been to the Friendly Confines and I feel it's something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.
Ok, I got off on a tangent there, I just wanted to make sure my love for the sport is understood. Because I love this sport undyingly, "Moneyball" is one of my all-time favorite reads. It chronicles a year with the Oakland A's, behind the scenes with the GM Billy Beane. The most interesting part of the book, for me, especially at this time of year, is how and who they draft. Billy Beane hates, and I mean hates, drafting high school players. Somehow, Billy Beane also manages to produce some of the best baseball players off a team that pays very little because they draft guys who have no expectations of being picked very high.
How in the world does any of this make sense? Well, to be honest, I don't really know. What I'm trying to say is getting drafted highly out of high school is such a gamble. Billy Beane was drafted the same year as Darryl Strawberry, and Beane was expected to be the next big star, but his head got in the way of his slugging. Maybe it's just some sort of "mom instinct" coming out in me that means I just worry all the time.
I just hope the best for Garrett Gould, and for the rest of the guys in the draft. I hope that Garrett's 0.88 ERA isn't spoiled by a bad pitching coach in the minors somewhere. I hope the Shockers don't suffer, yet again, because the guys they recruit get offered things that Gene Stephenson simply can't give them. But what it really all comes down to is, I hope that it's not just for the money. Of course, if I was offered millions for a shot at my dream, how could I say no?
I covered a kid back in Washington, Travis Mattair, who was an excellent ball-player. He was taken in the compensatory first round by the Phillies a couple years back and given almost half a million dollars to join the club. Of course he said yes, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity with a huge "Ka-ching" attached to the end of it. I check up on Moose (that's his nickname) every once in awhile to see how he's doing. He's doing alright I guess, still toiling around in single-A ball though. I mean, he's just a kid, never really had to face big league arms in high school. Would his life in the majors have been different if he had in fact accepted his full ride to Oregon State, one of the premier baseball schools in the country?
A good friend of mine back in Washington was drafted by the Yankees out of high school. I don't care who you are or if you hate the Yankees or what, if you get a phone call saying the Yankees want you, you're going. Jason had a big-league arm, but injured his shoulder in the minors and wasn't the same after that. The Yankees then paid for him to go to school and start a new life. What a deal, huh? But would his arm have been thrown out by a good pitching coach in college or not? It's an answer he'll never know.
I am a huge baseball fan. I went to my first game when I was literally one month old. My oldest brother is 6 years older than me and every spring and summer of my life was spent at the ball field. My family used to plan our vacations around what baseball field we hadn't been to yet, which is how I got to see Fulton County, Dodger Stadium, Candlestick and Wrigley all before I was in high school. My family is obsessed with the sport. Our family dogs we had growing up, all named after baseball players. It's a tradition that carries on today, my dog is named Lou Gehrig and my mom has Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth. Seriously, my mother could probably tell you more about baseball than you would ever expect from a 58 year old woman. I'm making another trek to Wrigley this summer with one of my best friends because she's never been to the Friendly Confines and I feel it's something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.
Ok, I got off on a tangent there, I just wanted to make sure my love for the sport is understood. Because I love this sport undyingly, "Moneyball" is one of my all-time favorite reads. It chronicles a year with the Oakland A's, behind the scenes with the GM Billy Beane. The most interesting part of the book, for me, especially at this time of year, is how and who they draft. Billy Beane hates, and I mean hates, drafting high school players. Somehow, Billy Beane also manages to produce some of the best baseball players off a team that pays very little because they draft guys who have no expectations of being picked very high.
How in the world does any of this make sense? Well, to be honest, I don't really know. What I'm trying to say is getting drafted highly out of high school is such a gamble. Billy Beane was drafted the same year as Darryl Strawberry, and Beane was expected to be the next big star, but his head got in the way of his slugging. Maybe it's just some sort of "mom instinct" coming out in me that means I just worry all the time.
I just hope the best for Garrett Gould, and for the rest of the guys in the draft. I hope that Garrett's 0.88 ERA isn't spoiled by a bad pitching coach in the minors somewhere. I hope the Shockers don't suffer, yet again, because the guys they recruit get offered things that Gene Stephenson simply can't give them. But what it really all comes down to is, I hope that it's not just for the money. Of course, if I was offered millions for a shot at my dream, how could I say no?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Area soccer players end careers with impressive totals
Schools in the Topeka-Kansas City area have a stranglehold on state girls soccer championships, but the Wichita area has seen some stellar talent – including a state record holder – in the past two seasons.
We won’t soon forget the one-two punch of twins Kortney and Kelsey Clifton of Andover. Kelsey was an assists machine, and Kortney holds the state record for goals in a career (256) and in a season (80 in 2008).
However, 2009 featured a good crop of soccer players, too. Goddard’s Whitney Berry compiled 54 goals and 10 assists her senior year. She finished her career with 167 goals. She will join the Cliftons on the field at the University of Kansas.
Whitney was named the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League’s Division I offensive MVP. Ashlyn Castillo of Maize was crowned defensive MVP. Ashlyn and her Maize teammates dominated area girls soccer the past two years.
Two other Maize seniors, Tia Stovall and Leah Talley, were nearly tied in leading the Eagle offense. Tia had 33 goals and 15 assists this season, while Leah was close behind with 31 goals and 13 assists.
Seniors Lorielle Slates of Campus (Division II) and Kristy Herman of Rose Hill (Division III-IV) were their division MVPs in the AVCTL. Kristy, who also shined for Rose Hill on the basketball court, contributed 20 goals and 16 assists this spring.
Finally, Cindy Benitez completed her reign at Garden City as Western Athletic Conference player of the year during all four years of her high school career. Cindy led the Buffs with 40 goals this season, and she tied Whitney Berry with a career total of 167. Cindy will play for Butler Community College.
We won’t soon forget the one-two punch of twins Kortney and Kelsey Clifton of Andover. Kelsey was an assists machine, and Kortney holds the state record for goals in a career (256) and in a season (80 in 2008).
However, 2009 featured a good crop of soccer players, too. Goddard’s Whitney Berry compiled 54 goals and 10 assists her senior year. She finished her career with 167 goals. She will join the Cliftons on the field at the University of Kansas.
Whitney was named the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League’s Division I offensive MVP. Ashlyn Castillo of Maize was crowned defensive MVP. Ashlyn and her Maize teammates dominated area girls soccer the past two years.
Two other Maize seniors, Tia Stovall and Leah Talley, were nearly tied in leading the Eagle offense. Tia had 33 goals and 15 assists this season, while Leah was close behind with 31 goals and 13 assists.
Seniors Lorielle Slates of Campus (Division II) and Kristy Herman of Rose Hill (Division III-IV) were their division MVPs in the AVCTL. Kristy, who also shined for Rose Hill on the basketball court, contributed 20 goals and 16 assists this spring.
Finally, Cindy Benitez completed her reign at Garden City as Western Athletic Conference player of the year during all four years of her high school career. Cindy led the Buffs with 40 goals this season, and she tied Whitney Berry with a career total of 167. Cindy will play for Butler Community College.
Friday, June 5, 2009
All-Star Volleyball Match
The state’s best volleyball players will be in action this weekend at the 24th annual All-Star Match.
The local participants include Valley Center’s Brianna Kaiser, Clearwater’s Kaitlin Stearns, Hutch Trinity’s Stephanie Zrubek, and Salina Sacred Heart’s Abby Wittman. There are two participants from Hoisington in Kayci Boxberger and Micala Jamison.
Newton’s Jamie Dibbens, Sacred Heart’s Rose Wittman and Hoisington’s Tina Johnson were among those chosen to help coach the all-star teams.
The match will be played in Topeka at Washburn University’s Lee Arena Saturday, June 6, at 6 p.m.
The local participants include Valley Center’s Brianna Kaiser, Clearwater’s Kaitlin Stearns, Hutch Trinity’s Stephanie Zrubek, and Salina Sacred Heart’s Abby Wittman. There are two participants from Hoisington in Kayci Boxberger and Micala Jamison.
Newton’s Jamie Dibbens, Sacred Heart’s Rose Wittman and Hoisington’s Tina Johnson were among those chosen to help coach the all-star teams.
The match will be played in Topeka at Washburn University’s Lee Arena Saturday, June 6, at 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
East sends ultimate Frisbee team to nationals
Wichita East High School sent an ultimate Frisbee team to the national tournament May 16 and 17 in Blaine, Minn. Its team name was the Beast Aces. They were seeded 16th of 16 squads competing in the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) Western Ultimate Championships.
Wichita East lost 12-5 to Cathedral High School and 14-3 to Seattle Academy. The Beast Aces defeated the No. 9 seed, Nathan Hale, 8-7. However, they fell to Lakeside High School 15-6 in pre-quarterfinals May 16.
On May 17, Wichita East succumbed to Eden Prairie 13-8 and Fayetteville High School 15-9. Hopkins, which entered as the No. 2 seed, won the final for the first-ever Minnesota team title. Other schools in the competition were from Washington, Oregon, California and Arkansas.
East team members included seniors Michael Gurley, Andrew Lowe, Matt Heck and Dan Overholt; junior Christian Kaufman; sophomores Rachel Cross, Abby Lewis, Stephen Lowe, Eric Shook and Jesse Parker; and freshman Ryan Claybrooks. Dan, the team captain, won the spirit award at the event.
Wichita East lost 12-5 to Cathedral High School and 14-3 to Seattle Academy. The Beast Aces defeated the No. 9 seed, Nathan Hale, 8-7. However, they fell to Lakeside High School 15-6 in pre-quarterfinals May 16.
On May 17, Wichita East succumbed to Eden Prairie 13-8 and Fayetteville High School 15-9. Hopkins, which entered as the No. 2 seed, won the final for the first-ever Minnesota team title. Other schools in the competition were from Washington, Oregon, California and Arkansas.
East team members included seniors Michael Gurley, Andrew Lowe, Matt Heck and Dan Overholt; junior Christian Kaufman; sophomores Rachel Cross, Abby Lewis, Stephen Lowe, Eric Shook and Jesse Parker; and freshman Ryan Claybrooks. Dan, the team captain, won the spirit award at the event.
A timeless game
Some of you probably read that and immediately thought baseball.... wrong. Baseball is timeless and it's been around since just after the Civil War, but thats not what I'm talking about.
It doesn't matter how young or how old you are, skill level or physical stance but golf will always be around.
Think about it though - of all the sports you can participate in, amateur or professional, golf is the one with the longest possible career. Football is the most popular but the average career is somewhere in your mid-20's. The longest career was Mort Anderson and he was near 50, but that is one guy. Basketball is short, baseball short, hockey is longer but thats because those Canucks don't know how to quit.
But you can play golf, competitively(!) even, well into your 70's. Guys are on the Senior tour cashing checks. A little more valuable than running all those gassers in the summer...
I'm not dissing on the big sports, and trust me, Golf is not a big sport. Most people could name four PGA players, not named Tiger Woods, if they tried. But I remember playing with a guy and I asked if he played in High School. He responded, "No, I was a track guy... I wish I had played golf in high school because I play a whole lot more golf in my life than I ever did pole vaulting."
It doesn't matter how young or how old you are, skill level or physical stance but golf will always be around.
Think about it though - of all the sports you can participate in, amateur or professional, golf is the one with the longest possible career. Football is the most popular but the average career is somewhere in your mid-20's. The longest career was Mort Anderson and he was near 50, but that is one guy. Basketball is short, baseball short, hockey is longer but thats because those Canucks don't know how to quit.
But you can play golf, competitively(!) even, well into your 70's. Guys are on the Senior tour cashing checks. A little more valuable than running all those gassers in the summer...
I'm not dissing on the big sports, and trust me, Golf is not a big sport. Most people could name four PGA players, not named Tiger Woods, if they tried. But I remember playing with a guy and I asked if he played in High School. He responded, "No, I was a track guy... I wish I had played golf in high school because I play a whole lot more golf in my life than I ever did pole vaulting."
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Mr. Blackwell's List...
Strikeouts, shutouts, pitching, hitting, offense and defense, and blah, blah, blah... with Baseball and Softball playoffs almost to an end, it is easy to get caught up in the numbers of all the good teams on the field, but I often notice something else about the teams on the field - their uniforms.
From what I've seen, from what I've seen - because I don't see them all, I have to give first place to Andale. Very nice black tops with black lettering and outlined in gold, with white pants and a black hat. Very classic. Now a lot of people would say, "Ew, too much black - they aren't the freakin' Raiders!" I get it, but they made it work and it looked really sharp against Great Bend. It also helped because they beat the Panthers as the lower seed - 
For not so great looking uniforms, I have to give it to Hays' Golden Rod jerseys. I like the attempt at using an off-color for tops but the yellow is too much, when it should be gold or something darker, considering their colors are Maroon and Gold. 
Their Home shirts are classic white with maroon striping on the sleeves, with "INDIANS" in cursive across the chest. Very Nice. But I wasn't digging the yellow. But they win in yellow, so it can't all be bad. 
On the ladies side, which I really have no business commenting on, TMP pulled the BCS move and brought next years uni's out during the playoffs. Very feminine in design, with a tank top style of top and they went against the traditional pants, opting for shorts and knee high navy blue socks.
Their old uniforms, or the ones they used for the past two seasons, traditional white button down tops with "TMP" across the front and blue pants and socks. Looked solid, especially when they added the blue cleats. Sharp.
Best accessory goes to Hoisington's Kayci Boxberger and her big green, shield sunglasses. Their colors are red and black but the green did it for me. They were sweet. Unfortunately, they didn't help her on the mound the day I saw her. Hoisington lost to Lyons, 9-2.
I'll be at state this weekend, so I will see a lot more uniforms, so this list will have to get updated.
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Not all regionals are created equal
I complained about this last winter with basketball sub-states, but here I am again making the same complaint. There has to be a better way than the current regional system that KSHSAA has for its sports because the fact will always remain that not all regionals are created equal.
The biggest offender this year is in 4A baseball between the Wichita Independent regional and the El Dorado regional.
At the Independent regional there are eight teams with a combined record of 99-47. In El Dorado the seven teams have a combined record of 37-86. That is an average record of 5-12 at the El Dorado regional compared to an average record of 12-5 at the Independent regional.
Not a single team in the El Dorado regional had a winning record coming in. Number one seeded Abilene had a record of 9-11 on the year and earned a BYE! Thats right, a bye.
On the other hand, at Independent, Wichita Independent had a stellar record of 19-1 coming in. Instead of a Bye it got Augusta at 6-14. Its prize for beating Augusta will be 13-7 Rose Hill. If the chalk holds on the other side of the bracket 18-2 Clearwater will likely play 14-2 Mulvane in the semifinals.
At least two teams with only three losses will be going home and not making a trip to state from the Independent regional while a team at or below .500 will be allowed to continue to the state tournament out of the El Dorado regional.
There has a to be a better way to do the regional brackets so things like this do not not happen.
The biggest offender this year is in 4A baseball between the Wichita Independent regional and the El Dorado regional.
At the Independent regional there are eight teams with a combined record of 99-47. In El Dorado the seven teams have a combined record of 37-86. That is an average record of 5-12 at the El Dorado regional compared to an average record of 12-5 at the Independent regional.
Not a single team in the El Dorado regional had a winning record coming in. Number one seeded Abilene had a record of 9-11 on the year and earned a BYE! Thats right, a bye.
On the other hand, at Independent, Wichita Independent had a stellar record of 19-1 coming in. Instead of a Bye it got Augusta at 6-14. Its prize for beating Augusta will be 13-7 Rose Hill. If the chalk holds on the other side of the bracket 18-2 Clearwater will likely play 14-2 Mulvane in the semifinals.
At least two teams with only three losses will be going home and not making a trip to state from the Independent regional while a team at or below .500 will be allowed to continue to the state tournament out of the El Dorado regional.
There has a to be a better way to do the regional brackets so things like this do not not happen.
Friday, May 15, 2009
A welcome storm
Northwest baseball coach Travis Stockam actually welcomed the storm that prompted the umpires to call off his team's game against Maize on Friday afternoon.
Maize ace Garrett Gould had struck out the first nine Grizzlies who came up to bat, and the 10th had just grounded out to short when the umpires pulled the players off the field because of lightning in the area. At that point, Maize led 4-0.
With the game two outs short of being official, the umpires waited until there were reports of a funnel cloud a few miles to the west before wiping out the game and sending everybody home.
Game time had been moved up three hours to try to beat the storm. But even that didn't work.
With regional seeding meetings on Saturday morning, no attempt to resume the game will be made.
The bad weather also halted the City League track meet at Northwest. But they'll pick back up at 10 a.m. and run through to the end without a break.
North's painful loss at GWAL swimming
Though I was standing beside her, I couldn’t quite believe it when the official starter disqualified Wichita North’s 4x400-yard freestyle relay and cost the Redskins the championship of the City League swim meet Thursday night.
Then she repeated it into a microphone for all to hear.
I looked from an East High swimmer still trying to complete the race, to the finish where, sure enough, three North swimmers were now in the water, prematurely celebrating victory.
That was the basis of the disqualification – jumping into the water before the race was finished.
I didn’t know about that rule, and I wonder whether all the North girls did. It makes sense, in a way.
But East was the only team still swimming and so far behind (almost a full length of the pool when North touched home first) that it was almost out of sight and out of mind. And the Blue Aces were three lanes away, hardly where the North celebration would affect their ability to finish.
But as someone said, a rule’s a rule.
The North girls were understandably grief-stricken.
It’s probably no consolation, but there are two things I would say to them.
First, you may not have a medal to show for it, and it won’t be in the record book, but you know you won the race, you know you won the meet, you know you are champions. The medal would have been forgotten in a couple of weeks, tossed in a drawer somewhere at home, most likely forgotten as you moved along with your lives.
Second, winning that meet is not the most important thing you’ll ever do. You have a lifetime ahead of you. Whether you go on to college or straight to jobs, you will have bigger, more important and probably more rewarding challenges in school, maybe in sports, certainly in careers or vocations.
As a heavily favored U.S. athlete once said after failing to make the Olympic 200-meter final in 1992: “The sun will come up tomorrow. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s shining out there somewhere right now.”
Michael Johnson did OK after that. In a career that lasted another nine years, he went on to win five Olympic gold medals and set two world records.
The North girls will be OK too, though they sure didn’t feel like it Thursday night.
Then she repeated it into a microphone for all to hear.
I looked from an East High swimmer still trying to complete the race, to the finish where, sure enough, three North swimmers were now in the water, prematurely celebrating victory.
That was the basis of the disqualification – jumping into the water before the race was finished.
I didn’t know about that rule, and I wonder whether all the North girls did. It makes sense, in a way.
But East was the only team still swimming and so far behind (almost a full length of the pool when North touched home first) that it was almost out of sight and out of mind. And the Blue Aces were three lanes away, hardly where the North celebration would affect their ability to finish.
But as someone said, a rule’s a rule.
The North girls were understandably grief-stricken.
It’s probably no consolation, but there are two things I would say to them.
First, you may not have a medal to show for it, and it won’t be in the record book, but you know you won the race, you know you won the meet, you know you are champions. The medal would have been forgotten in a couple of weeks, tossed in a drawer somewhere at home, most likely forgotten as you moved along with your lives.
Second, winning that meet is not the most important thing you’ll ever do. You have a lifetime ahead of you. Whether you go on to college or straight to jobs, you will have bigger, more important and probably more rewarding challenges in school, maybe in sports, certainly in careers or vocations.
As a heavily favored U.S. athlete once said after failing to make the Olympic 200-meter final in 1992: “The sun will come up tomorrow. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s shining out there somewhere right now.”
Michael Johnson did OK after that. In a career that lasted another nine years, he went on to win five Olympic gold medals and set two world records.
The North girls will be OK too, though they sure didn’t feel like it Thursday night.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
NEED STORIES!!!!!!!!
I need story ideas. I want to do a story on some high school car racers! I want to! SO I need names and info. If you race at the Speedway in Hays or at SRCA Dragstrip in Great Bend - I want, need!, your information. If you want to be on Catchitkansas, or if you are cool, CIK - and you know you want to, help me help you.
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I heard the story of Haley Wolf today, a track and basketball superstar for Ellis High School. She isn't very big but she is quicker than anything, and can score points in the bucketloads, but she hasn't been recognized for any of it.
No state championships despite lots of success on the court and the track, but the biggest injustice of it all was not being recognized for her basketball achievements. She led the Ellis girls to the 2A final and didn't receive anything for it. Not even honorable mention! From a player who scored 30 in the game that got them to the title game. Shame.
Word on the street is she is planning on walking on at Fort Hays for basketball. Keep watching, I'll be rooting for her.
No state championships despite lots of success on the court and the track, but the biggest injustice of it all was not being recognized for her basketball achievements. She led the Ellis girls to the 2A final and didn't receive anything for it. Not even honorable mention! From a player who scored 30 in the game that got them to the title game. Shame.
Word on the street is she is planning on walking on at Fort Hays for basketball. Keep watching, I'll be rooting for her.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Maize, Goddard gear up for soccer showdown
The Maize and Goddard soccer teams will face off Thursday, May 14, in a battle of west-side rivals that are undefeated in their division.
Maize, 12-1 overall, is 4-0 in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League’s Division I. Goddard, 13-0 on the season, is 3-0 in the league. The Lions will play league foe Hutchinson on Thursday, May 7.
Goddard and Maize both advanced to the Class 6A state tournament last year, where Maize placed second and Goddard finished fourth. Maize beat the Lions 1-0 in their regular-season matchup, but Goddard was missing three varsity players due to injuries – including offensive weapon Whitney Berry.
Whitney, a senior, leads the entire AVCTL – regardless of division – with 40 goals this year. She is on track to surpass last year’s total of 48.
Maize has its own stellar credentials. The Eagles return most of their seniors from last year’s squad, which wasn’t scored on until the state tournament. That’s where the girls suffered their first loss of the season.
Goddard and Maize didn’t meet each other at state, so their upcoming date should prove exciting. After Whitney, the next three leading scorers in Division I are from Maize. That includes Leah Talley, Tia Stovall and Blair Terry.
Both schools no doubt are anticipating the showdown. Last summer, Whitney recalled how tough it was to watch her teammates fall to Maize.
“That was the worst, having to sit out that game,” she said.
The May 14 contest may offer a chance for redemption. Goddard will host the game, but Maize fans won’t have to travel far – and the Eagles are motivated to defend their league title.
Maize, 12-1 overall, is 4-0 in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League’s Division I. Goddard, 13-0 on the season, is 3-0 in the league. The Lions will play league foe Hutchinson on Thursday, May 7.
Goddard and Maize both advanced to the Class 6A state tournament last year, where Maize placed second and Goddard finished fourth. Maize beat the Lions 1-0 in their regular-season matchup, but Goddard was missing three varsity players due to injuries – including offensive weapon Whitney Berry.
Whitney, a senior, leads the entire AVCTL – regardless of division – with 40 goals this year. She is on track to surpass last year’s total of 48.
Maize has its own stellar credentials. The Eagles return most of their seniors from last year’s squad, which wasn’t scored on until the state tournament. That’s where the girls suffered their first loss of the season.
Goddard and Maize didn’t meet each other at state, so their upcoming date should prove exciting. After Whitney, the next three leading scorers in Division I are from Maize. That includes Leah Talley, Tia Stovall and Blair Terry.
Both schools no doubt are anticipating the showdown. Last summer, Whitney recalled how tough it was to watch her teammates fall to Maize.
“That was the worst, having to sit out that game,” she said.
The May 14 contest may offer a chance for redemption. Goddard will host the game, but Maize fans won’t have to travel far – and the Eagles are motivated to defend their league title.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Another batch of signings
Lots of college scholarship signings announced this past week. Here’s the quick run-down:
• Megan Taylor of Rolla signed to play basketball for Friends University. Taylor averaged 14.4 points and 8.4 rebounds last season and was named first-team Santa Fe Trail League and academic all-state by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association.
Taylor is pictured above with (back row, left to right) her summer coach, Donna Glave, assistant high school coach Jolene Kabriel, head high school coach Rich Spencer and Friends coach Gayla Soyez. Flanking Taylor on the front row are her mother and father, Traci and Harve Taylor.
• Liberal’s Alexa Wentworth signed to play soccer for Cowley County Community College.
• Wichita State’s women’s track program signed seven Kansas high school athletes, some of which we’ve mentioned previously. Here’s the complete list: distance runners Laura Burke of Derby, Kylie Graves of Rossville and Keli Russell of Olathe North; jumpers Tanya Friesen of Buhler, J¹Lynn Ledesma of Wellington and Courtney Reinke of Olathe East, and thrower Andrea Markel of Pretty Prairie.
• Kapaun’s Jessica Shea will sign a volleyball scholarship with Rockhurst on Monday.
Who's hot?
Nobody's hotter in baseball than Bishop Carroll's Brandon Tangney, Northwest's Erik Harbutz and Sedgwick's Ethan Odle.
Even if you subtract 10 percent for the coaching tendancy to generously score the occasion booted ball as a hit for his own player, these guys are still hot -- getting hits two of every three at-bats.
Odle has the highest average in the area at .679 through 28 bats, while Tangney (.677 on 31 at bats) and Harbutz (.676 on 34 at bats) are right there with him.
If I had to pick one as the area's best hitter, I might go with Harbutz right now because of his 10 extra base hits and 25 RBIs. The other two have only 10 RBIs each.
When it comes to pitching, Maize's Garrett Gould, who could be getting a sunburn from all the radar guns scouts are pointing at him, is in a class of his own.
Gould (upper left) is 5-0 and has yielded only five hits, no earned runs and two unearned runs in 24 2/3 innings pitched. But here are some numbers that will have you bailing out of the batter's box -- Gould has struck out 58 of the 88 batters he has faced.
Ark City's Drew Palmer is having a pretty good year too. He's only 2-2, but he has a 0.85 ERA over 33 innings and has struck out 60. But he has faced 134 batters.
What about the Players?
Last week Grant talked about consolidation of schools. You know the 2A-1A football brackets being cut down.... Well Grant and I have a lot in common when it comes to covering small schools. I, like him, see the small populations and wonder how in the world these schools make sports teams work at all.
I got intrigued to do a story about it in fact. (A story you will see on the Catch it Kansas show in the coming weeks... Just a small tease.) So I went to Minneola to talk to the baseball coach there and to my surprise he filled me in on how teams consolidate just the same as schools.
Some of you may know this but I was clueless until just last Friday. He said that if a school doesn't have enough boys or girls out for a specific team KSHSAA rule is that 2-1A teams can consolidate without the students actually consolidating schools.
Minneola has a kid from Fowler playing on their baseball team. He attends Fowler school and all his friends and family live in Fowler but he plays baseball as a Wildcat instead of a Goldbug.
I was also told by some of the Minneola players that they had to steal golfers from the golf team to have enough guys to even form a team. Two golfers gave up their number one sport so the baseball guys would be able to play. That's loyalty.
So do the math for the Wildcats. They currently have 12 players. 9 players on a baseball field.... you would have to have at least 11 to even consider fielding the team.... Take away the two golfers now they have 10. Take away the Fowler kid... Only 9.... What about courtesy runners? What about relievers? What about the players? But what can you do?
I got intrigued to do a story about it in fact. (A story you will see on the Catch it Kansas show in the coming weeks... Just a small tease.) So I went to Minneola to talk to the baseball coach there and to my surprise he filled me in on how teams consolidate just the same as schools.
Some of you may know this but I was clueless until just last Friday. He said that if a school doesn't have enough boys or girls out for a specific team KSHSAA rule is that 2-1A teams can consolidate without the students actually consolidating schools.
Minneola has a kid from Fowler playing on their baseball team. He attends Fowler school and all his friends and family live in Fowler but he plays baseball as a Wildcat instead of a Goldbug.
I was also told by some of the Minneola players that they had to steal golfers from the golf team to have enough guys to even form a team. Two golfers gave up their number one sport so the baseball guys would be able to play. That's loyalty.
So do the math for the Wildcats. They currently have 12 players. 9 players on a baseball field.... you would have to have at least 11 to even consider fielding the team.... Take away the two golfers now they have 10. Take away the Fowler kid... Only 9.... What about courtesy runners? What about relievers? What about the players? But what can you do?
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