Sunflower Sports Solutions AOW (Male)
Each week, S3 will present a Northwest Kansas Boy and Girl "Athlete of the Week" (AOW). The Athlete of the Week is presented by BP Clean-Rite.Thrower stands first in KS in shot put
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Standout Lakin junior Colter Oldham has moved into the top all-classes spot in the shot put, according to the latest statewide release Monday. Oldham threw 59 feet, 9.5 inches. That stands 15 inches ahead of second place.
Oldham earns Sunflower Sports Solutions (S3) Male Athlete of the Week for the week of April 28-May 4. Athlete of the Week is sponsored by BP-Cleanrite, which services northwest and southwest Kansas.
Just four throwers have cleared 56 feet: Oldham, Beloit’s Eli Johnson, Olathe East’s Taveon Bell-Robinson and Goddard’s Matrix Eames. The mark is Oldham’s all-time best in the event.
Oldham bettered his top mark of 58-8.5 from the April 5 Great Bend meet, a result that had ranked as the state’s top showing earlier this spring.
Oldham’s all-time best in discus is 180-9. He has thrown the javelin sparingly in the last year and has posted an all-time best mark of 177-10.
The discus showing came at the prestigious KU Relays, where he took fourth earlier this spring. Oldham finished sixth in the shot put at KU.
Oldham is currently fifth in Kansas and first in 3A in the discus, per historian Carol Swenson’s statewide list. Johnson is the lone 3A thrower to clear 170 feet. Oldham has a strong chance to win his first state crown later this month at Cessna Stadium.
He stands No. 15 in the javelin for all classes and third in 3A with a season-best throw of 175-6.
Oldham is one of several Lakin athletes who dot the state leaderboard. Freshman Aryn Michaelis cleared 5-7 in the high jump and is tied for second for all classes. Alyssa Edington has vaulted 10-7 and leaped 17-8.25 in the long jump. Amari Esquibel has performed admirably, too.
Tyelor Holloway is among the state leaders in the 100 hurdles at 15.05 seconds and 300 hurdles (40.23). Ross Rider paces 3A in the triple jump with a mark of 45-9. Quincy Esquibel ranks second in the same event with a jump of 44-3.
At the Hugoton meet, the boys finished second and the girls third. Both teams were second at Holcomb. The squads swept the Scott City titles.
Last season, Oldham placed third in the shot put and fourth in the discus in Class 2A. As a freshman, Oldham placed in all three disciplines with an eighth in javelin, third in discus and seventh in shot put. He also took tenth in the state high jump as a freshman. Oldham was a nationally renowned thrower in junior high.
No Lakin boy has won a track championship since Jose Perez captured the 300-meter hurdle crown in 2018. Before then, Kayson Matthews won the 3,200 title in 2010. Those are Lakin’s only track crowns since 2001, per KSHSAA archives.
In football last fall, Oldham rushed 147 times for 888 yards and 13 scores for a 4-5 Broncs team. He easily paced Lakin in all three categories. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder has rushed for 2,231 yards and 30 rushing scores in his career.
In basketball, Oldham was a unanimous first team all-league selection for an 18-5 squad.
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Ellis senior Logan Russell helped the Railroaders set a bevy of passing and receiving records last fall on a 4-5 team, the last 11-man season in EHS history. Russell statistically ranked among Kansas’ top specialists, per the MaxPreps database and Sunflower Sports Solutions (S3) research.
Russell was a three-time all-league punter and two-time all-state specialist. He was a multiple year starting quarterback at Ellis. Because of his punting and kicking ability, Russell recently signed with the Fort Hays State University football program.
Russell earned Sunflower Sports Solutions’ Male Athlete of the Week for the week of April 21-27.
Russell completed 156 of 293 passes for 2,190 yards with 28 scores against 10 interceptions. He recorded nine touchbacks on 52 kickoffs. Russell delivered 35.6 yards per punt with six of 16 attempts inside the 20-yard line. In his career, Russell averaged 37.9 yards per punt with 14 of 58 inside the 20-yard line.
He finished No. 24 in Kansas (top-10 percent) in gross punting average. He was top-5 in percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line. Plus, Russell finished top-15 in Kansas in touchbacks.
Logan’s older sister, Madi, was an acclaimed distance runner and runs for NCAA Division I University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Getz paces state in javelin
By CONOR NICHOLL
Photo by Jaime Woods-Kinderknecht
The Pre-State Challenge hosted by Wichita State University is always a premier early season event. It allows individuals from all classes to compete against athletes from varied geographical regions. This year, the event took place from April 11-12.
Annually, athletes from Class 1A and 2A compete and defeat much larger school competitors. Quinter senior Lakin Getz took advantage of his opportunity at Pre-State, an event the Bulldogs normally don’t attend. Getz was recently cleared from an injury that cost him all of basketball season. Getz has had two knee surgeries since December.
He threw 198 feet, 11 inches, bettered his own school mark, and won the Elite all-classes javelin throw at Pre-State. Getz bested eight other competitors, including those from Kansas City and Oklahoma City-urban schools.
Last Friday, Getz went to Hill City and exceeded his school mark with a 209-foot, 1-inch toss. Getz is currently No. 1 for all classes and 19th all-time for Kansas, per longtime historian Carol Swenson’s statewide list.
Getz’s showing earned Sunflower Sports Solutions’ Male Athlete of the Week for the week of April 7 to April 13.
Quinter senior Bradley Bogert, the defending 1A state titlist in the 400, also had a big showing in the 110 hurdles and 400. Getz took third in the 1A-3A competition in the discus.
Last spring, Getz won the defending 1A javelin champion with a throw of 167 feet, 1 inch. He helped Quinter to a controversial third place team finish. QHS had a chance to win entering the 1,600-meter relay, the final event, when Bogert was disqualified, a decision that garnered statewide attention.
Quinter returned many of the key athletes and is a major 1A state contender, especially after Pre-State.
Getz, a University of Nebraska-Kearney javelin commit, was top-three for QHS in basketball in points and rebounds as a junior. He was the Bulldogs’ second-leading rusher last fall, though suffered a knee injury. Getz missed all of basketball because of the ailment, a winter when Quinter went to state for the first time in 14 years and took fourth in Class 1A, Division I.
At Pre-State, Getz bested Eudora’s Kole Manley, Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Jackson Daniel, Phillipsburg’s Trace Hanchett, Eudora’s Nate Steinlage, Shawnee Heights’ Alex Dittman, Edmond (Okla.) Memorial’s Tyler Fitzgerald, Moundridge’s Henry Hecox, and Winfield’s Kellen Gibbson. Manley is currently fourth for all classes with a toss of 182 feet, 10 inches.
Bogert earned first in 1A in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.22, 12th-best for all classes.
That mark came in the Elite group at Pre-State, where Bogert finished third.
Bogert paces 1A in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.58 seconds, a time that won the 1A-3A competition at Pre-State.
Last year, Bogert finished top-25 for all classes in the 400 and won state at 49.98.
Quinter had several other top showings at Pre-State. Sophomore Mia Briggs took ninth in the 1A-3A hurdles in 17.76 seconds, an event that had 29 competitors. Sophomore Ka’Mara Harvey earned 13th in the same event.
Briggs tied for sixth in the Elite pole vault with a nine-foot clearance.
Sophomore Shaylee Baalman took fifth in the 1A-3A hurdles at 52.52 seconds.
The 1,600 girls’ relay finished fifth in 1A-3A in a time of 4:29.62 with Baalman, Briggs, junior Brooklyn Countryman and senior Saige Betz.
The 3,200 relay took third at 10:52.04 with Betz, Countryman, Baalman and freshman Blaire Beougher.
Baalman tied for second in 1A-3A high jump with a clearance of 4 feet, 8 inches.
Freshman Ella Gruenbacher and junior Serenity Smith finished ninth and 11th in the 1A-3A triple jump.
On the boys’ side, senior Trace Kinderknecht finished fifth in the 1A-3A 100-meter dash in 11.63 seconds. Kinderknecht took fourth in the 400-meter dash at 53.36 seconds in the 1A-3A.
Sophomore Elliot Churchwell took fourth in the 1A-3A 3,200-meter run with 10 minutes, 41 seconds.
The 1,600 relay earned fourth in 1A-3A in 3:38.67 with Kinderknecht, junior Shea Salyers, sophomore Gunner Catura and junior Hans Deaton. The 3,200 relay finished as 1A-3A runner-up with sophomores Joshua Mullins, Gunner Catura, and Kendrik Selensky, along with Deaton.
HHS names complex "Leo-Harper Field"
By CONOR NICHOLL
In March 2019, I reached out to then-Hays High School baseball coach Frank Leo for a story regarding his final season with the Indians.
I had covered dozens of HHS baseball games during the years, notably from 2008-14, and served as the Hays Larks beat reporter during that time, too. Leo has won more than 1,500 games between Hays High and the Hays Larks, a summer collegiate baseball team he still currently manages.
Leo and I met up in the Hays High press box. Leo wanted to show me a photo, a picture I had seen years prior, but not recently. We walked down to the indoor batting cage, which sits adjacent to the bullpens that are next to the third-base side fence.
The HHS baseball complex has long been one of the best facilities in Kansas high school baseball. Still in 2024, many western Kansas baseball/softball facilities share fields with local recreation complexes. Others don’t have lights and/or turf. Hays High was a forerunner in creating a beautiful on-campus complex.
Even five years ago, HHS featured a turf infield, grass outfield and lights. Additionally, the complex had bleachers, spacious covered press box and bathrooms. Hays High has long hosted the Diamond Classic, which has attracted top teams from across the state.
Leo and I entered the indoor batting cage.
Perched against the wall in the indoor building was a photo marked March 28, 1982. The picture shows the ’82 version of the HHS diamond, which bears no resemblance to the current setup. The words “Dream Big” are at the top of the photo in the center. Leo took a glance at the photo.
“We dreamed big, and we got something big,” Leo said.
Leo and assistant coach Keith Harper led Hays High from 1981-2019 and won 576 games. Leo and Harper, who handles the pitching, still lead the Larks. Both are fixtures in the Hays community. The two room together on Larks trips.
Dustin Dreher, a former Hays High and Fort Hays standout, served a lengthy stint as the Indian assistant baseball coach. Dreher has since taken over the program.
“It’s been a work in progress since 1981,” Leo said. “You look at pictures from 1981 to where it is now, it’s amazing.”
Last Friday, Hays High renamed the baseball field “Leo-Harper Field” in a ceremony before a doubleheader sweep against Garden City. HHS, the reigning Western Athletic Conference champs, stand at 7-1. HHS won 12-2 and 9-3. The Indians went 11-10 last year with primarily non-seniors in key roles.
The Hays High School baseball program earns the Sunflower Sports Solutions’ Male Athletes of the Week for the week of March 31 to April 6. Dylan Haselhorst, Cooper Sanders, Ian McGuire, Johnny Cano, Nolan Dreher, Carter Graham and Jack Weimer are among the key players for the Indians.
Haselhorst started his career in Kinsley, enjoyed a standout football career and moved to Hays High before his junior season. He has signed with Barton County baseball. Sanders is a returning first team all-league shortstop.
Hays High will play host to Great Bend in a key WAC doubleheader Tuesday. GB stands at 8-1.
In 2023, the USD 489 board of education approved changes to the complex. The key main upgrades included turf for the entire field, new nets behind home plate and new bleachers. Leo and Harper, along with some community members, helped build the complex.
“Him and coach Harper truly have built from the ground up, from it being just an open pasture,” Dreher told me in 2019.
Leo and I eventually returned to the press box. On that day, he was emotional about leaving the program in a few months. He looked at the field and remembered laying certain beams and structures. He had quick recall of the work him and Harper accomplished during the decades.
Now their names are on the field forever.
Percentage-wise, NV's Schemper second in KS in shooting
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Photo by Scott Sansom
Almena-Northern Valley senior Drew Schemper finished as the state runner-up in field goal shooting percentage this winter.
The 6-foot-3, 221-pound Schemper earned honorable mention all-state honors in Class 1A, Division II from the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. The final statistics and KBCA honors were released earlier this month.
Schemper earns Sunflower Sports Solutions’ Male Athlete of the Week for the week of March 24-30.
Schemper helped Northern Valley finish 20-3 and advance to the Class 1A, Division II state tournament. A select few players cleared 60 percent shooting, per the MaxPreps statewide lists.
Of the state’s top-175 scorers, Schemper ranked No. 100 in points per game at 13.9. His field goal shooting stood second to Olathe Northwest’s 6-foot-11 forward J.J. Lee’s 71 percent.
Only four other Kansans exceeded 60 percent shooting.
Labette County’s 6-foot-8 Hudson Baker, a consensus all-state pick and record holder for the Grizzlies, stood at 61 percent. Bennington’s Eli Lawson, an all-state selection, stood at 62 percent.
Wichita Heights’ T.J. Williams, a Wichita State commit and the state’s consensus top player, made 63 percent of his shots. Williams and Blue Valley Northwest’s Joey Matteoni were each top-5 all-state selections. Matteoni, headed to Division II national power Northwest Missouri State, made 64 percent of his shots.
Schemper paced NV with eight rebounds and 1.8 blocks a contest. Senior Kenton Thalheim averaged 17.4 points per game en route to second team all-state KBCA honors. Schemper shot 49, 61, 52 and 69 percent in his four years and completed his career with 760 points.
The Northern Valley girls finished fourth in Class 1A, Division II. Senior Austyn Cox earned third team all-state, and junior Delaney Sides picked up honorable mention.
Garden City senior excels in football and wrestling
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Wrestling photo by Brice Kesler, KS Shrine Bowl
Football photo by Kim Reel Photography (Lopez No. 56)
The first time I spoke with longtime Garden City High School football coach Brian Hill about lineman Sebastian Lopez came in 2021. Then, Lopez was a sophomore and had just stepped in as the starting center. Hill has coached multiple Division I linemen.
At that point, Hill noted Lopez was “beyond” his sophomore year. Lopez earned statewide All-Underrated Team honors from me, generally a precursor of future all-state success.
Hill noted Lopez had high character, played multiple sports and wanted to improve.
Football in Kansas: Sports in Kansas 2021 All Under-The-Radar Team from 6A to 6-Man – Kenta Fast Blog (sportsinks.com)
“It’s really just his overall strength,” Hill said midway through the 2021 season. “I mean, he has the strength of a 17 or 18 year old kid, and that’s what allows him to play and wrestle and be as good as he is at this age. He’s just extremely strong. He’s got a great head on his shoulders. He is not someone who gets too high or too low. He’s very level-headed, and just a competitor.”
Two-plus years later, Lopez made Kansas history as a GCHS lineman and 285-pound wrestler. Lopez, a Garden City Community College football commit, earned selection for both the Shrine Bowl football and wrestling teams.
On Jan. 1, players were announced for the 51st annual football Shrine Bowl, played each summer. The 6-foot-2, 280-pound Lopez was one of three 6A West seniors picked as a defensive lineman.
Lopez earned Garden City’s Lineman of the Year honor. He was a first team all-state football selection and first team all-conference pick as a senior, and second team all-league his junior year. Lopez became the 42nd Buff to earn a Shrine Bowl football nod.
On March 17, Lopez completed in the inaugural Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Shrine Duals, held at Newman University. The competition featured girls and boys matches. East won 72-62 over the West.
Lopez won his match via fall in 4 minutes, 27 seconds over Coffeyville’s Kainen White. Just 28 senior boys earned a spot in the wrestling duals. Lopez and White (6-1, 282) were the lone boys named to both the Shrine Bowl football and wrestling rosters. White has committed to Butler County Community College as a lineman.
For his career and historical accomplishment, Lopez earned Sunflower Sports Solutions (S3) Male Athlete of the Week honors for the week of March 17 to March 23.
Lopez helped Garden City football to 5-4,7-3 and 5-4 records in the last three falls. Garden City is historically known for its run-heavy offense and linemen. GC ran the ball 90 percent of snaps in ’21, 89 percent in ’22 and 82 percent last year.
Garden City had a higher percentage of run plays than any other 6A team in 2022, per the database available at SunflowerSportsSolutions.com.
Defensively, he collected 54 tackles, four for loss, in the last two years combined.
On the mat, Lopez finished third, first, second and third in four years with Garden City wrestling, all at 285 pounds. Lopez faced the same wrestler, Olathe East’s Brett Carroll, in all four state tournaments. Lopez won the first two matches, lost to Carroll in the finals, and fell, 1-0, in a bracket match this year. Carroll finished 45-0.
Lopez posted records of 25-5, 32-2, 37-4 and 30-5. He won the prestigious Rocky Welton title all four years, generally considered Kansas’ largest regular season wrestling meet.
Kats paces Logan-Palco in key statistics
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Photo by Scott Sansom
Logan-Palco junior Rhett Kats enjoyed a huge season for the 17-6 Trojans, a team that lost to rival Northern Valley in the Class 1A, Division II sub-state championship game. He delivered an extreme rarity and paced the Trojans in the six major categories: points, field goals, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
Kats earned Sunflower Sports Solutions' Male Athlete of the Week for the week of March 10 to March 16.
A 6-foot-3 junior, Kats averaged 20.7 points per game and shot 52 percent from the field, which tied with junior Kaden Graham. Kats delivered 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 3.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per contest. He improved his numbers across the board after 15.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.4 blocks a contest. Kats has 944 career points and will pass 1,000 career points early next winter.
Kats earned first team all-conference for the Western Kansas Liberty League. It marked the most wins since Logan-Palco formed a co-op for basketball four years ago. Kats was L-P’s quarterback in the fall and passed for 1,081 yards and 16 scores. He finished second with 73 tackles.
Rebels deliver complete effort in victory
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Montezuma-South Gray won the fifth state title under legendary coach Mark Applegate, the state’s all-time winningest primarily boys’ basketball coach. South Gray finished 24-2. The Rebels defeated Bishop Seabury, 76-63, on Saturday at the Colby Event Center.
South Gray earned second, second and third the previous three years. The Rebels had previously won titles in 1997, 2007, ’08 and 2018. SG has six state runner-ups under Applegate. He has 794 career victories. SG is the Sunflower Sports Solutions’ Male Athlete of the Week.
Plenty more on the Rebels on Sunday at S3.
Applegate said SG averaged above 40 percent on 3-point shooting for the winter, the best percentage he has had from a team in 41 years with the Rebels.
South Gray delivered a vintage game of shooting, hustle and basketball plays against a much bigger Seabury squad that dominated its first two state games. Seabury coach Trey Johnson was ejected with two technicals for arguments with officials and expletive-filled language. Seabury was 21-5 and nearly doubled its win total from last season.
South Gray senior Joey Dyck fashioned a near extremely rare quadruple-double with 26 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and seven steals. South Gray had a remarkable three turnovers, 11 fewer than Seabury. Dyck is the likely Class 1A, Division I Player of the Year.
South Gray finished plus-seven on the glass, including a 12-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. SG held a 23-3 margin on points off turnovers. South Gray has no player above 6-foot-2. Seabury had two, including 6-foot-7 junior Chase Honarvar.
Senior Dominic Martin delivered 10 points. Sophomore Gavin Wahl doesn’t start but often enters midway through the first quarter and plays a high majority of the game. He tallied 26 points. SG finished 27 of 61 from the field, 6 of 21 from 3-point range and 16 of 20 from the free throw line. The Rebels shot 24 of 61 (39 percent) from long range at state.
QHS seniors paced Bulldogs to first state appearance since '10
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Photo by Jaime Woods-Kinderknecht
In 2009, the Quinter boys’ basketball team finished as state runner-up. The following winter, QHS earned a state Final Four showing. Since then, Quinter have been slightly over .500 as a program and posted seven winning seasons, including the last four. QHS had taken a couple of sub-state championship game losses and sometimes been a part of its classification’s most challenging sub-state.
Last year, the Bulldogs posted a 13-9 record and took a tough 59-57 sub-state title game home loss to La Crosse. On Saturday, Quinter boys qualified for the state basketball tournament for the first time in 14 years under longtime coach John Crist. Since 1990, Quinter has seven state appearances, including an undefeated Class 2A state championship with Crist in 2004, per Kansas historian Carol Swenson and Sunflower Sports Solutions (S3) research.
Quinter won the Class 1A, Division I Oberlin sub-state with a 52-25 victory against Atwood-Rawlins County. The Bulldogs improved to 19-3. Quinter was the sub-state’s top seed and the clear favorite. This marked Quinter’s most victories since 2010, a year that the Bulldogs were undefeated until state.
Quinter has six seniors that helped the Bulldogs replace more than half of its scoring from last year: Ethan Gruenbacher, Trace Kinderknecht, Avery Briggs, Luke Packard, Kahne Johnson and Lakin Getz.
Quinter also defeated Rawlins County, 56-39, on Feb. 9.
Briggs has enjoyed a sizable improvement. Last year, he had 6.7 points, four rebounds, 1.7 steals and one assist a contest. Briggs made 35 treys in the last three years and upped to 31 this winter. He had 35 made free throws in the past three seasons; 45 this year. His shooting percentage of 33 percent is also a career best (min. five shots).
Briggs has paced Quinter in scoring with 11.5 points a game. He has also delivered 4.9 rebounds, two steals and 1.5 assists a game.
Packard has 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds a contest. Johnson has 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Kinderknecht delivered 5.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and a team-high 3.7 assists a game. Gruenbacher has 3.8 points, three rebounds and three assists per contest.
Quinter opened the year with three victories, two in overtime. QHS fell, 41-31, to Dighton on Dec. 9. The Bulldogs also lost, 44-32, to Dighton on Jan. 20, and fell, 45-39, to Osborne on Oct. 17. Since then, Quinter won three straight games. QHS has allowed just 36.4 points per game, down from 42.1 last year.
Three-sport star has continued success
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Photo by Dale Stephens
Osborne senior Jonny Hamel has continued his excellent career.
He has qualified for state cross country all four years and state track all three years. Hamel went to state basketball with Stockton his freshman season and Osborne as a sophomore. In cross country, Hamel has three straight top-10 finishes and finished in the top-13 in all four years at state. For track, Hamel was notably eighth in the 3,200-meter run in Class 1A last spring.
On Tuesday, Hamel scored 31 points on seven treys in a 58-31 win against Sylvan-Lucas. Hamel averages 20 points per game for the Bulldogs, ranked fourth in Class 1A, Division I. Osborne is 18-1 and has won 16 straight games after a 76-29 victory versus Stockton on Friday.
Last year, Osborne went 20-2 and Hamel averaged 18.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.8 steals and 3.8 assists a contest. As a sophomore, Hamel finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists per contest.
Sophomore post for Indians with big season
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Photo by Everett Royer, ksportsimages.com
Hays High sophomore post Dawson Ruder enjoyed a solid pre-Christmas showing with 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest. Ruder ranked second in points and paced the Indians in rebounds. Ruder helped Hays High start 2024 with a 66-64 road win against Garden City when point guard Jack Weimer sank a buzzer-beater.
After that, HHS headed to the Colby Orange and Black tournament. Ruder started the tournament with 19 points in a 56-52 loss to Goodland, currently 15-2 and ranked third in Class 3A. HHS limited Goodland to eight points under its season average. The loss started a streak of double-figure scoring for the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Ruder and strong team defense numbers for Hays High. Ruder has delivered 15.6 points a game in the last eight contests.
HHS has won six of its last seven and stands at 10-6 overall after a 66-32 road win Friday versus Liberal. Hays High is 5-0 in the Western Athletic Conference under second-year head coach Sean Dreiling. Ruder has quickly emerged as one of Kansas’ top sophomores, particularly inside.
Additionally, Ruder started at end for Hays High football on a WAC title winning squad. Ruder blocked for Malik Bah, the Indians’ all-time leading rusher and a recent Fort Hays commit.
After the Goodland loss, Ruder tallied a season-high 21 points in a 67-64 win against Pine Creek (Colo.) and followed up with 13 points in the last Colby contest, a 63-42 win against Liberty (Colo.).
On Jan. 26, Hays High won its high-profile home game versus rival Great Bend, 59-47. GB has consistently ranked in the top-10 in scoring offense in Kansas with 65.2 points per contest. The Hays High game is two points off Great Bend’s season-low this year. Ruder tallied 10 points against Great Bend, per Indian broadcaster Dustin Armbruster.
Then, Ruder scored a game-high 17 points in a 49-30 win versus Scott City, the fewest points the Beavers have scored in a contest. He tallied a game-high 19 points against Dodge City in a 49-32 victory on Feb. 2. That marks the fewest points DC has tallied in a contest; since the Hays High game, Dodge City has delivered 59 points and 80 in an overtime loss to Colby.
On Tuesday, HHS fell, 56-45, at home versus undefeated McPherson, ranked first in Class 4A. The Bullpups average 67.4 points a contest. Ruder scored 10 points in the defeat. On Friday, Ruder finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the Liberal victory. LHS has averaged just under 55 points a contest.
Ruder’s older brother, Dylan, was a key post on HHS’ COVID Forever Four squad. The 6-foot-11, 230-pound Ruder is currently playing for University of Sioux Falls. Their sister, Aleyia, was a former HHS Girl Athlete of the Year.
Leoti-Wichita County senior Brandon Price has enjoyed a great run in football, wrestling
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Leoti-Wichita County’s Brandon Price continued a stellar career and senior season when he recently cleared 100 career wrestling victories. Price was also a consensus first team all-state lineman in Eight-Man, Division I for the state runner-up Indians.
Wichita County was ranked first or second in football all fall and lost to Lyndon in the state title game. WC again paced Division I in scoring offense with 748 points. In 2022, Wichita County won the state championship with Price a starting lineman and set the eight-man state scoring record with 792 points, per Sunflower Sports Solutions (S3) database.
Price has enjoyed a huge wrestling season. He has earned championships at 285 pounds at St. Francis, the 60th annual Ron Smith Invitational, Goodland, the Cardinals round robin, Scott City Cimarron, and the Wichita County Round Robin. Price finished ninth at the prestigious 66th annual Rocky Welton Invitational in Garden City on Jan. 27.
This weekend, Price won the Southwest Invite and moved to 32-3. He won two matches via fall in under three minutes and earned a 4-3 championship match victory against Taylor Hubl of Hitchcock County (Neb.). In addition, WC’s Wyatt Gardner improved to 35-2 with a championship at 150 pounds. Gardner cleared 100 career victories last winter and earned first team all-state quarterback for Wichita County in the fall.
In January, Price, Gardner and lineman Chris Michel were named to the 20-player West all-star squad for the Eight-Man, Division I all-star game, held in June at Beloit.
Last winter, Price qualified for Class 3-2-1A state at 215 pounds. He went 1-2 and completed a 30-15 record. Gardner earned state runner-up at 144 pounds with a 43-4 record. Isaiah Gerstberger went 15-13 at 190. As a sophomore, Price finished 27-19 at 182 pounds. He had a sub-.500 record on varsity as a freshman.
Currently, Gardner is ranked No. 1 at 150 pounds by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association. Price is not ranked, though is part of a superb 285-pound class that includes Norton junior Corbin Puga, Smith Center sophomore Kharson Montgomery, Hoxie senior Gavin Schippers, Plainville senior Mason Hogan, Council Grove junior Holden Ziegler and Southeast of Saline sophomore Brody Chambers.
Manny Gonzalez has helped Cowboys
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Goodland boys’ basketball continues to be one of the top Kansas stories this year. On Friday, GHS improved to 12-2 and defeated Hoxie, 75-29. Goodland is ranked third in Class 3A. The Cowboys were unranked in the preseason and have made one of the state’s biggest climbs, regardless of classification or gender.
Goodland had its largest margin of victory this season. Per broadcaster Ross Volkmer, six different Cowboys set career highs.
Senior Manny Gonzalez continues to enjoy a big season with 10.8 points and 3.1 assists per game. He is one of the state’s most efficient shooters at 51 percent from 3-point range.
Gonzalez was first team all-league last year and honorable mention twice in his career. He finished with six points and two rebounds Friday.
Goodland also won the Topside Tipoff earlier this season. The Cowboys are 2-0 against Western Athletic Conference teams, a 5/6A league. That includes a win against Hays High, which currently paces the WAC.
Goodland has risen to No. 2 in Class 3A rankings
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Photo by Leon Volk
Goodland boys’ basketball, paced by 6-foot-5 junior Brady Brumbaugh, has enjoyed a banner season and several historical milestones. Goodland opened 7-0 and rose to second in the Class 3A coaches rankings, the program’s best start in more than two decades. Goodland stands at 9-2.
Goodland finished third in the Orange and Black with a 52-37 victory Saturday against rival Colby. This marked Goodland’s first third place finish in the Colby tournament since 1991. In the quarterfinals, Goodland defeated 5A Hays High, 56-52, in overtime. Brumbaugh paced Goodland with 23 points. Senior Manny Gonzalez sunk the game-tying trey to send the game to overtime.
In Friday’s semifinals, Goodland lost to 6A Olathe North, 68-58. Brumbaugh delivered 15 points. Olathe North was 7-2 after the victory.
Earlier in the month, Goodland fell, 63-58, in overtime at Hugoton, ranked second in 4A and the defending 4A state champion. Gonzalez delivered a career-high 26 points. Brumbaugh has led Goodland in scoring and among the leaders in rebounds and assists.
Goodland finished 14-9 last year, which doubled its win total from the previous year.
*Credit to Goodland broadcaster Ross Volkmer with statistics in this story.*
Nuss earns all-star game nod for football, big start in basketball
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Photo by Everett Royer ksportsimages.com
Hill City senior 6-foot-2, 176-pound Jaden Nuss enjoyed an excellent season for the Ringnecks in Eight-Man, Division I last fall. HC battled through multiple obstacles and Nuss was a consistent player for a 5-4 team. Nuss rushed 113 times for 558 yards and nine scores, all team-highs or tying for the Ringneck best. Nuss finished with 29 receptions, another team high.
He easily paced Hill City with 1,107 all-purpose yards and finished second with 79 tackles. Nuss and Hill City’s Aiden Amrein, the school’s all-time leading passer, were named to the 20-player Division I West all-star game roster that was released earlier this week. HC’s Travis Desbien will be the head coach.
Additionally, Nuss is a standout player for Hill City basketball. HC is 5-1 and earned the second seed in the relatively open Mid-Continent League tournament that has quarterfinals starting Monday. Norton and Hill City earned the top-two seeds. Hill City has defeated Ellis (61-47), Thomas More Prep-Marian (65-55), Oberlin (66-55), Hoxie (60-51), and WaKeeney-Trego (43-34) with a 50-44 non-league loss to Quinter.
Nuss has 18.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and shooting 47 percent from the field, all Hill City-bests. Dylan Gansel has 18 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists a contest with 45 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Carson Keith has 9.7 points and a team-high 2.2 steals a game for legendary Hall of Fame coach Keith Riley, who has led the Ringnecks for more than 50 years. Hill City has posted back-to-back 17-5 records.
The TMP victory ended an 11-game Hill City losing streak in the series that dated back to Dec. 9, 2016. Hill City was 1-12 in its last 13 games versus Hoxie. Overall, HC has averaged 56 points a contest and has made nearly six treys per game. HC has averaged just 6.8 turnovers a contest. Last year, Nuss finished as Hill City’s second-leading scorer and rebounder with 13 points and 5.4 rebounds a game.
Jack Weimer among Kansas' best point guards
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
HAYS – On Dec. 22, Hays High boys’ basketball faced Liberal in its last game before Christmas break. LHS has shown significant improvement this winter under Brandt Rogers, a former state title winning coach at Ness City.
Liberal has several impressive Redskins, notably Brooks Kappelmann, the reigning WAC player of the year in baseball and conference’s top offensive player of the year in football.
Kappelmann recently earned a Shrine Bowl nomination. On the basketball court, Kappelmann has highly impressed HHS coach Sean Dreiling with his intensity. The contest also marked the Western Athletic Conference opener. Dreiling and Rogers had previously matched up several times when Dreiling coached at WaKeeney-Trego.
HHS led by three after the first quarter and had a 19-15 lead in the second. The Indians were having some trouble with Liberal’s press. During a timeout, Dreiling told his Indians to “play with fire.”
“I just feel like that’s what was missing,” Dreiling said. “I am around these kids every day, and I know that Kyzer Fox has that in him. I know Jack Weimer has that in him, and they weren’t giving it.”
HHS quickly responded, led by seven at the break and quickly pulled away for a 61-26 home victory that yielded a running clock.
“We turned up the intensity,” Dreiling said. “We did very little trapping, but we did pick up full court, and just kind of really played with our ears pinned back and just kind of played with fire, and when we do that, we are really good defensively, and it’s funny how when you are locked in defensively, it’s funny how the ball goes in on offense.”
Hays High has won 13 straight in the series dating back to Feb. 10, 2017.
“It’s a WAC opponent, so it doesn’t matter if they have been good, or they’ve been bad,” Dreiling said. “The WAC is tough, and we have got to be ready to go, and Liberal…has some athletes, and Kappelmann plays his butt off, so if you are not ready in the WAC, you will lose.”
Weimer, the team’s senior point guard and most decorated player, did not score in the first quarter, tallied 16 points, including 11 in the second half. Senior Kyzer Fox finished with seven. Izaac Fox scored 16.
“I am really proud of them,” Dreiling said.
Weimer is a returning first team all-conference selection after led last year’s squad with 12 points and three assists a contest. He was one of three non-seniors to make the first or second team. Weimer has emerged as one of Kansas’ top point guards. Against Liberal, Weimer showcased the ability to score with his right on guarded layups. Another time, he was defended on the break, switched over late and scored. Weimer finished with seven assists and five rebounds.
“He’s got stuff that you can’t coach, and he’s a good little player,” Dreiling said.
For the season, Weimer leads with 12.4 points and three assists in 27 minutes a contest.
“He’s a really good player, and he has dealt with some adversity in this first semester, but I am really proud of the way he responded tonight, having a big game,” Dreiling said.
Sophomore Trey Oakley had several nice plays. On one possession, Oakley’s shoe came off and was tossed to the side by another player. Oakley slid around on one shoe and eventually gathered the defensive rebound. He also had several nice transition passes that eventually yielded open layups and delivered six points. Sophomore Dawson Ruder (6-foot-6, 235) anchored the middle and delivered 10 points. Ruder is second with 12.3 points a contest and first with 5.7 rebounds.
Sophomore Izaac Fox has 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Oakley has 3.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists a contest. Kyzer Fox has delivered 4.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Weimer paces the Indians with 10 treys and has shot 33 percent from beyond the arc.
“Not all of it ends up in the stat book with Trey,” Dreiling said. “But a lot of those transition things happen because of him, because he pushes the ball up the floor. He is the glue. He is the glue – we have great senior leadership, but we have great young talent with Dawson and everything, but Trey just brings it all together and does so many things.”
The Indians finished a challenging pre-Christmas schedule at 3-4, though Dreiling said HHS is a couple of plays away from 5-2 with close losses to Life Prep and Junction City. In a rarity, HHS will have three weeks off and will not play again until at Garden City (3-4) on Jan. 12. Hays High and Great Bend (6-1, 67 points per game) have emerged as the WAC favorites. Dreiling noted his team has “weathered the storm a little bit.”
Hays High’s four losses include two non-KSHSAA teams and opponents with a combined mark of 25-4. That includes Wichita Heights and Wichita State commit T.J. Williams, generally considered the state’s best team and player.
“We are really close to being 5-2, a few possessions at Junction City, a few possessions versus Life Prep,” Dreiling said. “We are really close to having a really good record and feeling really good about ourselves, but maybe it’s a good thing that we kind of got put in our place a little bit here early in the year, and we can keep our head down and keep grinding.”
Dreiling wanted the Indians’ 3-point percentage to improve. As a team, Hays High is 26 of 106 (25 percent). Last season, HHS had several high-flying athletes who were good basketball players and better at other sports, namely Keamonie Archie, Kyreese Groen and Chason Vanderwege. Archie and Groen signed to play for Fort Hays football, while Vanderwege was WAC male track athlete of the year.
Overall, Hays High has shot 43 percent from the field and 69 percent from the foul line. HHS has collected 34 percent of offensive rebounds and turned the ball over on 22 percent of possessions. HHS has scored 0.91 points per possession and allowed 0.82 in the second year under Dreiling, all solid rates.
Dreiling said his current group has “basketball IQ.” Many of the key Indians have played at a high level in the summer.
“They have been under me for a year, so they are familiar with me a little bit more but also we have better, more skilled basketball players,” Dreiling said. “… Last year, we had Keamonie, and Kyreese and Chason, who were freak athletes, and they weren’t as skilled, but I think this team is able to execute at a high level.”
Northern Valley won the WaKeeney tournament; K. Thalheim close to 1,000 career points
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Last season, Tribune-Greeley County was the significant favorite to repeat in Class 1A, Division II boys’ basketball. Greeley County featured a highly experienced group and one of the state’s rare all-time 2,000-point scorers with Jaxson Brandl.
Greeley County finished 24-1 with its only loss a 56-49 defeat at Northern Valley on Jan. 6, 2022. The year prior, GC held off Northern Valley in the state semifinals.
GC, Lebo, Coldwater-South Central and Axtell rounded out the top-four. This year, Northern Valley has emerged with an impressive December and a strong state favorite in a more open classification. GC took massive graduation losses and has fallen back to 1-5.
Northern Valley finished 18-4 and took a minor upset loss to Beloit St. John’s-Tipton in sub-state. This year, the Huskies have posted an impressive 7-0 start and Purple and Gold tournament championship at WaKeeney.
Notably, NV held off rival Cheylin, 61-56, at home in the Dec. 1 season opener. Cheylin had won the six-man state football championship a week before it opened basketball.
Then, Northern Valley beat Oakley (57-23), Ness City (65-41) and Hodgeman County (63-53) at WaKeeney. On Dec. 12, Northern Valley delivered an impressive 59-43 home win versus Logan-Palco.
On Dec. 15, NV won at Thunder Ridge, 62-29, and beat Arapahoe (Colo.), 65-34, on Dec. 19.
An experienced Northern Valley football squad finished 8-2 in the fall and finished fourth in the final KPreps rankings with a district loss to Cheylin and a playoff defeat to Ashland. In basketball, coach Kevin Sides, a former NV standout, also has plenty of seniors.
The 15 player roster features eight seniors: Nolan Kinderknecht, Kenton Thalheim, Jonah Black, Jason Cox, Jeremiah Hansen, Brody Preston, Drew Schemper (6-2, 220) and Gabe Rudd (6-3, 196).
Kenton Thalheim leads with 13.4 points per game, while Kinderknecht is at 13.1, and Schemper with 12.6. Schemper has led with 73 percent shooting.
Cox paces with 6.7 rebounds, Kenton has 5.9 boards a game, while sophomore Gavin Thalheim has 5.7. Hansen leads with four assists a game, with Kinderknecht at 2.7 and Kenton Thalheim has 2.4. Thalheim and Hansen tie for the team lead with 17 steals.
Last year, Thalheim led with 14 points, 3.2 assists, 2.8 steals and 0.5 blocks a contest. Thalheim has 900 career points and will likely clear 1,000 career points in January. He’s been a highly consistent shooter throughout his career and hit 43 percent from the field, 33 percent from beyond the arc and 73 percent from free throws.
Northern Valley is ranked third in Class 1A, Division II. Two other teams have emerged in the west. Dighton is ranked seventh, and Bird City-Cheylin stands tenth. Axtell and Elyria Christian pace the class, while Hanover is fourth and Cunningham and fifth.
Northern Valley (7-0), Cheylin (5-2) and Logan-Palco (3-2) are each in the Golden Plains sub-state.
Twin Valley League rivals Axtell and Hanover are both 5-0 and in the Randolph-Blue Valley sub-state. Dighton is also 7-0 and will be the favorite in the Greeley County sub-state.
Bulldogs have opened 4-1
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Quinter boys’ basketball has enjoyed a 4-1 start and a big performance from 6-foot-2 junior guard Shea Salyers. He has delivered 10.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest. Salyers helped QHS to a winning season in football as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback. Last year, Quinter lost by two points to La Crosse at home in the sub-state title game. Salyers averaged 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds last winter.
Salyers has significantly upped his play in 2023-24 and helped Quinter earn runner-up to a great Dighton team at the QHS Castle Rock Classic. Quinter opened with a 48-44 overtime victory against Victoria and solid wins versus Wheatland-Grinnell and Logan-Palco.
Then, Quinter lost, 41-31, to Dighton before a 52-31 victory versus Tribune-Greeley County, the two-time defending Class 1A, Division II state champion. Greeley County took massive graduation losses and is 1-5. Logan-Palco is 4-2, while Dighton is 6-0 and has not had a game closer than 10 points. In non-Quinter contests, Dighton has scored 55, 70, 55, 62 and 52 points.
Mason Younger earns first team all-state selection
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Ellis senior Mason Younger has earned first team all-state honors in all three sports. Younger took second and first in 3-2-1A state wrestling the last two winters and is a two-time state medalist in the pole vault. This fall, Younger enjoyed a record-setting season for the Ellis football team and recently picked up Class 1A first team all-state honors within the last several days.
Younger helped Ellis to a 4-5 record. He finished with 65 catches for 941 yards, both easily school marks, and had 11 receiving scores.
Quarterback Logan Russell set a bevy of passing records, notably 2,190 yards this season. Russell passed for 28 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. Caleb Noble delivered 47 catches for 733 yards and 11 touchdowns. Younger recorded 110 tackles and picked off three passes. He finished with 1,573 all-purpose yards. Russell and Noble were both honorable mention all-state.
Younger has enjoyed a superb wrestling career with 100-plus career wins. He is currently ranked first in 3-2-1A at 144. Younger was considered a top-five wrestler at his weight class for all classifications in the preseason. Phillipsburg sophomore Seth Keeten is ranked second at 144. At the Dec. 2 Christmas Classic in WaKeeney, Younger finished 3-0. That included a 5-2 decision versus Keeten in the championship bout. Younger competed in the Ellis Round Robin wrestling tournament this weekend.
Cougars with S3's major Six-Man awards
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Bird City-Cheylin football coach Chris Walden remembers the play when he first believed Logan McCarty, Pablo Bermudez and Brady Ketzner could be special. Walden, a Cheylin alum, was officiating a home flag football game during the current seniors’ sixth grade year.
The then-sixth graders were facing an opponent of junior high ‘A’ football players. Walden can still see the sequence “happening in my head” that showcased the group’s athleticism. McCarty and Bermudez were at quarterback and running back. They were both around 5-foot-2.
McCarty dropped back to pass, and Bermudez went out to block and then darted through the middle. McCarty threw a 30-40 yard pass right in stride to Bermudez, who caught it one-handed into his body through traffic and a couple defenders. Bermudez ended up scoring.
“You are just like ‘Wow,’” Walden said. “That’s a flag football game, and he is cutting through the middle, fearless of everybody around him, makes this phenomenal catch, scores a touchdown.”
Cheylin got the ball back two plays later. Then, McCarty rolled out to the right and throws a deep pass, 30 to 40 yards, to Ketzner for a score. At the end of the game, Walden and Ketzner spoke. Walden noticed Ketzner had a bruise on his bicep. This is akin to John Elway leaving marks on his Denver Broncos’ wide receivers’ arms and hands, known as the “Elway Cross.”
“It looks like a perfect cross hair of the nose of the football where Logan threw it,” Walden said. “He threw it so hard at him that it left a bruise on his arm of the very front of the football where all four panels are sewed together.”
On Thanksgiving weekend, the seniors completed an historic, record-breaking season and career on multiple levels. In the snow, Cheylin rolled past Cunningham, 57-8, and captured the Six-Man state championship. Cheylin finished 13-0, 12-0 in on-field results. The Cougars won every game by at least 30 points.
Cheylin outscored teams 760-87. The Cougars have set a new statistical standard that all six-man teams are measured by. Since Kansas re-introduced six-man football in 2014 and sanctioned the sport in 2022, the ’23 Cheylin team set records for wins, scoring offense and scoring defense, per databases maintained by S3.
Cheylin won the Wild West six-man state title in 2020. That title and this fall are the lone two athletic championships in Cougar history. The senior class earned 35 victories in four years, also the winningest senior group in Cheylin football history.
“Legitimate ability and big-time athleticism and big-time playmaking ability, and Logan has a very special arm as a quarterback,” Walden said.
McCarty is the winner of the Sunflower Sports Solutions’ Six-Man Offensive Player of the Year, and Bermudez earns S3’s Six-Man Defensive Player of the Year award. Both were four-year starters and three-time all-state players.
Walden earned Six-Man Coach of the Year honors. He is 58-20 in eight years with Cheylin. Walden has won two state titles and has one runner-up showing.
McCarty completed 99 of 147 passes for 2,222 yards with 42 touchdowns. He also ran 96 times for 1,030 yards. McCarty finished his career with 5,813 yards, second all-time among Kansas six-man quarterbacks since the sport was re-introduced. He rushed 302 times for 2,810 yards and 56 scores.
“How efficient he is in throwing the ball,” Walden said. “…Very good numbers for anybody, but his throwing ability and being so proficient throwing the football has given him a ton of confidence this year in being able to run as well. Other years ago, he would have to run more out of necessity.”
An exceptional athlete, Bermudez scored 43 touchdowns this fall: 16 rushing, 20 receiving, four fumble returns, a pick-six and two kickoffs. He finished with 83 career touchdowns, including 18 non-offensive.
Via S3 research and Kansas Sports Hall of Fame archives, Bermudez is believed to have more non-offensive touchdowns than any player in state history.
This season, Bermudez recorded 75 tackles, 13 for loss, eight quarterback hurries, eight fumble recoveries and six forced fumbles. Bermudez finished with 36 receptions for 934 yards and 20 scores. Ketzner contributed 33 catches for 761 yards and 11 scores. Ketzner led with 89 tackles and finished with 12 TFLs. Ketzner finished with 244 stops, 15 TFLs, 81 catches, 1,600 yards and 23 scores.
In the last three to four weeks, Walden and defensive coordinator Mike McCarty often talked about the special group. Walden said he “loved” coaching the team. The seniors went undefeated as freshmen, dropped to three wins in an obstacle-filled sophomore season, advanced to the state semifinals last year and opened this fall in a three-way race as Six-Man West’s top squad with Ashland and Almena-Northern Valley.
After the semifinal loss to Ashland in 2022, Walden challenged the team to not settle for another final four berth. Entering the fall, Cheylin was ranked third.
“Going into this year, I kind of thought we were not the favorites by any means, and I thought Ashland and Cunningham were 1, 2 going into the year,” Walden said. “So we have kind of been able to ride on that underdog coattail all year, and we have been able to preach that to the kids that hey, we are not the favorite, but we are going to play like we are the favorite, and so no pressure, just go do what we do.”
After solid early season victories versus Ashland and Northern Valley, Cheylin emerged as the state favorite. The coaches and the senior boys have a strong relationship and understand how they operate. Walden will also coach them in basketball. On Friday, with extremely limited practice time after state football, Cheylin opened with a 61-56 loss at Northern Valley, ranked seventh in Class 1A, Division II.
“We have had an absolute blast coaching these guys,” Walden said. “But especially the seniors. The seniors’ attitude and their whole mentality and mindset and level of maturity and everything changed so much from last year to this year. And in all honesty, in my mind, we went from last year, we had an older group with a bunch of juniors and sophomores, but this year, we have got our seniors – they turned into young men.”
“And in my opinion, I have had just as much fun this year coaching and enjoyment and everything this year that I did probably back in 2020,” Walden added. “If not a little bit more since I have had this group for longer. I mean, I have coached this group since they were in sixth grade, in junior high basketball, so I know all of them very well.”
Quinter senior earned honors in all three areas
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Quinter senior running back Trace Kinderknecht enjoyed a remarkable season for the Bulldogs. Kinderknecht played some of the year with a cracked rib. He finished as first team all-conference running back and defensive end and second team as a returner.
QHS has been known for passing for the last several years. Kinderknecht enjoyed the most productive year by a Quinter running back in at least a decade. Per Hudl statistics and Sunflower Sports Solutions, Kinderknecht rushed 148 times for 1,075 yards and 14 scores. He also picked off five passes, including a pick-six. Plus, he returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and had 45 tackles on defense. Kinderknecht has a strong opportunity for first team all-state honors.
Kinderknecht has enjoyed notable success in basketball, baseball and track, too. In basketball, he averaged 5.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals a contest. Kinderknecht cleared 100 rushing yards in five contests. That included 259 against Hill City, a game that came down to the final play in overtime. QHS finished 5-4 with all four losses against teams that finished with winning records.
QB Eli Jones capped a huge season for Bluejays
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays (Photo by Everett Royer, ksportsimages.com)
Norton junior quarterback Eli Jones’ major statistical improvement from last fall yielded a historic season for Bluejay football. Norton finished 11-1 and fell at home to Hoisington, 30-21, in the 2A state semifinals Friday.
Entering Hoisington, Jones had completed 135 of 226 passes for 2,019 yards with 17 scores against six interceptions. He paced the Bluejays with 174 carries for 790 yards and 18 TDs. Norton averaged 4.8 yards per rush, and nine yards per pass. Jones posted a 103.1 quarterback rating.
Roman Hauser and Tyce Melvin served as the top receivers with more than 90 combined catches.
Last year, Jones completed 99 of 194 passes for 1,229 yards with 12 scores against nine interceptions. Norton averaged 6.4 yards per attempt in ’22. Jones had 101 carries for 313 yards and three rushing scores.
Norton won double-digit games for the first time since 2014, per Kansas Football History. Before then, Norton last won 11 games in 11-1 seasons in 2002 and ’03. Norton remained outside of the top-five throughout the fall and achieved a surprising season. The Bluejays won the outright Mid-Continent League title under longtime coach Lucas Melvin.
Jones and Hauser should form one of the better 1-2 basketball duos in Kansas this winter.
Hoxie finished as 2A state runner-up
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
(Photo by Everett Royer, ksportsimages.com)
Last winter, Hoxie’s Josey Kennedy earned recognition as one of the state’s top basketball players. Kennedy collected first team all-state Class 2A and paced Hoxie back to the state tournament with one of the state’s most efficient offenses.
Kennedy received 94 percent of its points from non-seniors. Kennedy led her team in points, assists and steals. She averaged 18 points, 3.8 assists and 3.2 steals per contest. Hoxie went 18-6, took runner-up in the Mid-Continent League tournament and lost to eventual state champion Berean Academy in the state quarterfinals.
This fall, Kennedy enjoyed another huge year for Hoxie volleyball. She helped the Indians to a nine-win improvement, 36-6 victory and Class 2A state runner-up to Hillsboro.
Sunflower Sports Solutions noted the west side had Class 2A’s top six to seven volleyball teams, including Hillsboro, Smith Center, Inman, Hoxie, and a couple of squads that didn’t qualify for state, such as Sedgwick and Ellinwood. Hoxie, under coach Lichelle Baar, emerged from the deep pack. The Indians were ranked sixth in the final coaches’ poll.
At state, Hoxie went 2-1 in pool play with wins against Pittsburg Colgan and Inman and a loss to Inman. In the state semifinals, Hoxie defeated Smith Center in two sets. The Indians lost to two-time state champion Hillsboro in the state finals.
Hoxie was 0-10 against Smith Center since 2019. All those losses came in two sets, including defeats on Sept. 5 and Oct. 14 this fall. Smith Center was second, first and second in 2A the last three years. In the semifinals, Kennedy delivered 22 assists and helped Hoxie to a .314 hitting average in the 25-13, 25-13 victory.
Kennedy posted 484 assists in 2022. This fall, Kennedy led the classification with 902 assists, No. 12 for all classes.
Hoxie tied the 2013 team for the best volleyball finish in school annals. Hoxie reached state for the first time in seven years, per KSHSAA archives. The Indians have had multiple other final fours, including ’92, ’03, ’07, ’10, ’12 and ’14.
Recently, the Mid-Continent League released its all-conference teams. Kennedy and junior Emily Bainter picked up first team all-league. Bainter and senior middle hitter Kinley Rogers named to 2A state all-tournament team. For MCL, Rogers and junior Macy Wente were second team, and senior Mireya Villa was honorable mention.
Bainter led Hoxie with 436 kills, 287 digs and a .282 hitting percentage. Wente had 232 kills and a .221 hitting mark. Villa recorded 650 serve-receptions and 287 digs.
Basketball season starts Monday and Hoxie is expected to be a top-five team, along with Colgan, St. Marys, Hillsboro, and Riverside, all whom return at least one first team all-state pick.
Vi Helm is the leader for one-loss Rebels
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
Before the season, Montezuma-South Gray volleyball coach Rick Moyer asked senior Vi Helm where she wanted to play. Helm saw little time as a freshman varsity reserve. As a sophomore, Helm started in the middle, though never played on the back row. She then set a goal to serve.
“It wasn’t to pass yet,” Helm said. “Just to serve in the back row.”
Then, she got to serve junior year and played a little back row. This fall, Helm wished to play all six rotations, rare for a middle at any level. She looked to attack, block, pass and serve. The 5-foot-9 Helm worked on her mobility and getting her feet to the ball for passing.
“Do the whole thing,” Helm said. “So I have been really working on my passing all throughout high school, so I can play that back row. I just try to focus on getting the ball to my platform.”
The results have yielded the best volleyball season in South Gray annals and the chance for a Class 1A, Division I state championship this week. South Gray’s veteran group of Helm, junior Allie Reed, senior setter Kaylee Moyer, and senior libero Jacelyn Huelskamp led the Rebels to a 38-1 record.
Moyer has more than 2,000 career assists and is currently leading the classification in assists. Huelskamp has reached 500 career digs.
“Everybody is doing better this year, even Vi Helm,” Moyer said. “Vi Helm is improving. We are working. She has got her favorite shot. Everybody has got their favorite shot. We are working to hit the opposite way. More tools in the tool box. She is our leader, and she is awesome. At any sport, she is a competitor, and she is out there celebrating with everybody. She plays back row.”
South Gray won the Southern Plains Iroquois title for the first time in 15 seasons, a conference that has routinely played for volleyball championships in recent years. South Gray was Kansas’ last undefeated team for all classes.
“Playing sports ever since I have been young, I have always loved it,” Helm said. “I have always loved the thrill of playing a game and winning, and that drives me to be competitive. To win the game.”
South Gray’s veteran group finished 33-7 last year in volleyball, a sport with little tradition for the Rebels. The core also broke through with a state basketball appearance in March. SG is long known for basketball success.
“We have all just been friends for awhile,” Helm said. “And we’ve all played basketball and do track together, so we are always around each other for team bonding. It just builds over time.”
This marks the third time South Gray has reached state since the school was formed. In 1991 and ’18, SG finished 0-3 in pool play.
On Friday and Saturday, Class 1A, Division I state is held at Dodge City’s United Wireless Arena. South Gray is the top seed, along with defending champion Little River (37-2), third-seeded Spearville (29-8) and fourth seeded Centralia (29-12). SG’s first pool play match is 9:30 a.m.
Reed paces South Gray with 303 kills, while Helm is second at 234. Helm paces SG with 22 blocks, is fourth with 186 digs, and fourth with 164 serve-receptions.
“Not many middles can play six rotations and pass,” Moyer said. “And she said, ‘Coach, I am not coming out of the game. I want to play, I want to pass and play defense.’ And she has got a ton of digs. She’s not playing back row ever – until this year.
"She struggles at times," Moyer added. "But we can keep her in the game, because she is just one of those players, you don’t want to take her off the court, just because of what she does. Just keep everybody going. She is definitely our leader on the court and off the court.”
Helm’s mom is from Montezuma. The family moved away, and then came back when Helm was in the third grade. Helm’s dad is an aerospace engineer. Helm has looked to attend Kansas State for mechanical engineering. She carries a 3.9 GPA and loves math and science. She is currently in trigonometry and physics and will take calculus next semester.
“He was really good with numbers,” Helm said. “And loved math, and he wanted my name to be also a number, so Vi came from the Roman numeral six.”
The group has continually improved from 19-9 to 27-10 before the back-to-back 30-win seasons. South Gray has upped from 9.5 kills per set last fall to 11.1 this season. The Rebels have four victories against Spearville, including the first on Aug. 29. Before this year, SG was 2-13 in the last 15 meetings versus the league rival.
“It’s really exciting,” Helm said. “I would love for South Gray to be known for more than basketball. Volleyball, football, cross country, track, I want us to be good at everything. Beginning of the year, our basketball coach said that the beginning sports of the season set up everything for all the rest of the sports throughout the year, so I want us to start off with a bang in volleyball, and go to basketball, and then track and just keep it going.”
Roman Hauser is among 2A's top players with two college offers
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays (Photo by Everett Royer)
HAYS -- Roman Hauser and Eli Jones have always had a strong bond on the basketball court. Two years ago, the duo helped Norton to a 14-8 record and sub-state championship game berth.
As a freshman, Jones was the second-leading scorer with 8.8 points a contest. In his sophomore year, Hauser was third in points at 6.4 a game and ranked among the state’s leaders in assists with 6.5 a contest.
Last winter, Norton again posted a 14-8 mark. Jones jumped to 14.6 points a game. Hauser was second in scoring (8.5), first in rebounding (6.2) and first in assists (4.4).
Hauser and Jones believed they could replicate the same chemistry in football.
“We’ve played basketball together forever,” Hauser told Sunflower Sports Solutions. “And I mean, we share the ball in basketball like that, and we just kind of talk about it, we were like, playing basketball one day and we were like, ‘Man, if we play football like this, it’s going to be hard to stop us, so during the summer, we went out, ran some routes, just got things down. It’s working.”
In 2022, Norton football finished 6-4 and averaged 20.7 points per game. In his first year as the starter, Jones put up a solid passing line of 1,229 yards, 51 percent completion and 12 scores against nine interceptions. He finished with a 73.2 passer rating.
Hauser served as the leading receiver with 28 catches for 423 yards and four scores.
This fall, the Jones/Hauser connection is among Kansas’ best. Plus, junior Tyce Melvin has became a great receiver with 32 catches for 564 yards and four TDs.
Jones is at 88 for 149 passing for 1,479 yards with 13 scores against four interceptions. His passer rating is at 110.6.
Hauser has 21 catches for 367 yards and four scores. Additionally, senior Bodie Pfannenstiel has 14 catches for 299 yards and four TDs. Norton has averaged 10 yards per pass attempt.
“Just a matter of having that experience of last year, and then getting able to practice it this summer with these guys and really understand what we are wanting it to look like,” head coach Lucas Melvin said.
The improved passing game and top-5 defense has led Norton to a 7-0 start, the best in nine years for the tradition-laden Bluejays. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Hauser has delivered another big year on defense and has performed at a first team all-state/2A Defensive Player of the Year level.
Hauser has football offers from Butler and Hutchinson community colleges. His uncles are Brad and Nathan Cox who won back-to-back state basketball championships for Northern Valley in 1990 and ’91. Notably, Brad Cox has served as a longtime coach and official in northwest Kansas.
Doug Reusink coached those NV teams and is currently the longtime Norton coach where he has more than 700 career victories. Roman’s dad, Keith, played college football at Wyoming and Nebraska-Kearney. Roman’s mom, Jen, played college basketball at Bethel.
Roman’s older sister Hadley played volleyball at Bethel University. His middle sister, Tessa, exceeded 1,000 career points for Norton. She has played in 37 basketball games for Colorado Christian the last two winters.
Hauser credited his family, the coaching staff and team for the success.
“It’s just really nice having him,” junior lineman Corbin Puga said. “He is a big part.”
Norton can secure a perfect regular season, Mid-Continent League title and Class 2A district crown at Russell (3-4, 1-2) on Friday. Last week, Hauser and Jones connected on multiple key passes in a 28-6 road win versus Hays-TMP in high winds.
“Our coaches, they put a lot of time into it for us, I mean countless hours,” Hauser said. “They got us ready. They knew their schemes, what we were going to do, how we were going to prepare and block for that. Our o-line, they are dogs. They are big, they love football, they love hitting, contact, so they were making waves.
“Our quarterback, and our running backs, they were running hard, fighting for all the extra yardage they could,” he added. “And our receivers, they caught it with these winds – we barely had any drops. I think just really good team effort there.”
Key four-year player for Knights has Kansas Wesleyan offer
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
VICTORIA – Ever since he put on a helmet, Victoria senior end Seth Schwien has had a dream to play college football. Three years ago, Schwien became a rare freshman to see significant time for the tradition-laden Knights. As a sophomore, he hauled in six TD passes. Last year, Schwien earned first team all-state honors.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Schwien currently has a 27.5 vertical and runs 4.8 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He has received interest from KU, Central Missouri and Bethel, along with a recent offer from NAIA Kansas Wesleyan.
However, three changes have helped Schwien increase production in 2023 and set or tie multiple career highs in last Friday’s 48-0 home victory against Wallace County-Sharon Springs. WC lost by two to Victoria last season.
“They are a good football team, but we came out ready to play,” Schwien said.
Victoria is 4-1 and ranked No. 2 in Eight-Man, Division II. The Knights travel to Sylvan-Lucas for the district title Friday. Schwien is considered one of eight-man’s best two-way players. (More on Victoria’s team, four-game winning streak and No. 1 scoring defense in Eight-Man, Division II found here):
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He caught five passes for 111 yards and two scores of 31 and 54 yards. The receptions and yardage set a career high, and the receiving TDs tied Schwien’s all-time mark. Plus, he had seven tackles and a strip-sack.
“It’s great, having Seth to throw to, I couldn’t ask for a better tight end than Seth,” Victoria senior quarterback Landon Schmidtberger said.
In his career, Schwien has 51 catches for 941 yards and 15 receiving scores. Defensively, he has 154 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and 19 sacks.
Oberle has served on staff since ’03 and head coach since ’06, a stretch that has yielded four state titles. Schwien, Caden Oberle and Noah Dreiling are the best pass-catchers in the Oberle era. Caden has the record with 20 receiving scores. Schwien and Dreiling are top-two in receiving yards.
In the summer, the coaching staff wanted to frequently incorporate Schwien into the offense.
“Got to get him the ball more,” Oberle said.
One day in early season film study, the coaches noticed Schwien was tackled. The coaches told him to “put a hand” on the opponents’ helmet.
“It’s been a stiff arm ever since,” Schwien said.
Against Wallace County, Oberle noticed the Wildcats’ athletic defensive ends. Victoria put in a screen pass during the week.
“Just let them all come, they are an aggressive team, so we just wanted to let them come and get in the open space and run,” Schwien said.
Several occasions, Wallace County aggressively rushed. Schmidtberger retreated backwards or moved the pocket before he lofted a short pass.
In his first year as a full-time starter, Schmidtberger has rushed for 249 yards and three scores, and passed for 459 and eight TDs. Schmidtberger has thrown for at least one TD in every contest. He finished Friday with eight of 12 passing for 202 yards and four TDs against no interceptions.
Schmidtberger rushed for 49 yards and a TD. On one successful two-point conversion, Schmidtberger retreated all the way to the 17-yard line before he found Schwien.
“It’s great, I know exactly where he is going to be every time, it’s so easy to catch his pass,” Schwien said. “It’s definitely a blessing out there.”
Plus, Victoria lined up Schwien in the backfield and tried a handoff, too. But Schwien’s mix of hands, athleticism and strength have always been effective in the passing game.
Victoria led 8-0 when Schmidtberger rolled right and hit Schwien on a short pass. Schwien went 22 yards, and VHS scored two plays later. Midway through the second quarter, Schwien came from behind, delivered a sack and forced fumble. Victoria converted the turnover into a Schmidtberger rushing touchdown.
“We get taught in practice when we are coming from behind, come up and try to punch the ball. It worked, just translate in practice to the game,” Schwien said.
With 2 minutes, 32 seconds left in the contest, Wallace County blitzed up the middle. Schmidtberger lofted a pass to Schwien. He stiff armed two players down the sideline and scored on a 54-yard run for the game’s final touchdown.
Sophomore progressing each week, breakout performance in OT win
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
QUINTER – Hill City sophomore Tate Balthazor didn’t expect to play varsity quarterback in 2023. Balthazor was the starting signal caller for many years in the younger ranks and again in junior high. However, he planned to serve as the backup to HC senior Aiden Amrein, the Ringnecks’ two-time all-state quarterback and holder of multiple school passing records. Balthazor believed he might be under center for a couple JV games.
“I thought next year was going to be my year,” he said.
In Week 1, Amrein was disqualified from a loss against Osborne for unsportsmanlike conduct. Due to non-football reasons, he has not been with the team since, though could return Friday in a key district game versus Hoxie.
Balthazor has served as the starting quarterback for the last month and continually improved. Last week, he earned one of the team’s four player of the game honors in a wild 32-26 road district upset versus Quinter.
“Feels good to be out here on the field when everyone sees it, and out here leading this team and getting wins,” Balthazor said.
Balthazor enjoyed the best game of his career with 11 of 15 passing for 165 yards and three TDs. Plus, he rushed 16 times for 59 yards and a score. Balthazor threw a walk-off, game-winning 10-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Tyler Ashbaugh. That was the lone play Hill City led in the contest. Balthazor threw the game-tying two-point conversion to Mason Herman off a pop pass.
“He has really gained a lot of confidence,” Hill City coach Travis Desbien said. “Tate is a kid who has got a lot of talent, and he just needed some confidence, and you can just see it growing each and every week. The kids are playing better every week, the boys believe in him.
He is just a sophomore, but he has got a lot of potential, and he has got a lot of heart, and he has played really, really, really good for us when we’ve needed him to.”
Balthazor and senior Jayden Nuss (127 all-purpose yards, 11 tackles) led a team that also missed defensive coordinator Craig Amrein for the contest. HC has won back-to-back district titles and advanced to the final four each year with 10 wins in ’21 and ‘22. Nuss made a key tackle on fourth down and goal on QHS running back Trace Kinderknecht before the Hill City walk-off score.
Hill City bounced back after a big 54-6 loss at Atwood-Rawlins County in Week 5.
“It’s nice,” Balthazor said. “We feel like we are back where we all belong. After last week, we got kind of a beat down by Atwood, and we were all down in the dumps all week, and tonight I could see that we came out kind of flat. They broke one (long TD run) off right off the bat, and I saw us after a couple of touchdowns, our heads were coming up, and I just knew that it was going to be a good game, and it felt good.”
Hill City stands at 3-2, 1-1 in Eight-Man, Division I, District 6. The top-four teams are all 3-2 or better. Quinter was undefeated before last week. Hoxie is 4-1, 2-0 with only a competitive loss to No. 1-ranked Leoti-Wichita County.
“For him to step up like he has and work his butt off for the place that we are at, it’s quite amazing,” Nuss said. “There’s no sophomore that should have to step up like that when somebody is gone and has to lead a team that has gone to sub-state back to back years, so that is hard on a sophomore.”
Including Hoxie, all six teams that Hill City has played currently have a winning record. Three of those (Osborne, WaKeeney, Atwood) are currently undefeated in its respective district. Overall, Balthazor has completed 34 of 66 passes for 471 yards with four scores against wo interceptions. He has rushed 57 times for 295 yards and three scores.
“Learning the whole plays,” Balthazor said of the biggest changes. “We have got a lot of plays, a lot of different formations. Desbien has got a wide spread, like you never know what he is going to call. It could be fourth-and-15, he could call a run with Nuss, you just never know with him. It’s wild out there.”
Cheylin's Logan McCarty and the Cougars' senior class accomplishing history
@cnichollHays
Bird City-Cheylin’s senior class of Logan McCarty, Pablo Bermudez and Brady Ketzner have enjoyed standout careers in football and basketball with the Cougars. McCarty and Bermudez both started as freshmen on Cheylin’s undefeated football state championship team and are two-time all-state players. Ketzner collected all-state honors as a junior and leads Cheylin in tackles this fall.
The senior class continues to surpass and move closer to surpassing records at the school, classification and state level, numbers that shifted upward after Friday’s big home win.
Six-man No. 1 Cheylin defeated then-No. 2 Almena-Northern Valley, 54-6, and became the classification favorite. In Week 3, Cheylin won at previously top-ranked Ashland, 62-32.
The Northern Valley game gave Cheylin firm control of District 4. The Cougars will not face a team with a winning record the rest of the regular season, nor likely in the first round of the playoffs. Barring any upsets, Cheylin would not have a rematch with NV or Ashland until the state semifinals.
Cheylin went 10-2 in 2022 and advanced to the state semifinals. Both losses came to Ashland. The Cougars tied the school record for wins. In addition to the key last two weeks, Cheylin opened with a 50-0 victory versus solid Cheyenne Wells (Colo.) and beat Weskan, 47-0. Cheyenne Wells has averaged 31 points a game in its four non-Cheylin contests.
Last year, against the same four opponents, the Cougars allowed 125 points, beat CW by 18, lost to Ashland by 22 and beat Northern Valley by one. Versus the Huskies, McCarty had another highly efficient game with 16 of 22 passing for 249 yards with one touchdown against one interception. He rushed 14 times for 115 yards and two scores.
Bermudez had 15 carries for 95 yards. He and Ketzner both rushed for two scores. Bermudez finished with eight catches for 163 yards and a TD. Defensively, Ketzner led with 14 tackles, McCarty posted 11. Bermudez tallied another defensive score on a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Cheylin has averaged 10 yards per play, forced 12 turnovers and is a remarkable plus-11 in turnover margin. Last season, the Cougars were essentially tied with Ashland with 10.27 yards per play (Ashland had 10.33), and finished plus-18 in turnover margin.
Overall, the win moved Cheylin’s senior class to 26-8 in their career. This is tied for the third-most victories in a four-year stretch in Cheylin history, per Sunflower Sports Solutions and in coordination with databases at KPreps and Kansas Football History.
The 1995 and 2012 classes both won 26 games. The 2001 class went a collective 27-10. The 2020 class, that featured stars Colton McCarty and Andrew Schields, has the all-time mark with a 28-7 mark in four years. That dates to when the school was formed in 1975. The current group should become the winningest class in Cheylin history in the next couple weeks.
Plus, McCarty, a first team all-state pick in ’21 and ’22, moved to 45 of 71 passing for 855 yards with 12 scores against one interception this year. He has 44 carries for 404 yards and five scores.
In his career, McCarty has completed 266 of 421 passes for 4,446 yards with 71 scores against 10 interceptions. He has rushed 250 times for 2,184 yards with 41 touchdowns.
S3 has done significant research on the first-ever Kansas six-man record book, a classification that re-started in 2014 and became KSHSAA sanctioned in ’22. McCarty is second all-time in passing yards and would have a chance to become six-man’s all-time passing leader by the season’s end.
Former Weskan quarterback Jace Mackley tossed for 6,407 yards from 2016-19. McCarty is ahead of other great six-man quarterbacks, such as his brother Colton (3,464), Cunningham’s Trey DeWeese and Lance McGuire, Ashland’s Britt Grigsby, Weskan’s Greg Kuykendall and Pawnee Heights’ Trace Baker. S3 confimed Mackley's all-time yards with Weskan coach Brett Clow earlier this week.
Bermudez has delivered a remarkable all-purpose career. Offensively, he has scored 44 touchdowns on 178 touches. Defensively, Bermudez has 204 tackles, 17 interceptions and five fumble recoveries. This season, Bermudez has moved into first place all-time in six-man history for non-offensive scores.
In his career, Bermudez has five punt return TDs, six interceptions returned for scores and three fumble recoveries for touchdowns. When the season started, Bermudez was tied with former Pawnee Heights star Kade Scott, who is six-man’s all-time leader with 7,205 rushing yards and scored 11 non-offensive TDs.
Bermudez is believed to be the all-time, all-classes leader in interceptions for touchdowns. The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame record book lists no player with more than four career pick-sixes.
S3’s research does not have anyone with more than four. That includes Hanover’s Daiken Stallbaumer, who had four from ’15-18 and played for a state championship each year.
Notably, Jett Vincent is the state’s all-time, all-classes record holder with 36 career INTs. He recorded two pick-sixes in his career.
Wyatt Gardner enjoys huge game in Indian win
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays
HOXIE – Leoti-Wichita County senior quarterback Wyatt Gardner stood on the southwest side of the Hoxie football field after Friday’s 48-14 road victory. Gardner talked with his family, including older brother Jesse, a former WC standout running back and wrestler.
A few feet away, Erhik Hermosillo finished up game day duties. Hermosillo was the 2022 Eight-Man, Division I Offensive Player of the Year and accounted for 68 touchdowns on a 13-0 squad. Hermosillo, now a Fort Hays student, started as Leoti’s quarterback for two seasons. He is learning to coach and comes back to help the program.
With Jesse and Hermosillo, Wyatt had the reminders of Wichita County’s historical success. Coach Brant Douglas is 50-9 in his Indian career, including a ’20 state runner-up and ’22 title, the best two showings in school history. Wyatt served as a starting receiver last fall and finished with 20 catches for 413 yards and six scores, all top-two on the team.
This year, Gardner took over at quarterback. Known for his enthusiasm for football, the 5-foot-5, 140-pounder hasn’t overly focused on the program’s past success. Instead, his thoughts are on the present.
“We are a new team,” Gardner said. “We are proving our own thing. It’s a big role, but it’s good to step in and do my thing.”
After three games, Gardner has played at an elite level.
“It’s what we need, get everybody else going,” Gardner said. “Gets the energy up and helps us win.”
Wichita County is 3-0 and ranked No. 1 in Eight-Man, Division I. The Indians have won 16 straight contests. In the previous four years, Kayde Rietzke and Hermosillo had huge numbers. Each one had at least 3,200 yards of total offense. Gardner is on pace for a similar season.
“He’s been really big,” senior center Brandon Price said.
Wichita County has consistently led its classification in scoring offense under Douglas, including an eight-man state record 792 points last fall. This year, the Indians pace Division I with 190 points.
“We are like a family,” Gardner said. “We do everything together.”
Last week, Wichita County and Hoxie hadn’t allowed a point in a 2-0 start. Gardner enjoyed a huge game with 33 rushes for 254 yards and four scores. He completed eight of 11 passes for 48 yards with a touchdown.
“Really good blockers,” Gardner said. “That’s huge, having those good blockers up front, it helps, it helps get those extra yards.”
Gardner took over main ball carrier duties after standout junior Khris Hermosillo suffered injury early in the contest.
“Next man up basically,” Price said. “We’ve got to put people in different spots and keep going.”
WC rolled up 519 yards of total offense. Defensively, Gardner delivered three tackles for loss.
“Our offense typically usually gets going at some point, but if our defense can be this stout, it makes it pretty fun,” Douglas said.
Overall, Gardner has completed 12 of 16 passes for 146 yards with three scores against no interceptions. He has 35 carries for 306 yards and four scores. Defensively, Gardner is at least top-two with nine stops, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
BP-Cleanrite NW Kansas Boy Athlete of the Week - Hays High LB Dalton Meyers helps Indians to 2-0 mark
By CONOR NICHOLL
@cnichollHays (Photo by Kim Reel)
HAYS – Junior Dalton Meyers watched his three older brothers, Kyler, Kreighton and Gavin, enjoy strong football and wrestling careers at Hays High School. Notably, Gavin is a former 5A defensive player of the year, all-time Indian tackler and undefeated state champion wrestler. In younger years, Dalton and current Indian quarterback Carter Graham served as ball boys for Hays High football.
Dalton is 54-30 with Hays High wrestling and qualified for 5A state at 157 pounds last winter. Dalton is 6-foot-1, 190 and lankier than his brothers. Known for playing on the edge and ability to move in space, Dalton has made multiple game-changing plays in his first season as a starter.
“When he got on the field, he’s like, ‘This is my time, I have been waiting for this, I have been watching it,’” head coach Tony Crough said. “Dalton is not as serious as some of those other Meyers boys. He is a lot more loose and kind of fun-loving. It’s like he wasn’t scared of the situation, because he has been on the sideline his whole life. When it was his turn, he was ready to make plays, and good wrestler, so it makes him a great tackler, and he goes and gets legs, and he gets you down.”
This season, HHS had to replace all 11 defensive starters from a group that won a school record 10 games and finished fourth in 5A in scoring defense, per the Sunflower Sports Solutions database. Hays High graduated its top-five tacklers. A couple players, including Meyers, Derek Quach, Wyatt Kirkpatrick, Cooper Lindenmeyer and Slade Salmans, had at least 10 tackles in backup duty.
This year, the quintet has stepped into a big role for Hays High’s defense. Hays High is 2-0 and already up to third in the Class 5A rankings. The Indians travel to defending 6A champion Manhattan on Friday. Manhattan has won 15 straight contests.
HHS won at Junction City, 20-14, in overtime and earned a 28-27 home win versus rival Great Bend in an instant classic. Kip Keeley is in his second season running the Indian defense. A former 2-1A Defensive Player of the Year at La Crosse, Keeley paced Chanute to 4A’s top-scoring defense in ’21 before he came to Hays High.
“It was a great football game,” Great Bend coach Erin Beck said. “Great plays on both sides of the ball, and I thought their defensive coordinator did a great job calling the game and kind of keeping our offense guessing, so it was a fun battle.”
Kirkpatrick leads the conference with 27 stops, per HHS broadcaster Dustin Armbruster. Meyers and Quach each have 20, tied for second for HHS. Salmans has 13 tackles with a sack and is expected to be one of the state’s top defensive players this year. End Cyrus Johnson has returned from a major injury and made a big sack on Great Bend's first offensive play.
Meyers has continued to wreak havoc with pivotal plays. He easily paces the conference with six tackles for loss, all coming in Week 1. He and Lindenmeyer have a pair of interceptions. Hays High has forced five turnovers and is plus-3 in turnover margin, a key reason for both victories.
“Made a few mistakes when we really needed to make the play,” Beck said.
Meyers has an interception in both contests. Plus, with the score tied at 14 last Friday, he broke up a pass in the end zone on fourth and two. Great Bend outgained Hays High, 440-361. HHS limited GB to 5.9 yards per play. Last year, a 7-3 Panther squad was at 6.2 yards per play.
“It’s a bunch of young kids,” Crough said. “All brand new, and just trying to figure it out, but I think just again they were just physical and strong and aggressive. I think that was the thing that was the most impressive, along with the two linebackers. We didn’t know that they would play like that, but just to watch them come out and play with that kind of physicality was very pleasing for us.”
2022 Hays City Shoot-Out: Northside Fort Smith (Ark.) vs. Hugoton
A long time home for 1A basketball sub-state until 1A split into two classes, Hays Middle School plays host to the Hays City Shoot-Out for three days to open the high school basketball season. Press has great sightlines and room on the second level; the level also houses the junior high weight room. While it’s a junior high facility, this is better than a good number of high school gyms. This is the home of the craziest finish I’ve ever seen: 2008 1A boys’ basketball sub-state title game when Natoma’s Jason Crawford hit a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to beat Ness City and send the Tigers to the state tournament.
2022 Class 2A volleyball
Smith Center volleyball and girls’ basketball coach Nick Linn has a saying: He knows, no matter what, the Lady Red are always going to Trego for sub-state. That pretty much always holds true. WaKeeney, off Exit 128 on I-70, is an easy, equidistant drive for many western Kansas teams. One side of the stands is double-decker. Trego generally hosts a December basketball tournament, the Mid-Continent League tournament, sub-state basketball and often regional wrestling. Is the gym possibly too cavernous? Sure. But the rowdier fans sit much closer to the court. I covered games at Trego with no fans during COVID, and honestly, it felt eerie and weird. I was glad that fans came back. Trego, led by AD Jeremy Samson and legendary shop teacher/scorekeeper Carl Mohler, does great with big events. Trego is a staple for me and many others in the winter sports season.
2022: Class 5A state volleyball championships
5A state volleyball last fall had great matchups between St. James Academy, St. Thomas Aquinas, Topeka Seaman and Hutchinson. Aquinas ultimately beat SJA in a close three-set finale. However – and this is an open secret – Tony Pizza’s is probably the worst KSHSAA state facility. I’ve been there for state wrestling, basketball and volleyball. It’s best for basketball where fans can sit closer to the court. I was there in 2022 when Eudora girls had a huge comeback against Clay Center and Harper Schreiner hit her buzzer-beating game-tying shot; loud noise from the Eudora fan base at court level. However, a major moment from ’22 5A state volleyball came when SJA assistant coach Brian Dorsey (in the gray shorts and blue shirt) was scrambling around between the semifinal and championship match trying to find a basic snack for his team. He couldn’t. There was no food. Tony’s Pizza doesn’t allow food/drink to be taken in. It will search all bags and take possession of anything that goes against their rules. Nor does it provide adequate food. KSHSAA administrator Mark Lentz even had to buy food at state volleyball last season. When I asked Tony’s Pizza last year to speak with a manager about the policy, I was rebuffed and told the manager was not available. The place is overly large and a true multi-purpose building. Frankly, if Tony Pizza’s wasn’t in Salina and close to everything, it’s probably not a state site. I hope Tony’s Pizza can do better in the future, because the state needs Salina to be a key linchpin for major activities.
2022 Week 9 Cimarron vs. Russell - Russell's first football playoff win since 1979
Last year, I watched Russell win a playoff game for the first time since 1979. It’s picturesque when the sun is setting. Russell players dashed over to ring the victory bell after the win versus Cimarron, celebrating ending a 43-year football playoff victory drought. Russell, which hosted eight-man titles before Newton, has a large set of home stands that raises 25-feet plus in the air. Russell has a chance to build a program under head football and baseball coach Christien Ozores, and it was great to see the beginning last year.
2022 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Bishop Miege
The first time I went to Miege was for the Stags-Aquinas rivalry game in 2022. The field itself is pristine and several thousand people filled the stands. It’s highly rare for a high school game to have paid parking and tailgating. Miege-Aquinas had both. A true big-game atmosphere, and a great game when STA came back to win from a three-score deficit. I liked the stands all one side. Two drawbacks: extremely limited restroom facilities, very long concession lines and not many parking spaces. Miege is tucked in a Roeland Park neighborhood, and there’s very limited room. Even on campus parking is limited because of the softball field and two practice fields that are right next to the football complex. Homes on the school side of the street did not allow parking.
2022 Pratt vs. Hoisington - Hoisington offers one of Kansas' high school football's best game day atmospheres
Cole Reif of Great Bend Radio and Hoisington’s radio voice asked me a couple years ago where I would rank HHS’ Elton Brown Field’s atmosphere. I said top-5 – and I still say that. Unlike many stadiums, Hoisington’s stone bleachers are only a couple dozen feet from the field. Plus, personnel allows fans to stand on the home side track near one of the end zones. That area of fans is very loud. Hoisington has turf, a rare under-3A school to play on turf. The field was re-done in summer 2023. The Cardinals are 16-2 at home in the last three years. Cole Reif is among the state’s best broadcasters. This is a great place to watch a game.
Newton is the longtime host for 8-man state championship games: Pictured: Little River coach Kevin Ayers talks to his team.
Newton is well-known as the host for the eight-man state championship games. I have been to every eight-man state championship Saturday except one since 2008. The drawbacks for press are well-known: the sightlines from the press box are terrible, there is no internet and limited room. As a venue, though, it’s fantastic. It’s just the right size for eight-man. I’ve long felt that a stadium should be as big as the fanbases – i.e. smaller capacity for the smaller classes allows the stands to be full and a better atmosphere. I was glad KSHSAA elected not to change eight-man from Newton. City of Newton parks and rec does well with food and the game-day experience.
Hays-TMP's Al Billinger Fieldhouse and the sunken gym is iconic. 2022: Phillipsburg vs. TMP
Al Billinger Fieldhouse on the campus of Hays-Thomas More Prep-Marian in Hays is one of the best known fieldhouses. Named after TMP’s legendary coach, the Monarchs have the longtime retaining walls and wraparound seating. Al Billinger has a statue and his W-L record etched in stone outside. Joe Hertel, TMP’s boys’ basketball coach for 30-plus years, called it “The Pit” and his second home. Not everyone is a fan of the little room between the walls and the court, but overall this is one of the best places to watch a basketball game, especially when the band is playing and the crowd is loud. The roof is low and the noise is trapped inside. It keeps with my theme of build the stadium to have a full house. Incredibly, since 1950, TMP boys’ basketball has had just three head coaches. On the girls’ side, Alan Billinger (Al’s son) won a state title, and current coach Rose McFarland has enjoyed great success. They are the only TMP girls' coaches in the last 20 years. More than probably any other sport, the Monarchs are synonymous for basketball. The "Herd" insignia seen on the bleachers is the name for the younger (3rd to 8th grade) boys' and girls' basketball teams that are primarily TMP players.
DC has hosted the 6-man state championship for several years: 2021 6-man state title Natoma vs. Cunningham
Memorial Stadium hosts DCHS football, soccer and track, and DC3 junior college football. The Jumbotron is massive, especially for a high school venue. Dodge City High School has possibly the best pre-game football atmosphere with the jumbotron, band and well-known drill team. I have covered two 6-man football championships at DCMS. Fans have a long walk from the lot to the stands, and personnel needs to climb a ladder to the press box. DCMS provided a home for the start of the 6-man football championships, and significant credit to DC administration for helping 6-man start.
Dighton is 7-0 in home playoff games since 2013: 2021 Week 8 Minneola vs. Dighton
Dighton’s stadium is one of the older ones in Kansas and was built during the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the ‘30s-40s. This is a field I’ve always enjoyed watching eight-man football. The gymnasium is significantly more modern and one of the better 1A set-ups. The weight room is also new. The bleachers are stone, and a short brick border surrounds some of the stadium grounds. Sightlines are easy, and fans can watch from their vehicles. Concessions are inside. The press box is tiny with a ladder to climb. Dating back to 2013, Dighton football coach Ken Simon is 7-0 in home playoff games, including memorable wins against Otis-Bison and Wallace County.
UWA has become a KSHSAA state staple in the last decade: 2023 Class 1A, Division I Girls' State Championship Game Quinter vs. Doniphan West
Because Dodge City’s United Wireless Arena shares space with Boot Hill Casino, there was much hand-wringing when UWA became a KSHSAA state site in 2014. Immediately, longtime photographer Everett Royer (kssportsimages.com) and myself thought UWA has a strong case for best KSHSAA site. Press sit right next to the court, fans are only a few feet away, comfortable seating, the best food and easy to move and navigate. We’ve covered multiple Southern Plains Iroquois tournaments, too, and UWA does great, too. Dodge City is a constant on the state schedule now, and UWA is a big reason why. Plus, as big as the facility is, noise stays inside, which keeps the place loud.
2021 GameDay: Kansas Junior College football champ: G. City vs. Hutchinson
I have attended several minor league games the Wind Surge’s Riverfront Stadium. Overall, I’ve been to 10-plus minor league ballparks, and Riverfront is in the top-3 and possibly the best for food. In 2022, I went to a Tulsa Drillers’ game (Dodgers minor league) and neat, unique ball park in downtown Oklahoma City. Tulsa has a very short right field fence, cool sightlines…and extremely subpar food. Wind Surge has great food and sightlines. The grass berm left field is probably the best place to watch a game. For football, fans sitting in the stands are honestly too far from the action. The berm offers a close-up view of one of the end zone. It’s hosted the KJCAA championship between Hutchinson and Garden City (which I was at), and key high school contests, including the Holy War between Kapaun and Bishop Carroll, and the Hatchet Game between Dodge City and Garden City. Starting in 2023, it will host series of big high school games on a relatively weekly basis.