Sportsink022615

A magazine focusing on all things sports in northwest Kansas

INK. March 2015

Consistent threat

Russell isn’t always the most dominant team, but the Broncos can step up and beat just about anyone.

The Hays Daily News

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Head to head

FHSU senior Trey Page, right, shakes hands with Newman freshman Lex Plummer prior to their heavyweight match in their dual Jan. 21 at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

AUSTIN COLBERT, Sports Ink.

12

What’s up?

Picture this

Focused on

A look inside this issue

four years with

Hays High’s

all-time leading scorer.

6

Solid club

The Russell wrestling team has never backed down from a fight.

14

10

Flying high

Led by Deon Lyle, Norton hoping for big things in Class 3A.

Tiger Q&A

Get to know FHSU junior guard Paige Lunsford.

Sports Ink. contributors: Nick McQueen nmcqueen@dailynews.net Austin Colbert acolbert@dailynews.net Jolie Green jgreen@dailynews.net On the cover: Russell wrestlers Dalton Brand, left, a senior, and Chase Prester, a junior. Photo by Jolie Green

Volume 5, Issue 1 Sports Ink. is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News. Copyright © 2015 Harris Enterprises. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Sports Ink. is a registered trademark of The Hays Daily News, 507 Main, Hays, KS 67601 (785) 628-1081.

Climbing the national ladder

I

t should come as no surprise to anyone the level of success the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team has reached this season.

What might be a surprise to some who have looked into the career of Tiger coach Tony Hobson is the fact it took the Tigers “so long” to reach this level.

In reality, the Tigers’ rise to the top is pretty fast, but given Hobson’s track record in 22 years as a head coach, and now seven with the Tigers, some might have thought FHSU’s now national prominence should have come a little sooner.

Fact is, it did come sooner in terms of the level of play, but as a member of the ever-tough MIAA, it was going to take more than winning a few games here and there to break through the tough shell into the top tier of one of the best Division II basketball conferences in the nation — the MIAA. The difference this year is the Austin Colbert, Sports Ink. Tigers took care of those teams FHSU women’s basketball coach Tony Hobson talks to his team during a timeout earlier this when they had to — especially month against Emporia State at Gross Memorial Coliseum. on the road.

Hobson’s program.

And by last season with the Sure, sprinkled in Hobson’s first injuries being the biggest, have kept the Tigers from making a Many would argue the team Tigers, he already has surpassed six years were a win here against big run. wouldn’t be where it is without the 500-win mark, and 100 with a Washburn, a win there against But what’s great about this Kate Lehman.

That is absolutely the Tigers.

And heading into the an Emporia State. But for those year’s team is it just finds ways to true.

Pittsburg State game two weeks who follow polls, the Tigers never win, and it’s led to the program’s But I have to believe that withago, FHSU already had set a climbed higher than No. 10 in fourth straight 20-win season. out Hobson’s ability to recruit, program single-season record the country — albeit the Tigers’ They’ve done it both ways. The players like Lehman, Keriann with 21 straight wins, and was first top 10 ranking in Division II Tigers — Shaw, Jill Faxon, Beth Bohusjust one win away from tying the in 2012-13 For starters led by the lavsky or even former player 2012-13 win total where FHSU — simply dominance Katelyn Edwards would not had vaulted to No. 10. because his of Kate have made their way to western But this year, FHSU is at new club never Lehman Kansas. heights, and don’t look for a could win — have Hobson’s success at other levels Hobson-run program to drop the big jumped — particularly at Hastings Coloff anytime soon.

Although game when on teams lege — probably carried a lot of losing arguably the best Tiger they needed early and hung on.

Then, FHSU weight in building the Tigers to women’s player ever in Lehman it. And despite collecting 20-plus has also been in back-and-forth what they are. will take its toll, FHSU now can wins and making two straight tussles only to seal the win at Hobson won three NAIA nabe considered among the elite in MIAA Tournament semifinal apthe free-throw line, and get big tional titles at Hastings College in the MIAA. The only thing Tiger pearances, Hobson’s teams have defensive stops.

Nebraska. women’s fans need to worry yet to play in a regional.

What’s interesting about the Even in his first few season about with this level of success Truth be told, Hobson might Tigers’ program now, and what with the Tigers when they were is what happens if and when the have had more talent in some of makes the Tigers a much better mediocre at best, Hobson’s teams inevitable offer comes for Hobhis previous six seasons, but variteam, is the level of recruiting in were at least competitive. son to move to another level? ous factors, early- or pre-season

nick

McQUEEN

Page 4

March 2015

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Notable performances in northwest Kansas Dani Winters

Winters, a Kansas State University junior from Plainville, set a new school indoor track and field mark for the Wildcats.

Winters threw a personalbest and school-record in the indoor shot put, winning the event event with a throw of 57 feet, 3 inches at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on Feb. 7 The previous record of 56-8 was set in 2003. It was the second win for the Big 12 leader. Winters was a Class 2A champion in the shot put and discus for Plainville.

Brett Crist

Through 15 games for the Quinter High School basketball team, Crist was among the state’s leader in scoring average at 24 points per game.

Through Feb. 6, he scored a season-high 32 points twice, including in a 74-67 loss to Ellis on Feb. 3. Crist had scored double figures in all but one game — a loss to Hoxie — and scored 20 or more in 12 games. The 6-foot-2 senior also recorded 10 doubledoubles with a season-high 15 rebounds coming twice, once against Ellis and once against Western Plains.

On Feb. 10, Crist ranked fifth among schools that report stats to maxpreps.com

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Demi Murray

A 5-foot-2 senior guard for the Oberlin-Decatur Community girls’ basketball team, Murray averaged nearly 18 points per game for the Red Devils through 16 games. Two of her best performances of the season came in back-to-back games. She scored 28 in a 58-40 loss to Dighton, then had 21 in a 58-40 win against Greeley County to start February. Murray scored a season-best 37 against St. Francis, a game where she hit 6 of 9 3-point attempts. She also hit six 3s in the 28-point effort against Dighton.

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Tucker Rhoades

A sophomore 126-pounder for the Thomas More Prep-Marian wrestling team, Rhoades had a good January and a good start to February.

On Jan. 24, Rhoades finished second in the Bob Kuhn Prairie Classic, then the next week won the Western Kansas Tournament of Champions. Then in the first tournament of February, Rhoades was third in the Panther Classic at Phillipsburg, moving his record to 29-7 for the season. Rhoades was a 3-21A state qualifier as a freshman, and TMP bumped up to 4A this season.

1-855-H

YSMED H YSMED

Rus Russell senior Dalton Brand, left, and junior Chase Prester work in the Broncos’ wrestling room earlier this month.

“I

feel like

I

am way-better conditioned

than other years.

That’s

helped me a lot.”

ssell Dalton Brand, Russell High School

senior wrestler

pride

R

USSELL — For 16 seasons, Roger Sells served as an assistant coach under three different wrestling coaches for Russell High School.

Along the way, the now second-year Bronco head coach picked up a few pointers, tips and tricks for helping guys succeed not only on the mat, but in their development as individuals.

Now being in charge of the program, Sells has done his best to try and tie together Nick all these things, and apMcQueen ply it to his own style — something he hopes will pay off as he hopes to Jolie Green carry on a strong tradition the program carries with it.

Most recently, Sells spent 12 seasons under longtime prep coach Wyatt Frohling, who retired in 2013.

“What I’ve done is incorporated all the coaches I’ve been under,” Sells said of the way he runs his program. “Just kind of used all the things I’ve learned, and some other clinic stuff.”

What Sells hopes to do is just maintain the Broncos’ strong presence, and perhaps take the Broncos to another level. Through 12 seasons, the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer Frohling coached the Broncos to 39 state qualifications, seven state medalists and Russell won 113 duals.

story by

photos by

Sports Ink.

Bronco wrestling coach Roger Sells, right, jokes with sophomore Grant Murphy during a Broncos’ practice.

In Frohling’s final season before retirement, Regis Weiss — now a Bronco assistant along with Nick Sells — came away with a second-place showing in Class 3-2-1A. The up-and-down Broncos are down to 3-2-1A again this season after a one-year stint in 4A. And the program’s wrestlers are hoping the seemingly extra work they’ve put in the last two seasons under Sells paid out with trips this weekend to the Class 3-2-1A state March 2015

finale at Hays’ Gross Memorial Coliseum.

“Everything is really the same, it’s just the work ethic, I think, has improved,” said Russell junior 145-pounder Chase Prester, who entered last week’s regional in arguably the toughest weight class the tourney had to offer. “We’re kind of faster-paced.

We worked hard before, but now I feel like we’re boom, boom, boom, then on to the PAGE 8 next thing.”

Page 7

Russell sophomore Kelton Suchy, front, and junior Kyle Schroeder practice in the Russell wrestling room earlier this month.

That’s priority No. 1 for the Broncos under Coach Sells. Russell might not always be the most talented team on the mat, but they can be in better shape. Each practice, which also includes the Broncos’ middle school wrestling program, starts with a one-mile run, then work on the weights, before taking to the wrestling room.

“That’s our goal — to last to the third period,” Sells said. “If we’re in shape, that’s when we’re going to take care of business. If we can make it to the third, we’re OK.” That idea led to Russell not losing a dual until two weeks ago when they fell victim to illness and injury, and lost on the road at NCAA foe Minneapolis. Then, the team went 3-2 in the Onaga Dual Tournament, the final tournament before last week’s regional in Russell.

“I feel like we’re together and we work together as a team more,” said Prester, who qualified for 4A state last season for the Broncos, and finished sixth at 138 pounds. “I think we probably have a lot more team chemistry (than some I’ve been on).”

That mantra, and the Broncos’ work ethic, has helped them not only compete in duals, but hold their own in tournament style, despite not having a full roster — even when fully healthy.

The Broncos only took 10 to the annual Bob Kuhn Prairie Senior Classic in Hays on Jan. 24. Finishing in 12th place as a team, Russell was the highest-placing team that only had 10 guys competing.

Russell had four wrestlers place in the top five, with three of them winning their

final match. Senior Blake Boxberger (126) was fifth, Prester third, junior Kelton Suchy (152) fourth and senior Dalton Brand (182) first.

“Our work ethic is a lot stronger,” said Brand. “I feel like I am way-better conditioned than other years. That’s helped me a lot.”

Brand, who is unique in his own right as a legally-blind wrestler, won one of the best matches of his career at the Bob Kuhn tournament when he knocked off previously unbeaten Hays High senior Ethan Deterding, 3-2, in the title match. It

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was the first loss for Deterding, and kept Brand — then the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Class 3-2-1A — undefeated. Deterding, with now two losses, is the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Class 4A. “With better guys in the third period, when they’re gassed, and I’m still feeling pretty good,” Brand said. “I was pretty happy about (that win). It was pretty big for me — beating an undefeated guy.”

Prester, who has worked in the room this season with Brand despite giving up quite a bit of size, interjected about Brand’s match with Deterding.

“He was confident on his feet in that match,” Prester said of Brand, who qualified for state and went 1-2 last year in 4A. “You could tell he was not scared to shoot.”

Brand, who hopes to compete for a state title at Gross Memorial Coliseum for the Broncos, learned quite a bit from last year’s state tourney. He’s used that so far in the practice room this winter.

“I need to work on takedowns more,” he said. “I’m getting better at it this year — getting takedowns. That was the big thing

I needed to work on last year.”

“That was the best I’ve seen him wrestle,” Sells added of Brand. “The most aggressive I’ve seen him wrestle. It just kind of clicked there.”

Brand didn’t suffer a loss this season until the Onaga Duals, winning 29 matches before the setback.

Suchy, the Broncos’ other returning state qualifier, was hobbled by a knee injury late in the season, but still competed in the dual at Minneapolis, then placed first in the Onaga tourney at 152 pounds.

The Broncos had four first-place finishes in the tourney, including Prester, Suchy, Kyle Schroeder (138) and Grant Murphy (170). Brand suffered his first loss of the season and finished second at 182.

That loss dropped Brand from being ranked No. 2 to No. 5 in 3-2-1A. Sells feels, though, Brand should be competing for a spot on the podium at state.

“He should be on the medal stand, and Chase probably should be too,” Sells said.

“With our regional, we could get five, six or maybe seven (through to state). But we’ll be happy with what we get.”

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BLUEJAYS soaring

N

orton Community High School senior Deon Lyle has the ability to take over on the basketball court. Most of the time, this is a good thing. Other times, he can leave even his own teammates static as they stand and watch the offensive juggernaut do what he does best.

“There have been games that has happened, especially if they are struggling,” longtime Norton boys’ basketball coach Doug Reusink said. “I think we’ve struggled with that at times where we don’t get quite the ball movement we need or we rely on him too much. We don’t want to rely on him. He’s obviously a good player and he can carry us a long way, but we can’t just be about him. We got to rely on everybody for us to have success.”

Whether it’s Lyle or someone else scoring, the Bluejays have certainly found success this season. Norton’s last winning season came in 2011-12, a 12-10 campaign. Following that were 7-14 and 8-13 seasons leading up to this winter. As of the second week of February, Norton had reached 14-2 overall and was ranked No. 9 in Class 3A, having been as high as No. 5 in the Jan. 18 Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll.

“I think we have a little bit more talent, but this year we decided we were going to come out and work harder and just do more than what we did last year,” said Norton’s 6-foot-6 senior big man Conor Cox, who brings in 5.0 points and 6.6 rebounds a game.

“This is a blast. We’ve struggled in the past years, but so far this season it’s been awesome. … In preseason during practice we really felt that we could do something special and that it would be better than the past few years.”

As much as the Bluejays like to talk about themselves as a single unit, it’s impossible not to single out Lyle.

Page 10

Norton senior Deon Lyle

March 2015

SPORTS INK.

The 6-foot-4 sharp-shooting guard has taken Kansas by storm this season, averaging 22.9 points and 8.6 rebounds a contest through Norton’s first 16 games. He has reached the 24-point mark nine times and 30 points on three occasions.

Lyle’s season-best performance came on Jan. 9 against Stockton High School, a 31-point, 10-rebound effort in a 73-63 Norton win. He has reached double digits in rebounds five times, including a seasonhigh 21 boards against Hill City on Jan. 23, a 47-45 Bluejays victory.

“There is no doubt he’s a tremendous impact because he can score. It is one thing that we did not have the last couple of years are kids that can score,” Reusink said of Lyle, who was also a standout athlete for Norton’s football team in the fall. “We knew that maybe, if we could find a little chemistry, we could put things together. I guess maybe as far as wins and losses we have been better than expectations, but we knew these guys could be a pretty good group.”

Prior to this season, Lyle was hardly a well-known commodity in the state. He moved to Norton from Hastings, Neb., last winter, and only played in three games his junior season, reaching double figures once in a 58-37 loss to Thomas More Prep-Marian High School when he scored 18 points. While his late arrival did little to aid the Bluejays last season, it certainly gave them higher expectations for this year and 16 games in the team had more than lived up to them.

“I came here to try and get out of trouble.

I was going down the wrong path and just had to switch it up,” said Lyle, who lives with the family of sophomore teammate Tyus Henson. “It’s been amazing. We are having fun every day out here on the court.

It’s a team game. We are trying to come in here and get wins. … It’s just been crazy. A great group of guys and it’s really been a big thing in my life this year.”

Norton started the season by winning its first 11 games, including its 10-point win over highly touted Stockton, ranked No. 4 in 1A-I as of Feb. 9, back in January. The first hiccup came in the WaKeeney, a 80-48 loss to TMP in the championship game of the Mid-Continent League tournament. The team responded with wins over Trego (5523) and Colby (53-40) before once again falling to TMP, 44-30 in Hays, on Feb. 6.

Through the first 16 games, Norton’s only two losses came against a TMP team that had been ranked in Class 4A Division II. “TMP just brought an intensity I think we Sports Ink.

Photos by Austin Colbert, Sports Ink. Norton freshman Jace Ruder, right, is defended by TMP’s Max Megaffin during a game earlier this month in Hays.

weren’t ready for,” Cox said of their first meeting. “It hurt losing that game but I feel like it definitely gave us motivation to carry on.”

Reusink and the rest of the Bluejays believe they have a team capable of making a postseason run. Behind Lyle and Cox are many young players, including Henson (6.0 points per game), the team’s starting point guard, sophomore Landon Porter (6.7 p.p.g.) and freshman Jace Ruder (6.4 p.p.g, 4.6 r.p.g.).

The key is making sure the rest of the team does its part and doesn’t rely exclusively on Lyle to carry them. For Lyle, it’s about not relying purely on his jump shot and attacking the rim, something he is capable of doing at will given his size and athleticism.

“We’ve talked about that. We want him to attack the rim. But when he does that he’s got to take care of the basketball. Sometimes he gets soft with the basketball when he does that,” Reusink said of Lyle. “We’d like to see him get to the rim. We’d like to see him get to the foul line. But the kid can March 2015

shoot it. He can be streaky at times. But he can definitely shoot it.”

Having only recently moved to the state and having seen limited varsity action in Hastings, Lyle is still relatively new to the Kansas recruiting scene. While he doesn’t want to put much focus on recruiting until the season is over, he has been in contact with various junior colleges and Division II schools and hopes to play basketball collegiately after high school.

Until then, it’s one game at a time as Norton and Lyle look to make a postseason push.

“One of my big things is shooting the ball. That’s what I love to do. I always had a scorer’s mentality. It’s just one of those things where I get on the court and make it happen,” Lyle said. “From the get go we all wanted to win. We didn’t want to look back at anything. We kept winning and winning games. A lot of them we probably shouldn’t have won but pulled it out. It’s just kind of crazy how we keep finding ways to win.”

Austin Colbert, Sports Ink. Page 11

Picture this Focused

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ABOVE: Freshman: Brady Werth defends Garden City’s Braden Taylor at the HHS gym. BELOW: Junior: Werth goes up for a shot against Highland Park at the 5A state tourney in Topeka.

Senior: Werth drives to the basket against Dodge City’s Noah Williams on Jan. 30 at the HHS gym. During that game, Werth scored 24 points to move to 1,034 for his career and pass Matt Stramel as the school’s all-time leading scorer.

Page 12

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and Paige Lunsford

A 2012 Hays High School graduate, Lunsford has become a consistent starter for the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team this season. The junior guard was averaging 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest through the Tigers’ first 23 games, which included 21 straight wins (as of Feb. 10). She scored a career-high 15 points in a Dec. 20 win over Northwest Missouri State University.

WHAT IS THE BEST PART OF PLAYING WITH FHSU THIS SEASON?

“I would definitely say my teammates. They are awesome. They are hilarious. They are really fun to be around. Just the way we’ve been able to come together and the way we just mesh on and off the court has been a blast. It’s been amazing.”

ON THE WIN STREAK….

“It’s so crazy. I think we are all like living in a dream right now. This is kind of what you work about and dream of when you’re little. It’s been crazy. It’s been an amazing ride and we just want to keep it going. That’s the best way I can describe it. Just living in a dream.”

WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING THE HOMETOWN GIRL?

“It’s incredible. I think as a team we can all agree this community has really rallied around us and supported us and encouraged us and it’s just been really cool, especially knowing so many people in the community. Just the way this community has backed us and supported us and been there for us, they are just as excited as we are. It’s been really special, so I would say it’s an honor to call Hays my hometown.”

ON CHOOSING FHSU TO PLAY BASKETBALL….

“I couldn’t get away from Hays and it was the best decision I ever made to stay here.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE ADJUSTING TO COLLEGE ATHLETICS?

“I don’t know if I realized coming out of high school how good the MIAA was, how our conference was a power conference and how tough every game was. I figured that out pretty fast my freshman year, that this was going to be a battle and a grind every game. So that was something I learned really fast. This year, just to be able to go and come this far in conference and to be able

with

Fort Hays junior guard

Interview, photo by Austin Colbert

to have some huge wins and big, exciting games and awesome atmospheres has been crazy.

It’s so crazy. It just doesn’t happen. It doesn’t happen in the MIAA period.”

DO YOU REALIZE WHAT THE TEAM HAS ACCOMPLISHED YET?

“I don’t think I’m at the point yet where I realize how much we’ve accomplished. I really don’t. Right now every day is still a grind and every day is a battle. Every time we step out on the court it’s a battle. We know we have to get better every day. To me, it hasn’t set in that we are 14-0 in conference and we have positioned ourselves in this great position. It hasn’t set in yet. It feels like every game is going to be a battle and to me it still feels we are the underdog every time we go in even though we are not. And I think that’s the way a lot of our team feels. It hasn’t set in that we are not the underdog anymore.”

WHEN DID THE TEAM REALIZE IT WAS THIS GOOD?

“We had that loss at the beginning of the season. I don’t think that was a bad loss at all. I think that taught us a lot and I don’t think it hurt us. I think it taught us more than it hurt us. We’ve just kind of gone on that streak and I think the Pitt game is the first game we really put all of our tools together. That was the first time we had come close to playing at our highest level we could. So I think that was probably the biggest, ‘We can do this. We have potential to be really good.’”

WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER GOALS?

“My dream job would be to work with youth sports in some way. Whether that be running youth sports programs or doing youth after school programs. That would be my dream job.

Something in youth sports.”

WOULD YOU STAY IN HAYS?

“I wouldn’t mind. I love my little hometown of Hays. Even though it’s in the middle of nowhere I love it here. I wouldn’t mind living here for the rest of my life to be honest.”

A little of this, a little of that Favorite Movie Love & Basketball Favorite Book In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson

Page 14

Go-to food

Cheeseburger and fries

Worst habit

Bites nails when nervous

Favorite hobby

Reading

Favorite

Best

Dream travel

athlete

quality

destination

Kevin Durant

Very dependable

Australia

March 2015

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Stutsman, a 6-foot junior guard for the Northern Valley boys’ basketball team led the Huskies to their 10-6 start this season, averaging 13.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game for the Huskies, a Class 1A Division II state qualifier last season.

Stutsman scored 19 points in a 56-38 win against Triplains-Brewster on Feb. 7, making 7 of 15 from the field. His seasonhigh came in a 58-44 win against rival Logan, where he scored 24 points and had 14 rebounds for the double-double on Jan. 9. He’s also had two games this season where he made four 3-pointers.

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