Sports Ink., March 2013

A magazine focusing on all things sports in northwest Kansas

INK.

March 2013

elite Status For high school wrestlers in Colby, it’s

all about carrying on a strong tradition.

The Hays Daily News

What’s up?

A look inside this issue

6 H

ome

grown

When he steps on the floor, Cheylin’s Joshua Keltz is always the biggest guy out there.

8

Strong tradition

Competing at a high level is nothing new for wrestlers at Colby High School, a traditional contender in Class 4A.

14 Fundamental magic

Keith Riley runs a pretty tight ship with his basketball program in Hill City.

Think pink Everett Royer, Sports Ink. Sporting the Tigers’ pink jerseys in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Fort Hays’ Kaiameka Brown goes in for a layup in a game against Nebraska-Kearney earlier this month at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays.

Cover illustration by Chelsey Lueth clueth@dailynews.net Sports Ink. contributors: Nick McQueen nmcqueen@dailynews.net Conor Nicholl cnicholl@dailynews.net Everett Royer sportsink@dailynews.net Klint Spiller kspiller@dailynews.net Chelsy Lueth clueth@dailynews.net Nick Schwien nschwien@dailynews.net

Volume 3, Issue 1 Sports Ink. is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News. Copyright © 2013 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.

Everett Royer, Sports Ink. Phillipsburg’s Sean Newlan wins last year’s 110-meter hurdles at the Class 3A state track and field championships in Wichita.

Cream of the small crop

A

s far as Northwest Kansas athletes go, receiving with 28 receptions for 516 yards Sean Newlan and Kip Keeley are the and five touchdowns. As a linebacker on cream of the crop. defense, he led his squad in tackles.

Both measure in at 6 feet, 2 inches and In track and field, Keeley was the 2012 weigh approximately 200 pounds (Newstate champion in the javelin, and he also lan is listed at 200 and Keeley at 205), set the school record in the javelin with a and their athleticism is difficult to match. throw of 191 feet, 2 inches.

Both also signed their letters of intent to They also were dominating forces in the compete at Kansas State University in early winter, showcasing themselves as two of February. the area’s top basketball players.

Newlan and Keeley are two examples of Suffice it to say, they are phenomenal how small schools can create impressive athletes, and it’s not surprising Head products.

Coach Bill Snyder For Starters Newlan, a Phillipsburg sewould want them on his nior, is fast and strong, and football team. since he started high school, As it appears now, he looked like he didn’t beNewlan will play defenlong as he ran around and sive back, and Keeley through defenders. will play linebacker at In track and field, he might have been K-State. even more amazing, taking four state Both likely will redshirt, and possibly titles (three hurdles, one relay) and state greyshirt, their first season, but once they runner-up in the discus prior to this year. are done, I could easily see them playing He likely will compete at K-State in track on Saturdays, which would be an amazas well. ing accomplishment.

Keeley, a La Crosse senior, has a similar After all, Keeley came from one of the resume. smallest schools still playing 11-man His size and physicality were hard to football, and he soon could be on televistop on both sides of the ball. As a fullsion tackling offensive players from Dalback, he overpowered his opponents and las and Los Angeles. was a multi-threat, leading his team in It just shows enrollment size does not

Klint

Spiller

Page 4

March 2013

dictate the skill and talent of a player.

K-State’s 2013 recruiting class might be the best proof of that.

There were 11 athletes from Kansas who committed on signing day. Six of those were from Class 3A schools or smaller.

Only five were from 4A schools or larger.

It’s not just K-State’s recruiting class either. Kansans from small schools were involved throughout K-State’s Big 12 championship run.

On offense, two starters came from small schools in Kansas: senior fullback Braden Wilson from Smith Center and senior left guard Nick Puetz from Gypsum-Southeast of Saline.

Other area athletea, sophomore Zach Nemechek, a Quinter graduate, and junior Logan Stephens, Wheatland-Grinnell, didn’t start but played on special teams.

I have witnessed Newlan’s and Keeley’s talents on several occasions, and I wish them the best. Newlan and Keeley have done and will do Northwest Kansas proud.

They are perfect examples for young kids growing up in small communities, because it’s not the size of the town that determines excellence. What matters is how much you work and how much heart you display.

Small communities in Northwest Kansas are rich in those qualities.

SPORTS INK.

Who’s That?

Notable performances in northwest Kansas Josh Munsch

Munsch, a junior at the University of Kansas, continues to climb the ladder in the record books for the Jayhawks. The Hays High School graduate set a new personal best in the mile run twice in February. In the Husky Classic in Seattle on Feb. 9, Munsch finished in 4 minutes, 3.18 seconds in the eight laps of the 200meter track. His time of 4:04.14 a week earlier was the seventh-fastest time in Jayhawk history. He ranked in the top 50 in the NCAA as of Feb. 11.

Shayna Rogge

Rogge, a sophomore for the TriplainsBrewster High School girls’ basketball team, is one of the area’s most consistent scorers. As of Feb. 11, the forward was averaging 17.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, helping the Titans to a 10-6 record. She has scored in double figures in every game, posting a season-high 31 points in a 58-40 win against Western Plains in late January. She has five double-doubles this season with a season high of 15 rebounds.

Clayton Riedel

Though he missed four games to injury, Riedel, a junior for the Trego Golden Eagles’ boys’ basketball team, has averaged 19 points per game this season. He put up a season-high 31 points in a 68-67 loss to Otis-Bison on Feb. 5, his third game back after missing time.

Riedel also has grabbed double-digit rebounds in every game he’s played with 18 rebounds twice, once against Hoxie and once against Wheatland-Grinnell.

Shelby Stewart

As of Feb. 11, Stewart, a senior for the Hill City girls’ basketball team, led the state in 3-pointers made with 48, according to maxpreps.com.

Stewart averages 11 points per game, but made six 3s in a 63-46 loss to No. 2 ranked Smith Center. Stewart made eight 3s in a 57-42 win against Trego earlier in the season, scoring a season-high 28 points. She also made five 3s in a 53-43 loss to Ellis.

Got an idea of someone who you think should be included in Who’s That?

Send it to sportsink@dailynews.net with Who’s that? in the subject line, or call (800) 657-6017.

“ My main interest will be getting a degree in something agriculture. … If I can play basketball along with it, that’s so much the better. ”

home grown

B

ird City-Cheylin senior center Joshua Keltz is a beast in the paint.

Guards are scared to penetrate against him, and it’s not surprising why. The 6-foot-9 Keltz towers a foot above most players.

That might explain why he averages near a triple double this season with 13.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.1 blocks per game (through 16 contests).

His blocked shots average was one of the best in the country. In early February, he was No. 8 nationally, according to statistics posted on maxpreps.com.

“Every team we play has to alter their shot,” said Cheylin head coach Anthony Blair. “They can’t shoot in the paint, because he’s standing right in the middle. He’s such a huge factor.”

Keltz, one of Northwest Kansas’ top players, is a significant reason why Cheylin is enjoying a historic season.

The Cougars already won the Western Kansas Liberty League tournament title — their first league tournament championship since the league was formed and their first in any league since 1984. They also are among the favorites to qualify for state, which would be the school’s first appearance since 1980.

But despite all of his and his team’s success, basketball is just an ancillary activity to Keltz.

His main interest lies on the family farm. Keltz was born a farmer, and he wants to remain a farmer.

To Keltz, basketball is just something fun to do between chores.

“Football, basketball — he enjoys his sports, but his heart’s probably being a farm kid,” said Max Keltz, Joshua’s father and also Cheylin’s girls’ basketball coach.

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March 2013

Cheylin High School senior Joshua Keltz

SPORTS INK.

It’s been like that since Joshua was little, which for him meant a young age. He said he was “6-3 or 6-4” as a freshman.

The four Keltz children grew up playing basketball on a concrete slab in front of their shop with a basketball goal their father welded together.

“We played pig, horse and one-onone,” Joshua said, “and every now and then, it’d be three-on-three. My mom and dad also would play with us.”

Max Keltz said his kids are pretty mild mannered, so the games wouldn’t get out of hand. But with two kids standing well above 6-feet tall, he did have to fix the rim a few times.

“It is kind of a family deal, I guess,” Max Keltz said. “It was 11 miles from town, and when you’re done with chores, you’d play a little bit.”

Max Keltz is a man with many hats.

He’s a teacher, farmer, coach and FFA adviser.

Blair said Joshua Keltz is the hardest working kid he knows. Some of that might come from his father.

Joshua Keltz said his family farm isn’t grandiose. He said it’s a small farm featuring “a couple acres of corn and a couple acres of wheat,” cattle, horses,

Nick Schwien, Sports Ink. Joshua Keltz defends a player from Rawlins Co. during tournament action at the Castle Rock Classic in December in Quinter.

chickens, dogs and cats.

It was there Joshua established his love for agriculture.

Joshua works on the family farm and for a neighboring farmer. He also would like to have a farm of his own.

Whatever he does after Cheylin, Joshua, who has garnered the interest of several area colleges, said the most important thing is he continues on his path.

To him, basketball is just something he can help subsidize his education and have fun with along the way.

“My main interest will be getting a degree in something agriculture or something I enjoy, and if I can play

basketball along with it, that’s so much the better,” Joshua said. “If not, I’ll survive.”

However, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about basketball.

During the summer, Blair arranged for coaches from Midwest Elite Basketball to work with Cheylin’s players, and he made sure they sent a coach with post experience to work with Keltz.

“They helped me get more coordinated,” Joshua said. “They taught us a new shuffle drill. I think that helped.

They also helped me with my shooting a bit.”

Blair said Keltz lifted throughout the summer, and he credits that and his summer basketball training for Keltz’s improvement. As a junior, Keltz averaged 4.0 fewer points, 2.5 fewer rebounds and 3.6 fewer blocks per game than this season’s average.

“He came in all summer and worked hard every single week,” Blair said.

Max Keltz said he’s proud of his son’s accomplishments.

“It’s been pretty neat what he’s been able to do,” he said. “He’s finally grown into his body a little bit.”

Watching a game between Palco and Cheylin earlier in the season, Keltz looked like a giant, and when he spoke, he resembled one even more with his deep booming voice.

After all, most teams in Northwest Kansas and Class 1A Division II don’t have forwards nearly as tall as him.

“It’s great having someone 6-9 on your team, especially in a zone,” said senior guard Kenan Reeh, Cheylin’s secondleading scorer at 12.4 points per game.

“If somebody gets past you, they have to shoot over 6-9 and that’s not the easiest thing to do.”

- Klint Spiller, Sports Ink

BELOW: Colby 170-pound junior Andrew Taylor competes against Garden City senior Anthony Gardner during a match earlier this month in Colby.

RIGHT: Eagle senior Zell Bieberle wrestles against Garden City.

el

S

Page 8

March 2013

SPORTS INK.

lite

Wrestlers

in

Colby

work hard to carry on a strong tradition.

Status W

alk into the gymnasium at Colby High said Matt Sims, the Eagles’ seventh-year head wrestling School and the first view that jumps coach. “I remind kids of it all the time.” out are the large orange banners wavA tour into the Eagles’ practice quarters starts with a ing high above the floor. Each one trip beside the bleachers. displays a year or a team that took Look up before climbing the stairs and find a list of Colby to great heights, the highest level possible in every state placer the program has had, including 57 Class 4A, a state championship. since 1999.

Beyond one of the banners on the south side That’s just at the high school level. Take the — honoring the Eagles’ most recent 4A state trip up the stairs beyond the south wall, and wrestling championship in 2009 — three holes nick yet more reminders come into sight. mcqueen First is a display case showing numerous acresembling windows are found at the top of the bleachers. complishments of wrestlers through the Colby Through each of these holes, one can catch Wrestling Club.

Chelsy a glimpse of the Eagles’ wrestling room, the Then, at each turn throughout the room, a Lueth place where all the hard work begins for the reminder of someone who has done someEagles, a club booming with Colby pride and thing great: from team photos of the most tradition. Colby has become a mainstay at the state recent state champions (2001 and 2009) level. to alumni who have gone on to bigger PAGE 10 “Tradition is a big important step in what we do,” things.

story by

photos by

Sports Ink.

March 2013

Page 9

There even are words of inspiration painted on the wall, a wall that doesn’t seem to end and goes high into the building’s rafters.

“The size of the room. … it’s so big,” said senior Beau Brown. “So much room.”

At the room’s other entrance a simple sign reads: “A wrestling season is like a marathon. The only thing of real significance is how you finish. Just keep in mind that ‘At Colby — being good is not good enough.’ Get better every day. Never lose sight of your goals.”

And, each year, those goals are simple — carry on the tradition.

“Thiry years of history helps out a lot,” said senior 126-pounder Dustin Reed. “We’ve never really had a whole lot of down years. The community just builds off that. It’s fun winning.”

Along with those 57 state placers, the Eagles have landed in the top 10 in the team standings at the state finale every year in that span, with two titles and five state trophies. After a narrow second-place finish in 2012, this year’s Colby squad is eager to get back and put the Eagles over the top once again, and

looked primed to do so as it carried the state’s No. 1 ranking most of the season. Not being the team to let the tradition die is a driving force.

“They know what has happened before them,” said Sims, who was an assistant coach in 2003-04 before taking over the program full time. “It’s not really an expectation, but there’s a lot of pride involved.

“Each kid takes pride in Colby wrestling because of what has happened,” he added.

Of course, you don’t have to to start young to be good, but a great deal of Colby’s success has started in the youth phase.

“We’ve had a few kids that have never wrestled until junior high, and they have done well,” Sims said. “But, I think the overwhelming majority of them have grown up in the kids wrestling for multiple years.”

Brown, who was ranked fourth at 182 pounds heading into the Eagles’ 4A regional, didn’t start wrestling until he was in high school. He is one of a few who took an immediate liking to what he called “probably our most popular sport.”

Start ‘em young Reed, who this month was going for his third straight state championship in 4A, has been wrestling since he was 5 years old. He participated in numerous tournaments as a kid, and already was a known commodity when he entered the high school ranks. The early start is something that helped him get to the level he is at. But the love for the sport also was there.

“A lot of it has to do with the kids’ program,” said Reed, who has signed a letter to wrestle for NCAA Division II Newman University in Wichita. “We wrestled the same group of kids, and we started when we were 5, 6 or 7 and go all the way up through high school.”

Consistent coaching Colby wrestlers credit coaches who know what they’re doing for much of their success. On the high school team, there is a wealth of knowledge to go around.

For those who started when they were young, wrestlers in Colby had the same coaches throughout, then Sims as the head man all through high school.

Sims considers himself lucky with the wrestling intelligence on his staff.

“We’re pretty fortunate to have the amount of resources we have,” Sims said. One resource is Ed Schmitt, a 4-time All-American from the junior college and NAIA ranks. He is joined

by Rick Williams, who Sims said has been around as long as he has, and Cole Garcia, a two-time state placer and 2005 state champion for the Eagles.

“When I was younger, we had one kids’ coach for 15 years,” Reed said. “Changing coaches is what kills some teams.

“We’re pretty fortunate to have the amount of resources we have.”

- Matt Sims, Colby coach

Colby coach Matt Sims directs a wrestler during a dual against Garden City earlier this month at the Colby High School gym. Sims is in his seventh year as the Eagles’ head coach.

We usually have coaches for a while before we switch, and that helps out quite a bit.”

When the wrestlers walk into the practice room each day, they know what to expect, and the Eagles run a strict program. “(Coach Sims) kind of makes an atmosphere where we think anything we do is going to be the best in the state,” Reed said. “He’s tried to build that mindset.

Everyone knows our two hours of practice is going to be all about drilling.”

Part of what Sims learned about being a head coach, he learned from former coach Mitch Biems.

But he also had help from a name many throughout the state would recognize. Larry Gabel, who coached St. Francis from 1974 to 2006, is Colby’s athletic director. Sims took over the wrestling program in Gabel’s first year.

“Any time you take over as a head coach, there’s kind of a learning curve there,” Sims said. “You think ‘Well, I don’t know if he’s ready to be head PAGE 12 coach.’

“I don’t know if anyone is ever technically ready, but I still learn a lot — learn what to do and what not to do,” Sims added. “(Gabel) has been kind of instrumental for me as far as bouncing ideas off him and different ways to approach things.”

Loud and proud During a dual with Garden City, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 6A, the Eagles put on the full show for those in attendance. Colby’s pep band was on hand pre-dual, and the dance team made an appearance.

It was a rarity, Sims admitted, but something that provided a great atmosphere for wrestling. The action on the mat kept the excitement going, and the crowd showed its appreciation by getting behind its club.

“It’s always like that,” Brown said.

“The fans are always excited about it.”

Colby, with two starters sitting out, lost the dual, but it would be hard to tell by the level of excitement still present even during exhibition action following the final varsity match.

“I claim that Colby is a wrestling town,” Sims said. “Some of our basketball supporters don’t necessarily want to hear that, but it’s a goal of mine to maybe someday host events at the community building, because we overflow the high school.

“We want a full crowd at our duals, so that’s something we try and keep pushing.”

Big-time tournament Most tournaments throughout a wrestling season have a few slight differences here and there, but a great number of any team’s scheduled tournaments have the same idea. Most of them are set up to mimick a state tournament.

That’s not the case with the Colby Invitational, a dual-format tournament that spans through two days at three differ-

Inside Colby’s practice room, a picture of the 2009 Class 4A state champion Eagle squad.

ent buildings. Eighteen teams are split into three pools and each wrestle seven duals.

The format is met with mixed feelings from those attending, but is as “fanfriendly as they can get it,” Sims said.

Oberlin, one of the smallest schools competing at this year’s tournament,

ended up in the top five.

“It’s not something I want to do every week,” said Oberlin senior Kade Brown.

“It’s a great experience once a year — kind of brings the team together.

“It’s just a good experience to know you have to rely on your teammates,” he added. “Not just all individual.”

Each match, win or lose, can have a bearing on the team score.

“Everyone goes out to the tournament,” Reed said. “We always do pretty well. My sophomore year we took fifth — not that bad in a big tournament.

For us, it was a letdown. We don’t want to take fifth in our tournament.”

It’s one of a handful of tournaments through the season where Colby has an opportunity to see teams of similar size to 4A. It’s those tournaments, joining the Rocky Welton Invitational in Garden City, the Newton Invitational and the Salina South Invitational, where the Eagles might see the most state-caliber wrestlers.

“We go to a lot of really good tournaments,” Beau Brown said. “You have pretty good competition at each one of them. Those are like going to state just about each week.”

Judging by history, if Colby did go to state each week, the Eagles might run out of room to hang banners in the gym. But, there still is plenty of space on the walls inside the wrestling room.

“I am a real stickler on the little things.”

- Keith Riley Hill City coach

Focused

on fundamentals

H

ill City High School boys’ basketball coach Keith Riley has won more than 610 games and three state titles in 44 years with the Ringnecks. This season, Riley has one senior, no player above 6-feet tall and no one who averaged more than 11 points a game last winter. Ben Weaver, his leading scorer on junior varsity last season, moved to Michigan. Riley receives very little from a bench that consists mainly of freshmen.

Hill City wasn’t expected to have a .500 season, maybe not win more than five games. Instead, Hill City is 11-7 behind Riley’s longtime emphasis on fundamentals.

“I am a real stickler on the little things,” Riley said.

In mid-Feburary, Sports Ink watched Hill City practice on a Thursday and then observed the Ringnecks’ game the following day at home against Smith Center. Hill City and Smith Center entered the contest with similar records,

Sports Ink.

March 2013

but the Redmen had more height and athleticism than Hill City. Smith Center, led by senior guards Zach Linn and Payton Buckmaster, often score from freelancing and transition, much different than Hill City’s fundamental style.

Hill City opened the game on a 24-9 run and won 66-57.

“It takes a while to get the fundamentals down and learn everything the way he wants it,” senior Solomon Wilson said.

“With our team, it’s all about timing.

Everything has to be timed right, and we just practice it, and practice it and practice it until we get it right.”

Here is how it happened: In the ‘60s, Riley, from Dighton, came to Hill City straight from Fort Hays State University. Riley intended to stay a year before returning to FHSU for his master’s degree. The first year, Riley was assistant boys’ coach and head track coach, a position he still has. PAGE 14

Page 13

CHELSY LUETH, Sports Ink. Hill City sophomore Ethan Gansel makes his way past Smith Center’s Taylor Zabel during a game in Hill City earlier this month.

When Riley was an assistant, Hill City’s coach was a well-liked person, but had little organization. Many times, the coach would ask Riley, ‘What do you want to do today?’ Riley thought if he ever became a head coach, he would focus on organization and discipline.

The next season, Riley took over the Ringneck program.

“Kids know that you are not organized,” Riley said. “They can sense that in a hurry.”

Riley’s practice started at 5:36 p.m. and ended just after 7:10. Every drill was accomplished in crisp fashion, and there is no down time. The water breaks were less than two minutes. Hill City spent the first 15 to 20 minutes on fundamental work — dribbling, passing, shooting, cutting and playing in half-court and transition. One drill consisted of dribbling two balls at the same time. The next time, the players again have two balls, but alternate dribbles.

Hill City runs dribbling and passing drills every night. Riley usually stands at midcourt and continually shouts instructions or encouragement.

“If you are ripping on them all the time, he is going to beat himself to death,” Riley said. “So you have to give him compliments as well. You have to tell them what they are doing wrong, but you can’t let freshmen get away with anything. Freshmen probably hate me.

It’s probably a rude awakening when

they come up here into high school.”

At 6:06 p.m., Riley opened his scouting report on Smith Center, saying, “They are not super fast, but they are athletic.” Riley focused several minutes on breaking Smith Center’s press. Riley corrected his team and explained the reasoning when the Ringnecks made a mistake, such as not spreading the floor enough in a press break. Riley focused on cutting down Linn’s cross-court passes in transition and his long, NBA range 3-pointers the Redmen guard takes – and makes. At 6:20 p.m., Riley throws down his papers when Hill City doesn’t close out a shooter.

“The yelling, it just gets us going,” said junior Shane Jones.

Two minutes later, a reserve didn’t cut correctly. Riley stops practice and explains what the player did wrong. The next time, the player makes the correct play and shot a layup.

“He made a curl cut instead of a straight cut,” Riley said. “That let the defense cut across.”

Later, Riley told his players they were playing “too far out” and leaving the middle open. He and assistant coach Scott Schulz, a former Ringneck, harp on correct passing. A quick fake downward draws the defender and then the Hill City player can pass high and around the defense.

Hill City spends the last 20 minutes on inbounds and sideline plays and shoots

free throws the final few minutes of practice.

Riley purposefully reviews often this time of the year, one of the main reasons why Hill City has lost two games in February the last four years.

“Go over them step by step, because that’s the way you’ve got to do it,” Riley said.

“Because pretty soon, you are going down and you are not setting a screen. …

You have got to have good screens. You have got to have good timing coming out.

If you don’t do that, then everything is off.”

Then on Friday, Hill City held Buckmaster scoreless until 7 minutes, 25 seconds remain in the game. Linn doesn’t score until he hits a trey in transition with 96 seconds left in the first half.

Outside of the game’s final few minutes – when Smith Center made a run – Riley is pleased with his team’s transition defense and guarding Linn and Buckmaster. However, Hill City’s zone did give up the baseline once, a play that makes Riley unhappy. Riley jokingly calls giving up the baseline “the 11th Commandment.”

Offensively, Smith Center rarely presses Hill City, but the Ringnecks, despite some uncharacteristic turnovers, outrebound Smith Center by five and hd 24 free throws, 13 more than the Redmen.

“I was a little surprised, because I was actually hoping they would press, but even if they don’t press, good,” Wilson

said. “We can take the ball down the court easier and we can get our offense set up and we can execute.”

The 6-foot Jones finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and strong defense, while 5-10 junior forward Greg Billips collected eight points and five rebounds against the Redmen’s front line that measured 6-2, 6-3 and 6-5. Billips also missed his second free throw of the season and Rile humorously asked him what was wrong. Like many Hill City players, Billips made plays by boxing out correctly, doing the small things and beating more talented opponents.

“Greg Billips can’t jump,” Riley said.

“He is a position player. He is a real solid player. I never thought I would see him start. I thought that he would be a real solid role player. Here he is, he has started all year and he done a great job for us.”

Conor Nicholl, Sports Ink.

Just a Minute with Nick McQueen

Sydney

Benoit

Smith Center HIgh School Senior

Briana Dietz Teammate

Nick Linn b-ball coach

Trenna Cox Teammate

If there were a movie made about her, who would play her?

Cameron Diaz

Beyonce

Miley Cyrus

If she could be anyone else for a day, who would she choose?

Channing Tatum’s wife

Jackie Stiles — small town hero.

Zac Efron

If she got her own shoe commercial, what would the slogan be?

Skidding along

Q: What makes girls’ basketball in Smith Center so good?

A: I think we all work together as a team really well.

We all have different strengths that we do well. We usually come to practice every day and work really hard. Our main focus is our pressure, and that’s what we’ve always been doing.

Q: With sub-state coming up, it looks to be a good one. Is that something you girls have been thinking about all year?

A: That was one of our main goals. First is to win sub-state and make state. We’re all really excited for it coming up.

Q: Did you know coming into the season, you might have to take on a bigger scoring role?

A: Maybe because last year we had a lot of girls that scored a lot. I thought we all had to come in and step up this year and fill those roles.

Q: Does it surprise you you’re putting up the numbers you are this season?

A: I just want to win games — that’s all that matters.

Q: Every year, it seems Smith Center has had injury problems that hurt their chances. Is that something you guys talk about?

A: Last year, we just tried to not focus on it. That brought us down a lot last year, with Torrie and Trenna getting hurt. This year, I just hope we do better.

Q: Is there college basketball in your future?

A: I’ve thought about going on to play. It’s just a really hard decision on where to go to school — just haven’t made a decision yet. I’ve gotten a lot of offers

Page 16

Skidney Shoes

What three words best describe her?

from a bunch of jucos.

Q: Does it seem like you girls have been better as the season has goes on?

A: I think we have. All the girls have been playing together since we were little. As the season goes on, we’ve got into the flow a little better. Different people have stepped up.

Q: Does coach (Nick) Linn have high expectations at the beginning of the season?

A: He does. He gets a little nervous sometimes.

We try to calm him down. He has some pretty high expectations of us.

Funny Outgoing Determined

Academy Award — very Some kind of good actress funny award at our school plays.

SPORTS INK.

Blonde Athletic Humorous

Being the most Blonde

On what T.V. show would she be a good guest star?

‘Baggage’

Q: What is the biggest advantage Smith Center has on the floor?

A: We all practice and work hard, and during the summer, we all have a weight program we follow. We just go out there every time and try to get the win.

Q: What is the most memorable game you’ve played in so far?

A: The worst game that we’ve played in was last year, the sub-state finals. That was just really sad when our season ended. The most memorable, I think it might have been when we played against Ellis (the second time), we all stepped up and played well. Last year, when we won the MCL, that was fun, too.

Athletic Smart Sassy

If she won award for a talent outside of sports, what would it be?

Q: Do you kind of hope maybe it comes down to you and Ellis for a shot to go to state?

A: It doesn’t really matter who we’re playing at all.

We just want to win it. If Ellis is in it too, that would be fun. We are just really looking forward to making it to state.

March 2013

Ballerz by Benoit

ON

‘Pretty Little ‘The Liars’ or ‘The Bachelorette’ Bachelor’

Ink. BLOTS

A spattering from NW Kansas

This week’s Class 2A sub-state in Plainville is probably the best for the classification in the state, and it might be on both sides. The girls’ bracket has three ranked squads, and the boys’ bracket has three favorites with four other upset-minded programs. Just for fun, I’ll go ahead and make my predictions. I think Smith Center, if healthy, is not touched on the girls’ side.

With more players stepping up to help out in scoring, Smith Center is nearly unbeatable. On the boys’ side, I think Ness City might have the best team on the floor. The Eagles had some injuries early in the season, but they’ll make it to Manhattan.

-N.M. In the last couple of years, at least one team has ended a long drought between state tournament appearances in basketball. The Victoria boys, Victoria girls, Logan girls, Otis-Bison boys and WheatlandGrinnell boys are among the teams that have reached state. This year, I expect the trend to continue. Either the Natoma or Palco girls and the Bird City-Cheylin boys are the best bets to end their streak without state appearances.

- C.N. When you’ve got a tiny student body, it can be difficult to field competitive athletics, especially on the boys’ and girls’ sides at the same time. Yet, Palco has done it. Palco, with an enrollment of 38, is Kansas’ eighth smallest KSHSAA-affiliated high school. Despite that, the boys and girls were each 11-6 in basketball as of Feb. 13.

Impressive.

- K.S. One of the most interesting arguments each year involves the difference between wrestling styles in eastern vs. western Kansas. Colby senior Dustin Reed, a twotime 4A state champion, said while western Kansas wrestling is solid, competing against good clubs out west doesn’t do much for preparing for the 4A state finale. The style when they face teams from the east is more about movement and scrambling where wrestling in the west is more fundamental and basic. Which is better? At least in Class 3-2-1A, the west has proven better.

- N.M.

In the mind of a legend

H

ill City High School boys’ basketball coach Keith Riley has coached the Ringnecks for 44 years and remarkably remembers something from just about every game in his career. This year, Riley again is exceeding expectations with a small team that has just one senior and carried a 10-7 mark in mid-February. Here is Riley on a few topics in a pair of interviews earlier this month: On how long he is going to coach: “I like the kids. I like coaching kids. I like coming out here. I like the challenge. I think it’s a great challenge. As long as I can get along with the kids and they understand what I want, I think that is fine. I don’t know how much longer I am going to be able to do this. Somebody asked me, and I said, I will just go a year at a time and see what happens.”

On his 1998 state title team, a squad that featured his son, Geoff, named first team all-state, regardless of Hill City coach Keith Riley. classification. Geoff Riley averaged 26 points per game and remains the none of those kids could play defense Ringnecks’ all-time leading scorer. when they were young. None of them The squad also featured standouts could. They didn’t hardly play varsity Justin Zohner and Dustin Beam and until their senior year. They just kind freshman Scott Schulz, now the assisof moved up, because the year before, tant boys’ basketball coach and head I was going to have a lot better team. football coach. Riley, Zohner, Beam That year, they really surprised me. and Schulz, among others, were all Those kids, they played such good degreat students: fense, they really held people down.”

“When you have On not playing in THE CLOSER got seven kids and a preseason tournasix of them are ment, an extreme straight A sturarity among Kansas dents, those kids, high school teams: they understand “I don’t like preit. It was just like season tournaments, a classroom. You because a lot of these go in and you talk to them, and it was teams play seven games before Christall quiet, they listen to you and they mas, and here you are in February, and got up and they just went out and did you are only playing on Fridays? Kids it. You didn’t have to tell them twice. are tired of practicing and then you go Some kids, they just have trouble pickto practice and you wait until Friday to ing things up.” play. We are going to play every TuesOn his last state team, a squad that day and Friday. I like that. This time surpassed expectations and finished of the year, I want to play. First of the 21-3 in 2009-10. The squad, known year, I want to coach.” for defense, lost in the first round of In more than four decades, Riley the Class 2A state tournament: has only seriously looked at two jobs.

“We had no shooters on that team, Both of his sons, Brian and Geoff, but that team played great defense, and played for him.

conor

NICHOLL

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March 2013

CHELSY LUETH, Sports Ink.

“At first, I didn’t know. Then, I met my wife (Merriel). She was from Hill City, so Colby juco offered me the job, in I think it was 1980, so I went out and interviewed and then I came back and they called me that night and said, I had the job. Two days later, we went out and looked for a house. She was having some thyroid problems at the time and we talked and if I go back, we are going to have three rough years. We didn’t have anything in three classes. Nothing. Not a player, and I said they are good kids, and I can put up with them. I don’t mind a losing season if our kids are working hard and doing what they can do.”

“I interviewed at TMP, I think when (Joe) Hertel got the job (28 years ago), but they didn’t have anything I could teach. Some of the alumni called me and they wanted me to come over there and interview for (the job). My boys, they didn’t want to leave. They had their friends here, so they didn’t want to leave. I wouldn’t do anything against my boys, so that’s pretty much it. I know I am getting too old, but I still would like to coach college girls.”

SPORTS INK.