Sportsink062515 pgs 1 16

A magazine focusing on all things sports in northwest Kansas

INK. July 2015

Aiming for new

HEIGHTS

Kolt Newell might not look the part of a successful jumper.

But that hasn’t stopped him yet.

The Hays Daily News

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Summer bond

Nick McQueen, Sports Ink. The Hays Larks’ Garrett McKinzie, right, congratulates teammate Derrick Mount after Mount scored a run during a home game earlier this month against El Dorado at Larks Park.

What’s up?

11 G

etting

noticed

A look inside this issue

Despite just

playing in the

summer, Brandt

Wolters gets a college try.

12

5

Who’s that?

Notable

performances from northwest Kansas.

Picture

6

No small feat

Plainville graduate Kolt Newell looks to take his jumping ability to the next level.

this

Scenes from the state track and field championships at Wichita’s

Cessna Stadium.

Sports Ink. contributors: Nick McQueen nmcqueen@dailynews.net, Brandon Zenner bzenner@dailynews.net, Jolie Green jgreen@dailynews.net Chad Simon sports@dailynews.net On the cover: Plainville graduate and Fort Hays State University track and field signee Kolt Newell. Photo by Brandon Zenner Volume 5, Issue 5 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.

Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink. La Crosse’s Sheldon Schmidt stands atop the podium after winning the Class 1A state shot put championship in May at Wichita’s Cessna Stadium.

Appreciate the spectacle

T

his May, my nephew, who goes to And it really is, and has been for quite school at Eudora, had the opsome time. While some of the other Kansas portunity to compete in the state State High School Activities Association track and field championships at state events have their flaws at times, the Wichita’s Cessna Stadium. state track meet — the largest meet in the A member of the Cardinals’ 3,200-meter nation — often runs without a hitch. relay team, he ran the third leg of the Class As a reporter running around gathering in4A state-qualifying team on the second day terviews and taking photos, often times it’s of the event. easy to take for granted just how fascinating Sitting in the office keeping up with the the event is. And maybe it takes not being latest results online, I was texting back there live to truly appreciate its draw. and forth with my While the opportunity For starters brother, who sat in to witness live quality the stands and entrack and field action, joyed all the events and first-class high school leading up to the athletes is the main focus, relay, while waiting the meet itself is nothing for his son to take short of amazing. And the baton. what it has become is due Texts from my brother ranged from, mostly to all the volunteer workers who “I can’t believe how many people are help make it possible. here,” to, “I don’t see how they are going to There are always tons of media members get all these events in.” on hand with recorders, cameras, cellI believe I responded with something like, phones, video cameras. In fact, fighting for “It’s a well-oiled machine.” space at the finish line can often itself be a

nick

McQUEEN

Page 4

July 2015

good competition with 50 photographers all battling for the same shot of the winner.

That just further illustrates the spectacle the event has become — and it’s a welcome one.

Imagine yourself as a high school athlete.

For two days, it must feel a little bit like becoming a rock star — particularly if you earn a medal. Once your event is complete, you are bombarded, and corralled into the winners’ tent to await your name to be called on the podium. If it were dark, you’d see tons of camera flashes from media and the crowd alike.

All of this adds up to the best event of the year — and having not been actually there to cover the event for some time, I can truly appreciate the phenomenal tradition it has become. And you miss the little things about it — like each day’s lame joke about the weather — that make it so special.

It’s an unmatched atmosphere each year at Cessna Stadium, and it’s now a little less than a year away. If you’re a track and field fan, it’s never too early to make plans.

SPORTS INK.

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Notable performances in northwest Kansas Hayden Friend

Friend, a junior-to-be at Plainville, had an astonishing comeback at the state track and field championships.

With the Cardinals’ 400-meter relay team trailing, Friend ran the final leg and made up huge ground to gain the Cardinals’ third straight 400-meter relay championship. The team finished first in 44.85 seconds. Friend also was second in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 23.26 seconds. Friend also was a part of last season’s 400-meter relay title team.

Derrick Mount

Though the Hays Larks had a rough start to the season, second baseman Derrick Mount was consistent early for hays. Through eight games as of June 9, was batting .364 with a teambests in RBIs (11) and home runs (4). Five of his first 12 hits went for extra bases. Mount batted .453 this spring for Pearl River (Miss.)

Community College with 12 doubles, two triples and 30 RBIs. He will play at Southeast Louisiana next year.

L.T. Meitler

Meitler, a recent Smith Center graduate, was key in the Redmen boys claiming the 2015 Class 2A state track and field title.

Meitler, the older of two brothers in the event, won the Class 2A pole vault by clearing 14 feet, 6 inches. He then ran a leg of Smith Center’s second-place 3,200-meter relay team that finished in 8 minutes, 21.25 seconds.

Smith Center captured the team title by taking fourth in the 1,600-meter relay, where Meitler ran the first leg. The Redmen scored 71.5 points, 2.5 ahead of runner-up Washington County.

Abby Burton

Just a freshman at Ellis High School, Burton made her name known this season, especially in the triple jump. In her first trip to the state meet in Wichita, Burton finished fifth in the event in Class 2A by jumping 34 feet, 9.25 inches.

She was one of four freshmen in the event to finish in the top 10. Burton also ran a leg of Ellis’ 400-meter relay — along with senior Stephanie Greenway, freshman Kelsey Brack and sophomore Ashley Mattheyer. The group finished seventh in 53.27 seconds.

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“After I got 6-9, Wichita State called. Then I kind of

focused on my future and being able to do it at the next level.”

- Kolt Newell, future FHSU jumper

BRANDON ZENNER, Sports Ink. Kolt Newell competes for Plainville in the Class 2A boys’ high jump at the state track and field meet in May in Wichita.

Aiming for new

HEIGHTS D

amar is a small, quaint town in north-central towns one will ever come across, Newell has made a Kansas. Six streets make up the town, which name for himself that has become known throughis a mere-.19 square miles. Unlike the town out Kansas. he has called home his whole life, there is Standing at 5-foot-9, most people would not STORY BY believe Newell is an ideal candidate to be a nothing small about Kolt Newell — besides BRANDON world-class jumper. In fact, Ty Haas, who coachhimself.

ZENNER es the jumpers for Fort Hays State University, Newell has lived in Damar his whole life with his two older siblings, Brock and Shelby, didn’t exactly believe who Newell was when he parents, Brian and Rhonda, and a toy poodle named saw him for the first time.

Bella. Beyond his ordinary life in one of the smallest continued on Page 8

Page 6

July 2015

SPORTS INK.

Kolt Newell outside of his home in Damar.

In addition to winning state in the high jump, Newell finished fourth in the Class 2A triple jump.

Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink.

“He had actually come in for a visit. ...

Kolt got out of the car and I thought maybe it was somebody else because I wasn’t expecting him to be 5-9 as he walked towards me,” Haas explained with laughter.

“When he came and visited and got out of the vehicle, I thought maybe it was a little brother. Nope, he was Kolt. He’s 5-9 and can jump 6-9.”

Kolt finalized his commitment to jump at Fort Hays, then he won the Class 2A boys’ high jump at the state championships May 29 at Wichita’s Cessna Stadium. It wasn’t long before that he was just beginning to get noticed.

“We first noticed when he had hit around 6-7 and then (Plainville) coach (Norma) Finnesey had got ahold of me,” Haas said. “When I first got ahold of him, he wasn’t for sure that he wanted to compete at the college level quite yet. Then, of course, he hits the big jump, a 6-9 jump, and I was persistent.”

After his sophomore year, Newell was put in a bind. He could either stay enrolled at Palco High School, which was in danger of losing its basketball team, or transfer to Plainville, which is about a 30-minute drive from Newell’s home in Damar. With basketball being his favorite sport, he took a leap of faith and made the jump to Plainville, which has paid off greatly ever since.

“At Palco, I just practiced on dirt, and we had one little section of the high jump mat. So we kind of had to push it away from the bar and land on it,” Newell said.

“I think being able to practice on a fullsize mat and track really helped me out and helped me realize I had a future in

high jump.”

Being located 30 minutes from school has made it hard on Newell to spend much time with friends or practice in his free time. That didn’t stop him from realizing he had potential in the high jump during his junior year.

“My junior year when I first jumped 6-2, I figured out the school record was 6-6. So I was like ‘If I put in a little more time and a little more effort into my form, I can get it,’ ” he said. “At the beginning of this year, all I wanted was my set goal. My goal was to get the school record — I really didn’t think I was gonna get 6-9.”

Newell set the record when he jumped 6-7 on April 14. One week later, he broke his own record with the 6-9 jump that got the attention of people from around the state. Until those record-setting jumps his senior year, he never thought jumping in college would be a possibility.

“I kind of did it just because I was decently good. I didn’t think about going to college until I jumped 6-7, then Ty Haas called me,” Newell said. “After I got 6-9, Wichita State called. Then I kind of focused on my future and being able to do it at the next level.”

“I was pretty nervous honestly,” he added about being called by college coaches for the first time. “When I saw Wichita, Kansas, with no name, I thought ‘Who’s from Wichita calling me?’ After I picked it up, Coach (Steve) Rainbolt introduced himself ,and it kinda all hit at once.”

Despite an offer from a Division I program, Newell decided to stay near home and jump at Fort Hays, where he will be less than an hour from the family that has supported him the entire way.

“I get to continue doing a sport I love in college and won’t have to let go. … My family has always been there to support me FILE PHOTO, Sports Ink. and motivate me. They’ve always been there by my side at every Newell competes in the high jump during the Goldsmith Relays meet.” this season in WaKeeney.

Despite setting some of the best high jump marks in the state dination than some of the taller athletes,” said Haas, who also this year, Newell didn’t receive attention outside of Fort Hays and trains professional high jumpers. “I think that gives them more Wichita State. Being among the first to contact Newell surprised kinesthetic awareness once they’re off the ground. Knowing what Haas, as he knows what to expect from keeping the local talent to do with their body’s space is big, and Kolt possesses all those in Western Kansas, even if Newell isn’t the prototypical high traits. jumper.

“The shorter high jumpers… have a lot more control and coorcontinued on Page 10

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“Tall, lean and mean has been the saying when we’re looking for some high jumpers but that’s not always the case. We were some of the first people to talk to him and I think some of that, being out here in western Kansas, you might get overlooked. ‌ Those kids have a different capacity when it comes to work. It seems a lot of these local kids we get in, they get overlooked and they fall into our laps and at times really pays off. ... He’s kinda turned into a diamond in the rough.â€?

Newell stands as the best high jumper in Fort Hays’ 2015 signees, which includes two jumpers who have cleared 6-7. Being able to work with a coach like Haas and being able to see what sub 6-foot jumpers have been able to do while on college visits makes Newell optimistic for his college career.

While on his visit to Wichita State, he was shown a video of Franklin Jacobs, who was 5-foot-7, breaking the world record at the

time by jumping 7-7. “It gives me a lot of hope,� Newell said of the video. “It shows me it’s possible to jump 7-plus.�

Jumping more than a foot over his own height means Newell has the possibility of jumping over some of the world’s elite athletes, including LeBron James, who Newell has his own opinion about being the basketball enthusiast he is. “LeBron James is good, but I don’t care for him. Either you love him or you don’t.�

Newell noted he has friends who ask to stand under the bar to see if he can clear them, though he does not allow them with the fear of cleating a friend in the face. He doesn’t have that same fear with LeBron. “I would just go for it,� Newell said.

Though it’s not likely he would ever get the chance to clear LeBron, Haas believes Newell has all the tools to succeed at the next level. “He’s the type of kid that has a really

high ceiling because a lot of this is raw ability and it hasn’t been refined yet,�

Haas said of Newell’s potential at Fort Hays. “We have some kids that come in that have had a lot of high-level training and they’re already at their ceiling; I don’t think Kolt is anywhere near his ceiling in that regard. He’s got quite a few technical things he can improve upon.�

With Newell’s proven record from a senior year that brought him a corkboard full of medals and his name in Plainville’s record book, Haas’s expectations are not light for the Damar product. “The goal is always for every guy we bring in, they’re always going to shoot for 7 feet because that’s what separates your national-caliber athletes,� Haas said. “He’s got that much potential; he’s that good. “Our assistant coach was able to go down and watch him at state. The statement was ‘He’s gonna be a good one.’ �

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Courtesy photo Osborne’s Brandt Wolters catches during an American Legion game.

ROOM TO GROW Competing only in the summer, Osborne’s Wolters lands shot at college baseball

I

n 1983, Galen McSpadden brought in a Cunningham, Kan., product by the name of Terry Elliot to Seward County Community College in Liberal. He did not have the opportunity to play high school baseball in his hometown, but had been a champion javelin thrower in Kansas and a successful baseball player in Goddard.

After one year under McSpadden, a 34year veteran at Seward, Elliot was reeled in

by Wichita State, where he had better than a .300 career average in three seasons with the Shockers, and was voted the team’s Sports Ink.

most valuable player in 1986.

After leading the Anchorage Pilots to the National Baseball Congress title, he was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in ‘86, where he became a minor league catcher for the Red Birds.

Ask McSpadden about Elliot, and he will tell you Brandt Wolters is an exact replica.

“I was real excited when he won the javelin because the last baseball player I had that fits the profile of Brandt Wolters is Terry Elliot. … Terry is exactly what I saw in Brandt. In 34 years, this is my second recruit that fills that profile.”

July 2015

As a star football player, Wolters was a part of the undefeated 2013 Eight-Man Division I state championship team as a junior, amassed more than 3,000 career receiving yards and 39 touchdowns, and was selected for numerous all-state honors.

He also was a key player in the East’s win in the Eight-Man Division I All-Star game June 6 in Beloit.

Wolters also received honors for basketball, made it to the state meet for golf, and won gold in the Class 1A javelin at the state track meet in late May. Continued on Page 14

Page 11

Picture this

Focused on action from the Kansas state track and field championships.

Wheatland-Grinnell’s Taylor Tustin runs the 1A girls’ 3,200 meters. She was fourth.

WaKeeney Trego’s Cheyenne Nickelson was sixth in the 2A girls’ pole vault.

RIGHT: Hoxie’s Austin Rietcheck competes in the 1A boy’s 100-meter dash. FAR RIGHT: Plainville’s Hayden Friend takes the baton in the boys’ 400-meter relay. The Cardinals won the event for the third straight year.

Photos by Brandon Zenner, Chad Simon Page 12

July 2015

SPORTS INK.

What do sports and utilities have in common?

FAR LEFT: Hays High’s Maddux Winter runs the 110-meter hurdle preliminaries. LEFT: Otis-Bison’s Taylor Regan, left, and Wheatland-Grinnell’s Lacy Ostmeyer prepare to run the 1A girls’ 800.

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Smith Center senior Landon Wingerson, left, celebrates with freshman Jesse Staples after the boys’ 1,600-meter relay. The Redmen finished fourth in the event, giving them enough for the Class 2A boys’ team state championship.

A Cloud County Community College signee, Lennemann successfully defended his Class 3A 200-meter dash championship in May in Wichita. As well, the Phillipsburg graduate bettered last year’s runner-up by winning the 100-meter dash to take home two gold medals in Class 3A. Lennemann ran 22.16 seconds in the 200, and won the 100 in 10.72 seconds.

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Wolters had little interest in continuing his illustrious track and football careers and instead opted to join McSpadden in Liberal.

“I pretty much started tee ball with my dad coaching me the whole way through,” Wolters said. “It was always his favorite sport so that’s how it became mine. I think it’s the best sport and I have the most room to grow in since I haven’t gotten the opportunity to play as much of it.”

While Osborne has never had high school baseball, Wolters made a name for himself through his local American Legion team. Until his senior year, he had little to no contact with any baseball coach besides McSpadden, who just so happens to have a connection through Wolters away from the diamond. McSpadden has been a regular on the Wolters’ hunting ground thanks to a good friend of his. He watched his future catcher flourish in Osborne.

“Through that relationship, I have watched Brandt grow up and have watched him as an athlete develop.…”

McSpadden said. “That hunting relationship allowed me to be on his family’s ground and then watching him develop and grow into a good athlete and a solid young man.”

With the list of awards Wolters received in football and track, Wolters might have had the opportunity to attract offers, as he said he was offered to walk-on for football at Fort Hays State University. Those sports were never of much interest to him beyond high school, though.

“Anytime any recruiters came to school, I never talked to them because I knew I wanted to play baseball…

It was always in the back of my head junior year.…” Wolters said. “I wasn’t even considering football. I love it, but I think it’s a whole ‘nother level up there.

You really got to love stuff to do it at the next level and football wasn’t the thing for me.”

With Wolters’ mind set on the diamond, McSpadden gave him the opportunity last fall to try out at Seward, which only reassured him of the gifts the Osborne star has.

“I liked his whole package,” McSpadden said. “I’m always interested in a person and a student and an athlete.

Physically, he has developed into a strong, athletic young man. He’s got Sports Ink

NICK McQUEEN, Sports Ink. Wolters has been a key member of the Osborne football team for the past three seasons, helping the Bulldogs to a state title in 2013 and to the sub-state title game as a senior.

potential with a strong arm. He swung the bat and made good contact. He’s intelligent. He’s competitive.”

His variety of tools gives Seward a possibility at catcher, while McSpadden says the staff will look to try him in the outfield and possibly third base.

“He’s a brutally honest guy and he’ll tell you straight forward what he thinks,” Wolters said of McSpadden. “I didn’t have any offers because I didn’t have high school ball but he said he thought I have some skills that he thinks could turn me into a good baseball player.

So I just decided it’s worth a shot. He said he thought I was good enough to play at other jucos and would give my name away, but he’s a nice guy and I had a good connection with him.”

While not having high school ball could have hindered Wolters’ potential at a collegiate career, his dedication to working with his father in the shed by his house July 2015

and grit through the dog days of summer landed him in the arms of the one of the best junior college coaches in McSpadden. The veteran ranks 11th all-time and is sixth among active coaches in wins in the junior college ranks. Wolters hopes to expand his skills through two years and take his talents to an in-state Division I program.

In the end, Wolters thinks the lack of high school ball ultimately helped him on and off the baseball field.

“It’s probably a good thing because I’ve been so busy and then I wouldn’t have been able to do track, which I was is fortunate to win a state championship in that.

“I got to do a lot of other things and got to play golf and track,” Wolters said. “I got to make a lot of good memories with a lot of good friends. … It’s just great to get the chance to go play college baseball.”

Brandon Zenner, Sports Ink. Page 14

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