Sports Ink - August 2012 by The Hays Daily News

A magazine focusing on all things sports in northwest Kansas

Remember when? From 1998 to 2003, the Osborne girls had the team to beat, no matter the sport. Where are they now?

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August 2012

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What’s Stayin’ cool up?

A look inside this issue

6 Up with the times

New coaches are

bringing new technology, philosophies to the game

Remember when?

Several years removed, Osborne High School graduates look back on a historic athletic run by the Bulldog girls.

The tough get going

Local enthusiasts compete for bragging rights in

Ironman competition.

Nick Herrman, a member of the Royals 9- to 10-year-old machine pitch baseball league, takes a drink of water during a baseball game at the Bickle/Schmidt Sports Complex in June. Playing in the early game, the kids braved 110-degree temperatures to play baseball. KLINT SPILLER, Sports Ink.

Cover illustration by Steven Hausler shausler@dailynews.net Sports Ink. contributors: Nick McQueen nmcqueen@dailynews.net Conor Nicholl cnicholl@dailynews.net Raymond Hillegas rhillegas@dailynews.net Steven Hausler shausler@dailynews.net Klint Spiller kspiller@dailynews.net Everett Royer sportsink@dailynews.net

Volume 2, Issue 6 Sports Ink. is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News. Copyright © 2012 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.

Arguing for the ‘best ever’ T

he best ever. It’s a debate that towns, fans and media have about players, teams and schools. I’ve been in Hays since December 2008, and the best football team I’ve seen was Thunder Ridge’s squad last fall that went 13-0 and won the Eight-Man, Division II state championship. However, I know several people who wouldn’t put Thunder Ridge in the top-five of eight-man teams from the last few seasons. A few believed Ashland — which Thunder Ridge beat 2826 in the postseason — was actually better than the Longhorns. Another lively debate concerns the Osborne girls’ dynasty. From 1998-2003, the Bulldogs won four straight track titles. They earned girls’ basketball state titles in 2000 and ‘02 and finished as runner-up in ‘01 and ‘03. As well, Osborne collected two individual cross country titles and Brittany Dietz remains the lone tennis player in state history to never lose a match. It’s arguably the greatest run by girls’ programs in area history (on the boys’ side, it’s probably tough to top Almena-Northern Valley in the ‘80s). Osborne also has a pretty April Roadhouse was part of a strong athletic era for the Osborne High School girls. Read more about the Bulldogs’ impressive run on page 8. strong case as having the best girls’ basketball team in area history. basketball at Utica and Wheatland before he mismatched, I wasn’t too concerned,” he The 2000 squad went 26-0 and defeated finished his career with a 14-year stint with said. “Most teams just don’t play like that. a powerful Moundridge team, 61-54, in Osborne. The Bulldogs marked the only ... It worked out really well for us and they the 2A championship. Moundridge had time he coached girls’ basketball. Wolters, took a lot of pride in trying to hold down won the previous four state titles and had now retired, admitted he had a little trepida- their opponent.” standout Laurie Koehn, who set several state tion at first, but discovered the Bulldogs just April Roadhouse, a sophomore on the records. The 2003 Ness City squad and the simply wanted to win and were willing to 2000 squad, was the team’s quickest player. 1976 Hill City team are the only other area do whatever it took to get there. Plus, evShe guarded Koehn and held her to 12teams that have posted an undefeated record eryone bought into their role and the team of-34 shooting. Roadhouse, who later was in girls’ basketball. concept. an all-MIAA Defensive Team selection For Starters Ken Ubelaker, “If you can get those at Washburn University, said she “loved, father of Osborne’s girls on your side and loved, loved” running the switching destandouts Brooke get them motivated, fense. Osborne outscored opponents by and Karie and the they will just give you an average margin of 63-35. The Bulldogs Bulldogs’ current 100 percent every night won the three games at state by 29, 10 and head track coach, said and that’s what’s so neat seven points. The 15.3 margin of victory was he spoke with several about all the kids that I bigger than Hill City (12.3) and Ness City’s recruiters, including a few from the MIAA, ever had,” Wolters said. (11.7). who saw the Bulldogs play that year. Osborne’s anchor was its switching man“For one, it conserved some energy,” Road“(They) thought we may have been one to-man defense, a look rarely run with any house said. of the best teams in any class in the state frequency at the high school level because it “Especially the style of play that we had, that year,” he said. “But there were a lot of can create matchup problems. But Wolters which was like a get out and go, run full good teams, too. That’s all kind of opinion wanted to put constant pressure on the ball court, press full court, kind of just get-afterto who is the best and whatever, but it was and learned from a coaching clinic the only them type of basketball, so that always was a dominating team. They kind of had all way was to switch all screens. Wolters had nice. I also believe that it helped bond our the pieces that they needed. They had the ran the defense coaching junior high and it team, giving each other the confidence like, shooters, they had the ball handlers, they worked well. At Osborne, Wolters called his ‘I know that if I switch with you, you are had the people that were willing to give up defense “a feeding frenzy” and likened it to a going to be there, you are going to guard, the ball. They had some quickness, they had cat chasing a mouse. maybe somebody who is a foot taller than some size.” “Our kids weren’t really big or anything, you, somebody who is a step quicker than Coach Darrel Wolters coached boys’ but they were so quick, that even if we got you, but we got your back if you need help.’”

conor

NICHOLL

Who’s That? Notable performances in northwest Kansas Beau Brown

A senior-to-be at Colby High School’s Brown was invited to participate in the Blue-Grey National Super Combine in late June in Canton, Ohio. Brown also competed and set a record in the 40-yard dash and also tied for best performer in April at the regional Blue-Grey football competition at St. Joseph, Mo. Brown’s goal is to be selected for the Second Annual Blue-Grey All-Star Game on Jan. 12 at Raymond James Stadium — the stadium of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game will be televised on Fox Sports.

Gracie Stanton Jadyn Gottschalk

Stanton, who will be a third grader at O’Loughlin Elementary School, and Jadyn Gottschalk, soon-to-be fourth grader at Holy Family Elementary School, won national championships for all-around performances at the AAU National Gymnastics Championships in late June at Wisconsin Dells, Wis. Stanton won at level 4 of the 8-year-old division, while Gottschalk finished first at level 5 of the 8-year-old division. Stanton and Gottschalk are members of the Heartland All-Stars Gymnastics team. At nationals, Stanton finished first in three of her four events: bars, floor and vault. Gottschalk placed first in the vault and floor and third in the bars and beam. As a member of the Hays Hurricanes swimming club, Stanton also qualified for multiple events at the Division II swim meet in mid-July at Hutchinson.

Trevor Henningsen

The Hays High School graduate has had a string of gems this spring and summer playing first base and pitcher for the Indians and the Hays Senior Legion baseball team. He hit .380 for the Indians in the spring and tied for the team lead with three home runs. Though his power decreased a bit this summer, Henningsen made up for it on the mound. Through 29.2 innings, Henningsen was 6-0 with a 1.18 ERA. He nearly threw a perfect 5-inning game against Colby on July 6, but ruined it when he committed an error covering first base. The highlight of that game was when he struck out the first three batters, which included allstate Class 4A players Luke Cox and Braden Sager, with 10 consecutive strikes, one a foul tip. 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.

“Even for me, it’s like a whole new generation of coaches, and I’ve only been doing it for eight years now.”

- Matt Dumler, TMP coach

RAYMOND HILLEGAS, Sports Ink Using the online service, hudl, coaches are able to annotate videos of athletes competing with helpful tips for the athletes to review later.

New age in coaching S

taying on the forefront of innovation is becoming an exponentially difficult task in the age of YouTube, smart phones, iPads and concerts starring holographic projections of Tupac Shakur. In sports, this rush to keep pace with technology is ever present. “Old school” coaches watch as the younger generation brings with them a wealth

of knowledge and technology never before seen, some coaches feel forced to adapt to this changing landscape. Programs, such as “hudl,” and websites, such as YouTube, have emerged, allowing athletes to watch their own performances and scout opponents with the click of a mouse. Drew Mahin, a graduate of Scandia-Pike Valley and Fort Hays State

7 University and soon-to-be teacher and cross country coach at Phillipsburg, was introduced to this new wave of digital coaching while participating in track and field at FHSU. FHSU would have testing days where athletes would sprint 60 meters to see if the biomechanics drills were working. Two cameras were used — one filming in front of them and one filming from their side — to capture their technique through the different phases of the sprint. “It was incredible the amount of things that you find out that you are doing wrong,” Mahin said. “It is kind of addicting where you are trying to fix all these little things.” Mahin incorporated what he learned as an assistant coach for the track and field team at Thomas More Prep-Marian. Football coach Jon Borer had just introduced hudl, which allows coaches to upload videos, edit them, make them viewable to their athletes and share them with other schools or coaches. TMP track and field head coach Matt Dumler said at first, he wasn’t sure about it’s utility, but Mahin and fellow assistant coaches Lucas Luebbers and Jennifer Robinson, both recent graduates and former collegiate athletes, jumped right on board and began using it. Dumler, who is a fairly young coach, said they started to make him feel “like an old man.” “Even for me, it’s like a whole new generation of coaches, and I’ve only been doing it for eight years now,” Dumler said. “They are using stuff I didn’t use when we began because I didn’t have it available.” Dumler said schools have been using film for track and field for years, but the days of pausing and rewinding on the VCR in film sessions are gone. This is the new frontier. Now, athletes can view their performances from anywhere with internet access, and the coaches can draw lines and add comments to the clip showing where the athlete’s form is deviating. The coaches also can track who has viewed a clip and how many times it was viewed, which provides accountability for their athletes. “I’d be lying to say all the kids used it, but we have had a good response with it,” Dumler said. This technology has made film study more common in sports where film often hasn’t been used before.

RAYMOND HILLEGAS, Sports Ink TMP coach Matt Dumler talks in June about using Hudl to capture and publish video online for athletes to review at home or wherever they have internet access.

In the past, FHSU wrestling coach Chas Thompson said film often wasn’t available, but now, wrestlers can go to websites like flowrestling.org to find video of opponents. “There wasn’t a whole lot of scouting (before),” Thompson said. “Now, you can jump online and google the kid’s name and, boom, there it is.” Phillipsburg golf coach Keith Sides uses the school’s iPads to film and critique golfers’ swings. “Most of the time we bring them back to the school and view it on a bigger screen,” Sides said. Sides said it can lead to dramatic improvements, especially with younger golfers. “I think when coaches tell them they are doing something wrong, until you see it, you might not think you are doing it as wrong as you actually are,” he said. Film studies are far from a new trend, however, and nowhere have they been more utilized than football preparation. Entering his 34th year with the Redmen, Smith Center football coach Roger Barta has seen and used it all when it comes to film study. When he first started, the coaches used Super 8 mm film. “We’d film a couple quarters and take it somewhere to get it developed and take it back to watch it with the kids,” Barta said. In the past and even now, football coaches meet coaches from other schools on Saturday mornings to ex-

change film from the previous night’s games. It has become a football tradition, but with these new programs emerging, that’s no longer a requirement. Coaches can save time and money by trading the film with other schools instantaneously across the internet. Barta said he’s thankful for his young assistants who have managed to help him stay ahead of the game with these digital coaching innovations. Smith Center has gone 317-64 in Barta’s tenure, and a big reason for that is the massive amount of preparation heading into each game. Coaches can track their opponent’s play-calling trends on the film, and they can give performance grades to their players. “It’s time consuming, but I think it increases their knowledge and their knowledge of the game and it gives you a better chance,” Barta said. This constant adaptation pays dividends in the classroom as well. Coaching is teaching, Barta said, and with competition driving coaching, coaches are constantly looking for ways to stay ahead of the game, which leads to innovation in the classroom as well. “Coaches were the first ones to use Super 8 film and then video, and then it went to the classroom,” Barta said. “Coaches have always been ahead of the game. They are all great teachers if they are great coaches.” Klint Spiller, Sports Ink.

Brittany Dietz (now Carvalhido) won four straight state championships for the Osborne High School tennis team. She was part of a dominant run the Bulldogs put together in various sports.

From 1998 to 2003, Osborne High School was in the middle of every conversation about the

best of the best in Kansas

high school girls’ sports.

Remember when? Brooke Ubelaker, center, was a catalyst for two Bulldog state championship basketball teams and had a highly successful four-year career with Washburn University, along with teammate April Roadhouse.

pril Roadhouse can’t recall her age the first time she started playing basketball. She does have a memory of playing on a YMCA boys’ team. With a laugh, she remembered rarely getting passed the ball. Whenever she did get it, she always shot. Amber, her older sister by two years, started young, too. “We kind of grew up on the basketball court together,” Amber said. The siblings grew up in Hutchinson and participated on AAU traveling teams for years with some of Kansas’ top players, including Laurie Koehn, later a standout at Moundridge High School and Kansas State University. The Roadhouse sisters would have attended Buhler High School, then a Class 6A school.

However, before Amber entered seventh grade and April started fifth, the Roadhouses moved to Osborne, their father Mark’s hometown. “I was real excited,” thenOsborne girls’ basketball coach Darrel Wolters, a cousin of the Roadhouse’s, said. “Everybody that liked basketball was real excited when they came back, because they had been playing in Hutch a lot.” Amber estimated the number of students at Buhler High School probably matched the number of people in Osborne, a town that recently dropped to Class 1A. “I was really sad,” April said. “Fifth grade girl leaving all of her friends behind, but what I do

story by conor

nicholl

Sports Ink.

August 2012

remember is I was welcomed. My fifth grade teacher had a daughter my age and she approached me and (said), ‘If you need anything.’ Same way with a lot of the other girls.” The Roadhouses quickly joined a talented group of close-knit girls and their parents, including Brooke and Karie Ubelaker, Ashley Noel, Jolene Mick and Brittany Dietz. “It was a big adjustment, but looking back on it, it was probably the best thing that could have happened to us,” Amber said. The collection of talent delivered a legendary run in basketball and track, a string of success that hasn’t been equaled in area PAGE 10 sports since. Page 9

April Roadhouse played on two state championship basketball teams for the Bulldogs, both in 2000 and 2002. She then went on to play at Washburn University.

Girls’ basketball went undefeated in 2000 and also won a championship, both in 2A, in 2002. Amber said the camaraderie between the players helped make them “unstoppable.” “We became really good friends,” April added. “It became so easy to get along with the rest of the girls. In the summers, we would wake up early, go lift weights together, go run together, go goof around together. It just became such a routine and just so normal. … It was just so easy. We had our own styles, but yet we accepted each other and I think that’s why we all just seemed so similar. We all were accepting, respectful.” Osborne earned runner-up finishes in 2001 and ’03. Its 51-game winning streak ended in the 2001 state championship game. In track, the Bulldogs captured four straight 2A titles from 1999-02 with coach Wayne Wahrman. “Still to this day, the way the community would rally and travel, especially basketball games, all around, no matter where we were playing, it was a true following and just 100-percent support,” April said. “It was amazing.” As well, Dietz won four straight singles Class 3-2-1A state tennis titles and never lost a match, the only person in state history to accomplish the feat. She set marks with 149 career victories and 43 wins in a single season. Ashley

Noel and Jolene Mick won backto-back cross country state titles in 2000 and ’01. “It was a group of girls that got along very well,” Ken Ubelaker, Brooke and Karie’s father and currently an Osborne assistant football coach and head track coach, said. “There wasn’t a lot of friction and a lot of petty problems between the group. They had sleepovers together and those kinds of things. Sometimes in girls’ sports, you can get a lot of nitpicking and sometimes you don’t get along very well, but I do recall that through those years, most of those girls got along pretty well.” Many athletes eventually enjoyed tremendous collegiate success. Brooke Ubelaker and April Roadhouse helped Washburn University collect a 35-2 record, NCAA Division II national title in 2005 and a record-setting 51-game winning streak. Ubelaker set an MIAA record with 134 starts and twice earned All-American recognition, while Roadhouse was a member of the all-conference defensive team. Dietz played basketball at Hutchinson Community College and Oklahoma State University and Amber Roadhouse was on Fort Hays State University’s basketball team. Noel was an All-American runner for Doane (Neb.) College, while Mick collected All-American honors in the distance events at Cloud

11 County Community College and Kansas Wesleyan. Karie Ubelaker played basketball at Sterling College and was part of four straight KCAC titles. “Our work ethic I think was just so great,” Dietz said. “Our parents — when I think about the Roadhouses and the Ubelakers, our fathers — they were athletic and had great work ethics. … We wanted to be pushed. We wanted to be the best. Nothing like winning a state championship.” ••• Now, the Osborne girls are spread out, though most live around the Topeka/ Kansas City area. The Ubelaker sisters live together in Topeka and work across the street from each other — Brooke at Aviva Insurance and Karie at Bank of America. Three years ago, April Roadhouse met Caleb Biesterveld at a reggae concert in Topeka. They were married in March. “He just walked right up to me like Prince Charming,” she said. “I was with all my girlfriends and told him I didn’t have time, but he was very persistent and really kept at it and three years later, we are married.” His family is from Carthage, Mo., near Joplin. Caleb’s mom works in Joplin and April and Caleb went down shortly after the tornado hit. “It was devastation, it really was,” she said. “You couldn’t believe it. You hear stories all the time. I am from Kansas, so you grow up with tornadoes, but you never can imagine anything like that happening.” The two reside in Topeka and Caleb recently graduated from Washburn law

Members of the 2000 and 2002 Osborne state title teams gathered in Manhattan last season for the 100-year anniversary of the state basketball championships. FROM LEFT: Karie Ubelaker (2002), Mary (Wilson) Kaufmann (2000 and 2002), Kristie Hartzler (2000), Amber (Roadhouse) McKelvey (2000), Ashley (Noel) Bedient (2000 and 2002), Brooke Ubelaker (2000 and 2002), Coach Darrel Wolters, April (Roadhouse) Biesterveld (2000 and 2002)

school. He is taking the Kansas bar exam this month. April works for a sales and marketing company that is based in Florida. Amber Roadhouse has been Amber McKelvey for four and a half years and lives in Gardner, with her husband, Melroy, a former FHSU standout basketball player. The couple has three children; three-

year-old Leah and two-year-old twins Cole and Carson (Melroy also has a 10-year-old son from a previous relationship). Amber works for a commercial agricultural underwriter, while Melroy is involved with the Gardner Rec program. “I feel so lucky that PAGE 12 they are that close,” April said.

Jolene Mick was a standout distance runner for the Bulldogs.

Amber, like her former high school teammates, still thinks of her time with Osborne every now and then. “In basketball, when I see all of the sports teams around here, it instantly takes me back and how much fun we had,” she said. “We were just really good friends. We did have a lot of fun practicing, traveling. It kind of happens seasonally and the same thing in track. You just kind of get the same feeling that you had right before you stepped on the court, before you were ready to step on the field to do your race. It definitely brings back all the great memories that we had and knowing that when we work hard, we really got to do great things.” Ashley Noel is married to Adam Bedient, who coached the Stockton High School track team for the last couple years. She worked at the Stockton Rec Center, but Brooke Ubelaker said the couple is in the process of moving back to Osborne. Mick is in Osborne, too. “I talk to her probably every day, because she is one of my best friends,” Ubelaker said. Dietz married Joe Carvalhido, who works for the LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation. She is an administrative assistant with the LSU men’s basketball program. The couple has a son, Dane, born on Nov. 22, 2011. Wolters stopped coaching after a third place finish in 2007 and has settled into retirement life. He hunts, fishes, and watches his 11 grandkids, who live in Manhattan, Salina, Washington and Osborne, participate in athletics. Coaching Osborne remains a special time. Two years ago, he met many of his former players, including the Ubelakers, Noel and the Roadhouses, at Kansas State University’s Bramlage

Coliseum for a reunion during the Class 2A tournament. “Just a really neat experience,” he said. “I just give all the credit to the kids. They were just a really special group.” ••• Ken Ubelaker recalls his daughters being “pretty religious” when it came to practicing basketball on their own and displaying a strong work ethic. The sisters mowed lawns for several years and their dad pushed them to continually improve. That helped Brooke handle pressure situations and keep an even keel. “I remember everyone giving him a hard time about work us so hard to mow all these lawns and this and that,” Brooke Ubelaker said. “He always said that no matter what you accomplish in life, you have to work hard.” The Ubelakers had a hoop in their driveway and the sisters had a usual regimen: 500 shots and 100 free throws a day, plus 15 to 20 minutes of dribbling with their offhand and attempting bank shots from each side of the basket. It helped Brooke start all four seasons for Osborne, including as a freshman on the first state title team. She Logo Presentation: Farmers - Osborne, KS - Color Option2 paced the team with 21 points in theBank state championship against Moundridge. Ubelaker collected a 99-5 record in high school and finished with 2,293 career points, then-seventh best in state history and a school record. Karie was a key player on the second state title squad. In high school, Brooke was a post player, but Washburn coach Ron McHenry wanted her to shoot 3s. The summer before she went to Washburn, Ubelaker constantly practiced in Portis, a few miles from Osborne. Portis’ old school gymnasium was used for auctions. No 3-point line was painted on the floor, but a goal remained The FARMERS intact. There was no electrical lighting and the girls never Original went alone because Ubelaker called the place “kind of creepy.”

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“Before

we knew it, we had

pretty good range.” “It was so dusty and dirty, there was mice running around, there are frogs hopping around after one time it had rained, there was water on the floor,” she said. “I know Ashley Noel — she would shoot in there sometimes, too — she drew a 3-point line with chalk.” Still, it was an open gym and the girls could shoot without interruption. Brooke Ubelaker believed they shot every day that summer. Noel’s chalk line eventually wore away, which actually helped. Instead of focusing on whether she was behind or in front of the 3-point line, Ubelaker would back up a step and then back up another step. She just focused on form and shooting. “Before we knew it, we had pretty good range,” she said. Ubelaker entered Washburn on the second team, but before an exhibition contest against Kansas State University, a starter quit the team. Ubelaker wasn’t expecting to start, but held her own in a loss. She never left the starting lineup again and finished first in Washburn history in 3-point field goals made and attempted. On the national title team, Ubelaker averaged 12.9 points a game and shot 43 percent from beyond the arc. Roadhouse finished with 3.7 assists, second most for a team that had several similarities to Osborne. “My teammates and I got along so well,” Ubelaker said. “There was no cliques or drama off the court or anything. We just all got along. We just all had fun playing. No one was selfish. No one was out for individual achievement. Everybody was about the team. Coaches preach that there is no ‘I’ in team, but it’s hard to get everyone onto that same concept and try to believe it.” Her family followed her career. Ken Ubelaker said the family made 61 trips to Topeka in four years (round trip 425-450 miles), missed just a handful of games and wore out a van. The Ubelakers became close with many parents, including Cindy Keeley’s family. Keeley was a guard from Great Bend. On the way back from trips, the Ubelakers and Keeleys would call each other at the top of the hour to keep each other company. Kenton, the Ubelaker’s younger son, who is now a junior at Osborne, either went to the games or stayed back with relatives at home. “It was hard because there were a lot of late nights and a lot of early mornings and all that kind of stuff to go to work, but at the

Brooke Ubelaker puts up a shot for the Bulldogs during an MCL tournament game at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays.

same time, you wouldn’t trade it for nothing and you would do it all over again if you had to,” Ken Ubelaker said. After Ubelaker’s career, she interned with Aviva and then earned a full-time job. Ubelaker called the place “very pro-Washburn” and “a lot of fun.” Karie and Brooke now try and travel back to Osborne as much as possible to watch Kenton compete. Whenever she is back in Osborne, she normally thinks of her high school career — and has a new-found appreciation for all the travel her parents did. “I never remember being so nervous as an athlete,” she said. “It’s more nerve-racking being in the stands just watching.” • • • Carvalhido (Dietz) rarely makes it back home, mainly because of the distance from Baton Rouge, La., and her family’s jobs. She has played and worked at multiple schools since leaving Osborne. Carvalhido had offers to play collegiate tennis, but loved the team atmosphere and

- Brooke Ubelaker Former Osborne standout environment of college basketball. She first went to Hutchinson Community College and then to Oklahoma State for basketball. At Hutchinson, Carvalhido was put on the tennis roster — and didn’t even know about it. At Oklahoma State, she participated in the team photo shoot and appeared in the media guide, but couldn’t play both sports because basketball took up too much time. After graduating from OSU, Carvalhido worked for two years at the University of Tulsa. Carvalhido first met her husband, Joe, a New York City native, in her time at Tulsa. (Coincidentally, Brittany’s boss at Tulsa happened to be Joe’s boss when he was at St. John in New York). At the time, Joe was the director of women’s basketball operations at LSU. Tulsa and LSU were involved in the same Thanksgiving tournament. The two stayed in touch as she took a job at Rice University in 2007-08 season as the director of operations. When Joe was moving over to Tiger Athletic Foundation, Carvalhido interviewed for and took over Joe’s former job. In spring 2008, she switched and became the director of operations for the men’s team. She first worked with coach Trent Johnson, now the Texas Christian University coach. Carvalhido traveled with the team, was called “Coach” and made plenty of connections in the college basketball world. “Absolutely wonderful,” she said. This April, LSU hired Johnny Jones as the new coach. Carvalhido stayed on staff, but had her title changed to administrative assistant. Her main responsibility is the coach’s calendar and keeping everything up-to-date. She will not travel this year, but that will allow her to spend more time with her son. Carvalhido still plays some tennis, but calls herself “very, very rusty.” “Don’t have as pretty of a stroke as I did back in the day,” she said. This summer, Carvalhido was home for a funeral and talked with her family about Osborne. She saw her former coach Phil Hardman, now retired and contributed to a book that was put together for him. Just like many of her teammates, she recalled great memories from the legendary run of Bulldog athletics. “I had the best time just writing him a letter and reminiscing about all these great times,” she said.

KLINT SPILLER, Sports ink. From left, Peter Euler, Kurt David, Bob Sanderson, Dana Young, Doug Williams and Marian Lindberg are residents of Hays who compete in Ironman 70.3 triathlons — a race that includes a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.2-mile run.

This isn’t for

the faint of heart E

xercise can be addictive, and in some cases, very addictive. What started as a simple challenge between a boss and coworker has turned into something much larger for a group of Hays residents. This group, comprised of Bob Sanderson, Doug Williams, Kurt David, Dana Young, Peter Euler and Marian Lindberg, has become pretty serious about triathlons. And not your run-of-the-mill sprint triathlons either, these athletes compete in Ironman 70.3 triathlons — a race that includes a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run. This excruciating race isn’t for the average athlete. It takes serious conditioning to complete this race, David qualified in his age let alone to be successful in it. division for the Ironman 70.3 The inspiring thing about it is none of these World Championships on Sept. athletes are in their 20s and only one is younger 9 in Lake Las Vegas, Nev.

than 40 years old. Sanderson, the oldest of the group who competes in the 60- to 64-year-old age division, was the pioneer getting his friends and running partners to participate in this race. A four-time Kansas Ironman 70.3 participant, Sanderson finished third in his age group this summer at the Kansas Ironman 70.3 in Lawrence. “He really is inspiring,” David said. “With the shape that he’s stayed in and for him to perform that well in his age group, that is inspiring.” Sanderson said it all started as a simple challenge. Sanderson had hired a collegiate athlete as an intern who challenged him to a two-mile race. She beat him, and he wanted revenge, so he asked to race her in a sprint triathlon, a shorter version of a triathlon, at the Center for Health Improvement.

15 He won that race, and the challenges eventually evolved to the Ironman 70.3, also called a half Ironman since a full Ironman is double the race increments. She didn’t show up to the Ironman, and he participated anyway. After that, he just kept with it, eventually challenging his friends to complete the race. “I think everybody started challenging everybody,” Sanderson said. The Hays contingent has gotten larger and larger in a short period of time. Williams and David have competed in three Ironman races, Young has participated in two and Euler and Lindberg each did it for the first time this summer. David and Sanderson even qualified to compete in the world championship Sept. 9 at Lake Las Vegas, Nev., though only David will compete in it. Young said it’s fun to compete in these triathlons as a group, because they can work out together and push each other. But, smiling, he said, “Kurt (David) is on his own obviously, because we can’t keep up with him.” ••• Ironman 70.3 triathlons have multiple challenges. The endurance needed to complete them is immense, but it also requires excellence in three different aerobic disciplines: swimming, cycling and running. Often times, people tend to favor one form of exercise over another, which can be a detriment when it comes to the race, Euler said. Euler, an avid runner, said he has to make himself swim at least twice a week, knowing it is his biggest weakness. “Everyone is going to have a weakness in one of those events,” he said. “You’ve got to work your weakness enough and not forget your strengths.” Not only that, but the transition between the different phases can be difficult. Going from the water to the bike and from the bike to running can make the participant’s appendages to feel like gelatin while they are competing. “You are wet and tired, and you start biking,” Young said describing the race. “After you get done riding, your legs feel like rubber and you have to try to run a 5K or 13 miles, depending on triathlon. You just don’t feel the same as if you would take off for a run after work.” In order to properly train for these triathlons, they have to spend a lot of time training, and with jobs and family commitments, that can be difficult. Lindberg, who runs marathons and has competed in the Boston Marathon, juggles

Bob Sanderson was the first out of the group to attempt Ironman triathlons. Sanderson’s competed in four of them — more than any of the others.

working more than 40 hours a week, tending to her family and training for these mammoth races. Asked how she does it, she had a three word retort: “I don’t know.” “Luckily, I have family support,” Lindberg said. “We all pitch in.” ••• The Ironman 70.3 race itself typically starts in waves, with the different age groups and competition levels starting at different times (though some of the larger triathlons still have everyone starting at the same time). This helps prevent a chaotic start in the water. However in many races, there still are more than 100 swimmers taking off at the same time, which can result in chaos of its own. “You are constantly swimming over somebody,” David said. “It’s not uncommon to be hit by somebody’s leg.” If it’s a windy day, the swimmers have to battle through some monster swells as well. Some of members wears wet suits, which keeps the body insulated as well as making

the body more buoyant in the water. “We are not big fans of drowning,” Williams said. To compete better in the cycling portion, competitors typically use road bikes, which are faster and, in many cases, are expensive, often costing more than $1,000. This year’s Kansas Ironman 70.3 triathlon was on a hot and windy day, which made it difficult for all portions of the race. Because of that, times were slower than in past years. For instance, David finished better in his age group this year, but his time actually was slower. “The weather conditions make a big, big difference,” Williams said. For Lindberg, she said, during the race, it’s best to focus on each portion rather than think about the race as a whole, because it can be demoralizing. “I think a lot of it is a mental thing,” she said. “You focus on the event that you are doing right then, and then as you finish that, keep the next one in your mind as you’re going until you’re at the finish line.” Klint Spiller, Sports Ink.

Just a Minute with Nick McQueen

Jon

Ryan

Hays Larks second-year outfielder from UI-Chicago Q: What made you want to come back to Hays this summer? A: Playing here is great just because of the atmosphere. It’s just an enjoyable place to play. Q: What is the importance of a college player being able to play during the summer? A: It’s just being able to play pretty much every day. Plus, you’re able to work out all summer. It really helps you progress as a player. Q: What’s the biggest difference coming to a town the size of Hays from the city? A: After the games, a lot of the places are

closed — kind of hard after games to find some place other than Burger King to get something to eat. Other than that, everyone really knows each other here. You can tell that right when you get here. Q: Is it weird coming to stay with a family you don’t know that well? A: Last year it was my first experience, so it was a little weird at first. Now, it’s just like a second family. You get used to it. Q: How did you originally come in contact with Hays? A: My coach (at UIC) just told me to talk with Coach Leo, and it happened pretty quick. I signed a contract and came out here, pretty easy. Q: Looking back, how did you get started playing baseball. A: I always watched my brother play. He was in high school when I was real young. The whole family is a big sports family. I was always around it. Dad always played catch with me. I’ve always loved it. Q: Did you play any other sports in high school? A: I was quarterback for my high school football team. Q: What are your future plans? The next level? A: That’s always a goal — you want to take it to that level. I’m enrolled in business, a marketing major with a minor in management. If I can get to the next level, though, that’s the top goal. Q: What’s the appeal of the NBC World Series? A: You’re playing teams you don’t know a whole lot about — it’s just a great baseball environment, seeing baseball players from all over the country. It’s just a great baseball atmosphere. Q: Did you have some other options to play summer ball? A: I didn’t have any specific place, but my coach said the Jayhawk League was a great league to get in.

Frank leo Larks Manager

Gerard Garrett Wellbrock Wellbrock Host Family dad Host Family brother

If there was a movie about him, who would play that role? Kevin Costner

Channing Tatum

Garrett

If he were to go pro, what uniform would you want him to wear? Yankee Pinstripes

Kansas City Royals

Chicago Cubs

Aside from his current one, what would be a good walk-up song for him? “Summertime” by Kenny Chesney

“Sweet Home Chicago” (Blues Brothers)

“Black & Yellow” (Because it’s a cool song)

What TV show would he be a good guest star for? “Two and a Half Men”

“Big Bang Theory”

“Pair of Kings”

If he could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be? Ernie Banks

Curtis His girlfriend, Granderson Beata

Outside of baseball, what sport would he be perfect for? Left-handed quarterback for the Bears

Football

Ink. BLOTS

A spattering from NW Kansas

Josh Heifner’s contribution to the Hays Senior Legion baseball team has been nothing short of amazing. After transferring to Hays High from Texas this year, he struggled in limited action during high school baseball season, but he really emerged this summer as an impressive pitcher. With his summer, he’s attracted the eyes of some colleges and just might get a shot at competing on the collegiate level. K.S. For the last couple of years, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame didn’t have upto-date records — or in some cases — no records online for many sports. However, that recently has changed, revealing a gold mine of information. Some of the marks, such as Thunder Ridge’s Joel Struckhoff’s all-time eight-man record for rushing yards (6,919) and the 2007 Smith Center team’s records for scoring offense per game and scoring margin, I’ve already reported on. However, plenty of new statistics are avail-

Former Hill City quarterback Reggie Jordan, center, holds the state record for most points scored in a single season.

able at www.kshof.org. That includes Kirby Rust, uncle of Blane Hrabe, Thunder Ridge’s quarterback from last year, dotting the record keeping. Rust, now a Thunder Ridge assistant, holds eight-man marks for pass completions in a career (599), season (208) and game (38) as well as career completion percentage (60.7). when he played for

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We’re locally owned and operated.

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Because cooperatives are so closely linked to their communities, there are countless examples of activities that have the “cooperative touch”: conducting safety programs at schools and at the local library; the new How$mart® energy efficiency program; sponsoring local activities; working with community organizations to get new businesses or new housing started; participating with civic groups in developing and improving local programs with our Community Fund; the list goes on and on. It is precisely because Midwest Energy is a local business, owned by its customers and staffed by local professionals, that it is in a good position to listen and respond to your needs. We are an integral part of the community.

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Kensington. As well, Hill City quarterback Reggie Jordan broke the record for points scored in a season in 2011 (346) and Osborne’s Damon Schurr set the mark for season TDs last year (51). Former Osborne basketball standout Brooke Ubelaker is tied for first all-time with 13 field goal attempts made without a miss. Plus, former TMP-Marian standouts Maddie Holub and Kaylee Hoffman now area part of the softball record book — several years after breaking records. Great to see credit given to the athletes.Some more work in a couple areas needs to be done, but this is a great help to towns, fans and media. Much appreciated KSHOF. - C.N. It’s still early, but the Hays High School football team’s search for offensive linemen is likely the story of the off-season. They’ve got some tremendous skill players returning and emerging, but they’ll need blocking. That senior class had four impressive men to anchor that line, and they will be extremely difficult to replace. - KS

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New facility well worth it

now that feeling you get after you get a new car? It’s almost like there is nothing you wouldn’t do to keep that car clean and new. You clean it, you wash it, you wax it, you vacuum it — and a week later, do it all over again. There’s no better feeling than getting back behind the wheel after you’ve put your time and effort into it. It’s something to be proud of. How about the feeling after you’ve cleaned your garage or your house? Right along with the sense of accomplishment, you have a sense of organization and a further desire to get things done. You know where all your things are, and the lack of clutter gives you a sense of ease. The same could be said if you work in an office. A clean and organized desk can go a long way in helping you get through the work day efficiently, not to mention keep you on task. Heck, let’s go one step further. You get a brand new crisp $100 bill. What’s the first thing you think? You don’t want to break it right away. In fact, I would go as far as to say you work harder to save it so that some day, maybe you can have two. Where’s this all going? Recent events have led to a new indoor weight/fitness facility being built at Hays High School — an originally privately funded project that required the help of district funds for completion — sparking a load of controversy surrounding the USD 489 Board of Education’s decision to back it. That decision, though, ultimately will be a good one. This “shiny new penny” of a facility in some ways adheres to the same philosophy of getting a new car, or a $100 bill. Students have flocked to use it, and utilize all it has to offer, simply because it’s available, and it’s different. They also will take good care of it. The trick, however, will be to keep

that momentum going — something this new facility has the power to do. It might be difficult to believe, but the facility alone has the capability to get both student-athletes and nonathletes alike excited about staying physically fit, or improving their overall health. As long as the amentiy itself doesn’t become the latest fad — you use it for a week, then get tired of it. Think about it, though. Go back to your high school days. Even if you despised your P.E. or weights class, having the opportunity to use a brand new building is motivation enough to want to show up and do the required work. I hated calculus, but couldn’t wait to use my shiny new $125 graphing calculator. It’s the same principle.

The Closer

nick

McQUEEN

ACIDIZING

I also hated to write papers, but when we got new laptops (Macintosh PowerBooks), away I went — paper after paper. In my mind that’s why supporters were so adamant about this project getting accomplished. Regardless of what some naysayers might say or already have said, I don’t think it’s all about winning football games. These people see a need to promote health and wellness among the youth — and power to them. If Hays High School happens to win a few more football games because of that, great. It will just drive those student-athletes to seek out more success in their lives after high school. Take it from someone who has been overweight and struggled with it for many, many years — the emphasis needs to be placed now on staying active, and learning to properly manage your health. If the new facility is going to help get that done, I don’t see how it could ever be a bad call.

CEMENT

TOOL RENTAL

Austin Darby, Hays Lark

Through July 11, Darby was leading the Hays Larks with a .411 batting average in 27 games played. Darby was 44 for 107 with a team-high 12 doubles and 29 RBIs. Darby, a Colorado Springs, Colo. native by way of the University of Nebraska is in his first season with the Larks. As of July 11, he was the only player batting better than .400 and had a triple to go along with six home runs, second best on the team.

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Office: 785.798.2300 Cell: 785-798-5341

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