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A magazine focusing on all things sports in northwest Kansas

INK. August 2014

Common

Baseball brings competitors together in Ellis

The Hays Daily News

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Moonlight ride Sprint cars of the United Rebel Sprint Series race down the back stretch of WaKeeney Speedway on July 11 under a full moon.

NICK SCHWIEN, Sports Ink.

What’s up?

A look inside this issue

4

Who’s that?

Notable

performances from northwest Kansas.

?

10 Staying on top

Some area

athletes stay on top of training during

the offseason.

Some also take it to a whole new level.

5

Summer ball

The Ellis baseball team brings players from down south for summer ball.

Sports Ink. contributors: Nick McQueen nmcqueen@dailynews.net Austin Colbert acolbert@dailynews.net Everett Royer sportsink@dailynews.net Jolie Green jgreen@dailynews.net Nick Schwien nschwien@dailynews.net Cover photo illustration by: Jolie Green.

Volume 4, Issue 6 Sports Ink. is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News. Copyright © 2014 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.

Who’s That?

Notable performances in northwest Kansas Derek Birginske

The first year Hays Lark out of Arkansas State Unviersity had a big bat to start July, and was among Hays’ leaders in several offensive categories. Heading into the last two weeks of the season, Birginske was batting .345, was second on the team with 25 RBIs, and was tied for the team lead in home runs with six, along with Ty Detmer. Birginske’s slugging percentage of .655 led the Larks, and he was third in total bases with 57 in 25 games played.

Luke Cranston

Cranston, a sprint car driver who grew up in Ness City, had a solid three-day racing weekend July 11 to 13. Cranston finished third at WaKeeney Speedway before winning the first night of the URSS 305 Wheatshocker Nationals at RPM Speedway.

The school teacher, who now lives in Plains, finished second on the final night of the Wheatshocker event as well. Cranston was the top point-earner for the three days, winning a large OZark Mountain grill for his effort.

Brooke Denning

Denning, who will be a seventh-grader this year at WaKeeney-Trego, participated in the MLB National Pitch, Hit and Run competition during MLB AllStar week at Target Field in Minneapolis. Denning was one of 24 national finalists in the program, presented by Scotts.

It is the official youth skills competition for Major League Baseball.

The finalists (12 boys, 12 girls) were announced June 29 and participated in the national competition July 13.

Participants also shagged baseballs during the MLB Home Run derby.

Brady Johnson

Johnson, a former standout runner at Plainville High School and current runner at Wichita State University, was back in the area for the Wild West 5K in early July in Hays.

Johnson put his mark on the race, setting a new course record as the overall winner.

Johnson finished in 15 minutes, 27.70 seconds. Johnson just finished his sophomore season at WSU. 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.

Common

Baseball brings players together for summer TOP: The Ellis baseball team walks off the field after a game with Oakley.

RIGHT: The team watches from the dugout during the Oakley game.

Sports Ink.

I

n the summer of 2012, Koltyn wasn’t quite sure what to expect, Ratliff just finished up his junior though he donned the orange and year at Ness City High School. black anyway.

A member of the Eagles’ much“Honestly, I didn’t reimproved football and basketally like it (at first),” Ratliff Nick ball teams, Ratliff bled the Ness McQueen joked. “I knew some of the City blue and white. That meant guys from playing against all other colors were that of the them in high school, and actuJolie enemy. ally disliked them quite a bit.

Green So, when Ratliff and two oth“I didn’t know how it would ers from Ness City decided to go. It took me about half the take their love for baseball and travel season to realize north and join with a depleted Ellis everyone was pretty PAGE 6 American Legion baseball team, he cool.”

story by

photos by

August 2014

Page 5

really is my favorite sport. So it’s really worth the drive every time to go out and play.”

“It

- Will Crabill, Ellis pitcher from Jetmore

Ellis pitcher Will Crabill winds up for a pitch against Oakley during a game earlier this month in Ellis.

Nevertheless, a union the last three seasons that has stretched into Ness City, Kinsley and now Jetmore, has proven a worthwhile venture as summer numbers have been down in Ellis the past few seasons.

Its summer team, this year with six out-of-towners, has made back-to-back trips to the Class AA state tournament,

and highly was considered among the favorites to do so again this summer.

“No. 1, it gives us the numbers to even have a team,” said Ellis third-year coach Casey McCoy. “That first year was probably the best year I coached.

With all the different kids, it was kind of like walking on pins and needles.”

Now, even with so many towns rep-

NICK McQUEEN, Sports Ink. Ellis right fielder Conner Frame dives for an out during the Railers’ first game in the Wild West Fest Tournament at HHS Field earlier this month.

Page 6

August 2014

resented, the joint effort has become more of a well-oiled machine, despite the overabundance of travel for some, and the varying talent levels.

Will Crabill, who will be a senior at Class 1A Hodgeman County High School in Jetmore, is in his second year with Ellis. He was joined this summer by fellow Longhorn Kolt Washburn.

Conner and Ross Frame, brothers from Kinsley High School, also competed this summer, along with Ratliff, and Eagle teammate Dylan Winter. They joined a group this summer from Ellis that included Blake Hudson, Scott Pfeifer, Cadyn McCoy, Braden Parke and Theron Schmidt.

“Had to get to know everyone a little bit,” said Crabill, predominantly a pitcher in his second summer. “I was probably a little quiet at first. But, whenever you’re winning, that helps, too.”

Conner and Ross Frame are the younger brothers of Nathan Frame, SPORTS INK.

Left-fielder Dylan Winter gets a hit against Oakley during the team’s final home game in July.

another from Kinsley, who joined the team three summers ago with Ratliff, Winter and Trevor Hawkins from Ness City.

“First two practices, you would look in there and have these two kids sitting here, these two kids sitting there, and then the four or five Ellis kids,” Coach McCoy said. “Everyone was kind of separated.

“Really, though, by the end of that first game, they were all together. It’s been a great group of kids. We’ve been very fortunate the last couple of years.”

Ellis, which saw its spring high school team start seven freshmen en route to an appearance in the Class 2-1A state tournament, still was going to be low this summer in senior numbers.

“Even with the new kids this year, it’s pretty easy for us all to get along,” Parke said.

Under the new Legion rules (players are only eligible up to their summer after high school), which take effect next summer, Ellis’ Hudson, Cole Pfeifer and Cadyn McCoy all would have been ineligible because of age. Only Parke, Sports Ink.

Scott Pfeifer and Schmidt would be eligible from Ellis — and only Crabill, Washburn, Winter and the Frames from outside.

The Legion team also has doubled up at times with members of Ellis’ K-18 club, made up mostly of the freshmen from Ellis’ spring high school season.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Parke said. “Been great being able to make friends with a bunch of people from out of town — great time getting to meet new people.”

But the new Legion rules havent’ taken effect, meaning this group had one more summer to give it a whirl.

Two weeks ago Ellis had a 10-7 mark in Legion-only play, and were 12-12 overall, playing in several tournaments that inlcude larger teams. That included a weekend in the Wild West Festival Tournament in Hays.

Lots of travel Though cost is certainly a determining factor, simply the time involved can take its toll on the guys putting in the effort. The distance from Jetmore and Kinsley to Ellis is approximately August 2014

85 miles each.

“They really have to be the diehards,” Coach McCoy said of the outof-town participants.

“Just because of the extra travel. You look at games in Lincoln, and you’re from Jetmore. That’s all the way across the state.”

Many game nights or the rare practice, Crabill said he would drive to Ness City and carpool with the guys from there.

Crabill, not having played any competitive baseball since the seventh grade, tried out for a team in Dodge City the summer before joining with Ellis.

The Dodge City Legion team told him they weren’t taking out-of-towners. It was then he talked with Hawkins, who had played the summer prior in Ellis.

“It really is my favorite sport,” said Crabill, who plays football and basketball for the Longhorns. “So it’s really worth the drive every time to go out and play.”

Crabill hadn’t played since Little League, but turned into one of Ellis’ top pitchers PAGE 8 the past two summers.

Page 7

“The game is just so much faster,” Coach McCoy said. “We took it real slow with him. He was very patient.

He is very unique. When he is on, he is on, and probably has been our top pitcher this year.”

The players from Ness City had the opportunity to play competitive summer baseball through the K-18 league and even the Junior Legion ranks.

Ratliff, who just finished his freshman season playing football at Sterling College, said he will do whatever it takes to be able to play.

“For me, it’s just the love of baseball,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite sports, and I really would do anything to be able to play. Even if it means traveling 55 miles for practice or games or whatever.

“Some of our home games are actually farther away than our away games,” he said.

Ellis third baseman Cadyn McCoy throws to first base for an out against Oakley.

College ball Nathan Frame, who couldn’t participate with Ellis this summer per the Legion age limit, was roommates this past year with Ratliff at Sterling College, where the two were members of the football team. Ratliff said he will “try” to add baseball to his collegiate activities this year as well.

“I just really love it, so I just have to do what I got to do to play,” Ratliff said.

Nathan Frame played baseball as well at Sterling this spring, Ratliff said, and convinced him to give it a shot.

Cole Pfeifer signed and was on the roster at Kansas Wesleyan University

last year, and Crabill, though he won’t get any looks for lack of a high school season, said he wouldn’t be discouraged when the time comes to possibly try out at the college level.

“Been on my mind for awhile,” Crabill said. “But, you really don’t get that opportunity to get looked at, coming from the small town. If it’s going to be a possibility, I’m going to have to walk-on.”

Color clash Though it could have been considered a traitorous act, when it came time for Winter to take senior pictures last fall with Ness City, he had a simple request from Coach McCoy. He wanted to use an Ellis jersey for his portraits.

McCoy really thought nothing of it until he opened a graduation invitation, and sure enough.

“There he was surrounded by Ness City uniforms, and right in the middle a baseball bat and his Ellis jersey,” McCoy said.

Ratliff said they were probably the only ones in Ness City who thought that was pretty neat. But it was never really about the colors, it was about the team — and the opportunity to play.

“It took me some time,” Ratliff said.

“With football, it takes a while to make that connection and be really good.

“With these guys, we didn’t really know each other, but we’ve been pretty good the last three years,” he added. “It’s just a love for the game, and everyone really wants to play.”

Ellis shortstop Cole Pfeifer tags out an Oakley runner during their game in Ellis in July.

2917 Vine, Hays 785-625-4830

Summe Staying at the top of your game doesn’t stop for vacation

J

ohn Clarke both hated and loved CrossFit from his first workout last spring in Colby while attending Colby Community College to play basketball. The 2011 Ness City High School graduate decided to join his brother at the gym and give the popular exercise program a try, a choice that came with short-term regret and a long-term addiction.

“Once we got done — it took like 17 minutes or so — I was completely taxed. I was like, ‘Holy crap, this sucks,’ ” Clarke said. “But for some reason I was kind of like, ‘Wow, I loved that, too.’ I loved the competitive aspect of it … I like going to the gym, but this is its own animal.”

The amount of time Clarke dedicated to CrossFit during the next year rapidly declined as he transfered from Colby to Fort Hays State University, where he will be a senior on the men’s basketball team this winter. He spent most of last summer in Ness City, which doesn’t have a CrossFit gym, instead training in the high school PAGE 12 weight room.

Page 10

August 2014

SPORTS INK.

er

shape-up

LEFT: Hays High School’s Jenna Luebbers, a senior-to-be, does wall balls as part of a workout at Southwind CrossFit in Hays. ABOVE: John Clarke, a Ness City native and senior-to-be on the Fort Hays State University men’s basketball team, takes part in a workout at SouthWind.

Austin Colbert, Sports Ink

Sports Ink.

August 2014

Page 11

JOLIE GREEN, Sports Ink. Thomas More Prep-Marian High School freshman Gavin Schumacher does squat lifts while junior Dylan Zimmerman acts as a spotter earlier this month in the TMP weight room.

But this summer living in Hays, with school and basketball a non-factor, Clarke was pulled back into the CrossFit world through SouthWind CrossFit in Hays and hasn’t looked back.

“I started really picking it up this last month and a half or two and I keep rolling with it because I love it,” Clarke said.

“It’s way different than the gym. I don’t like all the weight machines. This is out in the open; it’s free weights. It’s just so much different. But probably the main reason I do it is just the competitiveness of it. I love the atmosphere. I love everyone picking each other up.”

Clarke’s desire to train in CrossFit not only has to do with his love for it, but out of necessity to stay in shape for basketball. Options can be limited for athletes during the summer months in terms of formal training; an important time for them as they are able put more dedication into improving their physical self without the added pressure of homework and practice.

Unfortunately, NCAA rules limit how Page 12

much interaction coaches and players can have during the offseason. Within the last year, NCAA Division II passed new bylaws allowing the strength and conditioning coach — and only the strength and conditioning coach — the freedom to instruct football players in the weight room during the summer. As of now, this rule is strictly for football, and other athletes, like Clarke, still fall under the old rules where the strength coaches only can supervise but not instruct during the summer months.

“All the rest of the sports are still under the old rule that we can open the door, we can supply them a workout and all we can do is supervise them. We really can’t coach them. We can’t instruct them or anything like that,” said Doug Boucher, a Kansas State University graduate and Smith Center native who is in his first summer as FHSU’s strength and conditioning coach for all sports.

“With the football team this year I can do everything with them. I can manage their workout all the way through. I can August 2014

interact with them. I can teach them and coach them. I can do basically everything with them.”

For non-football players or athletes not in town to train with Boucher, there is a lot of pressure on them to train on their own. In some occasions the coaching staff is able to prescribe programs for the athletes to do at home, while others decide to try their own routine, like Clarke and his CrossFit training.

Much of this applies to high school athletes as well. Coaches are not allowed to do sport-specific training with the kids, but the rules recently have been tweaked to allow strength and conditioning coaches more freedom for general summer training across all sports.

“Kansas has opened up quite a bit with accessibility and being able to work with your athletes. As far as the strength and conditioning is concerned the doors are pretty wide open,” said John Montgomery, Thomas More Prep-Marian High School’s head football and strength and conditioning coach.

SPORTS INK.

“Kansas has opened up quite a bit with accessibility and being able to work with your athletes.”

- John Montgomery, TMP football coach

“It’s a privilege the fact that I coordinate the summer weight program as a football coach. You have to think as a football player if they know the football coach is overseeing the weights program they probably don’t want to disappoint him; they want to show they are committed.”

All summer workouts, both at the college and high school levels, are completely voluntary. The coaches can’t tie in a negative

consequence for not attending, although the ones who consistently train during the summer often have a major advantage in conditioning once the sports seasons come around.

For some, the general weight room isn’t enough. While Clarke is one of a handful of college athletes who decides to train in CrossFit, Jenna Luebbers is one of the few high school athletes to do the same.

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A senior-to-be at Hays High School this fall, Luebbers is a former cross-country runner who now exclusively plays softball.

And it was the HHS assistant softball coach, Maddy Mall, who introduced Luebbers to CrossFit. Mall is the sister of Tucker Mall, one of the co-owners of SouthWind CrossFit, and she often uses elements of CrossFit as part of the softball team’s preseason training program at Hays High.

“I thought it wouldn’t be that bad because we had sort of done CrossFit-like workouts in softball. But after my first workout I just went home and laid there all day. I thought I was dying. It was awful. But for some reason I kept wanting to come back,” Luebbers said. “At first I was kind of nervous to come because I didn’t know anyone that was here.

I kind of wish more high-schoolers would come because I think they would like it because it is fun and it’s different.”

Luebbers, who has been doing CrossFit since December, said she would be interested in competing in CrossFit “down the road,” but for now just uses it as a way to stay in shape and prepare for her final season of high school softball.

Luebbers, along with all the other athletes training during the hot, summer months, understands how important it is to get out of bed each day and train, even when no one is requiring you to. It is during the summer where the real results come from, and where many of the games during the fall and spring are really won.

Rules may limit how much coaching the coaches actually can do, but there are enough programs in place — and enough athletes dedicated to self-training — that the summer months don’t have to be a waste.

“They want you to obviously stay in shape for the next year, and obviously your main goal is to get better so you are more prepared and better off for the next year.

That’s something all the guys I know work really hard at,” Clarke said. “It might not be CrossFit, but they are in the gym every day.

I see it on Snapchat; I see it on Facebook.

Pictures of them working out or something.

All the guys we have on the team are the types that want to get better, too. They don’t need a coach to go in and push them. They can push themselves off the court, and that’s the type of guys you want.”

Austin Colbert, Sports Ink.

B

Let’s keep it going

August rolls around, I will have worked at The Hays Daily News for one year. It was my first year living in Hays after being born and raised in Wichita, and it was my first year as a full-time, professional journalist after graduating from Wichita State University in the spring of 2013. y the time

For the most part, it’s been a terrific year. There have been many great and memorable occasions, both professionally and personally.

The last 12 months have also included their fair share of down times and learning moments, all of which might be more important and memorable than the good times.

I feel I have grown a lot as both a person and a journalist. I have enjoyed getting to know the city of Hays, with its amazing sunsets and short commutes. But what has kept me here is the people of Hays, especially those I run across while working for the newspaper. The enthusiasm of the fans, the coaches and the parents is outstanding for such a small community, one that clearly loves its athletics.

And what I enjoy even more are the athletes themselves. There is an incredible amount of talent in Hays, and I’ve been impressed by how well mannered and mature each of them has been, from the youngest kids to those well past their college days.

I’ve had the opportunity to talk to many big names through my work — Kansas State Athletic Director John Currie and University of Kansas basketball coach Bill Self, for example — but the more lasting memories seem to come from places like La Crosse, Phillipsburg and Otis.

I’ve learned the best stories don’t need big cities, Division I universities or superstar athletes to make them worth writing and reading. Some of the best stories ever told come from places like Hays and western Kansas, which is full of hard working individuals doing amazing things and putting forth in-

The closer

Austin

Colbert

credible effort to achieve their goals.

I’ve written countless stories during the past year, most I remember fondly, others I rarely remember at all.

As I enter my second year in Hays, I’m looking forward to writing a lot more.

There still are many untold stories from the area, some about kids I’ve written about numerous times already and some about kids I haven’t even met, but hope to.

My first year in Hays was good. I have a feeling my second year in Hays will be even better.

As I’ve become more comfortable with living in western Kansas and have gotten to know the people that inhabit it, I’ve become more confident (and hopefully, more skilled) as a journalist.

So here’s to the beginning of Year 2 and my continued integration into western Kansas.

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