Sports Ink. November 2017

A magazine focusing on all things sports in northwest Kansas

TOUGH as nails The dominant teams of Eight-Man Division I, District 4

The Hays Daily News

NOVEMBER 2017

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What’s up?

4

A look inside this issue

BREEDING SUCCESS

SCHWIEN: GOOD COACHING CAN BE HARD TO COME BY.

5

WHO’S THAT

NOTABLE

PERFORMANCES FROM NORTHWEST KANSAS.

6

TOUGH SLATE

WHOMEVER QUALIFIES OUT OF EIGHT-MAN DIVISION I, DISTRICT 4 HAS A GOOD SHOT AT GOING THE DISTANCE.

10

DIFFERENT BREED

On your marks

TAKES DEDICATION TO

Legendary Fort Hays State University cross country/track and ¿HOG UXQQHU -RKQ 0DVRQ ZDV WKH KRQRUDU\ VWDUWHU 2FW DW WKH )+68 7LJHU 2SHQ DW 6DQG 3OXP 1DWXUH 7UDLO QHDU 9LFWRULD

A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

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MCQUEEN: RUNNING CROSS COUNTRY

SPORTS INK. CONTRIBUTORS: NICK MCQUEEN NMCQUEEN@DAILYNEWS.NET, NICK SCHWIEN, NSCHWIEN@DAILYNEWS.NET, JOLIE GREEN JGREEN@DAILYNEWS.NET ON THE COVER: OSBORNE SENIOR DENTON SCHURR CARRIES THE BALL DURING THE BULLDOGS’ GAME AGAINST LOGAN-PALCO OCT. 6 DURING A RAINSTORM IN PALCO. PHOTO BY NICK MCQUEEN. Volume 7, Issue 9 Sports Ink. is published and distributed by The Hays Daily News. Copyright © 2017 News Publishing Co. 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.

Coaching breeds success

P

oor Brock. The big galoot didn’t know what he was capable of.

Until he was blindfolded and given the encouragement to reach his goal.

When the blindfold came off, an exhausted Brock looked up — and was well beyond what he wanted to For accomplish originally.

The scene from the low-budget Christian ďŹ lm “Facing the Giantsâ€? is one that always inspires me.

And each time I watch it, it makes me realize — as the group Kutless sang — “impossible is not a word. It’s just a reason for someone not to try.�

Ain’t it amazing when you realize what it’s like to exceed your goals and the expectations others have for you?

That’s what a great coach can do for a team. Whether it be rec ball or college sports, a true coach who has the players’ best interest in mind is the one who is going to be the most successful, the one who is going to propel his or her team to do more than just enough.

One of the best coaches I had in high school was our basketball coach. She — yes, it was a female — knew how to get the most out of her players on the basketball court, and she didn’t take no for an answer.

Instead, she saw potential in others that they might not have realized themselves.

No, we didn’t win a state championship, or even make it to sub-state at our tiny Class 1A school. But the two seasons I played under her leadership made me realize how important coaches are.

It’s not always about winning, and it’s not always about everyone getting a ribbon. Most of the time, you’ll get what you earn through hard work and perseverance.

It’s when you’re blinded by your own inability to see your full potential that you don’t reach the pinnacle of what actually is possible.

I love to tell kids today that to play any less than your best is to waste the skills God blessed you with. Usually my two kids just roll their eyes when I start preaching that to them. They still don’t like ol’ Dad telling them what to do — go ďŹ gure.

But that’s not much different than any

nick

other ďŹ fth- or eighth-grader in today’s society.

That’s all the more reason why quality coaches are so important. To watch a good coach tinker with a team and move players around is a thing of beauty. It’s a perfect example in life of how to adapt to make the kids the starters most successful, to give them a chance.

I’ve seen it with local high school teams this year, and success has followed. There might be some hard feelings at times, but it’s another avenue where sports can teach about real-life scenarios.

Through my 20 years in this profession, I’ve also seen the opposite — where a coach has lost the players and there’s no respect or effort given from the teenagers.

Most of the time when that happens, I can tell you how the season is going to end.

But when players know the coach is out there for them, you’ll see a different atti-

Schwien

ACIDIZING

CEMENT

tude. Players will give just a bit more, will last one more play, will steal the ball one more time, will go through a brick wall for his or her teammates.

The good coaches, they’ll adjust to the personnel they have. They’ll make the kid whose ďŹ lling out the â€œďŹ nalâ€? starting spot not just a token player, but one who reaches full potential — no matter the athletic ability.

Good coaches are hard to come by, but the one who does it for the kids instead of himself or herself is the one teams should latch onto for a long time. Those are the leaders who will breed success in more than just wins.

They are the ones who will help kids go farther in life, whether they are blindfolded by their own inhibitions or not.

Sure, Brock was living the Hollywood life. Nearly everything has a happy ending in Tinsel Town.

Just don’t think Kansas is that far away from California. With a good coach who develops players and inspires them, the stage lights can shine brightly in the Sunower State as well.

TOOL RENTAL

HELEN GIEFER Trego Community High School A standout distance runner at Trego Community High School, Giefer — a junior — captured the 2017 MCL cross country championship Oct. 5 on the Phillipsburg rodeo grounds. *LHIHU ÀQLVKHG WKH UDFH LQ PLQXWHV seconds to lead the Golden Eagles to a third-place showing with 41 points. *LHIHU ZRQ ÀUVW SODFH E\ QHDUO\ VHFRQGV ahead of Norton’s Lexi Kats, while Helen’s VLVWHU 6\ELO ÀQLVKHG WKLUG D OLWWOH PRUH than a minute back.

Helen Giefer was sixth a year ago in Class 2A at the state cross country meet and was third as a freshman.

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Notable performances in northwest Kansas Winnie Kibet Colby Community College sophomore runner Winnie Kibet was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Female Athlete of the Week in late September. The announcement came after Kibet won her division at the Oklahoma State Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla.

Racing against a number of athletes from top NJCAA programs, Kibet posted a WLPH RI LQ D ÆHOG RI ZRPHQ 6KH FURVVHG WKH ÆQLVK OLQH VHFRQGV EHIRUH the runner-up.

On oct. 6, Kibet won the FHSU Tiger Open women’s gold race against NCAA Division II runners, posting a time of 18:00.6.

Caden Kinderknecht A senior quarterback for the Northern Valley High School football team, Kinderknecht guided the Huskies to a 4-2 record WKURXJK WKHLU ÆUVW VL[ JDPHV as a dual threat. Kinderknecth rushed for 100 yards or more in three of those games, and QHYHU ÆQLVKHG ZLWK IHZHU WKDQ 82 rushing yards, running for 10 scores. He also threw eight TD tosses, throwing for 472 yards in the same time frame. He rushed for 202 yards in the Huskies’ season opener, a 62-42 win against Alma, Neb. He also rushed for 168 in a 46-0 win against Downs-Lakeside.

Derick Gonzalez Through 12 games, the Fort Hays State University XXXX soccer player was the leader in points for the MIAA. In that VSDQ *RQ]DOH] KDG VL[ JRDOV and nine assists, leading the conference with 21 points.

He was third in total goals scored in the MIAA as of Oct. 10. He also was third in total shots in the conference, taking 26 shots through 12 games.

He led the MIAA in assists.

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Shannen Chin An international student from Taiwan, Chin stamped her name sevearl times in the record books for the Thomas More Prep-Marian girls’ golf team. Chin set a new nine-hole school record with a 37, then set the 18-hole record with a 74. Chin won the Class 3-2-1A regional Oct. 9 at Cheney with a 77, claiming the crown by 12 shots.

6KH HQWHUHG WKH $ VWDWH ÆQDOH DW Smoky Hill Country Club as a favorite to win the state championship.

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Logan-Palco senior running back David Thompson is corralled by the Osborne defense during their Oct. 6 game in Palco.

6 Page 8

November 2017 October 2017

SPORTS INK.

Teams from Logan-Palco and Osborne kneel after their game Oct. 6 in Palco. The teams played through a rainstorm in their Eight-Man Division I, District 4 contest.

TOUGH district E

ven with his team trailing during a road game against Victoria High School, Logan-Palco High School football coach Mike Jenner knew some points needed to be made up.

The game — both team’s 2017 opener in Eight-Man Division I, District 4 — already was well in control for the hometown Knights, but neither Jenner nor Victoria coach Doug Oberle wanted what happened the year prior to present itself again.

So, each team was going all out to try and put more points on the board.

In district play each year, if a tie is present at the end of nine regular season games, a point-differential tiebreaker is used to determine the playoff spot. Last season in District 4, it just happened to

come down to a three-way tie for second place as three teams ďŹ nished with two losses each in district play. “Have to try and get to that 21,â€? Jenner said he said, referring to the fact Victoria posted a meaningless fourth-quarter touchdown. “The same reason — we weren’t going to win — but we were trying to drive down and get a touchdown.â€?

The physical battle among the top four teams in the district — all of whom probably were playoff deserving a year ago — took its toll, and eventually Victoria and Logan-Palco were left out, as was Bennington, competing in its ďŹ rst year of eight-man football.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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Victoria’s hopes in 2016 were dashed by one point, as that was the difference for Solomon to take the second spot out of the loaded district behind eventual state champ Osborne.

And Logan-Palco for second straight season was left out of the playoffs, despite a 7-2 mark. The Trojans entering this season had a 23-13 record in four years as a cooperative program, yet no playoff berths.

Last season also marked the first time in 14 years the Knights failed to reach the postseason.

“I can’t let us get in that position again,” Oberle said following his team’s 50-26 win against the Trojans. “I hate the fact we’re up by 18 with four minutes to go (and need to score). Nature of the beast, have to go down and find points.”

The district’s top four teams a year ago — Osborne, Logan-Palco, Solomon and Victoria— were a combined 13-3 in non-district games the first four weeks. That included undefeated marks by Logan-Palco and Osborne entering district play.

Osborne, of course, separated itself and went on to win an unbeaten Eight-Man Division I state championship. Solomon, the district’s runner-up by a point, lost in the first round to unbeaten and eventual sub-state runner-up Burlingame.

Osborne’s run included a two-point win against Pike Valley. The closest district game, though, was a 40-point win against Logan-Palco.

“I knew there was some potential there, and they really came together as a group and gelled,” Osborne coach Cullen Riner said following the championship season, “and improved probably as much as any group I’ve coached. It was a phenomenal year.”

Especially considering the path the Bulldogs had to take to the title.

If anything, though, that district slate just improved when the team’s saw the schedule in 2017.

And it proved to be the case when district play — now with five playoff-worthy teams — began in Week 5.

Hence Logan-Palco and Victoria’s flurry to score points late. The district’s top five teams — Victoria, Bennington, Logan, Osborne and Solomon — finished the non-district slate with 17 wins and three losses.

“The schedule is going to be tough again this year,” Oberle said during the preseason.

“Four out of the nine teams we’re playing are ranked in the top six, depending on where you look.”

The team’s upheld those rankings. Bennington’s 4-0 start included all blowouts,

Victoria running back Collin .LVQHU VOLSV WKURXJK a tackle for extra \DUGDJH WKLV VHDVRQ DJDLQVW /R JDQ 3DOFR

while Logan-Palco started 4-0, giving up just 22 points. A new-look Osborne started 3-1, this time suffering a two-point loss to Pike Valley.

“When you replace the senior class we did, it’s a work in progress,” Riner said

after his team moved to 2-0 in district play with a 48-14 win against Logan-Palco in monsoon-like conditions. “We’ve got some young kids stepping up, and we’re starting to find an identity.”

In addition, Solomon started the season

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3-1, but did suffer a loss to Little River, an upstart team that was 4-2 through six weeks.

Victoria, which started district play with wins against Logan-Palco and Bennington, had by far the toughest non-district slate this season. The Knights went 3-1 with wins against perennial power Claflin-Central Plains, but lost by two points to Otis-Bison.

If the 2016 season is any indication, the district could wrap up this week with some interesting scenarios, but Osborne and Victoria separated themselves in the first two weeks.

“It’s going to be fun. It is what it is. You’ve got to play them, and for us to get where we want to get, we have to play those teams,” Oberle said as the season got started. “It’s no big deal. They’re on our schedule. We just have to go out and do it. As long as we put our best foot forward, we’ll be fine.”

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NICK McQUEEN, Sports Ink. &RYHUHG LQ PXG )RUW +D\V 6WDWHÂśV 3HWHU )UDQNOLQ FOLPEV D KLOO GXULQJ WKH )+68 7LJHU 2SHQ DW 6DQG 3OXP 1DWXUH 7UDLO QHDU 9LFWRULD RQ 2FW

Runners are super-human

W

ant to see a new level of dedNormally a beautiful scenic course ication? on land just west of the Basilica of St. Make it to a cross country Fidelis, the course that day turned into meet sometime. more of a swampy soup bowl full of Want to see someslime.

The Closer one take that dedicaYet, that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop tion to unimaginable some 800 collegiate heights? runners from poundTake in a cross couning the trail for four try meet after more races throughout a than 2 inches of rain gorgeous morning soaked the course the following the Friday night before. night thunderstorms that doused the area.

That was the case when the Fort Hays State University cross country team The only question I had the entire hosted the FHSU Tiger Open on Oct. 7 time, though, was, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Are these people just nuts?â&#x20AC;? at Sand Plum Nature Trail near VictoThe simple answer might be yes, but ria.

nick

McQUEEN

Page 10

November 2017

thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not really the case. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always been of the opinion that cross country runners are just a different breed entirely, something beyond human.

Much like wrestlers, dedicated cross country runners push their bodies to the edge on a daily basis. Running for the sake of running never has appealed much to me â&#x20AC;&#x201D; hence my bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shape.

But watching someone who loves to do it in competition can be inspiring â&#x20AC;&#x201D; no matter how nuts it might seem.

Like near the beginning of the course when some of the shorter runners were knee deep in water trudging through the muddy mess at Sand Plum. They still had miles left to complete the course.

SPORTS INK.

Times werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to mean much that day, but placing certainly was, and aside from the slipping and sliding conditions, it turned into an entertaining day to view some of the best NCAA Division II has to offer.

Not to mention, it was incredible to see the course was even in decent enough shape to run at all. Then you see the fact that Tiger head coach Jason McCullough and a few helpers were out at 4 a.m. before the meet spreading wood chips across the 8K course (for the men â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 5K for the women).

Still, runners were covered head to toe in mud following competition.

Some even were taking mud off the course and spreading in on their bodies.

I never could figure out the significance of it, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just another question in the long list of those outside the cross country world might never understand the answer to.

The other? Why after running 3 miles or so in competition do these competitors go for a run? Perhaps another time. You just have to admire the dedication to their craft.

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