Sports Ink July 2012

A magazine focusing on all things sports in northwest Kansas

INK.

July 2012

Beating the odds

Year in and year out, fans love the Cinderella. How do seedings affect the game in high school

and what does it take for a low

seed to overcome the hype, like

The Hays Daily News

Victoria did in 2011?

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What’s up?

A look inside this issue

‘Oh, snap!’

6 All in ‘Striders’

For years, the Hays Striders track club has continued to help young athletes turn into champions

8

What are the odds?

Fans love to cheer for the underdog, but what does it take for a low seed to work through a state-championship bracket?

14

In the wind Hill City thrower finds motivation in

brother, weather.

16

Just a Minute Legion baseball player Clayton Basgall sits down for a Q&A.

St. Francis senior Isaac Schiltz attempts a vault attempt of 15 feet at the Class 1A regional track meet in Hays in late May. Schiltz already had won the event at 14-7, but broke his pole on the attempt at 15-0. Isaac and younger brother, Mason, went on to finish first and second in the pole vault at the Class 1A state meet in Wichita the following week.

EVERETT ROYER, 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 5 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.

An underachieving champ?

I

admit it felt a little odd staying behind this year and manning about a championship one day, to wearing a rare smile after winning another the second. the office during the state track and field championships.

Just for kicks, I dug up the headlines from that Sunday’s newsIt was just the third time since moving to Hays and joining paper. From his Friday shot put championship — “Horinek the HDN in 2000 I missed the opportunity to wander the infield wins; not unhappy.” at Cessna Stadium in search of stories and interviews.

That was incredibly fitting. The guy just threw 57 feet, 51⁄4 Every year, the weekend provides us “newspaper folk” with not only a plethora of great stories to be told in print, but it also inches to win his third straight gold medal in the shot put. yields more than a handful of bests-of, “Third year in a row — it’s not that great,” he For Starters worsts-of, and so on and so forth. said after. “I threw 59-7 as a sophomore and I’ve So, not being at the state meet this year, thrown 58 all year long, so this really isn’t a very I was forced to recollect on some of those good throw for me.” moments from the past that will always He wasn’t oblivious to the fact he had just won have a special place in my story bank. a state championship, but in his senior year, I The cast of characters I have watched expected possibly a little more emotion, rather compete during the past 12 years in than another “disappointing“ state championWichita is an ongoing list, one that inship. cludes an impressive side, and for lack of a better term, a depressFinally, it happened. After watching him dominate the field in ing side. his high school career, there was nothing he could do to surprise One athlete, though, was both in the same year. He is, and me — or so I thought. always will be on both of those lists. Those that follow might Not 24 hours after talking about his disappointment, he did remember a state-champion thrower from Atwood named Jeff it — he finally cracked a smile during an interview. He had just Horinek. In his senior season in 2004, Horinek, who went on to thrown 186-4 to collect the 1A discus title. play football for Colorado State University, was a beast of a man, “Finally, it happened,” he said with a grin. “For the first time, I with size beyond his youth. feel good about it.”

But, if a state champion could ever be described as an “underI guess a state championship AND a state record that still stands achiever” it was him — at least in his own eyes. today is something to smile about — even if it did take three Horinek that weekend went from expressing disappointment years.

nick

McQUEEN

ACIDIZING

CEMENT

TOOL RENTAL

Levi Morss,

La Crosse junior Morss helped lead the way for La Crosse's first state track and field championship when the Leopards won the Class 1A state title in late May at Wichita's Cessna Stadium.

Morss won a gold medal in the long jump, jumping 21 feet, 11.25 inches, and was second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, running 10.83 and 22.54 seconds, respectively. He also was runner-up in the 400-meter dash in 50.88. He scored 34 of La Crosse's 84 points as the Leopards finished 46 points in front of Centralia and Macksville.

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Who’s That?

Notable performances in northwest Kansas Nick Tubbs

The IMCA stock car driver from Colby is showing his dominance at tracks in northwest Kansas this season. Tubbs won four of the first five races at RPM Speedway in Hays, including four in a row after Josh Hudson’s win in the opener. Tubbs also had three wins at WaKeeney Speedway in the first seven races at the track. He’s finished no worse than sixth at WaKeeney. Tubbs has another win and a pair of runner-up finishes at Thomas County Speedway in Colby after the first three races, finishing second only to his brother, Jeff, who won the first two races there.

Zair Koeiman

The first-year Hays Lark from Willemstad, Curacao, by way of Eastern Oklahoma College got off to a hot start for Hays’ summer collegiate baseball team.

In Hays’ 7-1 start in June, Koeiman hit .360 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs. He also had two doubles and had a team-leading .680 slugging percentage.

Koeiman was a key offensive catalyst as Hays got off to a 4-0 start in Jayhawk League play in early June before suffering its first league loss June 10 at El Dorado.

Emilea Finley

The Colby High School graduate won three gold medals at the state track and field championships in late May at Wichita’s Cessna Stadium. Finley, for the second straight season, won at least two gold medals at the state finale. She finished as back-to-back champion in both the 800- and 1,600-meter runs, and added a gold in the 3,200 this season.

She finished the 3,200 in 11 minutes, 2.98 seconds, the 1,600 in 5:02.36 and the 800 in 2:17.59, helping Colby score 36 points and finish fourth in Class 4A.

Bailey Hensley

The Ellis High School junior played catcher for the Railroaders’ first softball team to qualify for the state tournament. The Railers were knocked off in the first round in the Class 2-1a finale by perennial power and defending state champion Udall.

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.

TAKING it all in…

Striders N

ine-year-old Abby Rueschhoff ran like the wind down the long jump runway and launched herself forward into the pit. Upon landing, she immediately turned her head to visiting coach Kim Haberman for a critique.

Rueschhoff is just one of 96 members of the Hays Striders — a track and field club for youth from 5 to 18 years old.

Elaine Haberman and her husband Dave Haberman serve as the leaders of the club. Rueschhoff’s desire to better herself is what Elaine Haberman said the club has come to expect.

“At the beginning, it’s all about getting a

Page 6

medal,” she said. “That is their goal, but after they grew through the competition, they realize that it is about bettering their own performance. That is when they start relying on what the coaches tell them.”

The Hays Striders are one of the last remaining bastions for youth track and field in western Kansas. Other clubs in Great Bend, Garden City and Dodge City either no longer exist or are a shell of their former existence.

While other clubs have disappeared and reappeared through the years, the Hays Striders have had a lasting presence dating back to the 1960s, according to Elaine.

One of the major reasons is the Habermans themselves. They have been heading July 2012

the club for 17 years.

Fort Hays State University track and field coach Dennis Weber said the time commitment to coach the Striders is “huge.”

The Habermans have to coordinate practices, communicate with parents, enter kids into meets on top of actually coaching the children, and they do it all for no monetary gain.

“There’s a lot more to it than people realize,” Weber said. “That’s why it’s amazing the Habermans have stuck with it so long.”

The Striders, which teaches youth how to improve upon their mechanics and be more efficient athletes, has churned out a number of eventual state champions.

SPORTS INK.

LEFT: Austin Hoyt, 8, left, Abby Rueschhoff, 9, center, and Abbey Oborny, 10, right, work on rapid response training during Striders practice June 6 at the Hays High School track.

ABOVE TOP: Dave Haberman, right, works with Zach Spresser, 15, Hoxie, left, and his brothers Dawson, 13, and Dylan, 11.

ABOVE MIDDLE: Fort Hays State University freshman Taylor Kisner, far right, helps Austin Hoyt, Marie Reveles, far left, and Olivia Rankin with improving their running form.

ABOVE BOTTOM: Elaine Haberman talks with Striders member Adam Peña, of Boulder, Colo.

RAYMOND HILLEGAS, Sports Ink.

Former Striders include Eric Thomas, a six-time Class 3A state champion at Thomas More Prep-Marian and Kansas State University thrower; Brady Maska, a Class 5A state discus record holder at Hays High School and NCAA Division II All-American at Fort Hays State University; Whitney Taylor, a three-time Class 2A state champion and 2A state record holder in the discus at Ellis — among many others.

Many of the area’s coaches also got their start with the Striders, such as TMP track and field and cross country coach Matt Dumler, FHSU high jump coach Ty Haas and new Phillipsburg cross country coach Drew Mahin.

“I always tell the coaches this is the most difficult coaching job you’ll ever have, because you are dealing with ages from 5 all the way up to 18,” Elaine Haberman said.

“You really have to balance out how you can best help them and individualize your coaching.”

Elaine said they’ve stuck with the Striders because they didn’t want to see it die out like other clubs in other cities.

“These kids never stop amazing me through all these years,” she said. “I think that’s what keeps Dave and I coming back every single year.”

Their program focuses on the mechanics of running, jumping and throwing, which in turn can improve performances in other sports.

They stay in contact with area coaches, such as Weber, and learn about the newest innovations in track and field.

They utilize rapid-response speed training, which conditions muscles to perform in a certain way by developing muscle memory.

They start by working with athletes in short segments and gradually increase it until the athlete has corrected the bad habit for the duration of the event.

“We tell them if you can’t run right in 10 meters, then how can you run right in 100 meters?” Dave Haberman said.

The Striders pull athletes from La Crosse, Ness City, Victoria and other surrounding towns.

Baylee Holecek, a 12-year-old from Ness City, practices with the Striders as much as she can, and she said it has helped her immensely.

She already has run a 66-second 400meter dash, which would have earned her 15th at Class 1A state track and field this spring.

“I just learned that if you try your hardest, you can do anything that you set your mind to,” Holecek said.

Jennifer Spresser drives an hour and 20

minutes from Hoxie to take her three children to practice with the Striders, because there are no track clubs in her area.

“Track is a passion for one of my sons, and this is the closest opportunity that we have to do that,” she said.

Fort Hays State University freshman Taylor Kisner joined the Striders in middle school, and she went on to sweep the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dash at Class 1A state as a senior in 2011 at Victoria.

Now serving as an assistant coach, Kisner said the Striders were integral to her development.

“I wasn’t able to develop any bad habits, because I started (Striders) right when I started running,” she said.

Kim Haberman, the coaches’ daughter and former jumper/sprinter at Kansas State University, helps lead Striders when she returns to Hays.

At TMP, Kim was a four-time state champion, and at K-State, she finished fourth in the long jump at the Big 12 Championship this spring.

She said the Striders helped her prepare for those big moments by allowing her to compete out of state against some of the nation’s top talent.

“Going to some of the meets out of state gave me so much experience,” she said.

“When I got to K-State track, I wasn’t scared and I didn’t choke because I was so used to it.”

Unfortunately, many clubs have disappeared and numbers across the state have plummeted, said Elaine Haberman.

The Striders used to have their own meet, but due to the loss of the clubs in southwestern Kansas, they can no longer pull enough athletes.

Getting eastern and south central Kansas clubs to bring athletes can be like pulling teeth.

“When people think Hays, they think it’s just so far out here,” Elaine said.

After 17 years, the Habermans said they have considered giving their responsibilities to someone else, but they are concerned after what happened with the track clubs such as Great Bend and Garden City.

“I can’t bear to see it fall apart,” Elaine said. “It is a lot of hard work, and it consumes a lot of time. I don’t want to hand it over to someone that is only going to do it a couple years and then let it go.”

Eventually, Dave said he is sure they will find someone to hand the torch.

“We obviously can’t do it forever, but at some point, I’m sure there will be somebody that will take it over,” he said.

Klint Spiller, Sports Ink.

Victoria’s Colin Schmidtberger and the Knights pulled off a string of upsets during the 2010-11 season to finish fourth at state.

What are the odds?

T STEVEN HAUSLER, Sports Ink

State

tournament

seeds can be motivators,

targets or sometimes just tough luck

Page 8

he Victoria High School boys’ basketball team entered the 2010-11 postseason with a 9-11 regular-season record.

The Knights, with six seniors, had to navigate through the difficult Central Prairie League with Class 1A’s No. 11 strength of schedule, according to masseyratings.com.

After a slow start to its season, Victoria started to play better in mid-January. During the substate, the Knights defeated three ranked teams — Quinter, Stockton and Downs-Lakeside. In each contest, Victoria trailed in the second half before it came back to win by a narrow margin.

“We had a group of boys at that time, they just weren’t willing to have that be their last game and then they fought and clawed,” coach Stuart July 2012

Moeckel said.

Victoria earned the No. 8 seed and drew topranked Hanover in the Class 1A, Division I state tournament at Emporia State University’s White Auditorium. Before the game, Moeckel reminded his team that Hanover, the two-time defending champion, had pressure to win.

“The underdog always comes in with nothing to lose,” Moeckel said. “They are not expected to win. None of the pressure is on them.”

Victoria kept it close at the end of the first quarter. By that point, the Knights knew they could play with Hanover.

“They are no different than five of the teams SPORTS INK.

that we played this year,” Moeckel said.

Victoria again trailed in the second half, but managed another big comeback to take the lead late.

“We knew we could win every game,” Corey Dinkel, a junior that year and the Knights’ leader this past winter, said. “We had a lot of confidence. We had great athletes, great ballplayers. Seeding doesn’t matter.”

Hanover missed a half court buzzer-beater and Victoria won 55-53 to pull off what many observers consider one of the biggest upsets in recent state tournament history. The Knights eventually finished fourth at state.

“At the end of the day, we were probably pretty lucky to get that win,” Moeckel said. “They were a great team, and we just happened to play better than they did that night.”

Victoria’s wins are part of the fabric of the Kansas State High School Activities Association NCAA basketball tournament-esque seeding system for boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball and softball — the four sports that seed teams one through eight.

The process is solely based on winning percentage after the sub-states are decided. Strength of schedule and quality wins or losses are not considered. If one or more teams are tied, records conor can be broken if the squads nicholl met in a head-to-head meeting during the regular season. More raymond often, the tiebreaker comes to a hillegas, coin flip, luck that can play a big Steven role in state tournament upsets.

Hausler While some states have double elimination tournaments and/ or three-game championship series for baseball and/or softball, Kansas stays with the one-loss format.

“I wish there was a better way they could do it instead of just by pure records,” said Hays High School baseball coach Frank Leo, whose Indians just lost for in the first round of the 5A state tournament for the second straight season.

Seeding variances have often played a big role at state competitions, especially during the last few years. Victoria’s win earned statewide attention, as did Blue Valley North, seeded No. 8 in the Class 6A baseball tournament this spring, for its 1-0 win against No. 1 seed and nationally-ranked Maize.

On the other hand, this winter yielded a 14-0 first-round record by boys’ and girls’ basketball teams seeded No. 1.

The dominance, especially at the 1A level, produced debate throughout the state on whether No. 1 seeds had grown stronger or the No. 8 seeds had grown weaker than in the past.

Still, several lower seeds manage to topple top-ranked teams, including Sharon Springs, which won the Class 1A, Division II girls’ basketball crown as the No. 6 seed.

This spring, Thomas More Prep-Marian baseball, Hays High baseball and Hays High softball, all seeded second, lost in the first round of their respective state tournaments.

Blue Valley North went on to win the state championship in 6A baseball, the lone No. 8 seed in the PAGE 10 last five years in any sport to win a state crown.

story by

photos by

Sports Ink.

July 2012

In 2010, Jacob

Kinderknecht and the

Ellis

baseball team won the

school’s

first and only state tournament game as a

No. 5 seed.

Ellis won 8-0 against Sublette, then went on to lose to top-

seeded and perennial powerhouse

PittsburgColgan.

Page 9

“That’s the beauty of sports,” said Sharon Springs football coach Kevin Ayers, an observer throughout the state tournament. “I don’t want to say it happens all the time, but it happens. Once you make it to the state tournament, anything can happen. To be able to play with the freedom of being the No. 6 seed, there is no pressure.”

Sports Ink. looked at the last five years of basketball, softball and baseball state tournaments and broke down the performances of each seed to answer several questions, including: How big of an upset was Victoria’s win? Was the 14-0 record by No. 1 seeds in the first round considered an aberration?

How often does a lower seed such as Sharon Springs win a championship?

What factors can lead to an upset? Does it matter if a team is on the western or eastern half of the state?

The answers were: very unusual, not really, and virtually every year and sometimes several times a year.

The factors include: regular season strength of schedule, senior experience, previous state experience, receiving a lower or high seed based on a coin flip, and simply playing

This winter, the Sharon Springs girls’ basketball team claimed a state championship in Class 1A, Division II at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays. The Wildcats were the No. 6 seed and defeated No. 4 seeded Hutchinson-Central Christian for the title.

well.

Easily the strongest trend is the No. 1 seed against the No. 8 seed. Often, such as this year’s Class 1A, Division II basketball tournament with the Wheatland-Grinnell boys

(10-14) and Colony-Crest girls (6-18), the No. 8 seed is around or below .500.

In the last five years, boys’ and girls’ basketball, baseball and softball No. 1 seeds have combined to go 97-17 (85.1

winning percentage) in the first round.

In each sport, No. 1 seeds win at least 80 percent of the time. No. 1 seeds in softball have the best winning percentage at 88 percent (22-3), while

Hays High School junior Zack Legleiter, right, and the Indians earned the No. 2 seed after losing a coin flip for the top spot in this year’s Class 5A state baseball tournament, where Hays High lost in the first round for the second straight season.

No. 1 seeds in girls’ basketball are close behind at 87.5 percent (28-4). In girls’ basketball, a No. 1 seed hasn’t lost since 2008.

“Of course, you would like to be the 1 seed so then you draw the 8 seed and you think that maybe the 8 seed is a weaker team, but that’s not always the truth,” Goodland softball coach Tess Smith said.

No. 1 seeds in girls’ basketball are the strongest overall. The top seeds have combined to win 17 titles and finish with six runner-ups in the last five years (32 total

brackets). Collectively, No. 1 seeds in girls’ basketball are 70-18.

In boys’ basketball, No. 1 seeds are 5828 overall with 11 titles and five runnerups. Multiple coaches believe the talent gap in girls’ basketball is bigger than the boys, which causes the elite teams to win more frequently.

Baseball and softball have a little more parity, especially after the first round. No. 1 seeds in baseball are 47-18 with eight titles and seven runner-ups in the last five years (25 total brackets).

Softball’s No. 1 seeds are 39-29 with just three titles and six runner-ups. No. 1 seeds are 17-26 when not facing at No. 8 seed.

“I don’t really believe that seedings are as important as everyone makes them out to be,” Smith said.

• • • Smith’s theory does hold some truth.

Other than Blue Valley North’s upset run through 6A baseball — it outscored opponents 13-0, an achievement that coach John Pittenger told reporters that it was the “most unbelievable thing” he’d ever seen — No. 8 seeds haven’t fared well.

Five other No. 8 seeds have reached a final and three other teams either took third or tied for third (because of a rainout).

Victoria was one of eight No. 8s to finished fourth.

With championships, generally a No. 6 or No. 7 seed will win a title every year. Girls’ basketball has produced five titles with No. 6 or 7 teams, including No. 7 Wichita Collegiate in Class 3A in 2011, No. 6 Class 5A Shawnee Heights and No. 6 Class 1A St. John in 2009 and No. 7 Class 6A Lawrence in 2008.

Boys’ basketball has seen three No. 6 seeds win with Class 2A Sterling (2011), Class 4A Basehor-Linwood (2009) and Class 2-1A St. Marys (2009).

Softball has had two low seeds win titles with No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas (5A, 2008) and No. 7 St. Marys (2-1A, 2009), while baseball has seen five, including three this spring.

“The underdog is a PAGE 12 fun place to be,” Ayers said.

“The neatest thing about that was, in all of the years that I coached, we probably played our most perfect game.�

- Rick Cunningham, Ellis baseball coach Against Hanover, Moeckel reminded his team every squad at state had a 0-0 record. “Then it just comes down to who is playing the best that night,� Moeckel said.

Ellis baseball coach Rick Cunningham agrees. In 2010, Ellis had several ingredients needed for an upset. The Railroaders had senior experience and had played tough competition, including a wellplayed loss to Hays High in the Western Plains Diamond Classic.

The Railers were seeded No. 5 in the Class 2-1A state baseball tournament.

Ellis defeated No. 4 Sublette, 8-0, for the first and only state baseball win in school history. “The neatest thing about that was, in all of the years that I coached, we probably played our most perfect game,� Cunningham said. “We had no errors and Jacob Kinderknecht threw a two-hitter and we just hit the ball well. We just played one of those games that a coach dreams about.

We just played perfect. It was really cool.

Just hit around their good pitcher pretty good.�

Ellis believed it was the second-best team in field behind No. 1 seed Pittsburg/St. Marys-Colgan, on a run of seven straight

state titles. Colgan, though, had the experience, senior leadership and tough schedule (many times, Colgan didn’t enter state as the No. 1 seed). Colgan played better against Ellis in the semifinals and won easily, 13-0. “We kind of wished we were on the other side of the bracket away from PittColgan,â€? Cunningham said. â€œâ€Ś Playing Pitt-Colgan, I really, honestly don’t think it would have mattered if we played that kind of (perfect) game.â€?

Victoria needed an outstanding effort to beat Hanover, and was already prepped for big games entering state.

Moeckel believes any team that goes through the CPL schedule undefeated has a “pretty good shot� to win a state crown.

Squads that suffer some tough losses might not have gaudy records, but are more battle-tested than opponents that played weaker regular season teams. “Some teams throughout the year don’t face the adversity of playing in tight games or losing tight games and understanding what that feels like when you lose, so it does help a lot,� Moeckel said. “That’s what I have been very happy with our kids. If we can survive the year, it helps us

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understand how to play close games.�

Location can play a part in facing difficult competition during the season, and can sometimes lead to state tournament upsets. “Some of the eastern schools haven’t necessarily played the talent that some of the western schools have and vice versa,�

Moeckel said.

In softball, two of the three No. 1 seeds that have lost in the first round are from the western half of Kansas. In 2008, 2-1A Sylvan Unified entered the tournament undefeated, but lost 4-0 to Sedan. In 2011, 2-1A Spearville lost, 1-0, to Salina-Sacred Heart in the first round.

No top seed from the western half of the state in softball and baseball has won a state title in last five years. Three teams — including Colby (’09) and Moscow (’09) in baseball and Spearville (’10) in softball — took second. Hays High and Thomas More Prep-Marian have earned No. 1 seeds in softball, but didn’t win titles, partially because of a weaker strength of schedule. “When you talk to those east guys, too, in Legion and in high school, they take baseball very serious out east,� Cunningham said. “This one coach told me, ‘Kind

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of like you guys have those great football teams out west and great wrestling, that’s kind of how baseball is here.’

“I can tell,” he added. “You go back, eastern baseball, I don’t know how else to put it, they just take it more serious, and it’s a really big deal. I think you get a lot of the better athletes, they are going out for baseball instead of track or golf or whatever else. I think that’s what makes the big difference out east. There is great baseball out east.”

Injuries and teams playing better down the stretch also can cause upsets. In 2008, the Ellis girls’ basketball team started the year without Whitney Taylor because of a knee injury. The Railers opened 7-5, then won 13 straight games once Taylor returned. Ellis, the No. 6 seed, played for a state championship and lost to fourthseeded St. Marys.

This year, Sharon Springs opened 2-3 without senior all-state player Hallie Kuhlman, who was still recovering from a knee injury. Once Kuhlman returned, Sharon Springs finished the season 16-5 to win the state title. At state, Kuhlman had a double-double in the first game, played well in a thrilling 47-46 win against Wetmore, and then had a sterling defensive effort in a 48-46 championship victory against Central Christian.

“You were wowed every game,” Ayers said. “You walk away from every game just going wow.”

The coin flips can make a difference, too.

At 5A baseball this year, Hays High lost a coin flip for the No. 1 seed and dropped to No. 2. Stilwell-Blue Valley lost a coin flip for the No. 6 seed and went to No. 7. Blue Valley defeated Hays High, 8-0, behind the pitching of Hayden Edwards, a University of Kansas signee.

“I knew we had our hands full,” Leo said.

“It was going to be fun to compete against him, but I knew that we had to play a perfect game, but those seeds, you can throw out the window.”

Coin flips played a big role in determining the Class 3A softball title. Three teams — Hillsboro, Silver Lake and Goodland — entered the tournament with identical 20-3 records.

Off coin flips, Hillsboro ended as the No. 1 seed, Silver Lake the No. 2 and Goodland the No. 3.

Hillsboro ended up winning the championship in a 3-2, 13-inning win against No. 6 seed Rock Creek, which beat Goodland in the first round. If Hillsboro had lost the coin flip and ended as the No. 3 seed and had to play Rock Creek in the first round,

Victoria’s Kameron Dinkel goes up for a shot in a first-round contest against Hanover’s Connor Hynek during the 2010-11 Class 1A, Division I state tournament at White Auditorium in Emporia.

it would have completely changed the bracket.

• • • Another difference maker is pitching.

While the 3-pointer can be the great equalizer in basketball, pitching holds the same role in baseball/softball.

Medicine Lodge won 2-1A baseball this spring after it permitted five runs in three contests. Lenexa-St. James, the No. 7 seed in 4A baseball this spring, outscored opponents 36-2.

One reason for the parity in softball’s later rounds is because many contests are low-scoring, pitching-dominated contests. No. 1 seeds have averaged 1.4 runs per game in its losses, including 11 defeats by one run.

“That’s why I think in baseball, there is those upsets, because one good pitcher can dominate a game and make those big upsets,” Cunningham said. “I have seen it too many times. You go in and there is a team not that good — they have got that one good pitcher.”

Moeckel always sets a goal for his team to be playing its best basketball at the end of the year. He has noticed Victoria and Otis-Bison are “generally slow starters,” but finish strong.

Two years ago, Otis-Bison was the No. 6 seed, but finished third in Class 1A,

Division II. This winter, Otis-Bison beat top-seeded Hope in the semis, advanced to the finals as the No. 5 seed and lost to No. 3 Frankfort in double overtime.

The seniors stepped up, and the town and team bought into coach Alan Clark’s motto of “All In.” For Victoria, the team played much stronger down the stretch. The team started 4-5 and made changes to its dribble-drive motion offense, including working for higher quality shots. After Jan. 14, Victoria shot 42.7 percent from the field, including 47 percent at substate and state. Before then, the Knights shot 38.8 percent.

“Confidence a lot of it,” Dinkel said.

“We just stopped thinking so much and just started playing and having fun like we were out on a playground.”

Victoria fell down by 13 points against Hanover, but rallied to shoot 46 percent from the field, including 59 percent from inside the arc, the team’s ninth-best mark all season. The strong performance produced a trend-bucking win.

“We were a team that was playing well that ended up beating a higher seed,” Moeckel said. “I don’t really look at it 1 vs. 8, but it’s a neat thing. It’s probably something I’ll remember 10 years from now.”

Brother helps Toll in life, sports

S

hannon Toll just completed her junior year at Hill City High School.

Toll was one of the area’s top javelin throwers, won the Mid-Continent League championship and eventually finished 11th at the Class 2A state track and field meet in Wichita.

Toll’s driving influence for javelin and her life goals is her brother, Bryar Roy. Bryar passed away when he was 5 and Shannon was two from MPS I, a disease that eventually causes organ damage and early death.

Toll has just a two-second memory of her brother.

Toll’s family has just as many photos in the house of Bryar as they do of Shannon and her 26-year-old brother, Nathan.

“Just because I was so little doesn’t mean that my brother didn’t have a huge impact on my life,” Toll said. “He has really shaped me into who I am, to drive so hard.”

Toll wants to study occupational therapy in college, has already contacted the Oakley Care Center and is expected to have an internship next summer. As well, Toll’s mother has told Shannon that Bryar loved the Kansas wind, an element that can affect the javelin. At the May 3 Victoria meet, Toll finished second behind her friend, Ellis junior Megan Honas. After the Victoria meet. Toll, her parents, and a foreign exchange student living with them, went to her brother’s grave to commemorate the anniversary of his passing.

“That’s why — this is going to sound crazy — I love Kansas wind,” Toll said.

“Every time there is a soft breeze and even at that Victoria meet, it was hot out, it was definitely one hot day, but there was just a very soft breeze and I knew my brother was there for me.”

Toll’s memory occurs in the family’s dining room. Because of the MPS, her

Bryar Roy Toll at age 4.

brother didn’t have any form of communication. He slowly went blind, was deaf and couldn’t speak.

“He could just kind of speak gibberish, but the only way he could move was army crawl,” Toll said.

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Toll remembers looking over when he crawled underneath a chair.

“I just remember he pulled his left arm to his side to army crawl to the left,” Toll said. “I remember him looking directly at me and just smiling and that’s the greatest thing that I could ever ask for is having that memory.”

When Toll was in sixth grade, she wanted to be an interior designer. When she went to high school, Toll had to take a home economics class and her goal changed.

Toll’s mother came into the class to talk about Bryar. Toll contacted the national MPS society for information, gave a speech about Bryar and his condition.

Toll said she learned to “be proud of everything you had.” Then she first talked with Oakley, but isn’t able to have an internship until next year.

“Just because he passed away 14 years ago now, doesn’t mean that he has lost any love in this household,” Toll said.

“He is definitely still around and we think of him all the time.”

Toll played softball in Morland when she was younger and then in Hill City when she was in sixth, seventh and eighth grade. Toll picked up the javelin as a freshman and knew it was an event she wanted to excel at. Toll would like to throw in college.

“I just liked the feel of being able to push myself,” she said. “I love team sports, don’t get me wrong, but just being able to push myself. I can run, I can do that, but I am not the best runner.

“Since I picked up the javelin, it just came naturally to me,” she added. “It was like a second hand thing and so then, from that second on, I really pushed myself in summer weights.”

As a sophomore, Toll and Honas became good friends and the MCL’s top two throwers. Toll cleared 120 feet as a sophomore, but missed out on state because of a difficult regional where the top-six throwers all could have placed at state.

“It’s so fun competing against her because we push each other to our hardest,” Honas said. “It is unique. …

With me and Shannon, it’s so easy to get along. If one of us beats each other, we are just proud. There is no hate at all. If one of us does better or worse, we are always there for each other.”

And everyday, Toll knows her brother is also there, watching over her, pushing her in the javelin and life.

Conor Nicholl, Sports Ink.

Just a Minute with Nick McQueen

Clayton

Basgall

Hays Legion baseball player / La Crosse senior-to-be Q: How did you get started with Hays Legion baseball?

A: We had a K-18 team here in La Crosse when I was in eighth grade or something. That was the last year I was able to play here. Hayden Hutchison, and those guys, I played football with when I was in third grade.

I talked to him because I knew he played baseball. I played K-18 with them the next year, it just kind of went from there.

Baseball is my love.

Q: What makes you want to keep coming up here every year?

A: Baseball’s my strength, at least I think.

Q: Do you get to play at any other time during the year?

A: I don’t. Between football, basketball and track, I don’t get a chance. I don’t get a chance to practice or anything.

Q: How did you get started playing baseball?

A: When I was 5 we moved here to La Crosse from Wichita. I played there for two summers in fifth and sixth grade — drove to Wichita. I got to play on a team with the Sluggers Academy. It kind of went from there — played in La Crosse during the summer, and now in Hays.

Q: Is playing baseball at the next level on your mind?

A: That’s definitely what I want to do. I’ve always liked Wichita State. They’ve always been my favorite. If that doesn’t work out, maybe a Juco or something. It’s really hard to get the name out there without a high school. Kind of have to handle your own recruiting.

Q: Do you have any favorite baseball movies?

A: My favorite baseball movie is “Fever Pitch” — I like that one. Then probably “Bad News Bears.”

Q: Any favorite athletes you like to follow?

A: Favorite baseball player has to be Mariano Rivera — he’s high up on that list.

Q: Which would be better? Earning a save in the ninth in Game 7, or hitting the gamewinning home run?

A: I have to go with the save — I like the pitching, being put on the spot up there.

Q: How much time will you spend on football training this summer?

A: Pretty much every day. I actually missed the Manhattan tournament to go to football camp at Bethany. We’ll have a team camp, too, and every Sunday night we have a little mini-camp — when I’m not gone for baseball.

Q: Do you throw a summer job in the mix too?

A: Yeah, I mow. I’m the town mower. I mow out at the baseball fields, have my own mower, all that good stuff.

Hayden Hutchison Legion teammate

Q: Do you feel like you learned a lot playing behind Tayler Stull (graduated quarterback)?

A: He was a great leader. Even at the Bethany camp, he was there helping, giving me tips — just a great guy.

Jarrett Sanders Legion teammate

What character from Major League is he most like?

Willie Mays Pedro Hayes (Didn’t Cerrano Willie know him, now (never know Mays Hayes he hits leadwhat he’ll do.) off)

If they made a movie about him, what would it be called?

A Dime a Dozen

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Sea Bass

If he could be anyone else for one day, who would he be?

He would want to be Miss America

The host of the Miss Nebraska Pageant

Hayden Hutchison

What professional athlete does he remind you of?

Eric Hosmer Michael Young (Both real (Can play scrappy) wherever you put him)

Deion Sanders

If you could pick a celebrity for him to marry, who would it be?

Miss America

Carrie Underwood

Miss Nebraska

Where do you see him in 10 years?

With a degree and working hard, nice family with Adrian.

Q: Part of that runner-up football team last season (La Crosse), do you still think about how things went down?

A: Only every day. I’ll never forget standing there lined up at receiver and saw the ball fumbled. That goes through your mind about every day. It’s the journey, though, that sticks with me more than that.

Q: Looking at what you have coming back, do you have a decent shot at making another run?

A: Just as good a shot, if not better. I feel really good. We have a lot of kids that work hard — really looking forward to it.

Brad Kelly legion coach

ON

Being successful in whatever he does.

Probably on the lake somewhere

Ink. BLOTS

A spattering from NW Kansas

I’ll never understand or envy the willingness of football all-stars to bear the 90- to 100-degree heat through the summer for the chance to put on the pads one more time. It is something to be admired, though, as the best-of-the-best from the graduation class get one more shot on the high school field. More importantly, to me, summertime all-star games mark the start of the greatest time of the year — football season. It might be sweltering weather, but every year, the Eight-Man All-Star games in Beloit have that fall feeling. It just gets you itching for some football. - N.M. More from the cover story — one of the biggest statistical projects I’ve ever undertaken — and what I thought was pretty fascinating. A few notes that stuck out that didn’t make the story: No. 1 seeds can only meet No. 6 or No. 7 seeds in the championship or third-place games.

While No. 1 seeds defeat No. 8 seeds 85 percent of the time, that drops considerably when No. 1s face No. 6s and No. 7s.

No. 1s are 8-9 in the last five years against No. 6 seeds (three sports have .500 records, while No. 1 seeds in boys’ basketball are 1-2 versus No. 6). No. 1s are 9-9 against No. 7s, with boys’ basketball No. 1s being the best at 4-2.

No. 1 seeds are 34-20 (62.9 percent) against No. 4 seeds and 29-14 (67.4 percent) against No. 5 seeds. Those meetings always occur in the semifinals Softball No. 1s easily have the worst records of the four sports with a 5-8 record against No. 4s and a 4-5 record against No. 5s.

The numbers suggest the later a team advances in the tournament, the more teams become equal. - C.N. Several softball and baseball coaches proposed a change to the state tournament format. I agree that a change should happen. Here is my suggestion.

First, baseball shouldn’t just play doubleheaders throughout the season. Bump the regular season schedule up to 24 games and, similar to basketball, make one week/ weekend a midseason tournament. Right now, with 20 games and 10 doubleheaders, Sports Ink.

Everett Royer, Sports Ink. Kalyn Weber, from Golden Plains High School, carries the ball during the Eight-Man, Division II All-Star game June 9 in Beloit.

teams are limited to 10 opponents. As well, play fewer doubleheaders with closer teams.

For example, TMP and Ellis could play one game Thursday and another Friday.

More tournaments such as the Western Plains Diamond Classic would help teams play more of a day-to-day schedule, see a bigger variety of competition and prepare for the state tournament. For state, I would have a double-elimination format over two weekends.

Softball would be similar. The regular season schedule would bump to 24 games, including a regular season tournament, and state would be double-elimination. - C.N. When I first heard Hays High senior Chandler Rule broke his leg and tore ligaments in his ankle during a Hays Senior July 2012

Legion game in early June, the first thing that came to mind was how it would affect the Indians’ football and wrestling seasons.

Rule, who played tight end and defensive end and wrestled at 195 pounds last season, is a big, strong kid. He was allWAC honorable mention in football and was all-WAC first team in wrestling.

Depending on how everything goes, there’s a good chance Rule will miss football and possibly wrestling season.

For Hays High, that is a significant loss.

For the football squad, the Indians graduated four studs on the offensive line with Brandon Weigel, Zach Binder, Luke Madden and Josh Rounkles.

HHS will be in search of big men, so losing Rule could have a lasting effect on this year’s season. - K.S. Page 17

Need for fitness is immense

I

That’s when I took up hiking and cycling. am a man of extremes.

I set a goal to climb all of the 14ers (mountain peaks with an When I came to Hays for college, I didn’t just gain the “Freshelevation above 14,000 feet) in Colorado, and I also have been man 15.” I supersized it and gained the “Freshman 30.” planning to use my vacation time to bike from Oakley to Colorado As a long distance runner and wrestler in high school, I had a meSprings this summer. tabolism that would burn off fat faster than gastric bypass surgery.

Those goals are on my mind from when I wake up to when I go to And at college where my exercise came from walking from my bed. dorm room to the classroom, that metabolism slowed down and I think about Grays and Torrys Peak when I choose between pop my features changed.

My face became fuller and lost its edges. My endurance became so or water to drink for lunch and whether to watch a movie or run for 30 minutes when I get home from work. pathetic that I would struggle to get to the The Closer In The Hays Daily News and in this Sports Ink., third floor of Rarick Hall without getting we chronicle the excellence of athletes, but we raretired. ly write about these athletes after they graduate.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, I Like me, many of these athletes stop being was no longer the man that I used to be, athletes once they grasp that diploma, and that and I hated myself for it. can have lasting consequences on their lives if I would try off and on to get back into a workout groove, but without a higher goal it continues long into adulthood. It can lead to than just to get back in shape, I was lost. depression and cardiovascular problems later in life.

With rampant obesity stretching across the United States and espeThrough much introspection this past year, I tried to recall how cially in the Heartland (Kansas’ obesity percentage was 29.4 in 2010 I motivated myself in high school to run 4 to 6 miles a night after according to the Centers for Disease Control), the need for physical working a 10-hour shift.

I didn’t exercise to look good or be healthy. I exercised, because I fitness is more present than ever.

For me, I needed something to look forward to — a reason to wanted my team to win state. train.

That higher goal got me out the door to run 500 miles during the My goals might be more extreme than what others would consummer of my senior year. sider, but it has been helpful.

That 17-year-old me is not much different than the 23-year-old You only get one life. Go out and live it. Set a goal you can look me other than that goal, so I realized I needed an equally large forward to achieving, and then go big or stay big. motivation in order to get back to that point.

Klint

Spiller

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