Sports
NCCC wrestler Barnes wins National Championship
DES MOINES, Iowa — Following up a freshman year that ended with a 3rd place finish at the 2012 NJCAA National Wrestling Tournament, NCCC sophomore Le’Roy Barnes improved this season by winning the 2013 National Championship on Saturday. “Le’Roy had a good tournament,” Coach Wayne Petterson said. Weight control has been a big issue for Barnes this year, and he has been battling keeping energy and strength as he keeps at weight. Petterson prai...
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St. Paul squads get Saturday night wins
Both the St. Paul boys and girls basketball teams scored victories in their final regular season games at Colony-Crest on Saturday night. The girls team routed Crest 60-16, benefiting from a 17-point performance from Jordyn Tuck. The boys team then won 52-42, with Paul Schibi leading the Indians with 14, both Jake O’Brien and Anthony Diskin scoring 12 points, and Austin O’Brien adding 11. The St. Paul squads will be part of the Udall sub-stat...
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Winter weather causing adjustments in sports schedules
Winter weather in the area has caused some juggling of sports schedules. At press-time, the sub-state basketball games featuring the Chanute Blue Comets boys and girls basketball teams are tentatively scheduled to be played later today, with the boys game starting at 4:30 p.m. in El Dorado, and the girls team hosting Parsons starting at 7 p.m. It is not yet known how this schedule will be affected by the snow that fell in this area yesterday....
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NCCC women’s comeback against Johnson County falls short
The number one ranked Johnson County Cavaliers beat Neosho County by 34 points on Jan. 26 in Chanute, but Saturday afternoon’s meeting between the two squads was a much different story. The game featured six ties and eight lead changes, but the Cavaliers were able to overcome a determined Neosho County squad to win 51-45. Neosho County played with a very methodical approach to try and slow down the high scoring Cavaliers. The Panthers would ...
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Panthers men score much-needed comeback win
The NCCC men’s basketball team has struggled both on the road and in the second half of ball games this season, but the Panthers overcame those struggles and picked up a come-from-behind 71-67 win over Johnson County on the road on Saturday night Johnson County jumped out to a quick lead and extended it to nine at 17-8 with 13:17 left in the first on a three from Christian Hildebrandt. Neosho County began to chip away at the Johnson County le...
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Six Chanute wrestlers win opening round of state
Brian McDowell Sports Editor SALINA-The Chanute wrestling team experienced early success on the first day of the State Tournament at Salina’s Bicentennial. Six of the eight Comet wrestlers that qualified for State this year won their initial matches at the event, placing them on the winners’ side of the bracket headed into the quarterfinal rounds, which went late into Friday night. Freshman Nick Ornelas, sophomores Alex and Chase Cole and A...
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Chanute girls first, boys fifth, in brackets for sub-state
The brackets were released Wednesday for next week’s sub-state basketball tournament that will involve both Blue Comets varsity basketball squads. The school’s boys team’s 11-9 regular season record has the Comets seeded fifth, so Chanute will be traveling to El Dorado on Monday for a 7 p.m. match-up with the number four seed. The winner of this match-up will advance to the semifinals in Independence on Thursday night, against the winner of...
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Humboldt boys finish regular season undefeated
The Humboldt Cubs boys basketball completed its perfect regular season on Tuesday night, with a 70-35 victory over Cherryvale on Tuesday night. The big win brings Humboldt’s record to 20-0. Tanner McNutt led Humboldt’s scoring with 17 points in the victory, while Noah Thornbrugh had 14, and Caleb Vanatta contributed 13. Nathan Whitcomb ended up with 12 points, and Hunter Murrow dished seven. The Cubs will be hosting sub-state next week, with ...
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Super 8 headed to State in Salina
The Chanute wrestling team is sending eight wrestlers to the State tournament in Salina this weekend. All eight are ready to place at the event and to try to help the Comets win this year. This is a profile of each of the elite eight wrestlers who will be representing the Comets at the big, season-ending event. 113 Nick Ornelas- As the only freshman on this year’s varsity wrestling squad, Ornelas is “pretty excited” to be making his first Sta...
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Good regular season for CHS girls has messy ending
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute girls will be heading into next week’s sub-state as the number one seeded team, after wrapping up its regular season on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, this season didn’t have the ending the Comets were hoping for, as Chanute lost to the Fort Scott Tigers 57-44. Not much went the Comets’ way in this Senior Night match-up, as shots didn’t fall, calls went against the Comets, and one of the team’s key pla...
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Another Comet escape closes regular season
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute boys basketball team put together another last-second escape win on Tuesday night, closing out the regular season by beating Fort Scott 50-47. “We had some mental lapses and just played very tentative, it seemed like, at the end of the ballgame,” Chanute Coach Max Ruark said. “We had a couple of things not go our way.” The Comets were leading by nine about halfway through the fourth quarter, when Fort ...
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Olympic legends coming to Chanute on March 16
Chanute residents will have a rare opportunity to meet some of the greatest athletes of all time on Saturday, March 16. The NCCC track and field team will be hosting a Night With The Olympians fundraiser that night at The Venue at 29 W. Main Street in Chanute at 7:30 p.m. This event will feature world famous athletes like three-time Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who was voted Greatest Female Athlete of the 20th Century by Sports...
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Lady Panthers falter early in loss
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter PARSONS — Despite a hot start, the Neosho County Community College Lady Panthers fizzled early during a 67-45 blowout to the Labette Lady Cardinals. The Lady Panthers led for a few brief moments Saturday after a free throw from sophomore Katie Gorman and a shot from sophomore Alexis Halfenstein put them ahead 3-1. However, poor passing, shooting and rebounding quickly swung the momentum in the Lady Cardinals’ favo...
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Labette rallies to beat Panthers 80-74
Jimmy Potts Tribune Reporter PARSONS — The Neosho County Community College Panthers limped back to Chanute for their final home game after a disappointing 80-74 loss to Labette Saturday. Saturday seemed like deja vu for the Panthers, who again found themselves in another tight game against the Labette Community College Cardinals after walking away from their last contest with a 74-71 double-overtime loss. The Panthers led for much of the game...
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Eight qualify for State, as Chanute wins wrestling Regional
Brian McDowell Sports Editor PITTSBURG — For the second year in a row, eight members of the Blue Comet wrestling team will be headed to the State tournament in Salina. Freshman Nick Ornelas, sophomores Alex Son, Adam and Chase Cole, and Ethin Van Anne, and seniors Jared Fiscus, Cody Howell and William Divine will represent Chanute at the season-closing event, which starts Friday at Salina’s Bicentennial Center. This was determined at last week...
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Panthers baseball opens season 3-1
Brian McDowell Sports Editor On the opening weekend that NCCC baseball coach Steve Murry picked up his 800th career win, the Panthers baseball team went 3-1. The season for Murry and the Panthers started on Saturday with two consecutive run-rule-triggering 11-1 victories over Brown-Mackie. Chance Sinclair pitched a five-inning complete game, only giving up three hits in the first game. First baseman Jake O’Brien scored first for Neosho Count...
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Isenhower returning to NCCC March 2, to demonstrate new bat
Former NCCC Panther Jeremy Isenhower will be making a local appearance on Saturday, March 2. The Panthers baseball team will be hosting Fort Scott at Hudson Field for doubleheaders that weekend. Between the two scheduled games on Saturday, Isenhower will be on hand to do a softball exhibition. After his time on the Panthers, Isenhower played in the minor leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies organization, and then joined the USA men’s softb...
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Chanute city employee headed to Hall of Fame for esteemed wrestling career
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The recent announcement that wrestling might be dropped as an Olympic sport by the 2020 games does not sit too well with Chanute resident Bogdan Ciufulescu. “I don’t think that will be possible,” Ciufulescu said. Ciufulescu has some expertise in this area. He actually wrestled in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, representing his home country of Romania. “My Facebook page is full of everybody talking about it,” Ciuful...
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Coombs fumes over NCCC men’s loss at Iola
Brian McDowell Sports Editor IOLA — Jeremy Coombs called this year’s NCCC men’s basketball team “the worst team I’ve ever coached.” “It’s probably the worst team I’ve ever been around, as far as the lack of heart and effort,” Coombs said. These sentiments were expressed after Wednesday night’s 64-57 Panthers loss to their rivals from Allen County. The match-up was a tale of two comebacks. The first occurred in the first half, when Neosho Coun...
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An English Major: Australian’s six three-pointers help Lady Panthers beat rivals
Brian McDowell Sports Editor IOLA — Strong second half play and six three-pointers from Australian freshman Dena English helped the Neosho County Panthers gain a 64-57 victory over their rivals from Allen County on Wednesday night. “Our three-point shot, we got that going, and shot the ball very well,” NCCC Coach Kelly Newton said. “We executed, got some shots that we wanted and some looks that we wanted, and Dena stepped up and had a heck of...
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