Sports
Freshman finds success at state
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Cross country is an endurance sport that rewards both individual and team achievement. All the finishing positions in a race achieved by individual participants from a school are added up for a total team score. The school with the lowest score wins the meet. But individuals are also rewarded for finishing in the top 20 places in a race, This year, for the first time in history, both the boys and the girls cross ...
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NCCC wrestling edged out 27-23 in season’s first showdown
The opening duel of the season saw the Neosho County Community College Panthers wrestling team lose a hard fought, exciting battle to conference foe Pratt 27-23. Opening an 11-point lead with a pin at 125 from Jeff Vesta and a technical fall from Le’Roy Barnes at 133, the Panthers then lost three consecutive decisions at the 141, 149, and 157 weight divisions. With the score now 11-9 at the halfway mark, Cody Hill then pinned his opponent at ...
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Lady Panthers lose Exhibition
Andrew Towne Special to the Tribune Hosting the Kansas Lady Nuggets on Tuesday night, the Neosho County Community College Lady Panthers lost an exhibition game 72-65. The Lady Panthers had three players score in double figures. Alexis Hafenstein led the way for the Lady Panthers with 17 points, Autumn Zenon with 16, and TaMiya Green added 10. The Lady Nuggets were led in scoring by current Lady Panther Assistant Coach Dana Olsen with 17. The ...
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Rosario becomes NCCC’s first ever regional champ
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Neosho County Community College cross country standout Leslie Rosario came in first place at the Region VI cross country championships on Monday, Oct. 31, with a time of 19:27:50 in the 5K run. Her average mile time was 6:15. This accomplishment makes her the first regional champion in the school’s history and qualifies her to run in Nationals in Hobbs, New Mexico, on Saturday, Nov. 12. “We are so proud of Leslie...
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Panthers men down Central Methodist
Andrew Towne Special to the Tribune The Neosho County Community College men tipped off their 2011-12 season on Tuesday night at home against Central Methodist University Eagles. Brison White’s 37 points and 8 steals and Chris Patton’s 23 points and 9 rebounds paced the Panthers to a 97-81 victory. The Panthers shot 51.5 percent from the field in route to the win, while Central Methodist shot 43.3 percent for the game. Jordan Bredehoeft led th...
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Comets advance with overtime victory in Coffeyville rematch
Brian McDowell Sports Editor COFFEYVILLE — Before his team’s Tuesday night match-up with the Coffeyville Golden Tornado in the first round of 4A playoffs, Chanute football coach Don Simmons promised this would be a good game between two evenly matched teams. The rematch between the two teams certainly lived up to the billing. Thanks to a thrilling one-point overtime victory, the Comets live to fight another day, as they defeated Coffeyville ...
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Historic Chanute cross country season ends at State
Brian McDowell Sports Editor WAMEGO — This history-making season for Chanute’s boys and girls cross country teams, which saw both squads overcome injuries well enough for the girls to win the SEK conference and the boys team make it to state for the first time ever, culminated in both teams’ appearances at the state meet at the Wamego Country Club on Saturday. Chanute earned the right to attend this event when the boys team won a regional mee...
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Chanute volleyball meets fate at State
Brian McDowell Sports Editor SALINA — The Chanute Blue Comets had already been mathematically eliminated from advancing from first-day pool play in the state volleyball tournament in Salina on Friday night when they stood across the net from St. James-Lenexa, the number one seeded 4A team. After winning the first set of the day, the fourth-seeded Comets lost two games, in four straight sets, to fifth-seeded Cheney (25-20, 14-25, 16-25) and ei...
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Comets prepared to start playoffs with crucial Coffeyville rematch
Brian McDowell Sports editor “It’s going to be a great ballgame between two evenly matched teams.” That is the promise that Chanute Coach Don Simmons makes about tonight’s first round playoff match-up between his football team and the Coffeyville Golden Tornado. When these two teams met in the regular season, Chanute was outscored 35-0 in the game’s second half and Coffeyville snuck away with a surprise win. “Do we want to get back at them fo...
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Comet volleyball falls in first two games at State
Brian McDowell Sports Editor SALINA — After only losing three games in the regular season and winning sub-state in six straight sets, the Chanute Blue Comets went into Friday afternoon pool play at the 4A state championship with high hopes. For the first set of their first match-up of the day against Cheney, at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, it seemed that luck was on the side of the fourth-seeded Comets. Chanute won this first set agains...
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2011-12: NCCC Wrestling season outlook
Wayne Petterson NCCC Wrestling Coach The fast approaching NCCC wresting season is nearly here, beginning with the first dual on Wednesday, Nov. 2. This home meet will see the Panthers pitted against conference foe Pratt CC at 7:30 p.m. Three very good returners bring work ethic and the quality attitude to a substantial number of newcomers to provide the mold for another successful Neosho CCC wrestling season. This being the 14th season for ...
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Boys debut and girls return at cross country state
For the first time in history, Chanute High School had both its boys and girls teams qualify for state, which occurs Saturday morning at the Wamego Country Cub. The girls will run at 10 a.m. and the boys will take off at 11:30 a.m. All of the athletes are excited to experience this event. “There are a lot of fun things that go along with the State experience,” coach Derek Liggett said. So far there have been pasta parties, shirts ordered, a...
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Three touchdowns by Son help Chanute clinch playoff berth
Brian McDowell Sports Editor A three-touchdown hat trick by senior Sam Son and a defensive ability to shut down the run saved the Blue Comets from elimination Thursday night, and has put them into the playoffs. Chanute Football Coach Don Simmons said his team’s 28-6 victory over the Girard Trojans in the last game of the regular season was the first good four quarter game they’ve played all season. It couldn’t have come at a better time. All ...
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Sports weekend busy
Tonight’s “do or die” football match-up between the Comets and Girard at the Chanute sports complex is due to be one of the highlights on what is sure to be one of the biggest weekends of the year for area sports fans. If Chanute loses tonight’s game at 7 p.m. at the sports complex, their season is over. However, if they do pull off a victory, they will be vaulted into a playoff game on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The Blue Comets volleyball team will ...
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Shyrock is King at Humboldt Speedway
Scott Lee Stewart Special to the Tribune HUMBOLDT -- Kelly Shryock owns nine titles and 176 career victories under the United States Modified Touring Series banner, and now you can officially call him “The King” of the dirt Modified racing world. Saturday night at the Humboldt Speedway, the 46-year-old from Fertile, Iowa, waited patiently for the first 50 laps and then took control for the final 25 laps to win the inaugural King of America Mo...
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Sub-State victory propels Chanute volleyball to State
Brian McDowell Sports Editor GARNETT — The Chanute Blue Comets will be headed to Salina on Friday for the Class 4A state volleyball tournament. The team earned its spot with a resounding six-set, three-game victory at the sub-state tournament in Garnett on Saturday. According to coach Gail Petersen, the girls were practicing better than they had all season last week and proved themselves at this event. She thought the team came out pumped up ...
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Both Chanute cross country teams headed to State
OTTAWA — According to Chanute cross country coach Derek Liggett, the pressure of a Regional meet on a tough course in Ottawa, where runners have one race to do well or their season is over, can be pretty stressful. “That is why it is important to go in with confidence,” Liggett said. Fortunately for Chanute, both their boys and girls teams had just won SEK League titles so, their confidence was running high. The girls were the first team ...
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Chanute drops game two in knotted-up District
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Chaos reigns supreme in the Class 4A District 7, that includes the Chanute Blue Comets, because all four teams now have 1-1 records. This makes next week’s two games (Girard @ Chanute and Independence @ Parsons) extremely high stakes contests, in which the winner goes to the playoffs and losing team ends their season. It also mitigates some of the damage done by the Comets’ 34-13 Friday night loss to the Parsons V...
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Chanute linemen say ‘All roads lead to Brome’
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The linemen on the Chanute football team call themselves the “Bromans,” because they’re warriors who have bonded for a common cause. Assistant Coach Jason Feeback compares the team’s five linemen to a fist, because when they come together, they pack a punch. The “Bromans” typically don’t touch the ball during the game, they don’t score, and their names and stats don’t appear in newspapers very much. However, since...
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Chanute’s No Huddle Offense and home dominance to highlight District game two
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Both Coach Don Simmons and the stadium at the school’s sports complex have been an integral part of the culture of Chanute football for eight years now. In that time, the Comets have only lost five regular season games at home. Indeed, Chanute has won all their home games so far this year, and their only two losses have come on the road. That is why the team is excited that their last two district games, against P...
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