Sports
Chanute wrestling splits SEK duals in Columbus
Brian McDowell Sports Editor COLUMBUS — The Chanute Blue Comet wrestling team split its last two SEK duals of the season on Thursday night, falling to Fort Scott 39-36, but defeating the Columbus Titans on their own turf 52-24. Chanute had an open spot at 132, and, according to Coach Andy Albright, that cost the team dearly in the match-up with Fort Scott. Albright said that giving up several falls in this dual also cost his team. Still, each...
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Fourth quarter costly in 53-49 loss
Brian McDowell Sports Editor PITTSBURG — Chanute boys basketball coach Coach Max Ruark has what he calls the “midnight rule.” He tells his players that they always have until midnight to dwell on a tough loss. Then they have to forget about it and concentrate on the next game. “We’re always working forward to our next thing,” Ruark said. “That’s the nature of sports. If you win, you can’t rest on your laurels, and if you lose, you can’t dwell...
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NCCC soccer’s Lewandowski signs letter of intent with USAO
Brian McDowell Sports Editor NCCC soccer player Ashley Lewandowski signed a letter of intent on Wednesday afternoon, to transfer to and play for the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. Lewandowski, a Pittsburg native, was offered a soccer scholarship from the school in Oklahoma City, and went on a campus visit. The fact that USAO started originally as an all-women’s college appealed to Lewandowski. “They’re really good at soccer, and...
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Panthers escape with 73-70 win in Cowley County rematch
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The NCCC men’s basketball team snuck away with a 73-70 victory in its rematch with the Cowley County Tigers, who are tied for second in the Jayhawk East conference. The Panthers lost their last meeting with Cowley in Ark City by four points, and Neosho County Coach Jeremy Coombs said that loss acted as motivation for the team in this game. “I think the guys want to win this conference, and they know right now our ...
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Multiple turnovers cost Lady Panthers in 81-53 loss
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Turnovers proved costly in the NCCC Lady Panthers Wednesday night meeting with Cowley County. Neosho County turned the ball over 41 times in the loss, with 28 of those coming in the second half, during the 81-53 loss to the Tigers. Despite these mistakes, which led to a rout, Neosho County Coach Kelley Newton said there were good things to take from this game. “Our first half was pretty good against a team in the...
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Royster 8th grade wins Iola Winter Classic
The Royster 8th grade basketball team scored two victories to win the Iola Winter Classic on Saturday. The Rockets beat Meadowview in a 47-20 rout in the event’s opening game, and beat Columbus 44-39 in the championship contest.. “In the championship game, we stepped up and made some big free throws to seal the win,” Royster Coach Steve Slane said. “It was good for the kids to get the wins, so hopefully we can take that into our last two game...
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NCCC baseball prepares for next week’s start of season
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The starting lineups have been set by Coach Steve Murry for the NCCC Panthers baseball team, in preparation to start the 2012 season next Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 15, by hosting the JV team from Ottawa University. 1B Adam Giacalone Shawnee (He was an All-American last year, and also works as a right handed pitcher.) 2B Kaz Sanders Fletcher, OK SS David Bodie a mid-year transfer 3B Garrett Schaede Owasso, OK C: T...
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Panthers closer has sights set on Grand Junction
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The loss in last year’s Super-Regional game still haunts NCCC Panthers closer Max Ising. When he came into the game against Colby and it was tied, by his own admission, Ising choked. “I let the pressure get to me,” Ising said. He said the loss haunted him for about a month after it happened. “To this day, I still don’t like that night when I think about it,” Ising said, “but I put it behind me, and I think everyon...
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Strong fourth quarter pushes Comets to 40-29 win vs. Columbus
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute Blue Comets boys basketball team emerged victorious from a Tuesday night showdown with the Columbus Titans that their coach Max Ruark characterized as “nailbiting” and “tough.” Ruark said that the 40-29 victory was one that the team could take a look at and take away some things that they need to improve on. The Comets took an early lead in the game, amassing 10 points before the Titans even had one. C...
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Royster teams swept by Coffeyville
The 7th grade A team Royster Rocket basketball team traveled to Coffeyville to take on the Rough Riders on Monday night. The Rockets got off to a slow first quarter start, trailing by seven at its conclusion. However, the Rockets came back in the second to close the gap to one. Despite a good end to the half, Coffeyville completely dominated the second half giving the Rockets all kinds of problems with the press. “If we could have handled th...
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Chanute girls overcome ‘three quarters of a slow start’
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Most of the Chanute Blue Comets girls basketball team’s 53-36 victory over the Columbus Titans on Tuesday night wasn’t too much fun for their head coach to watch. According to Dustin Fox, his team had “three quarters worth of a slow start” in the contest. He felt that, for a long stretch of the game, the Comets weren’t focused and didn’t play up to their capabilities. “We had moments where we looked really good,”...
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NCCC cuts the Cards in 65-60 comeback victory
Brian McDowell Sports Editor PARSONS — NCCC freshman Bryan Newton got his first start for the Panthers men’s basketball team in its Saturday night 65-60 victory over the Labette Community Cardinals. For Coach Jeremy Coombs, the decision to give Newton the start came out of questioning whether his team wants to win and has the heart to win games. “I know that, probably, if there’s anybody on this team that has the biggest heart, it’s Bryan,” ...
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Lady Panthers coaches question team’s desire and intensity after 76-63 loss to Labette
Brian McDowell Sports Editor PARSONS — During a second-half timeout in the Lady Panthers’ lackluster Saturday night performance against the Labette Cardinals, Coach Kelley Newton could be heard in a sideline huddle loudly accusing his NCCC team of playing “soft” and questioning its desire to win. According to NCCC assistant coach Dana Olsen, Newton was frustrated that his team didn’t play with the same intensity or will to win in the 76-63 l...
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Comet girls tame the Tigers
Brian McDowell Sports Editor FORT SCOTT — “It feels good to win again.” This is how Chanute girls basketball coach Dustin Fox summed up his feelings about his team’s razor-thin 45-42 victory over the Fort Scott Tigers on Friday night. “The girls played well,” Fox said. “We made some big shots. We executed better than we have, and our defense was really, really good.” According to Fox, his team did a good job of giving themselves a cushion lat...
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Chanute wrestling wins double SEK duals in Independence
Brian McDowell Sports Editor INDEPENDENCE — The Chanute wrestling team won double duals against SEK rivals on Thursday night, defeating both Parsons 60-18 and Independence 36-35. These victories excited Chanute Coach Andy Albright, particularly the narrow comeback victory over Independence. There were two regular starters out of the lineup to rest them up for future events. Jayson Ports, who wrestles at 106, lost at this event, but won pra...
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Chanute boys fall in Fort Scott
Brian McDowell Sports Editor FORT SCOTT — For the first half of their Friday night road match-up against the Fort Scott Tigers, the Chanute boys basketball team was able to match its SEK rivals step-for-step. However, the Comets lost control of the proceedings early in the third quarter and ended up losing 68-51 in a game that repeatedly had to be stopped to wipe sweat off the court. Despite the loss, Chanute Coach Max Ruark said that the gam...
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Erie’s Marquardt running towards McPherson
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Erie High School senior Keith Marquardt, who averaged 26 points a game this season as a runningback for the Red Devils football team, signed a letter of intent to play football for McPherson College on Wednesday. His family and his Erie football coach watched as Marquardt committed to attend the college. Despite his small stature, the 5-7, 149-pound Marquardt was one of the standout football players in the area....
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Lady Panthers sank by Pirates in last minutes of second half
Brian McDowell Sports Editor INDEPENDENCE — Halfway through the second half of their Wednesday night road match-up against the number 16 ranked team in the country, the struggling NCCC Lady Panthers were in the lead. However, the game turned quickly against Neosho County as the Panthers racked up fouls and the Independence Panthers got rebounds at key times and took advantage of those. The Lady Panthers eventually fell 65-55. “We guarded the...
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72-60 loss to Independence makes coach doubt Panthers’ will to win
Brian McDowell Sports Editor INDEPENDENCE — The NCCC Panthers men’s basketball team just doesn’t have the will to win. That is the conclusion reached by Coach Jeremy Coombs after his squad lost a battle with the Independence Pirates Wednesday night 72-60. He was frustrated at the lack of desire that his players displayed during the course of the game. “I don’t know how you can be a college basketball player and not want to win,” Coombs said....
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Going to Ottawa ‘runs’ in Harsch’s family
Brian McDowell Sports Editor For Chanute senior Macy Harsch, Ottawa University athletics are a family tradition. Her grandfather, Mike Wawrzewski, played soccer for the school and her mother, Wendy Wawrzewski, ran cross country there. This influenced Harsch’s decision to sign a letter of intent on Tuesday afternoon to run for the cross country team at Ottawa University. “I really like that I’m carrying on the tradition of my grandpa and my M...
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