Sports
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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Humboldt victorious over Neodesha
The Humboldt Cubs boys basketball team escaped with a 50-45 home victory over Neodesha Tuesday night. The Cubs got strong performances out of Blake Crawford, Trey Johnson and Noah Thornbrugh, who each scored 13 points in the match-up. The Cubs next travel to Burlington Friday night. Both St. Paul teams win in Pleasanton Both the boys and the girls basketball teams from St. Paul were able to make life unpleasant for Pleasanton in road games on...
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Chanute’s Schooley decides to tackle Butler County
Brian McDowell Sports Editor As an all-state standout as lineman for the Chanute Blue Comets football team, Quinton Schooley’s main goal has always been to play football at a Division One university. He thinks that playing for the top ranked junior college team in the country is a good way to reach that ambition. With his mother, stepfather and Chanute football coaches looking on, Schooley signed a letter of intent Wednesday morning to play ...
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Lady Panthers led by big city sophomores
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The hoops dreams of both Autumn Zenon and Jamaica Campbell are what originally brought them to Chanute. Zenon moved here from Dallas, Texas and Campbell came from Kansas City. Both were found by and recruited to join the Panthers by former NCCC women’s basketball coach Tonika Bruce. Coming from a big city, Zenon said she had never seen anything like Chanute when she first arrived here. “It’s not a bad place,” Zen...
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Comets fall in overtime battle with Iola rivals
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute boys basketball team fought hard enough against its rivals from Iola on Tuesday night to force the game into overtime, but the Comets could not escape with a win. Playing their first home game since the Ralph Miller Classic, Chanute lost 52-44. “It was a battle,” Chanute Coach Max Ruark said. “We knew that going in. We knew they were going to play hard. I thought our guys played hard.” The Comets took...
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Chanute girls overcome slow start, but lose in overtime
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute Blue Comets girls basketball team had to overcome a lackluster first quarter performance in its hard fought, close knit Tuesday night battle with their rivals from Iola. Plus, Chanute’s Mallory Flowers had to sit out this game with a leg injury. Despite these challenges, Chanute pressed on, and dominated the middle half of a game that ended up going into overtime. Unfortunately for the Comets, they we...
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Chanute Blues complete MAYB tournament sweep in Kansas City
The Chanute Blues youth basketball team competed in Kansas City last weekend in their fourth MAYB tournament of the season. The Blues came home champions, completing the sweep of MAYB tournaments this year. The Blues remain undefeated in their age division and this is their 16th straight tournament win over their three seasons together. The Blues started the tournament against Kansas City And-1 with a dominant 57-1 win. All the Blues’ team me...
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St. Paul teams split against Northeast
Basketball teams from St. Paul had mixed results hosting Northeast on Friday night. The boys team lost 61-47. Willie Westhoff led the Indians in scoring with 16 points while Jake O’Brien had 10. The girls team beat Northeast 34-26, thanks to strong offensive performances from Nikkie Sears, who had nine points, and Camri Burke who had seven. Ashton Wood and Kacy Phillips each scored six points for the Lady Indians. CCA girls defeated in Fort S...
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NCCC finishes 4th; Vesta and Barnes champs at Kansas Cup
BALDWIN CITY — The NCCC wrestling squad finished fourth as a team amongst all colleges in the state of Kansas at the 3rd annual Kansas Cup on Sunday. Turning in a stellar day for the Panthers were Jeff Vesta at 125, repeating as the Champion at this event in as many tries, and LeRoy Barnes matching Vesta with his first Kansas Cup championship as a true freshman. Coach Wayne Petterson felt good about his team’s performance. “We beat some team...
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