Sports
Comets overcome slow start to shut down Indy
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute Blue Comets got off to a slow start in their Friday night SEK showdown with the winless Independence Bulldogs, With game-time temperatures at 46 degrees, neither team scored in the game’s first quarter. Chanute only led by two touchdowns at halftime. However, 24 third quarter points and a punishing defensive attack propelled the Comets to a much-needed 38-0 victory in the teams’ last games before dist...
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Circle cross country meet features cool weather, personal bests
The Blue Comet cross country team traveled to Towanda Circle (near Augusta) on Thursday to run in a meet with 10 Wichita-area schools. This was a very competitive meet with several State-ranked teams including Valley Center (5A), Berean Academy (2), and Mulvane (4A) participating. “We started to go out there three years ago, because we really want to see some competition from the Wichita area just in case we go out there for Regional s,” ...
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Caney bulls its way past Humboldt
CANEY — Caney Valley powered to a 28-13 halftime lead and defeated Humboldt 56-27 Friday. The Bullpups picked up 360 yards on the ground. “That’s their bread and butter. We knew that. Everybody knows that,” said Cub assistant Mike Miller, “but we didn’t tackle well.” Nathan Whitcomb threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. Touchdown passes were to Blake Crawford of 31 yards, Tanner McNutt for 43 yards and Noah Thornbrugh for 8 yards. H...
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Comets keep the streak alive with comeback win in Parsons
Brian McDowell Sports Editor PARSONS — The season-long winning streak of the Chanute volleyball team continued on Thursday night, despite being threatened by a strong performance by its Parsons hosts. Chanute had to fight its way back into both sets against the Vikings for 25-19 and 25-21 wins, and then handily dispatched Independence in two sets 25-6 and 25-8. The Comets are now 26-0, the second-ranked 4A team in the state, and the only team...
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St. Paul rolls over Pleasanton
ST. PAUL — St. Paul’s juggernaut kept rolling Friday with a 48-0 victory over Pleasanton. The Indians only had three possessions in the first half, but made the best of all three with touchdowns, two by runs by Anthony Diskin of 11 and 5 yards and the third on a scoring strike for 15 yards from Diskin to Brayden Beachner. Diskin added two more scores by half for a 20-0 St. Paul advantage. “I felt we were outplayed in some areas in the first h...
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Humboldt cross country results from Eureka
The Humboldt cross country team participated in the Eureka Invitational meet on Tuesday afternoon. Here are the Cubs’ results. VARSITY BOYS - 42 RUNNERS Nick Keazer 16th 19:31.1 12th grade Ethan Bartlett 26th 20:36.2 10th grade Ronny Jarred 29th 21:16.9 9th grade JV BOYS - 35 RUNNERS Tanner Orth 1st ...
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Race postponed at Humboldt Speedway
Predictions of rain and cold temperatures in the weather forecast has caused officials at the Humboldt Speedway to postpone the races that were scheduled for this weekend to the weekend of Nov. 9-10. According to Rhenda Whitworth, this is the next date that there are not specials going on at other tracks, meaning that plenty of drivers would be available to participate in this race.
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Comets volleyball second in KVA rankings
The Chanute Blue Comets, who are still undefeated at press time, have moved up to second place in the latest statewide KVA 4A rankings. Gail Petersen’s volleyball squad achieved this designation because defending state champions St. James Academy were moved up to 5A. The only 4A team ahead of the Comets (24-0) is Topeka-Hayden (16-6). The other teams in the top five are McPherson (23-3), Wamego (24-3), and Holton (17-6). The Comets are the o...
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Erie volleyball splits in Eureka
The Erie volleyball squad traveled to Eureka Tuesday night to compete against Eureka and Fredonia. The Red Devils first played Eureka, falling in three sets 25-22, 21-25, 16-25. Chelsea Oliphant, Lindsay Francis, and Kailey Cleaver each had six kills and an ace, while Bret Mcguire recorded four kills and two aces. Erie then defeated Fredonia 25-17, 25-18, thanks, in large part, to Mcguire’s four kills, and Francis’ two kills and two aces....
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Comets working to turn things around against Indy
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Adversity doesn’t necessarily build character, it reveals it. This is the message that Coach Don Simmons has been preaching to the Chanute football team this week, after the Comets lost two seemingly winnable showdowns in a row with SEK teams. “We have to see what our true character is right now,” Simmons said. The Comets head into their Friday night showdown with the Independence Bulldogs (0-5) after fighting the...
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Chanute doubles team Thuston and Liudahl swinging towards state
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Alexis Thuston teamed up with Madison Wendt on last year’s Chanute tennis squad, and helped form the number one doubles team that dominated on the court during the regular season and qualified for state. This year, Thuston once again finds herself on another successful doubles team for the Comets, this time paired with sophomore Abby Liudahl. Now, with this team, Thuston again finds herself on the verge of qual...
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7th grade Rockets get season’s first win
The Royster football teams played two games in five days, as they traveled to Parsons last Thursday and then hosted Cherryvale on Monday. The 8th grade squad battled valiantly against a larger and faster Parsons team on Thursday in a 30-6 loss to the host Vikings, the lone score coming on a pass from Scout Lee to Matt DeVoe that capped a 40-yard drive. Unfortunately, that same effort was not present when the Rockets lost 14-0 to Cherryvale on...
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NCCC soccer’s Vestring solidifies status with scoring skills
Brian McDowell Sports Editor During the NCCC men’s soccer team’s recent match-up with KCK, coach Steven Harrison took the unusual step of benching the team’s star player and leading scorer, Logan Vestring. Harrison said it was a decision made because of general team work ethic. “It wasn’t just him,” Harrison said. “In the first half, we didn’t work very hard, so we put in some new guys. It actually worked out, so, it will wake him up.” Harri...
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Girls golf third at last regular season tourney
GARNETT — Playing without one of its key team members, the Chanute girls golf team hit the ball well enough to earn a third place team medal at a tournament in Garnett on Monday afternoon. Chanute earned a combined score of 410 at the 18-hole event, despite the absence of injured Nikki Clark, who was not cleared by doctors in time to play in this tournament. Senior Danae Decker tied for third place with an impressive score of 89 on the 18-ho...
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Erie gets fourth at Chanute tourney
Among the participants at this year’s Chanute Invitational volleyball tournament this weekend was the Erie varsity volleyball team. The Red Devils started the tournament by defeating Coffeyville in the first round of pool play 25-8 and 25-6. Katie Brungardt had four digs and two aces in this contest, while Bret McGuire contributed three kills, and four aces. Lindsay Francis dished two kills, and three aces, and Tara Beachner chipped in with t...
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Results from Pittsburg cross country meet
Last Thursday, the Chanute cross country team participated in a cross country meet in Pittsburg, where the girls varsity team ran for second place, with 126 total points, and the boys team placed fourth, with 135 points. The Paola girls and Labette County boys picked up wins at this event. Comets cross country will next be competing in the Circle meet, near Wichita, on Thursday afternoon. Here are the official complete individual results fr...
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Comets middle of the pack at SEK tennis tourney
The Chanute girls tennis team finished in the middle of the pack, at what coach Mike De La Torre called “a very tough, close and intense SEK tournament” on Saturday in Parsons. The Comets finished in fourth place out of the seven SEK teams at the tournament, with 14 points. Independence, with 26 points, was crowned SEK champions at the event, while Parsons and Pittsburg tied for second place with 15 points. “Overall the girls played well, a...
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Comets’ unbeaten streak survives home weekend tourney
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The remarkable success of the undefeated Chanute Blue Comets (24-0) volleyball team this season is due to both the girls on the team playing together for a while, and being personally very close. “That’s probably one of the big things we have over last year,” Petersen said. “These girls are really tight, and that makes a world of difference.” The red-hot, undefeated Comets squad picked up first place at the tourna...
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Improved Hartman helps drive Chanute golf to victory
The Chanute girls golf team finished first place at a tournament in Columbus on Thursday afternoon. Chanute golfers shot a combined 215 on the course, eight strokes better than second place Fort Scott. These results help cement the golf team’s status as the best in the SEK. Chanute golfers ended up in third, fourth and fifth place at this event. Senior Danae Decker was the top Chanute finisher, tied for third in the field, with a 49 score. Fr...
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Comets extend season-long winning streak to 19 at home opener
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute Blue Comets added two more victories to their season-long winning streak on Thursday night, and are now 19-0. The Comets scored decisive wins over SEK rivals Coffeyville (both matches were 25-7) and Pittsburg (25-22, 25-16) in their first home event of this year. The team’s coach Gail Petersen was very pleased with the way these games went, particularly the Pittsburg match-up. When these two teams me...
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