MHS wrestlers outlast El Dorado

Kendall Shaw

What started out as a walk in the park for McPherson High’s boys wrestling team here Thursday against El Dorado wound up being decided in the next-to-last match.

MHS jumped out to a commanding 27-6 lead over the Wildcats as its lower and middle weights fared well, but the Wildcats began to take over in the upper weights.

It wasn’t until MHS freshman Carter Spotted Elk recorded a pin at 220 pounds did the Bullpups secure the victory, 42-30. Had Spotted Elk been pinned, the match would have ended up in a draw.

“That 220 (match) could have gone either way,” MHS coach Doug Kretzer said. “Carter got a big win. They juggled their lineup and put a couple of young kids out there on their varsity. Carter stepped up and did well.”

The Bullpups have one of their youngest teams in Kretzer’s tenure.

“We’ve got for the most part our lineup back,” Kretzer said. “We’re missing Eli (Clarke), so we’re putting out there about the best team we can. We’re young, but I thought the kids wrestled hard. I thought out of gates we wrestled well, Treyton (Pelnar) and Lorenzo (Cruzen) looked good. (Collin) Pearson looked good and Landon (Vogts) had kind of a grinder. He grinded out a tough win that could have gone either way.”

Devin Frantz returned to action and improved to 6-0 on the year as he won a 6-0 decision.

The Bullpups compete today and Saturday at Newton.

There were only two girls varsity matches, with Aubrey Martens winning by a fall for MHS’ win. The girls go to Abilene today.

RESULTS

Varsity Boys

106 – Both teams were open

113 – Brock Burgess won by forfeit

120 – Treyton Pelnar won by a fall over Hughes

126 – Lorenzo Cruzen won by a fall over E. Krug

132 – Hayden Farley lost by a fall to Roberts

138 – Collin Pearson won by a fall over Chartee

145 – Landon Vogts won 11-6 over Owens

152 – Gavin Richardson lost by a fall to G. Krug

160 – Landon Thompson won by a forfeit

170 – Devin Frantz dec. Wittenberg, 6-0

182 – Caden Burris lost by a fall to Van Auken

195 – Curtis Landrum lost by a fall to Schell

220 – Carter Spotted Elk won by a fall over Mays

285 – Conner McVicker lost by a fall to Scott

JV

126 – Colton Rausch won by a fall

170 – Kamdynn Clark lost by a fall; won by a fall

GIRLS

109 – Aubrey Martens won by a fall

115 – Ame Hale won by a fall

126 – Catalina Palacios lost by a fall

132 – Taiya Young lost by a fall

Bulldogs to host Swedes on Saturday

After many split schedules, McPherson College’s basketball teams will finally play the same team on the same day Saturday as the Bulldogs host county rival Bethany College to complete the season series.

In earlier meetings, on different dates, the Mac women stunned the Swedes 60-58 after being down 31-10. At the time Bethany was right up with Sterling in the KCAC race.

But the Swedes lost a couple of games they didn’t expect and now stand at 8-5 in the KCAC and 10-5 overall. One of those games was on Wednesday to second-division Friends, 55-45.

McPherson College, after a 6-1 overall start to its season, has hit a bit of a lull. Mac is now 5-5 in the KCAC and 8-5 overall. The Bulldogs’ Brittany Roberts was named NAIA National Player of the Week on Wednesday after averaging 19 points and 18 rebounds in two games last week. Roberts now has more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career. In the first meeting with Bethany, she was held to a season-low 3 points, but did grab 18 rebounds.

The women will tip off at 1 p.m.

For the Mac men, they’ll try to keep up their unbeaten streak at the Sport Center in the 3 p.m. matchup and avoid being swept by the Swedes.

Mac, which is 4-0 at home, has improved to 6-5 in the KCAC after a three-game winning streak and is 8-5 overall. It lost an 81-75 verdict to Bethany in the first game after the break.

The Swedes are 5-5 in the KCAC and 6-6 overall. They have some of the best talent in the KCAC and their backcourt is as good as any in the conference. They also have a lot of depth, but have yet to put together a lengthy winning streak. Bethany picked up an important win on Wednesday by defeating Friends 66-63 in Wichita.

Starlite Lanes bowling results

STARLITE LEAGUE

Ryan’s Team, 12-6

K-Bar, 10-8

The Fossils, 9-9

You Can Sing Karaoke, 9-9

K & S Oil, 7  ½-10  ½

Sun Valley, 6  ½-11  ½

High Games

1. Austin Wedgewood, 247

2. Lenny Bruce, 226

3. Ryan Morse, 225

High Series

1. Lenny Bruce, 659

2. Ryan Morse, 625

3. Kirk Hubenett, 602

JAYHAWK

Bad Habits, 13-2

The Unknowns, 10-5

Stars and Strikes, 8-7

Just For Kicks, 7-8

Legacy Eye Care, 7-8

Shelby GT, 6-9

Splits Happen, 5-10

Livin’ On A Spare, 4-11

High Games

1. Philip Huff, 258

2. Taylor Miller, 244

3. Ashley Cruz, 235

High Series

1. Taylor Miller, 662

2. Steven Christner, 611

2. Clayton Ouellette, 611

7th boys win, lose in season opener

SALINA – Kaiser Kanitz’s free throw with 0.3 seconds left in the game broke a 30-all tie and gave McPherson’s seventh-grade boys a 31-30 season-opening victory over Salina Lakewood on Thursday.

“Kaiser really stepped up down the stretch,” MMS coach Paul Reichenberger said. “Looking at the entire game, our offense wasn’t sharp and our rebounding was poor. There are lots of things to work on going into our next game this Saturday against Hays. With that being said, I’m proud of the boys for holding Salina Lakewood to 30 points. Our press was effective and we were able to cause some turnovers. In the future, I’m looking for some leaders to emerge on this young team.”

The B-team lost 41-11.

“We had a handful of boys touching the hardwood for their first game experience,” MMS B-team coach Grant Barrett said. “Lakewood was able to force us into turnovers and was able to use their size advantage down low to get second-chance opportunities. Offensively we had a few bright spots, finding the bottom of the net with ‘give and go’ looks. Hopefully our first-game jitters are over and done with as we have a look forward to Saturday.”

No game scoring was available for either game.

CCC women lose in Sooner opener

GOODWELL, Okla. – Central Christian College’s women opened Sooner Athletic Conference basketball play on Thursday with a 69-49 loss to Panhandle State in a game that was moved up.

CCC was to have played Mid-America Christian Thursday, but COVID forced a postponement.

The first half did in the Tigers as they scored only 18 points. They also struggled in the third quarter with 9 points, but finally warmed up in the final period with 22, but it was too little, too late.

Tania Lowe led CCC with 12 points, while Destiny Broussard chipped in with 10.

The Tigers, now 2-6 overall, play Saturday at University of Science and Arts.

CCC (49) – Lowe 12, Broussard 10, Cook 7, Forsberg 5, Marshall 2, Dixon 6, Crook 5, Hearne 2.

Panhandle (69) – C. McCaskill 24, Rodriguez 10, Williams 8, Jones 2, Quintero 17, Demures 4, Parkhurst 2, Salazar 2.

8th boys split basketball opener

SALINA – McPherson’s eighth-grade boys made their much-awaited basketball season debut on Thursday and appeared to be in midseason form with a 52-20 road victory over Salina Lakewood.

Gabe Pyle fired in 20 points to lead the Bullpups, while Bishop Brown and Carter Allen furnished 12 points apiece. Here are coach Tyler Brown’s thoughts:

“I felt like we were ready to go. With not much time from our first practice to our first game, I thought we looked solid, but still need to improve in multiple areas.  I feel like several of our guys utilized their time wisely leading up to our season. With only 10 days to prepare, several were able to get together and play leading up to our season.  

“Gabe Pyle led the way tonight with 20 points. He does a terrific job of leading and getting us into our stuff.  Gabe is the type of player that makes those around him better. Bishop Brown and Carter Allen were terrific scoring 12 points each and handing out multiple assists to others along with snatching a good chunk of our rebounds.  Ian Razak was a beast in the paint with multiple blocks tonight.  He had such tremendous presence I lost track of how many blocks he had. Brody Seidl is the voice of the team. He does all the things that don't necessarily fill the stat sheet, but makes a huge impact on the game. Overall, I feel like it was a great start to the season, but we can't get too comfortable because with McPherson across our chest we will be getting everyone's best game.”

The B-team lost 38-12, with Jackson Malvo topping the chart with 6 points.

Here are Brown’s thoughts:

“This year we have several new guys trying basketball for the first time and we absolutely love it. Even though our play looked a little lost at times, we have some terrific pieces on this team.  I look for these guys to improve with each time they step on the floor.  One of the main areas we need to improve on is being able to handle and pass the ball better.  If we don't have Brenden Doile on the floor, we looked pretty panicked out there. The tough thing about that is Brenden plays most of his minutes on the A-team, so a good portion of the game we are needing for someone to step up and be able to bring the ball up the floor and get us into our offense without turning the ball over.  I also feel Jaxson Malvo and Alec Harms will start to impose their will on teams. Both these guys have terrific size and a huge upside to their game and I'm excited for the season they could have. It will just come down to how much they really want it. I really like Logan Peterson and Kaven Byrd's physicality that they bring to the table. These two are two of the toughest I've seen. There are not too many that will be able to push these two guys around.”

MMS plays on Saturday against Hays at Salina.

MMS A (52) – Pyle 20, Brown 12, Allen 12, Razak 4, Seidl 2, Malvo 2.

MMS B (12) – Malvo 6, Doile 4, Peterson 2.

Episode Twenty-One of The Lunchtime Sports Sandwich

On this episode of The Lunchtime Sports Sandwich, Nathan and Steve discuss the upcoming 57th annual McPherson Invitational Basketball Tournament as well as NCAA foootball and the NFL playoffs. Join Nathan and Steve live every Thursday at 12:15 p.m. for new episodes of The Lunchtime Sports Sandwich. 

To hear this weeks complete episode click here: soundcloud.com/kbbesports/ltss-episode-21-1-14-21

D-III girls' lead on the line Friday at Towanda

It’s not often the McPherson High girls enter a basketball game with a lesser record than their opponent, but that will be the case on Friday when the Bullpups travel to Towanda to take on Circle.

This has become a rite of the season in recent years as the Bullpups and T-Birds have separated themselves from the rest of the AVCTL Division III pack. How MHS and Circle fare in the head-to-head matchups has been the determining factor in the league race, with the Bullpups having come out on the long end.

Tip time is 6:00, with all the action on 96.7 KBBE-FM with “Voice of the Bullpups” Nathan Sage on the call. This will be the Bullpups’ last game before the Mid America Classic as their Tuesday game at Andover Central has been postponed due to COVID for the Jaguars.

MHS is 6-2 on the year compared to 6-1 for Circle, while both teams are 4-0 in league play as Friday’s clash completes the first half of the league schedule for both teams. The Bullpups and T-Birds both basically have run over Buhler, El Dorado, Winfield and Augusta.

“Circle is going to be a real challenge on the road this Friday,” MHS coach Christ Strathman said. “They return some very good players who are performing at a high level. Kimmalee Cook is averaging right at 20 points per game and is a very fast and skilled point guard. She is able to score, but also forces help so much that she is able to make her teammates much better as well. Madi Michaelis is another guard averaging nearly 13 points per game.  We will have our hands full with those two on the perimeter, but they also have some nice post players that we will have to guard well. They don't really have people that you can play off of and dare them to make plays, so they are a well-balanced team.”

There’s good news for the MHS boys on Friday as head coach Kurt Kinnamon will be back on the sidelines after missing two games due to COVID protocol.

“I am good to go on Friday. Feel great and obviously excited to get back,” Kinnamon said. “Being around kids has always given me the juice and I have missed that tremendously when I was sick. After missing two games, I feel like a little kid at Christmas.”

The Bullpups will be trying to bounce back from Tuesday’s disappointing 52-47 road loss to Augusta, a game the Bullpups led for the first three quarters before collapsing under the weight of a 22-9 rush in the fourth quarter by the Orioles. Kinnamon watched the game on the stream and saw some positives.

“I thought we played much harder and faster against Augusta,” he said. “Defensively we were locked in and our kids did a good job especially shutting down (Ely) Wilcox. We have to do a better job both offensively and defensively down the stretch.”

Circle is always an entertaining matchup for the Bullpups as the T-Birds like to play fast. They have won their last two games, 71-52 over Winfield (which took MHS into overtime) and 74-70 over El Dorado. The Bullpups have bogged down offensively since Christmas, scoring just 50 and 47 points, respectively, a far cry from the 74 they scored against Buhler before the break.

“Circle has two really good guards,” Kinnamon said. “(Drew) Middleton actually took 19 3-point attempts by himself against El Dorado. We have to do a good job of containing guys off the bounce so that we do not have to leave those shooters. Offensively, we still want to use our ability in the open floor to get to the rim or to find open shooters and then knock down shots.”

Middleton scored 31 in the win over El Dorado.

The Bullpups turn right around on Monday and take on Manhattan at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the McPherson Invitational, which is a Monday-Thursday-Saturday event due to COVID.

Bethany cagers win, lose at Friends

WICHITA – Bethany College’s men appeared headed for defeat.

The Swedes trailed Friends 40-28 at halftime on Wednesday at the Garvey Center as they simply couldn’t find the basket. But it was Friends that couldn’t throw it in the ocean in the second half as the Swedes caught and passed the Falcons for a 66-63 victory.

Bethany is still considered one of the most dangerous teams in the KCAC even though it’s now 5-5 in the conference and 6-6 overall. It has among the best talent in the conference and when it’s on, it’s tough to beat.

Dylan Smith led the Swedes with 14 points, one more than Isiah Saenz. The Falcons were led by Devotae Pack, who took game  honors with 16 points.

Saenz had the big shot of the game when he drained a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to tie it at 61. After a turnover by Friends, Smith made what proved to be the game-winner with 21 seconds left and the Swedes’ Jalen Washington closed it out by making three free throws.

The Swedes will try for the season sweep of McPherson College on Saturday when they play the Bulldogs in a 3 p.m. matinee at the Sport Center.

FRIENDS WOMEN 55, BETHANY 45 – This could only be described as “unexpected” as the Falcons had been scuffling while the Swedes are in position to host a KCAC first-round playoff game.

Bethany found itself in a tied game after three quarters, then had a power outage in the final period by scoring just 5 points. The Swedes were just 16 of 51 from the field.

Halei Wortham led Bethany with 13 points. Again, Bethany’s bench didn’t provide much of a punch with only 3 points, which has been an ongoing struggle this season.

The Swedes are now 8-5 in the KCAC and 10-5 overall as their championship aspirations have evaporated. They have a huge revenge game coming up on Saturday when they play at McPherson College, which overcame a 31-10 deficit to win 60-58 in the first meeting.

Updated KCAC basketball standings

Here are the updated KCAC basketball standings in games played through Wednesday. All games are in parentheses. Many games have been postponed due to COVID.

MEN

Bethel, 11-2 (11-3)

Oklahoma Wesleyan, 6-3 (9-4)

Southwestern, 4-3 (8-5)

Kansas Wesleyan, 5-4 (7-6)

McPherson College, 6-5 (8-5)

Bethany, 5-5 (6-6)

Avila, 4-4 (9-5)

Ottawa, 3-4 (6-4)

Tabor, 3-4 (5-4)

Friends, 3-6 (3-9)

York, 1-3 (1-5)

Sterling, 2-10 (4-11)

Saint Mary, 0-0 (0-1)

WOMEN

Sterling, 13-0 (17-0)

Bethel, 9-3 (9-5)

Kansas Wesleyan, 8-4 (9-6)

Tabor, 7-4 (8-5)

Bethany, 7-5 (10-5)

McPherson College, 5-5 (8-5)

Ottawa, 5-6 (5-8)

Oklahoma Wesleyan, 5-7 (6-8)

Friends, 4-8 (6-9)

Saint Mary, 1-2 (1-3)

York, 2-8 (4-8)

Avila, 1-9 (2-10)

Southwestern, 0-6 (0-9)