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All-League Baseball

Seven members of the Salina Central baseball team have been selected for all-league honors in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail Division I, including three Mustangs named to the first team.

Senior pitcher Danny Backes, senior outfielder Clayton Koochel and junior first baseman Vince Froome were each named first team. Koochel is a repeat first-team pick from 2009, while Backes was honorable mention as a junior.

Central’s sophomore Taylor Bradley was a second-team selection at both designated hitter and utility player. Earning honorable mention recognition was senior third baseman Mike Hoffart, freshman shortstop Mark Vaughn and junior outfielder Elias Grant.

Salina South junior Luke Ernzen was chosen to the league’s first team as a designated hitter. Also earning league honors for the Cougars were freshman utility player Conner Ryan (second team) and sophomore third baseman Chance Thomason (honorable mention).




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All-League Softball

AVCTL Division I

Salina South had 10 players selected for all-league honors by Ark Valley Chisholm League Division I coaches, including a league-best five individuals chosen to the first team.

The Cougars had five seniors on their roster this season and all five were named to the first team: pitcher Abby Spickler, catcher Kaity Crawford, first baseman Madison Resley, shortstop Ashley Newman and outfielder Brea Campbell.

Resley was also selected as the league’s Player of the Year, giving South three such honors during the 2009-2010 school year — Taylor Goodness in volleyball, Logan Antenen in basketball and Resley in softball.




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All-League Soccer

Salina Central athletes and Mustang coach Mike Dibbini garnered top individual awards on the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail Division I all-league team and the Class 5-1A all-Central Region soccer team.

Dibbini was named Coach of the Year in both the AVCTL and the Central Region, while Central juniors Kaitlyn Neuschafer, Courtney Wiggins and Bailey Counts shared individual league honors. Neuschafer and Blair Terry of Maize were co-Offensive Player of the Year in the AVCTL, while Wiggins and Counts shared Defensive Player of the Year recognition.

Neuschafer, a forward, and Wiggins, a defender, were selected first team all-region along with Central senior midfielder Sarah Vanier. Salina South’s Carly Grit, a sophomore midfielder, was also selected to the all-region first team.

Counts, the Mustangs goalkeeper, was a second team all-region selection, where she was joined by Central defenders Kelsey Hauserman, a junior, and Devon Schmitz, a freshman. South sophomore forward Evie Fagan and junior midfielder Alyssa Kinkelaar were also second team all-region.




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Central finally meets its match


By DAVID TOELLE Special to the Journal

TOPEKA — Some early defensive miscues proved costly as Salina Central lost 4-0 to perennial power St. Thomas Aquinas in a 5-1A state semifinal Friday evening at Hummer Sports Park.

“We dug ourselves a big hole by making some defensive mistakes early on,” Central coach Mike Dibbini said. “We just couldn’t rebound from them. If we could take away those first 20 minutes, we really battled with them and played well for 60 minutes.”

Central will face Hayden in today’s third-place match at noon. The Wildcats lost 5-2 to Wichita Kapaun in the other semifinal. Kapaun and Aquinas will meet in the championship at 2.

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Mustangs march on


By HAROLD BECHARD Salina Journal

TOPEKA — Have a day, Danny.

Salina Central senior Danny Backes did just that on Friday, pitching his second complete game of the postseason and driving in two runs as the Mustangs knocked off Andover Central, 9-3, in the first round of the Class 5A State Baseball Tournament.

The win was a school-record 14th for Central, which will match up with traditional power and two-time defending state champion Topeka Seaman in a 10 a.m. semifinal game at Falley Field.

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This Cardinal can fly


By LARRY MORITZ Salina Journal

WICHITA — She’s three years into her high school track and field career, but Mariah Jones still gets nervous before the big meets.

To make matters worse, the Ell-Saline junior is going to have plenty of time to sit around and think about her performances prior to competing at this weekend’s Kansas State Championships at Cessna Stadium.

Jones qualified for the 2A state meet in the maximum four events and could potentially medal in all four — long jump, triple jump, 200 dash and 400 dash. Although the meet gets underway at 7:45 a.m. Friday and 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jones is not scheduled to compete before 3:20 p.m. either day.

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Central soccer to face Aquinas in Final Four

TOPEKA — Salina Central will face St. Thomas Aquinas at 7 p.m. Friday in the semifinals of the Class 5-1A state soccer tournament.

The match will be play at Hummer Sports Complex.

Salina Central (15-3-1) qualified by defeating Wichita Trinity 3-0 in the quarterfinals Tuesday in Wichita. St. Thomas Aquinas (13-4-1) routed Shawnee Mission Miege 6-0 in its quarterfinal match Tuesday.

Friday’s other semifinal at 5 p.m. will match Wichita Kapaun (16-3-0) against Topeka Hayden (13-5-1). Kapaun defeated Andover Central 3-1 Tuesday while Topeka Hayden edged Lansing 4-3.




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Hargrave takes 11th at state


By the Salina Journal

WINFIELD — Salina South freshman Ben Hargrave turned in a solid finish to his first season of high school golf, placing 11th at the Class 5A state tournament Monday at Winfield Country Club.

Hargrave shot a 44-37–81 to finish in a tie for 11th, giving him the top finish among the five Salina individuals at the 5A meet.

“I was real proud of the way he played today,” said South coach Dan Smith. “He’s a solid player and going into the tournament, I had some coaches comment on how this course set up nicely for Ben.”

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Class 5A soccer: Mustangs hope confidence, junior class carry them through

By ARNE GREEN

Salina Journal

WICHITA — It has been a long time coming, and now that their opportunity has arrived, the Salina Central Mustangs are determined to make the most of it.

“We’ve been playing together since third grade, and this is what we’ve worked for,” junior goalkeeper Bailey Counts, part of the Mustangs’ talented junior class, said of a trip to the Class 5-1A state soccer tournament’s final four.




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Pairings set for state baseball, softball tournaments

By the Salina Journal

TOPEKA — The sixth seed seemingly was reserved for teams from Salina.

Salina Central is the No. 6 seed in the Class 5A baseball tournament at Falley Field on the campus of Washburn University while Salina South is the No. 6 seed in the Class 5A state softball tournament at Hummer Sports Complex.

Both tournaments start Friday and conclude Saturday.

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Weatherd wraps up her career with a state diving title

By the Salina Journal

TOPEKA — There were no records this time, but Ashley Weatherd was chasing a bigger prize at the Class 5-1A state swimming and diving meet.

After shattering her own school record at last week’s Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League meet, Weatherd capped her Salina Central diving career Friday by achieving the one goal still left on her list — a state championship.

“It was a great season,” said Weatherd, who built on the lead she established in Thursday’s preliminary rounds to win handily with 341.3 points. “And I got third overall in both classes, so I was pretty happy with that.”

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Central boys take 3rd at Emporia regional

By the Salina Journal

EMPORIA — Salina Central will send a large contingent of athletes to the Class 5A state meet in Wichita next weekend.

The Mustang boys qualified eight individuals and all three relay teams also qualified during their regional meet.

Devon James led the way by winning the 100 meters in 11.01 seconds. He also ran a leg on the winning 400-meter relay team that had a 43.85 time. Central also won the 1,600-meter relay in 3:28.71 and was second in the 3,200-meter relay.

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Mustangs march to Elite 8


By ARNE GREEN Salina Journal

As Salina Central’s center forward, Courtney Casey not only serves as a target.

She’s equally adept at hitting them.

Casey found winger Kaitlyn Neuschafer for a pair of early goals and the Mustangs’ defense did the rest Thursday night, shutting down McPherson to claim a 3-0 victory in their Class 5-1A Central Regional soccer final at Salina Stadium.

“We have a special connection,” said Neuschafer, who gave Central the lead less than five minutes into the game and doubled it in the 22nd minute as the Mustangs improved to 14-3-1 and advanced to Tuesday’s state quarterfinals. “Courtney knows where I’m at, and she gets it to me.”

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Casey finds Neuschafer twice as Central soccer advances to state quarterfinals

By ARNE GREEN

Salina Journal

As Salina Central’s center forward, Courtney Casey not only serves as a target.

She’s equally adept at hitting them.




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Weatherd the leader going into Class 5-1A diving finals

TOPEKA — Salina Central’s Ashley Weatherd takes a 31.25 point advantage into today’s finals of the Class 5-1A state diving meet at Hummer Sports Complex Natatorium.

Weatherd dominated Thursday’s action. She was in first place after the preliminaries with a 167 point total and remains in first place after the semifinals with a 249.35 total.

Teammate Bronte Doughman is in seventh place entering the finals with a 182.45 total. She was eighth after the preliminaries with a 117.50 total.

Weatherd is taking advantage of the absence of competitors from the state’s bigger schools. She finished ninth at state last year, but the eight divers who finished ahead of her were from Class 6A schools. Class 6A is competing by itself this year after the Kansas State High School Activities Association separated them from the smaller class schools.




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State swimming: Class change gives Cougars hope

By LARRY MORITZ

Salina Journal

State champions won’t be determined until Saturday, but Salina coach Keith Smith suggests the real excitement at this weekend’s girls Kansas State Swimming and Diving Championships could take place a day earlier.

This marks the first year that the girls state meet has been divided into two classes — Class 6A for the state’s largest schools, Class 5-1A for the remaining schools.




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5A soccer: Top-seeded Central in total control in 5-0 win over Newton

By ARNE GREEN

Salina Journal

For Courtney Wiggins, it brought back memories of her freshman days as a high-scoring forward.

Devon Schmitz was satisfied acting as facilitator.




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5A baseball: Pitching sends Salina Central to regional title

By the Salina Journal

NEWTON — Pitching might not have been the beacon the Salina Central baseball team followed during the regular season, but Tuesday it carried the Mustangs all the way to the Class 5A state tournament next week in Topeka.

Senior hurlers Danny Backes and Clayton Koochel both tossed complete-game shutouts as Central captured its regional tournament and earned its first trip to state since 2003.

In the opener, Backes shut down McPherson 5-0. In the championship game, Koochel worked out of several jams and gave up just four hits while striking out seven in a 4-0 Mustang victory over top-seeded Newton.




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3 Central, 2 South golfers qualify for 5A state

By the Salina Journal

HUTCHINSON — Neither Salina Central or Salina South qualified as teams for the Class 5A state golf tournament in Winfield.

But the Mustangs and Cougars will be well represented in the tournament next Monday at the Winfield Country Club. Three Central golfers and two from South qualified as individuals during the 5A regional tournament Monday at Carey Park Golf Course.

South’s Tanner Thurman shot a 37-36–73 and finished fifth individually. Central’s Thatcher Keast qualified with a 37-39–76 and finished ninth while teammates Mike O’Donnell shot a 40-38–78 and was 11th and Taylor Wilson 41-39–80 and was 14th. South’s Ben Hargrave qualified with a 42-38–80 and placed 15th.




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Swanson vaults to new heights; Central sophomore clears career-best 9-9 to easily win pole vault

By LARRY MORITZ

Salina Journal

LINDSBORG — You don’t compete in the pole vault in high school unless you are already a little bit adventurous.

So it’s not so surprising that, with two weeks remaining in the 2010 season, Salina Central sophomore Taylor Swanson was willing to try something different in her vault technique prior to Friday’s Ark Valley Chisholm Trail Division I league meet at Anderson Track.




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Cougars’ Robl, Aprin bust through to Class 5A semifinals

By the Salina Journal

EMPORIA — Half the battle for Jordan Robl and Chris Arpin was making it to the Class 5A state tennis tournament.

The rest, so far, has been easy for the Salina South seniors.

Robl and Arpin, who took fourth last week in the rugged Great Bend regional, breezed through three straight-set victories and into the state semifinals Friday at the Emporia High School courts.




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Cougars’ Robl, Aprin bust through to Class 5A semifinals

By the Salina Journal

EMPORIA — Half the battle for Jordan Robl and Chris Arpin was making it to the Class 5A state tennis tournament.

The rest, so far, has been easy for the Salina South seniors.

Robl and Arpin, who took fourth last week in the rugged Great Bend regional, breezed through three straight-set victories and into the state semifinals Friday at the Emporia High School courts.




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Central wins one for ‘Vizzo’


By ARNE GREEN Salina Journal

The T-shirts spoke to the respect they have for their lone senior.

But without Sarah Vanier to hold down the midfield, the Salina Central Mustangs still found a way.

Not only did the Mustangs’ 2-0 victory Thursday night over McPherson at Salina Stadium serve as a tribute to Vanier — the shirts proclaimed, “Do It for VIZZO” — but it clinched the No. 1 seed in next week’s Class 5-1A soccer regionals.

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Sports briefs

CENTRAL BASEBALL TAKES SECOND — At Hays, Salina Central wrapped up play at the Western Plains Diamond Classic with a 13-1 victory Saturday over Ellis. The Mustangs completed the three-day, round-robin tournament with a 3-1 record and placed second.

Central pitcher Jackson Rolfs threw a complete game two-hitter against the Railers to earn his first decision of the season. Rolfs was backed by the Mustangs’ 19-hit attack, with Central breaking the game open early with nine runs in the second inning.

Elias Grant and Vince Froome had three hits each for the Mustangs, while Clayton Koochel, Taylor Bradley and Sander Bryan added two apiece.

Central outscored its opponents 45-13 in four tourney games, with it’s lone loss coming Friday night against eventual champion Hays, 7-6. Now 10-8 overall, the Mustangs will close out the regular season with a league doubleheader Tuesday at Derby.

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