The 2012 Kansas State High School Activities Association fall season is not yet complete and the North Central Kansas League already has one team state championship for its board as the Wamego High School Red Raider cross country team won the Class 4A state boys’ championship on Saturday on their home course in Wamego.
The NCKL will also be represented by three different teams in the 2012 KSHSAA state football playoffs and the NCKL is guaranteed to have at least one team advance into the second round of the playoffs.
Abilene, Clay Center and Concordia football teams all earned playoff berths. Clay Center and Concordia finished first and second in their district to both earn playoff berths while Abilene finished second in its district for the third playoff berth.
The guarantee comes because Abilene will open its playoff run at Concorida on Tuesday night. Clay Center will play at McPherson for its playoff opener.
Concordia
The Concordia cross country teams each had one individual representing them at the Class 4A state meet in Wamego on Saturday. The Lady Panthers had Katie Lambert, who finished in 10th place, individually, with a time of 15:55.0 while the Panther boys were represented by Garret Koester who finished in 30th place in 17:31.10. The Panther football team wrapped up second place in the NCKL in 2012 Thursday night and a district championship with a 50-6 win over Clay Center. The Panthers will open their playoff march this Tuesday evening when they play host to NCKL foe Abilene.
Abilene
The Cowboy football team picked up its second win of the season Thursday night when they defeated Smoky Valley 27-15. The win not only was Abilene’s second of 2012, but it also propelled the Cowboys into the Class 4A playoffs where they will play NCKL rival Concordia on Tuesday night in the opening round.
Clay Center
Clay Center had both its cross country teams representing the school at the Class 4A state track meet in Wamego on Saturday, the Lady Tigers finished in 9th place with 232 points while the Tiger boys finished 7th with 174 points. The Tiger football team suffered its third loss of the season Thursday night when they dropped a 50-6 contest to NCKL rival Concordia. The Tigers still earned a playoff berth in 2012 where they will open playoff action this Tuesday night by playing at McPherson.
Marysville
The Marysville cross country teams each had one representative at the Class 3A state meet at Rim Rock Farms in Lawrence on Saturday as the Bulldog boys were represented by Joe Smith, who finished in 48th place with a time of 18:29.10 while the Lady Bulldogs were represented by Brcyilin Alstram, who was 31st in a time of 17:18.20. The Lady Bulldogs also qualified for the Class 3A state volleyball tournament but did not advance out of pool play. The Lady Bulldogs went 0-3 at the state meet, falling 25-23, 25-19 to Garden Plain, 29-26, 25-18 to Hoisington and 20-25, 25-20, 25-19 to Southeast of Saline. The Bulldog football team saw its 2012 season come to an end Thursday evening when they lost 33-0 to Nemaha Valley. The Bulldogs finished the 2012 season with an 0-9 overall record and were 0-5 in NCKL action.
Wamego
Both of Wamego’s cross country teams represented the school at the Class 4A state meet on Saturday, which it hosted, the Raider boys won the state championship with 69 points while the Lady Raiders finished8th with 187 points. The Red Raider football team saw its 2012 season come to an end on Thursday evening when they lost 48-28 to Topeka Hayden. The Red Raiders are the 2012 NCKL champions with a 5-0 NCKL record but came up short of the playoffs and finished the season with a 5-4 overall record.
Chapman
The Fighting Irish football team saw its 2012 season come to a close Thursday evening with a 42-24 loss at the hands of the McPherson Bullpups. The Irish saw their 2012 season come to an end with a 4-5 overall record and 3-2 record in NCKL action.
