The majority of the North Central Kansas League basketball teams have got their mid-season tournament experiences checked off in their books and there were some new things for NCKL teams in those experiences.
The Marysville Lady Bulldogs are the lone team still waiting for their mid-season tournament which will come this week when they compete at the Hiawatha Tournament.
The new experiences came in Wamego, which was a rough experience, and in Chapman, which was a good experience for the Lady Irish.
The Lady Raiders of Wamego took an undefeated record into play this past week at Hillsboro but the Lady Raiders found treading rough as they suffered their first loss of the season in the championship game.
The Lady Irish of Chapman, however, have been on the different spectrum this season and competed in the Royal Valley Round Robin tournament where they picked up their first victory of the season.
Concordia
The Panthers and Lady Panther basketball teams traveled to Salina for the Salina Invitational where the Panther boys were the top-seed and but suffered a loss in the first round and finished the tournament with a 1-2 record, with their only win coming in the 7th-8th place contest where they defeated Smoky Valley 54-37. The Lady Panthers, meanwhile, also went 1-2 in the tournament with their lone win coming in the consolation semifinals when they beat Salina Sacred Heart 46-45.
The Panther wrestling team opened the week on Thursday when they hosted Abilene for an NCKL dual where they lost 58-21. The Panthers then traveled to Beloit on Friday and Saturday where they finished with 34 points and finished in 14th place.
Abilene
The Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball teams traveled to Salina for the Salina Invitational where the Cowboys went 2-1 with a 71-39 win over Smoky Valley and a 63-45 win over Sacred Heart to finish in fifth place while the Cowgirls went 1-2, with their lone win coming in the opening round with a 56-50 win over Concordia and finished in fourth place.
The Cowboy wrestling team opened its week with a 51-28 win over Concordia in an NCKL dual on Thursday and then competed in the Beloit Invitational on Friday and Saturday where they earned 103 points to finish in 8th place.
Clay Center
The Clay Center basketball teams traveled to Salina for the Salina Invitational where the Tiger boys went 1-2 and finished in fourth place after pulling off the biggest upset of the tournament when they upset top-seeded Concordia 64-60 in the opening round. The Lady Tigers, meanwhile, went 2-1 in the tournament with wins over Smoky Valley (51-19) and Concordia (58-30) to finish in fifth place.
The Tiger wrestling team traveled to Beloit on Friday and Saturday and scored 21 points to finish in 17th place.
Marysville
The Bulldog boys traveled to Seneca for Nemaha Valley’s Raider Classic tournament where they finished with a 2-1 record, with wins over Jackson Heights (44-21) and Troy (53-42) to finish in third place in the tournament. The Lady Bulldogs, meanwhile, will compete in the Hiawatha Tournament this week and got an early look at some of their competition on Friday when they beat Hiawatha 50-20 in regular-season action.
The Bulldog wrestling team traveled to Beloit on Friday and Saturday where they finished in third place with 145 points.
Wamego
The Wamego basketball teams traveled to Hillsboro for the Hillsboro Classic tournaments where the Lady Raiders suffered their first loss of the season, but went 2-1 to finish in second place with wins over Riley County (44-30) and Republic County (54-39) before losing to Hillsboro 51-50 in the championship game. The Red Raider boys, meanwhile, went 1-2 in the tournament to finish in fourth place with their lone win being a 68-23 whipping of Goodland in the opening round.
The Red Raider wrestling team wrestled a double dual at Council Grove with NCKL rival Chapman on Thursday. The Radiers fell to Chapman 43-21 but results from their match with Council Grove were not reported in.
Chapman
The Chapman basketball teams competed in a round-robin tournament at Royal Valley this past week with both teams going 1-2 in the tournament with the Irish boys beating Pleasant Ridge on Friday 54-19 while the Lady Irish picked up their first win of the season on Friday with a 58-56 win over Pleasant Ridge.
The Chapman wrestling team traveled to Council Grove for a double-dual with Wamego and the Braves on Thursday where the Irish went 2-0, topping the Braves 50-24 and picking up their first NCKL win of the year with a 43-21 victory over Wamego.
