All four schools in the MCAA were able to take advantage of the spring weather with events in week one of the new season.
Larned
The Lady Indians softball team had its hands full against Class 5A’s Great Bend in Tuesday’s season-opener. Larned hung around for three innings in game one before two big innings, including a walk-off grand slam resulted in a 13-3 loss. In game two, the Lady Indians struggled to a one-hitter, losing that game 11-1.
“I think our girls saw what mental capacity is,” Lady Indians coach Carl Miller said. “When you get out-hustled to the ball; they hit the ball to our pitcher and outran it to first. We hit it to them, they bobbled it a little bit, and still threw us out. It’s the desire.”
Sophomore Emily Lucas pitched the first three innings of game one. Her team gave her three runs of support early on. Sophomore Reaghan Burns pitched one-plus innings, giving up eight runs, then freshman Shaylene Shepherd took her turn in the circle, giving up the game-ending grand slam.
Lucas was the only Larned player to have two hits in game one. It was her pinch-hit at bat that ruined Great Bend freshman Hunter Middleton’s no-hit bid in game two. The Lady Indians’ lone run in game two was unearned in the third inning.
Ellinwood
The Eagle trackters opened the success with success Friday at Cimarron. The Ellinwood boys won the seven-team event with 103 points, edging out Holcomb, who finished with 98 points. The Lady Eagles finished just short of Cimarron 165-147.
The boys picked up several point on the track. Kyle Oglesbee won the 800m run by three seconds in 2:05.86. Pedro Montoya ran away from the pack to win the 3200m run by more than a minute in 10:22.68. Teammate Morgan Feemster finished behind him. Montoya also picked up the silver in the mile.
The 4x100m relay won by nearly a second, and the 4x800m relay team dominated its race, winning by 22 seconds in 9:11.78. Wyatt Smith had the best field finish at fifth-place in the discus.
The Lady Eagles raked in several golds and silvers. Brooke Panning won the 400m dash in 1:04.88, just ahead of second-place teammate Oma Thomas in 1:05.94. Amanda Tucker topped the next best discus thrower by two feet to win that event at 96-03.
The 4x400m relay team won by just 0.13 seconds, but the 4x800m team cruised to a finish in 10:45.49, 18 seconds ahead of the next team. The 4x100m relay team was on the other end of a close finish, missing gold by less than a second.
Becca Strecker finished second in the 800m run and the mile, losing the 1600m by a fraction of a second. Becky Elsen picked up silvers in the 200m dash and pole vault, and added a bronze in the 100m dash. Jenna Snell finished second in the two mile, and Sophie Hayes finished second in both hurdle events.
Hoisington
The Cardinal tennis team had to battle inexperience and several larger schools Saturday in Great Bend. Class 3A Hoisington still managed a fourth-place finish, beating Dodge City and Ellinwood. Great Bend, Garden City, and Liberal finished ahead of the Cardinals.
No. 2 singles player Brian Schauf was the only Cardinal to get two wins on the day. He knocked off Ellinwood 8-5 and Dodge City 8-6, losing his other three matches by a combined 24-4. At No. 1 singles, Evan Smith went 1-4, beating Ellinwood 8-2 for the lone win. He battled Liberal in an 8-4 loss, but lost the other three matches by a combined 24-2 score.
In doubles play, the No. 1 duo of Conner Mooney and Jeffrey Kaiser went 1-4. They picked up an 8-1 win against Liberal, and fought Dodge City in an 8-6 loss. The team struggled against the other three opponents, winning just one game in those losses.
At No. 2 doubles, Darwin Brickley and Taylor Crawford also went 1-4. The pair had success against Liberal in an 8-1 win, and they too took Dodge City to the finish in an 8-6 loss. They fared slightly better in their other three losses at a combined 24-6 score.
TMP
The Lady Monarch soccer team made strides on Thursday, but that still was not enough. After two losses to larger schools by a combined 19-0 score to start the year, TMP lost a 3-0 battle to Wichita Independent at home.
Monarch keeper Andie Marsell got her mitts on a shot early in the game, but Independent was there for the rebound and a 1-0 lead just five minutes into the game. The junior kept TMP in the game early, coming up with two big saves in the first 12 minutes of action.
Independent freshman Alise Coccetella proved to be too much. Her shot led to the first goal, and she buried a goal of her own late in the first half for a 2-0 lead. Independent picked up its final goal in the 78th minute on a set piece just outside the box.
TMP needed two games and 32 minutes to get its first shot on goal. Junior Kelsi King provided that honor, then freshman Grace Volker added another shot just six minutes later.
