Donley sixth
at state wrestling
Sophomore Will Donley wrestled at 126 lbs. in the state wrestling tournament Feb. 24-25 at Fort Hays State University after placing second at regionals.
He won his first match by decision 6-0 over Zach Kibbe of Sabetha. During the quarterfinal round against Hoisington’s Evan Coble, he was pinned in the third period. He won his next two matches by decision, winning 6-2 against St. Francis’ Shane Todd and 7-5 against Erie’s Seth Welch. He advanced to consolation semifinals, but lost by decision 8-3 against Ethan Redetzke from Hoisington. Wrestling for fifth place, he lost by sudden victory. His match against Coble went to overtime, ending 9-4.
Donley placed sixth at state, ending his season with a record of 23-10.
Sophomore Riley Rodriguez wrestled at 170 lbs. at the girls’ state wrestling tournament Feb. 22 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center, Salina.
In the first round, she was pinned by Grace Stean from Tonganoxie. She then wrestled Wellington’s Kaylee Horinek for her consolation match, losing by decision, 3-0.
Rodriguez’s season record was 13-12.

Wilson plays final game
As the final 10 seconds ticked away on the clock, tears flowed freely on the Dragon bench as the Wilson girls watched their team’s — and school’s — final basketball season come to a close March 4 at the Class 1A Division II sub-state tournament.
“From my standpoint, I was very upset because it’s my last game,” senior Cara Criswell said. “We were all feeling the same thing. Not only am I done with Wilson, so is everyone else on the team. It was pretty rough for everybody.”
The Dragons started the sub-state championship game strong and kept the game neck-and-neck, but ultimately fell to the Rozel-Pawnee Heights Tigers, 39-31.
Oilers win sub-state
The Central Plains Jr./Sr. High School Oiler girls’ basketball team won the sub-state tournament March 4 by defeating St. John 28-23. Brynna Hammeke was the leading scorer for Central Plains with 11 points, followed by Kyla Metro with 8 and Addyson Ogle, Melissa Donecker and Marilyn Soeken with 3 each.

Oilers end season
in quarterfinals
Twenty points ended up standing between the Central Plains Jr./Sr. High School girls’ basketball team and their advancing towards a repeat state championship as the Doniphan West Mustangs defeated them 60-40 in quarterfinal play March 8 at the state tournament.
In the last 10 years, the Oilers had won the state title eight times, with 2020 and 2023 being the only years they came up short.
“I am really proud of the girls; they played hard,” Head Coach Pat Stiles said. “They got down early and fought back within 8 points.”

Holecek new golf coach
After previous Head Golf Coach Kevin Haxton resigned from teaching in December, the spot was filled by Darin Holecek, Ellsworth, who is hopeful for what the season will bring.
“Developing relationships and acknowledging individual personalities of our student athletes” are some of what first-year coach Holecek is most looking forward to.

Tennis duo sixth at state
On May 4-5, the boys’ tennis team traveled to Hillsboro to compete at the regional tennis tournament, resulting in double partners junior Brendan Anderson and senior Chase Bourbon advancing to state.
 On May 12-13, Anderson and Bourbon competed at the state tennis tournament at Riverside Park, Wichita, taking sixth place.
“Making it to state was expected — that’s something I’ve done each year I’ve played for coach Anderson,” Bourbon said. “However, getting to the second day and placing sixth feels like the perfect cap to my senior season. Me and Brendan have worked our tails off to get here, and it feels great to cap off my senior season with a medal.”

Stone takes fourth
at state track
To qualify for the state track meet, runners and throwers had to place in the top four in their division. Three individual Ellsworth Jr./Sr. High School athletes qualified: junior Kylan Turnipseed in the javelin, junior Riley Stone in the 100-meter dash and senior Byron Johnson in the 3,200-meter run.
Stone was able to stand on the podium May 27 at state, finishing fourth in the 100-meter dash in the 3A division with a time of 11.13.

Trap team second at state
The Ellsworth Jr./Sr. High School trap team competed at the Kansas Trap Shooting Association’s annual state trap shooting tournament in Sedgwick June 16-18. Ellsworth placed second overall in the novice division and was only two targets away from first.
Those competing were eighth graders Ayden Blue, Kane Rush and Lane Howard; freshman Cyrus Grothusen; juniors Jessa Schultz and Caleb Hays; and senior Trenton Hays

Seiler bikes across Kansas
Rick Seiler was one of about 500 participants to ride in Bike Across Kansas June 10-17.
“You see a different part of Kansas when you’re on a bike,” he said. “These little towns just love to have you. You roll into town with 500 people on bicycles and people get excited; it’s fun.”
This was Seiler’s second time to complete the route; his first was in 2019.

Ball fields receive new
surface, irrigation system
Over the winter, the Ellsworth baseball and softball fields received an overhaul, thanks to the dedication of community members.
“We switched out the old tagline dirt to redshell,” Ellsworth Recreation Director Ronnie Tenbrink said. “Basically, the redshell is more durable, it plays better and it’s safer material than the tagline.”
In the summer, the outfields at the Ellsworth Sports Complex received irrigation systems. Trenching began mid-July and work wrapped up mid-August.
Tenbrink applied for, and received, a $25,000 grant from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation for the improvements. The roughly $24,000 infield project to install new redshell was paid for with local donations and municipal support.

Johnson celebrates 400th career win
Head Volleyball Coach Amy Johnson, after more than two decades of coaching Bearcat volleyball, hit an impressive milestone this season — 400 career coaching wins. In mid-September, the volleyball team was a testament to their coach when they beat out Sacred Heart in varsity, junior varsity and C-team matches, bringing her to the 400-win mark.

Tennis team division champ; all qualify for state tournament
In yet another stellar performance in an unprecedented season, the Ellsworth varsity girls’ tennis team became the 3-2-1 A division champions at the Oct. 6-7 regional meet, taking home yet another gold medal and advancing all six players to the state meet.
The varsity squad consists of three freshmen, Karli Haase, Hannah Vague and Reygan Coonrod; two sophomores, Inarie Rippert and Felis De La Cruz; and one junior, Elena Jundt. Despite their age, the girls have had an 8-0 record, winning every meet they’ve competed at.

Girls’ tennis places fourth at state
The Ellsworth girls’ tennis headed to the state tournament Oct. 13-14 with a historic team of six players, resulting in five girls bringing home medals and a fourth place team finish.
The doubles team of freshman Reygan Coonrod and Inarie Rippert were runners-up with a second place finish.
The doubles team of freshman Hannah Vague and junior Elena Jundt placed 11th while singles player freshman Karli Haase took home 10th. Singles player, sophomore Felis De La Cruz, lost to Hesston the first day, taking her out of the competition.

Ellsworth football regional champs
The Ellsworth Bearcats had a most exciting football game against the Garden Plain Owls, narrowly winning 34-31 Nov. 3 in regional play. It was the first regional win for the Bearcats since 1987.
The clock ticked down as the Cats desperately battled to keep the ball out of Garden Plain’s hands. The Owls had one last shot, but senior Cole Webber ended the game with an interception, and the stadium erupted in a sea of red, black and white as Ellsworth celebrated the win.

Gridders end season
in sectional playoffs
The Bearcat football season came to a close against the Norton Bluejays in the sectional round of playoffs Nov. 10 when the Cats lost 20-6 at home. They ended the season with a 9-2 record.
It was a historic season for the Bearcats as they went 7-1 during the regular season and won their first two playoff games.