Down goes No. 1 x 2: The final undefeated team in Kansas Class 6A boys went down Friday night at home as Derby took a 67-63 loss to Hutchinson. Lamar Govain led the Salthawks with 23 points. The Hutchinson girls also took down the No. 1 ranked Derby girls 58-54. (Photo courtesy of Sports in Kansas).
By John Mesh
The Hutchinson High School girls basketball team ended a 10-year, 15-game, 3,650-day victory drought against the No. 1 Derby Panther girls with a 58-54 upset win on Valentine’s Day Friday night at the Derby High School gymnasium.
The Salthawk boys basketball team (7-8) followed the lead of the Salthawk girls and upset the No. 1 Derby boys 67-63.
Both Derby teams were ranked No. 1 in Class 6A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. The Derby boys dropped to 16-1 and the girls fell to 14-3. With Derby’s loss, there are no more undefeated boys teams in Class 6A.
The Hutchinson girls’ last victory against Derby came on Feb. 17, 2015. Current Salthawk girls coach Kalen Hilst was a freshman at the University of Kansas. Casey Stiggins was the Hutchinson head coach in 2015. Members of the Salthawk girls team were 5-8 years old.
The Salthawk girls (10-5), who lost to Derby 51-34 on Jan. 21 at the Salthawk Activity Center, led the Panthers 15-8 at the end of the first quarter, 30-26 at halftime and 46-37 at the end of the third quarter.
The Salthawks withstood a 17-12 run by Derby in the fourth quarter.
Kaia Smith led the Salthawk girls with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. Grace Posch scored 15 points. Kohlbie Craft added 7 points, Tenley Keeton 5, Ava Krone 5 and Lily Rodriguez 5.
“That was a lot of fun,” Hilst said. “Kaia Smith had 22, Grace Posch had 15 and we took care of the ball against their pressure.”
Makayla Askew led the Panthers with 14 points, including 8 in the first quarter. Aysia Fox added 11 points and Siaunna Carter 9.
Hutchinson led 12-11 at the end of the first quarter and pushed the lead to 19-13 in the second quarter before Derby hit two 3-pointers to tie the score at 19-19.
Derby opened up a 32-24 lead, but Hutchinson’s Terrell King and Danny Boone close out the second half with baskets to cut the Panthers’ lead to 32-28 at the break.
The Salthawk boys went on a 23-12 run and led 51-44 at the end of the third quarter.
The Hutchinson boys were in serious foul trouble. Taishaun Govain fouled out with 5:34 left in the game and King by the 4:59 mark.
With King on the bench, Lamar Govain and Levi Kepler, who both had four fouls, took over the game. Lamar Govain led the Salthawks with 23 points, King 14 and Kepler 13. Kepler hit six free throws and a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Jalen Crable contributed 7 points for the Salthawks, Boone 6 and Taishaun Govain 4.
Jaxson Malvo led Derby with 22 points and Avant Riley added 17.
“I was super proud of the kids,” said Hutchinson boys basketball coach Bryan Miller during his postgame radio interview. “I was very happy with the way he played. We’re getting better. The Salthawks are a dangerous team.
“We’ve been able to string together a couple good week of practice. We had to take some hard lessons early in the year with some losses. We beat them (Derby) on their home floor. I’t s fun one to be part of.”
The Salthawk girls and boys basketball home games against Haysville-Campus were moved to Monday because more inclement winter weather is forecast for Tuesday.
The girls game starts at 6 p.m., followed by the boys game.
Hutchinson’s girls and boys teams play a make-up games Wednesday at Salina South and host Newton on Friday.
“Hopefully the weather cooperates and we can get all three games in next week,” Hilst said.
“We have a tough three-game stretch next week,” Miller added.
Hutchinson Salthawk Night of Champions set for next Friday
The Hutchinson High School Salthawk Night of Champions will take place next Friday at the Salthawk Activity Center during halftime of the varsity boys basketball game against Newton.
Two state championship teams will be recognized — the 2004 Salthawk football team and the 2005 Salthawk boys golf team.
There will be a postgame gathering at AJ’s Sports Grill, 1223 East 23rd Street, Hutchinson.
Blue Dragon baseball team takes two games from Rose State College
The Hutchinson Community College baseball team swept a doubleheader from Rose State College Friday afternoon at RSC Field in Midwest City, Okla.
The Dragons won the first game 4-1 (9 innings) and the second game 18-4 (7 innings, run rule). Hutchinson improved to 4-0 and has outscored opponents 46-9.
HutchCC will play Rose State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
After the Rose State series, the Blue Dragons will play their next three doubleheaders (six games) at home at Hobart-Detter Field.
Hutchinson plays Highland Community College next Friday, Des Moines Area Community College on Feb. 23 and Coffeyville Community College on Feb. 27.
All three doubleheaders start at 1 p.m.
Buhler girls rout McPherson, Crusader boys fall to Bullpups
The Buhler girls, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A in the Kansas Pregame poll and ninth in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, routed McPherson 60-23 Friday night at Jim Baker Fieldhouse in Buhler.
The Buhler girls led 23-6 at the end of the first quarter, 33-14 at halftime and 51-18 at the end of the third quarter. Buhler outscored McPherson 12-2 in the final frame.
The McPherson boys defeated Buhler 80-48, The Bullpups led Buhler 18-12 after the first quarter and 38-14 at halftime.
The Buhler girls improved to 13-3 and the Buhler boys fell to 5-11. The McPherson boys are 13-2.
Haven boys roll past Halstead, Haven girls fall to Dragons
The Haven boys basketball team (No. 2 in Class 3A KBCA and No. 1 Kansas Pregame) defeated Halstead 68-55 Friday night at the Halstead gymnasium and improved to 16-1.
Haven led 18-12 at the end of the first quarter, 42-28 at halftime and 58-41 at the end of the third quarter. Haven outscored the Dragons 16-13 in the fourth quarter.
Dalton Bontrager led the Haven boys with 26 points. Nash Wray scored 16 and Gatlin Rinehart 10.
Detrick Nisly scored 6 points, Blake Richey 6, Maguire Jacques 2 and Brogan Wray 2.
Kohen Corona led the Halstead Dragons with 16 points. Braxton Creed, Joey Millspaugh and Noah Diehl each scored 8. Matt McClain and Reece Carmichael each scored 2.
The Haven girls (No. 8 in Class 3A by the KBCA) lost to the Halstead girls (No. 2 in Class 3A by the KBCA) 51-34 Friday night at the Halstead gym.
The Halstead girls led Haven 21-8 at the end of the first quarter, 28-19 at halftime and 38-21 at the end of the third quarter. Both teams scored 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Sienna DeFrain led the Haven girls with 19 points and Avery Brawner scored 13. Zaprina Percy scored 2 points. DeFrain and Brawner combined for 14 of Haven’s 15 field goals.
Piper Schroeder led Halstead with 14 points. Jordy Schroeder scored 13 points and Addison Wills 11.
The Halstead girls improved to 15-1 and the Haven girls fell to 12-5.
The Haven junior varsity boys won 62-53 and the C team boys won 53-38.
The Haven boys and girls teams play Monday at Pratt and host Larned Tuesday and Hesston on Friday.
Nickerson girls, boys drop games at Hoisington
The Nickerson High School girls and basketball teams were swept by Hoisington Friday night at Hoisington.
The host Cardinals won the girls game 63-40 and the boys game 61-35.
The Hoisington boys improved to 9-8 and the Nickerson boys dropped to 2-16.
Nickerson’s teams are scheduled to play at Hesston Tuesday night.
Trinity girls, boys swept at home by Berean Academy
The Hutchinson Trinity Catholic High School boys basketball team lost to Berean Academy 54-30 and the Celtic girls lost to Berean 50-17 Friday night at the Trinity gymnasium.
With possible bad weather on Tuesday, the Trinity girls and boys basketball games against Bennington will be played on Monday at the Trinity gym.
It will be varsity games only. The girls starts at 6 p.m., followed by the boys game at 7:30 p.m.
The Trinity junior varsity boys will still go to Lyons Monday for their scheduled tournament.
Central Christian girls roll past South Barber
The Hutchinson Central Christian High School girls basketball team rolled past the South Barber Chieftains 48-25 Friday night at Kiowa.
The CCHS girls (14-3) are ranked ninth in Class 1A Division II.
No. 3 Sterling boys roll past Remington, Sterling girls fall
The Sterling Black Bear boys basketball team, ranked No. 3 in Class 2A KBCA, improved to 14-3 with a 78-54 win over Remington Friday night at the Sterling gymnasium.
Remington won the girls game 57-28.
No. 1 Moundridge boys beat Inman
Bear Moddlemog scored 21 points, including three 3-pointers, as Class 2A boys No. 1-ranked Moundridge defeated Inman 66-26 Friday night at home.
Zach Dixon scored 12 points for the Moundridge Wildcats.
Cooper Wiens led the Inman Teutons with 10 points.
Reno County Sabres teams split games with Smoky Valley Homeschool
The Reno County Homeschool Sabres basketball teams took on the Smoky Valley Homeschool Eagles in a Thursday night clash in Partridge on home court of Reno County.
The rare Thursday matchup was a make-up date from earlier in the season.
The Reno County varsity girls took on a Eagles’ team with a 16-3 record and featuring standout Karlie Smith, who tallied over 40 points in the first matchup (in which the Sabres fell by just 8 points).
Thursday night’s matchup became a bigger challenge when Sabres’ senior forward Megan Asberry fell ill and senior guard Anne Schawe turned an ankle early in the game. Schawe was able to return to action later in the game.
The short-handed lady Sabres were once again unable to stop Smith who scored 37 points in this matchup en route to a 49-38 win for the Eagles.
Freshman Bella Spexarth, who stepped in for Asberry, led the Sabres with 11 points. Senior Shania Schrock added 8. The Sabres are 9-11 on the season and travel to Stafford to take on the Trojans on Monday.
On the boys side, the previous matchup resulted in a close 42-40 win for the Sabres in Salina over a tough and scrappy Eagles team.
This matchup however yielded different results as the Sabres varsity boys were able to pull away and finish with a 69-39 win.
The Sabres brought a total team effort with four players scoring in double figures.
Sophomore Jett Smith had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Junior Bruce Kingsley also had 13 to help lead the way.
Juniors Koby Washington and Luke Asberry had 10 points apiece. Sophomore point guard Bo Smith tallied 7 points and 8 assists. Junior guard Joshua Schmidt poured in 3 3-pointers.
The game remained within 10-15 points midway through the fourth quarter when the Sabres took full control, using aggressive defense and up-tempo offense to pull away. The Sabres recorded 19 assists.
The Sabre boys, who play a tough schedule, have an 8-14 record.
The Sabre boys travel to St. Mary’s Academy Saturday, followed by a home matchup vs Peabody-Burns on Tuesday.
The Sabres’ junior varsity boys and girls teams also both came away victorious in tightly-contested matchups.
Nickerson wrestlers 2nd at CKL meet
The Nickerson Panthers placed second as a team at the 2025 Central Kansas League boys wrestling tournament in Hesston Thursday.
Pratt won the CKL wrestling tournament championship with 133 points, followed by Nickerson with 101, Haven 100.5, Hoisington 99.5. Larned 86.5, Smoky Valley 86, Halstead 75, Hillsboro 35 and Hesston 8.
Nickerson can boast of two CKL wrestling champions — Aaden Vedder at 150 pounds and Kristopher Monroe at 165 pounds.
Placing second were Aiden Brinkley at 113 pounds and Addrick Nelson at 126 pounds. Aden Taylor placed third at 138 pounds.
Nickerson’s Kaidence Keeler placed fourth at 157 pounds, Atton Nelson fourth at 190 pounds, Owen Harris fifth at 120 pounds, Dakota Brinkley fifth at 132 pounds and Kobane Swift sixth at 175 pounds.
Haven’s Jacob Moore captured first place at 126 pounds.
Four Wildcat teammates placed second — Dante De Virgilio at 106 pounds, Tanner Loughrie 132 pounds, Hadley Hoskinson at 138 pounds and Jared Stussy at 215 pounds.
Welden Stanley placed fourth at 144 pounds, Aiden Herald sixth at 150 pounds, Ayden Romero sixth at 157 pounds.
Halstead senior Connor Herman reached the magic milestone of 100 victories and captured the CKL title at 285 pounds.
Herman, who signed to play football at Friends University in Wichita, posted an 11-17 record his freshman year, 20-24 as a sophomore, 39-6 as junior and is 30-5 as a senior.
Herman placed fifth at 285 pounds at the Kansas Class 4A state wrestling tournament in Salina as a junior. He competed in the 4A state meet at 215 pounds his sophomore year.
Herman’s Halstead teammate Clayton Considine, who will wrestle at Barton Community College next year, won the 132-pound weight class.
Halstead’s Logan Overton placed second at 165 pounds, Reggie McCloud third at 144 pounds, Riley Queen third at 175 pounds and Quentin Thieme fifth at 157 pounds.
Buhler bowlers sweep Hutchinson Quad
The Buhler High School bowling team swept the varsity boys, varsity girls, junior varsity boys and junior varsity girls divisions at the Hutchinson Quadrangular Thursday at The Alley in Hutchinson.
Hutchinson placed second in varsity boys, varsity girls, JV boys and JV girls. El Dorado and McPherson also competed.
Both Hutchinson and Buhler hold home meets at The Alley.
Buhler will compete at the Andover Invitational Saturday at Bowlero Wichita (formerly The Alley Wichita).
Hutchinson competed in a Scotch Doubles Tournament Friday at Bowlero. No results were available at press time.
Hutchinson will host a Class 5A bowling regional at The Alley Thursday, Feb. 27 at The Alley. The girls compete at 9:40 a.m., followed by the boys at 1:10 p.m.
Other teams competing are Goddard, Goddard Eisenhower, Great Bend, Hays. Maize South, Newton, Salina Central, Salina South, Valley Center and Bishop Carroll.
Buhler will host a Class 4A bowling regional Thursday, Feb. 27 at The Alley. The girls compete at 9:40 a.m., followed by the boys at 1:10 p.m.
Other teams competing are Hesston, Holcomb, Smoky Valley, McPherson, Salina Sacred Heart and Solomon.
Varsity Boys (+4 baker)
Buhler: 2424 (3193)
Hutchinson: 2473 (3148)
McPherson: 2282 (2841)
El Dorado: 1535 (2156)
High Game: Julian Morrison – 223
High Series: Malachi Willis – 619
Varsity Girls (+4 baker)
Buhler: 2021 (2626)
Hutchinson: 1634 (2232)
El Dorado: 1464 (1873)
McPherson: 1423 (1824)
High Game: Madalyn Bohringer – 201
High Series: Madalyn Bohringer – 507
JV Boys
Buhler: 2072
Hutchinson: 1684
McPherson: 1652
El Dorado: 209
High Game: Blake Mourn – 205
High Series: Carson White – 519
JV Girls
Buhler: 1379
Hutchinson: 1351
El Dorado: 226
High Game: Brynn Treaster – 143
High Series: Brynn Treaster – 394
Series Scores
Buhler Varsity Boys
Malachi Willis: 186, 216, 217 = 619
Julian Morrison: 172, 200, 223 = 595
Logan Brown: 201, 188, 200 = 589
Trevor Trustian: 193, 215, 169 = 577
Dominic Gaede: 185, 194, 192 = 571
Rylan Klug: 171, 191, 194 = 556
Buhler Varsity Girls
Madalyn Bohringer: 169, 137, 201 = 507
Macy Miller: 169, 162, 168 = 499
Cheyann Geesling: 167, 181, 149 = 497
Aubrey Ewing: 168, 160, 140 = 468
Brayla Johnson: 129, 169, 158 = 456
Eva Goertz: 99, 88, 107 = 294
Buhler JV Boys
Carson White: 171, 190, 158 = 519
Collin Schwartzkopf: 177, 169, 165 = 511
Gaven Bowers: 148, 189, 159 = 496
Blake Mourn: 137, 120, 205 = 462
Kadin Glass: 160, 136, 153 = 449
Avery Smith: 124, 181, 103 = 408
Buhler JV Girls
Brynn Treaster: 119, 143, 132 = 394
Keelee Bryant: 123, 98, 138 = 359
Cora Nuttman: 69, 118, 127 = 314
Baylee Krase: 98, 92, 109 = 299
Juliette Shank: 82, 75, 96 = 253
Love beating Derby