Hutchinson Salthawk senior #2 Terrell King scores on a layup. The Salthawk boys team beat the Newton Railers 58-51 on Senior Night, Fri. Feb. 21, 2025, in the Salthawk Activity Center CREDIT CAPTURED BY DYLAN
By John Mesh
The Hutchinson High School Salthawk varsity girls and boys basketball teams swept the Newton Railers on Senior Night Friday at the Salthawk Activity Center.
The Hutchinson girls improved to 12-5 with a 68-16 victory over Newton. The Hutchinson boys improved to 9-8 with a 58-51 win over the Railer boys.
Kaia Smith, Grace Posch, and Lily Rodriguez were the Hutchinson senior girls who played their final regular-season home games at the SAC.
The Hutchinson girls led 23-7 at the end of the first quarter (the score was tied 7-7), 41-11 at halftime and 61-16 at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was played with a running clock and the Salthawks outscored the Railers 7-0.
Posch led the Salthawks with 16 points and now has scored 918 points in her Salthawk career. Smith scored 15 points and Ava Krone 12. Tenley Keeton added 9 points, Rodriguez 7, Kohlbie Craft 6 and Renee Alvarez 3.
Amaree Henderson led the Newton girls with 11 points.
“Hutchinson got the big win on Senior Night,” said Hutchinson High School girls basketball coach Kalen Hilst. Grace Posch had 16 points. Kaia Smith had 15 points. Lily Rodriguez had 7 points.
“Outside of that, Ava Krone had 12 points in one of her best games of the season. On to three road games next week at Maize on Tuesday to kick it off. I hope we can finish strong.”
The Hutchinson girls have scored 195 points in their last three games (58, 69 and 68).
In the Hutchinson-Newton varsity boys game, Newton led 19-11 in the first quarter and led 28-20 in the second quarter. However, Hutchinson went on a 18-9 run to tie the score at 28-28 at halftime.
Newton (10-8) outscored the Salthawks 16-15 in the third quarter to take a 44-43 lead. Hutchinson outscored Newton 15-8 in the fourth quarter.
Salthawk senior boys playing their final regular-season home games were Terrell King, Taishaun Govain, Levi Kepler and Lucas Whitt.
King led the Salthawks with 21 points. Lamar Govain scored 13 points, Levi Kepler 10, Jalen Crable 7 and Taishaun Govain 7.
Camden Schmidt led the Newton Railers with 24 points. Cole Dillon added 11.
In addition to Senior Night, the Hutchinson High School Salthawk Night of Champions festivities took place Friday during halftime of the varsity boys basketball game against Newton.
Two state championship teams were recognized — the 2004 Salthawk football team (the first of seven state football titles for Hutchinson) and the 2005 Salthawk boys golf team (coached by Charlie Pierce).
The Hutchinson Salthawk girls and boys play three road games next week — Maize on Tuesday, Andover on Thursday and Salina South on Friday.
Other Friday night girls basketball games
In Friday night high school girls basketball games of interest, Buhler defeated Towanda-Circle 72-49, Hutchinson Central Christian defeated Pratt-Skyline 45-11, Inman defeated Hutchinson Trinity 74-16, No. 8 Haven lost to No. 1 Hesston 46-31, Halstead defeated Elyria Christian 41-19, Nickerson lost to Hillsboro 69-12, McPherson lost to Augusta 60-56, Larned defeated Hoisington 53-31, Great Bend defeated Dodge City 56-42 and Salina South defeated Valley Center 38-31.
• The Buhler girls led 22-14 after one quarter, 37-26 at halftime and 49-35 after three quarters. The Crusaders finished off the Thunderbirds with a 23-14 run in the fourth quarter.
Natalya Krafels led the Buhler girls with 20 points and Gracie Oard added 17. Nyah Sewell and Claudia Taylor each scored 7 points, Tori Tustian 5, Charley Baxter 5, Ella Voss 4, Lillian Horne 3, Jenna Lackley 2 and Sammie Brooks 2.
Circle was paced by Emma Johnson with 15 points. Brookelyn Patty added 8 points.
• With its 34-point win over Pratt-Skyline, Hutchinson Central Christian is the undefeated Heart of the Plains League champion The girls are 15-4 on the season and are on a 10-game winning streak to round out the regular season.
Hutchinson-Central Christian is the No. 3 seed at the Class 1A Division II Elyria Christian substate and received a first-round bye. The Cougars’ first sub-state game is March 1.
In the sub-state semifinals, the Cougars will play the winner of the first-round game Monday between No. 6-seed Melvern-Marais Des Cygnes Valley (13-6) against No. 11 Caldwell (3-15) at Melvern.
• In the loss to Inman, Alyssa Guajardo led the Trinity Celtic girls with 7 points, Cienna Maskil added 5 and Brecken Dowsey tallied 4.
Katie Nichols led the Inman girls with 23 points. Suttyn Harris scored 10, Allison Schrag 9, Morgan Froese 7, Taylor Froese 6, Raynee Eddy 6, Ellie Thimmesch 6, Leah Black 4, Maddie Parson 4, Ella Tatro 2 and Brooklyn Black 2.
• In the Haven girls’ loss to Hesston, the Wildcats were outscored 24-10 in the second half.
Sienna DeFrain and Rilynn Patry each scored 9 points for the Wildcats. Abby Proctor led Hesston with 16 points. Kendal Brueggen and Kaycee Mason each scored 12.
• The Nickerson girls will be in action next Thursday at the Kansas Class 3A sub-state at Colby. Expected game time is 6 p.m.
Other Friday night area boys basketball games
In other Friday night high school boys basketball games of interest, Hutchinson Central Christian defeated Pratt-Skyline 48-36, Buhler lost to Towanda-Circle 70-68 in overtime, Haven lost to Hesston 48-36, Nickerson lost to Hillsboro 47-33, Halstead lost to Elyria Christian 53-42, Moundridge defeated Remington 57-31, Little River lost to Olpe 78-66, Lyons lost to Southeast of Saline 62-58, Great Bend defeated Dodge City 72-56, Hoisington defeated Larned 60-43, Salina South defeated Valley Center 52-46 and McPherson defeated Augusta 73-65.
• After a 12-point win over Pratt-Skyline Friday, the Central Christian Cougar boys will play Otis-Bison in the first round of the Kansas Class 1A Division I sub-state Tuesday at Otis.
• The Buhler boys dropped to 6-12 after their heartbreaking overtime loss to Towanda-Circle.
• The Haven Wildcats fell to 17-3 with a loss to Hesston and the Swathers improved to 17-2.
Brogan Wray led the Haven boys in scoring with 11 points. Nash Wray scored 10, Dalton Bontrager 8, Gatlin Rinehart 5 and Blake Richey 2. Richey and Brogan Wray each had 5 rebounds, Nash Wray and Rinehart each had 3 assists. Nash Wray had 3 steals.
Asher Duetschordorf led the Swathers with 14 points. Reed Freisen scored 8, Ty Unruh 7 and Drew Bartell 7.
Hesston outscored Haven 29-20 in the second half.
• Halstead’s 6-foot senior guard Kohen Corona scored his 1,000th career point for the Dragons in their loss to Elyria Christian.
• The Nickerson boys will be in action next Friday in Kansas Class 3A sub-state play. Game time likely is 6 p.m.
Thursday night area girls basketball games
In Thursday night girls basketball games, Haven defeated Larned 49-35, Nickerson lost to Class 3A’s No. 1 team Hesston 79-14, Inman defeated Ell-Saline 79-33, Hutchinson Trinity Catholic lost to Moundridge 74-11 and Andale lost to Wellington (No. 1 in 4A) 55-34.
• The Haven girls led Larned 14-4 after one quarter, 16-16 at halftime and 38-27 after three quarters. Haven outscored Larned 11-8 in the fourth quarter.
Sienna DeFrain (23) and Avery Brawner (18) scored 41 of Haven’s 49 points. Karlee Cooprider scored 5 points and Rilynn Patry 3. Brawner pulled down 7 rebounds.
Jadyn Crosby scored 12 points to lead the Larned girls. Lauren Sieder added 10.
• Sophomore Brecken Dowsey led the Trinity Celtic girls in the Moundridge game with 6 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds and 1 assist.
Thursday night area boys basketball games
In Thursday night boys games, Hutchinson Trinity Catholic lost to No. 1 Moundridge 66-40, Haven improved to 17-2 with a 65-21 win over Larned, Hutchinson Central Christian defeated Burrton 82-19, Nickerson lost to Hesston 67-29 and Inman battled hard before falling to Ell-Saline 51-35.
• Aaron Gust led the Trinity boys with 18 points. Max Ryan and Cameron Kiser each scored 6 points.
Bear Moddlemog paced the Moundridge Wildcats with 25 points, including four 3-pointers. Heath Churchill contributed 11.
Central Christian’s Jessa Losew mentioned on SIK Facebook page
Hutchinson Central Christian junior Jessa Losew was mentioned on Sports in Kansas’ Facebook page.
Losew posted a career game with 27 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals against the Wichita Warriors last Monday. She also is one of the top Class 1A track and field athletes in the state of Kansas.
Losew was the Heart of the Plains League champion in all four of her events (high jump, triple jump, 400-meter dash, 200-meter dash).
Losew currently holds the school record in both the high jump (5 feet, 7 inches) and 400 (59.18 seconds).
Halstead alumnus Karenna Gerber is Pittsburg State’s all-time leading rebounder
Karenna Gerber, a multiple-time all-state selection at 3A Halstead High School, is now Pittsburg State’s all-time leading rebounder.
Gerber, a 6-foot senior majoring in elementary education at Pittsburg State, has 839 career rebounds and counting.
She is one of the best players in the country for NCAA Division II women’s basketball and will go down as a Gorilla great.
The record was also done in four years without any extra eligibility.
Gerber is also averaging over 15 points a game for the Gorillas (24-2) who have won 15 in a row as one of the best teams in the country.
Gerber was a two-time Kansas Class 3A All-State performer for the Halstead Dragons.
She averaged 19.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.6 blocked shots per game as a junior in 2019-20. She was a four-time All-League performer during her prep career.
Halstead 3A girls sub-state is loaded
Sports in Kansas cited the Class 3A girls sub-state region at Halstead as one of the most loaded girls sub-states in the state of Kansas.
The Halstead sub-state field includes Hesston 17-0, Halstead 16-1, Riley County 14-4, Cheney 13-5, Southeast of Saline 13-5, Haven 13-5, Nemaha Central 12-6, Minneapolis 10-6 and Garden Plain 10-7.
Kansas sub-state basketball action begins next Thursday and concludes on March 8.
KSHSAA releases Class 1A sub-state basketball brackets
The KSHSAA released its Class 1A sub-state basketball brackets Wednesday morning.
Class 1A Division I Schedule:
Girls
First Round: Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
Semifinal: Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m.
Championship: Friday, March 7 (times TBD)
Boys
First Round: Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.
Semifinal: Monday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
Championship: Saturday, March 8 (times TBD)
GIRLS – CANTON-GALVA
Sub-State #1:
[1] Little River (17-0) – First round bye
[8] Burden-Central (7-11) vs. [9] Oxford (6-13)
[4] Madison (12-7) – First round bye
[5] Goessel (11-7) vs. [12] Allen-Northern Heights (0-18)
Sub-State #2:
[2] Rosalina-Flinthills (13-5) – First round bye
[7] Canton-Galva (10-9) vs. [10] Wichita-The Independent (3-13)
[3] Olpe (12-7) – First round bye
[6] Colony-Crest (10-7) vs. [11] Sedan (1-17)
BOYS – CANTON GALVA
Sub-State #1:
[1] Olpe (17-2) – First round bye
[8] Rosalina-Flinthills (11-7) vs. [9] Canton-Galva (11-8)
[4] Burden-Central (14-4) vs. [13] Wichita-The Independent (0-16)
[5] Madison (13-6) vs. [12] Allen-Northern Heights (2-15)
Sub-State #2:
[2] Oxford (15-3) – First round bye
[7] Moran-Marmaton Valley (12-6) vs. [10] Sedan (6-12)
[3] Colony-Crest (15-4) – First round bye
[6] Little River (12-6) vs. [11] Goessel (3-15)
GIRLS – GREENSBURG-KIOWA COUNTY
Sub-State #1:
[1] Montezuma-South Gray (18-1) – First round bye
[8] Macksville (8-10) vs. [9] Greensburg-Kiowa County (8-10)
[4] Norwich (12-7) vs. [13] Kinsley (3-15)
[5] Meade (12-8) vs. [12] Elkhart (5-15)
Sub-State #2:
[2] St. John-Hudson (14-5) – First round bye
[7] Coldwater-South Central (9-11) vs. [10] Langdon-Fairfield (8-11)
[3] Spearville (14-6) – First round bye
[6] Pretty Prairie (11-8) vs. [11] Pratt-Skyline (6-13)
BOYS – GREENSBURG-KIOWA COUNTY
Sub-State #1:
[1] Coldwater-South Central (17-2) – First round bye
[8] Meade (12-7) vs. [9] St. John-Hudson (12-7)
[4] Macksville (14-4) vs. [13] Kinsley (2-16)
[5] Greensburg-Kiowa County (14-4) vs. [12] Langdon-Fairfield (5-14)
Sub-State #2:
[2] Norwich (16-3) – First round bye
[7] Spearville (14-6) vs. [10] Elkhart (7-13)
[3] Montezuma-South Gray (15-4) – First round bye
[6] Pretty Prairie (14-5) vs. [11] Pratt-Skyline (5-14)
Class 1A Division II Schedule:
Girls
First Round: Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
Semifinal: Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m.
Championship: Friday, March 7 (times TBD)
Boys
First Round: Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.
Semifinal: Monday, March 3 at 7 p.m.
Championship: Saturday, March 8 (times TBD)
GIRLS – ATTICA
Sub-State #1:
[1] Bucklin (16-3) – First round bye
[8] Deerfield (5-14) vs. [9] Cunningham (4-13)
[4] Ashland (9-9) vs. [13] Rolla (1-13)
[5] Moscow (9-9) vs. [12] Stafford (2-15)
Sub-State #2:
[2] Attica (16-3) – First round bye
[7] Minneola (5-13) vs. [10] Kiowa-South Barber (3-15)
[3] Argonia (11-7) – First round bye
[6] Ingalls (9-10) vs. [11] Satanta (3-16)
BOYS – ATTICA
Sub-State #1:
[1] Cunningham (18-0) – First round bye
[8] Ingalls (7-13) vs. [9] Stafford (6-12)
[4] Kiowa-South Barber (7-11) vs. [13] Moscow (0-18)
[5] Minneola (7-11) vs. [12] Rolla (3-13)
Sub-State #2:
[2] Bucklin (9-11) – First round bye
[7] Ashland (6-11) vs. [10] Argonia (5-14)
[3] Deerfield (8-11) – First round bye
[6] Attica (7-12) vs. [11] Satanta (4-15)
GIRLS – DIGHTON
Sub-State #1:
[1] Sharon Springs-Wallace County (14-4) – First round bye
[8] Weskan (8-11) vs. [9] Otis-Bison (5-12)
[4] Grainfield-Wheatland/Grinnell (13-5) – First round bye
[5] Rexford-Golden Plains (12-7) vs. [12] Chase (0-19)
Sub-State #2:
[2] Bird City-Cheylin (14-4) – First round bye
[7] Ransom-Western Plains (9-8) vs. [10] Rozel-Pawnee Heights (5-14)
[3] Jetmore-Hodgeman County (14-5) – First round bye
[6] Dighton (11-8) vs. [11] Triplains/Brewster Titans (0-17)
BOYS – DIGHTON
Sub-State #1:
[1] Weskan (16-3) – First round bye
[8] Otis-Bison (8-10) vs. [9] Hutchinson-Central Christian
[4] Ransom-Western Plains (10-7) vs. [13] Triplains/Brewster Titans (0-19)
[5] Sharon Springs-Wallace County (10-8) vs. [12] Rozel-Pawnee Heights (1-18)
Sub-State #2:
[2] Dighton (16-3) – First round bye
[7] Grainfield-Wheatland/Grinnell (8-10) vs. [10] Rexford-Golden Plains (7-12)
[3] Jetmore-Hodgeman County (15-5) – First round bye
[6] Bird City-Cheylin (9-9) vs. [11] Chase (1-16)
GIRLS – McPHERSON-ELYRIA CHRISTIAN
Sub-State #1:
[1] South Haven (17-1) – First round bye
[8] McPherson-Elyria Christian (11-8) vs. [9] Buffalo-Altoona Midway (6-11)
[4] Hartford (13-5) – First round bye
[5] St. Paul (11-5) – First round bye
Sub-State #2:
[2] Lebo (17-1) – First round bye
[7] Waverly (11-8) vs. [10] Leroy-Southern Coffey County (4-13)
[3] Hutchinson-Central Christian – First round bye
[6] Melvern-Marais Des Cygnes Valley (13-6) vs. [11] Caldwell (3-15)
BOYS – McPHERSON-ELYRIA CHRISTIAN
Sub-State #1:
[1] McPherson-Elyria Christian (15-4) – First round bye
[8] Chetopa (3-12) vs. [9] Waverly (3-16)
[4] South Haven (10-8) vs. [13] Southern Coffey County (0-18)
[5] Buffalo-Altoona Midway (10-9) vs. [12] Burrton (0-13)
Sub-State #2:
[2] Hartford (12-6) – First round bye
[7] Peabody-Burns (4-14) vs. [10] St. Paul (2-15)
[3] Lebo (10-8) – First round bye
[6] Melvern-Marais Des Cygnes Valley (5-14) vs. [11] Caldwell (2-16)