By John Mesh
The Hutchinson High School girls soccer team shut out Classic School of Wichita 3-0 Monday on the first day of play in the Wichita South Titan Classic.
The halftime score was 1-0. The match was played on Turf Field at Wichita South High School.
Hutchinson’s sophomore goalkeeper, Baleigh Cousins, recorded her first shutout of the season and needed to make just a few saves.
Junior Rhyan Galyon scored the Salthawks’ first goal at the 25-minute mark of the first half on an assist from junior Azul Maciel, with help from a pass from freshman Princess Mendoza.
Galyon took a pass from Booe and dribbled past five defenders for about 70 yards to score the second goal of the game.
Maciel scored Hutchinson’s third goal on an assist from junior Keyla Fernandez. Maciel boomed a shot 36 yards past Wichita Classical’s goalkeeper (an NCAA Division I commit) into the top right corner of the goal.
Salthawk senior midfielders Lily Rodriguez and Ayla Booe took control of the game defensively.
In the Salthawks’ next two Wichita South Titan Classic matchups, Hutchinson will play Emporia at 6 p.m. Wednesday and Wichita East at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The Hutchinson junior varsity and varsity teams host Newton on next Tuesday at the Salthawk Sports Complex and host Salina South on April 10 (Thursday).
Weather forces postponements of Halstead-Pratt baseball, softball games
Due to the threat of inclement weather and hazardous traveling conditions, Tuesday’s baseball and softball games between Halstead and Pratt at Halstead were postponed to 4 p.m. Thursday.
Halstead and Pratt officials will work to reschedule the junior varsity baseball games that were originally scheduled for Tuesday.
The Halstead JV baseball team split a doubleheader with Smoky Valley on Monday, losing 9-6 in the first game and winning the nightcap 15-1.
The Pratt JV boys tennis meet scheduled for Tuesday at the Walter Blake Tennis Complex in Pratt was postponed to 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Nickerson JV boys tennis team will compete in the tournament.
Sports scores for Tuesday, April 1, 2025
• The Haven baseball team swept a home doubleheader from Smoky Valley Tuesday night 16-1 (Game 1) and 10-4 (Game 2).
• The Haven High School softball team hosted a doubleheader Tuesday against Smoky Valley. The host Wildcats defeated the Vikings 15-1 (Game 1) and 16-1 (Game 2).
• The Haven JV baseball team swept Moundridge 18-5 (Game 1) and 4-3 (Game 2).
• The Inman High School baseball team swept a doubleheader from Pratt-Skyline. The Teutons defeated Pratt-Skyline 20-6 (Game 1) and 17-1 (Game 2).
• Little River baseball and softball teams swept four games from Canton-Galva. The Little River softball team won 18-7 and 19-11. The baseball team won 15-0 and 15-0. The Little River teams will play at Hutchinson Trinity Catholic on Friday.
• The Nickerson softball team lost 18-3 and 17-2 to Hoisington.
• The Nickerson baseball team defeated Hoisington 21-7 (Game 1). Game 2 was suspended because of high winds. A rescheduled date is to be determined.
• The Great Bend softball team split a doubleheader with McPherson, winning the first game 16-2 and dropping the second game 11-5.
• The Great Bend girls soccer team shut out Junction City 4-0.
• The Great Bend baseball team lost to Hays 5-4. Just one game was played.
Buhler soccer, baseball, soccer teams in action Monday
The Buhler High School varsity and JV girls soccer, baseball and softball teams were in action Monday.
The Buhler varsity girls soccer team (0-2-1) lost 2-0 at Great Bend’s Cavanaugh Field, but the Crusaders’ JV squad won 1-0. Kennedee Applegate scored the Buhler goal on an assist from Kylie Gregg.
Coach Randall Rank on the team’s Facebook page credited Josie Cummins. Zoey Gregg and the defense with a clean sheet (preventing the other team from getting any scoring opportunities).
The Buhler varsity and JV soccer teams host Mulvane on Thursday and Augusta next Tuesday (April 8).
The Buhler baseball team swept Towanda-Circle 8-4 and 6-0 and improved to 5-1
The Crusader baseball team hosts Wichita Collegiate on Thursday, starting at 4 p.m., travels to El Dorado Monday and hosts Clay Center on April 11.
The Crusader softball team split with Circle Monday, winning the first game 13-3 and falling in the second game 9-3.
The Buhler softball team hosts Hutchinson at 4 p.m. Thursday, plays at El Dorado on Monday and plays at Clay Center April 11.
Area basketball players recognized on KBCA All-State Team
The Kansas Basketball Coaches Association released its Girls and Boys All-State Teams on Tuesday.
Class 5A boys: Hutchinson’s Terrell King, a 5-foot-10 senior, was named to the second team.
Class 4A girls: Buhler’s Natalya Krafels, a 5-9 senior, was named to the second team. Teammate Gracie Oard, a 5-8 senior, was named to the third team. Krafels and Oard led the Crusaders to a fourth-place effort at the Kansas Class 4A state tournament.
Class 3A girls: Addisen Wills, a 5-6 junior from state champion Halstead, was named to the first team. Teammate Piper Schroeder, a 5-4 sophomore, was named to the second team. Jordy Schroeder, a 5-7 sophomore, was named honorable mention.
Haven’s Sienna DeFrain, a 5-9 senior, was named to the 3A girls third team.
Class 3A boys: Haven placed Dalton Bontrager, a 6-6 senior, on the second team, and Nash Wray, a 5-8 senior, on honorable mention.
Class 2A boys: State champion Sterling placed Boston Ekart, a 6-6 junior, on the first team, and Blake Smith, a 6-2 junior, on the second team.
Class 1A Division I boys: Pretty Prairie’s Evan Young, a 6-1 senior, was named honorable mention.
Class 1A Division II girls: Hutchinson Central Christian’s Jessa Losew, a 5-foot-8 junior, was an honorable mention selection.
Class 1A Division II boys: Hutchinson Central Christian’s Brady Froese, a 6-foot senior, and Jayden Linscheid, a 6-1 senior, were named honorable mention. Froese and Linscheid led the Cougars to a sub-state title and a state tournament appearance.
HutchCC softball team receives votes in latest NJCAA poll
The Hutchinson Community College softball team received votes in the latest NJCAA Top 25 poll released on Monday afternoon.
The Blue Dragons are 23-5 overall, 17-1 in Jayhawk Conference play. HutchCC has a two-game lead on Barton in the conference standings.
Hutchinson will host a 2 p.m. doubleheader Wednesday at Fun Valley against Fort Hays Tech Northwest (0-24, 0-16).
The Blue Dragons will travel to El Dorado on Friday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against No. 17 Butler (23-5, 12-4).
Hutchinson has 16 games remaining in the regular season, but only four will be played at Fun Valley. The other 12 games are road games.
In the NJCAA Division I baseball rankings, Cowley College (23-6) is ranked third and Johnson County Community College (25-10) is ranked 12th.
Barton CC received votes in the NJCAA Division I baseball poll.
Hutchinson swim meet postponed because of HVAC issues at Hutchinson YMCA
The Hutchinson girls swim meet scheduled for Tuesday was postponed because of HVAC system issues at the Hutchinson YMCA.
Hutchinson, Buhler, Dodge City, Holcomb and Marion were scheduled to compete.
The Hutchinson High School athletic department said it will post a makeup date as soon as it is finalized.
Hutchinson and Buhler are scheduled to compete at the Great Bend Invitational next Tuesday (April 8) at the Barton Community College Natatorium. Also competing are Great Bend, Dodge City and Holcomb.
Austin Downing named head men’s basketball coach at Seward County
Seward County Community College has named Austin Downing its new head men’s basketball coach.
Downing comes to Seward County from Barton Community College, where in three years as an assistant coach he has coached in two national tournaments, including a National Championship for the 2023-2024 season.
Downing, as an assistant coach with the Cougar,s had an overall record of 86-19 and a 59-15 mark in the Jayhawk Conference.
Downing, from Atchison, started his playing career at Neosho Community College, finishing in the Top 20 on the all-time scoring list.
Downing also played college basketball at Quincy University and Emporia State University. With ESU, he earned All-MIAA honors.
Area basketball players participate in All-Star games at Barton CC
The Central Kansas High School All-Star Basketball Classic took place Sunday at Barton Community College, showcasing senior basketball standouts from across central and western Kansas.
The North won the girls game 63-62. Buhler’s Natalya Krafels scored 14 points in the game and was the North’s Most Valuable Player. Halstead’s Dalaina Schutte scored 1 point.
Hutchinson High School’s Kaia Smith and Grace Posch competed for the South team in the girls’ game. Smith scored 18 points and was named the South’s MVP. Posch scored 7 points.
On the boys’ side, Haven High School’s Nash Wray and Dalton Bontrager represented the West team, which won a high-scoring matchup 123-120.
Bontrager finished with 10 points. Wray added 7.
The game’s leading scorer was Ty Romero of Elyria Christian, who tallied 31 points for the West boys. Great Bend’s Ben Nicholson scored 17 for the West.
Ellinwood’s Landon Simpson scored 21 points and was the East team’s MVP.
Three CKL baseball teams, two HOA team ranked in first KABC poll
The Central Kansas League placed three teams and the Heart of America League two in the first Kansas Associated of Baseball Coaches (KABC) poll released on Monday.
The ranked CKL teams are Pratt, sixth in Class 4A; and Haven and Hesston, fourth and fifth in Class 3A. The two ranked HOA teams are Sedgwick and Moundridge, sixth and ninth in Class 2-1A.
The No. 1-ranked baseball teams in the state are Shawnee Mission East, Class 6A; St. Thomas Aquinas, Class 5A; St. George-Roc Creek, Class 4A; Wichita Trinity Academy, Class 3A; and Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan (Class 2-1A).
Other teams of interest for area teams are Maize, eighth in 6A; Great Bend, Bishop Carroll, Maize South and Goddard-Eisenhower, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth in 5A; McPherson, third in 4A; Wichita Collegiate, seventh in 3A; Hays-Thomas More Prep-Marian, Medicine Lodge and Salina Sacred Heart, second, third and 10th in Class 2-1A.
Kansas Baseball Coaches Association Rankings
Week 1
As of Monday, March 1
CLASS 6A
Shawnee Mission East
Olathe West
Blue Valley
Lawrence Free State
Blue Valley West
Mill Valley
Olathe East
Maize
Manhattan
Blue Valley North
CLASS 5A
St. Thomas Aquinas
Blue Valley Southwest
Spring Hill
Great Bend
Topeka Seaman
Shawnee Heights
Bishop Carroll
Maize South
Goddard-Eisenhower
DeSoto
CLASS 4A
St George-Rock Creek
Topeka Hayden
McPherson
Paola
Mulvane
Pratt
Fort Scott
Louisburg
Wakefield-Clay Center
CLASS 3A
Wichita Trinity
Bishop Ward
Frontenac
Haven
Hesston
Silver Lake
Wichita Collegiate
Hoisington
Sante Fe Trail
Sabetha
CLASS 2-1A
Pittsburg-St Mary’s Colgan
Hays-Thomas More Prep-Marian
Medicine Lodge
Colony Crest
Valley Falls
Sedgwick
Eskridge-Mission Valley
Belleville-Republic County
Moundridge
Salina-Sacred Heart
Season ends for Dodge City CC women’s basketball team with semifinal loss at NJCAA DI Tournament
No. 8 seed Shelton State (31-4) knocked off No. 4 seed Dodge City Community College 60-59 in an overtime thriller in the semifinals of the NJCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship at the Ford Wyoming Center on Monday night.
The Shelton State women’s basketball team played for its first national championship against Northwest Florida State, which defeated Eastern Arizona College in the other semifinal game Monday night.
Northwest Florida State defeated Shelton State 62-53 Tuesday night to win the championship.
Dodge City finished the season with a 31-5 record.
It was the first overtime game of the 2025 national tournament and the Bucs first overtime game of the season. Dodge City dropped to 1-2 in overtime games.
The Bucs came up with two defensive stands in the final 10 seconds to advance to the championship game for the first time in school history.
Dodge City forward Layla-J Cameron’s potential game-winning basket was blocked out of bounds by Bucs sophomore forward CoCo Thomas with nine second left. The Conquistadors went to Cameron one more time and her jumper fell short as time expired giving the Bucs the one-point win.
Shelton State won the game despite scoring nine total points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
After a dominating third quarter, the Bucs took a 51-38 lead into the final 10 minutes. Dodge City quickly grabbed momentum and scored the first 13 points of the quarter to tie the game at 51-51 on Konstantina Mantziori’s three-pointer with 4:36 left in the game.
Hobdy hit a layup with 2:47 left in regulation to give the Bucs a 53-51 lead. Cameron hit game-tying layup with 46 second to play. Both teams traded turnovers in the final 30 seconds and freshman guard Janiyah Bone missed a three-pointer as time expired.
The Bucs outscored Dodge City 23-11 in the third quarter to take a 51-38 lead into the final quarter.
Dodge City led 18-14 at the end of the first quarter.
Shelton State held Dodge City to nine second-quarter points to take a 28-27 halftime lead.
Shelton State had three players in double figures in the win. Hobdy led all scorers with 19 points. She also added 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots.
Freshman Alana Obianozie added 12 points. Thomas had 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Dodge City had three players in double figures, led by Cameron’s 17 points and 8 rebounds. Shorna Preston scored 12 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Mia Jordan added 11 points.
Northwest Florida State wins another NJCAA DI women’s crown
After being knocked off by Hutchinson Community College 88-80 in overtime in the 2024 NJCAA Division I women’s championship, Northwest Florida State took the 2025 crown with a 62-53 victory over Shelton State Tuesday night at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, Wyo.
The game was televised on ESPNU.
The Raiders from NWF led 20-14 after one quarter, 34-28 at halftime and 48-38 after three quarters.
Nevaeh Scott led the victorious Raiders with 25 points, including 9-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. Kyla McBride scored 13 points. Mekhia Chase had 11 points and 8 rebounds. Deborah Davenport had 4 points and 10 rebounds. Jade Ondineme had 4 points and 6 rebounds.
Scott was named the “Jersey Mike’s Sub Above Player of the Game” for her performance
Alana Obianozie led Shelton State with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Lameria Thomas had 12 points and 16 rebounds. Makala Hobdy had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Janiyah Boone had 9 points and 5 rebounds.
Northwest Florida State posted a 32-3 record. Shelton State finished the season with a 30-5 record.
NWF was making its fourth appearance in the title game in the past five years, including three championship game appearances in a row. This is their third national title under coach Bart Walker.
The 2026 NJCAA Division I women’s tournament will be played on the campus of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La.
NJCAA Women’s Division I Basketball
Tournament Scores/Schedule
Ford Wyoming Center, Casper, Wyo.
First round games
Tuesday, March 25
Game 1: No. 17 Kilgore 75, No.16 Walters State 59
Game 2: No. 15 Casper 67, No. 18 Salt Lake 55
Game 3: No. 13 Arizona Western 67, No. 20 State Fair 49
Game 4: No. 19 Wallace State 62, No. 14 Murray State 46
Wednesday, March 26
Game 5: No. 9 South Plains 88, No. 24 Monroe University 69
Game 6: No. 10 Eastern Arizona 92, No. 23 Olive Harvey 57
Game 7: No. 12 Florida Southwestern State 61, No. 21 Itawamba 36
Game 8: No. 11 Hutchinson 61, No. 22 South Georgia Tech 58
Second round games
Thursday, March 27
Game 9: No. 1 Chipola College 73, No. 12 Kilgore 63
Game 10: No. 2 Wabash Valley College 88, No. 15 Casper 80
Game 11: No. 4 Dodge City CC 72, Arizona Western 52
Game 12: No. 3 Northwest Florida State College 59, No. 19 Wallace State-Hanceville 41
Friday, March 28
Game 13: No. 8 Shelton State CC 69, No. 9 South Plains College 59
Game 14: No. 10 Eastern Arizona College 53, No. 7 McLennan CC 46
Game 15: No. 5 New Mexico JC 45, No. 12 Florida Southwestern State College 43
Game 16: No. 6 Three Rivers CC 50, No. 11 Hutchinson 48
Saturday, March 29
Game 17: No. 8 Shelton State CC 61, No. 1 Chipola College 60
Game 18: No. 10 Eastern Arizona College 64, No. 2 Wabash Valley College 59
Game 19: No. 4 Dodge City CC 58, No. 5 New Mexico JC 41
Game 20: No. 3 Northwest Florida State College 83, No. 6 Three Rivers CC 78
Monday, March 31
Game 21 Semifinal: No. 8 Shelton State CC 60, No. 4 Dodge City CC 59.
Game 22 Semifinal: No. 3 Northwest Florida State College 70, No. 10 Eastern Arizona College 60
Tuesday, April 1
Game 23 Championship: Northwest Florida State College 62, No. 8 Shelton State CC 53