Hutchinson Trinity Catholic golfers dominate HOA meet with 310 score

By John Mesh

The Hutchinson Trinity Catholic High School boys golf team dominated the Heart of America League Tournament Monday with a 310 score on the par-72 Hesston Golf Course.

Sterling placed second with a 352 score, followed by Berean Academy 385, Sedgwick 409, Inman 418 and Ell-Saline 483.

The Celtics captured first through fourth place in the individual medal standings and placed six players in the top 10.

Trinity’s Ian Shaw and Lincoln Barnes both fired 4-over-par 75s for a first-place tie. Shaw defeated Barnes in a tiebreaker for medalist honors. Miles Blaylock and Tyler Casebolt placed third and fourth with 80s.

Trinity’s Seamus Hogan placed eighth with an 86 and Matt Armour placed ninth with an 87.

Sterling’s Cameron Morris fired an 83. Waylon Schmidt and Wyatt Newberry tied 89s and Lane Weigel 91. Morris place fifth, Schmidt and Newberry tied for 11th and Weigel placed 13th.

Inman’s top golfer was Braeden Stutzman with a 92, followed by Creighton Friesen 97, Keetan McEuen 111, Paul Funk 109, Brett Jerrick 124 and Devin Penner 126.

Stutzman placed 15th, Friesen 15th, McEuen 23rd, Funk tied for 28th, Jerrick 33rd and Penner 34th.

Salthawk baseball team shut out at home by St. Thomas Aquinas

The Hutchinson Salthawk baseball team was shut out 8-0 by Overland Park-St. Thomas Aquinas Monday night at Hobart-Detter Field.

It was the final regular season game for Hutchinson (15-10). Aquinas (20-4) will play Overland Park-Blue Valley (17-8) Thursday night.

The Salthawks will compete in Class 5A West Regional, hosted by Valley Center, on May 19-22.

The 5A state baseball tournament is May 29-30 at Wichita State University’s Eck Stadium.

Hutchinson boys golf team places 3rd at AVCTL I Tournament

The Hutchinson Salthawk boys golf team placed third at the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division I Tournament Monday at the par-72 Pine Bay Golf Course in Wichita.

Maize South ran away from the competition to win the AVCTL I team with a 308 score.

Maize was second with a 347 score, followed by Hutchinson 349, Derby 354, Valley Center 356, Salina South 367 and Haysville-Campus 400.

Hutchinson placed four players in the top 20 and six in the top 25, led by Mitchell Rice, who tied for 10th place with a 12-over-par 84.

Hutchinson’s Tate England tied for 14th place, 87; Alex Haas, tied for 18th, 88; Landyn Powell, 20th, 90; Kevin Wilson and Maks Dreiling, tied for 25th, 93.

Maize South took the top four places, led by Joe Binger with a 1-over-par 73. Colten Hoover placed second, 76; Conrad Parkhurst, third, 77; and Laken Matthews, fourth. 82.

Two other Maize golfers tied for seventh place at 83 — Koen Eewrtz and Travis Black.

Also placing in the top 10 (plus ties) were Valley Center’s Christian Fowle and Maize’s Kobey Jackson, tied for fourth, 82; Derby’s Zach Lai, tied for seventh, 83; and Salina South’s Ledger Michel, tied for 10th, 84.

Hutchinson golfers will compete at the Class 5A regional tournament May 20 at Wichita’s Auburn Hills Golf Club, 443 South 135th West, Wichita. Maize South will host the regional.

In addition to Hutchinson and Maize South, other schools competing are Great Bend, Hays, Newton, Salina Central and Salina South.

The top three teams from each 5A regional and the next five individual scores not on a qualifying team, plus ties, will qualify for the Class 5A boys state tournament May 26 at the Emporia Municipal Golf Course.

Complete results from AVCTL I boys golf tournament — https://www.kansasgolfscores.com/ks_b_25/tourneyResults.php?tid=2718&db=boys

Halstead boys 5th, Nickerson 7th at CKL golf tournament

The Halstead High School boys golf team placed fifth at the Central Kansas League Tournament at the par-70 Park Hills Country Club course in Pratt.

Pratt won the tournament with a 324 score, followed by Hesston 334, Hoisington 358, Hillsboro 383, Halstead 388, Larned 419 and Nickerson 434.

Halstead’s Wesley Park tied for eighth, 87; Maxx Linton, tied for 19th.98; Jacob Rose, tied for 27th, 104; Harrison Wilson, tied for 27th, 108; and Aaron Learn, tied for 37th, 119.

Kyler Nikkel was Nickerson’s top golfer, placing 26th with a 103 score, followed by Addrick Nelson, tied for 31st, 108; Jacob Myers,34th, 109; Alfonso Lozano, 36th, 114; and Brayden Mathis, tied for 37th, 119.

Haven softball team sweeps Wellington

The Haven High School softball team swept a home doubleheader from Wellington Monday night, winning the first game 14-0 and the second game 3-1.

Haven plays a single game Thursday against Moundridge. The game starts at 5 p.m.

Area teams to compete in league track meets Thursday, Friday

The Hutchinson High School boys and girls track teams will compete in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division I meet Friday at Derby’s Panther Stadium.

Other schools competing are Haysville-Campus, Derby, Maize, Maize South, Salina South and Valley Center.

• Buhler hosts the AVCTL III track championships Friday at Crusader Stadium. Other tams competing are Towanda-Circle, Augusta, McPherson, Mulvane and Winfield

• Nickerson hosts the Central Kansas League track meet on Thursday. Other schools competing in the CKL meet are Halstead, Haven, Hesston, Hillsboro, Hoisington, Larned, Pratt and Smoky Valley.

• Sterling High School will host the Heart of America League meet on Thursday at Sterling College. In addition to Sterling, other schools competing are Hutchinson Trinity Catholic, Bennington, Berean Academy, Classical School of Wichita, Marion, Moundridge, Remington, Sedgwick and Sterling.

• South Barber High School will host the Heart of the Plains League track meet Thursday at Kiowa. Schools competing are Hutchinson Central Christian, Attica, Burrton, Cunningham, Fairfield, Norwich, Pratt-Skyline, Pretty Prairie and Stafford.

Former HutchCC basketball coach Steve McClain named assistant coach at Tennessee

Former Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball coach Steve McClain has joined Rick Barnes’ staff at the University of Tennessee as an assistant coach.

McClain, 62, served as head coach at Hutchinson from 1991 to 1994, leading the Blue Dragons to the NJCAA national championship in his final season.

McClain spent the last three years on Rodney Terry’s staff at Texas. 

McClain spent five seasons as the head coach at Illinois-Chicago from 2015-20, inheriting a poor program and elevating them to the middle of the pack in the Horizon League.

The Orient, Iowa, native also spent nine years as the head coach at Wyoming from 1998-2007.

McClain twice won the Mountain West Regular-Season Championship at Wyoming and led the Cowboys to the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

McClain also has assistant coaching experience TCU, Colorado, Indiana and Georgia. He was on Tom Crean’s staff both at Indiana and Georgia.

McClain spent three seasons (1991-94) as the head coach at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, compiling a 91-16 (.850) record during that time.

During his final year at Hutchinson in 1993-94, the team posted a 35-4 record and won the NJCAA National Championship while averaging 90 points per contest.

McClain was recognized as the NJCAA and NABC-Kodak National Coach of the Year in 1994.

He also served as an assistant coach at Hutchinson for five seasons (1986-91), helping the Dragons win the NJCAA National Championship in 1988.

McClain began his coaching career as an undergraduate student assistant during his final two years (1982-84) at Chadron State College in Chadron, Neb. 

Following graduation, he served as an assistant coach at Sioux Empire Junior College in Iowa (1984-85) and Independence Community College in Kansas (1985-86).