Timothy Nesbitt III Passes Away

    Timothy W. Nesbitt III, 15, passed away Sunday, February 28, 2016 at Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka from injuries he received earlier in an auto accident.
    He was born January 24, 2001 in Topeka, the son of Timothy W. Nesbitt Jr. and Ashley Olson.  Timmy grew up in Silver Lake and was a freshman at the Silver Lake High School.  He was on the football and wrestling teams, he participated in track and had been in the school play.  Timmy was a member of the Student Council and FFA.   He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Silver Lake.
    He was preceded in death by an uncle, Brad Brady.
    Survivors include his father, Timothy W. Nesbitt, Jr., Holton, his mother and step-father, Ashley and Shannon TenEyck, Silver Lake; brothers Seth, Colton and Camden TenEyck, Silver Lake; sisters, Isabell Nesbitt, Emporia and Emilee Nesbitt, Holton; grandparents Anita and John Robb, Delia, Jake Olson, Rossville, Jayne and Al Logue, Topeka, Timothy W. Nesbitt Sr, Topeka and Alfred and Cheryl TenEyck, St. Marys.
    Funeral service will be at 10:00 A.M. Thursday, March 3, 2016 at the Silver Lake High School Gym.  Interment will be in the Delia Cemetery.  Timmy will lie in state from 6:00 until 8:00 P.M. Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at the First Baptist Church, 3439 NW Hoch Rd, Silver Lake.  Memorial contributions may be made in Timothy.s name and sent in care of Piper Funeral Home, 714 Maple St., St. Marys, Kansas 66536

http://ksnt.com/2016/02/29/he-was-simply-the-best-silver-lake-parents-react-to-losing-son/

RHS Boys Demolish Mission Valley

    The Dawgs jumped off to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter and then made liberal substitutions to get a lot of players into the rest of the game.  A continuous running clock during the fourth quarter limited the scoring in that quarter.

MV     6    9   14    6    35
RHS  18  21   21    8    68

Rossville scoring:
Roduner       6 (2)      0-1      14
Schumacher 5           2-3      12
Mason          3 (2)      3-4      11
Morris           3 (2)      0-0       8
Horak            2 (1)      2-2       7
Hammes        2           1-2       5
Bradshaw       1           3-4       5
Musick           2            0-0       4
Anderson       1            0-0       2 
Totals          25 (7)     11-16   68

    Rossville will next face St. Marys,  which beat Royal Valley 67-64.   on March 3 at Council Grove.  Silver Lake will face #1 seed Osage City in the other half of the bracket.
 
    You can see video of the game at:
http://www.wibw.com/content/sports/KPZ-Mission-Valley-at-Rossville-37059.1641html

Silver Lake Teen Dies In Auto Accident

TOPEKA (KSNT) — The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that a Silver Lake teen injured in a car crash last Tuesday has died.

Shawnee County Sheriff Todd Stallbaumer said Superintendent Tim Hallacy with Silver Lake Schools confirmed that 15-year-old Tim othy W. Nesbitt passed away due to injuries he sustained in the crash on February 22, 2016.

The crash occurred at the east curve of NW 46th Street and Hoch Road just north of Silver Lake

According to a press release from the Shawnee County Law Enforcement Center, Nesbitt failed to navigate the curve. The car went straight through the guardrail and into a heavily wooded area about 100 feet away from the road.

Silver Lake Schools posted the following on their Facebook Monday morning:

The entire Silver Lake Schools community extends our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Timmy Nesbitt III. His smile and energy will be missed, but the memories he left with his family and friends will live on forever! ‪#‎BETHECHEETAH!

Shannon Parr (12) At KSU

    Shannon Parr,  daughter of Howard and Rhonda Parr of Rossville,  is on the KSU track team.  Her bio can be read at:  http://www.kstatesports.com/sport/c-track/2015/roster/5589bb8ae4b09d6fde8f16b1

Band & Choir Concert Mar. 7

Monday, March 7th at 7:00 pm 

is the 

7-12th Band & Choir Concert in the RJSHS auditorium. 

Come hear a wide-variety of musical performances, featuring some of the small ensembles that received high ratings at the Mid-East League Music Festival hosted at Rossville on Wednesday, February 17th.
These senior high groups, both band and choir, will be working to polish their songs in preparation for Regional Music Festival on Saturday, April 2nd. Limeades will also be returning for their encore appearance!

Sub-State Girls BB Starts Tue.

    The RHS girl's basketball team will host Hoyt-Royal Valley at 7:00 PM on Tue. evening in the first round of the sub-state tournament.
    You can view the complete sub-state bracket at:
    http://kshsaa.org/Public/ScoreCenter/Brackets/Basketball/3ASub-State.cfm?Activity=2&WeekID=1110

Sub-State Boys BB Starts Monday

    The RHS boys basketball team will host Eskridge-Mission Valley at 7:00 Monday evening.
    The complete bracket for the local Sub-State tournament can be viewed at:
http://kshsaa.org/Public/ScoreCenter/Brackets/Basketball/3ASub-State.cfm?Activity=2&WeekID=1009

Hays Dailey News Wrestling Article

    Here is an article on the 321A wrestling championships in the Hays Dailey News.
http://www.hdnews.net/sports/a-state-wrestling-norton-claims-fourth-straight-team-title/article_0bb866d4-dc20-5587-b50e-d9aad4cb9853.html

CatchItKansas Article

    Here is an article about the 321A state championships though it focuses primarily on Norton.

http://www.catchitkansas.com/sports/wrestling/norton-wins-4th-straight-championship/38236142

Final Team Standings At State

1.    Norton            121
2.    Rossville         117
3.    Marysville         73
4.    Smith Cebter     68.5
5.    Scott City          68
6.    Riley Co.           59
7.    Hoxie                58
8,    Silver Lake        52
9.    Wabaunsee       50
10.   Anthony Harper Chaperall     49
11.   St. Marys          45

For the complete list of team standings at the 2016 Kasnas State 321A   wrestling tournament,  go to:

http://s400.trackwrestling.com/tw/predefinedtournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&loadBalanced=true&sport=wrestling&TIM=1456631264077&pageName=&ie=false&frameSize=899

Rossville Second At State

Rossville 3A wrestling title dreams dashed in finals

Bulldawgs crown champions in Luellen, Davoren, but Norton wins fourth straight state championship

By Brent Maycock

brent.maycock@cjonline.com

HAYS — The smiles worn by Isaac Luellen and Kole Davoren were genuine, and for good reason.

State championships don’t come along every day and any time you can win one, there’s a sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and exultation.

So when Luellen captured his second straight Class 3-2-1A 182-pound title, he “dabbed.” And when Davoren followed with his first state title at 220, he pumped his fists in the air and pointed to the Rossville cheering section.

But the celebrations were somewhat limited and the somber looks on the rest of the Bulldawgs told the other side of the story.

On a day where Rossville could boast two state champions, two runner-up finishers and five total placers, the Bulldawgs simply weren’t in a mood to celebrate. Not when the performance left them painfully short of ending Norton’s reign in Class 3-2-1A and delivering the program’s first state title.

“They did what they had to do all weekend long,” Rossville coach Curt Brecheisen said of Norton, which got three state champions and edged the Bulldawgs by a mere four points for the team title, 121-117. “They went three for three tonight and we went two for four. We knew it was going to be a dogfight and it was.”

Rossville held a one-point lead going into Saturday’s championship matches and had four wrestlers in the finals while Norton had three. Matching the Bluejays champion for champion was a must and if at all, Rossville needed to stay a step ahead.

But by the time Luellen and Davoren captured their titles, Norton had done its work. The Bluejays got titles from Skylar Johnson at 113, Mike Kasson at 160 and Gavin Lively at 195 with Lively’s pin in the finals clinching the title ahead of Davoren’s crown.

“They were just too much for us,” Luellen said.

That somewhat sums up Luellen’s season as well. No matter what came his way, he handled it with relative ease. A state champion a year ago despite missing the first half of the season, Luellen was at full strength as a senior and boy was he strong.

A 5-3 win over KC-Turner’s Jacob Smith was his only close call of the season and really became a turning point in his run to a 46-0 record.

“After beating him at Basehor, I was ready to go for state,” Luellen said. “I was dominating after that. I felt good all year, but after Basehor, it was over.”

The 182 title match with Lyons’ Cody Clark was over quickly as well. Luellen needed 15 seconds to get his first takedown and locked Clarke up in a cradle right away. He couldn’t get the valuable pin points and did give up a reversal, but cruised the rest of the way to a 16-3 major decision.

If Luellen was the known commodity, Davoren was the surprise champion. How much of a surprise? The senior didn’t even start wrestling until his junior year. No kids background, no nothing.

“Derek (Gentry) got me to come out because they didn’t have a 220 so I thought I’d give it a try,” Davoren said. “I went out last year and enjoyed it and it helped me in football. I really didn’t I could be this good, honestly.”

In his title match with Smith Center’s Dalton Kuhn, Davoren got a first-period takedown and appeared to be in solid position going into the third period up 2-1 and starting on bottom. Instead, Kuhn turned him for two back points, forcing Davoren to rally.

He did, getting an escape with just under a minute left and then the winning takedown with less than 40 seconds to go, taking a 5-3 win.

“It’s really amazing,” said Davoren, who finished 38-6.

The fantastic finish for the Bulldawgs was dampened by a heartbreaking start to the finals as both Bryce Gfeller and Isaiah Luellen fell short in their bids to get Rossville rolling.

Gfeller (41-6), a two-time state champion, had a known rival in his 126 final in Wabaunsee’s Riley Tubbs, a Mid-East League colleague whom Gfeller had gone 2-1 against this year. That included an 8-4 win over Tubbs in last week’s regional finals where Gfeller was able to work on his feet and rack up takedowns.

In Saturday’s rematch, Tubbs grabbed the early lead by putting Gfeller on his back for a two-point near-fall in the second period. Gfeller fought back to tie the match 3-3 less than 30 seconds into the final period and then let Tubbs up to try to get a winning takedown. It never came and Tubbs capitalized for a late takedown of his own for a 6-3 win.

“I didn’t shoot near enough throughout the whole match,” Gfeller said. “We’ve been back and forth all year and he got me when it mattered. It’s definitely motivation to get No. 3 next year.”

Sophomore Isaiah Luellen faced a tough challenge to get his first state title, meeting undefeated Christopher Ball of Hoisington in the 152 finals. The task got even bigger when Ball scored an early takedown and rode Luellen out the rest of the period.

Even though Luellen (39-7) fought back and got a takedown in both the second and third periods, Ball stayed one step ahead and took the 6-5 victory.

“I got rode a lot so if I couldn’t get up, I wasn’t going to beat him,” Luellen said. “I thought he was getting tired, but it all went back to I couldn’t get off bottom. There wasn’t really much I could do.”

Rossville also got a third at 120 from Alex Cavanaugh (41-3), who gave the team a huge shot of momentum when he beat Norton’s Ryan Johnson 3-2 in the consolation semifinals and followed with a 7-1 win over Southeast-Cherokee’s Tyler Kester for third.

But in the end, the Bulldawgs came up just short of the goal of becoming state champions.

“We should feel blessed, but we all feel the same way,” Brecheisen said. “Our expectations from Day One this season was to be No. 1. And we didn’t get it.”

Final Class Results

    The final standings of each weight class at the state tournament can be read at:

http://s200.trackwrestling.com/tw/predefinedtournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&loadBalanced=true&sport=wrestling&TIM=1456622985588&pageName=&ie=false&frameSize=899

Final Rounds Coming Up

Thee are a few matches for third place remaining and then the championship matches will begin.  The Dawgs have four wrestlers in those matches,  and have a one point lead over Norton 108-107.

Rossville Leads After First Day

From CatchItKansas.com

After Friday’s competition, Rossville and Norton had distanced themselves from the field, though the state crown remains in doubt after Day 1 at Fort Hays State University’s Gross Memorial Coliseum. Rossville leads Norton 101-91. No other team exceeds 54 points.

“You do the math, it’s going to be tough this year, and we knew that going in,” Johnson said. “We were not the favorite by any means, but I think we wrestled well enough to put a little scare in them.”

Rossville, known for its elite talent, has four wrestlers in the finals. Norton, traditionally with excellent depth, qualified three. The Bluejays’ eight wrestlers all remain alive and five are guaranteed medals. Rossville has seven wrestlers. Each one is left with guaranteed five placers.

“We knew it was going to be hard,” senior 195-pounder Gavin Lively said. “They have got quite a few in the finals just like we do, and we are going to try and finish it off.”

Last season, Norton trailed Hoisington and Rossville after Friday but tallied 43 Day 2 points and collected its eighth title in the last 12 years. Last season, the Bluejays had just one in the final and placed seven. This year, Norton has likely less opportunity to score on the backside.

“The chances that we would score a lot more points on the back was greater last year,” Johnson said.

Rossville and Norton had some surprises, both good and bad. Overall, the Bluejays were pleased with a day that put three seniors into championships: 113-pounder Skylar Johnson, 160-pounder Mike Kasson and Lively, undefeated this winter. It marks the second final for Johnson, first for Kasson and Lively.

“That’s all I have ever worked for is to make finals,” Kasson said.

Lively and Kasson have both gone through multiple obstacles in their careers, and for Kasson, some hurdles Friday.

“He has been huge,” Lively said. “He is wrestling in the toughest bracket in the state right now I’d say.”

Lively, a Kansas State football signing, believed he could have placed at state as a freshman and sophomore, though suffered injury. Last season, Lively had a disqualification in the quarterfinals and took third. On Friday, he dominated his three matches.

“It feels great knowing I should have been there last year and making it this year,” Lively said.

Lively, Smith Center’s 220-pound sophomore Dalton Kuhn and Plainville 285-pound senior Jared Plante were the lone wrestlers to record three wins by fall. Lively spent just 5 minutes, 20 seconds on the mat.

“We know we have to wrestle good if we want to take home our fourth team title, so we are all wrestling the hardest we can, and I am just trying to get as many points as I can for my team,” Lively said.

Kasson didn’t place as a sophomore and took third at 152 last season. Kasson said he “drew the short straw” and had to face St. Marys’ Greg Tooley, the eventual champion, in the first round. This year, Kasson had one of the two high-profile first round matchups.

Kasson, ranked sixth by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, faced No. 5 Jacob Stryker, a Marysville junior. Kasson had lost to Stryker twice this winter. This time, Kasson tied the match in the final seconds of regulation on a takedown and then won, 4-2 in sudden victory. Kasson collected a 4-3 decision in the quarterfinals and won 12-3 in the semifinals.

Johnson said Kasson’s performance mirrored his run through the prestigious Newton tournament last month. Kasson barely won his first round match, had a better win in the second, did well in the semifinals – and then didn’t wrestle well in the finals.

“So hopefully we can turn that around and wrestle his best match here, and he is one of those kids that he has an enormous amount of heart,” Johnson said. “He hasn’t always had the great technique, but he has developed that over the years.”

Junior 145-pounder Trenton Wright, with nine losses entering state, was unranked. Wright went 2-1 and is guaranteed a medal in his first trip.

“One of those steady kids,” Johnson said. “Between your sophomore and your junior year is when we want to see those huge gains, and he has made that big step.”

Norton had some negative surprises as well, namely sophomore Ryan Johnson, a returning state runner-up, falling in the quarterfinals at 120 pounds. Rossville won one of its key toss-up matches when Bulldog senior Kole Davoren defeated Oakley sophomore Chris Cox in sudden victory in the 220-pound semifinals.

“I really didn’t expect their 220 pounder to pull that one out, but their kids came to wrestle, and I give them credit for that,” coach Johnson said. “But our guys rose to the occasion.”