Audrey Riat Passes Away

Audrey Marie Riat, 84, long time resident of St. Marys, passed away Monday, March 1, 2021 at Bridge Haven Memory Care in Lawrence. 

Audrey was born on September 14, 1936 in Junction City, the daughter of LaVern Roland and Ethel “Marie” (Norman) Langvardt.  She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Howard L. Langvardt.

She married Raymond Riat in St. Marys in 1958 and they operated Riat's Liquors for many years.

To read the complete obituary, go to:    https://www.piperfuneralhome.com/obituary/Audrey-Riat

Layne Hurla State Runner-Up At 145#

From the Capital-Journal:

A day after seeing his sister, Kendra Hurla, win a Division II girls state championship in Salina, Rossville's Layne Hurla made a title run of his own Saturday. 

The bid came up short in the 145-pound final against unbeaten Derek Johnson from Hoxie, a 2020 state champion. Johnson took a 3-1 decision win to move to 43-0. 

Hurla made the title match after pinning Plainville's Gabe Kerns in the quarterfinal and taking a 12-6 decision over Kingman's Colby Schreiner in the semi-final. 

The junior finished 29-4 on the season. 

                        Rossville's Layne Hurla (left) wrestles Derrick Johnson of Hoxie for the championship.

321A State Wrestling Championship

 State Championship tournament on Feb. 27 at Ft Hays State

145

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place - Derek Johnson of Hoxie
• 2nd Place - Layne Hurla of Rossville
• 3rd Place - Colby Schreiner of Kingman
• 4th Place - Elijah Collins of Osage City
• 5th Place - Brody Harrison of Eureka
• 6th Place - Jordan Bachman of Hillsboro

1st Place Match

• Derek Johnson (Hoxie) 43-0, So. over Layne Hurla (Rossville) 29-4, Sr. (Dec 3-1)

152

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place - Bryce Eck of Uniontown
• 2nd Place - Brent Escareno of Eureka
• 3rd Place - Aiden Amrein of Hill City
• 4th Place - Sam Twombly of Rossville
• 5th Place - Garrett Urban of Norton Community
• 6th Place - Eli Mumpower of Wabaunsee

3rd Place Match

• Aiden Amrein (Hill City) 41-2, Fr. over Sam Twombly (Rossville) 19-5, Jr. (Fall 3:10)

Colby Hurla also competed in 138 class but did not place in the top 6,

KWU Women Lose Semi-Final

 STERLING – Trying to upset the unbeaten and No. 9 Sterling College Warriors (27-0) on their home court was a daunting enough task for the Kansas Wesleyan women in this tournament semi-final.  Sterling won 89-69 in the Saturday game.   

Doing so after playing four games the previous seven days was a hill too steep for the KWU Coyotes to climb.   

The Coyotes end the season with a 16-11 record after winning seven of their final nine games. Sterling advances to the title game against Tabor Monday night at Hartman Arena in Park City

Senior Amanda Hill from Rossville scored 13 points on 6 of 16 shooting.  She also had 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 assists.

Sophomore Caila Hill, also from Rossville had 6 points on 2 of 4 shooting and 2 of 2 at the free throw line.  Caila also had 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal and 2 assists.

You can read the game details at:  https://www.kwucoyotes.com/article/5215

Kendra Hurla Is State Champ

Froom The Capital-Journal: 

SALINA — Rossville's Kendra Hurla and her coach Brandy Lowe watched Hurla's sub-state match with Paola's Kailyn Younger multiple times before Friday's Girls Division II State Wrestling Championships at Tony's Pizza Events Center.

Lowe and Hurla knew they had a plan to defeat Younger, who entered the championship match at 120 pounds ranked No. 1 and with a 26-1 record.

Hurla avenged a sub-state championship loss to Younger by pinning her in the second period to win her first state championship in her freshman season. 

Hurla had her brother, Holden, looking down on her. Holden died on Jan. 1 (Holden Hurla Passes) and taught everything Kendra needed to know about wrestling. Holden was a three-time state qualifier at Rossville. 

You can read the complete article at:   https://www.cjonline.com/story/sports/2021/02/27/rossvilles-hurla-pulls-upset-d-ii-state-title/6843474002/

State Champ Kendra Hurla

Kendra Hurla wrestles Paola's Kailyn Younger for 120# Championship,

Rossville At Valley Heights Basketball

     The Rossville boys lost to Valley Heights 45-31 on Feb 25, 2021.  The Rossville girls lost to Valley Heights 57-34.

Girls Game

Rossville             7   4  13  10  —  34
Valley Heights 13  13  16  15  —  57

Rossville scoring:  

Perine                 4       2-4     10
Streit                   0       0-2      0
Mitchell              1        6-9      8
Horgan               0        1-2      1
Bergstresser      0        3-3      3
Rabe                              2-2      4
Porter                 2 (1)   0-0     5
Gillum                1          1-2     3

Boys Game

Valley Heights;11;8;9;11;—;4
Rossville;8;4;5;14;—;31

Rossville scoring:
 
Garcia           3 (1)     0-0     7
Brown           1            0-0    2
Jackson        1 (1)       0-0   3
Sowers          7 (3)       1-1  18
Lietz              0             1-2    1

Amanda Hill All League KCAC

     Amanda Hill, a Rossville graduate and senior at Kansas Wesleyan U. was selected to second team All League KCAC  Basketball Team according to a league announcement on Thursday.

KWU Women Get KCAC Semi-Final Win

    The Kansas Wesleyan women pulled out a 74-73 win over McPherson College to advance to the semi-final round of the KCAC tournament.
    Amanda Hill's scoring was below her normal performance getting only 7 points.  But, she did get 7 rebounds  and also had one block, one steal and team leading 7 assists.
    Caila Hill scored 6 pts and also had 5 rebounds,  one steal and 3 assists.
    To read the game details, go to:    https://www.kwucoyotes.com/article/5208

Will Dawgs or Eagles Get A State Champ?

From the Capital-Journal: 

Every year since 2011, either Silver Lake or Rossville has come home from Hays with a Class-3-2-1A state champion. During that span, the programs have combined for 17 state champions overall.

To keep that streak alive this year, it might take an upset or two. No Eagle or Bulldawg is ranked No. 1 at their respective weight going to the state tournament.

But don't count them out just yet. Silver Lake's Kai Allen is a past state champion, capturing the 126-pound title in 2019. He finished runner-up last year, falling 1-0 in the 132-pound finals to Hoxie's Derek Johnson. 

Allen is 37-3 this season and ranked No. 3 at 138 behind Oakley's Eric Cain (32-3) and Hoxie's Drew Bretz (40-3). 

Eagle teammate Daigan Kruger tied the state record for pins with his 42nd at sub-state last week, improving to 47-1 on the season at 170 pounds. He's ranked No. 2 behind returning state champion Matthew Rodriguez, of Southeast-Saline.

Rossville's Layne Hurla, meanwhile, won district, regional and sub-state titles at 145 pounds, is 27-3 and ranked No. 3. Hoxie's Johnson, however, is 40-0 at 145 this season.

KWU Women Advance In KCAC

The Kansas Wesleyan women's basketball team won their first round game in the KCAC tournament by crushing Southwestern 69-41.

Amanda Hill from Rossville led the scoring with 22 pts on 7 of 16 shooting which included going 6 of 11 on three pointers and 2 of 2 on free throws.  She also had 9 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists.

Amanda's younger sister Caila Hill scored 11 points on 3 of 6 shooting and 5 of 5 on her free throws.  She also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists. 

321A State Wrestling Championship

The boys 321A wrestling championships will be Sat., Feb. 27 at Ft. Hays State U. form 12-6 PM.

Rossville wrestlers competing will be Layne Hurla,  Colby Hurla, and Sam Twombly.

Hurla and Lacock at State Wrestling

Keera Lacock and Kendra Hurla will be competing in the girls wrestling state championships for Div. II on Fri, February 26, 12pm – 6pm  at Tony's Pizza Events Center, 800 The Midway, Salina, KS 

Arthur Adams, Jr. Passes Away

 Arthur Adams, Jr of Maple Hill (1944-2021)  has passed away Feb. 24.  An obituary and notice will be posted here when available.

Vern Gannon (72) Passes Away

                                                              

Manhattan—Vern A. Gannon, 66, well-known auctioneer and real estate broker, passed away suddenly late Tuesday, February 23, 2021, at Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan with family by his side.

     He was born July 19, 1954, in Topeka, the son of Leo and Rowena M. Hollenbeck Gannon.  Vern was raised in the Rossville community and graduated from Rossville High School in 1972.  He graduated from the Missouri Auction School at Kansas City.

     Vern was an auctioneer for 48 ½ years and was a real estate broker.  He was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Manhattan.  Lake Lodge No. 50 and Loyal Chapter No. 175 of the Eastern Star both at Silver Lake.  He was a Scottish Rite member, KLPCA (Kansas License Tag Collectors Association), Trails West Red Wing Collectors Society, NAA (National Auctioneer Association), Flint Hill Association of Realtors, a life member of the Kaw Valley Rodeo, and a past member of the Rossville Saddle Club and Palomino Club.

     Vern was preceded in death by his parents and his father-in-law, Bennie Stach.

     On May 25, 1985, he was united in marriage to Sherri Stach at Rossville.  She survives of the home.

     Other survivors include his daughter, Nicole (Brett) Wright, Council Grove; his brother, Randell (Cindy) Gannon, Rossville; his sister, Linda Lake, New Mexico; mother-in-law Arlis Stach, Manhattan, and his two grandchildren, Bailee and Kolter; many nieces and nephews.

     Graveside services will be at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, February 27, 2021, at the  Czech-Moravan Cemetery at Rossville. The family will receive friends on Friday evening from 5:00 until 7:00 P.M. at Piper Funeral Home, in St. Marys.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Czech Moravan Cemetery and sent in care of the funeral home.