Rattler's Coaching Staff For 2014

The Rattlers organization would also like to announce the 2014 Coaching staff: 

 

Tobi Cowdin (Manager) - Managing the Rattlers this season is Tobi Cowdin. Tobi takes over full time as manager after being under the tutelage of his father Brett Cowdin the past two seasons. Tobi brings many years of summer baseball experience to the plate, as a player and as a coach.

 

T.J. McGreevy (Pitching Coach) - Returning to coach the pitching staff this summer is former Wichita State standout and Hayden product T.J. McGreevy. T.J. has plenty of expierence in summer baseball, as a two-time NBC World Series Champion with the Santa Barbara Foresters.

 

Cameron Renfro (Fielding Coach) - The Rattlers welcome in Cameron Renfro this season as fielding coach. Cameron, a native of nearby Silver Lake, Kansas; will round out an excellent coaching staff with his expertise.

 

 

Basketball Sub State Tournament

    The Silver Lake basketball substate tournament begins Monday,  March 3 with eight area teams competing,  including all of the Mid-East league teams.
    In the boys bracket,  Rossville (6-13) will play Pleasant Ridge (4-15)  at Rossville in the first round.  The winner will face the winner of the St. Marys (1-18) vs. Rock Creek (16.3) game on March 6 at Silver Lake.
    In the girls bracket,  Rossville (9-10) with face off against Pleanant Ridge (10-9) on their court with the winner going up against the winner of the Oskaloosa (1-18) vs. Riley County (18/1) game on Thursday, March 6,  at Silver Lake.
   

3A Wrestling Rankings

This week's 3A wrestling rankings have shifted.  The top 5 ranked schools are:
1.    Norton
2.    ACCHS
3.    Beloit
4.    Rossville
5.    Phillipsburg

Silver Lake has dropped to #9

Individual RHS rankings include:
106 lb.    Bryce Gfeller         #3
132 lb.    Jacob Gentry        #6
152 lb.    Tagen Lambotte    #1
172 lb.    Isaac Luellen         #2

The complete list of rankings can be read at:
http://www.kansaswrestling.org/images/docs/Rankings/3a.pdf

Article About Tagen Lambotte

From CJOnline

By Brent Maycock

brent.maycock@cjonline.com

ROSSVILLE — It was easy to chalk the feelings up as a brother just being proud, or perhaps even just hopeful.
Or maybe Cody Lambotte really knew.
Before his younger brother Tagen Lambotte had ever wrestled one high school match, Cody was envisioning big things for his sibling. There weren’t loud and boastful claims, but rather just a mention here or there.
“Keep an eye on him,” Cody Lambotte would say. “He’s going to be a good one.”
Cody was dead on, though Tagen’s accomplishments may have even exceeded his wildest dreams. A three-time state champion already, Tagen Lambotte stands on the brink of becoming just the 30th wrestler in state history to win four state titles.
History may await, but Lambotte said this weekend’s Class 3-2-1A state tournament in Hays isn’t much different than the season-opening Mission Valley Invitational.
“My expectations the first meet of the year were to win; my expectations the last meet of the year are to win,” Lambotte said. “And my expectations are to wrestle at a high level no matter the meet. Obviously, the stakes are higher this weekend, but I just have to go out and wrestle the way I expect myself to wrestle.
“Anybody can be beat, but I feel like I should win,” Tagen said, not with an air of cockiness, but rather with a strong conviction that has been steeled by countless hours of work. “That’s the attitude you have to take. If you think there’s only a chance, you’re going to hold back and not go all out. You just have to step on the mat, lace them up and get after it.”

* * * * *
Wrestling wasn’t even a sport Tagen Lambotte was sure he liked when he first began. He didn’t immediately see success, taking his lumps early and often.
But he never really thought about quitting, and once he decided to stick with the sport, Lambotte only knew one way to go about it. All out.
In Rossville coach Curt Brecheisen’s mind, it’s that trait that has separated Lambotte from being just a good wrestler to among the state’s elite.
“His work ethic and attention to details are second to none,” Brecheisen said. “Those little bitty things he will do over and over and over. In junior high, he was good, but not where he’s at now. But he’s paid attention to every little detail of skill work and if he doesn’t hit something just right, he works until he does.
“His family’s work ethic is top notch. In college, Cody was one of the hardest-working guys I’d heard about. I knew how hard he worked in the practice room and at college and that carried over to Tagen. He’s done nothing but worked his tail off since he’s been here.”
Tagen doesn’t know any other way, to be honest.
“I feel if you train aggressive every single day, one match is nothing,” he said. “When I’m in the room, I’m aggressive. If I’m lifting weights, I’m aggressive. If I’m running to lose weight, I’m aggressive. Every single drill or sprint or whatever, I’m doing it aggressively and that carries over to your matches. It’s muscle memory and your brain just clicks that when you’re on the mat, it’s time to go.”
Cody indeed has been a big influence on Tagen’s success. An accomplished high school wrestler himself with 133 career victories and two state medals, including a runner-up finish in 2002, Cody learned what it took to be successful on the mat. He went on to wrestle for a National Junior College Championship team at Labette County and then for Division II champion Nebraska-Kearney.
And once he returned to Rossville, Cody began imparting everything he learned to Tagen, who is 10 years younger. An assistant coach for the Bulldogs, Cody has been there every step of the way, serving as both a mentor and critic, as well as being a brother.
“When it comes to training, he’s never, ever fought me on anything,” Cody said. “He’s coachable and understands that everything I ever do, it’s to his benefit. ... My brother understands that and we’re always trying to build and get better.”
“He pretty much brought me up from nothing,” Tagen said. “He’s been a driving force. He ground it into my head that I was going to go in as a freshman and not expect anything less than to be the best. The workouts he puts me through and the training we do, that gives me the confidence to win.
“We butt heads a lot, like most brothers probably do, have our arguments and choice words. But at the end of the day, we love each other and we both know that we’re on the same page.”

* * * * *
The pages of Tagen’s resume are impressive, resulting in a scholarship for Division I powerhouse Iowa.
He went 48-2 as a freshman, capturing the 135-pound state title with an 11-7 win over Norton’s Brett Terrell, a senior. Despite battling a shoulder injury as a sophomore, Lambotte still managed a 34-1 mark and took a 3-2 win over Marysville’s Eddie Creek in the 145 state finals.
Halfway home to becoming a four-time state champion, Lambotte hardly let off the throttle and arguably even stepped it up a notch or two. He rolled to a 41-1 record as a junior, toying with Sedgwick’s Nic Johnson in the 145-pound title match on his way to a dominating 20-8 victory.
This year, he will take a 37-1 record at 152 pounds to the state meet, his lone loss came to Lansing’s Michael Olsen, the state’s top-ranked 145-pouner who stepped up a weight class to face Lambotte at the Eudora Tournament of Champions.
Lambotte admitted that loss stung, denying him a chance to become an undefeated state champion for the first time in his career. Yet he also acknowledged he took it as a chance to get better.
“That loss hurt, but I made some changes that needed to be changed,” Lambotte said of the 3-2 loss. “It showed some weaker points in my wrestling. I hated for it to happen, but it kind of lit a match under me.”
Since, Lambotte has been pretty much unstoppable. He won the prestigious Basehor-Linwood Invitational for the first time ever, beating Aquinas’ Isaac Dulgarian — the state’s top-ranked 160-pounder — in the finals. He also has beaten Andover Central’s Paul Suhr, No. 1 in 4A at 152.
“I love big matches and I love getting up for that,” said Lambotte, who is 160-5 in his career. “Wrestling guys like that is what I love. I put myself on that level and those are the guys I want to beat. I love the limelight.”

* * * * *
The spotlight will definitely be on Lambotte this weekend at Fort Hays State’s Gross Memorial Coliseum.
The bracket sets up nicely with four of the wrestlers ranked Nos. 2 through 6 in the final KWCA poll on the opposite side. Only Norton’s Mike Kasson, who is No. 5 and upset previously unbeaten Clint Rogers of Smith Center last week at regionals, would seem to stand between Lambotte and the finals.
Some would call that pressure. Not Lambotte.
“I put pressure on myself to perform the way I expect to perform,” he said. “That’s the only pressure I feel because I’m my biggest critic.”
It’s something Brecheisen sees all the time.
“He gets upset with himself if he doesn’t perform up to his expectations,” Brecheisen said. “If he doesn’t hit a move, even in practice, he’s mad at himself. I think a lot of people take that the wrong way, as he’s being a bad sport or something along those lines. But it’s nothing to do with that and everything to do with expectations of himself.
“He wants to do everything right and be the best he can be.”
And if that results in yet another state title?
“It means I did my job,” Lambotte said. “If I’m doing everything right ... there’s no reason I shouldn’t expect to win.”

Brent Maycock can be reached at (785) 295-5662 or brent.maycock@cjonline.com.

Rattlers Return 3 From Last Year

The Rossville Rattlers are excited to welcome back three players from the 2013 NBC 19U National Championship squad.

 

Luke Bordewick (OF Pittsburg State University) - Luke is back for his third season with the Rattlers. The outfielder from Pittsburg State is in the midst of his Junior year with the Gorillas. Luke brings a very reliable bat and a big time arm in Right Field. Luke hit .333 last season with the Rattlers, driving in 22 runs and hitting two home runs in 30 games. Luke's steady and solid performance in the outfield will continue to make the Rattlers a contender in 2014.

 Ethan Beckett (2B Independence Community College) - Ethan is also back for his third summer in Rossville. Beckett is a very patient batter at the plate, his 23 walks last season lead the entire team. His ability to get on base was very valuable for the Rattlers, as he scored 20 runs last season and also lead the team in On-Base Percentage (.471). Ethan is a sophomore at Independence Community College this spring and will be a key part of the Rattlers first season in the Mid-Plains League.

 

Ryan Huth (1B Emporia State University) - The Rattlers welcome back Ryan Huth for his second season. Now a Sophomore at Emporia State, Huth will be part of the offensive production at 1st Base for Rossville. Huth led the team in triples last season (2) and was 8th on the team in On-Base Percentage (.382) Huth also showed some patience at the plate, as he was 8th in walks with 11 in 72 plate appearances.

Riley Co. Basketball Photos

    For additional photos at the Riley Co.-RHS basketball games on Feb. 21 at Riley Co., go to:
http://rossvilleksphotos.blogspot.com/2014/02/riley-county-basketball.html

Burglary On Arn Road

    A burglary was reported to the Shawnee County Sheriff in the 7900 block of N. W. Arn Road northwest of Rossville sometime between 12 AM on Feb. 16 and 3 PM on Feb.  22.

First Round Matches at State Wrestling

    Rossville High will have five wrestlers  competing at the State Championships this weekend at Hays.  Following are the first round match-ups.  

106  —  Trevor Haun (24-6), sr., Fredonia vs. bye; Hunter Ostertag (25-8), fr., Atchison County vs. Brayden Winters (12-14), fr., Stockton; Denzale Clark (22-8), fr., Lyons vs. Dallas Parker (22-16), fr., West Elk; Bryce Bacon (20-9), so., Hoxie vs. Dylan Leckner (27-9), so., Wellsville; Bryce Gfeller (24-7), fr., Rossville, sv. Junior Torres (20-5), jr., Sublette; Holden Butler (34-6), fr., Council Grove vs. Diego Dominguez (11-5), fr., Beloit; Skylar Johnson (23-2), so., Norton vs. Michael Marsh (25-12), jr., Silver Lake; Austin Constable (19-10), fr., Minneapolis vs. Jarrett Johnson (29-10), fr., Marion.

132  —  Logan Bowen (22-1), jr., Atchison County vs. Gabe Anderson (23-23), jr., Oberlin; Tristyn Goebel (24-14), so., Council Grove vs. Marshall Barkow (23-10), sr., Ellsworth; Clay Cassaw (23-7), so., St. Francis vs. Wes March (23-19), fr., Riley County; T.J. Ragnoni (27-8), so., Bennington vs. Hunter O’Brien (19-9), so., Chase County; Casey Garner (30-4), jr., Bluestem vs. Tommy Jenkins (18-14), sr., Hesston; Hunter Howerton (33-6), so., Silver Lake vs. Mason Bannister (22-16), sr., Phillipsburg; Brandon Ball (40-0), jr., Hoisington vs. Robert Hutchins (20-14), jr., Burlingame; Toby Nickell (8-9), sr., Norton vs. Jake Gentry (31-11), sr., Rossville.

138  —  Alec Hager (38-5), sr., Norton vs. Mikey Aguilar (32-9), so., Stafford; Colton Stafford (30-7), jr., Caney Valley vs. Tommy Truesdale (30-12), so., Riley County; Carter Wessling (33-5), so., Riley County vs. Adam Gehring (19-14), sr., Plainville; Corey Tyler (37-6), so., St. Marys vs. Trever Melcher (14-1), sr., Herington; Brogan Humphrey (34-1), sr., Fredonia vs. Derek Gentry (22-18), so., Rossville; Rhett Mizer (33-7), jr., Atwood vs. Zach Martin (25-8), jr., Ellsworth; Willy Dieckmann (27-6), jr., Atchison County vs. Zach Thornburg (28-11), sr., Remington; Jonathan Ball (38-2), fr., Hoisington vs. Taylor Murphy (28-8), jr., Oakley.

152  —  Lane Moran (32-5), so., Bluestem vs. Brodey Watts (7-2), so., Beloit-St. John’s; Clint Rogers (35-1), sr., Smith Center vs. Justin Wagner (29-9), sr., Atchison County; Tanner Niemczyk (30-4), sr, Beloit vs. Dakota Cline (21-10), sr., Eureka; Andrew Beck (33-6), sr., Centralia vs. Chris Anderson (35-8), sr., Oberlin; Mike Kasson (26-10), so., Norton vs. Chase Ridder (34-14), jr., Rock Creek; Cody Delk (28-14), sr., Hillsboro vs. Petter Ekroll (27-5), sr., Halstead; Tagen Lambotte (37-1), sr., Rossville vs. Trevor Dessaire (15-14), sr., Plainville; Kyler Mick (24-6), so., Bennington vs. Austin Jones (18-15), sr, Burlingame.

170  —  Adam Janzen (25-3), jr., Marion vs. Trevor Fee (25-9), sr., Doniphan West; Keith Short (28-5), sr., SE-Saline vs. Grant Gilliam (31-10), sr., Oberlin; Isaac Luellen (38-8), so., Rossville vs. Logan Litke (25-17), jr., Council Grove; Cole Renner (33-10), sr., Norton vs. Austin McHenry (37-7), so., Hoisington; Dalton Langham (25-12), sr., Beloit vs. Dajuen Chapman (11-9), fr., Hill City; Paxton Noll (33-6), sr., West Elk vs. Michael Baumgartner (28-9), sr., Sabetha; Dylan Wiesner (33-2), sr., Plainville vs. Ray Farnsworth (30-12), sr., Republic County; Scott Birkinsha (27-6), sr., Atchison County vs. Kaleb Grimsley (23-14), sr., Central Heights.

321A Wrestling Regional At Sabetha

Team scores
Marysville 199.5, Atchison County 177, Rossville 125, Silver Lake 117, St. Marys 110.5, Wellsville 91, Sabetha 88, Riley County 86, Rock Creek 82, Onaga 66, Doniphan West 53, Pleasant Ridge 52, Troy 43, Mission Valley 41, Wabaunsee 38, Oskaloosa 36, Centralia 19, Immaculata 19, Maur Hill 16.5, Riverside 14, Hiawatha 6.

Championship finals
106 — Gfeller, Ross pinned Ostertag, AC, 5:08. 113 — Deters, Mary dec. Dultmeier, SL, 2-0. 120 — Perez, Mary dec. Wilmart, Well, 5-4. 126 — Schaefer, SL pinned Smith, Mary, 0:40. 132 — Bowen, AC dec. Howerton, SL, 11-5. 138 — Dieckmann, AC dec. Tyler, SM, 3-1. 145 — Toole, SM won by tech. fall over Jones, Mary, 18-3. 152 — Lambotte, Ross maj. dec. Beck, Cent, 17-5. 160 — Nelsen, Mary dec. Dunlap, DW, 5-3. 170 — Luellen, Ross pinned Birkinsha, AC, 2:31. 182 — Grater, Riley won by tech. fall over Lockhart, SL, 23-7. 195 — Speer, Troy pinned Blow, Onaga, 3:03. 220 — Correll, Rock dec. Hilton, Mary, 2-1 2OT. 285 — Leuthold, Sab pinned Hite, MV, 4:19.

Consolation finals
106 — D. Leckner, Well pinned Marsh, SL, 4:18. 113 — Herrman, AC pinned G. Leckner, Well, 2:27. 120 — Nickels, Osk pinned Ross, Onaga, 1:25. 126 — Graham, PR maj. dec. Williams, Well, 12-1. 132 — Jacob Gentry, Ross pinned  March, Riley, 1:17. 138 — Truesdale, Riley pinned Derek Gentry, Ross, 0:34. 145 — Reiss, Rock dec. Hurla, Wab, 13-9.  152 — Wagner, AC maj. dec. Ridder, Rock, 9-1. 160 — Chew, AC dec. Bleakley, SM, 7-4. 170 — Baumgartner, Sab dec. Fee, DW, 3-2. 182 — Ames, Onaga dec. Ward, Rock, 3-1. 195 — Wages, SM pinned Harrell, Sab, 2:29. 220 —McKinney, PR pinned Handke, AC, 2:37. 285 — Kleinert, Mary pinned Forbes, AC, 3:49.

Dawgs Win Second Straight

    The Dawgs were down early,  but fought back to claim their second straight Mid-East League victory on Friday night.

Rossville            14    12     12     12     =     50
Riley County      22     5       6      10     =     43

Rossville  scoring:
Horak                     4 (1)     4-6     13
Schultz-Pruner         3 (1)     4-6     11
Horak                     4 (2)     1-3     11
Horak                     1           3-4      5
Sowers                   1           2-8      4
Roduner                  1 (1)     1-2      4
Woodcock              1          0-0      2
Totals                    15 (5)  15-29   50

RHS Girls Lose To Riley County

    The RHS girls lost their basketball game against Mid-East rival Riley County 41-31 on Friday night.

Rossville             6     8     4     13     =     31
Riley County       9   12     4     16     =     41

Rossville scoring:
Kirk                        2         4-6       8
Hill                         3 (2)     0-0       8
Dick                       2 (2)     0-1       6
Steckel                   1 (1)     2-2       5
Nitsch                     0          4-4       4
Totals                     8 (5)   10-13   31

RHS Boys Win On Fourth Period Rally

    The Winter Royalty activities at half time didn't seem to affect the Dawgs as they took down the St. Marys Bears 46-42.  The RHS boys were down 3 points at the half,  but came back energized  during the second half for the victory on the home court on Feb. 20.

St. Marys     13     7     10     12     =     42
Rossville       11     6     11     18     =     46

Rossville  scoring:
Horak                 5 (4)      1-2     15
Horak                 4 (1)      3-5     12
Schultz-Pruner    2           7-10   11
Sowers               1           2-4      4
Roduner              0           2-4      2
Woodcock          1           0-0      2
Totals                13 (5)    15-25  46

RHS Girls Defeat St. Marys

    The RHS girls cruised  to a 47-34 victory over the St. Marys Bears on Thur., Feb. 20 on the Rossville court.

St. Marys        8     6     7     13     =     34
Rossville        10   10   10     17     =     47

Rossville scoring:
Hill                                   7           2-2     16
Kirk                                  4           1-2       9
Steckel                             2           3-4       7
VanderPutten                    2           1-6       5
Nitsch                               2 (1)      0-0      5
Dick                                 0            2-2      2
Shinn                               1            0-0      2
Conley                             0            1-2      1
Totals                             18 (1)     10-20   47

David Streeter To Head New Baseball League

    The Rossville Rattlers are pleased to announce that they have joined the new Mid-Plains League starting in the summer of 2014.

    The Rattlers will join the Topeka Golden Giants, their brand new sister team the Topeka Senators, the Junction City Brigade, Midwest A's and Baldwin City Blues.

    The Mid-Plains League has also named Rattlers General Manager David Streeter the league's first Commissioner.

    "We put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes to get this league formed, I'm very happy assume the position of commissioner and will work even harder to make this league a success," Streeter said.

    The Rattlers will hit the field in late May of 2014. Stay tuned for more information on the Mid-Plains League and the 2014 schedule.