Trevor Johnson At State

Rossville’s TREVOR JOHNSON has the top 2A boys’ time in the 100 (10.84) and 200 (22.57)  meter dashes, but only won the 100 at regionals, edging teammate WOODROW REZAC.    Trevor will be gunning for a State Championship May 24, 25 to end his high school career.  

Dawgs Advance In State Tourney

From the Capital-Journal:
GREAT BEND — Down four runs, the Rossville Bulldawgs found the offense they needed in the last two innings, aided by Sedgwick Cardinal errors, to claim a 5-4 win Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Class 2-1A state baseball tournament at the Great Bend Sports Complex.

Rossville sophomore Bo Reeves drove in the tying run with two outs in the top of the seventh. The winning run scored on an error. Each team managed just one earned run for the game.

Rossville (15-8) faces Marion in Friday’s second semifinal, set to start 35 minutes after the 10 a.m. game.

Sedgwick ends the season 15-3.

Reeves went four innings plus four batters in the fifth, allowing one earned run on one hit with six walks and eight strikeouts.

Aiden Garcia finished the game for the win, allowing a hit, a walk and four strikeouts.

Nolan Crumrine took the loss, allowing one earned run on seven hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Derek Balch was 2 for 3 hitting for Rossville, the only player with more than one hit.

An error and walk in the bottom of the second inning set up a two-run double for Sedgwick’s Colton Smith.

Rossville put runners at second and third base with no outs in the top of the fourth inning. A pair of ground-outs to second baseman Hooper Schroeder and a pop fly to Crumrine ended the threat.

Rossville stranded a total of six runners in the first four innings.

Sedgwick opened the bottom of the fifth with a walk and a hit batter. Smith then grounded into a two-base error to score a run. Another walk loaded the bases and forced a pitching change.

Trey Bright singled to score another run. A pair of infield fly balls and a strikeout ended the threat.

Rossville opened the top of the sixth with a single, an error and a hit batter to load the bases. A run scored on a wild pitch. Tagen Kippes grounded out to score a second run. Kaleb Badura followed with an RBI single, but was then picked off. A strikeout ended the inning.

Aiden Garcia opened the top of the seventh with an infield single. Mcgwyre Leathers followed with a double. After two strikeouts, Reeves then singled to tie the game. An error on the play allowed another run to score.

Sedgwick got a walk with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but a strikeout ended the game.

ROSSVILLE 5, SEDGWICK 4

Rossville   0000032—5  7  2

Sedgwick  2000200—4  2  4

Reeves, Garcia (W) 5 and Brown; Crumrine (L) and Lacey.

Dawg Baseball A Surprise

From the Capital-Journal:

ROSSVILLE — After posting back-to-back seasons that not only saw his Rossville baseball team post just a total of seven wins but also get outscored by 100 or more runs each of those seasons, one might not have expected Bulldawg coach Eammon Bradley to look at his 2019 squad and think of it as a potential state qualifier.

But he did.

“The freshman group we had last year, there were some bright spots there, especially pitching,” Bradley said. “And I thought the kids that are freshmen now, we had an indication of the talent we were getting. And there was progress from the older guys.

“Two summers ago, it was butt-kickings all over the place and there were no signs of, ‘Hey we could be pretty good next year.’ Last summer, there were moments against teams that were older than we were that we were not only competitive but beating those teams. We thought give it another year and we’ll see what might happen. There’s the possibility we could be pretty good.”

Rossville made good on Bradley’s convictions last week when it captured the Class 2-1A regional title at Wabaunsee. Not only did the Bulldawgs win the regional, they dominated it.

Going in as the No. 3 seed, the Bulldawgs outscored their three regional foes 42-0, including an eye-opening 20-0 win over one-loss and perennial state qualifier Mission Valley in the championship game.

Rossville (14-8) will be the No. 6 seed at this week’s Class 2-1A state tournament at the Great Bend Sports Complext, opening tournament play at 5:45 p.m. Thursday against No. 3 seed Sedgwick (15-2).

“That was probably more surprising than anything,” Bradley said of the manner in which his team earned its state berth. “I knew dropping down to 2A, there would be a shot. I knew we’d be young, but there was talent here. We pictured there being a shot at the beginning, but the way did it was a little surprising.”

Making its first state appearance since 2006, Rossville didn’t waste any time serving notice that a breakthrough season could be in the works. In the season opener, the Bulldawgs knocked off defending Mid-East League champion Riley County with a 6-2 win.

The loss was the only defeat the Falcons suffered in league play in the regular season.

From there, Rossville rode a little bit of a roller-coaster. The Bulldawgs, who start six sophomores and freshmen, swept Wabaunsee, but were swept by Silver Lake. Most of their doubleheaders ended with splits.

The up-and-down nature of the season was anything but frustrating for the Bulldawgs.

“The back-and-forth splitting of doubleheaders was an improvement,” Bradley said. “The psyche wasn’t ‘We can’t get a sweep.’ It was more ‘We’re getting wins.’ And we were getting wins against good teams. I think it was a big positive and it wasn’t that difficult to make it a big positive because it was such an improvement over the last two years.”

In addition to knocking off Riley County, the Bulldawgs managed splits with 3A state qualifiers Rossville and Sabetha and also with ranked 4A Anderson County.

The key victory was the win over Sabetha, last year’s Class 3A state champion. Rossville trailed 9-7 going into the bottom of the seventh, but came up with three runs to win in walk-off fashion.

“There were multiple moments for us, moments that were really scattered out,” Bradley said. “But I don’t think it really clicked until the Sabetha win. That was a little different because it was pretty exciting how it happened. That moment was probably the one because now you haven’t done it just once, you’ve done it multiple times against good teams. And even the games we were losing were tight. We kind of realized we weren’t a fluke, we were a pretty good team.”

Pitching and defense have been Rossville’s strong suits all season with only one team scoring double-digits against the Bulldawgs all season, Rock Creek in a 10-7 win late in the season. Those traits held true in regional play as Rossville rode pitchers Bo Reeves (5-2, 0.61 ERA), Aiden Garcia (3-5, 2.39) and Eddie Brockamp (1-0, 3.65) to three straight shutouts.

But Bradley said the biggest difference in the dominant regional run was the Bulldawgs’ offense. Starting with a season-ending sweep of Olpe, Rossville has improved its team batting average by roughly 40 points in five games.

“The development at the plate was big,” he said. “We’ve been good pitching and defensively all year. Teams have struggled putting up runs on us and that’s been true all season. But it wasn’t until regionals where we got pretty consistent run production and started swinging the bat better.”

Now the Bulldawgs hope to ride the momentum to another postseason run in Great Bend.

“We’ll see,” he said. “It’s been practicing inside and a week since we’ve played so you don’t know how you’ll come out and play on that first day. I’d like to say we have momentum ... but I don’t know what to expect. But I think we’ve proven we’re capable.”

Click on image to enlarge

2019 Regional Champs

Sharon Davis Memorial Service

    The graveside memorial services for Sharon I. Davis Pierce will be at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, May 25, 2019 at the Rossville Christian Church due to the weather.

2A Regional Track & Field

Women - Class 2A - Team Rankings - 18 Events Scored
1) Jefferson County North 112
2) Blue Rapids-Valley Hts   64
3) KC Christian                    60
4) Wabaunsee                       56
5) Jackson Heights               51
6) Shawnee-Maranatha        42
7) Rossville                          38
8) Richmond-Central Hts     33
9) Eskridge-Mission Valley 23
10) Oskaloosa                      21
10) Olathe-Heritage Christian  21
12) Lyndon                          11
13) Horton                           10
14) McLouth                         9
15) Atchison                         6
16) Lawrence-Bishop Seabury  1

Top Five performances were turned in by:
Julia Streit             3200 M        3rd
    "      "                 1600 M        4th
Kaytlin Dohrman  100  M Hur  5th
Jordan Bittner         100 M Hur  4th
     "         "               300 M Hur 3rd
Jaycee Fiedler         400 M         4th
Briar Gillum           Shot Put      1st

Men - Class 2A - Team Rankings - 18 Events Scored
1) Jackson Heights                 86
2) KC Christian                      69
3) Shawnee-Maranatha          68
4) Jefferson County North     62
5) McLouth                            45
6) Rossville                            44
7) Richmond-Central Hts       41
8) Atchison County                37
8) Horton                                37
10) Wabaunsee                       28
11) Lawrence-Bishop Seabury 20
12) Olathe-Heritage Christian  9
13) Blue Rapids-Valley Hts      6
14) Eskridge-Mission Valley    4
15) Lyndon             

Top Five performances were turned in by:

Trevor Johnson       100 M       1st
     "         "               200 M       3rd
Goodnow Rezac     100 M       2nd
     "             "          200 M       2nd
Boys 4 x 100 Relay                  1st

Linda Downie Passes Away

Linda Downie, 80, of Topeka, passed away Friday, May 17, 2019.

She was born March 11, 1939, in Willard, Kansas, the daughter of Ralph and Geraldine (Frieson) Pitts. She graduated from Eskridge High School in 1957.

Linda married Darrell Downie on August 20, 1960 in Miami, Oklahoma.

Linda attended cosmetology school in 1971 and had her own beauty salon in her home. She enjoyed gardening, ranching, quilting and cooking. 

Survivors include her husband, Darrell Downie; son, Bryan (Paula) Downie; daughter, Jodie (Zach) Allen, son, Jared (Beth) Downie; three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren and two sisters, Shirley Henderson and Nancy (Monty) Mercer. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Ralph Pitts, Jr.

Family will greet friends from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Tuesday, May 22, 2019 at Parker-Price Cremations, Funerals & Receptions, 245 NW Independence Ave. Topeka, KS.   To share a memory of Linda or leave a message for her family, please click the Share Memories button pn the Parker Price web site--https://www.parkerpricefh.com/Obituary/172037/Linda-Downie/Topeka-KS

A graveside service will be at 11:00 am, Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at the Prairie Home Cemetery, NW 35th & Menoken Rd., Topeka.

RHS Top Ten Senior Scholars

    Rossville High School announced the Top 10 Seniors of the Class of 2019 at graduation exercises on Sunday, May 19, 2019. The following seniors were recognized for their academic accomplishments: Alexander Archer, Derek Balch, Jordan Bittner, MaKenzie Decklar, Dylan Ditch , Kaytlin Dohrman, Caila Hill, Stacey Keithline, Cheyenne Reese, and Ava Stipp.

RHS Top Scholar Awards

RHS VALEDICTORIAN/SALUTATORIAN AWARDS

    Rossville High School announced their top scholars at graduation on May 19, 2019.  Pictured from left are Valedictorians Jordan Bittner and Caila Hill and Salutatorian Kaytlin Dohrman.

State Baseball Tourney Begins Thur.

    The Dawgs play their first game in the 2A State Tournament at Great Bend on Thur., May 23 at 5:45  against Sedgwick, ranked #9 by the KABC.  If they win,  they will play on Friday at 1L15.  Interesting to note that Mission Valley, whom the Dawgs defeated in the Regional final, is ranked #2 by the KABC. 
    You can see the complete 2A bracket at:  http://kshsaa.org/public/ScoreCenter/Brackets/Baseball/2-1AState.cfm?WeekID=3172&Level=9&Class=2-1A&Activity=3

June (Eldridge) Martz Passes Away

June E Martz, 87 years old, of Topeka, Kansas passed over on May 12, 2019 in Baldwin, Kansas.

June was born in Valencia, Kansas on October 18, 1931 to Lynn Boyd Eldridge and Virgie Keeton Eldridge.    

June was a Inventory Manager for over 40 years in Retail and Publishing. Recently, she worked as a Grandparent for KNI in Topeka. She was famous for her home grown tomatoes. June married Joe Martz and celebrated over 30 years of marriage prior to his death in 1999. She raised a daughter, June Louise Keener and loved her son-in-law Everett Keener and grandsons Logan Lee Keener, Cody Louis Keener and his wife Jamie M Keener.

She is survived by sister, Evelyn Anderson, brothers, Jack Eldridge and Harold Eldridge. June was preceded in death by her mother, her father and sisters: Marjorie, Mary Jane and Juanita Sue, brothers: Gene, Roy and Audry.

As per her wishes, June was cremated, A celebration of Life will be announced later.

Rev. John Dutton Passes Away

    Reverend John William "Jack" Dutton, Jr., 73, of Topeka, died Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at St. Francis ER. 
    He was born January 8, 1946 at Warrensburg, MO, the son of John William Dutton, Sr. and Sophie Georgette Hust Dutton. Jack was a 1963 High School Graduate from Smithtown Central, St. James, NY, and attended KSU. He served in the US Army from 1968-1971. He worked for 34 years in retail management. He was also a Pastor for the last 14 years at various churches, serving nine of them at the United Methodist Church in Perry, KS, and was now the pastor of Rossville United Methodist Church.
    Jack married Louvae Lorraine Gibson on January 29, 1967, at Manhattan, KS. She survives of the home. Other survivors include three sons, John "Jack" Dutton, III (Katie), Boerne, TX, Joshua Samuel Dutton (Carrie), Anderson, IN, Jeffery Drew Dutton, Denver, CO, a daughter, Krissa Louvae Schandelmaier (Nick), Berlin, Germany, a brother, Peter Alan Dutton, Green Cove Springs, FL and six grandchildren.
    Church Services will be 10:00 AM Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at the Rossville United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at Gypsum Hill Cemetery in Salina, KS. Visitation will be 6 to 8 PM Tuesday evening at the church. Memorials may be made to the Rossville United Methodist Church or the Topeka Rescue Mission, sent in care of Barnett Family Funeral Home, PO Box 602 Oskaloosa, KS 66066.

Graduation May 19

RHS graduation is 2 PM on Sunday, May 19.

2A Track Regional May 17

  RHS Track and Field team competed in the 2A Regional at Jeff North on Friday, May 17.  The teams competing were:

Blue Rapids-Valley Heights HS Effingham-Atchison Co Community HS Eskridge-Mission Valley HS Horton HS Jackson Heights HS Lawrence-Bishop Seabury Academy Lyndon HS McLouth HS Olathe-Heritage Christian Academy Oskaloosa HS Prairie Village-Kansas City Christian HS Richmond-Central Heights HS Rossville HS Shawnee-Maranatha Christian Academy Wabaunsee HS Winchester-Jefferson County North HS

Thederahn Injured In Accident

    Jon Thederahn, 54, of Rossville, was injured Thursday afternoon when his motorcycle crashed on I-70 near K-99 in Wabaunsee County.  The crash was reported at 3:50 PM and he was taken to Stormont Vail Hospital with suspected minor injuries.      According to the Kansas Highway Patrol,  Thederahn, on a 2018 Honda Goldwing motorcycle, was northbound on K-99 making a right turn onto the eastbound I-70 on-ramp where he lost control of the bike, causing it to roll.  He was wearing a helmet.