St. Marys BB Team Winning Streak

From The Capital-Journal:

HUTCHINSON — Apparently St. Marys isn’t done stunning the best Class 3A has to offer in boys basketball.

After knocking off the top-three seeds in their sub-state last week — three teams that had combined for just five losses in the regular season — the Bears continued their impressive postseason run in Wednesday’s Class 3A state tournament quarterfinal. Facing No. 1 seed Haven, which was 21-2 on the season and fresh off its own sub-state upset of 3A No. 1 Hesston, St. Marys delivered a knockout blow early and held on late to pull off yet another postseason upset with a 49-44 victory.

You can read the complete article at:
https://www.cjonline.com/sports/20200311/st-marys-stunner-bears-take-out-top-seeded-haven-at-3a-state

Zach Archer Is CJ Athlete Of Week

From The Capital-Journal:

ZACH ARCHER, ROSSVILLE, AND CONNOR SEARCY, TONGANOXIE | WRESTLING SENIORS

ARCHER’S PERFORMANCE: After capturing his first state title last year with the Class 3-2-1A 106-pound crown, Archer capped a stellar senior season with his second straight state title, taking the 113-pound championship. Archer, who finished the year 41-1, pinned his first opponent at state in 23 seconds and then posted three straight major decisions, including an 11-3 win over Osage City’s Connor Collins in the finals.

COACH’S COMMENT: “Zach has quietly been one of the best lightweights in the state the last two years and that’s just how he likes it,” Rossville coach Courney Horagan said. “It fits his personality. He was mentally and physically prepared for this weekend and it was fun to watch. The kid is tough as nails.”

SEARCY’S PERFORMANCE: Bouncing back from an injury to capture the Class 4A 195-pound state title a year ago, Searcy showed just how dominating he could be in winning the 220-pound state title this season. Searcy pinned three of his four state foes, including a second-period fall of Andale’s Cayden Winter in the championship match. He finished the year 44-1 with his lone loss coming to 5A state champion Cade Lautt of St. James Academy.

COACH’S COMMENT: “Connor has been driven to be the best all year,” Tonganoxie coach Brett Delich said. “He has worked hard every day on and off the mat doing all the right things that a champion must do. This past weekend in Salina it showed with his second consecutive state title.”

MEL Final BB Standings

Boys       ... League ... Overall

Rock Creek    ... 9-1 ... 19-1
Riley County ... 9-1 ... 17-3
St. Marys       ... 5-5 ... 10-10
Wabaunsee   ... 3-7 ... 9-11
Rossville        ... 2-8 ... 4-16
Silver Lake    ... 2-8 ... 2-18

Girls        ... League ... Overall

Riley County ... 10-0 ... 20-0
Wabaunsee     ... 8-2 ... 17-3
Rock Creek      ... 5-5 ... 11-9
St. Marys          ... 5-5 ... 9-11
Silver Lake       ... 2-8 ... 10-10
Rossville          ... 0-10 ... 4-16

Isaiah Luellen 4th at NAIA Nationals

Interview With Isaiah Luellen from Baker, 4th at NAIA Nationals 165

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie0Vtyl9RGQ&fbclid=IwAR3Mrpw1zKLkjFJrMM92DLu00Qy64GjoLpdV16kPtu49hfCBoJL1hKurf4Y

St. Marys Man Arrested

St. Mary's, Kan. (WIBW) -- A St. Mary's man was arrested on Tuesday on child sex charges.

Officers from the Saint Mary's Police Department obtained a warrant for Dean Johnson, Jr. following an ongoing investigation from 2016 into the alleged criminal activity.

Johnson is being held in the Pottawatomie County jail on a $10,000 bond.

2020 Baseball Roster

Trenton Barker     9
Jacob Carver        9
Braden Connell    9
Sean Cunnigham  9
Kyser Lundin       9
Kade Perine          9
Kaden Brown     10
Corey Catron     10
Aiden Garcia     10
Torrey Horak     10
Tagen Kippes    10
McGwyre Leathers 10
Brody Lietz       10
Bryson Balch     11
Layne Hurla       11
Brody Jackson   11
Parker Kenney   11
Joe McGrath      11
Bo Reeves          11
Kaleb Badura     12
Eddie Brockamp12
Kody Davoren   12

Head Coach: Eammon Bradley
Assistant Coaches: Derick Hammes, Thatcher Horak

RHS Band At Baker March 26

The High School Concert Band will perform at Baker University for a Pre-State Clinic on Thursday, March 26th at 10:15 AM, in preparation for their State Performance at Louisburg High School on Wednesday, April 15th.

Rossville Spring Concert March 19

The SPRING CONCERT (7th-12th Grade Bands & Choirs) is on Thursday, March 19th at 7:00 PM - Hope to see you there!

Garrett Jones
Rossville Jr/Sr High
Band and Choir Director

Norma Bieker Passes Away

Norma E. (Hamel) Bieker, 94, of Rossville, KS passed away Friday, March 6, 2020. Honoring Norma's request, cremation is planned. Arrangements have been entrusted to Dove Cremations and Funerals, Southwest Chapel, 3700 SW Wanamaker Rd, Topeka.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The House of Midland Care, 120 SW Frazier Circle, Topeka, KS 66606. To see a full obituary or to leave a message for the family online, please visit www.DoveTopeka.com.

MEL Music Festival

    The Mid-East League (MEL) Music Festival was hosted by Riley County on Wednesday, March 4th. Rossville was represented by three vocal groups (Mixed Chorus, Women's Ensemble, and Men's Quintet), six vocal solos, six instrumental small ensembles (Flute Quartet, Clarinet Choir, Saxophone Quartet, Trumpet Quartet, Low Brass Ensemble, and Brass Ensemble), seven instrumental solos, and the Rossville High School Concert Band. Students will now continue their preparation for Regional Solo and Small Ensemble Contest hosted at Holton High School on Saturday, March 28th.

Garrett Jones

Rossville Jr./Sr High 

Music/Choir Director

Morelli, Huston, Steele In All-State Band/Choir

Taylor Morelli (Senior, Clarinet), Meagan Huston (Senior, Clarinet), and Hailey Steele (Junior, Soprano) represented Rossville in the All-State Ensembles in Wichita during the Kansas Music Educators Association (KMEA) Conference. The performances were on Saturday, February 29th at Century II Convention Center. Hailey performed with the All-State Treble Choir at 11:30 AM, and Taylor and Meagan performed with the 1A-4A All-State Honor Band at 3:00 PM. Their performances were absolutely phenomenal.

Taylor Morelli becomes the 2nd student in Rossville History to become a 3-year All-State Honor Group member, and Hailey Steele becomes the 1st (to my knowledge) All-State Choral member from Rossville. What a great representation of Rossville at the state level!

Garrett Jones

Rossville Band & Choir Director

Wehner's Store On KSNT

ROSSVILLE, Kan. (KSNT) — Local stores are feeling the impact as people become more aware of the Coronavirus, as they avoid contracting it. Supplies of hand sanitizer, soap and cleaning supplies are now more in demand. Wehner’s Thriftway store manager, Angi Thomas, said they are adding large quantities of these items to their shipping list at the Rossville and Silver Lake stores. To read the complete article,  go to: https://www.ksnt.com/news/local-news/local-grocery-store-buying-more-hand-sanitizer-cleaning-supplies-amid-coronavirus-epidemic/

Kenneth Tolle Passes Away

    Kenneth Howard Tolle, passed away Wednesday, March 4, 2020, in Topeka under the care of Elara Caring Hospice. He was 79. 
    Born December 30, 1940, in Topeka to E. Howard Tolle and Veda Lee (Burress) Tolle. He was a computer programmer. Ken is survived by son Dennis Tolle, Topeka, daughters Kim Fordham, St. Marys, KS, and Jodi Jordan, Lawrence, KS,  a sister Darlene Mastin, Stafford, KS, 5 grandchildren, 9 great-grandchildren, 2 nieces, a nephew, and many many cousins. 
    At his request Piper Funeral Home in St. Marys will handle his cremation and his remains will be laid to rest near his parents at Walnut Hill Cemetery, Grove, KS. A private family ceremony will be held at a later date.

Will The Polka Be The State Dance?

The lead article in a recent St. Marys Star  is about Doug Martinek of Rossville Moravan Hall’s attempt to get the Polka designated the state dance.  My lobbyist friends say there is an attempt by the Square Dance lobby to have the Square Dance designated as the state dance of Kansas.  Such was confirmed by the St. Marys Star.  The House bill was amended to have the Square Dance designated as the official state folk dance with the Polka designated as the official state ethnic dance.  RHS grad Senator Vic Miller is presenting the bill for the Polka to be the official state dance in the Kansas Senate.  With the changes in the House Bill the Senate will have to approve the House Bill.  If passed by the Senate the decision on official state dance will head to a conference committee for it to hammer out the differences.  The Governor will have to sign the bill into law.

 Dancers who like the Twist, the Watusi, swing dancing, line dancing and disco dancing will have to have their lobbyists attempt to derail this legislation.

Scott Hesse
RHS 1977