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Sports
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Written by David Wolman
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Friday, 27 August 2010 08:00 |
Mark Luedtke was hired two years ago to turn around a downtrodden Wellsville football program that was mired with off-the-field disciplinary issues, including several player suspensions, and struggled to produce in the win column. 
The Eagles appear to be turning the tide, though.
Instead of having to worry about player conduct, the Eagles now have something else to worry about: living up to the hype of being the preseason favorite to win the Pioneer League, according to a preseason coaches poll.
Luedtke said he was flattered by receiving that high of a ranking, but his squad, which went 4-5 in 2009, also has a bigger goal in mind: advancing to the playoffs. The Eagles don’t want just to advance to the postseason, they have plans of making a deep run.
Wellsville has plenty of experience to lean on, with nine starters returning on offense and eight on defense.
Brandon Ebeck is back to guide the offense as Wellsville’s quarterback. He’ll have plenty of weapons around him to work with, including running backs Dalton Hughes and Jesse LeMay, fullback Jesse Campbell and wide receiver Zach Hoehn. Logan O’Dea will anchor the offensive line. On defense, Campbell figures to be among the top playmakers in the league at linebacker.
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Sports
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Written by Gene Morris
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Thursday, 22 July 2010 13:52 |
A pair of two-out rallies, including a four-run third with four consecutive hits, and a complete game shutout from Travis Marsh led the Osawatomie Raiders to a 5-0 shutout against rival Paola in the first round of the Zone Tournament on Wednesday evening.
“I thought we did a good job of staying aggressive with two outs and never gave up,” Osawatomie manager Ron Maring said. “You score runs with two outs, it says a lot about the character of your team.”
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Sports
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Written by David Wolman
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Thursday, 22 July 2010 13:45 |
ROSE HILL, Kan. — As hot as the temperatures were last weekend, the offense for the Osawatomie Rockets sizzled.
There was certainly no shortage of offense for Osawatomie. The runs came at a fast and furious pace. The squad scored a combined 51 runs in three games to win the Babe Ruth 14-year-old state softball tournament.
To open the three-day tournament, Osawatomie won a slugfest over host Rose Hill, 16-10, Saturday morning.
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Sports
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Written by David Wolman
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Friday, 16 July 2010 08:00 |
Dave French was lying in a hospital bed in Iola one Sunday in mid-April. For someone who has witnessed family tragedy after family tragedy during his lifetime, and who has been used to giving back to others, he was the one in need of care. 
“I felt helpless,” he said.
Dave was rushed to a hospital in Iola on April 10 after a 10-foot fall from a stepladder while working on a family member’s house in rural Colony, Kan. He suffered several broken ribs, a concussion and a collapsed lung. He also came within inches of puncturing his aorta. He was rushed to the emergency room, where he was observed for any signs of internal bleeding or a need to pump his lungs, before being moved to the intensive care unit for a few days.
As a football coach at Osawatomie High School, Dave had become accustomed to motivating offensive linemen. He urges them to quickly get back on their feet after missing a block, and to get their heads in the game when things weren’t going so well; he pats them on the back when they open a big running lane or give their quarterback plenty of time to release the ball and avoid taking a sack.
But on this particular weekend, Dave was the one who needed to get up after taking a sack of his own — one which put him in a near-death situation.
On his second day in ICU, where doctors had him taking eight to 10 different medications, two painkillers, an oral patch and three separate IV drips, he glanced at his son. Andy was standing by himself, but just staring into his son’s eyes made Dave realize something — he needed to recover and be the man in the household; he needed to get back on the road to recovery; he needed to get back to teaching and coaching.
“I needed to set a strong example for my sons — to not be a quitter, to not give up,” Dave said. “Those are things I instill as a coach. When kids feel down, when things aren’t going well, maybe they’re not performing at their best level, they can always strive to do their best. That’s where I was at.”
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Sports
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Written by David Wolman
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Friday, 02 July 2010 08:00 |
Brendan Soucie wasn’t about to leave Wichita with a second-place medal for the third straight season. The Osawatomie senior wouldn’t let that happen. He was determined to finish his high school career on top.
Each of the previous two seasons, he was one leg of Osawatomie’s boys’ 4x800-meter relay. Both times, the Trojans entered the state meet with the state’s fastest time. When they stepped off the track at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium, they broke their own school record, but it was bittersweet, as they had to settle for second place. 
The agony of having to go through that disappointment was something Osawatomie, including Soucie, the Tri-County Spotlight Male Track and Field Athlete, didn’t have to go through this spring.
Soucie earned his first of four state medals on the first day of the two-day competition when he cleared the bar at 6 feet-even to tie for sixth place in the high jump.
Just a few hours later, however, the boys’ 4x400-meter relay of Soucie, Brandon Oakes, Jameson Greenwood and Dustin Kueser were all in complete control of the race, but a botched hand-off nearly cost the Trojans on the final exchange. Fortunately, they were well ahead of the competition and went on to win the heat and carry the second-fastest time into the final the following day.
The second day of the competition proved to be much better for Osawatomie.
For starters, Soucie ran to a second-place finish in the 1,600 meters. He held the lead going into the final straightaway, but that’s where Abilene’s James Wilson passed him and nipped Soucie at the finish line. Still, Soucie was happy to place second in an event he didn’t have too much prior experience in.
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