Western Athletic Conference Great Bend @ Pratt Hays @ Manhattan Dodge City @ Lakin Central Kansas League Thursday Southeast of Saline @ Hillsboro Central Kansas League Friday Kingman @ Larned Haven @ Belle Plaine Smoky Valley @ Halstead Central Prairie League LaCrosse @ Otis-Bison Ellis @ Ellinwood TMP @ Central Plains Macksville @ Stafford Kiowa County @ St. John Ness City @ Kinsley Chase @ Victoria Other Area Games Pawnee Heights @ Spearville Russell @ Norton Ashland @ Hodgeman County Skyline @ South Central Ellsworth @ Beloit Sacred Heart @ Lyons

Western Athletic Conference Great Bend @ Pratt Hays @ Manhattan Dodge City @ Lakin Central Kansas League Thursday Southeast of Saline @ Hillsboro Central Kansas League Friday Kingman @ Larned Haven @ Belle Plaine Smoky Valley @ Halstead Central Prairie League LaCrosse @ Otis-Bison Ellis @ Ellinwood TMP @ Central Plains Macksville @ Stafford Kiowa County @ St. John Ness City @ Kinsley Chase @ Victoria Other Area Games Pawnee Heights @ Spearville Russell @ Norton Ashland @ Hodgeman County Skyline @ South Central Ellsworth @ Beloit Sacred Heart @ Lyons

Friday Area High School Basketball Schedule

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Right-hander Kyle Wright and the Kansas City Royals agreed Tuesday to a $1.8 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Wright will make the same salary he did last season, which he spent recovering from shoulder surgery. The Royals knew he would not pitch in 2024 when they acquired him in a trade with Atlanta, but they were willing to let him fully rehab his shoulder with an eye on putting him into the rotation for 2025. Wright went 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA with the Braves in 2022, his last full season before the injury. The Royals had one of the best rotations in the majors last season, headlined by All-Stars Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans. Both will be back along with Michael Wacha, who last month agreed to a $51 million, three-year deal to remain with the club. Six Royals remain on track to exchange proposed arbitration salaries with the team on Jan. 9: right-handers Hunter Harvey, Carlos Hernández and John Schreiber, left-hander Kris Bubic and outfielders Kyle Isbel and MJ Melendez.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Despite losing its starting quarterback after three games and head coach 10 days ago, UNLV had its best season in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The 24th-ranked Rebels picked up their 11th win and first bowl victory in 24 years Wednesday night when they pulled away in the second half and beat California 24-13 in the LA Bowl. “This is exactly how we wanted to finish it. I mean, not many people can say they got 11 wins in a season,” said linebacker Jackson Woodard, who the Defensive MVP of the game. Hajj-Malik Williams passed for two touchdowns and Kylin James ran for another for the 11-3 Rebels, who won for the first time in a bowl game since beating Arkansas in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl. It also gave the Rebels 11 wins for the first time as an FBS program.

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Backup Billy Atkins threw for 181 yards and a touchdown in his first start since 2022, leading James Madison to the program’s first bowl win after topping Western Kentucky 27-17 on Wednesday night in the Boca Raton Bowl. JMU was without starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III, who suffered an injury against Marshall on Nov. 30, and the Dukes turned to Atkins, who had just three pass attempts in the last two years. Atkins went 4 for 5 on a fourth-quarter drive, ending in a 21-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Thompson for a 24-17 lead with 9:20 left. After both teams went three-and-out, Khairi Manns ended a Western Kentucky drive with 3:02 remaining when he recovered his own strip sack and JMU marched down the field for a short field goal for a 10-point lead.&nbsp;It was the fifth game this season that JMU had three or more takeaways in a game.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll">Colorado Buffaloes</a>&nbsp;have landed ex-Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter out of the transfer portal to possibly step in and replace Shedeur Sanders next season. Salter figures to compete with five-star high school recruit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/julian-lewis-colorado-546cee65462fae3781089f71a0c71bf7">Julian “JuJu” Lewis</a>&nbsp;for the starting job. Lewis is expected to join the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3) in the spring semester. A dual threat, Salter is coming off a regular season for the Flames in which he ran for 579 yards and seven TDs while throwing for 1,886 yards and 15 touchdowns. His total yards per game (224.09 yards) was fourth-most in Conference USA. Salter led Liberty to an 8-3 mark this season. His former team will play&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/sports/college-football-victor-snow-liberty-flames-kaidon-salter-bahamas-7fb2f1a617ba42ce9382ff8c9dffce2f">in the Bahamas Bowl</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 4 against Buffalo. Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur recently spoke of the need to bring in a player such&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/CUBuffsFootball/status/1869478489323417722" target="_blank">as Salter</a>&nbsp;as Lewis develops. Shurmur called Lewis a “great decision maker.”

WEDNESDAY SCORES NCAA WOMEN TOP 25 No. 9 Duke 93, Wofford 58

No. 13 Kansas State 83, New Mexico State 39

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721294994442.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Right-hander Kyle Wright and the Kansas City Royals agreed Tuesday to a $1.8 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Wright will make the same salary he did last season, which he spent recovering from shoulder surgery. The Royals knew he would not pitch in 2024 when they acquired him in a trade with Atlanta, but they were willing to let him fully rehab his shoulder with an eye on putting him into the rotation for 2025. Wright went 21-5 with a 3.19 ERA with the Braves in 2022, his last full season before the injury. The Royals had one of the best rotations in the majors last season, headlined by All-Stars Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans. Both will be back along with Michael Wacha, who last month agreed to a $51 million, three-year deal to remain with the club. Six Royals remain on track to exchange proposed arbitration salaries with the team on Jan. 9: right-handers Hunter Harvey, Carlos Hernández and John Schreiber, left-hander Kris Bubic and outfielders Kyle Isbel and MJ Melendez.INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Despite losing its starting quarterback after three games and head coach 10 days ago, UNLV had its best season in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The 24th-ranked Rebels picked up their 11th win and first bowl victory in 24 years Wednesday night when they pulled away in the second half and beat California 24-13 in the LA Bowl. “This is exactly how we wanted to finish it. I mean, not many people can say they got 11 wins in a season,” said linebacker Jackson Woodard, who the Defensive MVP of the game. Hajj-Malik Williams passed for two touchdowns and Kylin James ran for another for the 11-3 Rebels, who won for the first time in a bowl game since beating Arkansas in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl. It also gave the Rebels 11 wins for the first time as an FBS program.BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Backup Billy Atkins threw for 181 yards and a touchdown in his first start since 2022, leading James Madison to the program’s first bowl win after topping Western Kentucky 27-17 on Wednesday night in the Boca Raton Bowl. JMU was without starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III, who suffered an injury against Marshall on Nov. 30, and the Dukes turned to Atkins, who had just three pass attempts in the last two years. Atkins went 4 for 5 on a fourth-quarter drive, ending in a 21-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Thompson for a 24-17 lead with 9:20 left. After both teams went three-and-out, Khairi Manns ended a Western Kentucky drive with 3:02 remaining when he recovered his own strip sack and JMU marched down the field for a short field goal for a 10-point lead.&nbsp;It was the fifth game this season that JMU had three or more takeaways in a game.The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll">Colorado Buffaloes</a>&nbsp;have landed ex-Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter out of the transfer portal to possibly step in and replace Shedeur Sanders next season. Salter figures to compete with five-star high school recruit&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/julian-lewis-colorado-546cee65462fae3781089f71a0c71bf7">Julian “JuJu” Lewis</a>&nbsp;for the starting job. Lewis is expected to join the 20th-ranked Buffaloes (9-3) in the spring semester. A dual threat, Salter is coming off a regular season for the Flames in which he ran for 579 yards and seven TDs while throwing for 1,886 yards and 15 touchdowns. His total yards per game (224.09 yards) was fourth-most in Conference USA. Salter led Liberty to an 8-3 mark this season. His former team will play&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/sports/college-football-victor-snow-liberty-flames-kaidon-salter-bahamas-7fb2f1a617ba42ce9382ff8c9dffce2f">in the Bahamas Bowl</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 4 against Buffalo. Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur recently spoke of the need to bring in a player such&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/CUBuffsFootball/status/1869478489323417722" target="_blank">as Salter</a>&nbsp;as Lewis develops. Shurmur called Lewis a “great decision maker.”WEDNESDAY SCORES NCAA WOMEN TOP 25 No. 9 Duke 93, Wofford 58No. 13 Kansas State 83, New Mexico State 39No. 17 Georgia Tech 88, Rice 57No. 18 Tennessee 90, Memphis 75No. 19 North Carolina 77, Florida 57

Thursday's Sports Headlines and Scores presented by Barton Community College

CANYON, Texas — Down 14 just halfway through the first quarter, No. 3 Hutchinson (11-1) found a way to capture its second national championship in program history Wednesday night.

Back-to-back national champion No. 1 Iowa Western (11-2) scored on its first two drives to build a 14-0 advantage with 6:49 left in the first frame.

Reiver quarterback Hunter Dekkers drove his team 93 yards in just nine plays on the first possession of the game. Dekkers capped the drive with a 27-yard pass to Keyon Brown.

Hutchinson went three-and-out and Davis Barr had his punt blocked. The Reivers recovered with a short field and capitalized on a free play.

The Dragon defense jumped offside and Dekkers hit Titus Myers on a 14-yard strike.

Dekkers finished the first half with 240 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-23 passing.

Hutchinson cut into the Iowa Western lead as the first quarter expired when Samari Collier completed his first pass of the contest to Ben Prosper for 26 yards.

Collier used that momentum on a 27-yard touchdown run just four plays into the second quarter.

A Max Bartachek 32-yard field goal gave Iowa Western a 17-7 halftime lead after a Nestus Burger field-goal attempt from 46 yards went wide right.

The Reivers drove to the Dragon 4, but had no timeouts left as the clock expired on the first half.

Hutchinson scored the next 21 points unanswered.

The Dragons opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 54-yard drive that was capped with a Collier 8-yard pass to Prosper.

Shortly after, Collier left the game with an ankle injury.

Christian Johnson entered the game at quarterback for Hutchinson and threw a dime for seven on just his second play from scrimmage.

"(You) always got to stay ready," coach Drew Dallas said of his team's next-man-up mentality. "It's two cranks of the arm and go."

Johnson dropped back and hit Tre Brown for a 34-yard score.

In the national semifinal, Johnson threw a touchdown pass on his first play from scrimmage.

The play of the game came with 3:26 left in the third quarter.

Punt returner Kordell Gouldsby backpedaled to retrieve a Jonah Dupont punt. He found the opening he needed for a 73-yard house call.

The momentum-shifter put Hutchinson up 28-17 and was enough for Gouldsby to be named the game's most valuable player.

Hutchinson erased a double-digit lead and etched a double-digit lead of its own, but Iowa Western would not go away quietly.

Dekkers led the Reivers on another 93-yard drive. The 10-play drive was capped on a Brown reverse from 11 yards out.

Reiver head coach Scott Strohmeier kept his offense on the field for a two-point try. The attempt failed as Dekkers could not connect with receiver Fresh Walters.

It was the second time in as many meetings this season that a failed two-point attempt helped decide the outcome of the game.

Up five, Hutchinson needed one last stop from its defense after a Nestus Burger 32-yard field-goal attempt was blocked.

Iowa Western drove the ball to its own 46 before facing a fourth down. On 4th-and-5, Dekkers found tight end Naivyan Cargill for 13 yards.

The Reivers moved the ball to the Hutchinson 5 before facing fourth down again.

Dekkers was looking for Cargill again when he was pressured by Dragon linebacker JaQuel Mack. The pass was broken up by Avian Rice.

"Play for the man beside you," Rice pleaded with his teammates at halftime when the Dragons were down 10, a sentiment Kedrick Walker reminded himself throughout the second half.

Walker, Mack and Rice combined for 18 tackles, a tackle for loss, two broken-up passes and three quarterback hurries.

Marshon Oxley lived in the Reiver backfield and registered three sacks.

This is Hutchinson's second national title under Drew Dallas.

Much like the first championship, Hutchinson had to erase a 14-point deficit.

The Dragon defense held Hunter Dekkers to 36.8% passing in the second half.

National Player of the Year Waymond Jordan Junior was held to 79 yards rushing on 24 carries.

Before his exit, Samari Collier threw for 80 yards on 6-of-16 passing and added 109 yards on the ground with two total touchdowns.

Christian Johnson's only completion in five attempts went for a 34-yard touchdown.

The Reivers went 3-of-3 on third down to begin the game but were held to 3-of-14 the rest of the contest.

CANYON, Texas — Down 14 just halfway through the first quarter, No. 3 Hutchinson (11-1) found a way to capture its second national championship in program history Wednesday night.Back-to-back national champion No. 1 Iowa Western (11-2) scored on its first two drives to build a 14-0 advantage with 6:49 left in the first frame.Reiver quarterback Hunter Dekkers drove his team 93 yards in just nine plays on the first possession of the game. Dekkers capped the drive with a 27-yard pass to Keyon Brown.Hutchinson went three-and-out and Davis Barr had his punt blocked. The Reivers recovered with a short field and capitalized on a free play.The Dragon defense jumped offside and Dekkers hit Titus Myers on a 14-yard strike.Dekkers finished the first half with 240 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-23 passing.Hutchinson cut into the Iowa Western lead as the first quarter expired when Samari Collier completed his first pass of the contest to Ben Prosper for 26 yards.Collier used that momentum on a 27-yard touchdown run just four plays into the second quarter.A Max Bartachek 32-yard field goal gave Iowa Western a 17-7 halftime lead after a Nestus Burger field-goal attempt from 46 yards went wide right.The Reivers drove to the Dragon 4, but had no timeouts left as the clock expired on the first half.Hutchinson scored the next 21 points unanswered.The Dragons opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 54-yard drive that was capped with a Collier 8-yard pass to Prosper.Shortly after, Collier left the game with an ankle injury.Christian Johnson entered the game at quarterback for Hutchinson and threw a dime for seven on just his second play from scrimmage."(You) always got to stay ready," coach Drew Dallas said of his team's next-man-up mentality. "It's two cranks of the arm and go."Johnson dropped back and hit Tre Brown for a 34-yard score.In the national semifinal, Johnson threw a touchdown pass on his first play from scrimmage.The play of the game came with 3:26 left in the third quarter.Punt returner Kordell Gouldsby backpedaled to retrieve a Jonah Dupont punt. He found the opening he needed for a 73-yard house call.The momentum-shifter put Hutchinson up 28-17 and was enough for Gouldsby to be named the game's most valuable player.Hutchinson erased a double-digit lead and etched a double-digit lead of its own, but Iowa Western would not go away quietly.Dekkers led the Reivers on another 93-yard drive. The 10-play drive was capped on a Brown reverse from 11 yards out.Reiver head coach Scott Strohmeier kept his offense on the field for a two-point try. The attempt failed as Dekkers could not connect with receiver Fresh Walters.It was the second time in as many meetings this season that a failed two-point attempt helped decide the outcome of the game.Up five, Hutchinson needed one last stop from its defense after a Nestus Burger 32-yard field-goal attempt was blocked.The Reivers took over at their own 15.Iowa Western drove the ball to its own 46 before facing a fourth down. On 4th-and-5, Dekkers found tight end Naivyan Cargill for 13 yards.The Reivers moved the ball to the Hutchinson 5 before facing fourth down again.Dekkers was looking for Cargill again when he was pressured by Dragon linebacker JaQuel Mack. The pass was broken up by Avian Rice."Play for the man beside you," Rice pleaded with his teammates at halftime when the Dragons were down 10, a sentiment Kedrick Walker reminded himself throughout the second half.Walker, Mack and Rice combined for 18 tackles, a tackle for loss, two broken-up passes and three quarterback hurries.Marshon Oxley lived in the Reiver backfield and registered three sacks.FINAL: Hutchinson 28 Iowa Western 23This is Hutchinson's second national title under Drew Dallas.Much like the first championship, Hutchinson had to erase a 14-point deficit.The Dragon defense held Hunter Dekkers to 36.8% passing in the second half.National Player of the Year Waymond Jordan Junior was held to 79 yards rushing on 24 carries.Before his exit, Samari Collier threw for 80 yards on 6-of-16 passing and added 109 yards on the ground with two total touchdowns.Christian Johnson's only completion in five attempts went for a 34-yard touchdown.The Reivers went 3-of-3 on third down to begin the game but were held to 3-of-14 the rest of the contest.

Hutchinson secures second national title in five years with win over Iowa Western

MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Ayoka Lee scored 19 of her 34 points before halftime and Serena Sundell scored 18 points and No. 13 Kansas State beat New Mexico State 83-39 on Wednesday night.

The 6-foot-6 Lee finished 14-for-18 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. She is now three double-doubles shy of moving into second in Big 12 history for career double-doubles.

Molly Kaiser scored 15 points for New Mexico State.

Lee scored the game's first points with a pair of layups and 1-for-2 shooting from the foul line. Kaiser countered with a 3-pointer and a jumper to tie it at 5. Lee made her third layup and that sparked a 10-0 run in which Lee made three more layups and the Wildcats (12-1) led 19-7 after the first quarter.

The Aggies responded with more offense with a 15-point second quarter in which Harding shot 3 for 4 and scored seven points but were still outscored by four points in the stanza and trailed 38-22 at intermission.

But the Wildcats emerged from the break and decimated New Mexico State (6-5) outscoring them 28-7 and led 66-29. Lee outscored the Aggies by herself with 11 points making all three of her shot attempts and 5 for 7 from the foul line.

The Aggies host Division II-member Eastern New Mexico on Friday. Kansas State — which improved to 9-0 at home this season — kicks off Big 12 play hosting Cincinnati on Sunday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/1/1641240554804.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Ayoka Lee scored 19 of her 34 points before halftime and Serena Sundell scored 18 points and No. 13 Kansas State beat New Mexico State 83-39 on Wednesday night.The 6-foot-6 Lee finished 14-for-18 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. She is now three double-doubles shy of moving into second in Big 12 history for career double-doubles.Molly Kaiser scored 15 points for New Mexico State.Lee scored the game's first points with a pair of layups and 1-for-2 shooting from the foul line. Kaiser countered with a 3-pointer and a jumper to tie it at 5. Lee made her third layup and that sparked a 10-0 run in which Lee made three more layups and the Wildcats (12-1) led 19-7 after the first quarter.The Aggies responded with more offense with a 15-point second quarter in which Harding shot 3 for 4 and scored seven points but were still outscored by four points in the stanza and trailed 38-22 at intermission.But the Wildcats emerged from the break and decimated New Mexico State (6-5) outscoring them 28-7 and led 66-29. Lee outscored the Aggies by herself with 11 points making all three of her shot attempts and 5 for 7 from the foul line.The Aggies host Division II-member Eastern New Mexico on Friday. Kansas State — which improved to 9-0 at home this season — kicks off Big 12 play hosting Cincinnati on Sunday.

Lee continues assault on double-double record sending No. 13 K-State to easy win

NEW YORK (AP) — For Djaniele Taylor, attending WNBA games was the perfect way to rediscover a sense of community coming out of the long slog of pandemic-era lockdowns.

The 38-year-old Evanston, Illinois, resident has regularly attended Chicago Sky games for the last three seasons, after she watched the team win its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nfl-sports-chicago-phoenix-mercury-courtney-vandersloot-3d504302d3081e4948e96736857a3e51">first championship</a>&nbsp;in 2021. As a queer Black fan, she felt the games were a supportive and safe sporting environment.

“I was hooked and I loved the atmosphere — it was very queer-friendly, very family-oriented, very diverse,” she said.

As the popularity of the WNBA skyrocketed this year, Taylor watched the price of her season tickets more than double since 2022. With the growth, she noted a “darker vibe shift,” too: What always felt like a positive setting started to take a more hostile turn at times.

As&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/womens-sports-wnba-caitlin-clark-16c0b9500b45cf66ab4445b13d93e363">women’s sports set new records for attendance</a>&nbsp;and viewership, Taylor and other longtime fans watched with optimism — and unease. It’s a cycle female athletes and fans of women’s sports have come to recognize: With the increased and sought-after visibility also comes added scrutiny — as well as harassment and online abuse toward some players.

This year, fresh off the NCAA spotlight, former college basketball stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese made their WNBA debut for the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky, catapulting their personal brands as well as the popularity of the league among viewers.

Fans are tuning in for the love of the sport, as they always have, said Amira Rose Davis, assistant professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas-Austin. But they’re also drawn by the dynamics between players like Clark and Reese, who faced each other in the 2023 NCAA championship between the University of Iowa and Louisiana State University.

While both deny there’s any bad blood between them, tension has been drummed up by fans and increased media attention. Beneath it are racial undertones that originated while the two played in college — with predominantly white Iowa pitted against predominantly Black LSU, and Clark and Reese “emerging as these kind of archetypes that people can run with,” Davis said.

“That really raises the engagement and just the raw numbers of viewership. And then it also solidifies those narratives,” she said.

It’s also led to harassment and abuse — much of it racially motivated and directed at players of color across the league and the wider sports landscape.

“Angel and Caitlin have given us an incredible platform to talk about how we treat Black and white athletes differently in the media,” said E.R. Fightmaster, co-host of Jockular, a podcast on the intersection of women’s sports and queer identity.

During the playoff matchup in&nbsp;<a href="https://dijonai%20carrington/" target="_blank">September</a>&nbsp;between the Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever, the Sun’s DiJonai Carrington posted an email she received with a racial slur and graphic death and sexual assault threats.

Her teammate, Alyssa Thomas, shared her own experience.

“In my 11-year career, I’ve never experienced racial comments (like) from the Indiana Fever fan base,” Thomas said, after the Sun eliminated the Fever&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/clark-fever-sun-wnba-score-18fb2bb6adf8f348fe020dc10a3f5b43">from the playoffs.</a>

For her part, Clark&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/caitlin-clark-nobody-in-our-league-should-be-facing-any-sort-of-racism-00000192353dd0a0a9d6f77fda760000">has disavowed the toxic discourse,</a>&nbsp;though some say she hasn’t done enough to try to rein in the racism by some of her Indiana Fever fans.

“People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable,” Clark said back in June. ”Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it’s just a basic human thing that everybody should do.”

At the end of the 2024 season after facing some criticism for initially failing to condemn the harassment, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said, “There’s no place in sports for this,” and vowed to attack it “multidimensionally.”

The league should have done a better job preparing for the harassment, said Frankie de la Cretaz, a freelance writer whose work explores sports, culture and queer identity. “They should have seen it coming based on the discourse between fans around Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in college.”

The NCAA released&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-athletes-social-media-harassment-6e8bd3a803bb9ec7b6f2e73741f9fd41">a study in October</a>&nbsp;showing online abuse toward student-athletes peaked during March Madness, with women’s basketball players receiving three times more threats than men’s players. For the first time in March Madness history, the women’s championship game drew more viewers this year than the men’s.

“It’s very exciting, of course, to see the increased visibility of that increased popularity, but it is extremely concerning and disappointing to see what has come along with that,” said Lynn Holzman, vice president for NCAA women’s basketball.

A similar study found racist and sexist posts aimed at female athletes made up nearly half of all monitored abusive posts during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

At the summer games,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-boxing-imane-khelif-a177d6795d27dbc02db1313de0266753">Algerian boxer Imane Khelif</a>&nbsp;faced hateful comments and false accusations about her gender leading up to her gold medal win.

The false narratives, perpetuated by internet trolls and public figures like President-elect Donald Trump and “Harry Potter” author J. K. Rowling, highlighted how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-gender-racism-female-athletes-49b79a6b7ae76afaebb00319732d6486">female athletes of color have faced disproportionate scrutiny</a>&nbsp;and discrimination when it comes to sex testing and false accusations that they are male or transgender.

“People want a chance to delegitimize successful women all the time. And so if you are a successful boxer and they can’t find anything else to pick on, they are going to say that you are too manly to play,” Fightmaster said.

Khelif urged an end to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-imane-khelif-boxing-gender-7b171980b05bcef2117a7615f212eba9">bullying athletes</a>. “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind,” she said.

The issue of transgender women competing in women’s sports has been highly polarized this year. A former University of Kentucky swimmer was among a dozen athletes filing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-lia-thomas-swimming-lawsuit-b7df63108a03100f36b2e4364d585cdc">a federal lawsuit against the NCAA</a>&nbsp;in March, accusing it of violating Title IX rights by allowing a transgender woman, Lia Thomas, to compete at the 2022 national championships.

The lawsuit also cited unconfirmed reports that a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/san-jose-state-volleyball-transgender-forfeit-3481bc5bfd68ad9aecef9cff7f497465">transgender woman was playing</a>&nbsp;on the San Jose State women’s volleyball team. This fall, colleges&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/san-jose-state-volleyball-transgender-forfeit-3481bc5bfd68ad9aecef9cff7f497465">began dropping out of matches</a>&nbsp;with San Jose State, which has not confirmed it has a trans woman on the team. The Associated Press has withheld the player’s name because she has not publicly commented on her gender identity.

But that hasn’t stopped politicians from shaping campaigns around keeping transgender women out of women’s sports or wading into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/volleyball-transgender-san-jose-state-politics-0e4da0292b4c5315e053e53c064d5a5c">the polarizing debate on fairness</a>.

<a href="https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/sports_participation_bans" target="_blank">About half of U.S. states</a>&nbsp;have a ban on transgender athletes participating in school sports according to their gender identity. This year, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-athletes-new-hampshire-5f6d70e89c9f7d9f494d2ed650e94c67">signed a law</a>&nbsp;banning transgender athletes from grades 5-12. Ohio&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-care-ohio-bans-veto-override-4877522111308e8c2c6cb1fef212ba0f">banned trans athletes</a>&nbsp;as young as kindergarteners. West Virginia and Idaho are looking to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-idaho-supreme-court-transgender-sports-ban-3b4ff85ae4eaab03fb4b7e127e9dfdcc">U.S. Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;to support their bans.

Even as women’s sports reach new heights in viewership and with it ticket sales and lucrative deals, inequalities persist, including disparities in pay, the quality of women’s sports facilities and online harassment of female athletes.

“It’s disingenuous to me if we are going to celebrate the rise of women’s sports but not address the ways in which we’re treating women athletes differently,” said Cheryl Cooky, professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Purdue University.

“My hope is that the rise of women’s sports can happen in absence of the vitriolic rhetoric that we’ve seen.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734530980987.png" alt="FILE - LSU's Angel Reese, left, and Iowa's Caitlin Clark, right, pose for a photo before the WNBA basketball draft, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)" />
 <figcaption>FILE - LSU's Angel Reese, left, and Iowa's Caitlin Clark, right, pose for a photo before the WNBA basketball draft, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — For Djaniele Taylor, attending WNBA games was the perfect way to rediscover a sense of community coming out of the long slog of pandemic-era lockdowns.The 38-year-old Evanston, Illinois, resident has regularly attended Chicago Sky games for the last three seasons, after she watched the team win its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nfl-sports-chicago-phoenix-mercury-courtney-vandersloot-3d504302d3081e4948e96736857a3e51">first championship</a>&nbsp;in 2021. As a queer Black fan, she felt the games were a supportive and safe sporting environment.“I was hooked and I loved the atmosphere — it was very queer-friendly, very family-oriented, very diverse,” she said.As the popularity of the WNBA skyrocketed this year, Taylor watched the price of her season tickets more than double since 2022. With the growth, she noted a “darker vibe shift,” too: What always felt like a positive setting started to take a more hostile turn at times.As&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/womens-sports-wnba-caitlin-clark-16c0b9500b45cf66ab4445b13d93e363">women’s sports set new records for attendance</a>&nbsp;and viewership, Taylor and other longtime fans watched with optimism — and unease. It’s a cycle female athletes and fans of women’s sports have come to recognize: With the increased and sought-after visibility also comes added scrutiny — as well as harassment and online abuse toward some players.This year, fresh off the NCAA spotlight, former college basketball stars Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese made their WNBA debut for the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky, catapulting their personal brands as well as the popularity of the league among viewers.Fans are tuning in for the love of the sport, as they always have, said Amira Rose Davis, assistant professor in the Department of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas-Austin. But they’re also drawn by the dynamics between players like Clark and Reese, who faced each other in the 2023 NCAA championship between the University of Iowa and Louisiana State University.While both deny there’s any bad blood between them, tension has been drummed up by fans and increased media attention. Beneath it are racial undertones that originated while the two played in college — with predominantly white Iowa pitted against predominantly Black LSU, and Clark and Reese “emerging as these kind of archetypes that people can run with,” Davis said.“That really raises the engagement and just the raw numbers of viewership. And then it also solidifies those narratives,” she said.It’s also led to harassment and abuse — much of it racially motivated and directed at players of color across the league and the wider sports landscape.“Angel and Caitlin have given us an incredible platform to talk about how we treat Black and white athletes differently in the media,” said E.R. Fightmaster, co-host of Jockular, a podcast on the intersection of women’s sports and queer identity.During the playoff matchup in&nbsp;<a href="https://dijonai%20carrington/" target="_blank">September</a>&nbsp;between the Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever, the Sun’s DiJonai Carrington posted an email she received with a racial slur and graphic death and sexual assault threats.Her teammate, Alyssa Thomas, shared her own experience.“In my 11-year career, I’ve never experienced racial comments (like) from the Indiana Fever fan base,” Thomas said, after the Sun eliminated the Fever&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/clark-fever-sun-wnba-score-18fb2bb6adf8f348fe020dc10a3f5b43">from the playoffs.</a>For her part, Clark&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/video/caitlin-clark-nobody-in-our-league-should-be-facing-any-sort-of-racism-00000192353dd0a0a9d6f77fda760000">has disavowed the toxic discourse,</a>&nbsp;though some say she hasn’t done enough to try to rein in the racism by some of her Indiana Fever fans.“People should not be using my name to push those agendas. It’s disappointing. It’s not acceptable,” Clark said back in June. ”Treating every single woman in this league with the same amount of respect, I think, it’s just a basic human thing that everybody should do.”At the end of the 2024 season after facing some criticism for initially failing to condemn the harassment, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said, “There’s no place in sports for this,” and vowed to attack it “multidimensionally.”The league should have done a better job preparing for the harassment, said Frankie de la Cretaz, a freelance writer whose work explores sports, culture and queer identity. “They should have seen it coming based on the discourse between fans around Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese in college.”The NCAA released&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-athletes-social-media-harassment-6e8bd3a803bb9ec7b6f2e73741f9fd41">a study in October</a>&nbsp;showing online abuse toward student-athletes peaked during March Madness, with women’s basketball players receiving three times more threats than men’s players. For the first time in March Madness history, the women’s championship game drew more viewers this year than the men’s.“It’s very exciting, of course, to see the increased visibility of that increased popularity, but it is extremely concerning and disappointing to see what has come along with that,” said Lynn Holzman, vice president for NCAA women’s basketball.A similar study found racist and sexist posts aimed at female athletes made up nearly half of all monitored abusive posts during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.At the summer games,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-boxing-imane-khelif-a177d6795d27dbc02db1313de0266753">Algerian boxer Imane Khelif</a>&nbsp;faced hateful comments and false accusations about her gender leading up to her gold medal win.The false narratives, perpetuated by internet trolls and public figures like President-elect Donald Trump and “Harry Potter” author J. K. Rowling, highlighted how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-gender-racism-female-athletes-49b79a6b7ae76afaebb00319732d6486">female athletes of color have faced disproportionate scrutiny</a>&nbsp;and discrimination when it comes to sex testing and false accusations that they are male or transgender.“People want a chance to delegitimize successful women all the time. And so if you are a successful boxer and they can’t find anything else to pick on, they are going to say that you are too manly to play,” Fightmaster said.Khelif urged an end to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-imane-khelif-boxing-gender-7b171980b05bcef2117a7615f212eba9">bullying athletes</a>. “It can destroy people, it can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind,” she said.The issue of transgender women competing in women’s sports has been highly polarized this year. A former University of Kentucky swimmer was among a dozen athletes filing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-lia-thomas-swimming-lawsuit-b7df63108a03100f36b2e4364d585cdc">a federal lawsuit against the NCAA</a>&nbsp;in March, accusing it of violating Title IX rights by allowing a transgender woman, Lia Thomas, to compete at the 2022 national championships.The lawsuit also cited unconfirmed reports that a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/san-jose-state-volleyball-transgender-forfeit-3481bc5bfd68ad9aecef9cff7f497465">transgender woman was playing</a>&nbsp;on the San Jose State women’s volleyball team. This fall, colleges&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/san-jose-state-volleyball-transgender-forfeit-3481bc5bfd68ad9aecef9cff7f497465">began dropping out of matches</a>&nbsp;with San Jose State, which has not confirmed it has a trans woman on the team. The Associated Press has withheld the player’s name because she has not publicly commented on her gender identity.But that hasn’t stopped politicians from shaping campaigns around keeping transgender women out of women’s sports or wading into&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/volleyball-transgender-san-jose-state-politics-0e4da0292b4c5315e053e53c064d5a5c">the polarizing debate on fairness</a>.<a href="https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/youth/sports_participation_bans" target="_blank">About half of U.S. states</a>&nbsp;have a ban on transgender athletes participating in school sports according to their gender identity. This year, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-athletes-new-hampshire-5f6d70e89c9f7d9f494d2ed650e94c67">signed a law</a>&nbsp;banning transgender athletes from grades 5-12. Ohio&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/transgender-care-ohio-bans-veto-override-4877522111308e8c2c6cb1fef212ba0f">banned trans athletes</a>&nbsp;as young as kindergarteners. West Virginia and Idaho are looking to the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/west-virginia-idaho-supreme-court-transgender-sports-ban-3b4ff85ae4eaab03fb4b7e127e9dfdcc">U.S. Supreme Court</a>&nbsp;to support their bans.Even as women’s sports reach new heights in viewership and with it ticket sales and lucrative deals, inequalities persist, including disparities in pay, the quality of women’s sports facilities and online harassment of female athletes.“It’s disingenuous to me if we are going to celebrate the rise of women’s sports but not address the ways in which we’re treating women athletes differently,” said Cheryl Cooky, professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Purdue University.“My hope is that the rise of women’s sports can happen in absence of the vitriolic rhetoric that we’ve seen.”

The darker side of the rise of women’s sports: more visibility means more harassment

The Great Bend High School swimmers hit the water in Hutchinson Tuesday. Buhler scored 535 points to cruise to the win, followed by Garden City with 336 points and Goddard-Eisenhower with 242 points in third. The Panthers scored 111.5 points for eighth.

The competition was tough across the board. Great Bend's 400 free relay team of Kale Mermis, Matthew Williams, Mark Sperlein, and Jordan Sander placed ninth in 4:42.62, 14 seconds under its seed time and 31 seconds behind the bronze. The 200 medley relay team of Williams, Sperlein, Mermis, and Randy Weber swam nine seconds under its seed time in 2:21.44 to miss the bronze by 19 seconds.

Individually, Sperlein finished 10th in the 500 free in 7:05.97, 35 seconds under his seed time and 56 seconds from the bronze. Williams finished behind him in 7:08.72. Williams also placed 11th in the 100 breast with a time of 1:27.90 to miss the bronze by 12 seconds. Cade Urban placed 16th in the 100 back in 1:51.28, followed by Leo Bashor in 1:52.78 for 19th, and Tyler Scheuerman in 20th with a time of 2:02.75.

Sander placed 11th in the 200 free in 2:44.27 to miss the top five by 22 seconds. Weber placed 17th in 3:00.75. AJ Schartz finished 15th in the 200 IM in 3:24.68 to miss the top five by 52 seconds. Zach Hart followed in 3:45.49 for 16th. Mermis finished 18th in the 50 free, hitting the wall in 29.91 to tie a competitor from Dodge City for the final half-point. Eisenhower's Dylan Patterson won that race by more than a second in 23.01. Mermis also placed 11th in the 100 free in 67.67 to miss the bronze by 10 seconds. Sander placed 15th in 69.50.

Great Bend's 200 free relay team of Weber, Sperlein, Sander, and Hart finished ninth in 2:05.67 to miss the bronze by 17 seconds.

The Panthers travel to Garden City on Thursday.

Great Bend Post SportsThe Great Bend High School swimmers hit the water in Hutchinson Tuesday. Buhler scored 535 points to cruise to the win, followed by Garden City with 336 points and Goddard-Eisenhower with 242 points in third. The Panthers scored 111.5 points for eighth.The competition was tough across the board. Great Bend's 400 free relay team of Kale Mermis, Matthew Williams, Mark Sperlein, and Jordan Sander placed ninth in 4:42.62, 14 seconds under its seed time and 31 seconds behind the bronze. The 200 medley relay team of Williams, Sperlein, Mermis, and Randy Weber swam nine seconds under its seed time in 2:21.44 to miss the bronze by 19 seconds.Individually, Sperlein finished 10th in the 500 free in 7:05.97, 35 seconds under his seed time and 56 seconds from the bronze. Williams finished behind him in 7:08.72. Williams also placed 11th in the 100 breast with a time of 1:27.90 to miss the bronze by 12 seconds. Cade Urban placed 16th in the 100 back in 1:51.28, followed by Leo Bashor in 1:52.78 for 19th, and Tyler Scheuerman in 20th with a time of 2:02.75.Sander placed 11th in the 200 free in 2:44.27 to miss the top five by 22 seconds. Weber placed 17th in 3:00.75. AJ Schartz finished 15th in the 200 IM in 3:24.68 to miss the top five by 52 seconds. Zach Hart followed in 3:45.49 for 16th. Mermis finished 18th in the 50 free, hitting the wall in 29.91 to tie a competitor from Dodge City for the final half-point. Eisenhower's Dylan Patterson won that race by more than a second in 23.01. Mermis also placed 11th in the 100 free in 67.67 to miss the bronze by 10 seconds. Sander placed 15th in 69.50.Great Bend's 200 free relay team of Weber, Sperlein, Sander, and Hart finished ninth in 2:05.67 to miss the bronze by 17 seconds.The Panthers travel to Garden City on Thursday.

Panther swimmers finish eighth in Hutchinson

Star K-State running back DJ Giddens announced on Saturday that he has declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. The Junction City native made the announcement Saturday on Instagram that he would forego his senior season as a Wildcat.

With split time in the backfield in the 2024 season, Giddens rushed for 1,343 yards and seven touchdowns on 205 carries, averaging 6.6 yards a carry. He also caught 21 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown.

Giddens' status for the Rate Bowl against Rutgers on Dec. 26 is unknown.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734537577758.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Great Bend Post SportsStar K-State running back DJ Giddens announced on Saturday that he has declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. The Junction City native made the announcement Saturday on Instagram that he would forego his senior season as a Wildcat.With split time in the backfield in the 2024 season, Giddens rushed for 1,343 yards and seven touchdowns on 205 carries, averaging 6.6 yards a carry. He also caught 21 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown.Giddens' status for the Rate Bowl against Rutgers on Dec. 26 is unknown.

K-State's Giddens forgoes senior season, declares for 2025 NFL Draft

By MIKE COURSON Great Bend Post

The high school wrestling season is now in full swing. There have been many changes in the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association rankings after two weekends of tournaments. The KWCA released its second set of regular-season rankings on Dec. 17.

Class 5A Boys: 1. Goddard 2. Bishop Carroll 3. Blue Valley Southwest 4. Basehor-Linwood 5. Andover 6. Valley Center 7. Salina Central 8. St. Thomas Aquinas 9. Lansing 10. Newton

113 pounds - No. 3 Cal Schartz, Fr., Great Bend

138 pounds - No. 6 Triston Tomlinson, Jr., Great Bend

165 pounds - No. 3 Jace Schartz, Sr., Great Bend (No. 4 all-class)

Class 5A Girls 1. Shawnee Heights 2. Basehor-Linwood 3. Newton 4. Bonner Springs 5. Topeka Seaman 6. Great Bend 7. Hays 8. Blue Valley Southwest 9. Kapaun Mt. Carmel 10. Pittsburg

100 pounds - No. 3 Sophia Bauer, Fr., Great Bend

105 pounds - No. 2 Camdyn Post, So., Great Bend (No. 7 all-class)

110 pounds - Keira Leyva, So., Great Bend

125 pounds - No. 6 Micah Ellegood, Fr., Great Bend

155 pounds - Marissa Esparza, Sr., Great Bend

170 pounds - No. 3 Kirra Stevens, Sr., Great Bend (No. 7 all-class)

Class 3-2-1A Boys 1. Hoxie 2. Norton 3. Phillipsburg 4. Atchison County 5. Russell 6. Council Grove 7. Southeast of Saline 8. Beloit 9. Herington 10. West Franklin

106 pounds - No. 3 Xzander Donner, Fr., Russell (No. 8 all-class)

106 pounds - No. 5 Marius Lee, Fr., Lyons

106 pounds - No. 6 Walter Hulse, Fr., Ellsworth

113 pounds - No. 2 Xzephren Donner, Jr., Russell 

150 pounds - No. 2 Jace Grizzle, So., Lyons

157 pounds - No. 6 Taylen Morales, Jr., Hoisington

165 pounds - No. 5 Teagen Pfeifer, Sr., Russell

175 pounds - No. 2 Brayden Suchy, Sr., Russell (No. 10 all-class)

175 pounds - No. 4 Teron Kraft, Sr., Hoisington

190 pounds - Keengan Urbanek, Jr., Ellsworth

215 pounds - No. 5 Landon Haney, Sr., Larned

Class 3-2-1A Girls 1. Oakley 2. Russell 3. Norton 4. Plainville 5. Stockton 6. St. Francis 7. Ellinwood 8. Douglass 9. West Franklin 10. Trego

105 pounds - No. 1 Jacynn Boeken, Fr., Sterling (No. 7 all-class)

110 pounds - No. 1 Kennedy Grizzle, Jr., Lyons

115 pounds - No. 3 Mya Trevino, Jr., Russell

125 pounds - No. 5 Chaysei Bachman, So., Russell

130 pounds - No. 2 Averie Counts, Fr., Russell

135 pounds - No. 2 Kinsley Zorn, So., Russell

135 pounds - No. 5 Kaylynn Crawford, Fr., Ellinwood

145 pounds - No. 1 Jaden Ney, Sr., Russell (No. 3 all-class)

155 pounds - No. 6 Ashlynn Henley, Fr., Russell

170 pounds - No. 4 Gracyn Dombroski, Jr., Ellinwood

170 pounds - No. 5 Peyton Snyder, Sr., Hoisington

235 pounds - No. 1 Haylee Holinde, Sr., Hoisington (No. 6 all-class)

235 pounds - No. 2 Emma Hahn, Sr., Ellinwood (No. 8 all-class)

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/11/1604497727867.jpeg" alt="KWCA Logo.jpg" />
 <figcaption>KWCA Logo.jpg</figcaption>
 </figure>By MIKE COURSON Great Bend PostThe high school wrestling season is now in full swing. There have been many changes in the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association rankings after two weekends of tournaments. The KWCA released its second set of regular-season rankings on Dec. 17.Area tanked teams and wrestlers include:Class 5A Boys: 1. Goddard 2. Bishop Carroll 3. Blue Valley Southwest 4. Basehor-Linwood 5. Andover 6. Valley Center 7. Salina Central 8. St. Thomas Aquinas 9. Lansing 10. Newton113 pounds - No. 3 Cal Schartz, Fr., Great Bend138 pounds - No. 6 Triston Tomlinson, Jr., Great Bend165 pounds - No. 3 Jace Schartz, Sr., Great Bend (No. 4 all-class)Class 5A Girls 1. Shawnee Heights 2. Basehor-Linwood 3. Newton 4. Bonner Springs 5. Topeka Seaman 6. Great Bend 7. Hays 8. Blue Valley Southwest 9. Kapaun Mt. Carmel 10. Pittsburg100 pounds - No. 3 Sophia Bauer, Fr., Great Bend105 pounds - No. 2 Camdyn Post, So., Great Bend (No. 7 all-class)110 pounds - Keira Leyva, So., Great Bend125 pounds - No. 6 Micah Ellegood, Fr., Great Bend155 pounds - Marissa Esparza, Sr., Great Bend170 pounds - No. 3 Kirra Stevens, Sr., Great Bend (No. 7 all-class)Class 3-2-1A Boys 1. Hoxie 2. Norton 3. Phillipsburg 4. Atchison County 5. Russell 6. Council Grove 7. Southeast of Saline 8. Beloit 9. Herington 10. West Franklin106 pounds - No. 3 Xzander Donner, Fr., Russell (No. 8 all-class)106 pounds - No. 5 Marius Lee, Fr., Lyons106 pounds - No. 6 Walter Hulse, Fr., Ellsworth113 pounds - No. 2 Xzephren Donner, Jr., Russell 150 pounds - No. 2 Jace Grizzle, So., Lyons157 pounds - No. 6 Taylen Morales, Jr., Hoisington165 pounds - No. 5 Teagen Pfeifer, Sr., Russell175 pounds - No. 2 Brayden Suchy, Sr., Russell (No. 10 all-class)175 pounds - No. 4 Teron Kraft, Sr., Hoisington190 pounds - Keengan Urbanek, Jr., Ellsworth215 pounds - No. 5 Landon Haney, Sr., LarnedClass 3-2-1A Girls 1. Oakley 2. Russell 3. Norton 4. Plainville 5. Stockton 6. St. Francis 7. Ellinwood 8. Douglass 9. West Franklin 10. Trego105 pounds - No. 1 Jacynn Boeken, Fr., Sterling (No. 7 all-class)110 pounds - No. 1 Kennedy Grizzle, Jr., Lyons115 pounds - No. 3 Mya Trevino, Jr., Russell125 pounds - No. 5 Chaysei Bachman, So., Russell130 pounds - No. 2 Averie Counts, Fr., Russell135 pounds - No. 2 Kinsley Zorn, So., Russell135 pounds - No. 5 Kaylynn Crawford, Fr., Ellinwood145 pounds - No. 1 Jaden Ney, Sr., Russell (No. 3 all-class)155 pounds - No. 6 Ashlynn Henley, Fr., Russell170 pounds - No. 4 Gracyn Dombroski, Jr., Ellinwood170 pounds - No. 5 Peyton Snyder, Sr., Hoisington235 pounds - No. 1 Haylee Holinde, Sr., Hoisington (No. 6 all-class)235 pounds - No. 2 Emma Hahn, Sr., Ellinwood (No. 8 all-class)

Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association rankings (Dec. 17)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bennett Stirtz scored eight of his 22 points in overtime including the game-winner with 3.4 seconds left to give undefeated Drake a 73-70 win over Kansas State on Tuesday night after blowing a 20-point lead.

Mitch Mascari tied a career high with eight 3-pointers in scoring 22 points for the Bulldogs (10-0). Cam Manyawu added 11 points.

Coleman Hawkins scored 16 points but was just 3 of 8 from the line including 2 of 6 in overtime for Kansas State (6-4). David N’Guessan added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Max Jones scored 12 points and Dug McDaniel 10.

Drake's Daniel Abreu made two free throws to tie the game with 23 seconds left in regulation before K-State's Brendan Hausen missed a well-defended 3 attempt.

In overtime, Stirtz scored five straight points and Abreau jammed home a follow for a six-point edge with two minutes left. The Wildcats scored the next six points with Hawkins hitting a 3 to tie with 12.3 seconds remaining. Stirtz took the inbounds and sank his 3 before Jones' deep 3 went off the back of the rim at the buzzer.

Kansas State tied the game for the first time midway through the second half and took its first lead shortly thereafter.

Mascari was 6 of 6 from the arc in the first half in scoring 18 first-half points for a 36-27 lead. His fifth 3-pointer made it a 20-point lead with six minutes remaining in the period. He finished the game 8 of 10 from the arc.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bennett Stirtz scored eight of his 22 points in overtime including the game-winner with 3.4 seconds left to give undefeated Drake a 73-70 win over Kansas State on Tuesday night after blowing a 20-point lead.Mitch Mascari tied a career high with eight 3-pointers in scoring 22 points for the Bulldogs (10-0). Cam Manyawu added 11 points.Coleman Hawkins scored 16 points but was just 3 of 8 from the line including 2 of 6 in overtime for Kansas State (6-4). David N’Guessan added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Max Jones scored 12 points and Dug McDaniel 10.Drake's Daniel Abreu made two free throws to tie the game with 23 seconds left in regulation before K-State's Brendan Hausen missed a well-defended 3 attempt.In overtime, Stirtz scored five straight points and Abreau jammed home a follow for a six-point edge with two minutes left. The Wildcats scored the next six points with Hawkins hitting a 3 to tie with 12.3 seconds remaining. Stirtz took the inbounds and sank his 3 before Jones' deep 3 went off the back of the rim at the buzzer.Kansas State tied the game for the first time midway through the second half and took its first lead shortly thereafter.Mascari was 6 of 6 from the arc in the first half in scoring 18 first-half points for a 36-27 lead. His fifth 3-pointer made it a 20-point lead with six minutes remaining in the period. He finished the game 8 of 10 from the arc.

Drake blows 20-point lead, beats K-State on Stirtz 3-pointer in overtime 73-70

By BRANDON SMITH Barton Sports Info

The Barton Community College wrestling team closed out the fall semester Sunday afternoon producing 14 placers in hosting the second annual Cougar Open at the Great Bend PAC Center.

Competing against nearly 100 wrestlers from eight different colleges, 15 different Cougars picked up victories with eight of them manufacturing multiple victories over the afternoon as the squad of 19 compiled a 25-37 record.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/mader_jarret_ixfh">Jarret Mader</a>&nbsp;(149) and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/mcmullen_skyler_jz53">Skyler McMullen</a>&nbsp;(141) notched team high honors each mingling 3-1 records to lead the Barton lineup.

Fresh off a fifth place finish a week ago at the Bob Smith Open, Mader sustained his strong stretch delivering the Cougars highest placing for the second straight week with a runner-up finish in the 149-division. The sophomore began his day rattling three straight victories to clinch his spot in the title behind a 10-0 major decision, 1:35 fall and 12-5 decision before suffering a 17-1 tech fall in the championship to Northeastern Junior College's Silas Thompson.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/mcmullen_skyler_jz53">Skyler McMullen</a>&nbsp;shaped the other top 3 finish in the Barton lineup concluding his day with three straight victories edging out teammate&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/little_colin_v1sv">Colin Little</a>&nbsp;in the third-place bout after suffering a heartbreaking 9-8 decision in the opener to Joe Zamora of Otero.

Little (141-division) and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/buchanan_logan_2r5s">Logan Buchanan</a>&nbsp;(285-division) finished the afternoon with fourth place finishes and 2-2 records, with Little accumulating a first period sudden victory and fall while Buchanan orchestrated two falls for his pair of triumphs.

Four other Cougars turned in two wins each, including a pair of falls from&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/almanza_joshua_-aj-_xep8">Joshua "AJ" Almanza</a>&nbsp;(125), a first period sudden victory and fall by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/boles_ethan_4s2l">Ethan Boles</a>&nbsp;(131), a major decision as well as a fall from&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/vetter_jaden_a0oa">Jaden Vetter</a>&nbsp;(149) and pair of falls produced by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/schroeder_keyven_opoq">Keyven Schroeder</a>&nbsp;(285).

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/blake_kayden_5gzt">Kayden Blake</a>&nbsp;(157),&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/foster_kaden_nry0">Kaden Foster</a>&nbsp;(157),&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/yott_deryk_gs6u">Deryk Yott</a>&nbsp;(157),&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/wise_kamden_z5ly">Kamden Wise</a>&nbsp;(165),&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/frances-aguilar_alonso_b0ry">Alonso Frances-Aguilar</a>&nbsp;(165) and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/truman_derek_ddus">Derek Truman</a>&nbsp;(174) all finished the day with one victory each.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/gonzales-brown_keenon_wmjc">Keenon Gonzales-Brown</a>&nbsp;(184) paced three unattached entrants with a third-place finish, beginning the day with a pair of pins before dropping his final two matches on a 10-7 decision and first period fall.

Overcoming an opening round fall,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/cook_matthew_1yi2">Matthew Cook</a>&nbsp;(unattached 149) distributed two back flattening's over his final three matches for a seventh place finish and 2-2 record while&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/parker_bryson_4wim">Bryson Parker</a>&nbsp;(unattached 125) delivered his lone victory on the day with a first-period pin.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734530220681.jpeg" alt="Skyler McMullen" />
 <figcaption>Skyler McMullen</figcaption>
 </figure>By BRANDON SMITH Barton Sports InfoThe Barton Community College wrestling team closed out the fall semester Sunday afternoon producing 14 placers in hosting the second annual Cougar Open at the Great Bend PAC Center.Competing against nearly 100 wrestlers from eight different colleges, 15 different Cougars picked up victories with eight of them manufacturing multiple victories over the afternoon as the squad of 19 compiled a 25-37 record.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/mader_jarret_ixfh">Jarret Mader</a>&nbsp;(149) and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/mcmullen_skyler_jz53">Skyler McMullen</a>&nbsp;(141) notched team high honors each mingling 3-1 records to lead the Barton lineup.Fresh off a fifth place finish a week ago at the Bob Smith Open, Mader sustained his strong stretch delivering the Cougars highest placing for the second straight week with a runner-up finish in the 149-division. The sophomore began his day rattling three straight victories to clinch his spot in the title behind a 10-0 major decision, 1:35 fall and 12-5 decision before suffering a 17-1 tech fall in the championship to Northeastern Junior College's Silas Thompson.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/mcmullen_skyler_jz53">Skyler McMullen</a>&nbsp;shaped the other top 3 finish in the Barton lineup concluding his day with three straight victories edging out teammate&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/little_colin_v1sv">Colin Little</a>&nbsp;in the third-place bout after suffering a heartbreaking 9-8 decision in the opener to Joe Zamora of Otero.Little (141-division) and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/buchanan_logan_2r5s">Logan Buchanan</a>&nbsp;(285-division) finished the afternoon with fourth place finishes and 2-2 records, with Little accumulating a first period sudden victory and fall while Buchanan orchestrated two falls for his pair of triumphs.Four other Cougars turned in two wins each, including a pair of falls from&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/almanza_joshua_-aj-_xep8">Joshua "AJ" Almanza</a>&nbsp;(125), a first period sudden victory and fall by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/boles_ethan_4s2l">Ethan Boles</a>&nbsp;(131), a major decision as well as a fall from&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/vetter_jaden_a0oa">Jaden Vetter</a>&nbsp;(149) and pair of falls produced by&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/schroeder_keyven_opoq">Keyven Schroeder</a>&nbsp;(285).<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/blake_kayden_5gzt">Kayden Blake</a>&nbsp;(157),&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/foster_kaden_nry0">Kaden Foster</a>&nbsp;(157),&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/yott_deryk_gs6u">Deryk Yott</a>&nbsp;(157),&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/wise_kamden_z5ly">Kamden Wise</a>&nbsp;(165),&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/frances-aguilar_alonso_b0ry">Alonso Frances-Aguilar</a>&nbsp;(165) and&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/truman_derek_ddus">Derek Truman</a>&nbsp;(174) all finished the day with one victory each.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/gonzales-brown_keenon_wmjc">Keenon Gonzales-Brown</a>&nbsp;(184) paced three unattached entrants with a third-place finish, beginning the day with a pair of pins before dropping his final two matches on a 10-7 decision and first period fall.Overcoming an opening round fall,&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/cook_matthew_1yi2">Matthew Cook</a>&nbsp;(unattached 149) distributed two back flattening's over his final three matches for a seventh place finish and 2-2 record while&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.bartonsports.com/sports/wrest/2024-25/bios/parker_bryson_4wim">Bryson Parker</a>&nbsp;(unattached 125) delivered his lone victory on the day with a first-period pin.

Barton Wrestling places 14 in Cougar Open; Mader notches runner-up finish

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons are turning to rookie Michael Penix Jr. as their starting quarterback and benching veteran Kirk Cousins as they fight for their first playoff berth since 2017. Coach Raheem Morris announced the decision in a statement Tuesday night. “After review we have made the decision Michael Penix Jr. will be the Atlanta Falcons’ starting quarterback moving forward,” Morris said. “This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.” The Falcons (7-7) ended a four-game losing streak with Monday night’s ugly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/falcons-raiders-score-c978b4bd62e1aaf9020bbbd4cfe088c6">15-9 win</a>&nbsp;at Las Vegas. Cousins passed for 112 yards with one touchdown — his first TD pass in five games — and one interception. The 36-year-old has thrown nine picks over the past five games and leads the NFL with 16 interceptions. Atlanta signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason with $100 million guaranteed before selecting Penix No. 8 overall in the NFL draft.

NEW YORK (AP) — Outfielder Cody Bellinger was acquired by the New York Yankees from the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday for right-hander Cody Poteet. Chicago will send the Yankees $5 million as part of the trade. The 29-year-old Bellinger, whose father Clay helped the Yankees win World Series titles in 1999 and 2000, could play center field next year as Aaron Judge returns to right following the departure of Juan Soto to the Mets. Bellinger also can play first base, a position that opened when Anthony Rizzo became a free agent. Bellinger is owed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cubs-bellinger-mlb-fa0bfb23abc9ffc37c06e80204cc222e">$27.5 million</a>&nbsp;in 2025 under the first of two player options as part of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cubs-bellinger-white-sox-e7abbe41aa95c4f37d3dfe2f01caee04">$80 million, three-year contract</a>. The two-time All-Star also has a $25 million player option for 2026 with a $5 million buyout that would be payable in equal installments on Jan. 15, 2026, and Jan. 15, 2027. Bellinger batted .266 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs in 130 games this year. He was on the injured list from April 24 to May 7 with a broken right rib.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tuesday night’s championship between Milwaukee and Oklahoma City didn’t quite have the intensity of a playoff game, but the high energy that has typified the second version of the NBA Cup was ratcheted up. With a trophy — and a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-cup-bucks-thunder-2478f04b7e2aee94a656589efb679733">significant amount of money</a>&nbsp;on the line — it was clear this was no normal mid-December game. Even for one that doesn’t count in the standings. “It’s closer to elevated regular season than the playoffs, in my opinion,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after his team’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bucks-thunder-nba-cup-e2192d834aecde6aac04cb2058b7d03e">97-81 loss to the Bucks</a>. “Time of year has to do with that. The nature of a series versus a one-and-done situation has to do with that. Playing elevated opponents with some elevated stakes, elevated distractions, is a good experience in December for our team.” Four technical fouls were called by early in the third quarter, though none after that as the Bucks began to assert themselves and take the mystery out of the game.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Sarah Strong scored a career-high 29 points and Paige Bueckers added 27 to lift No. 4 UConn to a 101-68 victory over Iowa State on Tuesday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase. Ashlynn Shade had a career-best 27 points, hitting seven 3-pointers. She got the Huskies (10-1) going, scoring 20 points and making all seven of her shots, including six 3’s, in the opening period. UConn led 36-10 after the first 10 minutes, and the Cyclones (9-4) never were able to get within 14 the rest of the game. The Huskies finished with 20 3-pointers, which set a school record. Audi Crooks led Iowa State with 22 points. Emily Ryan finished with nine points and six assists.

TUESDAY SCORES NCAA MEN TOP 25 No. 1 Tennessee 84, Western Carolina 36

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1723542041782.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons are turning to rookie Michael Penix Jr. as their starting quarterback and benching veteran Kirk Cousins as they fight for their first playoff berth since 2017. Coach Raheem Morris announced the decision in a statement Tuesday night. “After review we have made the decision Michael Penix Jr. will be the Atlanta Falcons’ starting quarterback moving forward,” Morris said. “This was a football decision and we are fully focused on preparing the team for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.” The Falcons (7-7) ended a four-game losing streak with Monday night’s ugly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/falcons-raiders-score-c978b4bd62e1aaf9020bbbd4cfe088c6">15-9 win</a>&nbsp;at Las Vegas. Cousins passed for 112 yards with one touchdown — his first TD pass in five games — and one interception. The 36-year-old has thrown nine picks over the past five games and leads the NFL with 16 interceptions. Atlanta signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason with $100 million guaranteed before selecting Penix No. 8 overall in the NFL draft.NEW YORK (AP) — Outfielder Cody Bellinger was acquired by the New York Yankees from the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday for right-hander Cody Poteet. Chicago will send the Yankees $5 million as part of the trade. The 29-year-old Bellinger, whose father Clay helped the Yankees win World Series titles in 1999 and 2000, could play center field next year as Aaron Judge returns to right following the departure of Juan Soto to the Mets. Bellinger also can play first base, a position that opened when Anthony Rizzo became a free agent. Bellinger is owed&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cubs-bellinger-mlb-fa0bfb23abc9ffc37c06e80204cc222e">$27.5 million</a>&nbsp;in 2025 under the first of two player options as part of an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/cubs-bellinger-white-sox-e7abbe41aa95c4f37d3dfe2f01caee04">$80 million, three-year contract</a>. The two-time All-Star also has a $25 million player option for 2026 with a $5 million buyout that would be payable in equal installments on Jan. 15, 2026, and Jan. 15, 2027. Bellinger batted .266 with 18 homers and 78 RBIs in 130 games this year. He was on the injured list from April 24 to May 7 with a broken right rib.LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tuesday night’s championship between Milwaukee and Oklahoma City didn’t quite have the intensity of a playoff game, but the high energy that has typified the second version of the NBA Cup was ratcheted up. With a trophy — and a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-cup-bucks-thunder-2478f04b7e2aee94a656589efb679733">significant amount of money</a>&nbsp;on the line — it was clear this was no normal mid-December game. Even for one that doesn’t count in the standings. “It’s closer to elevated regular season than the playoffs, in my opinion,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after his team’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bucks-thunder-nba-cup-e2192d834aecde6aac04cb2058b7d03e">97-81 loss to the Bucks</a>. “Time of year has to do with that. The nature of a series versus a one-and-done situation has to do with that. Playing elevated opponents with some elevated stakes, elevated distractions, is a good experience in December for our team.” Four technical fouls were called by early in the third quarter, though none after that as the Bucks began to assert themselves and take the mystery out of the game.UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Sarah Strong scored a career-high 29 points and Paige Bueckers added 27 to lift No. 4 UConn to a 101-68 victory over Iowa State on Tuesday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase. Ashlynn Shade had a career-best 27 points, hitting seven 3-pointers. She got the Huskies (10-1) going, scoring 20 points and making all seven of her shots, including six 3’s, in the opening period. UConn led 36-10 after the first 10 minutes, and the Cyclones (9-4) never were able to get within 14 the rest of the game. The Huskies finished with 20 3-pointers, which set a school record. Audi Crooks led Iowa State with 22 points. Emily Ryan finished with nine points and six assists.TUESDAY SCORES NCAA MEN TOP 25 No. 1 Tennessee 84, Western Carolina 36No. 2 Auburn 100, Georgia State 59No. 5 Duke 68, George Mason 47No. 7 Florida, North Carolina 84No. 17 Ole Miss 74, Southern 61No. 18 UCLA 111, Prairie View A&amp;M 75No. 20 Michigan State 77, Oakland 58No. 22 Dayton 66, UNLV 65South Carolina 91, No. 25 Clemson 88

Wednesday Sports Headlines and Scores presented by Barton Community College

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1693997740304.jpeg" alt="The Wednesday Sports Day show has been canceled due to sickness. We hope to return for the Thursday show. Thanks for your understanding.&nbsp; No bodies are left to man the controls." />
 <figcaption>The Wednesday Sports Day show has been canceled due to sickness. We hope to return for the Thursday show. Thanks for your understanding.&nbsp; No bodies are left to man the controls.</figcaption>
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Wednesday Sports Day Canceled

Great Bend Boys 56 Emporia 49; Great Bend Girls 31 Emporia 21

Great Bend Sports on B104 3 The Point sponsored by USD #428, Keller Real Estate &amp; Insurance Agency, Equity Bank, The 10th Street Eyecare Center, People's Bank and Trust, Comfort Pro, Delgado's Mexican Restaurant, Great Bend Rec, Edward Jones, Damm Pipe Testing, University of Kansas Health System, The Fieldhouse, Scott's Welding Service, American Plains COOP, Farmer's Bank &amp; Trust, Innovative Livestock Services, Marmie Auto Group, Mpire Realty, Advanced Therapy &amp; Sports Medicine, GB Tarp Company, Freedom Claims Management, Coldwell Banker - Megan Wells, Advanced Truck &amp; Diesel, Nextech, Stone Sand Company/Stone Waste Management, Rosenberg Family Denistry, Sutherlands, Great Bend Redi Mix, Kern Floor Service, Magna Dry Cleaning Services, Shelter Insurance - Chris Ramsey, and Mitchell K Haney and Associates.

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 </figure>Great Bend Boys 56 Emporia 49; Great Bend Girls 31 Emporia 21<div><iframe width="100%" height="265" src="https://clyp.it/2ztg4y3g/widget" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>Great Bend Sports on B104 3 The Point sponsored by USD #428, Keller Real Estate &amp; Insurance Agency, Equity Bank, The 10th Street Eyecare Center, People's Bank and Trust, Comfort Pro, Delgado's Mexican Restaurant, Great Bend Rec, Edward Jones, Damm Pipe Testing, University of Kansas Health System, The Fieldhouse, Scott's Welding Service, American Plains COOP, Farmer's Bank &amp; Trust, Innovative Livestock Services, Marmie Auto Group, Mpire Realty, Advanced Therapy &amp; Sports Medicine, GB Tarp Company, Freedom Claims Management, Coldwell Banker - Megan Wells, Advanced Truck &amp; Diesel, Nextech, Stone Sand Company/Stone Waste Management, Rosenberg Family Denistry, Sutherlands, Great Bend Redi Mix, Kern Floor Service, Magna Dry Cleaning Services, Shelter Insurance - Chris Ramsey, and Mitchell K Haney and Associates.

St. John Boys 50 Larned 36; St. John Girls 40 Larned 35

Larned Sports on Hits 106.9 brought to you in part by USD #495, Beckwith Mortuary, Equity Bank, Smith Dental, Eakin Concrete, Santa Fe Liquor Mart, Farmer's Bank &amp; Trust in Larned, Farm Bureau Financial Services Leigh Anne Seeman, Clock Realty &amp; Insurance, Pawnee Plaza, Innovative Livestock Services, Titan Building Systems, Pawnee County COOP, Progressive Therapy &amp; Sports Medicine, Frick Veterinary, Services, H&amp;H Roofing, Rosenberg Family Dentistry, Fusion Bank, Doerr's Ace Hardware, Pawnee Valley Community Hospital, Larned Veterinary Clinic, Heart of Kansas Family Health, Barton Community College, and Off Broadway Boutique.

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1695238768373.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>St. John Boys 50 Larned 36; St. John Girls 40 Larned 35<div><iframe width="100%" height="265" src="https://clyp.it/mjnf5jd1/widget" frameborder="0"></iframe></div>Larned Sports on Hits 106.9 brought to you in part by USD #495, Beckwith Mortuary, Equity Bank, Smith Dental, Eakin Concrete, Santa Fe Liquor Mart, Farmer's Bank &amp; Trust in Larned, Farm Bureau Financial Services Leigh Anne Seeman, Clock Realty &amp; Insurance, Pawnee Plaza, Innovative Livestock Services, Titan Building Systems, Pawnee County COOP, Progressive Therapy &amp; Sports Medicine, Frick Veterinary, Services, H&amp;H Roofing, Rosenberg Family Dentistry, Fusion Bank, Doerr's Ace Hardware, Pawnee Valley Community Hospital, Larned Veterinary Clinic, Heart of Kansas Family Health, Barton Community College, and Off Broadway Boutique.

Sterling Boys 62 Hoisington 40; Hoisington Girls 51 Sterling 39

Hoisington Sports on 100.7 Eagle Country sponsored  by...USD #431 Hoisington, Ehler Chevrolet, Cardinal Pharmacy, Equity Bank, Donald E Reif Jr. Attorney at Law, Town &amp; Country Supermarket, Superior Essex, First Kansas Bank, Innovative Livestock Services, Mpire Realty Jessy Kirmer/Nikki Henderson, Clara Barton Medical Center, Hoisington Veterinary Hospital, Rosenberg Family Denistry, Hoisington Recreation Commission, Central Chiropractic, Dr. Tyler Schremmer, Bobcat Backhoe Service, and Barton Community College.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/2/1582693944473.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Sterling Boys 62 Hoisington 40; Hoisington Girls 51 Sterling 39<div></div>Hoisington Sports on 100.7 Eagle Country sponsored by...USD #431 Hoisington, Ehler Chevrolet, Cardinal Pharmacy, Equity Bank, Donald E Reif Jr. Attorney at Law, Town &amp; Country Supermarket, Superior Essex, First Kansas Bank, Innovative Livestock Services, Mpire Realty Jessy Kirmer/Nikki Henderson, Clara Barton Medical Center, Hoisington Veterinary Hospital, Rosenberg Family Denistry, Hoisington Recreation Commission, Central Chiropractic, Dr. Tyler Schremmer, Bobcat Backhoe Service, and Barton Community College.

- The "Voice of the Cougars" Cole Reif is in to talk Barton Basketball as the Cougars wrapped up their first semester schedule Saturday at Dodge City. Cole will update us on what lies ahead for the Men and Women when they return to action on January 4.

- Barton Athletic Director Trevor Rolfs will be on the show to discuss major renovations plans that were approved by the Board of Trustees last week.&nbsp;The renovations will create additional staff offices, improve the experience for spectators and fix outdated areas of the Kirkman Center. The project will include a new Cougar Den on the south end of the gym that will include a Hall of Fame room, renovation to the west hallway, locker room renovations, guard rail replacement around the arena and renovations to the concession stands.

- A preview of all the Tuesday night High School basketball.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/9/1693997740304.jpeg" alt="Tuesday show lineup with hosts Steve Webster, Mike Courson, and Mike Hesher" />
 <figcaption>Tuesday show lineup with hosts Steve Webster, Mike Courson, and Mike Hesher</figcaption>
 </figure><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2R4c24N2OGg?si=I0BhtqofajGf0PQn" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>- The "Voice of the Cougars" Cole Reif is in to talk Barton Basketball as the Cougars wrapped up their first semester schedule Saturday at Dodge City. Cole will update us on what lies ahead for the Men and Women when they return to action on January 4.- Barton Athletic Director Trevor Rolfs will be on the show to discuss major renovations plans that were approved by the Board of Trustees last week.&nbsp;The renovations will create additional staff offices, improve the experience for spectators and fix outdated areas of the Kirkman Center. The project will include a new Cougar Den on the south end of the gym that will include a Hall of Fame room, renovation to the west hallway, locker room renovations, guard rail replacement around the arena and renovations to the concession stands.- A preview of all the Tuesday night High School basketball.- Tuesday Sports Headlines- Sounds of the past 24-hours

Tuesday on Sports Day (Watch)

The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc. Board of Directors has announced a new multi-year partnership with Emporia and Emporia State University to host the 2026, 2027 and 2028 Kansas Shrine Bowl games. The annual East vs. West all-star football game, which began in 1974, is scheduled to be played on the fourth Saturday in June starting in 2026 at Welch Stadium on the campus of Emporia State University in Emporia. Game dates will be Saturday, June 27, 2026, Saturday, June 26, 2027, and Saturday, June 24, 2028.

“We are thrilled and honored that Emporia has been selected to host the Kansas Shrine Bowl from 2026 to 2028. This is a testament to our community's dedication to fostering excellence in sports and hospitality,” said LeLan Dains, Director Visit Emporia. “We can’t wait to showcase Emporia’s vibrant community and provide an unforgettable experience for players, fans, and everyone involved.”

In addition to the all-star football game, the week of the Kansas Shrine Bowl includes the Masonic All-State Marching Band Camp, the Kansas Shrine Bowl All-Star Cheer Camp, the Shriners Children’s Hospital Experience, the Kansas Shrine Bowl Charity Carnival, the largest annual Shriners Parade in Kansas, the Kansas Shrine Bowl golf tournament, and many other gatherings of family, friends, alumni and Shriners from all across Kansas. “The size of our event, along with the logistics for student housing and meals throughout camp, puts a significant strain on the local community and university to host the Kansas Shrine Bowl,” said Brice Kesler, Executive Director of the Kansas Shrine Bowl. “Due to the growing size of our event and the accommodations it requires, it was the right time to find a location that was able to annually accommodate the scope of our event. Emporia and Emporia State have proven to be excellent hosts for our event, they met us with excitement and fully embraced the opportunity to make their community a home for the Kansas Shrine Bowl.”

Emporia State has hosted the Kansas Shrine Bowl on six previous occasions, 1998, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2024. Only the three original host cities, Lawrence, Manhattan and Wichita have hosted the Kansas Shrine Bowl on more occasions.

The East team will continue to hold their team training camp at Ottawa University, while the West team will host their team training camp at Hutchinson Community College starting in 2025. The coaches and players report to camp the weekend prior to the game for practice. The band camp and cheer camp participants report to camp at the host site on Tuesday and Wednesday of game week, respectively.

Future Kansas Shrine Bowl DatesSaturday, June 21, 2025 – Memorial Stadium, Dodge City, KansasSaturday, June 27, 2026 – Welch Stadium, Emporia, KansasSaturday, June 26, 2027 – Welch Stadium, Emporia, KansasSaturday, June 24, 2028 – Welch Stadium, Emporia, Kansas

The 2024 Kansas Shrine Bowl in Emporia resulted in a $150,000 donation to benefit Shriners Children’s, the second largest single-year contribution in the 51-year history of the organization. That contribution was also made possible in part due to the success of the inaugural KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals, which will be returning to Newman University in Wichita, Kansas for the second annual event on Saturday, March 29, 2025. The 2025 Kansas Shrine Bowl presented by Mammoth is scheduled to be played on Saturday, June 21, 2025 in Dodge City, Kansas. To learn more about the Kansas Shrine Bowl and related events, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, visit&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kansasshrinebowl.com/">www.KansasShrineBowl.com</a>.

The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that produces annual events and related activities with net proceeds benefiting Shriners Children's. The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc has existed since 1974 and has sent $3.99M to Shriners Hospitals for Children. The flagship event has been the Kansas Shrine Bowl, an East vs. West all-star senior football game that began in 1974. Beginning in 2024, the KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals was added to the list of Kansas Shrine All-Star Events. All Kansas Shrine All-Star Events are produced and presented to benefit Shriners Children's. Shriner's Children's, previously Shriners Hospitals for Children, is a world-renowned healthcare system with hospitals, outpatient clinics, ambulatory care centers and outreach locations across the globe. Shriners Children's is dedicated to improving the lives of children every day by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to the age of 18 are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients' ability to pay.

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 </figure>The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc. Board of Directors has announced a new multi-year partnership with Emporia and Emporia State University to host the 2026, 2027 and 2028 Kansas Shrine Bowl games. The annual East vs. West all-star football game, which began in 1974, is scheduled to be played on the fourth Saturday in June starting in 2026 at Welch Stadium on the campus of Emporia State University in Emporia. Game dates will be Saturday, June 27, 2026, Saturday, June 26, 2027, and Saturday, June 24, 2028.“We are thrilled and honored that Emporia has been selected to host the Kansas Shrine Bowl from 2026 to 2028. This is a testament to our community's dedication to fostering excellence in sports and hospitality,” said LeLan Dains, Director Visit Emporia. “We can’t wait to showcase Emporia’s vibrant community and provide an unforgettable experience for players, fans, and everyone involved.”In addition to the all-star football game, the week of the Kansas Shrine Bowl includes the Masonic All-State Marching Band Camp, the Kansas Shrine Bowl All-Star Cheer Camp, the Shriners Children’s Hospital Experience, the Kansas Shrine Bowl Charity Carnival, the largest annual Shriners Parade in Kansas, the Kansas Shrine Bowl golf tournament, and many other gatherings of family, friends, alumni and Shriners from all across Kansas. “The size of our event, along with the logistics for student housing and meals throughout camp, puts a significant strain on the local community and university to host the Kansas Shrine Bowl,” said Brice Kesler, Executive Director of the Kansas Shrine Bowl. “Due to the growing size of our event and the accommodations it requires, it was the right time to find a location that was able to annually accommodate the scope of our event. Emporia and Emporia State have proven to be excellent hosts for our event, they met us with excitement and fully embraced the opportunity to make their community a home for the Kansas Shrine Bowl.”Emporia State has hosted the Kansas Shrine Bowl on six previous occasions, 1998, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2024. Only the three original host cities, Lawrence, Manhattan and Wichita have hosted the Kansas Shrine Bowl on more occasions.The East team will continue to hold their team training camp at Ottawa University, while the West team will host their team training camp at Hutchinson Community College starting in 2025. The coaches and players report to camp the weekend prior to the game for practice. The band camp and cheer camp participants report to camp at the host site on Tuesday and Wednesday of game week, respectively.Future Kansas Shrine Bowl DatesSaturday, June 21, 2025 – Memorial Stadium, Dodge City, KansasSaturday, June 27, 2026 – Welch Stadium, Emporia, KansasSaturday, June 26, 2027 – Welch Stadium, Emporia, KansasSaturday, June 24, 2028 – Welch Stadium, Emporia, KansasThe 2024 Kansas Shrine Bowl in Emporia resulted in a $150,000 donation to benefit Shriners Children’s, the second largest single-year contribution in the 51-year history of the organization. That contribution was also made possible in part due to the success of the inaugural KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals, which will be returning to Newman University in Wichita, Kansas for the second annual event on Saturday, March 29, 2025. The 2025 Kansas Shrine Bowl presented by Mammoth is scheduled to be played on Saturday, June 21, 2025 in Dodge City, Kansas. To learn more about the Kansas Shrine Bowl and related events, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, visit&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kansasshrinebowl.com/">www.KansasShrineBowl.com</a>.The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity that produces annual events and related activities with net proceeds benefiting Shriners Children's. The Shrine Bowl of Kansas, Inc has existed since 1974 and has sent $3.99M to Shriners Hospitals for Children. The flagship event has been the Kansas Shrine Bowl, an East vs. West all-star senior football game that began in 1974. Beginning in 2024, the KWCA Kansas Shrine Duals was added to the list of Kansas Shrine All-Star Events. All Kansas Shrine All-Star Events are produced and presented to benefit Shriners Children's. Shriner's Children's, previously Shriners Hospitals for Children, is a world-renowned healthcare system with hospitals, outpatient clinics, ambulatory care centers and outreach locations across the globe. Shriners Children's is dedicated to improving the lives of children every day by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to the age of 18 are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients' ability to pay.