Area briefs
By The Emporia Gazette (Contact)
Originally published 01:53 p.m., February 1, 2008
Updated 01:53 p.m., February 1, 2008
The Chase County wrestling team had an impressive showing at the Kaw Valley Tournament, posting a 4-0-1 record in duals to take the team title.
The Bulldogs tied Lawrence High, 37-37, before defeating Onaga (42-14), St. Marys (45-18), Rossville (42-36) and Topeka High (46-27).
“Going in, we knew it was going to be tough, (as) we have some open weight classes that have made it difficult to win duals this year,” CCHS Derick Budke said, “but we talked all week about the need for our team to take the next step.”
CCHS tied Lawrence despite giving up 18 open points in the dual.
The Bulldogs once again were led by Brendan Harshman, who went 5-0 at 125 pounds to take first. His day included a 6-2 victory over Cody Meriman of Onaga, who is ranked fourth in the state.
Harshman improved his season record to 23-2.
Trenton Harshman also was undefeated, going 4-0 in the 215-pound class to take first.
Other first-place finishers were Ben Green (145 pounds, 3-2) and Brendan Potter (189, 4-1).
Glen Blue (103 pounds, 4-1) and Chance Mildward (285, 4-1) added runner-up showings, while Garrett Benjamin went 3-0 in the 140-pound weight class in his first varsity action of the season.
Chase County (8-8-1) will face Eureka and Remington in duals tonight at Marion.
ESU softball ranked
The Emporia State softball team is ranked No. 11 in the NFCA preseason coaches poll released earlier this week. It is the fourth straight year the Hornets have opened the season in the top 25.
ESU, which returns five starters on offense in addition to first-team All-MIAA pitcher Samantha Sheeley, is the only MIAA team that is ranked. The Hornets have won at least 50 games in each of the last three seasons.
ESU is scheduled to open its season next Thursday at the Abilene Christian Tournament in Abilene, Texas.
ESU track teams earn
national rankings
Helped by their strong early season performances, both the Emporia State men’s and women’s track teams have earned spots in this week’s USTFCCCA Division II Coaches’ Power Rankings.
The ESU men are ranked No. 17, while the ESU women come in at No. 25.
The rankings are determined by the top two marks for each school in events that will take place at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships.
ESU is one of only two schools to have both its men’s and women’s track teams ranked.
EMS ‘A’ team wins 2 more
The EMS “A” team went 2-0 in its road games this week, taking down Shawnee Heights, 28-27, in overtime, and Northern Hills, 48-40,
EMS started the game out of sync offensively against Shawnee Heights on Wednesday, scoring just 11 points through the first three quarters. Going into the fourth quarter, Shawnee Heights was leading 18-11.
“We were not a good passing team Wednesday night and we didn’t attack much through the first three quarters,” EMS coach Wade Redeker said. “I thought we were tentative and hesitant offensively. We did get a few good looks out of our motion offense and some of our sets, but we couldn’t convert. It was just one of those nights.”
In the fourth quarter, the Vikings turned up the intensity on defense, stealing the ball a couple of times to get some baskets in transition.
EMS’s attack mode forced Shawnee Heights to foul, and the Vikings hit four big free throws in the quarter to go up by two points.
However, with about 2 seconds left in the game, Heights got a layup on the back side to tie it up and send the game into overtime.
In the extra frame, the Vikings made good decisions. Ryan Huth hit a big shot to relax the team some, then EMS put the ball in the hands of its best free-throw shooters.
The Vikings went 4-for-6 from the line in overtime to take the one-point win.
On Thursday night, EMS jumped out to a 17-8 first-quarter lead, with Collin Thomsen scoring eight points in the quarter.
“I felt like we made a better effort to go inside to Collin early in the game,” Redeker said. “We took advantage of his mismatch. My guards did a much better job of feeding him the ball.”
EMS did not play as well offensively or defensively in the second quarter, though. Northern Hills played much more aggressively, outscoring the Vikings 15-8 in the quarter to make the halftime score 25-23 EMS.
The third quarter was a little stagnant for both teams offensively, as EMS went on a mini 7-4 run to push its lead to 32-27.
The Vikings ran their pass and cut offense in the fourth.
Northern Hills had to foul, and when it did, EMS converted from the free-throw line. Austin Knight was 6-for-6 from the line and the team went 8-for-9 in the quarter.
Austin Knight ended with 20 points, while Thomsen added 16. Huth had nine rebounds and three assists, and Brittian Moore scored all six of his points from the charity stripe, going 6-for-8. The “A” team improved its record to 10-2.
The EMS “B” team won its first game of the season on Wednesday night, taking a 22-19 victory over Shawnee Heights.
The Vikings trailed by as many as four points in the fourth quarter before coming back with some help from their full-court defense.
Jake Murrell led EMS with seven points, while Cody Dix added six.
Six players scored for the Vikings in the fourth quarter.
The “B” team lost 38-31 to Northern Hills on Thursday.
Dix had eight points, while Murrell and Nathan Cuellar had seven points each.