Sports
Hays repeats as league champion
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com The best singles player in the Southeast Kansas League. That’s the title that Payton Hays has once again secured. A Parsons High School senior, Hays took first place at number-one singles on Thursday at the 2013 SEK League Tennis Meet at Forest Park. It was the second-straight league title for Hays. “It feels good,” Hays said. “I would have liked to win the title match a little easier, but it is what it is...
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First league win slips away from Vikings
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com A league win was there for the taking. But a seventh-inning rally fell just short, and the first league victory of the season slipped away from the Parsons Vikings. Pittsburg held on for a 12-10 win in game one of a doubleheader on Thursday at Marvel Park. In game two, Pittsburg used a big first inning to roll to a 12-2 win in five innings. With the losses, Parsons slips to 1-11 overall and 0-6 in the SEK...
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Vikings host league tennis meet today
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com The Parsons Vikings are the defending league champions, but Independence and Pittsburg will both play big roles in determining who takes home the crown at this year’s 2013 Southeast Kansas League boys tennis tournament. Parsons is the host school, and the action begins this morning at Forest Park at 9 a.m. Parsons Coach Jane Posch said three teams — Independence, Pittsburg and Parsons — are realistic chall...
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St. Paul athletes fare well at Uniontown track invite
UNIONTOWN — Track teams from St. Paul and Chetopa High Schools competed at the Uniontown Invitational Track Meet on Monday. BOYS St. Paul had several top performers at the meet. St. Paul’s Brayden Beachner won the triple jump with a leap of 40’7.5. Beachner took second in the long jump (19’7). Preston Jacquinot won the high jump by clearing 5-6. Jacquinot also finished fourth in the 400 (1:04). Billy Brown took first place in the 200, crossin...
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Vikings take first at Circle tennis invite
TOWANDA — The Parsons High School boys tennis team took first place at the Towanda-Circle Tennis Invitational on Tuesday. Payton Hays took first place at number-one singles. Hays had a bye in the first round, and then defeated Mubasshir Karim of Wichita Collegiate 8-1. In the title match, Hays topped Tony Trewecke of Circle 8-3. The PHS number-one doubles team of Tyler Beardmore and Kevin Debald reached the title match, but rained forced the ...
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Local athletes see success at Fredonia track invite
FREDONIA — Athletes from Erie, Oswego and Cherryvale High Schools competed at the 2013 Fredonia Relays last Friday. Top finishers are listed below. Erie results Erie’s Christian Murphy took first place in the boys 110 hurdles, finishing in 15.58. Murphy finished 10th in the shot put (40’02), and teammate Justin Hartzell was 12th (26’09). Brett Thompson took third in the javelin (159’09), with Hartzell finishing seventh (154’03). Hartzell wa...
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PHS swim team competes at El Dorado
EL DORADO — The Parsons High School girls swim team competed at El Dorado last Friday. Shannon Dunlay finished 10th in the 50 free (29.3) and ninth in the 100 free (1:04). Victoria Port took sixth in the 50 free (28.4) and 10th in the 100 free (1:05). “Both girls swam well considering we had a meet on Wednesday,” Coach Robin Rea said. The PHS girls swim team is scheduled to compete at Emporia on Thursday.
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Parsons golf invite recap
Parsons hosted a golf invite on Monday at Katy Golf Course. Team standings: 1. Independence 332, 2. Labette County 336, 3. Fort Scott 351, 4. Coffeyville 360, 5. Chanute 393, 6. Parsons 397, 7. Pittsburg 415. Top 10 golfers 1. Connor Antonetti, Fort Scott, 79 2. Jonathan Allen, Fort Scott, 81 3. Caleb Vowell, Indy, 81 4. Eric Schlange, Indy, 83 5. Keenan Nutt, Indy, 83 6. Drew Dwyer, LCHS, 83 7. Braden Page, LCHS, 83 8. Gilvon Darkis, LCHS,...
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Golfers making progress
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com Even though the scores are still a bit high, Anthony Houk is positive his Parsons High School boys golf team is getting better and better. Parsons hosted a golf invitational on a windy Monday at Katy Golf Course. And while the Vikings aren’t quite on par with the league’s best golfers yet, Houk noted his team has made positive strides week after week. “Looking at our scores, we have guys at 102, 104 and 1...
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Vikings compete with state's best in Wichita
WICHITA — Payton Hays took sixth place in the singles bracket at the always-tough Wichita Collegiate Tennis Invitational on Saturday. Parsons Coach Jane Posch said Hays won his first matches of the tourney easily, but then ran into Wichita Collegiate’s Sam Beren, who eventually took third in the bracket. “Payton started off slowly and could not get anything going,” Posch said. After the loss, Hays defeated Hesston’s Collin Martin. In the fif...
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LCC baseball drops three of four to KCK
KANSAS CITY — The Labette Community College baseball team dropped three of four games to Kansas City, Kansas over the weekend. On Saturday, KCK beat Labette 4-0 in game one. LCC took game two 5-4. In the first game, Labette was shutout and limited to three hits. Dalton Powell went 2-for-3 for LCC, with two singles. Austin Bass had the other hit for LCC in the opener. Drew Arnold went six innings on the mound for LCC in the loss. Arnold allowe...
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Track athletes perform well at Fort Scott invite
FORT SCOTT — Friday’s Fort Scott Invitational Track Meet featured athletes from Parsons and Labette County High Schools. Labette County’s boys finished second in the team standings to Paola by just four points. Abe Russell led the way for the Parsons Vikings. Russell won the 800 with a time of 2:05. Tanner Wilson of Anderson County was second, with Pittsburg’s Garrett Stadler third. Seth Blackburn of Labette County finished fourth (2:13) in ...
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Lady Vikings earn sweep, taste victory for first time
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com Before Friday’s doubleheader with Coffeyville, Tom Schibi joked that his Parsons Lady Vikings had to be the best winless team in the entire region. That statement appears to have been true. After a rough early schedule, the Lady Vikings tasted victory for the first time this season, as they swept a doubleheader with Coffeyville on Friday at Forest Park. Parsons took game one 17-2, and then won the nightcap...
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Golden Tornado knock off Vikings
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com Coffeyville stayed on top of the SEK League standings by sweeping a high school baseball doubleheader with Parsons on Friday at Winway Park. The Golden Tornado won game one 17-2 in five innings. Coffeyville won the nightcap 21-6. After the Golden Tornado dominated the opener, the host Vikings found themselves down five runs early in the second game of the twinbill. But a fifth-inning rally got the Viking...
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Middle school track teams compete at Girard
The Parsons Middle School track teams competed at Girard on Thursday. The Parsons eighth grade boys took first place at the meet, with 89 points. Girard was a distant second with a team score of 48. The seventh grade boys were second. The seventh grade girls finished seventh, while the eighth grade girls tied for eighth place in the team standings. The middle school track teams will compete at Columbus on Monday and at Coffeyville on Thursday...
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Local players contributing for LCC softball
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com The Labette Community College softball team is having a stellar season. And a group of local players are playing a big role in that success. The Lady Cardinals are now 29-13 on the season, and 22-4 in the conference under Coach Ryan Phillips. And eight players from southeast Kansas are contributing nicely. Let’s take a look at each one. Taylor Kemp A left-handed freshman pitcher from Parsons, Taylor Kemp...
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Lady Cards peaking at the right time of season
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com It may be hard to comprehend now, but the Labette Community College softball team started the 2013 spring season by losing five of their first seven games. Since then, the Lady Cardinals have gone 27-8. Labette is now on a 17-game winning streak as the regular season winds down. LCC Coach Ryan Phillips attributes those early losses to nerves, freshman mistakes, and some overall inexperience. Those issues ...
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Successful swimmers
Swimmers from Parsons and St. Paul met in the pool on Wednesday. By the meet’s conclusion, state-qualifying times were secured by several athletes. St. Paul’s Jordyn Tuck qualified in the 100 butterfly (1:07). St. Paul’s Sara Greenough and Brytany Stewart have swam state-qualifying times in a few different events. St. Paul Coach Kimberly Stewart said Taylor McClanahan also had a good meet, taking three seconds off her 50 free times and six ...
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Track: Vikes shine, Grizzlies win team titles
COLUMBUS — Parsons and Labette County High Schools had athletes competing at the Columbus Invitational Track Meet on a chilly Tuesday. Kaylee Krull secured two first place finishes for the Parsons Vikings. A junior, Krull took first place in the girls 1600, finishing with a time of 5:35. Paige White of Baxter Springs settled for second (5:38). Krull also finished first in the girls 3200, crossing the line at 12:09. Abe Russell of Parsons won ...
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O'Bryan left 'numb' after Boston Marathon
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com As David O’Bryan steps out of the just-evacuated subway station, he’s still unsure about what has just occurred. Standing on the sidewalk, O’Bryan looks on as police cars, fire trucks, and then ambulances roar past with sirens blazing. The next few minutes are confusing, if not a blur. It’s safe to say O’Bryan will never forget his first trip to the Boston Marathon. “It was not boring, but it’s not a very...
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