Sports
Vikings, Grizzlies meet on the mat
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com ALTAMONT— Parsons got solid wins from Andrew Fix and Dylan Misener, but host Labette County sent their seniors out with a win over their rivals, as the Grizzlies beat the Vikings 42-27 in SEK League wrestling action on Thursday night. Labette County won five of the seven head-to-head matches against the Vikings. Both teams had several open weight classes. “We had too many opens, we have a bunch of kids si...
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Russell signs with Pittsburg State
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com Abe Russell won’t be giving up track and field any time soon. A Parsons High School senior, Russell signed a letter of intent on Thursday to continue his athletic and academic career at Pittsburg State University, where he’ll be a member of the track and field team for the Gorillas. A standout in the 800-meter dash, Russell said he couldn’t imagine not participating in track at the college level. So when a...
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LCC men earn payback vs. Highland
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com The Labette Community College men’s basketball team appeared to be on its way to a blowout. But a few lapses here and there kept things interesting. In the end, LCC’s men earned an 83-76 league victory over Highland on Wednesday night. The win gave the Cardinals some payback, as the Scotties had defeated LCC earlier this season. Labette Coach Jonathan Raney admitted it wasn’t a pretty game, but added he w...
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Burk steps down at Oswego
Oswego High School is looking for a new football coach, as Travis Burk has resigned. Burk told the Sun he has not accepted another coaching position, but has turned in his resignation. He coached one season at Oswego, and he and his daughters had been commuting from Thayer. Burk noted the constant travel was an issue. Burk recently informed his players of his decision, and added he enjoyed his time with the Indians.
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Lady Cards fall to ranked Scotties
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com The Labette Community College women’s basketball team stayed close early, but 10th-ranked Highland had too much firepower. A couple of big runs led the Scotties past the Lady Cardinals 70-43 on Wednesday night in Jayhawk East action. Highland improved to 20-3 on the season and 9-3 in the conference. Labette fell to 9-14 overall and 2-9 in conference play. Ashley Lutz scored 18 points to lead the way for th...
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Erie's Murphy signs with Fort Scott CC
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com Erie High School senior Christian Murphy signed a letter of intent on Wednesday to play football for Fort Scott Community College. Murphy played linebacker for the Red Devils and Coach Rick Horton. Horton said Fort Scott CC will likely use Murphy as an inside linebacker. “I think it will be a good fit for Christian,” Horton said. “He’s a very good linebacker. He’ll have a good defensive line in front of ...
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Gatewood signs with Fort Scott CC
Labette County High School senior Stuart Gatewood signed a letter of intent to play football at Fort Scott Community College on Wednesday. Pictured with Stuart is his mother Kristy Hamilton. Gatewood is a lineman, and he’ll join his older brother Spencer on the Greyhounds roster. LCHS Coach Jesse Ybarra said Gatewood may play center for the Hounds.
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Hornets sign with Red Ravens
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com Wednesday was National Signing Day across the country, as high school seniors made their college decisions official by signing letters of intent. Chetopa had two players sign on Wednesday. Joshua Dvorak and Kyle Johnson both signed to play football for Coffeyville Community College. Both Hornets played for Coach Sean Price. Price noted that Dvorak had 90 tackles in his career. “He was a great teammate ...
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Oswego's Spore signs with Pitt State
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com Ethan Spore is now a Gorilla. The Oswego High School senior signed a letter of intent to continue his athletic and academic career at Pittsburg State University, where he’ll play football for the Gorillas. Spore made it official by signing his papers on Wednesday afternoon at OHS, as the entire student body looked on from the school’s commons area. “It’s exciting,” Spore said. “It’s a pretty big deal. I’m ...
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Chavez recognized by PHS
Parsons High School Athletic Director Trevor Addis presents a plaque to Mike Chavez on Tuesday night before the PHS vs. Pittsburg boys basketball game in recognition of Chavez’s service to PHS as a color man on KLKC radio alongside Steve Lardy. This is the 21st season that Chavez has called Viking sporting events. Lardy was also recognized with a plaque for his 29 years of work on the radio.
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Vikes lose to Dragons
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com On an unusual night that featured a little bit of everything, the end result was pretty typical for the Parsons Vikings. Despite Senior Night festivities, an appearance by an NFL quarterback, a home finale for a local radio personality, Hawaiian shirts during warm-ups, not to mention a brief power outage and even a missing referee, the final outcome seemed pretty normal for the Vikings. Despite several opp...
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Erie girls win
ERIE — The Erie Lady Red Devils had little trouble getting past Southeast in a non-league matchup Tuesday night, winning 66-49. Bret McGuire led Erie in scoring with 19 points. Kailey Cleaver had 17 points, and Chrisana Maurer added nine. "I thought we played a great basketball game tonight. We really executed a game plan and made changes when we needed to. Our second half was a great half of basketball," Coach Brianna Volmer said. Erie will h...
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Oswego boys defeat Chetopa
CHETOPA — Oswego defeated Chetopa's boys 52-47 in overtime in a Three Rivers League showdown here Tuesday night. Chetopa, which was ranked sixth in a recent Class 1A D-II poll, now drops to 5-1 in the league and 11-5 overall. The Green Hornets will host Tyro Christian on Friday. Oswego dominated the game early. The Indians built a narrow margin, 9-7, after one quarter and built that up to a 22-16 advantage at halftime. But the Green Hornets ba...
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PHS girls lose to Pittsburg
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com An explosive third quarter run propelled Pittsburg past the Parsons High School girls basketball team 51-38 on Tuesday night at Harold C. Johnson Gymnasium. The Purple Dragons led by 12 at halftime, but blew the game open by exploding for 21 points in the key third period.  "That third quarter kind of killed us," Parsons Coach Bridgette Kendricks said after the loss.  The Dragons got hoop after hoop at poi...
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Cherryvale boys lose in OT
CHERRYVALE — The Cherryvale Lady Chargers fell to ninth-ranked Caney Valley by 10 points on Tuesday night. Cherryvale was down by just three after the first quarter, but a poor showing in the second quarter led to a 34-20 Caney haftime lead. The Chargers outscored the Lady Bullpups by four in the second half but still lost 51-41. Cherryvale Coach David Smedly said the Bullpups made an adjustment in the second half to capture the big lead. "Can...
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LCHS boys lose to Coffeyville
COFFEYVILLE — The Labette County Grizzlies had a lead late in regulation but lost in overtime to Field Kindley of Coffeyville Tuesday night in a battle of top 10 teams. Despite losing at Fort Scott on Friday, the Grizzlies moved up to seventh place in Class 4A state rankings while Coffeyville went into the game ranked No. 10 by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. LCHS Coach Brad Smith said the Grizzlies were up by two but threw the ball...
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Radio guys recognized
Steve Lardy and Mike Chavez of KLKC radio were recognized before the boys game for their longtime service to PHS.PHS grad Shaun Hill of the NFL's Detroit Lions showed up as part of the surprise ceremony, and PHS AD Trevor Addis also participated in recognizing the radio guys. After Addis presented a plaque to Chavez, Hill walked into the gym to present Lardy with a plaque. The two hugged and shared a laugh. This is Lardy's 29th season doing P...
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Pittsburg sweeps Parsons
Pittsburg swept SEK League games from Parsons on Tuesday night. In the girls game, Pittsburg won 51-38. Pittsburg won the boys game 49-37. Full stories coming soon.
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FROM ST. PAUL TO PITT STATE
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com Morgan Westhoff heard the whispers. “I think some people thought since I was from such a small school I’d probably just sit the bench,” Westhoff said of her college decision. The doubters have now been silenced. A graduate of St. Paul High School, Westhoff is making a nice contribution to the Pittsburg State University women’s basketball team. Of course, the jump from Class 1A basketball to NCAA Division...
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Final home game is here for Vikings
By Jason Peake jpeake@parsonssun.com For the seniors of the Parsons High School basketball teams, the last home game of their careers has arrived. Parsons hosts Pittsburg tonight at Harold C. Johnson Gymnasium, with the varsity girls playing at 6 p.m. and the boys following. It will be Senior Night for the Lady Vikings and Vikings. It’s the last home date of the season, as well, as both teams will be on the road in the first round of the pla...
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