Sports
Chanute native wins MMA belt
Brian McDowell Sports Editor By day, Chanute native Cale Petersen is an unassuming student of history and anthropology at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. At night, he beats people up. Petersen currently holds the amateur featherweight 1Zero8 title in mixed martial arts, a full contact sport that combines kickboxing with wrestling-style grappling. The basis for Ultimate Fighting, it is rapidly gaining in worldwide popularity. Petersen wre...
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Chanute excited about first home game
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Don Simmons estimated that during his eight-year tenure as the coach of Chanute’s football team, the Comets have won 90 percent of their home games. Simmons said he suspects that this is because the team doesn’t have to go on a long bus ride to get to these games, other teams aren’t used to playing on the kind of turf that carpets Chanute’s football field, and because of the loud encouragement offered by local foot...
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Comet frosh win in overtime
After being down by 8-0 at halftime, Chanute’s freshman football team came back to beat the Labette County Grizzlies 14-8 in a home game on Monday. The Comets scored first on a 36-yard sweep pass from Ethin Van Anne to Derrick Sharp for a fourth quarter touchdown. Then, Colton Erickson threw a short pass to Dakota Gough for a successful two-point conversion, which tied the game at eight. In overtime, Erickson threw a pass to Van Anne for a t...
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CHS adds Eureka, Fredonia to ‘W’ list
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute volleyball team extended its season-long unbeaten streak in victories against both Eureka and Fredonia at a tournament in the Comets’ home gym on Tuesday evening. Chanute beat Eureka handily in the first game 25-12. “We knew they would be good,” coach Gail Petersen said, “and I told the girls beforehand I wanted Eureka to go home wondering what had happened and I think they were wondering, especially a...
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Sam Son makes the most of offensive opportunity
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Sam Son has heard plenty of jokes about his name, but he said that, overall, he is very comfortable with his unique moniker. “It just makes me easy to remember,” Son said. He has been one of the Chanute Blue Comets’ primarily outside linebacker since his sophomore year. When the team’s star runningback Jared McComb moved to Texas with no notice in what would have been the beginning of his senior year, Son saw an o...
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Chanute volleyball remains undefeated
Brian McDowell Sports Editor At one point in the Chanute volleyball team’s second match up in Labette County on Thursday, the Comets were behind 10-19, but the Comets turned it around against the nemesis Grizzlies. The team came out strong against the Grizzlies in the first game, according to Coach Gail Petersen, moving the ball well and keeping a tempo. “They were having a hard time getting the ball through us and down,” Petersen said. Howev...
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Rocket defense carries teams to wins in season opener
The Royster Rocket football teams kicked off their seasons against Labette County with a couple of home victories Thursday night. The seventh grade first quarter got off to a slow start after two Labette three-and-out possessions, another Grizzly fumble and two Royster fumbles. Things picked up in the second quarter for the home team. The Rockets picked up a first down on a sweep by Dalton Denny and then scored on a counter with five minute...
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Ramos wins three matches, boosts Chanute to third
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Three winning matches by Czarina Ramos gave a boost to the Chanute girls tennis team at a tournament in Independence on Thursday. The team was only one point behind second place winner Fort Scott, as it picked up third place in the tournament that was won by its host school. Ramos beat Pittsburg’s Megan Reed 8-6, Fort Scott’s Courtney Crain 8-5, and Iola’s Katana Smith 8-2, before falling to Abbi Groff, from Indep...
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Chanute survives early scare to win 27-13 at Labette
Brian McDowell Sports Editor ALTAMONT — “I guess an ugly win is better than a pretty loss.” This is the eloquent way that Chanute football coach Don Simmons summed up his team’s 27-13 victory over the Labette County Grizzlies on Friday night. The Blue Comets missed some opportunities in the red zone, but still came away with a hard-earned road win. The Blue Comets had some fear put into them early in the game when Labette Co unty senior Hunt...
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Chanute freshmen volleyball serving up good season
The Chanute freshmen volleyball team is serving up a successful season. At the first Quad on August 30, CHS won against Labette County (25-17, 25-11), Parsons (25-10, 25-14), and Iola (25-7, 25-19). Their season opened at Iola with strong defensive start. “The girls moved to their positions and communicated well,” coach Tracy Walker said. “They have a long way to go, but played well as a team”. Serving 25 points and 3 aces was Bailey Herzber...
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Running offers NCCC’s Rosario a second chance
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Leslie Rosario feels like running cross country and track for Neosho County Community College is giving her a second chance. In her sophomore year of high school, Rosario was one of the top distance runners in her native Florida. She was attracting the attention of several Division One schools. Then, before her junior year, she got pregnant, had a baby, and didn’t run for her last two years of high school. She sti...
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NCCC men’s soccer earns first win in Oklahoma
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The NCCC men’s soccer team came away with its first victory of the season Wednesday, winning on the road at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 5-1. Coach Steve Harrison characterized the effort as ”a very good game.” Freshman Michael Campbell, who is originally from the UK, scored two goals in the contest. Kevin Eames, Brett Havel and Jorge Rodriguez also scored in the win. Injuries have plagued the Panthers so far this se...
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Labette County prepares to face Chanute
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Even though his team will be playing against the Blue Comets on Friday, the coach of the Labette County Grizzlies, Shane Holtzman, said he is not concentrating too much on Chanute. Holtzman is, instead, concentrating on reviewing tape of his team’s first game of the season, in which they lost 39 to 6 to Fort Scott. “We didn’t play very well,” Holtzman said, “so we need to concentrate on us.” According to their coa...
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Chanute JV tennis fares well
INDEPENDENCE -- The Chanute JV girls tennis team dominated the doubles bracket while Lynzie King posted a 3-1 record in No. 2 singles at Tuesday’s junior varsity tournament in Independence. In the first flight of doubles play, Chelsee Bearrick and Rachel Ungles scored 6-1 and 6-0 wins against Troy/Wood (Neodesha) and Meija/Glass (Coffeyville) before splitting their final two sets with a 6-2 victory over Hobbs/Lieurance (Iola) and a 6-0 shuto...
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Chanute girls golf team places fourth at 1st tournament
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Even though there has only been a girls golf team at Chanute High School for two years now, they have already established a winning tradition. Chanute won regionals the last two years, placed ninth in the state tournament in its first year of existence, and third in its second year. Some of the players on those teams received golf scholarships to college. However, this year the team is in a “rebuilding mode,” acco...
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Chanute’s Schooley lets tackles do the talking
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Chanute football coach Don Simmons describes Quintin Schooley as “the team’s quiet leader.” “I’ll tell you, he’s a little more vocal on the football field than off of it,” Simmons said. Indeed, the 6-5, 250 Schooley is a man of few words. When asked questions by a reporter, he nervously tugs at the string of his uniform pants. However, on a football field, he has proven to be a man of action. Schooley has long bee...
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NCCC women’s soccer team picks up first win 3-1
The NCCC Panthers women soccer team picked up its first win of the year, beating Northeastern Oklahoma A& M 3-1. Kim Utley got a goal and an assist in the game. Her unassisted goal came after she dribbled down the sideline and shot it from the far post. Utley assisted on Stephanie Pearson’s goal in the 43:20 minute. NCCC’s Sarah Black got the game’s first goal in the 15:59 minute, assisted by Stephanie Doherty. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M’s goa...
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Half Big 12 off as everybody wonders about future
(AP) Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops is willing to play wherever his school’s president and athletic director decide is best, even if it means a move by the top-ranked Sooners could trigger the nation’s first 16-team super conference. “It seems that’s the direction the world’s going,” Stoops said Monday. “So if it is, so be it.” Stoops stopped short on speculating what might happen or saying what he prefers. Oklahoma president David Boren said just...
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Undefeated Chanute volleyball team powered by the Flowers
Brian McDowell Tribune Sports Ever since Macy Flowers joined her older sister Mallory on the undefeated Chanute volleyball team, many  nicknames have been generated for the powerful pair. “The twin towers.” “Flower power.” “Welcome to the garden.” “I don’t mind when people say that stuff,” Mallory said. “I think it’s kinda’ cool.” The Flowers have been separately playing volleyball since fifth grade, but this is the first year they’ve both pla...
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Erie starts season with second half 28-point comeback
Brian McDowell Sports Editor ERIE — Things looked bleak for the Erie Red Devils at the end of the first half of their first game of the football season, against the Eureka Tornadoes. They were behind 20-0, due largely to five interceptions thrown by quarterback Justin Hartzell. The Red Devils ended up giving up eight turnovers in the first half. Eureka scored touchdowns using a variety of offensive weapons — a quarterback sneak, a 10-yard t...
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