Sports
Historic Chanute cross country season ends at State
Brian McDowell Sports Editor WAMEGO — This history-making season for Chanute’s boys and girls cross country teams, which saw both squads overcome injuries well enough for the girls to win the SEK conference and the boys team make it to state for the first time ever, culminated in both teams’ appearances at the state meet at the Wamego Country Club on Saturday. Chanute earned the right to attend this event when the boys team won a regional mee...
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Chanute volleyball meets fate at State
Brian McDowell Sports Editor SALINA — The Chanute Blue Comets had already been mathematically eliminated from advancing from first-day pool play in the state volleyball tournament in Salina on Friday night when they stood across the net from St. James-Lenexa, the number one seeded 4A team. After winning the first set of the day, the fourth-seeded Comets lost two games, in four straight sets, to fifth-seeded Cheney (25-20, 14-25, 16-25) and ei...
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Comets prepared to start playoffs with crucial Coffeyville rematch
Brian McDowell Sports editor “It’s going to be a great ballgame between two evenly matched teams.” That is the promise that Chanute Coach Don Simmons makes about tonight’s first round playoff match-up between his football team and the Coffeyville Golden Tornado. When these two teams met in the regular season, Chanute was outscored 35-0 in the game’s second half and Coffeyville snuck away with a surprise win. “Do we want to get back at them fo...
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Comet volleyball falls in first two games at State
Brian McDowell Sports Editor SALINA — After only losing three games in the regular season and winning sub-state in six straight sets, the Chanute Blue Comets went into Friday afternoon pool play at the 4A state championship with high hopes. For the first set of their first match-up of the day against Cheney, at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, it seemed that luck was on the side of the fourth-seeded Comets. Chanute won this first set agains...
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2011-12: NCCC Wrestling season outlook
Wayne Petterson NCCC Wrestling Coach The fast approaching NCCC wresting season is nearly here, beginning with the first dual on Wednesday, Nov. 2. This home meet will see the Panthers pitted against conference foe Pratt CC at 7:30 p.m. Three very good returners bring work ethic and the quality attitude to a substantial number of newcomers to provide the mold for another successful Neosho CCC wrestling season. This being the 14th season for ...
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Boys debut and girls return at cross country state
For the first time in history, Chanute High School had both its boys and girls teams qualify for state, which occurs Saturday morning at the Wamego Country Cub. The girls will run at 10 a.m. and the boys will take off at 11:30 a.m. All of the athletes are excited to experience this event. “There are a lot of fun things that go along with the State experience,” coach Derek Liggett said. So far there have been pasta parties, shirts ordered, a...
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Three touchdowns by Son help Chanute clinch playoff berth
Brian McDowell Sports Editor A three-touchdown hat trick by senior Sam Son and a defensive ability to shut down the run saved the Blue Comets from elimination Thursday night, and has put them into the playoffs. Chanute Football Coach Don Simmons said his team’s 28-6 victory over the Girard Trojans in the last game of the regular season was the first good four quarter game they’ve played all season. It couldn’t have come at a better time. All ...
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Sports weekend busy
Tonight’s “do or die” football match-up between the Comets and Girard at the Chanute sports complex is due to be one of the highlights on what is sure to be one of the biggest weekends of the year for area sports fans. If Chanute loses tonight’s game at 7 p.m. at the sports complex, their season is over. However, if they do pull off a victory, they will be vaulted into a playoff game on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The Blue Comets volleyball team will ...
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Shyrock is King at Humboldt Speedway
Scott Lee Stewart Special to the Tribune HUMBOLDT -- Kelly Shryock owns nine titles and 176 career victories under the United States Modified Touring Series banner, and now you can officially call him “The King” of the dirt Modified racing world. Saturday night at the Humboldt Speedway, the 46-year-old from Fertile, Iowa, waited patiently for the first 50 laps and then took control for the final 25 laps to win the inaugural King of America Mo...
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Sub-State victory propels Chanute volleyball to State
Brian McDowell Sports Editor GARNETT — The Chanute Blue Comets will be headed to Salina on Friday for the Class 4A state volleyball tournament. The team earned its spot with a resounding six-set, three-game victory at the sub-state tournament in Garnett on Saturday. According to coach Gail Petersen, the girls were practicing better than they had all season last week and proved themselves at this event. She thought the team came out pumped up ...
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Both Chanute cross country teams headed to State
OTTAWA — According to Chanute cross country coach Derek Liggett, the pressure of a Regional meet on a tough course in Ottawa, where runners have one race to do well or their season is over, can be pretty stressful. “That is why it is important to go in with confidence,” Liggett said. Fortunately for Chanute, both their boys and girls teams had just won SEK League titles so, their confidence was running high. The girls were the first team ...
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Chanute drops game two in knotted-up District
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Chaos reigns supreme in the Class 4A District 7, that includes the Chanute Blue Comets, because all four teams now have 1-1 records. This makes next week’s two games (Girard @ Chanute and Independence @ Parsons) extremely high stakes contests, in which the winner goes to the playoffs and losing team ends their season. It also mitigates some of the damage done by the Comets’ 34-13 Friday night loss to the Parsons V...
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Chanute linemen say ‘All roads lead to Brome’
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The linemen on the Chanute football team call themselves the “Bromans,” because they’re warriors who have bonded for a common cause. Assistant Coach Jason Feeback compares the team’s five linemen to a fist, because when they come together, they pack a punch. The “Bromans” typically don’t touch the ball during the game, they don’t score, and their names and stats don’t appear in newspapers very much. However, since...
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Chanute’s No Huddle Offense and home dominance to highlight District game two
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Both Coach Don Simmons and the stadium at the school’s sports complex have been an integral part of the culture of Chanute football for eight years now. In that time, the Comets have only lost five regular season games at home. Indeed, Chanute has won all their home games so far this year, and their only two losses have come on the road. That is why the team is excited that their last two district games, against P...
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NCCC women win, men lose final home soccer games
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Two second half goals by Kimberly Utley secured a victory for the NCCC Panthers in a rare weekday daytime match-up against Pratt on Tuesday. Windy conditions made play a challenge, but Neosho County was able to rise to the occasion. Toganoxie native Ashley Kotowske scored the Panthers’ first goal. However, the score was quickly responded to and the game was tied at one at halftime. Utley dominated the second half,...
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Chanute has the ‘Tallent’ to succeed
Brian McDowell Sports Editor When Chanute voilleyball player Mallory Flowers went down with a hurt ankle during the team’s participation in the El Dorado tournament, sophomore Payton Tallent was tapped to fill her role in the team’s back row. It was an intimidating request, as Flowers is a whirling dervish on the court and has proven to be one of the team’s strongest players. However, Tallent, who is ordinarily a left side hitter, felt she wa...
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Decker gets 12th place at state tourney in Topeka
TOPEKA — Chanute junior Danae Decker shot a 49 on the front nine and a 48 on the back nine of the course at Topeka Country Club for a 97 score to tie with two other players for 12th place at the Class 4A state tournament on Monday. The high school’s girls golf coach Bill Woodard praised the great deal of composure that Decker displayed. According to Woodard, this was a very challenging course that had large greens that contained many contours...
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Chanute Tennis makes state visit
Brian McDowell Sports Editor Three players from the Chanute girls tennis team had the opportunity to participate in the state tennis tournament in Pratt on Friday. The Comets’ number one singles player Czarina Ramos and the number one doubles team of Madison Wendt and Alexis Thuston all made the trip. Unfortunately no victories were garnered by the Chanute squad. Ramos was bested by players from Hiawatha (6-0, 6-0), and Wellington (9-0), whil...
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Doherty leads NCCC soccer to win
Andrew Towne Special to the Tribune The NCCC women’s soccer team continued its winning ways on Saturday afternoon by defeating the Garden City Community College Lady Broncbusters 4-1. “It was a good win. The ladies are having fun now and I feel that we are peaking at the right time,” coach Damon Solomon said. Garden City got on the scoreboard first with 32:22 left in the first half, but Neosho’s Mercedes McGuire would answer for the Panther...
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Wiltse Interception helps Chanute survive scare for district win
Brian McDowell Sports Editor INDEPENDENCE — In both of their losses this year, the Chanute Blue Comets established early leads, yet sloppy play late in the game allowed scrappy opponents to earn comeback wins. In Friday night’s matchup with the Independence Bulldogs on the first night of districts, it looked like that was going to happen again. Chanute had a three-touchdown lead on the SEK opponents, yet a few ill-timed turnovers and key mist...
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