The Pittsburg girls finished second in the Class 4A regional Friday at Iola and placed a small percentage of the 3,456 qualifiers across the state of Kansas for next weekend's state track meet in Wichita.
Chelsea Baker qualified in several events: second in the triple jump at 35 feet, 6 3/4 inches, fourth in the high jump at 5-0, third in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.82 seconds and she participated in the second place 4x100 relay with Nicole Striplin, Sarah Jewett and Andie Casper.
Casper won the lone Pittsburg girls regional title in the long jump with a leap of 17-3 1/4. She finished just outside the top four in the 100 and the 200. Casper also participated in the 4x400 with Jewett, Striplin and Lizzy Willis.
The versatile Jewett finished third in the 800 in 2:28.15 and took part in all three state-qualifying relays: 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 with Willis, freshman Morgan Plank and Katie Phalen.
KSHSAA State Tournament brackets
BASEBALL
CLASS 6A (Lawrence)
Thursday, May 23
1) Wichita Heights (19-3) vs. 8) Derby (9-11), 11 a.m.
4) Manhattan (16-5) vs. 5) Olathe South (16-5), 1:30 p.m.
2) Blue Valley West (18-4) vs. 7) Olathe Northwest (14-8), 4 p.m.
3) Wichita Northwest (17-5) vs. 6) Blue Valley (13-7), 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 24
Semifinal No. 1, 11 a.m.
Semifinal No. 2, 1:30 p.m.
Third Place, 4 p.m.
Championship, 6:30 p.m.
CLASS 5A (Wichita)
Thursday, May 23
2) Topeka Seaman (20-2) vs. 7) Blue Valley Southwest (13-9), 11 a.m.
3) Shawnee Heights (19-3) vs. 6) Andover Central (16-4), 1:30 p.m.
1) Bishop Carroll (20-1) vs. 8) Eisenhower (10-11), 4 p.m.
4) Maize South (15-3) vs. 5) Mill Valley (18-4), 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 24
Semifinal No. 1, 11 a.m.
Semifinal No. 2, 1:30 p.m.
Third Place, 4 p.m.
Championship, 6:30 p.m.
The No. 13-ranked Baylor Bears had their season ended Thursday by the four-time defending NCAA champion USC in the third round of the NCAA Championships at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex, 4-1.
The Bears, which feature the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year (junior Patrick Pradella) and Freshman of the Year (Julian Lenz), are coached by Matt Knoll, a 1984 graduate of Pittsburg High who played collegiate tennis at Kansas State (1984-1986) and Washburn (1987-1989). Knoll, coach at Baylor since 1997, owns a 407-122 career head coaching record, including 399-106 in Waco.
Girard native and Kansas senior Tanner Poppe rang up his third Academic All-Big 12 Baseball Team selection on Thursday.
Poppe, a senior exercise science major, earned a first team nod along with teammates Wes Benjamin and Colin Toalson, as well as second team selection Michael Suiter.
“I’m really proud of their performance in the classroom,” Kansas head coach Ritch Price said in a media release. “One of our missions is to prepare kids to be successful in life and our academic services — Glenn Quick, who specifically oversees the baseball program — are world class. I thank everyone who’s helped them be successful in the classroom. Obviously, these young men have put in the effort it takes to be successful, not only on the field but in the classroom.
“I’d also like to thank our tutors as well because our academic support staff at KU is as good as any place in the country. To have these four guys on the Academic All-Big 12 team speaks volumes not only to the student-athletes in our program but to our academic services at the University of Kansas.”
The St. Mary’s Colgan Panthers turned momentum on its side in the Class 3A regional final Thursday night against the Riverton Rams.
Riverton staked a 2-0 lead after four behind Nolan Wall throwing a strong game on the mound and two solo home runs by T.J. McDonald off Colgan senior V.J. Piccini.
The Panthers retired the Rams in the top half of the fifth and loaded the bases in the bottom half, coming through with two RBI groundouts and a RBI single to gain a 3-2 lead. Christian Cedeno relieved Piccini in the seventh and the Panthers worked their way out of a bases loaded jam with a strikeout and a pop out caught by Cedeno over his shoulder for the final out.
“Riverton playing the second game, they came off a big win,” Colgan head coach Mike Watt said. “They had to battle with Southeast and they came out with a big win. They’ve got a lot of emotion and that carried right over into this championship game. They turn a big double play early. They were playing very well and I told our kids, ‘Hey, just keep plugging along and do what we do.’ We’ll get an opportunity and the kids did a great job.”
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