Sports

As Coach Joel Delp enters his 24th year of coaching, he continues to be inspired by his runners.

Kiowa County High School cross country coach Lori Wade and her assistant Courtney Huck may not have full teams to work with this year, but they do have athletes to watch.

Under the leadership of head coach Jennifer Gillespie, the Mackville High School volleyball team is off to a good start going 3-4 in early season competition with wins over league rivals Ness City and Lacrosse and a home win over Stafford.

With the 2025-26 school year recently starting, that means that PHS Volleyball practice has kicked off, with contests not far behind. The team, led by Head Coach Summer Younie, will be hoping to improve on the 2024 season.

The St. John Lady Tigers volleyball team returns six letterwinners and four starters from last year’s 29 – 16 state tournament qualifying team. New head coach Taci Axmen is excited about the team she steps in to lead after the departure of long-time coach Trish Wade and looks forward to a competitive future.

It is a whole new season of Skyline High School football and the Thunderbirds came out of pre-season practice with a new mentality and a team connection that sustained them through a tough first game. The team played on the road against the Eagles of Norwich on Friday, September 5 and came out with a hard-fought win, 22-16. This was a non-conference game, and weather conditions were about as bad as it can get as both teams struggled to control play.

The Pratt High School football team kicked off the 2025 regular season this past Friday, September 5. The Greenbacks traveled to Hoisington for the highly anticipated rivalry game between the two CKL powerhouse teams. A hot start by Pratt didn’t last as Hoisington scored 20 unanswered points in the second half and defeated the Greenbacks in their season opener 34-8.

PCC Men’s Soccer Head Coach Kevin Kewley has high expectations for this year and looks forward to tough competition that will bring his competitors to the top of their game.

Brandon Jackson, the new head coach of women’s soccer at Pratt Community College sees a lot of promise in the squad as a new season gets underway for the Lady Beavers. This year’s team is made up of 21 freshmen and 4 sophomores (only 2 of which are returning players for the college).

The Pratt Community College women’s volleyball team has been going though a rebuild under Head Coach, Brittany Urenda. Looking at the season as a whole, Coach said her expectations for the season are to continue to learn and grow on and off the court.