No. 1 Gonzaga opened March Madness 2022 as the clear favorite to win the NCAA Tournament, and that remains unchanged at the start of the Sweet Sixteen. After a few national championship contenders were upset in the first two rounds, a handful of teams are viewed as the biggest threats to the bracket’s top overall seed.
USD 350 St. John – Hudson Junior High Boys Basketball team took third place in the Central Plains League this year. Team members included Head Coach Jon Bauer, Keldon Bunker, Juan Lozano, Jericho Mawhirter, Wyatt Mawhirter, Garrett Dunn, Aaron Llanas, Samuel Heller, William Martin, Assistant Coach Joel Delp, Assistant Jill Stimatze, Daniel Portillo, Juan Ibarra, David Leckenby, Benjamin Cullium, Lane Davis, Jaxson Burbank, Miguel Gonzales, Braxton Alpers, Jace Reyes, Manager Tanner Mawhirter, Manager Nathan Moreno, Weston Peterson, Rafael Gonzalez, Kaden Foote, Ixik Mawhirter, Julio Lozano, DJ Barney, Michael Nemec, Dylan Vieux, Aden Gonzalez, and Easton Alpers.
Editor’s note: Kansas Pregame 2022 has released their spring sports issue highlighting high school teams and athletes to look out for as the new track and field season begins. Following are previews excerpts that feature Pratt, Kiowa County and Stafford County high school athletes.
Macksville High School boys basketball team had a great run deep into post-season play this year, finishing third at state in the 1A division. There were many victories to be proud of en route to that third place finish, and even though the final game wasn’t where they wanted to finish, there were some memorable moments.
Kierra Messick, daughter of Gene and Megan Messick, recently signed a letter of intent with Sterling College to participate in cheerleading at the college level. Messick, the daughter of Gene and Megan Messick, Pratt, is a senior at Pratt High School and has cheered for football and basketball for all four years.
Pratt High School has some returning athletes for girls track that should be significant contributors to team points this spring, according to head track and field coach Derek Liggett. “Daisy Herrman is a senior who should compete very well in the 100/200/400 and also contribute on both sprint relays,” Leggitt said.
Pratt, KS. – Pratt Community College (PCC) is excited to announce the hiring of Jenitra Shields as the next Head Women’s Flag Football Coach. Coach Shields has been busy not only settling in on campus, but recruiting student athletes for the fall.
HAYS, Kan. – During a three-week stretch in the first semester, the Fort Hays State University women’s basketball team was ranked No.
From the familiar names at the top of the bracket -- Gonzaga, Kansas, Baylor -- to the well-worn debates all across it -- why did Coach K get shipped out West? did somebody do Dayton wrong? -- this version of Selection Sunday felt as comfortable as a well-worn Air Jordan.
The Skyline Middle School girls basketball team led by first-year coach Sam Fisher, who is a former Thunderbird roundball standout, traveled to Kiowa last week to compete in the Heart of the Plains League Tournament. Their regular season record placed them firmly in the number two seed position where they faced off against Burrton in first round play on Saturday, 2/5. The Thunderbirds were victorious and moved on to challenge a pumpedup Attica team on Monday, the 7th. The Bulldogs were fresh off a win over the hometeam of South Barber. Skyline came out on top by playing their hallmark tough and smothering defense and pressing throughout. On the other side of the bracket, Norwich moved handily through to face the T-birds in the championship game. Norwich was previously undefeated in league play and handed Skyline their only loss of the regular season. The table was set for a revenge game and Thunderbirds went in with their usual confidence and fear-nothing attitude.