Photos from day 1 of state track and field

Lee's Summit West's Zach Gray hands the baton to Ben Wharton during the 1,600-meter relay at Friday's state meet. The Titans had the third-fastest time of the prelims to qualify for finals.


Lee's Summit North's Jon LaPlante leads the pack during the first lap of the 800 during Friday's state meet. LaPlante finished in 10th, just outside of the finals.


Lee's Summit North's Shantaja Heath high fives teammate Maddi Wilkins after their 1,600-meter relay team finished fifth during prelims and qualified for the finals with a time of 4:00.32.


Lee's Summit North's Maddi Wilkins runs down the final stretch of the 1,600-meter relay as the anchor leg for the Broncos.


Lee's Summit North's Shantaja Heath hands the baton to teammate Maddi Wilkins during the 1,600-meter relay. The Broncos finished fifth in the prelims.


Lee's Summit North's Madison Smith hands the baton to teammate Carson Severson during the 1,600-meter relay. The Broncos qualified for the finals in fifth.


Lee's Summit West's Zach Gray hands the baton to brother Hartzell during the 400-meter relay. The Titan relay qualified for the finals in fourth with a time of 42.18.


Lee's Summit West's Kevin Colon runs ahead of the field during the two-mile at Friday's state meet. Colon went on to win the event and be the state champ with a time of 9:12.09.


Lee's Summit North's Darrell Whitmore runs the 400-meter dash during Friday's state meet. Whitmore finished in 13th.


Lee's Summit West's Jac'Que Timberlake runs the 400-meter dash at the state meet. Timberlake finished in 16th.


Lee's Summit North's Codi Fritchie comes down the home stretch of the 800-meter run. She finished in 12th.


Lee's Summit's Lynette Cottingham attempts the triple jump during Friday's state meet. Cottingham finished in 11th.


Lee's Summit West's Lauren Cheadle attempts the triple jump during Friday's state meet. Cheadle finished in third. She also qualified for the finals in both the 100 and 200.


Lee's Summit West's Konnor Cordes attempts the high jump at the state meet. Cordes finished in 11th.


Lee's Summit North's Remy Abrought passes the baton to teammate Courtney Lewis during the 400-meter dash. The Broncos finished in ninth.


Lee's Summit West's Eric Carter recieves the baton from Zach Gray in the 800-meter relay. The relay finished 12th.


Lee's Summit West's Essence Chalmers tosses the shot put at Friday's state meet. Chalmers finished in sixth.


Lee's Summit North's Sandra Hampton tosses the shot put at Friday's state meet. Hampton finished in seventh.


Lee's Summit West's Liga Blyholder ran ahead of the field during the mile at Friday's state meet. Blyholder was the state champ with a time of 4:52.26.


Lee's Summit West's Chelsey Phoebus runs the mile at Friday's state meet. Phoebus finished in fifth.


Lee's Summit North's Will Bruce throws the shot put during the state meet Friday. Bruce finished as the state champ with a throw of 56-plus feet.


Lee's Summit North's Ben Pascal throws the shot put during Friday's state meet. Pascal finished in fourth.


Lee's Summit North's Will Bruce, right, is congratulated by teammate Ben Pascal after he won the shot put at the state meet Friday.


Lee's Summit North's Madison Smith clears a hurdle during the 100-meter event at Friday's state meet. Smith took second in prelims. She also qualified in for the finals in the 300 hurdles.


Lee's Summit North's Remy Abrought clears a hurdle in the 100-meter event during state prelims Friday. She had the fastest time in prelims.


Members of the LSN 3,200-meter relay celebrate after taking third at the state meet.


Lee's Summit North Connor Moylan runs his leg of the 3,200-meter relay at the state meet Friday.

State track and field day 1

The first day of the MSHSAA Class 4 state track and field championships are officially finished with seveeral great performances by area performers, with several athletes moving on to the finals tomorrow.

Check back later for results and photos from day one!

Lee's Summit North girls soccer advances

The Lee's Summit North girls soccer team advanced to the Class 3 state quarterfinals with an impressive and dominating 5-0 win over Sedalia Smith-Cotton at Excelsior Springs High School Tuesday night.

The only thing that seemed to be able to slow down the Broncos on this night was the a bus breakdown and the weather.

The Smith-Cotton bus broke down on the way to the game, delaying the start more than an hour, and then 3 minutes into the first half there was a lightning delay.

But when the two teams were on the field, it was all Broncos.

McKenzie Kellogg and Allie Stephenson both netted first half goals for a 2-0 halftime lead as the Broncos dictated the play and were constantly putting pressure on the Tigers.

And the lead was big after both teams had been sitting for so long waiting for the game to start. You just had a feeling those first 2 goals were huge and really set the tone for the Broncos.

Stephenson, Aspen Williamson and Casey Williamson all scored goals in the second half, as North had numerous corners throughout the game.

The win sets up a rubber match with Liberty Saturday, who defeated Truman 8-2.

This is setting up to be a fun game and at this point, I would think Liberty would have to have the edge. The Bronco defense will have their hands full with Shea Groom and Brooke Williams, not to mention Kaysie Clark back in the midfield.

Without Groom and Clark the Broncos beat the Blue Jays 2-0 a few weeks ago, but with them the Blue Jays defeated North 4-0 earlier in the season in a game that was just 1-0 at the half.

I think this game will rest on the shoulders of the Bronco defense. Like I said, they'll have their hands full trying to slow down all the Blue Jays' scoring options.

Make sure to check Friday's Journal for a preview of Saturday's game.

Thursday night district scores

There were two district girls soccer title games Thursday, and both had plenty of drama.

Class 3, District 14

Lee's Summit North 2, St. Teresa's Academy 1 - North sophomore Allie Stephenson scored both goals, including the game-winner midway through the first overtime. The win moved the Broncos into the state sectionals Tuesday against Sedalia Smith-Cotton.

Class 3, District 13

Sedalia Smith-Cotton 1, Lee's Summit West 0 - It took almost 100 minutes - along with a 30-minute lightning delay - but the Tigers were finally able to get over the hump in double overtime against the Titans.

Tuesday night district scores

It was a crazy night of districts!

BASEBALL

Lee's Summit 1, Belton 0 - The Tigers won the nine-inning pitcher's duel on a Bobby Diekmann RBI single. Jared Simmons was strong on the mound, pitching seven innings and losing his no-hitter with one out in the seventh.

Lee's Summit 5, Warrensburg - Brandon Fields broke a 2-all tie with a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. Banks Born picked up the win with 6 1/3 innings and nine strikeouts.

SOCCER

Lee's Summit West 3, Lee's Summit 0 - Jaycie Johnson netted a hat trick to help lead the Titans past the depleted Tigers who were without standout Mandy Laddish.

Lee's Summit North 4, Blue Springs South 0

District schedule and preview

It's that time of year again. It's now or never for teams, win-or-go-home is the name of the game.

Here are the area district schedules and a short preview:

Class 4, District 13 Baseball: (All games played at Belton High School)

Monday, May 17
11 a.m. - (4) Ray-Pec vs. (5) Sedalia Smith-Cotton
1:45 p.m. - (3) Lee's Summit vs. (6) Belton
4 p.m. - (2) Lee's Summit West vs. (7) Warrensburg

Tuesday, May 18
2 p.m. (1) Lee's Summit North vs. Ray-Pec/Smith-Cotton winner
4:30 p.m. Lee's Summit West/Warrensburg vs. Lee's Summit/Belton winner

Wednesday, May 19
Time TBD - Championship Game

This has got to be one of the most competitive districts in the state that is completely up in the air. I suppose you could consider North the favorite due to their experience having been to the state championship a year ago.

But if they're the favorite, it's probably not by much.

It seems like just about every team in this bracket has beaten each other. West defeated North in the Eastern Jackson County Tournament in a competitive, entertaining 7-5 win. North defeated Lee's Summit twice, although the second game was 3-2. Belton defeated West twice this season in tightly contested games. Ray-Pec split two games with both North and Lee's Summit.

There could be a couple of really interesting semifinal games between LSN and Ray-Pec, and Lee's Summit West and Lee's Summit. North blew a lead against the Panthers a couple of weeks ago and the other two cross-town rivals haven't met in a few years.

It's impossible to look at this bracket and say there is a 100 percent clear-cut favorite. Aside from probably a couple teams, just about anybody could win this thing. One thing's for sure, though, it won't be easy.



Class 3, District 13 Girls Soccer: (All games played at Ray-Pec High School)

Saturday, May 15
11 a.m. - (4) Lee's Summit vs. (5) Belton
1 p.m. - (3) Sedalia Smith-Cotton vs. (6) Grandview

Tuesday, May 18
5 p.m. - (1) Lee's Summit West vs. Lee's Summit/Belton winner
7 p.m. - (2) Ray-Pec vs. Smith-Cotton/Grandview winner

Thursday, May 20
6:30 p.m. - Championship Game

There shouldn't be any surprises in the first round of games but the semifinals could definitely provide some fireworks.

The obvious highlight would be LSW and LSHS squaring off Tuesday in the semis and it should happen. The first meeting between the two teams this year was played to a stalemate at the Blue Springs South Tournament. 1-1. I'm sure a lot of people thought that matchup would happen in the finals but a couple early-season losses by the Tigers to both Ray-Pec and Smith-Cotton put them in a tough spot.

Once the semifinals get underway this should be an entertaining district, another one that could be up in the air.



Class 3, District 14 Girls Soccer: (All games played at Raytown High School)

Monday, May 17
4:30 p.m. - (4) Blue Springs South vs. (5) Blue Springs
6:30 p.m. - (3) Raytown vs. (6) Raytown South

Tuesday, May 18
4:30 p.m. - (1) Lee's Summit North vs. BSS-BS winner
6:30 p.m. - (2) St. Teresa's Academy vs. Raytown/Raytown South winner

Thursday, May 20
5 p.m. - Championship Game

With all due respect to the teams in this district, this is shaping up to be a Lee's Summit North-St. Teresa's final.

The two teams are clearly the cream of the crop in the district, with the Stars currently ranked No. 8 and the Broncos No. 10. At the same time, neither team will take its opponents lightly.

With that being said, if they do in fact meet in the finals it should be a fantastic game. The two teams have met twice this season with the Stars claiming a 2-1 win in the first meeting with North winning the second time around 1-0.

I'm not sure if you can give one team the edge over the other. If it happens, it should be a heck of a game.


Make sure to check out the Journal Wednesday and Friday for all the results of area teams in their district games. If it's possible, hopefully I can come to you live from some of the games.

Also, don't forget about district tennis and state golf in Wednesday's issue!

Tuesday night scores

Here's a rundown of scores that have come in from Tuesday:

TENNIS:

Lee's Summit West 6, North Kansas City 3

Liberty 9, Lee's Summit 0

SOCCER:

Lee's Summit West 10, North Kansas City 0

BASEBALL:

Lee's Summit West 17, North Kansas City 0

Monday night scores

BASEBALL

Lee's Summit North 9, Blue Springs South 4

Lee's Summit West 17, Raytown South 0

Lee's Summit Community Christian 7, Cameron 5

Blue Springs 6, Lee's Summit 1

SOCCER

Lee's Summit North 7, Lee's Summit 0

Notre Dame De Sion 4, Lee's Summit West 0

TENNIS

Lee's Summit North 6, Staley 3

Wednesday night scores

BASEBALL

Lee's Summit West 9, Raytown 4 - Banks Born threw six scoreless innings and the Titans had control of the game after a six-run second inning.

Lee's Summit North 8, Blue Springs 4 - Brandon Dulin broke open a 4-all tie in the fifth inning with an RBI single. The Broncos tacked on three more in the sixth, including two on a Chad Shannon homer.

Blue Springs South 8, Lee's Summit 6 - The Jaguars slowly pulled away and had an 8-2 lead before the Tigers rallied for four runs in the seventh, even bringing the go-ahead run to the plate before coming up short.

SOCCER

Lee's Summit 2, Blue Springs South 0 - The Tigers got two goals from senior Mandy Laddish and a standout performance from their defense in a winning effort. The defense only allowed a handful of shots on goal for the Jaguars.

Lee's Summit North 7, Blue Springs 0 - The Broncos got two goals apiece from Allie Stephenson and McKenzie Kellogg as they led 3-0 at halftime and pulled away from the Wildcats for the conference win.

Tuesday night scores

BASEBALL

Lee's Summit West 15, Fort Osage 3

Lee's Summit North 16, Raytown 1

St. Mary's 7, Lee's Summit Community Christian 6

SOCCER

Lee's Summit North 3, Lee's Summit West 1

TENNIS

St. Joseph Central 9, Lee's Summit 0

Monday night scores

GOLF - Suburban Middle Six Conference Tournament @ WinterStone Golf Course

Lee's Summit West won the conference title with a 313. Freshman Nick Rehmer led the way with a 74, followed by Ryan Argotsinger with a 75. Grant Grego shot an 80 and Jake Kouba rounded out the scoring with an 84.

Suburban Big Seven Conference Tournament @ Adams Pointe Golf Course

Lee's Summit North finished second with a 315, with Lee's Summit taking fourth by shooting a 324.
North's Lucas Pacheco was conference champion after shooting a 75. Chris Fryatt was next with a 76, with Dominick Caldarello shooting an 81 and Tyler Tobias an 83.

Lee's Summit was led by Skyler Arbuckle and Austin Staudinger both shooting 79s. Kyle Gross fired an 81 and Wes Roberts shot an 85.

BASEBALL

Lee's Summit 12, Oak Park 8 - The Tigers hit four home runs to win their fifth straight game and improve to 8-6 overall.

SOCCER

Liberty 4, Lee's Summit North 0 - The Blue Jays took advantage of some counterattacks against the Broncos to tally three second-half goals to pull away for the win.

TENNIS

Lee's Summit West 9, Fort Osage 0
Lee's Summit West 8, Fort Osage 1

The two teams combined a pair of matches into one day and the Indians were no match for the Titans, as they improved to 3-0 in conference play.

Tuesday night scores

BASEBALL - EASTERN JACKSON COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Lee's Summit 3, O'Hara 1
Lee's Summit 10, William Chrisman 0

Lee's Summit North 12, Lee's Summit Community Christian 2
Lee's Summit North 16, Raytown 1

Lee's Summit West 6, Lee's Summit Community Christian 0
Truman 12, Lee's Summit West 5

SOCCER - BLUE SPRINGS SOUTH TOURNAMENT

Lee's Summit 1, Lee's Summit West 1

GOLF - QUAD AT BLUE SPRINGS COUNTRY CLUB

1. Lee's Summit West 158
2. Lee’s Summit 164
3. Lee's Summit North 166
4. Blue Springs 169
Medalist: Chris Fryatt, LSN, 36

Read more: http://varsity.kansascity.com/custom/article&news_id=3824#ixzz0liZY1ujV

Monday night scores

BASEBALL - EASTERN JACKSON COUNTY TOURNAMENT

Lee's Summit West 8, Raytown 2

Lee's Summit 12, Fort Osage 7

Lee's Summit Community Christian 8, Raytown 7

Truman 9, Lee's Summit Community Christian 6

Truman 5, Lee's Summit North 2

SOCCER - BLUE SPRINGS SOUTH TOURNAMENT

Lee's Summit 3, Park Hill South 2

Lee's Summit West 1, Blue Springs South 0

TENNIS

Lee's Summit North 5, Blue Springs South 4

GOLF - LIBERTY TOURNAMENT (OUT OF 20 TEAMS)

1. Liberty 301
2. Kearney 305
3. Pembroke Hill 309
4. Lee’s Summit North 311
5. Lee’s Summit West 312
6. Blue Springs South 315
7. Park Hill South 317
8. Lee’s Summit 319

Wednesday night scores

It was a bit of a slow night Wednesday, but here are your updated scores!

BASEBALL

Lee's Summit North 13, Winnetonka 4 - The Broncos blasted four home runs, including two off the bat of Brad Phillips and got a nice pitching performance from Dayton Fossey to improve to 7-2 on the season.

Liberty 11, Lee's Summit 5 - The Tigers stayed close early but the Blue Jays busted the game open with a six-run fifth to make it 11-0. The Tigers showed some life in the sixth with five runs.

TENNIS

Lee's Summit North 8, Lee's Summit 1 - The Broncos seemed to have hit their stride at this point in the season with their third straight match win. They dominated singles play by winning all six matches. Nathan Garrett, Warren Frevert, Michael Iseman, Andrew Lam, Brad Mims and Andrew Dominick all won matches.

Liberty 5, Lee's Summit West 4 - Liberty edged the Titans with a late win in doubles action. The two teams split the six singles matches. Nathan Mikle, Tucker Kane and Ryan Gleue all won in singles for West.

SOCCER

Lee's Summit North 7, St. Joseph Central 0 - Ashley Licata, Allie Stephenson and Casey Williamson each scored two goals for the Broncos and Brooke Burris added another as the Broncos stayed undefeated in conference at 4-0. They are 8-3 overall.

St. Teresa's Academy 4, Lee's Summit West 0 - The Titans suffered their first loss of the season to the seventh-ranked Stars, who were by far the best competition the Titans have seen this season. The Stars scored a pair of goals in each half and limited the amount of scoring chances for West. The Titans are now 7-1 overall.

Tuesday night scores

BASEBALL

Lee's Summit West 3, William Chrisman 2 - Head coach Jay Meyer wasn't real pleased with his teams effort Tuesday but they were able to squeak out a win. Brandon Fields hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh for the go-ahead run. West is now 6-3 on the year.

Lee's Summit North 10, Blue Springs South 9 - The Broncos nearly let an 8-1 lead slip away before hanging on. David Longcoy recorded the final out with the bases loaded. Chad Shannon was 3-for-3 with a homer and 5 RBI.

Rockhurst 10, Lee's Summit 0 - Tiger head coach Jim Mellody said it was just one of those games as the Hawklets were in control from the start.

Lee's Summit Community Christian 12, Lone Jack 2 - The Eagles broke open a scoreless game through four innings with seven runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth. Steve Santon got the win on the mound and had a big two-run single in the seven-run fifth.

SOCCER

Lee's Summit Community Christian 8, Holden 1 - Jennifer Rogers and Taylor Harmon each scored two first half goals as the Eagles cruised to the victory. They are now 5-1 on the season, two more wins then they had all of last season.

Lee's Summit West 3, Raytown 2 - After a scoreless first half the Titans remained patient and picked up a big conference win over the Blue Jays. West went ahead 3-0 on two goals by Mollie Harmon and one from Katie Davis. The Blue Jays made things interesting with two goals in the final 15 minutes, but West was able to stay undefeated at 7-0.

Area track teams break records over the weekend

There’s no stopping the Lee’s Summit North girls track and field team.
The Broncos won the Bill Summa Relays at Williams Chrisman over the weekend with eight firsts including three meet and school records.
The shuttle hurdles relay team of Madison Smith, Maddi Wilkins, Christi Coleman and Erica Morey set records, as did the sprint medley and 400-meter relay teams, both of which consisted of Sierra Hawkins, Smith, Simone McGautha and Courtney Lewis.
“I think that was a goal of there’s to break the school record in the sprint and 4x100 relays,” Broncos head coach Ed Brill said. “And that was without Veronica Rollins. And our hurdles, we have four pretty good girls and they were flat moving.”
North also won the 6,400-meter relay, the 3,200-meter relay, the 1,600 medley relay, the distance medley and the pole vault where the best jumps of each girl was added up for a total height.
Sandra Hampton wasn’t bad either, throwing a personal best of 149 feet in the discus.
The Broncos will split up this weekend with some runners going to the KU Relays and some to the Capital City Relays in Jefferson City.

Titans strong at Staley

Essence Chalmers continue to re-write the record books in the shot put at Lee’s Summit West.
Chalmers broke her own record once again Friday in the Jerry Crew Relays at Staley High School, throwing 40 feet, 1.50 inches, helping the Titans win the meet.
“I knew she was going to be pretty decent,” Titans head coach Derek Howard said of Chalmers. “I don’t know if there is anybody in the city within two or three feet of her. It’s a nice surprise because we’ll need her in Jeff City come May.”
Liga Blyholder had another strong meet, winning the 800 and 1,600.
Lauren Cheadle continues to run well, winning the 200 against a tough field, as well as finishing third in the 100 and in the long jump with an impressive jump of 18-9.
“Anytime you jump 18-9, even at state, you figure you should get first place,” Howard said.
Howard was also proud of the effort by the 1,600 relay. He threw some new girls into the race – Blyholder, Cheadle, Emiah Bingley and Jac’Que Timberlake – but saw them take second in a tight race.
It ended up being another good day for the Titans when all was said and done.
“Anytime we win a meet in April that’s just icing on the cake,” Howard said.
The Lee’s Summit girls were also at Staley and had some relays step up.
Head coach Mike Spiegel said the surprise of the meet was the 400-meter relay team of Lynette Cottingham, Emman Wright, Krysten Maddox and Brittni Campbell running a season-best time of 50.89.
The 1,600 relay continues to be one of the strong areas for the Tigers, as Samantha Gilkey, Abbey Stetzler, Campbell and Maddox won the event.
Maddox also won the open 400 with a time of 1:01.30.
The Tigers also got good performances from their pole vaulters. Kaylie Tipton and Sierra Garcia place second and third, respectively.

Titans boys break records

The Lee’s Summit West boys track and field team was at the Springfield Hillcrest Invitational over the weekend and continued to compete at a high level.
“We were very excited about how our kids competed as two school records were broken, in addition, a number of athletes established season-best marks in their events,” Titans head coach Bob Klausing said.
Kevin Colon continues to show he’s at 100 percent with a school record and meet record time of 9:16 in the 3,200-meter run.
“He looked extremely strong, running out of the pack at about 300 meters and consistently building up his winning margin to over 100 meters,” Klausing said.
The 1,600-meter relay team of Zach Gray, Ben Wharton, Brandon Rice and Donald Wilcox also set a school record with a winning time of 3:26.
“Brandon Rice deserves some special recognition as he was put in the relay at the last minute and ran a really strong leg to contribute to that team's school-record-breaking effort,” Klausing said.
Gray also won both hurdles events with a season-best time of 14.69 in the 110s and 40.10 in the 300s.
The other first for West was the 800-meter relay team of Gray, Wharton, Wilcox and Hartzell Gray.
Other top three finishes were Wilcox taking second in the long jump and Evan Boehm placing third in the discus. Hartzell Gray ran a season-best time of 22.5 in a fast field in the 200 and took fourth.
Tigers keep improving
With some athletes stepping up and some setting personal bests the Lee’s Summit boys track and field team gained some confidence at the Jerry Crew Relays at Staley High School Friday.
“It was a confidence booster for a lot of those guys to see their times improving,” Tigers head coach Craig Heeney said. “They know they can do it consistently.”
Chalyn Revely had a strong day taking third in the 400, fifth in the triple jump and was a part of the 1,600-meter relay team that took third.
“He’s only a sophomore, so we sent him to JV at the start of the year. He did pretty well and the guys at practice just call him a machine,” Heeney said. “He’s probably the hardest worker on the team. He can do just about anything.”
Phillip Hanke took third in the pole vault in his first varsity meet, while first-year track athlete Sam Sealer was third in the long jump. Lucas Corbitt was fifth in the long jump and Matt Marting placed seventh in the 800.
The 3,200-meter relay just missed a medal by placing fourth.

Eagles topple old records

It was a record-breaking day for the Lee’s Summit Community Christian boys and girls track and field teams Friday at Bishop Miege, as both teams took sixth out of nine teams.
Christa Bearce jumped 32-6 in the triple jump and ran a time of 51.17 in the 300-meter hurdles for two records, while Cydney Whitney ran a 27.21 in the 200 for another school record.
“We continue to improve every meet and the girls are working extremely hard gearing up for May,” Eagles head coach Kyle Miller said.
On the boys side, Elliott Seale ran a record-breaking time of 23.64 in the 200.
Miller was also excited about the performance of distance runners Jacob Maffuccio and David Danner.
Maffuccio took 11 seconds off his mile time down to 5:29, while Danner took four seconds off down to 5:51.
“I told them they turned in good times for as hard as we have been working them in practice the last few weeks,” Miller said. “I'm really excited to see what they can do over the next month.”
Junior Ben Brundage had a good showing in the discus with a season best throw of 99-2 for seventh.
The Eagles are back in action tomorrow at Holden.

Thursday scores

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back with scores from Thursday's game!

GOLF

Park Hill Tournament
Lee's Summit 330 - Skylar Arbuckle 78, Austin Staudinger 79, Kyle Gross 82, Wes Roberts and Jeff Brake 91
Lee's Summit North 345 - Lucas Pacheco and Brock Reinkemeyer 84, Chris Fryatt 88, Tyler Tobias 89

BASEBALL

Lee's Summit North 19, William Chrisman 0 - The Broncos were up 9-0 when they exploded for 10 runs in the fourth. Chad Shannon had a monster day going 4-for-4 with a pair of two-run homers.

Lee's Summit West 13, Ray-South 3 - Banks Born was strong on the mound as he took a no-hitter into the fifth inning.

Lee's Summit 9, Blue Springs 8 - The Tigers got behind 7-4 after two innings and turned to little-used Taylor Swagger in relief on the mound. The senior kept the Tigers in the game and allowed for heroics at the plate from junior Corbin Berkstresser who hit two homers, the biggest being a three-run shot to take the lead in the sixth.

Lee's Summit Community Christian 14, Barstow 6 - The Eagles knocked Barstow's top pitcher out of the game in the first inning with eight runs. They eventually led 13-0 before overcoming a few errors to preserve the win.

SOCCER

Lee's Summit West 10, North Kansas City 0 - The Titans controlled the game from the start and led 7-0 at the half. Allison Gochenour, Jaycie Johnson and Katie Davis all scored two goals.

Wednesday night scores

Here are the are results from Wednesday night's action:

BASEBALL

St. Joseph Central 15, Lee's Summit North 10 - The Broncos gave up 10 unearned runs in the first inning and were forced to play from behind the rest of the game. Randen Schleiden led the Broncos' 14-hit attack with four.

Belton 6, Lee's Summit West 4 - The Titans took a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning before a pair of errors led to a four-run bottom of the inning for the Pirates, including a walk-off two-run homer.

SOCCER

St. Thomas Aquinas 2, Lee's Summit North 1 - The Broncos stood tough with the Kansas powerhouse but eventually fell in penalty kicks. Ashley Licata scored the lone Bronco goal.

GOLF

Quad at Swope Memorial:
Rockhurst 303
Lee's Summit 319 - Austin Staudinger best score with a 74
Lee's Summit North 327 - Lucas Pacheco best score with a 77
Blue Springs 347

Check Friday's for more information on these games!

Tuesday night scores

Here are the area results from tonight's games:

TENNIS

Lee's Summit 5, Ray-Pec 4 - Mark Hansen, Matt Reynolds, Brian Wolz and Caleb Larsen all picked up singles wins. Hansen and Reynolds combined for the deciding doubles win.

BASEBALL

Lee's Summit Community Christian 11, KC East Christian 1 - The Eagles broke a 1-all tie with six runs in the third and four in the fourth for the easy win. The Eagles are now 1-0 on the season.

Park Hill South 3, Lee's Summit West 0 - The Panthers broke a scoreless tie with one run in the fifth and two in the sixth. The Titans were only able to scratch out five hits.

SOCCER

Lee's Summit Community Christian 3, KC East Christian 2 in OT - The Eagles weren't at the top of their game but were able to squeeze out a win thanks to an own goal by KC East in overtime. Jennifer Rogers and Jessie Lambert scored goals.

GOLF

Lee's Summit West 168, Park Hill 178 -
LSW Scores: Ryan Argotsinger 37
Grant Grego - 42
Connor Allwood - 44
Jake Kouba - 45
Chad Mannes - 46

Thursday scores

Here are a couple of area tennis scores from Thursday:

Lee's Summit West 5, Blue Springs South 4

Nathan Mikle, Tucker Kane and Ryan Gleue all picked up wins in singles play, while the team of Nick Baker/Mikle picked up a win at No. 2 doubles, as did the pair of Kane/Gleue at No. 3.

This is a really nice win for the Titans to begin the season. The Jaguars are a little down this year after several years of being one of the top public schools, but, nonetheless, a solid win for sure. The Titans will gear up for cross-town rival Lee's Summit North Friday.

Lee's Summit 3, Staley 6

The Tigers got a pair of wins at the top of their singles play, with No. 1 Mark Hansen and No. 2 Matt Reynolds each coming out on top.

Lee's Summit also picked up a doubles win from Reynolds/Wolz at No. 2 doubles.

The Tigers were without a varsity player at the back end of their rotation, not to mention Hansen was unable to stick around for doubles due to other school commitments. They should have a solid top 2 with Hansen and Reynolds, while head coach Luke McKenney is hopeful the rest of the lineup can continue to progress throughout the season.

Snowstorm changes plans for local tournaments

The Springs sports season was rudely welcomed by one last Winter blast over the weekend, postponing play for the next two days in the R-7 KC Metro Lead-Off Baseball Tournament and the Tiger/Bronco/Titan Soccer Invite.

The baseball tournament was supposed to begin today and run until Thursday.

Now, play is scheduled to begin Wednesday, with the condition of the fields still being a concern. But if the fields are playable, play will resume Wednesday and go until Saturday.

Here are the pool play schedules for area teams:

Lee's Summit: Wednesday - 3 p.m. vs. William Chrisman at Legacy Field No. 8; 6 p.m. vs. Belton at Legacy Field No. 8; Thursday - 6 p.m. vs. Liberty on Field No. 8

Lee's Summit North: Wednesday - 1 p.m. vs. Park Hill at Legacy Field No. 8; Thursday - 3 p.m. vs. Rockhurst at Legacy Field No. 5; 6 p.m. vs. Blue Springs at Legacy Field No. 6

Lee's Summit West: Wednesday - 1 p.m. vs. Park Hill South at Legacy Field No. 6; 6 p.m. vs. Staley at Legacy Field No. 5; Thursday - 3 p.m. vs. Ray-Pec at Legacy Field No. 8

Championship and consolation games are scheduled for Friday and Saturday with times dependong on how each team places in their pool.

As for the soccer tournament, play has been pushed back to Wednesday-Friday with each team playing their games on their home fields. Here are the schedules for area teams:

Lee's Summit: Wednesday - 4 p.m. vs. Sedalia Smith-Cotton
Thursday - 4 p.m. vs. Smithville
Friday - 6 p.m. vs. O'Hara

Lee's Summit North: Wednesday - 6 p.m. vs. Raytown South
Thursday - 4 p.m. vs. Ray-Pec
Friday - 6 p.m. vs. Park Hill

Lee's Summit West: Wednesday - 4 p.m. vs. Kearney
Thursday - 4 p.m. vs. Liberty
Friday - 6 p.m. vs. Blue Springs

Check back for updates on games or to see if there are any more cancellations.

Logsdon and Courier compete in Metro Classic Dual

Lee's Summit West's Jake Logsdon and Lee's Summit's Spencer Courier were invited to wrestle in the 18th Annual Metro Classic Wednesday at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

The dual pits the best senior wrestlers in the Kansas City area, from the Missouri and Kansas side, against each other in a border showdown.

"I loved (being asked to participate) because I'm up here every year," Courier said. "I wanted to wrestle in it. "

Logsdon didn't know much about the event but figured he'd give it a shot.

"The first time they asked me was right before state," he said. "Coach (Ethan) Hauck told me it was the best wrestlers in the metro, so I said, 'sure.' I figured it would give me one more shot. I was glad to represent Missouri."

Logsdon won't wrestle in college, so he had one more shot on the mat to go out a winner and he did it in a big way.

He took it to Shawnee Heights' Austin Willis, winning by technical fall, 15-0. It was great to see him go out with a win, especially after losing a tough final match at the state tournament in February.

"That's why I'm on such a high - this was my last match," Logsdon said.

Courier went up against Louisburg's Bryce Hood, who finished second in Class 4 at 140 pounds, which Courier said gave him some trouble, as he lost 8-3.

"He was way bigger," Courier said. "I couldn't get any angles on him and I'm not in the greatest of shape. I blame myself. I wasn't moving my feet. But I'm not mad."

Team Missouri went on to win the dual, 36-27, and claim some bragging rights over Kansas.

There was a big crowd on hand. You could tell this meant quite a bit to both sides. Each side got pretty fired up at times and it was great to see guys cheering each other on that are used to being opponents during the season. It's cool to see them come together like that. I suppose that's what happens when cross-state bragging rights are on the line.

And that's what makes the event so neat. Logsdon talked about practicing with guys like Alan Waters (a four-time state champ) and Kaleb Friedley of Park Hill, describing them as "amazing." That's not something you'll hear all that often, but that's what makes it unique.

And both Courier and Logsdon deserved a shot to wrestle in the dual. They both had incredible seasons and to cap them off with this honor had to have been pretty special.

Broncos' rally comes up short

Lee's Summit North gave the Panthers a run but fell up short, 56-49.

The Broncos started to pressure PHS and got as close as six points on three different occasions, but each time PHS was able to hit their free throws and keep North at an arms length.

It was a valiant effort by the Broncos but it just came too late. They finally started to get in the lane and hit some shots in the fourth but it wasn't enough.

They still had an amazing season with a 20-8 record. More on the game to come.

Panthers pulling away

The tide didn't turn the way of the Broncos in the third quarter, as Park Hill South continues to pull away from the Broncos.

They led by as many as 19 and currently hold a 42-25 lead going into the fourth.

It's just one of those scenarios at this point where everything is going right for the Panthers and nothing is going the way of the Broncos. PHS was 8 of 15 from the floor in the third and hit 3 three-pointers.

Things continue to be difficult for North on the offensive end, there isn't much else to say. The Panthers are playing tough, smart half court defense. They aren't applying tons of pressure but they're always in help position and are in the right spot.

It's going to take a furious rally by the Broncos to make things interesting.

Broncos aiming for final four

HALFTIME

Well, Broncos head coach Mike Hilbert needs to figure out a way to get the LSN offense going or it could be a quick second half.

Park Hill South continues to clog the lane as they have raced out to 22-13 halftime lead over the Broncos.

Nothing is easy right now for the Broncos as they just continue to run their offense with little success. They've had a couple posessoins where they just keep passing the ball around the perimeter, looking for an opening down low.

This has translated to a 4 of 16 performance from the field.

Meanwhile, PHS isn't lighting it up offensively either, but they have got open for a couple threes, which they've knocked down, and are getting some decent looks, while not having to work nearly as hard as the Broncos.

It'll be interesting to see the adjustments the Broncos make at halftime to get back in the game.

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We're through one quarter of play here at the UCM Multipurpose Building with Park Hill South holding a 10-9 lead over Lee's Summit North.

Both teams seem to be feeling each other out here in the early going. There's not a lot of familiarity, obviously, between the two teams.

The Panthers are making it tough for the Broncos to get the ball in the paint, sagging off and helping a lot on penetration.

For as easy as the Broncos got in the lane against Rockhurst Wednesday, the Panthers clearly took notice and are making it tough.

We'll see how the Broncos adjust in the second quarter.

Broncos hang on

Well, it wasn't as easy as it looked like it might be in the early going, but Lee's Summit North hung on for a 59-55 win over Rockhurst, advancing them to the state quarterfinals Saturday.

North had trouble with the Hawklet presssure in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over seven times and hitting just 11 of 16 free throws in the final period, but it was enough.

It's a good thing the Broncos got that early lead because they needed all of it.

North maintains lead

1:18 LEFT IN FOURTH

The three-point barrage continues for the Hawklets. They've not hit four in a row and have cut the Bronco lead to 55-51.

North needs to take care of the ball and hit their free throws, an area they're still struggling with, if they want to pull this out.

3:24 left in fourth

The Hawklets are trying to make a late run. They've hit back to back three-pointers sandwiched in-between two North free throws to cut the deficit to 54-45.

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It wasn't a pretty quarter but Lee's Summit North is still in the lead heading into the final 8 minutes the game, ahead 46-32.

The third quarter had a lot of fouls, missed free throws, turnovers, physical play but North never let its lead dip below 10.

The Hawklets picked up the pace and began pressuring defensively in the full court with a press and trapping in the half court. It worked at times as North seems to be a bit out of rhythm, but they can't capitalize on the other end.

The two teams combined to shoot just 8 for 28 in the quarter and North was 5 of 13 from the foul line.

If the Broncos can handle the pressure and execute on offense, they should be headed to the state quarterfinals on Saturday.

Broncos hold halftime lead

It could have been worse but Lee's Summit North is still holding a 34-20 halftime lead over Rockhurst.

Thanks to a 14-2 lead to start the quarter the lead swelled to 33-10.

But Rockhurst started to play a little better defense near the end of the second quarter, forced some tough shots and turnovers to get them back in the game. They continue to pound it inside and got to the free-throw line four times during their littl 7-0 spurt to close the quarter.

It'll be interesting to see what kind of adjustments both teams make, especially Rockhurst.

The Broncos continue to live in the paint, just like they have the past month of play. The Hawklets started to apply more defensive pressure late in the second, going to a full-court zone press and trappping some in the half court. They're gonig to have to make the Broncos uncomfortable to get back in it.

Broncos start hot

The fisrt quarter has come to a close in the Class 5 state sectional game at the Independence Events Center and Lee's Summit North is taking it to Rockhurst 19-8.

The Broncos are doing everything right on offense, being patient and getting the ball down low as they are 8 of 12 from the field.

David Kravish and Chase Salazar are leading the way with 12 combined points.

Defensively, the Broncos are playing their usual hard-nosed style. They are pressuring the Hawklets and have forced them into 3 of 14 shooting. Kravish and Salazar are a force on defense as well, altering and blocking shots.

I don't expect the Hawklets to continue shooting that bad. They have missed some easy ones.

But the key is how easy the Broncos are scoring. If Rockhurst doesn't make a change quick, this could be a blowout.

Lee's Summit North preparing for Hawklets

As Lee’s Summit North head coach Mike Hilbert told his team Monday at practice, welcome to March Madness.

The Broncos play in the Class 5 state sectional game at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Independence Events Center against the Rockhurst Hawklets.

In my opinion, this game should be a good one. The two met in early January with the Hawklets needing a late three-point play to pull out a 58-55 win.

That was during an early-season stretch in which the Broncos couldn’t win a close game. But this Broncos squad is coming in with some momentum having won 12 of their last 14 games.

“We’ve had two really good practices (this week),” Hilbert said. “I really like where we are right now as a group. We’re playing with a lot of confidence.”

The two teams match up with each other fairly well, which was evident by their first meeting.

Both teams have two different kinds of post players, with the Broncos sporting 6-foot-9 lanky David Kravish, while Rockhurst counters with 6-foot-8 Cooper Beckett who sports a similar frame. On the other block will be North’s Chase Salazar and Rockhurst’s Dan Tapko, both who have strong frames and were tight ends on their respective football teams.

Hilbert hopes Kravish and Salazar can hold their own down low.

“We want to stay out on the perimeter which puts posts in a one on one situation, but I think they’ve (Kravish and Salazar) shown if they can stay in front of their post guy they can force tough shots making them shoot over them,” Hilbert said.

The reason Hilbert wants to stay on the perimeter is to keep a hand in the face of Hawklet guards Dexter McDonald and Matt Lampo. Both have the ability to hit the long ball, which isn’t something the Broncos do as successfully.

In other words, Hilbert doesn’t want to get caught in a three-point shootout.

“I think we can trade baskets but if they knock down threes that’s rough for us to stay in the game,” Hilbert said.

Hilbert said he watched the Hawklets in their district final win over Grandview, saying they looked tough to stop in the early going when they were running in transition.

“In the first quarter against Grandview all they did was attack the rim or kick it to shooters,” he said. “But when Grandview slowed down their transition and forced them into the half court that’s when they got back in the game.

“A lot will depend on whether or not we can do what we’ve been successful with, as far as defending and not giving up easy baskets and transition points.”

Transition and attacking the rim has been the way the Broncos have been winning as of late. They have been relentless with their penetration and transition game, which was on full display in their 66-45 win over Blue Springs South Friday.

But they weren’t the first time around against the Hawklets, and Hilbert made sure to remind them of that.

“I’m really hopeful that how we’ve won games, and I told them after Friday’s game, we hit three threes but we were attacking the basket,” Hilbert said. “I showed them on tape our game against Rockhurst and how we shot jumpers but when we reversed the ball and attacked gaps how much more successful we can be.”

There’s no doubt the Broncos will need to continue being aggressive on offense to pull out a win. They have guys like Kenny Berry, P.J. Lewis and Will Harrington that can knock down outside shots, but they can’t rely on that if they want to advance.

Two guys that have been instrumental as of late are B.J. Dunbar and Salazar.

Dunbar scored 28 against South and Salazar has picked up his play the last few weeks. And Hilbert knows he’ll need to bring his ‘A’ game Wednesday, especially going up against Tapko.

“One reason (we’ve been playing so well) is both our seniors are playing at really high levels,” Hilbert said. “Their maturity level encourages other guys.

“I think the key for us is when Chase feels good and is focused, we’re a different basketball team. I really like where he is right now. He’s been really up recently.”

The Broncos are hoping for a little revenge not just from earlier in the year but from years past. The Hawklets have been a thorn in the side of North, knocking them out of the playoffs back in 2005 – a sectional loss – and in 2006 in the quarterfinals.

And in the end, Hilbert knows along with all the Xs and Os, this game will come down to fundamentals.

“I think probably whichever team can go the longest stretches playing mistake-free will be the team that comes out on top,” Hilbert said. “Turnovers, giving up offensive rebounds I think will be really, really big.”

As of late, the Broncos have usually been the best at that. But this is when the stakes are the highest.

One of the most interesting things to see will be who handled the big stage the best.

The game obviously has plenty at stake, plus it’ll be at an arena bigger then they’ve played in all year. Handling the pressure of the situation will be key.

And Hilbert believes his team is ready.

“I think so. My impressions of them are they do feel really good. I think it’ll be a great game tomorrow,” he said. “I think we’ll be ready to play.”

Indeed, it should be a great game tomorrow and if you can’t make it, be sure to check us out here at the Journal sports blog as I’ll be coming to you with live updates from the game!

Broncos split in district finals

The Lee's Summit North boys and girls basketball teams were both in district title games but only one was able to advance, with the boys claiming an impressive 66-45 win over Blue Springs South.

The girls did all they could to stick with Blue Springs, only to struggle in the final 10 minutes and fall 61-39.

The Broncos boys showed why they are so tough against the host Jaguars. They played hard-nosed defense in the final three quarters and for the entire game they were attacking the basket at will.

North has adapted the aggressive mentality over the past few weeks and it has paid off. They rarely took shots from the perimeter during the title game, hitting just three shots from outside the paint - all from three-point range - as they just kept getting layup after layup.

Head coach Mike Hilbert talked after the game about how this is a different style of team than he's ever coached, with their ability to get to the basket seemingly at will, but he's not about to start complaining. The Broncos are playing some of their best basketball at the right time.

While it was hard to ignore the Broncos' offense, their defense was just as big of a key. After South hit 6 of 10 shots from the field in the first quarter, they were just 7 of 34 the rest of the game. WIth their size, they were able to neutralize South's Shawn Meyer inside, which didn't allow South's shooters to get many open looks.

But what's most impressive about the Bronco defense is their ability to run in transition after stops and steals. After every steal they were right back on the attack running it down South's throat for layups. The Broncos can play in the half court, but they're much better when they get out and run.

The win sets up a sectional matchup with Rockhurst, a team the Broncos lost to by just a couple of points back in early January. The game will be played Wednesday at the Independence Events Center at 4:45 p.m.

As for the Lady Broncos, the Wildcats turned up the pressure just enough to pull away from the Broncos in the second half.

North came out in the second half with a bounce in their step and sliced a 12-point deficit down to four at 36-32, forcing a Wildcat timeout as they had them on their heels.

But in a matter of minutes the Blue Springs full-court press took over. They finished the quarter on an 11-1 run where the Broncos had trouble just getting a shot off without turning the ball over. North finished with 11 turnovers in the quarter alone.

How the Broncos handled the Wildcat pressure was one of the big keys of Saturday's game and for 2 1/2 quarters they didn't do such a bad job. But Blue Springs has the ability to make you pay for every mistake and they can pounce quick, which is what they did.

Afterward, seniors Ashley Creason and Lauren Dudenhoeffer talked about the successful season, and how the one loss didn't take away from what a memorable year it was. After losing their leading scorer and rebounder, there may have been some question marks coming into this season for the Broncos, but they answered those questions with a hot start and finished fairly strong. They just ran into a tough team Saturday.

Read Wednesday's Journal for full stories and photos from both games. Also, check back here Tuesday night for a preview of the state sectional game for the Bronco boys against the Hawklets.

District finals set

After four entertaining days of basketball the district final matchups are set for both the boys and girls.

The boys decided their champion tonight at 7 p.m. when Lee's Summit North squares off against host Blue Springs South.

The Broncos have defeated the Jaguars twice this season and both by comfortable margins. The thing that seems to give the Jaguars trouble is the way the Broncos play defense. They can really get after you on the defensive end and that has led to fast starts in both games for North, as they cruised to a pair of wins.

Of course, this time of year, anything can happen. South put together a solid game in a win against Lee's Summit in the semis Wednesday night, and they'll have to do that again if they want to continue their season. They need to execute offensively and establish a presence inside with Shawn Meyer.

For the Broncos, if they continue to play solid defense, they should advance. They can have their struggles offensively, but they can beat you with their defense, which helps them create offense in transition.

As for stopping Meyer, Chase Salazar and David Kravish should be able to neutralize him as long as they don't get into foul trouble. As long as the Broncos don't sleep-walk through this one, they should advance into the state sectional against either Grandview or Rockhurst.

The girls matchup pits Lee's Summit North against top-seeded Blue Springs.

The Wildcats defeated the Broncos twice this season in conference play. They are clearly the most explosive offensive team on this side of the state but they can be beat, just ask Liberty.

The Broncos will have to win with defense, which is exactly what senior Lauren Dudenhoeffer said after Thursday night's 30-28 win over Lee's Summit. Blue Springs isn't a team you try and outscore, you have to try and slow them down.

Dudenhoeffer and Ashley Creason will have their hands full inside with Azia Washington and Cee Cee Burris, but if they avoid foul trouble I don't see either of those Wildcat post players taking over the. Dudenhoeffer and Creason are good enough defenders to stop that from happening.

But the way the Wildcats will really try to get after the Broncos is with their press. They are all over the place, circling like sharks in the water. North will have to be under control and not get in a fast-paced game like Blue Springs wants. If they do that, it could be a long night.

If the Broncos can get passed the Wildcat press, they will need big games out of Dudenhoeffer and Creason, but they'll also need some other girls to step up, like Codi Fritchie and Mollie Williams. Those two had a good first game against the Wildcats by doing damage from long-range, and they'll need that again to open things up inside.

It's tough pick against the Wildcats, but don't be surprised if the Broncos give them all they can handle and pull off an upset.

Check back soon to see who's moving on!

District basketball

First off, some unfortunate news, but I will be unable to come to you live from the boys district semifinal basketball games tonight. The Blue Springs South gymnasium doesn't provide the ability to do so, therefore I won't be able to give live updates.

If possible, I will do what I can from my phone but that would be all.

As for the matchups tonight, they should be excellent.

At 5:30, Lee's Summit North will take on Lee's Summit West. The first meeting between the two was a defensive battle that saw the Broncos overcome a late deficit with a strong fourth quarter, winning 37-32. West scored just 2 points in the fourth quarter of that meeting, so it's no surprise senior Melvin Turner said one of the keys tonight would be "making shots."

If the Titans can execute on offense and knock down some shots, they're going to give the Broncos all they can handle. THey proved they can guard them in the first meeting, but they'll need some offense to give them a shot.

Following that game will be Lee's Summit against Blue Springs South. The two teams split the first two meetings this season, with each team winning on their home floor.

This game will be at South, which might give them an advantage, but I doubt it. The Jaguars have been a tough team to figure out this season. You never know which team is going to show up.

South has some shooters but they really look to post player Shawn Meyer for production, so if Nathan Schumacher and Ladarrius Whitehead can shut him down, they can get out and pressure the South guards and not give them open looks.

Meanwhile, the Tigers should be able to score on the Jaguars, especially if they played defense the way they did against Blue Springs on Monday. The Tigers have several weapons inside and out, so as long as they come out with a strong effort and are ready to play, they'll have a good shot to make the title game.

Check back later tonight for results and a breakdown of the action.

Area wrestlers finish up season

We're back from Mizzou Arena for the final day of state wrestling.

Five area wrestlers wrapped up their season in the third and fifth place matches, finishing with two wins and three losses.

Lee's Summit senior Spencer Courier was able to overcome a couple injuries to his knee during the second period that stopped the action to pick up a 9-2 decision over Blue Sprigs South's Austin Eads.

Courier opened things up in the second period, extending his lead from 2-0 to 6-0 with an escape, a takedown and a misconduct point from Eads, which was a result of the injury to Courier's knee.

This was a great way for Courier to finish up his career. After taking fifth last season, Courier was probably the second best wrestler at 130 pounds, but his surprising loss in the district finals last weekend to Park Hill's Russell Coleman put him on the same side of the bracket as top-ranked Terrell Wilbourn.

Also winning today was Lee's Summit's Dylan Case. He was locked in a chess match with Blue Springs' Donnie Horner and scored a takedown late in the third period to go up 3-1. He held on for the 3-2 win.

"I was setting up shots earlier in the match and he was playing good defense," Case said afterward. "I knew if I tried to shoot I had to go 100 percent. I saw a windown and I went for it."

It was great to see Case go home with a state medal after a promising junior year that saw him go 0-2 at state last season.

Lee's Summit West's Jake Logsdon and Evan Boehm each took fourth.

Logsdon was locked in a tough match with Ft. Zumwalt West's Trevor Weist, who came in ranked No. 2. With the score tied at 1 in the third period, Weist got a takedown and let Logsdon back up to make it 3-2, but the West senior could never get the final takedown for the lead.

"When he was up 3-2 I could tell he just wanted to hand fight," Logsdon said, "so it was hard to get control."

Boehm had a rubber match with Ray-Pec's Andrew Mueller, and after the way the first two matches went, many were expecting another tight battle.

Well, it was that way for about a period and half until Mueller got a takedown and put Boehm on his back for the pin, putting a sudden end to the match.

Lee's Summit's Josh Howard was the other local wrestler remaining at 171. He lost a heartbreaker to Winnetonka's Dan Capp. Howard held a 4-3 lead until Capp took one last shot at the end and got a takedown as time expired for the 5-4 win. Howard still had a fantastic tournament, coming one match from the finals.

For everyone but Boehm, even if they didn't finish with wins, it had to be a great way to finish their careers, medaling at state.

"To know I placed was the coolest feeling," Logsdon said of how he felt after guaranteeing himself a medal.

Said Case, "It definitely feels good to medal and to win my last match is even better. It nice to end on a good note."

And after four years of training and keeping his body in tip-top shape, Logsdon knows what he's doing tonight.

"I'm going to have a huge steak dinner," he said with a smile.

They've all definitely earned it.

Thanks to everyone who followed along and make sure to check back later for a few more comments from the wrestlers. Also, check Wednesday's Journal for a full story and photos.

Day one comes to a close

Day one complete

It's been an eventful day of wrestling here in Columbia at the state championships and after a little more than eight hours, day one has finally come to a close.

Two more wrestlers have punched their ticket into the top six and all state status, as West's Jake Logsdon picked up a pin at 152, while Lee's Summit's Dylan Case had a flair for the dramatic with a 3-1 overtime decision to advance.

Logsdon was in control of his match all the way before finally getting the pin in the second period and guaranteeing he'll place his senior season. Same goes for Case, who got a takedown with 12 seconds left in overtime for the win.

Logsdon and Case both showed some emotion after their wins. It was pretty obvious this meant a lot with it being their senior seasons.

The other two semifinal matches didn't go area wrestlers way either, as along with Couerier, teammate Josh Howard and West's Evan Boehm went down and will have to hope for third.

Howard hung tough early with second-ranked Andrew Early of Lafayette. He nearly got an escape in the second period to make it 2-1 but couldn't get away. Early went ahead 4-0 going into the third period and took control in the third for a 10-2 win.

Boehm was in a nip and tuck match with Blue Springs' Billy Everett. He got the first takedown but Everett immediately responded with a reversal to tie it at two. Everett would get an escape in the second period and was able to avoid a Boehm takedown in the third for a 3-2 decision.

Lee's Summit's Justin Bruce and Steven Kingsolver each suffered tough defeats to see their season come to an end. Bruce was in a scoreless match before getting put on his back and pinned in the second, while Kingsolver scored a takedown with less than 10 seconds in the match to tie the score at 5-all, but Lindbergh's Marcus Higginbottom scored two points at the buzzer for the 7-5 win.

Tiger head coach Don Graham didn't seem to agree with the two-point call that cost Kingsolver. It was clearly a bang-bang move with time expiring.

That leaves five area wrestlers as all state performers who will now look to place as high as third: Courier at 130, Logsdon at 152, Howard at 171, Case at 215 and Boehm at 285.

It should be another exciting day of wrestling tomorrow. Action gets started at 10 a.m., so make sure to check here to see how those five wrestlers finish their seasons!

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Two Lee's Summit wrestlers have gone into action during the final session of day one at the state wrestling tournament.

Jesse Morris was up first at 125, squaring off against Willie Essex of McLuer North. After a scoreless first period, Essex got a takedown, followed by a reversal from Morris to knot the score at 2-all going into the final period. With the score now tied at 4, Essex picked up another takedown with at 25 seconds left in the match, sealing the win.

Tough way for Morris to finish the season. He ran out of dramatic wins but he had a graet season. That's two straight seasons he's qualified for state, and by coming one match short of all state this season, his final two years are looking pretty good.

Spencer Courier wrestled his semifinal match aaginst undefeated Terrel Wilbourn, who showed by he was undefeated with a 12-4 win. It was only 2-0 after the first period but Wilbourn took control in the second to go ahead 8-2. Courier is an amazing wrestler, which gives you an idea of how good Wilbourn is. He should cruise to the title tomorrow, while Courier will hope for a third-place finish.

Plenty more Lee's Summit area wrestlers are in action soon, so check back to see how day one finishes!

STATE WRESTLING UPDATE

Second round wrestlebacks

The second round wrestlebacks were a little kinder to area wrestlers, as several kept their seasons alive but not all were so lucky.

Jesse Morris was the first area wrestlers in the wrestlebacks and he had the most drama in his match. He led 5-4 to start the third, only to get five straight points scored on him to start the third period and get behind 9-5. After he was awarded a stall point, Morris made the most of his new-found life with an escape and takedown as time expired to send the match into overtime.

In overtime Morris didn't waste any time, scoring a quick takedown for the 11-9 win.

Also moving on was West's Jake Logsdon with a dominating 15-0 win, as well as Justin Bruce of Lee's Summnit with a 9-1 major decision. Bruce's teammates, Steven Kingsolver and Dylan Case, each picked up wins as well to keep their seasons going, Kingsolver by pin and Case by a 5-1 decision.

Lee's Summit North didn't have as much success with Nathan Warman, Drake Duckworth and Brian Snyder all seeing their seasons come to an end. Warman and Duckworth were both in close matches before getting pinned.

Semifinal matches and third round wrestlebacks are set to get underway around 6 p.m. All wrestlers in semifinal matches are already all state, while winners of third round wrestleback matches earned all state status with a win.

Here are wrestlers in semifinal matches:

130 - Spencer Courier vs. Terrel Wilbourn (Francis Howell Central) - The two faced off earlier in the season with Wilbourn - who's undefeated and ranked No. 1 - picking up a 3-2 decision. This shold be another classic with Courier wanting to get to the finals with this being his senior season.
171 - Josh Howard vs. Andrew Early (Lafayette)- Early is second-ranked so all the pressure is on him. Howard already has upset sixth-ranked Derick Sanders in the first round and kept that momentum going into the quarters.
285 - Evan Boehm vs. Billy Everett (Blue Springs) - This should be a dandy, with the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked wrestlers at heavyweight, respectively. It's hard to say who has the upper hand going into this one, so it should be good. A win probably puts Boehm in the finals against Ray-Pec's Andrew Mueller. Hopefully, he won't look ahead.

Wrestlers in wrestlebacks:

Lee's Summit - Jesse Morris, Justin Bruce, Steven Kingsolver and Dylan Case
Lee's Summit West - Jake Logsdon

These are big matches for all wrestlers, including Bruce, Case and Logsdon who are all seniors. Nothing would be sweeter for them then to finish their careers as all-state wrestlers.

More on the way after the upcoming round!

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QUARTERFINAL UPDATE

The quarterfinals have just wrapped up here at Mizzou Arena.

Area wrestlers finished the quarterfinal round 3-6, with Lee's Summit's Spencer Courier and Josh Howard, along with West's Evan Boehm advancing to the semifinals.

Howard got up early on SLUH's Peter Everson with some takedowns and took a 9-5 lead and was able to hang on for a 9-7 decision.

Boehm squared off against Parkway South's Donnell Walker of Parkway South, the eighth-ranked wrestler at 285 and earned a pin in the second period. He took a 2-0 lead with a takedown in the first period and after an escape and another takedown in the second, got Walker on his back for the pin.

Wrestlers that dropped to the second-round wrestlebacks, which are currently taking place, were Drake Duckworth (145) of North, Jake Logsdon (152) of West, Justin Bruce (160) of Lee's Summit, Steven Kingsolver (189) of Lee's Summit, Brian Snyder (189) of North and Dylan Case (215) of Lee's Summit.

Duckworth had his hands full with fourth-ranked Espen Conley of SLUH and lost by a tech fall. Logsdon was forced to face top-ranked Brandon Wilbourn and after hanging tough in the first period, lost by fall in the second.

Bruce lost the biggest heartbreaker of the quarters for area wrestlers, losing 2-1 to third-ranked Andrew Buffa of Francis Howell Central. Down 2-0 in the third, Bruce was able to get an escape but never could get the go-ahead takedown.

Kingsolver and Snyder were both in tight matches in the second period before getting put on their backs and pinned, while Case got as close as 6-3 with a takedown in the third against fourth-ranked Andrew Lazalier of Holt before Lazalier clinched the match with another takedown for an 8-3 decision.

All six wrestlers, along with Lee's Summit's Jesse Morris and North's Nathan Warman, will be in action shortly to keep their seasons alive.

Check back soon to see how they did and who's moving on!

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Stephen Bubalo coming to you live from the state wrestling tournament in Columbia!

The quarterfinals and second round wrestlebacks just got started about a half hour ago.

The one early result I have in is Lee's Summit's Spencer Courier advanced to the semifinals with a first-round pin over Jacob Cyr of Waynesville, the fourth-ranked wrestler in the state.

Keep it here for more updates soon!

Tigers fall short against Panthers

Lee's Summit did its best to knock off second-ranked Ray-Pec Tuesday night but came up short, falling 48-46. The Panthers got a bucket with 5 seconds to play to stay undefeated in conference action.

The second half was a fun 16 minutes of basketball.

You have to credit Lee's Summit for getting back in the game. They lost to the Panthers by 33 points earlier in the season and they could have thought the game was getting away from them, but they came out with a lot more intensity in the second half.

A lot of that can be contributed to their defense. After forcing the Panthers into just four turnovers the entire first half, the Tigers picked up the defensive pressure and Ray-Pec turned it over six times in the third quarter alone.

WIth that defensive pressure came success on the offensive end as they were able to find a bit of a rhythm. Head coach Keith Miller spread the floor in the second half and the Tigers were much more aggressive.

Miller knows if his team is to be successful in district play, they're going to have to play defense.

"That's how we score," he said after the game. "When our defense creates offense that's when we play our best."

You could just tell the team was more into the game and had a little bit of a bounce in their step in the second half.

The fourth quarter came down to who would get the most our of their possessions and who would make the big plays down the stretch, and while both teams did, the Panthers just made a few more plays including a pair of important offensive rebounds that led to four points.

In the end, little things like offensive rebounds and valuing the ball are key.

"A play here and a play there, those things get magnified in games like these," Miller said.

Still, the Tigers proved that when they play well and compete they have the chance to beat anybody. They just would have liked to pick up one more win Tuesday night. Losing by two instead of 33 is still a loss to them.

"I don't like losing," senior Sean Green said.

If the Tigers play well enough they'll get another shot at the Panthers in the state sectional, but there's still a lot of basketball to go.

It's a final

Once again, the one-loss Panthers make the plays at the end, coming up with a 48-46 win.

Panther senior Josh Stockman drove baseline and kissed it off the glass with about 5 seconds to play for the game-winning bucket. Sean Green got a last-ditch three-pointer off only to see it bounce off the backboard, hit the rim and charom away.

The loss drops the Tigers to 15-9 on the season.

Come back later for more analysis on the game.

Lee's Summit vs Ray-Pec Update

LATE FOURTH

We're tied at 46 with 9.8 seconds to play!

After the Panthers missed a pair of free throws, Sean Green drove to the basket and dished to a cutting Skylar Arbuckle for an off-balance layup to tie the game.

It's Panther ball. You would imagine they would pound it down low.

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Ray-Pec holds a 46-44 lead with 54.1 seconds to play and it's Tiger ball.

Tiger senior Sean Green has done a good job of penetrating to the basket all game, so we'll see if Coach Miller draws up a drive and kick possibility.

THIRD QUARTER

Ray-Pec 38, Lee's Summit 37

The Tigers picked up the defensive pressure, forcing six turnovers, and started to create some better shots on offense.

While they hit three three-pointers, they also got to the rim and scored five layups. And a few of their threes were opened up by drives to the basket.

The biggest difference in the third, though, was the defense. The Tigers got back on defense and stopped transition and didn't allow nearly as many easy buckets. The Panthers are having to work more for their points now.

This sets up what should be an exciting fourth quarter, as the Tigers look to hand the Panthers their first conference loss.

We've got ourselves a ballgame with one quarter to play!

HALFTIME

Ray-Pec 27, Lee's Summit 18

The Tigers got as close as 21-18 but a 6-0 spurt to end the half puts the Panthers up nine at the break.

There's still nothing fancy to what the Panthers are doing, but they're doing it with defense and an efficient offense. They were 5 of 11 in the quarter with all five field goals coming on layups.

They can play in the half court or they can push the ball. Their final two field goals off Tiger misses where they pushed the ball in transition and got easy layups. That's one of the main differences at this point in the game; the Panthers are getting some easy buckets, while the Tigers are having to work for everything they get on the offensive end.

The Tigers need to start being a little more aggressive, but do it under control and pick their spots. Ray-Pec has shot 13 free throws compared to just one for Lee's Summit.

We'll see how the Tigers adjust in the second half. Maybe they'll throw a zone at the Panthers, force them to hit some jumpers, or just pick up the intensity a little bit with some pressure. Check back soon for further updates!

First quarter

Lee's Summit started the game with five seniors on the floor for Senior Night, three of which are seldom used, and hung with the Panthers for the first six minutes of the game. When the Tigers finally subbed, it was an 8-all game.

But the Panthers went on a 7-0 run those last two minutes for a 15-8 first quarter lead.

It's typical Panther basketball. It's not pretty, as they're shooting just 4 of 15 from the field, but they haven't commiitted a turnover, they went to the line 10 times - making seven - and they're playing good defense.

The Panther post players hit the boards hard as well.

The Tigers will need to be a little more patient on offense and limit the Panthers to just one shot. We'll see how they adjust.

Final district wrestling results

It was a successful - for the most part - district wrestling tournament for area teams over the weekend.

A total of 15 wrestlers are heading to state after placing in the top four at districts. A pair of wrestlers - Lee's Summit Justin Bruce at 160 and Lee's Summit West's Evan Boehm at heavyweight - finished in first place.

Bruce defeated Rockhurst's Chandler Smith by a 7-3 decision in the finals, while Boehm avenged a loss to Ray-Pec's Andrew Mueller in last weekend's LSW Tournament in an epic 3-2 four overtime win. Boehm handed Mueller his first loss of the season with an escape for the dramatic win.

Placing second was Lee's Summit's Spencer Courier (130) and Dylan Case (215), while Lee's Summit North's Brian Snyder (189) also tok second.

Here are the third-place finishers: Lee's Summit - Jesse Morris (125), John Williams (135), Josh Howard (171) and Steven Kingsolver (189)
Lee's Summit West - Jake Logsdon (152)
Lee's Summit North - Drake Duckworth (145)

Fourth places: Lee's Summit - Josh Aguilar (145)
Lee's Summit West - Ben Poeschl (171) and Tyler Dennis (215)
Lee's Summit North - Nathan Warman (152)

I'll be back on the blog Tuesday night with live updates and analysis from the Lee's Summit-Ray-Pec boys basketball game, as the Tigers try to defeat the one-loss Panthers.

All or nothing

5:30 p.m. UPDATE

The state qualifiers are officially set and the consolation semis were a little more kind to area wrestlers.

OF the 18 area wrestlers in consolation semifinal matches, 10 came away victorious and are headed to the state tournament in Columbia next weekend.

Winners were Lee's Summit's Jesse Morris at 125 picking up a pin; Tiger John Williams pinned West's Andrew Niehaus at 135; Tiger sophomore Josh Aguilar won by at pin at 145; Bronco Drake Duckworth won by tech fall at 152; Titan Jake Logsdon won by major decision over Lee's Summit's Chris Lattner at 160; Bronco Nathan Warman at 152 and Tiger Josh Howard at 171 both won by pin; Ben Poeschl was a victor for West at 171 by major decision; Tiger Steven Kingsolver pulled out a 2-1 win and Titan senior Tyler Dennis won by pin at 215.

Morris and Kingsolver had the two most exciting matches of the round. Morris picked up a pin with just 30 seconds left in the match up 5-3, while Kingsolver got a takedown late in the third period down 1-0 and was able to hold his opponent off for the win.

The wins were extra special for Aguilar, Warman, Kingsolver and Dennis who all qualified for the first time.

Aguilar said the feeling was "indescribable" about going to state for the first time, while Dennis said he's "never felt this good in life." For Warman, who's in his first full season as a senior with any major injuries, said he felt "greatful" to qualify after seeing injuries ruin previous seasons.

Here's how the qualifying breaks down from each school:

Lee's Summit (8) - Jesse Morris, Spencer Courier, John Williams, Josh Aguilar, Justain Bruce, Josh Howard, Steven Kingsolver and Dylan Case.
Lee's Summit West (4) - Jake Logsdon, Ben Poeschl, Tyler Dennis and Evan Boehm
Lee's Summit North (3) - Drake Duckworth, Nathan Warman and Brian Snyder

That's all for today. Thanks for checking in and look for final places tomorrow, along with a story and photos in Wednesday's Lee's Summit Journal!

3:00 p.m. UPDATE

We've come to the most important round in district wrestling, the consolation semifinals. Winners earn a berth to state, losers go home.

From the last part of the previous round, things were much better for area teams.

Lee's Summit John Williams, Alex Swart, Josh Aguilar, Chris Lattner and Sean Williams all picked up wins in the wrestleback rounds to keep their state hopes alive.

From Lee's Summit West, Tyler Dennis won at 215 with a pin to move on as well.

Two more wrestlers qualified for state, with Lee's Summit North's Brian Snyder defeating Lee's Summit's Steven Kingsolver 5-2. West's Evan Boehm won by forfeit to earn a spot in the finals.

Tiger senior Dylan Case picked up a hard-fought win at 215 in the semis, a 3-2 decision over Charles Hucke of Liberty, to make the finals as well.

Lee's Summit's Josh Howard lost in the semis at 171, sliding him down into the consolation semis for his shot at a state berth.

This will be the most exciting round of matches where the wrestlers hard work over the season will have to come through. It's all or nothing time. Win or go home. I'll have full results of the consolation semis once the round is over!

District Wrestling Update

The semis and third round wrestlebacks haven't been particularly kind to area wrestlers thus far.

We're currently at the 160 semis and 135 wrestlebacks.

Moving on at this point is Gunnar Duckworth from LSN, advancing to the consolation semis and a shot at state. Also winning his third round wrestleback match was Will Thomas from LSN.

Thomas had one of the more exciting matches, getting a takedown at the buzzer for an 8-7 to keep his season and state hopes alive.

Lee's Summit's Spencer Courier punched his ticket to state with a hard-fought 9-5 decision over A.J. Gassman of Rockhurst, who came in with just one loss.

Justin Bruce just punched his ticket to state as well with a tech fall win at 160 pounds, advancing to the finals.

Also keeping their season alive was West's Matt Lemanowicz at 130 and Lee's Summit's John Williams at 135. They are now one match from state.

A few wrestlers lost semifinal matches, placing themselves in the consolation semis next round for a chance at state.

Jesse Morris at 125 lost a tough 6-2 match, while both Chad Homand and Andrew Niehaus fell at 135 to drop to the consolation semis, needing a win there to advance to state. Also losing in the semis was Jordan Knox at 140, Drake Duckworth at 145, Jake Logsdon at 152 who was up 5-1 before getting put on his back and pinned, and Nathan Warman at 152 as well. Josh Howard just fell at 171 in the semis as well.

Lee's Summit Alex Swartz just earned a pin at 140 to advance to the consolation semifinals.

Just like at last weekends LSW Tournament, West's Ben Poeschl and Winnetonka's Dan Capp are in overtime in the semifinals. This match has actually just reached triple overtime and ... Capp just earned an escape for the 2-1 win. Tough loss for Poeschl but he'll still have a chance at state in the next round.

Check back soon for full results of the current round!