Sabetha BoysAt a Glance...Of the 16 teams in this invitational, Sabetha’s boys can truly lay claim to starting full practice the latest. Thanks to a 7-6 Class 3-A football championship win over Marysville on Nov. 25 in which five of the BlueJays’ top seven basketball players were on the grid roster, Coach Scott Burger has been playing catch-up. Says Burger, in his 16th season as boys’ head coach: “We had a late start due to football, so hope-fully we will get better with practice time.” From last year’s 13-10 squad, the BlueJays return starters Brett Stallbaumer, averaging 10 points and 2 assists, and Kyle Grimm, 8 ppg and 8 rebounds. Burger points to his “two starters and some young players,” with the youth represented by five key juniors: Jesse Burger, 6 ppg, 7 rpg, 2 apg; Joe Gruber, 5 ppg, 2 apg; Braedon Cox, 4 ppg; David Dyke, 4 ppg, 3 rpg; and Ryan Stapleton, 4 ppg, 3 apg. Graduated starters from last year’s squad that finished third in the Big 7 League at 9-6 and came within one game of advancing to the state tournament for a third straight time are Eric Renyer, Christian Meyer, and Keegan Cox. An all-Big 7 pick, Renyer, who now plays foot-ball at Atchison’s Benedictine College, scored 47 points here last year en route to an all-tourney team selection. Meyer was an all-Big 7 honorable mention pick. During this season’s Big 7 race, Burger predicts Seneca-Nemaha Central, second-ranked in Class 3-A, as the favorite, followed by Perry-Lecompton, No. 6 in 3-A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Association. Arch-rival Nemaha Central could also stand in the way of Sabetha returning to the state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena; both are assigned to the Horton sub-state, as is Atchison’s Maur Hill-Mount Academy, whichis also receiving 3-A state notice.

Sabetha GirlsAt a Glance...Practices might be quite interesting for Sabetha’s Lady Blue-Jays. Says Alex McAfee, 16th year head coach, about his team: “We have a lot of minutes and positions up for grabs, so it will be exciting to come to practice every day to see who competes to earn her playing time. We will have very competitive competition daily that will make our team stron-ger.” McAfee’s returning starters from last season’s 11-11 squad are Hill-ary Krebs and Skylar McAfee. Krebs, an all-tournament team pick here last year with eight treys among her 32 points, was an all-Big 7 honorable mention performer last year averaging 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. McAfee averaged 4 ppg, 3 rpg, and 1 apg. Other key players who will be bat-tling in practice for court time are Maggi Hughes, Jessica Payne, Kinley Schuette, and Morgan Schuette. Graduated starters from last year’s Big 7 fifth-place 8-8 finish are Lauren Huber, 5 ppg, 5 rpg, 1 apg; Grace Kuenzi, 6.3 ppg, 7 rpg; and Ellie Meyer, 3 ppg, 3.6 rpg. Huber was an all-league hon-orable mention choice. Also graduated is Emily Meyer, an all-tournament selection here as a sophomore and junior who missed last year’s tour-nament because of a knee injury. Meyer now plays both volleyball and basketball--averaging 5.5 ppg in two games--at Peru (Neb.) State College. McAfee says that the top half of this year’s Big 7 League race “will be very good with top teams all returning with a lot of experience and talent. We will need to play our best every night to compete for the top half of the Big 7.” Among those top teams are Seneca-Nemaha Central, third-ranked in 3-A; Holton, No. 2 in Class 4-A, Division II by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Association; and Meriden-Jeff West, KBCA’s No. 6 in 4A-II. Arch-rival Nemaha Central will prove, too, to be a major roadblock at the Horton sub-state for the Lady BlueJays to advance to the 3-A state tournament.

Paola BoysAt a Glance...For all but the inaugural tournament in the 25 years of this silver anniversary Burlington Invitational, Dave Cash has been a fixture on the Paola boys’ bench, the last 22 of them as head coach. Yet, despite Coach Cash’s outlook of his team’s inexperience--”we are returning only a couple of guys that played last year”--the Panthers won four of five prior to the Christmas break. After barely losing in the first round of the Eudora Tournament to Independence, Mo., Tru-man High, 57-55, Paola claimed fifth-place with wins over Wellsville, 55-45, and Kansas City J.C. Harmon, 49-35. Prior to the break, the Pan-thers won a 45-39 Frontier League game at Spring Hill, a squad Cash ranks along with Ottawa--No. 3 in Class 4-A, Division I by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Association--as league favorites. About his team, Cash said, “We are working at finding our roles as a group--good kids that work hard.” The Panthers’ returning starter is Brandon Wilkes, a second-team all-Frontier League selection last year with averages of 10 points and five rebounds per game. Graduated from last year’s 9-12 squad, including a 7-5 third-place league finish, are Noah Bell, Tanner Moala, Andrew Phillips, Dalton Rankin, and Matt Wilson. When Paola hosts a 4A-I sub-state in March, Ottawa and Spring Hill will again prove roadblocks to the Panthers advancing to the state tournament at Salina’s Tony’s Pizza Events Center.

Paola GirlsAt a Glance...Maybe unfairly, Paola’s girls are feeling pressure. After winning five straight Frontier League championships, including last year’s 11-1 finish, and appearing at five consecutive Class 4-A, Division I state tournaments, Stu Ross’ current Lady Panther edition returns only one starter and two other key players from last year’s 18-5 team. Says Ross: “We have a very inexperienced team that has a lot of pres-sure to uphold the past years’ standard of play. It will take some time to learn how to uphold those expectations.” It doesn’t help that a freshman starter here last year, Brayden Hanf, is out for the season with a knee in-jury. What does help is that the one returning starter, Skyler Williams, made her mark here last year with 31 points and a team-leading five treys. Along with Ady Edwards and Trinity McDow, Williams’ efforts gave the Lady Panthers a third-place finish in their own December in-vitational, wins of 63-17 over Kansas City’s Bishop Ward and 59-26 over Harrisonville, Mo., sandwiched around a semifinal loss to Wellsville, 65-59, Graduated starters from their runners-up team here last year are Matti Morgan, Chandler Karr, and Rheanna Leckner. Morgan, all-class as well as both a Greater Kansas City Basketball Coaches’ Association and Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Association all-star, scored the divi-sion’s second-best 52 points here last year. A two-time all-tourney pick here, Morgan now plays at Avila University, Kansas City, Mo., where she has started every game in averaging 13.3 points--including a team-leading 17 treys--5.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and a team-leading 13 steals. Karr, also a two-time all-invite selection, plays volleyball for Chanute’s Neosho County Community College, while Leckner was an all-tourna-ment pick last year. Ross expects Baldwin, topranked in Class 4-A, Divi-sion II, and Spring Hill, No. 9 in 4A-I by the KBCA, as the favorites to end Paola’s league-title string. Prior to the Christmas break, Paola lost by 18 at home to Baldwin and by five at Spring Hill, who will also be the primary challenger at the Paola sub-state to stop the Lady Panthers’ state tournament streak. DeSoto, another Frontier League member, is receiving state notice in Class 5-A. In last year’s state appearance, Paola lost in the quarterfinals to McPherson, 60-54.

Rock Creek BoysAt a Glance...Rock Creek has made the title game in each of its first three appearances in this invitational, winning both in 2015 and last year over Independence, 64-51. The return of two first-team all-Mid East League players, both named to last year’s alltournament team, doesn’t hurt the Mustangs’ chances for a fourth straight. Martin Vogts, a first-team all-state pick who was also the division’s most valuable player here last year, shared a division-high 63 points during the three-game run, and Carson Zenger added 33, including seven three-pointers, four in the championship game. Both with three years of varsity experience, Vogts averaged 23 points and seven rebounds during last year’s 18-5 campaign, while Zenger averages 13.5 ppg and 9 rpg. Jim Johnston, in his 15th year as Rock Creek head coach, will also look for key contributions this year from Skyler White, 11 ppg and 4 rpg, and Austin DeWeese, 9 ppg and 3 rpg. Says Johnston: “Our rotation can go 9-10 deep this year as we have had some kids continue to improve and step in to fill roles. We are an experienced group as the seniors have been playing together since the seventh grade.” Even so, Johnston notes the graduation of five seniors, including starters Avery Ebert, 4 ppg; Walker Suther, 3 ppg and 4 rpg; and Cooper Schlochtermeier, 8 ppg, 3 assists, a first-team all-Mid-East League choice. Ranked third in Class 4-A, Division II, Rock Creek will look to defend its 7-3 Mid-East League crown, with challenges expected from Silver Lake, fourth-ranked in Class 3-A, and St. Marys, ranked No. 8 in 3-A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Association. The Mustangs will attempt to go 5-for-5 in 4A-II state tournament appearances before the class dissolves at the end of the school year when they appear at the Holton sub-state in March, where they may need to fight past fourth-ranked Marysville, KBCA’s No.7. Says Johnston about last season’s state appearance at Emporia’s W. L. White Auditorium and 75-51 quarterfi-nal loss to Topeka-Hayden: “It was a great experience for our returning players last year, and they are using the way last year ended as motiva-tion and have their sights set high this year.”

Rock Creek GirlsAt a Glance...Rock Creek’s girls will be hoping for at least a repeat per-formance of their week here last year. In their 5-16 season a year ago, two of those wins came during their three games here--30-18 over Iola in the consolation semifinals and 51-32 over Sabetha in the fifth-place game. Only Jayden Weers, an all-league honorable mention choice, graduated from that squad that finished sixth in the Mid-East League with a 1-9 mark. Adam Plummer, third-year head coach, had expected the return of his other four starters, but Demi Kunkel is out for medi-cal reasons. Thus, Plummer will rely on the experience of juniors Allie Jensen and Laney Scott and sophomore Tabitha Vetter. One certainty for the Lady Mustangs this week is that, if they face any of the rated girls’ teams (third-ranked Labette County in Class 4-A, Division I or fourth-ranked Burlington in Class 4-A, Division II), they will already be battle-tested. Their opening three nonleague contests were against Clay Center, No. 4 in 4A-II by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Associa-tion; Abilene, KBCA’s No. 6 in 4A-I; and Council Grove, KBCA’s No. 4 in 3-A. Their next four games against Mid-East League opponents includ-ed St. Marys, receiving state notice in 3-A; Alma-Wabaunsee, KBCA’s No. 3 in Class 2-A whom Plummer says is “a clear favorite to repeat and possibly win the state championship”; and Riley County and Ross-ville, both receiving state media kudos in 3-A. Rock Creek will also experience more of the same in their 4A-II sub-state in March where the other three assignees are host Holton and Marysville, KBCA’s Nos. 2 and 5 respectively, along with Clay Center.

Prairie View BoysAt a Glance...Overcoming a size disadvantage and learning a new sys-tem will be puzzles to solve for first-year Prairie View boys’ coach A. C. Russell and his Buffalos. Says Russell: “Because we are somewhat undersized, we will need to be tough on defense and limit our oppo-nents to one shot per possession as much as possible.” Russell does have returning starters in Blake Boedicker and Dayton Snyder from last year’s edition that finished 9-12. Boedicker averaged 20 points pri-or to the Christmas break, including hitting 36 in a season-opening 74-52 loss to Burlington. As a sophomore last year, Boedicker’s numbers were 13.5 ppg, 6.1 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 1.3 assists. Snyder averaged 1.4 rpg. Another starter from last year, sophomore Justin Scott, will miss his second straight Burlington tournament because of injury. As a freshman, Scott averaged 7.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2 apg, and 1.4 spg. Russell will also look for contributions from Levi Alcorn, 1.3 ppg and 1.5 rpg; Brycen Gregg; Riley Rhynerson; Garrett Scott; and Mason Walker. When Prairie View claimed the three-school December Linn County Tournament with wins of 47-45 over Pleasanton and 45-35 over host Jayhawk-Linn, Walker averaged nine points off the bench. Says Rus-sell: “Starting a new program and philosophy will bring with it some growing pains. The seniors are working hard to make sure that we are beginning the foundation of success.” Another transition from last year’s 6-6 fourth-place finisher in the Pioneer League is the graduation of Justin Peine, 10.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.2 spg; Trevor Hoover, 4.7 ppg, 2.8 apg, 2.8 spg, 1.9 rpg; Drew Spears, 3.3 ppg, 1.3 apg; and Brandon Moore 1.5 ppg. An all-tourney pick here last year, Peine now is a member of the football team at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls. Says Russell about his team’s league campaign: “If we can hit our shots in the 45-55 percent range and stay competitive in the battle of the boards, we should be able to make some noise in the Pioneer League.” The Buf-falos can expect loop challenges from the likes of Burlington, ranked No. 8 in Class 4-A, Division II by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Asso-ciation. When the Buffalos go to the 4A-II Frontenac sub-state in search of their first-ever state tournament appearance, a major obstacle may be Girard, KBCA’s No. 9.

Prairie View GirlsAt a Glance...With two juniors and a sophomore returning as start-ers for Prairie View’s girls, Brianna Haupt, second-year head coach, admits that her Lady Buffalos are “still a very young team.” Juniors Grace Aust and Kenna Walker and sophomore Ashlyn Kirkpatrick will be key players for Prairie View to improve on last season’s 1-20 record, including a 1-11 mark in the Pioneer League. Haupt noted her current varsity roster of “only five upperclassmen,” which includes seniors Hayley Brown and Becky Kerr and junior Molly Loomis in ad-dition to Aust and Walker. In addition to Kirkpatrick, Haupt will look for contributions from sophomores Kaitlynn Davis, Liza Heide, and Abby Kellerman and freshman Lindsey Boedicker. During their Pio-neer League campaign, Prairie View will battle the likes of Burlington, fourth-ranked in Class 4-A, Division II; Santa Fe Trail, No. 10 in Class 4-A, Division II by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Association; and Wellsville, garnering state media notice in Class 3-A. At Prairie View’s 4A-II Frontenac sub-state in March, the favorite will probably be sec-ond-ranked Girard. For the Lady Buffalos, graduated starters from last year’s squad are Madison Kemper and Ally Kirkpatrick. Kemper left her mark on Prairie View athletics by being a member of four straight 4A-II state softball tournament qualifiers. During the Lady Buffalos’ fourth-place state finish last spring at Emporia, Kemper was the win-ning pitcher in an 8-5 quarterfinal win over Burlington and compiled a 2.33 earned-run-average with seven strikeouts over nine innings dur-ing the three games. Current Lady Buffalo basketball players also a part of that softball run are Aust, Walker, and Kirkpatrick, who hom-ered in a 5-3 semifinal loss to Haven.

Labette County BoysAt a Glance...Returning three starters, including two all-tourney team picks from here last year, has Brad Smith, 24-year Labette County head coach, anticipating a “very special” campaign this year. Javon “Magic” Reliford and Tanner Russell will be joined by 6’7” Easton Dean, all three all-Southeast Kansas League-level performers during the Grizzlies’ 11-12 season, including 5-7 in the league and their first state tournament appearance in 11 seasons. Reliford averaged 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.1 steals. Reliford here last year shared a division-high 63 points, including seven treys. Russell--11.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2 apg--had 35 here last year, including six treys. Dean had 9.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 blocks, and 1 spg. Others pushing for start-ing positions, says Smith, will be part-time starter Skylar Gatewood, 3 ppg, 3.5 rpg; Alex Nibarger, 1.4 rpg, 1.2 apg; and Joshua Walters. Smith will also anticipate key contributions from Ethan Jameson, Clayton Moore, Nathan Smith, Riley Sorrell, and KeShaun Anderson, a senior transfer from Parsons whom Smith says will add “plenty of quickness” to his “seasoned team.” Says Smith about his team, fourth-ranked in Class 4-A, Division I: “Depending on injuries and the amount of dis-tractions, the Grizzlies could push anyone in 4A. We will have respect from everyone on our schedule and will be expected to be a team to be reckoned with. Nothing will be easy, and I know we will be up to the challenge.” Smith cites overall team experience and athletic abil-ity, along with guard play, perimeter shooting, and a 6’7” post inside as team strengths, while he notes overall lack of team size as a weak-ness. To claim their first SEK championship in nine seasons, Labette County sees Pittsburg, ranked No. 7 in Class 5-A by the Kansas Basket-ball Coaches’ Association, and Independence as top challenges. Inde-pendence may also stand in the way of a second consecutive Labette County trip to the state tournament as both are assigned to the Fort Scott 4A-I sub-state. Smith says his team’s overall tough schedule last season “proved to be very beneficial as the team peaked at the right time. The schedule this year will be just as tough.” At last year’s state tournament, the Grizzlies lost in the quarterfinal round to McPher-son, 65-47. Clinton Witty has been a fixture on the Labette County boys’ bench during all 25 years of this silver anniversary tournament, serv-ing as head coach at the inaugural invitational in 1994 and as Smith’s top assistant the remaining 24 years.

Labette County GirlsAt a Glance...Before this week, the last time Labette County’s Tristan Gegg stepped on this tournament’s floor, she scored an invite single-game record of 43 points, including seven treys, in last year’s 63-53 championship over Paola. Now the three-time alltourney pick and two-time most valuable player returns with her Lady Grizzlies in an attempt to claim a record eighth Burlington girls’ title. Not only Gegg but two other starters return for Kristi Snider, a fixture on the Labette County girls’ bench for all 25 years of this silver anniversary tourna-ment, the last 22 as head coach. Says Snider about her team’s makeup: “This is a more experienced team than last with three returning start-ers and two others that saw a considerable amount of time.” Aubrie Sorrell, another all-invite selection last year, averaged 9.2 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.2 assists. Also returning is Katelyn Helwig, 2.1 ppg, 2.1 apg, 1.3 rpg, 1 spg, to complement Gegg’s 26.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, and 3.2 spg. The two returning nonstarters who saw ample time during last year’s 18-5 campaign are Justice Brackney, 2.1 ppg, 2.3 rpg, and Payton Smith, 1.2 ppg, 1.1 apg. Snider also sees Halle Bevans as a key contributor this season. Starters graduated from last year’s 9-3 Southeast Kansas League runners-up are Gwyn Dean and Reid Hentzen, both all-tourney choices here last year. Though Snider cites team unity as a weakness until “everyone understands their role on the team,” she has high expectations for her squad, third-ranked in Class 4-A, Division I: “With our depth and quickness, we will be very versatile offensively and defensively. We hope to take up where we left off from last season. We expect a lot of good things from this group if they continue to develop.” In order for the Lady Grizzlies to regain their SEK title, Snider picks Independence and Pittsburg--last year’s champion--at the top of the SEK. Another SEK opponent, Parsons, is re-ceiving state media kudos in Class 4-A, Division II. Fellow Burlington invitee Independence could also stand in the way of Labette County returning to the 4A-I state tournament for a fourth straight year if they meet at the Fort Scott sub-state. At last year’s state tournament, Labette County lost a quarterfinal match to Towanda-Circle, 66-52. Record-keepers this week might keep an eye on Gegg, who has signed to play basketball at Pittsburg State University. Her 96 points here last year, including 13 treys, gives her 225 points and 36 treys here over three tourneys, both already all-time tops for this tournament.

Iola BoysAt a Glance...Though no stranger to the Iola boys’ basketball bench, Luke Bycroft this year assumes the head coaching position for the Mustangs. He inherits two starters, Ethan Holloway and Evan Sigg, from last year’s 12-9 squad. At 6’7”, Holloway was a first team all-Pioneer League and honor-able mention all-state selection last season, including 34 points in Iola’s third-place finish here. Last month, the Mustangs won the Ike Cearfoss Memorial Tournament, winning 64-27 over host Central Heights, 60-43 over Osawatomie, and 67-53 over Santa Fe Trail. Says Bycroft about his team’s strengths: “Our posts return from a strong season last year. Our guard play is talented but inexperienced.” Graduated from last year’s team are guards Isaiah Fawson and Ben Cooper. Fawson, a two-time all-tour-nament team pick here, scored 56, third-best in last year’s boys’ division, including eight three-pointers. Cooper, an all-invitational team selection last year, had 40 points, including seven treys. The duo were a part of last season’s 7-5 third-place Pioneer League finish, and Bycroft expects his current quintet to be in the thick of this year’s race. “We should have a chance to compete with the best teams in the league this year,” says By-croft. Among those ‘best teams’ is Burlington, No. 8 in Class 4-A, Division II by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Association. At their 4A-II sub-state at Frontenac, a big challenge may come from Girard, KBCA’s No. 9. Prior to the Christmas break, the Mustangs lost to Girard, 53-49.

Iola GirlsAt a Glance...Iola’s Fillies return only one starter from last year’s 12-10 squad, which included a third-place 8-4 finish in the Pioneer League. Becky Carlson, in her 13th year as Iola’s head coach, will look for Colbi Riley, 5.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists, to lead with her experience. Carlson will anticipate support from among 10 other girls: Katie Bauer, Macayla Bycroft, Ellie Carson, Chloe Gardner, Madisyn Holloway, Piper Moore, Kelsey Morrison, Kassy Shelby, Kendra Sprague, and Shaylee Sutterby. The Fillies began their season with a fourth-place finish in the December Ike Cearfoss Memorial Invitational Basketball Tournament, beating host Central Heights, 49-31, before losing to Osawatomie, 42-37, and Pomona-West Franklin, 46-26. The four starters graduated from last year’s sub-state runners-up finish are Sydney Wade, Toni Macha, Della Lohman, and Riley Murry. Wade, a first-team all-league performer last season, was a member of the Burlington Invitational all-tournament team as a sophomore in 2015. Macha was a second-team all-Pioneer League pick last year. Coach Carl-son sees the two teams that topped her Fillies in last year’s Pioneer League campaign--Burlington and Wellsville-to battle for this year’s league title. Burlington is fourth-ranked in Class 4-A, Division II, while Wellsville is receiving state sportswriter attention in Class 3-A. Another league entry, Santa Fe Trail, is No. 10 in 4A-II by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ As-sociation. When Iola competes at the Frontenac 4A-II sub-state in March, a roadblock to advancement might be Girard, second-ranked in the class. Prior to the Christmas break, the Fillies lost to Girard, 43-31.

Independence BoysAt a Glance...The graduation of five key players from last year’s 11-10 squad, coupled with three losses at the December Emporia Classic, might spell a re-building year for the Independence boys. But the cupboard is far from bare for Marcus Lanning, eighth-year head coach, as he returns two all-tourna-ment picks from last year in sophomore Javion Lewis, 12.2-point average, and junior Zeadric Daniels, 6.3 ppg. During the Bulldogs’ runners-up run here, Lewis, first-team all-Southeast Kansas League, scored 42--including 29 in a 65-55 semifinal win over Iola--and Daniels, second-team all-SEK, 35. Lanning, last year’s SEK coach of the year, will also seek key contributions from returning letter winners TreyVon Kendrix, Jaden McGrath, and Josh Pralle. Says Lanning about his team’s ‘love of the game’ strength: “The com-petition will be very high each day in practice. Each players knows that he will need to give his all at all times to reach the team’s expectations.” Lan-ning lists varsity experience, size, and playing together as potential team weaknesses. Among the five graduated from last year’s 8-4 second-place SEK finish are starters Levi Kemp, Drew Pasternak and Zack Schroeder, as well as letter winners Caden Hayward and Evan Kleiber. In scoring 32 here last year, Kemp was a third Bulldog named to the all-tournament team. Lanning expects Pittsburg, Labette County, and Parsons to top a “strong” SEK this campaign. Says Lanning: “The league is very young and athletic. It should be very strong for a long time.” Pittsburg is ranked No. 7 in Class 5-A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Association while Labette County is fourth-ranked in Class 4-A, Division I. Labette County may prove also to be a tough challenger for the Bulldogs at the March sub-state at Fort Scott.

Independence GirlsAt a Glance...After a third-place finish here last year, Independence hopes to find themselves in this year’s championship match. Three returning starters, including two who made last year’s all-tournament team, give the Lady Bulldogs a solid chance. Not only were Lyssa Schabel, 10.8 points, and Morgan Mavers, 6.3 ppg, named all-invite, but they were both all-Southeast Kansas League honorable mention. Dale Reynolds, in his 14th season as In-dependence girls’ head coach, also has Aubree Lawrie, 3.2 ppg, as a return-ing starter, and will look for key contributions from Taylor Howland, 10.8 ppg; Jenna Eytcheson, 5.8 ppg; Raygen Cunningham, 4.3 ppg; Abby Ewing, 2.4 ppg; and Kylie Wilson, 1.5 ppg. Says Reynolds, last season’s SEK coach of the year, whose Lady Bulldogs finished third in the four-team December Emporia Classic: “Learning to play together as a team on both ends of the floor and playing good solid defense and rebounding will be huge for us. We must play hard and within our abilities, as well as know and execute our roles on the team, to be successful this year. We must have confidence in our ability to score. If we have that confidence, we will be a pretty solid group this season.” Graduated starters from last year’s squad that finished 15-7, including 9-3 as SEK runners-up, are Kallie Smith and Rindy Mar-quez. Smith, a unanimous all-SEK first-team selection and all-class honor-able mention, was a third Independence all-tournament team pick here last year. She now plays volleyball at hometown Independence Community Col-lege. Marquez, an all-SEK second-team choice last year, was on the allinvite team here two years ago as a junior. She now plays softball at Labette Com-munity College, Parsons. For Independence to assume the top spot here this week, in the SEK this season, and at the Class 4-A, Division I sub-state at Fort Scott in March will probably mean setting their sights for all three crowns squarely on third-ranked Labette County. A meeting between the two SEK entries here this week could be the first of four this season, with league contests at Altamont Jan. 30 and at Independence Feb. 23. Another SEK foe, Parsons, is receiving state media notice in Class 4-A, Division II.

Burlington BoysAt a Glance...Returning a “good nucleus” from last year’s Class 4-A, Division II statequalifying team, fourth-year head coach Matt Barrett is excited about this season’s prospects. Three start-ers are back from last year’s 17-6 team which tied Wellsville at 10- 2 for the Pioneer League title: Garrison Fiedler, 13 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1 assist averages; Brannon Nordstedt, 6.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.6 spg; and Jace Watkins, 8.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.7 spg, 1.1 apg. Here last year, Nordstedt scored 38, including a teamhigh seven treys, and Fiedler added 33 points. Other returning letter winners for the Wildcats, ranked No. 8 in 4A-II by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Association, are Tegan Hess, 4.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.3 spg, and Connor Jeffers, 2.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 spg. Jeffers, who in the autumn was Burlington’s first 2,000-yard rusher for a football season, will play in the Kansas Shrine Bowl July 28 at Pittsburg. Barrett, whose assistant Mark Engel has been a fixture on the Wildcat bench for this silver anniversary tourney’s first 25 years, admits that “there are voids to fill” with the graduation of starter Brogan Nordstedt, 20.2 ppg, 3.7 apg, 2.3 rpg, 2.3 spg, and Isaac Kuhlmann, 7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.3 spg. Nordstedt, a two-time all-invite pick here, scored 46 in last year’s tourney, including five treys. He finished with 736 career points, 17th-highest on the school’s all-time boys’ list, and 465 points during the campaign, eighth-best for a single season. Says Barrett about his graduates, which also included role play-ers Nathan Herrman and Jack Trimble: “Obviously we are going to need to pick up Brogan’s scoring load and Isaac’s rebounding load, but I think some of our junior varsity guys are ready to step up this year and push for minutes.” Those players will include seniors Connor McManus and 6’11” Mitchell Taylor and juniors Carson Beyer and Jordan Torrez. The Wildcats hope to repeat atop the Pioneer League standings in what Barrett charac-terizes as a “very balanced league.” In March, the Wildcats may be in posi-tion for a second straight state tournament berth as no other assignee to the Anderson County sub-state is receiving state notice. Last year Burlington lost in the quarterfinal round of the 4A-II state tournament, 69-48, to Pratt.

Burlington GirlsAt a Glance...Burlington fourth-year girls’ coach David Gilman welcomes back plenty of experience from last year’s 17-6 team, including return-ing junior starters Kirsten Young, Ashlynn Doebele, and Julia Gilman. Young was an all-Pioneer League and all-Class 4-A, Division II performer last year in averaging 13 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Named to the all-tournament team two years ago as a freshman, Young scored a team-high 33 here last year, including five treys. Doebele averaged 6.5 ppg and 3 rpg; Gilman had 6 ppg and 2 rpg. Other key experienced players for Coach Gilman will be senior Camrie Wagner and juniors Grace Kuhl-mann, Paige Sloyer, and Jara Thorp. Doebele, Gilman, Sloyer, Thorp, and Young were all members of last autumn’s volleyball squad roster that advanced to the 4A-II state tournament. Says Coach Gilman about his team’s basketball fortunes: “We’re a little small but are quick and ath-letic. We hope we can turn that combination into winning basketball.” The Lady Wildcats’ rank of fourth in 4A-II shows the combo is working to this point, even with the graduation of starters Asha Roney and Rylie Hess from last year’s 10-2 Pioneer League runners-up. Burlington’s only all-tourney team pick here last year, Roney--10 ppg, 4 rpg--scored 32 here last year in Burlington’s fourth-place finish. Hess averaged 6 ppg and 3 rpg. During this season’s Pioneer League race, Gilman sees defending champion Wellsville, garnering 3-A state media notice, as “still the team to beat,” though Burlington won a pre-Christmas match, 65-33. He says Santa Fe Trail, No. 10 in 4A-II by the Kansas Basketball Coaches’ Asso-ciation, “has a great start to their season and has a senior-led team.” The LadyCats won that first match, 69-43. He says Iola and Anderson County are rebuilding after key graduation losses, while Osawatomie and Prai-rie View are “young and improving.” When the LadyCats attempt to earn their third consecutive trip to the 4A-II state tournament at the Ander-son County sub-state, their major challenge may come from top-ranked Baldwin, who defeated Burlington in the championship game of Decem-ber’s Bulldog/Wildcat Classic, 66-40. At last year’s state tournament, Bur-lington lost in the quarterfinal round to Scott City, 44-40.

Meet the -

2018 Burlington Invitational tournament field