Wichita Eagle: State Colleges

Former Barton sprinter Campbell-Brown suspended amid probe

DAVID McFADDEN — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:46 CDT

Veronica Campbell-Brown's agent insists one of the cornerstones of Jamaica's wide-ranging sprint success "is not a cheat," even though the test results read differently.

While her case is being decided, the three-time Olympic gold medalist, who ran at Barton Community College, will sit out and her country will try to make sense of one of its longest-held fears: a high-profile track star getting busted for doping.

Campbell-Brown, or "VCB" as she's simply known in sprinting circles, tested positive for a banned diuretic at a meet in May and will serve a suspension while anti-doping officials rule on the positive drug test, island track officials announced Tuesday.

Benedictine player is first openly gay men’s college basketball player

Blair Kerkhoff — Tue, 28 May 2013 21:49 CDT

Jallen Messersmith is a 20-year-old from Blue Springs, Mo., who blocked 53 shots for the Benedictine men’s basketball team last season.

And according to a national website that covers gay sports issues, Messersmith is believed to be the first openly gay active men’s college basketball player.

He shared his story with the website, Outsports.com, which published a feature on Messersmith on Tuesday.

Shortstop becomes a perfect fit for Sterling College

TONY ADAME — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:06 CDT

There’s a rule that kids growing up in Compton, Calif., learn at a young age.

And it’s better explained by one of them.

“The Compton Crips and the Piru Bloods are the two big gangs that everybody knows about around (Compton), but there are more gangs that are just contained to smaller parts of the neighborhood,” said Sterling College shortstop Joe Williams, the KCAC Player of the Year. “So you definitely don’t wear red or blue, but you also have to watch other colors. You end up with a lot of black and white shirts. You learn that early.”

Butler suffers loss at NJCAA softball tournament

Thu, 16 May 2013 22:48 CDT

Wallace State (Ala.) beat top-ranked Butler 8-6 Thursday in the second round of the NJCAA Division I Tournament in St. George, Utah.

The Grizzlies never led. Wallace State scored a run in the second, two in the third and two in the fourth to build a 5-0 lead. Butler made it 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth, then each team scored twice in the sixth to make it 7-3. Wallace added run in the seventh. Butler’s Kate James hit a three-run homer with two outs to make 8-6 and Ashley Malone followed with a single to bring the tying run to the plate, but Ashton Atwell struck out to end the game.

The loss dropped Butler to the losers bracket, where the Grizzlies beat Walters State (Tenn.) 9-1 in five innings. Sydney Stuever opened the game with a homer, and Kaitlyn Wolken ended it with a grand slam.

Butler rolls to win in NJCAA opener

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:20 CDT

Top-ranked Butler Community College opened the NJCAA Division I Softball Tournament with a 13-1 run-rule win over Pitt (N.C.) in five innings on Wednesday at St. George, Utah. The Grizzlies, who have lost in the first round of nationals the last two seasons, will play Wallace (Ala.) State on Thursday at 5 p.m.

“(Pitt) really got the barrel on the ball, made us make a lot of plays,” Butler coach Doug Chance said. “They shortened up (at bat) on us and we had to adjust.”

Jayhawk West pitcher of the year Maggie Ham picked up the win for Butler, pitching three innings. Northwest product Mac Millspaugh came on in relief and pitched the final two innings. Ham will get the start against Wallace.

Butler softball set to begin title quest

TONY ADAME — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:38 CDT

The Butler Community College softball team headed west last week, first to La Junta, Colo., then on to St. George, Utah.

It’s all part of what the Grizzlies hope turns out to be a history-making quest as they pursue the first NJCAA national title in the program’s history.

And if they do manage to win it all, they’ll do it from the very top of the bracket. Butler (50-2), ranked No. 1 since April 10, was given the top seed in the NJCAA Division I Tournament and faces Pitt Community College (28-13), out of Winterville, N.C., on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the opening round.

Loaded Cowley heads into region baseball tournament

TONY ADAME — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:23 CDT

Cowley College baseball coach Dave Burroughs prefers the current format of the Region VI Tournament — eight teams competing Friday through Tuesday at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

That’s not to say he disliked the old four-team format. Or the one before that, which played best-of-three between just two teams.

The key, of course, is that the Tigers are there, whatever way they decided to play it.

Butler softball ready to play its way to nationals

TONY ADAME — Wed, 08 May 2013 20:46 CDT

There is a warning in there somewhere, for Otero Junior College or for any team that the No. 1 Butler Community College softball team might play in the next two weeks.

The Grizzlies are ready to play anyone, anywhere and at any time.

And that’s a scary thought.

Butler football adjusting to changes in Jayhawk Conference

TONY ADAME — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:04 CDT

In typical fashion, Butler Community College football coach Troy Morrell is taking the sea change about to hit the Jayhawk Conference in stride.

“We’re dealing with it, but so is everybody else,” Morrell said. “It’s definitely an adjustment.”

An adjustment unlike any in the league’s history. Jayhawk presidents and athletic directors voted last month to expand football rosters from 55 to 63, and increased the number of out-of-state players from 12 to 20 in response to a growing outcry from several schools in the conference that Butler’s domination in football had made it almost impossible for them to recruit the top players in Kansas.

Everything is perfect for Fort Hays State softball pitcher

TONY ADAME — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:10 CDT

In the history of NCAA Division II softball, no pitcher had ever thrown consecutive perfect games until Fort Hays State’s Maddie Holub did it on April 6 against Northwest Missouri and April 12 against Missouri Southern.

It was made even sweeter by the fact that Holub was able to pitch both games in Hays, her hometown, and in front of all her friends and family.

And it was in this historical context that Holub’s older brother, Zach, was able to bring things home for his younger sister, who is putting together the greatest season in school history.

Jurors return not guilty verdict in Tabor football player’s death

Darcy Gray — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:41 CDT

After two hours of deliberations, a jury of seven men and five women decided that a former McPherson College football player was not guilty of second-degree murder, alleging he unintentionally and recklessly killed a rival player last September outside of a house party in McPherson.

McPherson County jurors began deliberating shortly before noon Tuesday in the seventh day of trial for 20-year-old Dallas native Alton Franklin, charged in the death of 26-year-old Brandon Brown, a defensive lineman for Tabor College in Hillsboro. Prosecutors alleged Franklin attacked Brown amid the party in September, and that co-defendant and fellow McPherson College football player DeQuinte Flournoy held Brown down.

By Tuesday afternoon, Franklin was being discharged from the McPherson County Jail and released from a $250,000 bond, as ordered by Judge Richard Walker.

Frightening baseball injury doesn’t deter Newman’s Flax

TONY ADAME — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:24 CDT

The pitch that ended Jarrod Flax’s freshman season was a fastball, high and tight, that hit him about an inch below his left eye last April 21 in Odessa, Texas.

The impact shattered his orbital bone, cheek bone and nose, while also leaving a good-sized tear in his retina.

The Newman shortstop was hit so hard that he only remembers stepping in the batter’s box at Texas-Permian Basin, then waking up in the visitor’s dugout.

Nicholson helps Friends softball rise to top of KCAC

TONY ADAME — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 22:19 CDT

There was no softball season for Friends first baseman Kelli Nicholson last year. That doesn’t mean it was just watch and wait.

That would’ve made a bad situation worse.

“Part of it was I was with a new team and I wanted to help them and support them every step of the way,” Nicholson said. “And part of it was just me working hard and having faith that something good was going to come out of it eventually. Sometimes it felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but things have worked out so far.”

Butler softball rises to No. 1 in NJCAA rankings

TONY ADAME — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:42 CDT

The Butler Community College softball team is ranked No. 1 for the first time.

The Grizzlies moved up to the top spot in the NJCAA Division I rankings on Wednesday after three weeks at No. 2, supplanting former No. 1 Indian River.

“We knew at some point, if we kept doing our thing, we’d bump up,” Butler coach Doug Chance said. “But like any coach, the main concern we have is we don’t want them to think they’ve arrived. I want them to work harder now.”

Coffeyville falls in NJCAA men’s tournament

Lucas Fahrer — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 18:00 CDT

Coffeyville coach Jay Herkelman had seen this scenario a few times before in his previous games at the NJCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.

The opposition races out of the gate to a big lead, and his team is staring up at wide margin by halftime.

In other years, his Red Ravens put the clamps on and — slowly but surely — elbowed their way back into the game.

Howard knocks out Hutchinson at NJCAA tourney

TONY ADAME — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 23:28 CDT

Howard’s Jacob Thomas came out of the tunnel leading to the court at the Sports Arena on Tuesday night and gazed out over the 7,000-plus fans packed to capacity, screaming, on their feet, crammed into every nook and cranny waiting for the first game at the NJCAA Tournament in 16 years for Hutchinson Community College.

And he liked what he saw.

"I like the big games, the big atmospheres," Thomas said. "We knew what we were in for by playing against the home team."

Coffeyville cruises to opening win at NJCAA tourney

LIONEL TIPTON — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:24 CDT

A good look at Walters State was all that Coffeyville needed Monday night.

Unable to gain any information on the Senators because of a Tennessee state policy blocking information on national tournament teams, the Red Ravens had to rely solely on statistics.

But after Walters State jumped to a 41-37 halftime lead, Coffeyville took over, using a 14-2 run to start the second half to cruise to a 77-53 victory in the first round of the NJCAA Tournament.

Last-second free throws sink Emporia State

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:23 CDT

Emporia State finished a point shy of an Elite Eight trip, losing 75-74 to Augustana on Monday in the NCAA Division II Tournament at Topeka. Alex Feeney hit two clutch free throws with .7 remaining for the Vikings to ice the game. Feeney led all scorers with 24 points.

The Hornets had erased a ten-point halftime deficit. Augustana led by as many as 15 points in the opening half.

ESU would then use a 9-0 run early in the second half to cut the lead to just one point. Several ties and lead changes resulted in ESU holding another three-point advantage with 41 seconds to play. ESU would get to the line after Augustana took a one-point lead and the Hornets took a 74-73 lead with 13 seconds left.

Davis leads Blue Dragons into tourney

TONY ADAME — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:09 CDT

It all begins with a haircut.

Alex Davis spent his freshman season at Hutchinson Community College earning a reputation as the l’enfant terrible in the Jayhawk Conference — a 6-foot-9 basketball prodigy full known as much for his potential as for his long braids and his technical fouls.

And when the Blue Dragons season came crashing down with a loss to Cowley in the Region VI Tournament quarterfinals, he knew something had to change.

Newman falls in NCAA Division II postseason

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 23:46 CDT

Newman’s first NCAA Division II basketball appearance ended with a rocky second half, as Midwestern State beat the Jets 81-60 on Saturday night in Denver.

Newman pulled within 39-38 early in the second half on a layup by Shamar Acuay, but Midwestern State used a 16-3 run to give itself some breathing room. A 10-0 burst a short while later knocked out the Jets.

Acuay finished with 17 points to lead the Jets, and Bobby Wesley had eight. Midwestern State shot 49 percent (25-51), Newman committed 21 turnovers and was outrebounded 44-24.