St. James football falls short against Paola in season opener

By Angelique McNaughton

September 7, 2013

Too many missed opportunities in the first half of the season-opening game on Friday  contributed to St. James Academy’s football team losing to Paola, 28-14.

“We had too many turnovers in that first half,” St. James coach Tom Radke said.

The Thunder (0-1) failed to take the lead in the first two quarters and entered the second half down, 14-7.

A little momentum was established in the third quarter when quarterback Alex King completed a 35-yard pass to Keith Winger to put the Thunder within scoring position.

“We got it going a little bit in the second half but with some poor decision-making offensively and missed tackles defensively, it put us in a bad position,” Radke said.

With 10 returning seniors and 18 juniors, a significant amount of players received first-time varsity minutes Friday night but failed to mimic last year’s success.

“It was a case of 10 guys doing what they were supposed to do and one guy not,” he said. “It’s not going to work out and that’s what happened tonight — it was just so many little things but luckily, it’s the first game.

“We hope to learn from our mistakes and get better,” he added. “That’s the plan anyway.”
The next opportunity for the Thunder will be an away-game at 7 p.m., Sept. 13 against Bishop Ward High School.

“You know, we are just going to have to see how much we improve from the first game to the second game,” Radke said.

Softball: St. James Academy junior well above average

By Angelique McNaughton

May 7, 2013

A diamond in the rough.

That’s how St. James Academy softball coach Kerri Elstun refers to junior Caroline Lipp.

“She’s got so much talent,” Elstun said. “She’s just softball savvy all the way around, offensively and defensively.”

Lipp is in her third season as a starter for the Thunder, and while she’s had a successful tenure, this year the right-handed catcher has really started to shine.

Through 35 at-bats, Lipp has maintained a .543 batting average, which includes two home runs and 16 RBIs. She has an on-base percentage of .543, and her batting average hovered around .750 through the first five games of the season.

Elstun said she had witnessed some high school girls hit north of .500 but when they hit .700 “you know you have a pretty good hitter.”

“She’s that kind of girl,” Elstun said. “She’s a clutch hitter, and she’s who you want up to bat. She’s getting stronger, and she’s just a hard worker. When you work that hard for a handful of years, … well, it already has been paying off for her.”

The 17-year-old junior grew up around the sport since her father, Jeff Lipp, played baseball at the collegiate level for Newman University in Wichita.

He coached his daughter from the age of 5 until she started playing competitive club softball in sixth grade.

“She’s hit quite well for many years and she has tended to hit in the middle of the lineup for every team she’s been on,” Jeff Lipp said. “Teams have found a place for her to play through her hitting, and she’s also sort of been a utility player in that she can do most anything, except pitch.”

Lipp has bounced back and forth between second base and catcher since she began starting for the Thunder her freshman year, the same year they took second at state.

The young starter played an integral role during the state tournament, which included hitting a crucial game-winning shot to lead the Thunder into the next phase of the tournament.

“The first game was a pretty tight game, and then the last inning the bases were loaded and I was up to bat,” Caroline Lipp recalled. “The score was 0-0 the whole the game, and there were all these juniors on base and I got a hit between short and third and we won the game. It was the best feeling in the whole world.”

That is how her career has played out: big hits and good feelings.

With a young team with no seniors, Lipp is one of six juniors leading the Thunder this year as the program attempts to rebuild after the loss of a star-studded roster.

Lipp has stepped up to the plate this season, predominantly playing catcher. In the only position that can see the entire field, she has taken and embraced that leadership role.

“We are kind of trying to rebuild our group together, and I think our season has been going pretty well,” Lipp said of her team, whose record sits at 3-6. “Coach (Elstun) has definitely tried to help us be leaders because we had a really good group of seniors last year and we needed to take the reins.”

Because of inclement weather, the Thunder have had four games canceled and five postponed, which has allowed the team to focus more on their hitting during the extra practices.

Throughout the year, Lipp said, she has focused on improving her swing and strength. Lipp plays and practices most of the year since she plays club ball outside of school.

“I think I’ve been doing pretty good,” Lipp said of her career. “Especially this year, I feel like my hitting has excelled a lot because I have worked almost all year on it.”

At press time, Lipp has hit eight doubles this season and hit her only two career home runs, which came back to back against Blue Valley North.

“They definitely have a very good team, and they have really good pitching,” Lipp said of Blue Valley North. “To see that I hit two home runs in a row, it was awesome and it was great.

The two home runs tied a St. James Academy school record for most home runs hit in a single game.

The Thunder’s number three hitter, Lipp is a self-described competitive person and said she loves the game for that reason.

She attributes the speed of the sport and the skills required of a player to the reason why she’s continued with it all these years and why she has her eye on playing at the next level.

“I think I’ve stuck with it because it kind of gets my mind off of things and softball has always been there for me when I needed it,” Lipp said. “It definitely means a lot in my life, and it’s year-round, so I’m with it all the time.”

As the regular season comes to a close this week with a doubleheader on Tuesday against Turner and again on Thursday against De Soto, Lipp said it has “been a different experience this year trying to rebuild”.

“But either way, I’ve really enjoyed my couple years of softball,” she said.

Strickland says Mill Valley baseball has turned a corner

By Angelique McNaughton

April 15, 2013

The Mill Valley boys baseball team scored three runs in the first inning against Gardner-Edgerton on Saturday and eventually won, 10-4, avoiding a sweep in the annual Frontier/Kaw Valley Challenge.

When the Jaguars were two outs away from closing against De Soto on Friday night, a couple of errors lead to a late game rally that gave the Eagles the win 9-4.

“There were a couple of tough breaks for us and there were some errors and some things that aren’t typical of our kids,” Mill Valley coach Jeff Strickland said. “Offensively we did really well, but what hurt us and what we need to continue improving on is our defense in the infield and our pitching.”

The Jaguars consecutively scored every inning on Saturday against Gardner-Edgerton, with three runs coming in the first inning. Junior third baseman Michael Clark had two hits, as did junior second basemen Bryce Lievens.

In his first varsity start, junior first basemen Aaron Geise also had two base hits.

The Jaguars will next play Schlagle on Tuesday and Leavenworth on Thursday.

“We’re not even close to where we need to be for regionals, which start in four weeks but as coaches we saw some great things this weekend,“ Strickland said. “It’s always cliché to say, but we’ve turned a new corner.”

No rest in Cougars’ forecast: SMNW girls 5-1 entering winter break

December 17, 2012, 10:46 a.m.

Updated: December 19, 2012, 12:00 a.m.

Topeka — Though their goal of a perfect 6-0 start was dashed in a nailbiter in Topeka over the weekend, the Shawnee Mission Northwest girls basketball team’s final two games before winter break reaffirmed the team of its mettle.

After dropping a 50-43 game Saturday at Washburn Rural, the No. 5-ranked team in Class 6A, the Cougars (5-1) rebounded with a 38-34 victory against SM South on Monday.

SM Northwest won’t return to play until a Jan. 3 rematch of their season-opening win at SM West. Until then, join us in recapping the Cougars’ final two games of December.

Rural hands Cougars first loss

SM Northwest went bucket-for-bucket most of Saturday’s game at Washburn Rural and played to win.

The Cougars were defensively aggressive and held the Junior Blues to just 10 field goals but eventually still fell, 50-43, to the fifth-ranked team in Class 6A.

“We shut down their offense but put them on the free throw line way too many times,“ SM Northwest coach Jeff Dickson said following the loss.

The game was tied with 4:27 left, but a series of subsequent fouls put the Junior Blues at the line and the lead out of reach as five Cougars found themselves in foul trouble in the last two minutes of the game. McKayla Ross, Arielle Jackson, Brenni Rose and Tatum Graves eventually fouled out during the last minute.

“We need to do a better job of playing defense with our feet and not with our hands,” Dickson said. “We would get a stop and bail them out with a foul.”

Senior Anna King led the Cougars with a double-double, scoring 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“Anna King had a great game, and they had no answer for her,” Dickson said of King’s performance.

Ross contributed eight points and Jackson six. Ross never hesitated to drive into the lane and draw a foul, scoring six of her eight points at the free throw line. The game was tied 9-9 in the first quarter, but the Cougars took the lead following a three-pointer from senior Kristina Purinton, who then turned around and stripped the ball at the other end to prevent a lay-up.

SM Northwest got good looks at the basket during the first half, including three shots behind the arc. Purinton, who scored all six of her points from behind the arc, ended the half with a three-pointer to make the score 25-22 in favor of the Junior Blues. The Cougars put a stop on the Junior Blues offense to start the second half, holding it to only six points for the third quarter.

Forced steals and a couple of big plays from Jackson kept the game close late into the fourth quarter, with the Cougars down only two points with less than three minutes left.

The Cougars suffered at the free throw line during the second half, due in part to some vocal fans, and weren’t able to make up the lack of points with field goals. Then three players fouled out, including Tatum on a technical, and the Junior Blues were consistent enough at the line to extend the lead to seven with six seconds left on the clock.

“Our kids fought very hard and handled a very hostile environment with a lot of class,” Dickson said.

“We went toe-to-toe … and really found out a lot of good things about ourselves. And we know we are as good as any team in the state.”

Cougars down Raiders

King scored 12 points and Ross added nine to lead the Cougars to a 38-34 victory against SM South on Monday.

The Cougars recovered from a 17-12 halftime deficit to stay perfect in league play. SM Northwest outscored the Raiders, 13-2, in the third quarter and held on in a tighter final frame.

Stephen Montemayor contributed to this story.

First-year BLHS wrestling coach has been here before

Tyler Cordts won’t ask Basehor-Linwood wrestlers to do anything he hasn’t done before himself.

Cordts wrestled on the varsity squad at Santa Fe Trail High School for four years at 103 pounds. He competed at BLHS during the Bobcat classic and walked the very halls his athletes traverse daily, less than 10 years ago.

He understands the sport and the toll it can take on an athlete to endure the grueling practices, weight requirements and one-on-one competition.

“I’ve been in their shoes, been through everything they have and know what it feels like to go through those workouts,” Corts said.

Cordts was hired last spring and began practices earlier this month. With the expectations of a new coach and Cordts’ debut season approaching, he admitted to being nervous in advance.

But as soon as Cordts stepped onto the mat, he eased into his new role. Comfortable with the students he had seen in the hallways and had in classes, Cordts began coaching wrestling again.

“I have all these ideas and the time flies in practice,” he said. “Next thing I know it’s 5.”

On the mat since around the age of 11, Cordts was the lone member of his family to take up wrestling.

“It was just kind of the thing to do,” he said one day with the shrug of his shoulders. “Everybody did it and no one in my family had done it before.”

After graduating high school in 2005, Cordts pursued wrestling for a year at Central College in Pella, Iowa.

Competing in the lowest collegiate weight, 111 pounds, Cordts was forced to wrestle outside of his class.

“I wasn’t naturally very big and that’s why I transitioned,” he said of the move from athlete to coach.

Coaching wasn’t something he had seriously considered but he admired his high school and college coaches. He started his coaching career at Central College before taking on a position as an assistant at Pella High School.

Cordts, 25, who is also the special education teacher, returned to his alma mater last year as the head junior high coach at Santa Fe Trail High School, while teaching at West Franklin High School.

After three-year coach Ed Seaton decided to step down last season, Cordts stepped in.

“I’ve got a son in college and wanted to follow his wrestling a little bit,” Seaton said of the choice to become an assistant. “I just felt like they needed to get a coach and teacher in the school that could motivate them and spend the time. I was working a full-time job and just didn‘t have the time.”

“I just felt like someone else could do a better job,” he added.

And so far, Seaton said Cordts has risen to the task. He’s motivated and organized, Seaton said, and strict.

“He doesn’t take anything from the kids and I think they respect that,” he said with a laugh.

Seaton is staying on staff, joining fellow assistant coach Travis Phippen, for the upcoming season.

“I have two head coaches as my assistants and I am taking over a program with standout wrestlers,” Cordts said. “I couldn’t ask for a better way to start.”

The 27-man roster is heavy with juniors, with just three seniors leading the helm and an evenly distributed group of underclassmen.

The loss of senior state qualifier Antonio Ferro is balanced by returning state qualifiers 126-pound senior Sammy Seaton and 145-pound junior Cory McCleary.

Cordts said he also expects junior John Hopper to have a strong showing this year at 152 pounds.

“Those three boys are our three great leaders,” he said. “One thing I feel is that we have a lot of great leadership and a lot of returning experience.”

The Bobcats open the season at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Bonner Springs against the Braves and Piper. A quick turnaround will then pit the varsity in a dual the next day, on Nov. 30, at Spring Hill. The highly anticipated Bobcat Classic returns on Jan. 11.

With practice officially underway, Cordts said the athletes are enthusiastically approaching practice and are ready to work.

“I’m really surprised they’re coming in working hard,” he said. “And having fun with it and getting the job done.”

Some of the exuberance could be attributed to the wrestlers abandoning their former,  small, green-mat filled room in the high school for a donated, year-round practice facility in the district’s sixth-grade center.

“They’re excited about it,” Cordts said.

Stressing sound, solid technique and a knowledge of the basics has proven effective in the past for Cordts as both an athlete and coach.

“Basics are what works,” he said. “Just being in better shape than your opponent is a huge advantage, especially later in the match.”

Taking over an existing program hasn’t entirely intimidated Cordts, who just wants to continue building the sport at BLHS and within the wrestler-friendly community as the season progresses.

“I’m just trying to get the community excited about us because I’m excited to finally get everything going,” he said.

First-year girls coach seeks to return Bobcats to playing in March

Jason Tatkenhorst may have had a chance to get to know his players briefly during the summer, but when the Basehor-Linwood girls basketball team started practice this month, Tatkenhorst officially became “Coach”.

“Now it’s time for the players to do work,” he said. “I feel like the players are really trying hard (because) they know they have to make a good impression.

His inaugural practice on Nov. 12 wasn’t without its hesitations and uncertainties.

“The players have been well trained with past coaches and of course I’m used to going on court and having the team know what I want,” he said. “But since it’s my first year, I’m having to adjust as well and explain things a bit more.”

Tatkenhorst worked with the team during the summer for camp, summer league and weekly workouts. The Bobcats participated in two weekend tournaments and won more than they lost throughout the summer, Tatkenhorst said.

Tatkenhorst was hired in May following the announced departure of former coach Noah Simpson last season.

The Bobcats went 8-12 last year under Simpson, whose tenure included three state tournament appearances — including a third-place finish in the 2011 4A state tournament.

The familiarity and routine that the seniors had grown accustomed to throughout the last three seasons is being replaced by a different style.

“It’s just a different experience and I’m still getting used to it,” senior Samantha Rutherford said during the first week of practice. “He definitely has a different coaching style. It’s not bad it’s just more intense and he expects more out of us.”

Rutherford, who started playing a bigger role last year on varsity as a post player, said each player will get better focusing on the “little things” that Tatkenhorst stresses.

“The girls have a real good attitude and the first week was all about working on practice habits,” he said. “The first couple weeks of the preseason need to be hard and challenging.”

Taking over an already successful program and introducing something new hasn’t phased Tatkenhorst at all, who came into the job knowing what he’s picking up.

“The girls, the parents and the community all expect to have a chance to go to state and the expectations are high for this program,” he said. “I’m excited for that and I want to be in a program that has high expectations.”

Returning starter and leading scorer senior Jamie Johnson said she definitely wants to make it to state in her final season as a Bobcat.

“I have been to state (my) freshman and sophomore year and we didn’t go to state last year,” she said. “I want to win games (this year) and go far.”

Johnson, at guard, is coming back from a broken elbow suffered last year against Tonganoxie.

“It feels good,” Johnson said of her left arm. “I’m just ready for everybody to come together and play as a team and to show the coach that we are actually good.”

Tatkenhorst, a former head coach for 12 years in Great Bend, said he will stress man-to-man defense and playing the entire court.

In his 17th year of coaching, Tatkenhorst, a Kansas native and former player at Pratt Community College and Bethany College, said he hopes his new squad can look to him and know that he has been there before.

“I do feel like I have the experience, although coaches will always learn,” he said. “We (coaches) think we’ve been through it all but there’s always going to be some new situation out there.”

Tatkenhorst and his wife, Stacy, a special education teacher at BLHS, and their three boys, Kade and Kurtis, 13, and Kamden, 12, moved to Basehor this summer.

With a 228-128 overall record, what has worked in the past for Tatkenhorst is an aggressive offense and up-tempo game with players looking for the easy bucket and hoping to out-work the opponent.

Despite the missing height of graduated seniors Maggie Hattock, Cara McCarty and Bailey Hooker, the roster has a good balance behind seniors Kara Stephens, Johnson, and Rutherford.

“Each class below them has really a good balance, and I see good freshman and sophomores and three seniors that are good, committed players,” he said. “We definitely have a group of about seven girls that are a notch above everybody else.”

The Bobcats open the season on Nov. 30 against Bishop Ward.

“We hope to have a long season,” Tatkenhorst said. “And we want to be playing in March.”

SM Northwest fifth, SM North 10th at Saturday’s state gymnastics meet

Lawrence — Nerves may have gotten the best of Shawnee Mission Northwest over the weekend at the state gymnastics meet.

After finishing fourth at the Sunflower League meet the previous weekend, the Cougars scored 100 points, 1.4 points behind Olathe Northwest, to drop to a fifth-place finish on Saturday at Lawrence High School. Shawnee Mission North walked away 10th overall, with 92.425 points, out of the 13 teams represented.

Olathe East garnered the firstplace finish (106.775 points) coming out ahead of Lawrence Free State (104.925).

The Cougars’ team performance on the uneven bars represented the best performance of the year. Junior Grace Gregory scored seventh in the event, missing a sixth place finish by just .10 points, yielding the highest placement for a Cougar.

“Out of all of our meets, the bars that we did were our best bar routines all year,” SM Northwest coach Cindy Beason said. “Not the best scores, but they added the difficulty and a few of the girls did some new skills.”

Those new skills may have contributed to falls in three out of the four events, reflected in the Cougars’ overall placement, Beason added.

“I think we were a little bit nervous and a little bit jittery,“ she said.

Despite the occasional missteps, junior Mallory Wilhite used her hands uncharacteristically in one of her tumbling passes during the floor routine, resulting in a ninth-place finish. Wilhite fell just .15 points short of a 10th place finish in the all-around competition.

Recovering from an irritated shoulder last week at the league meet, senior Caitlin Chen held back on her tumbling but still managed to place 21st for her floor routine and 30th on the beam.

Senior Jen Lanman led the Indians, consistently placing the highest among her team in the four individual events throughout the day. Lanman placed 14th in all-around competition, with her highest score coming in the vault, where she placed eighth with a 9.075.

Fellow SM North senior Elaina Zinn performed her best of four events during the floor routine for 33rd place. Teammates Caitlyn Howard (7.8), Natalya Freeman (7.525) and Sarah Gradient (6.750) placed 48th, 52nd, and 58th respectively in the same event.

Collectively, SM North had the fifth-best vault scores (25.775) out of the teams represented at state.

Reflecting on the end of the short, 10-week season, Beason said the team consistently collaborated throughout the year.

“They did work together as a team, and I was very proud of their accomplishments,” Beason said, referring to the season. “Fifth place is nothing to sneeze about, even though I know the girls wanted to be in the top three. But they did a great job.”

Mill Valley to travel to Lansing for district title showdown

In preparing for the district championship this week against Lansing, Mill Valley is focused and looking to build off of the momentum of Friday’s 63-40 victory against Washington.

“We’re concentrating on what we do as a team (this week),” coach Joel Applebee said. “Our goal all year long is to concentrate and improve on what we do.”

At least on paper, there didn’t appear to be much for the Jaguars (7-1) to improve upon from Friday’s senior night victory against the Wildcats (3-5). In its second district game, the Jaguars put up 42 points in just the first half.

“We played well,” Applebee said. “We jumped out early, and I was very happy.”

Senior quarterback Skyler Windmiller led the Jaguars the first half, completing 14 of 20 passes for 211 yards, including three touchdowns. Windmiller frequently targeted senior L.J. Hatch, who caught four passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.

Senior Kendall Short ran for two touchdowns to follow up his three-score performance from a week ago against Schlagle. Against Washington, Short carried nine times for 105 yards and also brought in a 38-yard reception.

The 36-point halftime cushion prompted Applebee to start rotating in his second- and third-string underclassmen.

“Our kids got some great experience,” he said. “We played a lot of freshmen fourth quarter.”

Behind freshman quarterback Logan Koch, who ran for three touchdowns and 189 rushing yards, the seemingly inexperienced players held their own against Washington’s starters.

Amassing 331 rushing yards, the Jaguars surpassed the season average of 220, effectively moving the ball downfield all night.

Senior Staton Rebeck had an 89-yard punt return in the second quarter for a touchdown, while junior linebacker T.J. Philips led the defense with seven tackles and a sack.

Senior Coleman McCann remained on the sideline Friday after an injury sustained at Tonganoxie on Sept. 21. Joining him was junior Adam Swearingen, who injured his leg against Turner. Applebee called both players’ status “week-to-week.”

Applebee said the Jaguars were pumped up after the decisive senior night performance but that they needed to take it to another level against the Lions (3-5) at 7 p.m. Friday in a game that will decide the district title.

“Lansing is going to be a challenge,” he said.

The Lions are coming off a one-point victory against Schlagle.

While the Jaguars are already guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, a district championship would ensure Mill Valley’s chance to host a game.

“We’ve clinched the playoffs, but that’s not what we are about,” he said. “We want to win the district.”

Cougars, Indians get tuneup for state at league gymnastics meet

Both Shawnee Mission Northwest and Shawnee Mission North gymnasts had the opportunity to gauge their competition a week ahead of the state championship meet on Saturday during the Sunflower League championship meet.

SM Northwest totaled 99.85 points for fourth place, a mere 0.6 points behind SM West, at the 11-school meet held at Shawnee Mission East. Competing mostly on the opposite side of the gym, the Indians placed 10th overall with 91.5 points.

Lawrence Free State took home first place with a combined score of 104.575, with Olathe East putting up 103.775 for second place.

SM West edged the Cougars out of a top-three overall finish, only three days after the Cougars placed second overall at SM Northwest’s home Cougar Classic meet.

“We looked better than what I expected,” SM Northwest coach Cindy Beason said on Sunday. “Overall, skillwise, I think we are making improvements and I look to see even more improvements by next Saturday.”

Grace Gregory, an SM Northwest junior, yielded a third-place finish after a solid performance on the balance beam with a score of 8.55. Gregory also led her team in the all-around competition, placing ninth.

“Grace was very good, considering she had a fall (on the balance beam), and had she not fallen she would have placed first,” Beason said.

Teammate Mallory Wilhite, who won the floor routine last week, placed eighth in the same event on Saturday with an 8.8.

Senior Caitlin Chen struggled in the same event, placing 25th with 8.1. Toward the end of her routine, the 17-year-old gymnast began to grimace and fight back tears.

A dislocated shoulder sustained during the state competition last year came back to haunt Chen during warmups and has hindered her final season as a Cougar.

“It hasn’t been as great of a year as I was hoping it could have been,” Chen said.

Looking ahead to Saturday’s state championships, Chen said she wants to be satisfied with her routine and maybe even nab a first-place medal.

“I want to be able to be happy with what I’ve done,” Chen said. “But it would be really nice to place top three in the floor. Last year I had a really good chance of it and it all crumbled; to come back and reclaim that would be great.”

Chen has been with the Cougars since her freshman year and said the short season’s been somewhat of “an emotional ride” for her, one of seven seniors graduating in May.

“It’s super exciting and super sad,” she said. “It’s putting it all out there.”

SM North coach Chuck Lundblad had similar advice for his two seniors going into their final meet.

“Talking to one of the seniors, I said, ‘If not now, then when?’” he said. “I don’t want them to say ‘what if …’ or ‘if only I would have done this better or that better.’”

Lundblad said the Indians’ lack of depth — and the experience and confidence that come with it — contributes to the team’s placing.

“All the girls, and not just these girls, all the gymnasts doubt themselves and they don’t have the confidence,” he said.

With a mostly freshman squad, Lundblad is hoping to finish in the top eight at the competition.

Senior Jen Lanman secured 10th place in the all-around competition behind SM Northwest’s Gregory, with 33.375. Lanman also wound up in a three-way tie for second on the vault led by a 9.25.

Fellow senior Elaina Zinn said she felt like she “struggled with consistency” in her events. Zinn didn’t place within the top 10 in either the vault or the uneven bars, scoring 7.1 and 8.3, respectively.

“I think I have the skills, I just need to work on improving them and the technique,” Zinn said. “I wasn’t as consistent (on Saturday) and have new skills in there and I’m excited to show them off next week.”

Natalya Freeman received her best score (8.0) in the vault to finish 32nd in the all-around competition with 26.75.

Lundblad said his team basically needs to work on the essential fundamentals in gymnastics.

“We need to work on form, and on the beam we had too many falls,” he said. “You just need to have three solid scores.”

All but two of the teams that will be competing at this Saturday’s state meet at Lawrence High School were at the Sunflower League meet.

Beason said ultimately she’s comfortable with the Cougars’ performance over the weekend.

“I like going into state in fourth position,“ Bleason said. “(We) can be the dark horse that might sneak in and surprise someone.”