Jones, Angeles become Pittsburg’s first girls wrestling state qualifiers

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – Pittsburg’s Rebeccah Jones and Mercedes Angeles made history on Friday night, becoming Pittsburg’s first ever girls wrestling state qualifiers.

“I’m so proud of these girls,” says Pittsburg head wrestling coach LC Davis, “Rebeccah knocked off the 5th-ranked girl in the state in triple-overtime to qualify for state. I’m super proud of them both. They made history today. They’re one step closer to being Pittsburg’s first state medalists.”

Both Jones (115 lb) and Angeles (170 lb) went 2-2 Friday to finish 4th in their respective weight classes at sub-state.

They’ll now be the first two girls ever to represent Pittsburg at the state tournament.

“Girls wrestling is so new, and they all have a chance to make history,” Davis adds, “It’s been a selling point for me, and I’ve been trying to use that as motivation to get more girls out for wrestling. It paid off. We have two girls that just made history. Mercedes is our first regional champion, and her and Rebeccah are our first state qualifiers. It’s awesome that I could be a part of that.”

Columbus girls wrestling sees rise in numbers, success in year two

The girls wrestling program at Columbus High School is still very new. In fact, girls wrestling teams across the entire state of Kansas are new. The Kansas State High School Activities Association sanctioned the sport, for girls, last year.

Columbus started with just four girls on the team in its first year. Now, it has doubled in size. Its athletes and coaches take recruiting efforts seriously.

“We try to be in contact with everyone around the school and advertise the sport on social media,” says first-year wrestler, Dixee Lacen. “We want to show girls what it’s actually about and that it’s not as scary as it looks.”

It’s important to them to dispel the misnomers of the sport.

“Girls just don’t know what this sport is about,” Lacen says. “They say it’s a “guy thing.”

The majority of  the team had never wrestled prior to high school and the sport’s sanctioning.

“They’re pretty green as far as knowledge,” says head coach, Marcus Bowman. “We don’t have any girls that started wrestling when they were 6 or 7 years old like some other schools do. We’re really starting from scratch and it’s good.”

The lack of experience hasn’t shown on the mat. This year, the Columbus girls won their district and were runners up at regionals. Five girls qualified to compete in sub state this weekend.

“They picked it up fast. They’re like sponges,” Bowman says. “Since they are new to the sport, they don’t have any bad habits. They’re very coachable and they have passion.”

The program has grown and achieved a lot and in a short amount of time.

“That just really shows a lot about our school, coaches and community,” Lacen says. “They’re all out there supporting us. We’re taking that support and going and getting results out of it.”

Second year wrestler, Addison Saporito agrees. “We’re all really hard workers and we’re all just really passionate about it and want to prove to people what we can do,” she says.

No matter how the season finishes, the girls say they have a lot to be proud of.

“I might not win sub state, I might not even make it state, but doing as well as I’ve done and encouraging the girls around me to do as well as they’ve done… that’s what keeps us going,” Lacen says.

Chanute prepares to host 4A sub-state wrestling

WATCH: The Chanute Blue Comets prepare to host 4A sub-state this weekend. The Comets will host the tournament on Saturday.

Chanute is the defending 4A state champion, and is currently ranked #2 in the state in the KWCA 4A poll. The Blue Comets have 6 wrestlers individually ranked in the top-6 in their respective weight classes.

Frontenac’s Ty Gates signs to Pitt State football

Frontenac senior, Ty Gates, signs to continue his football career with the Gorillas next season.

“It means a lot. I’ve been dreaming about playing college football all my life. I just never thought this moment would come and I’m very thankful,” Gates says.

Gates has been a key player for the Raiders in the last few years. He has earned 1st team all-state recognition. While he is expected to play cornerback at Pitt State, Gates is extremely versatile.  In his senior season last fall, he finished with 230 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively, Gates racked up 35 tackles, one fumble recovery and two interceptions.

“I want to become a starter my freshman year which means I have to work and work and work. I really just want to be the best person I can be on that field,” Gates says.

Matt Mims out as head coach after one year at Baxter Springs

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. — Change is coming once again at Baxter Springs High School as Matt Mims will be leaving after one year as head football coach for the Lions.

The Lions were winless in Mims’ lone season at the helm of the program and now assistant coach William Burr will lead the Lions into the 2021-2022 season. Burr spent much of his coaching days at Webb City High School and joined Baxter Springs back in 2016.

Baxter Springs athletic director Kenneth Boeckman released the following statement:

We appreciate the passion and energy Coach Mims has brought to the football program at Baxter Springs High School. Recently, Coach Mims has informed the district of his plans to return to his home state of Alabama as a next step in his career. We thank him for his dedication to Lions Football and wish him best the of luck! Moving forward, we’ve named assistant, Russell Burr, the next head football coach. Reflected in this quick and decisive action is our mission to create a smooth transition, in the best interest of our student-athletes and the program. Coach Burr brings a wealth of experience that will be reflected in his leadership, accountability, and integrity.

Kenneth Boeckman – Baxter Springs AD