Several teams and more individuals were among the Western Athletic Conference state qualifiers over the weekend of Saturday, Oct. 26, with those season-ending state meets coming up on Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2, while soccer regionals will be contested Oct. 28 through Oct. 31 with quarterfinals and state finals set for the following week.
In addition, the 8-week regular season in football was concluded on Friday, Oct. 25, with Dodge City finishing the WAC season unbeaten at 4-0, Great Bend was second at 3-1 following a 27-7 win at Garden City. Garden City took third at 2-2, Hays fourth at 1-3 and Liberal was winless in its four conference games.
Those teams have now been placed into 16-team brackets of Class 6A and 5A, with the Week 9 Games slated for Friday, Nov. 1.
BOYS SOCCER
Seedings were announced on Saturday, Oct. 26, for both Class 6A and 5A boys soccer.
Dodge City, the regular-season WAC champion, received the overall No. 3 seed in 6A West and will host Hutchinson, the No. 14 seed (6-9-1) at 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Dodge City.
Liberal, 11-4-1, and the No. 7 West seed, hosts Lawrence-Free State (8-6-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday while Garden City, No. 12 with a 7-8-1 record, travels to No. 5 Wichita Heights (12-3-1), in another 6 o’clock start. Winners will play in regional finals on Thursday, Oct. 31.
The two Class 5A WAC schools – Great Bend (8-7-1) and Hays (3-12-1) will also be in action Tuesday.
The Panthers, the No. 8 seed with an 8-7-1 mark, will host No. 9 Andover (7-8-1) while Hays, the No. 16 seed will host No. 17 seed Arkansas City (3-13-0) in a 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28 contest to determine who will face No. 1 seed Goddard-Eisenhower on Tuesday in Goddard.
Regional finals in Class 5A also are slated for Thursday, Oct. 31.
6A Regionals – Tues., Oct. 29
West Region #2 – No. 7 Liberal (11-4-1) hosts No. 10 Lawrence-Free State (8-6-2), 6 p.m.
West Region #3 – No. 3 Dodge City (13-3-0) hosts No. 14 Hutchinson (6-9-1), 6 p.m.
West Region #4—No. 12 Garden City (7-8-1) at No. 5 Wichita Heights (12-3-1), 6 p.m.
Regional finals on Oct. 31 – Dodge hosts; Garden at Derby; Liberal at Washburn Rural
5A Regionals – Tues., Oct. 29
No. 8 Great Bend (8-7-1) hosts No. 9 Andover (7-8-1), 6 p.m.
Play – In (Mon., Oct. 28) No. 16 Hays, 3-12-1, hosts No. 17 Arkansas City (3-13-0), 5 p.m.
Winner faces Goddard Eisenhower on Tues., Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. at Goddard Eisenhower HS
Regional championship games will be played on Oct. 31. Great Bend/Hays at Goddard-Eisenhower
CROSS COUNTRY
Regional cross country championships were conducted at various sites on Saturday, Oct. 26, with Class 6A Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal competing at Wichita Cessna Activity Center while Class 5A Great Bend and Hays were running at Lake Barton Golf Club just outside Great Bend.
At the Class 6A regional, Garden City and Dodge City’s boys both earned team qualifying spots for the state meet on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence by placing second and third. Dodge City’s girls also qualified by taking the final team spot in third with 59 points, just trailing Derby (53) and Wichita East (57).
Garden City freshman Jocelyn Sosa claimed the 6A girls individual title by running the 5-kilometer layout in 19:31.95 but was unable to get her team qualified as the Buffs girls took fifth. Dodge City’s girls, led by fifth-place finisher Serenity Larson, placed runners from fifth to 20th. Liberal’s girls placed sixth.
In the 6A boys division, Garden City’s boys were second with 68 points and Dodge City third with 80 points. Wichita East won the team title with 35 points.
Fisher’s time was 16:29.18 for the highest WAC finish, but Dodge City’s Giovanni Valverde was right behind in fourth in a time of 16:35.34. Two other WAC runners – Santiago Nunez-Gonzalez of Garden City and Angel Landeros of Dodge City – took eighth and 10th, respectively.
At Lake Barton in the Class 5A regional, Emilia Diaz paced the Lady Panthers on their home course with a third-place finish (20:06.78). Amelia Jaeger of Hays was the only other individual qualifier, placing seventh in a time of 20:23.43.
On the boys side, Kaiden Esfeld was the top Great Bend finisher, taking third in a time of 16:55.21 while teammates Sage Cauley and Evan Hammond also had top 10 finishes in eighth and ninth with times of 17:10.35 and 17:11.45. Hays did not have any individual qualifiers.
6A at Wichita Cessna Activity Center
Teams: 1. Derby, 53; 2. Wichita East, 57; 3. Dodge City, 59; 5. Garden City, 116; 6. Liberal, 149.
Girls – 1. Jocelyn Sosa, Garden City, Fr., 19:31.95 (5K); 5. Serenity Larson, Dodge City, So., 20:02.03; 11. Karina Estrada, Dodge City, So., 20:31.71; 13. Norma Rodriguez, Dodge City, So., 20:38.98; 16.. Karina Herrera, Dodge City, Jr., 20:55.77; 20. Denise Dominguez, Sr., Dodge City, 21:21.78.
Garden City: 23. Kaetlin Kohlhorst, Sr., 21:30.14; 31. Andrea Hernandez, So., 22:25.32; 32. Destiny Avila, Sr., 22:27.03; 33. Anna Lobmeyer, Fr., 22:28.68; 43. Ana Casados, Sr., 24:13.93;
Liberal: 9. Halle West, Fr., 20:24.15.
Boys
Teams: 1. Wichita East, 35; 2. Garden City, 68; 3. Dodge City, 80; 8. Liberal, 206.
Boys – 3. Ethan Fisher, GC, 16:29.18; 4. Giovanni Valverde, Dodge City, Sr., 16:35.34; 8. Santiago Nunez-Gonzalez, GC, 16:58.17; 10. Angel Landeros, Dodge City, Jr., 17:03.82; 13. Brody Hoff, GC, 17:11.50; 16. Martin Marquez, DC, So., 17:25.56; 20. Devin Chappel, GC, Fr., 17:35.31; 21. David Ultreras, DC, Fr., 17:39.10; 24. Austin Hess, GC, Sr., 17:47.86; 25. Evan Gurrola, GC, 17:47.93; 29. Josias Chavez, DC, So., 17:58.23; 33. Jair Martinez, DC, Sr., 18:05.00; 35. Edwin Murillo, Amaya, Liberal, 18:08.59; 37. Erick Amparan, Liberal, Fr., 18:15.95; 42. Alexis Romo, DC, So., 18:22.34; 47. Kenji Craig, GC, So., 18:39.36; 48. Elian Laguna, Liberal, Fr., 18:54.83; 55. Alexander Lopez, Liberal, Jr., 19:28.54; 56. David Villa, Liberal, Fr., 19:31.22; 58. Bryan Ortega, Liberal, Fr., 19:52.34.
Class 5A at Great Bend (Lake Barton GC)
Girls
Team Scores: 1. Maize South, 36; 2. Maize, 61; 3. Great Bend, 62; 4. Hays, 83.
3. Emilia Diaz, Great Bend, So., 20:06.78; 7. Amelia Jaeger, Hays, Fr., 20:23.43; 8. McKenna Esfeld, GB, Sr., 20:45.29; 9. Emma Loomis, GB, So., 20:47.79; 18. Yesenia Maldonado, Hays, Sr., 21:30.21; 19. Claire Shippy, Hays, Jr., 23:33.12; 21. Michaela Dickman, Hays, Fr., 21:39.89; 22. Jaycine Watson, Hays, Fr., 21:48.34; 26. Lainey Hardman, Hays, So., 22:07.08; 28. Hannah Loomis, GB, So., 22:13.16; 30. Landri Dotts, Hays, So., 22:19.18; 40. August Siefkes, GB, Fr., 22:51.71.
Boys
Team Scores: 1. Maize South, 42; 2. Newton, 54; 3. Great Bend, 57; 9. Hays, 223.
3. Kaiden Esfeld, Great Bend, 16:55.21; 7. Sage Cauley, Great Bend, 17:10.35; 8. Evan Hammond, Great Bend, 17:11.45; 19. Alex Smith, Great Bend, 17:48.04; 20. Collin Hammond, Great Bend, 17:49.72; 30. Brayden Hines, Hays, 18:19.51; 39. Matthew Huslig, Great Bend, 18:44.32; 42. Grant Brungardt, Hays, 18:58.90; 46. Matthew Dempsey, Hays, 19:33.87; 52. Nathan Erbert, Hays, 19:56.55; 53. Christopher Goodale, Hays, 19:58.89; 57. Carter Muehleisen, Hays, 20:18.88; 60. Fernando Zarate, Hays, 20:37.47.
VOLLEYBALL
In Class 6A and 5A sub-state volleyball action Saturday, WAC champion Garden City was the lone team to earn a berth to the Nov. 1-2 state tournament.
The Buffaloes won the 6A sub-state on their home court with victories over Haysville-Campus (25-17, 25-23) and Manhattan (25-13, 25-21).
That provides the Buffs with a season record of 32-3 and they have the No. overall seed among the eight qualifying teams for the 6A state which begins Friday afternoon, at 2:30 p.m., at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina. The Buffs need to finish first or second among the four-team pool to advance to Saturday’s semifinals.
Dodge City dropped its semifinal match to Junction City (24-26, 19-25) while Liberal advanced to the final match only to fall to No. 1 seed Derby, 8-25, 14-25. Both teams finished the season with 16-21 records.
In Class 5A, Great Bend lost a heart-breaking three-set championship match to Goddard, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25 and saw its season end with a sparkling 28-7 record. The Panthers had defated Salina South in three sets, 23-25, 25-14, 25-21. Hays also reached its sub-state title match after beating Wichita Northwest, 28-26, 25-20 before losing to Maize South, 12-25, 13-25. The Indians finished the season at 21-13.
6A Sub-State/Oct. 26
Garden City (32-3) def. Haysville-Campus 25-17, 25-23, and Manhattan, 25-13, 25-21
Dodge City (16-21) lost to Junction City, 24-26, 19-25
Liberal (16-21) def. Hutchinson, 25-21, 25-23; lost to Derby in SS #3 finals, 8-25, 14-25
6A State Tournament/Nov. 1-2 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center, Salina
Seeds: 1. Garden City, 32-3; 8. Lawrence-Free State, 24-12; 4. Blue Valley (28-8); 5. Blue Valley North, 27-8.
Court A –Pool I
3:30pm—Blue Valley vs. Blue Valley North
4:30—Garden City vs. Lawrence Free State
5:30—Blue Valley vs. Lawrence Free State
6:30—Garden City vs. Blue Valley North
7:30—Blue Valley North vs. Lawrence Free State
8:30—Garden City vs. Blue Valley
Pool II
2. Topeka-Washburn Rural, 36-5; 7. Gardner-Edgerton, 26-10; 3. Derby, 33-8; 6. Shawnee Mission Northwest, 28-10.
3:30 PM Derby (3) vs. Shawnee Mission-Northwest (6)
4:30 PM Topeka-Washburn Rural (2) vs. Gardner-Edgerton (7)
5:30 PM Derby (3) vs. Gardner-Edgerton (7)
6:30 PM Topeka-Washburn Rural (2) vs. Shawnee Mission-Northwest (6)
7:30 PM Shawnee Mission-Northwest (6) vs. Gardner-Edgerton (7)
8:30 PM Topeka-Washburn Rural (2) vs. Derby (3)
Top 2 finishers in each Pool advance to 6A semifinals at 2 p.m. Saturday; No. 1 Pool 1 vs. No. 2 Pool 2; No. 2 Pool 1 vs. No. 1 Pool 2. Winners advance to finals; losers will play consolation 3rd place match.
5A Sub-State/Oct. 26
Hays def. Wichita NW, 28-26, 25-20 in semis of SS #1; lost to Maize South 12-25, 13-25 (21-13 final record) in finals.
Great Bend (SS #4), def. Salina South, 23-25, 25-14, 25-21; lost to Goddard in finals, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25 (28-7 final record)
FOOTBALL
The WAC concluded its regular season schedule on Friday, Oct. 25, with Dodge City finishing unbeaten at 4-0 and 8-0 overall to claim the conference title.
Great Bend finished second by virtue of a 27-7 win at Garden City to end at 3-1 and 4-4 this season. Garden City is 2-6 overall and 2-2 in the WAC; Hays 1-3 and 3-5 overall with Liberal 2-6 overall and 0-4 in the WAC.
Week 9 Bracket games will be played on Friday, Nov. 1, in Class 6A and 5A.
Dodge City earned the 6A No. 2 seed in the West bracket and will host Haysville-Campus (1-7). Garden City is the No. 14 seed at 2-6 and travels to Topeka High (7-1).
In Class 5A, Great Bend is the No. 8 seed and hosts No. 9 Wichita Heights (3-5); Hays is the No. 10 seed and travels to Goddard Eisenhower (5-3) while Liberal is on the road to Maize High (7-1). All games are slated for 7 p.m. kickoffs.
FOOTBALL – WEEK 9 GAMES
Dodge City 8-0, No. 2 seed 6A west will host Haysville-Campus (1-7), No. 15 seed
Garden City, 2-6, No. 14 seed 6A West will travel to Topeka-High (7-1), No. 3 seed (Hummer Sports Complex)
Great Bend, 4-4, No. 8 seed in 5A West will host Wichita Heights (3-5)
Hays, 3-5, No. 10 seed in 5A West will travel to No. 7 seed Goddard Eisenhower (5-3)
Liberal, 2-6, No. 14 seed in 5A West, will travel to Maize High (7-1), No. 3 seed
