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Month: February 2018
Hays High swimmers to compete at state
The Hays High swim team will compete in three races at the KSHSAA State Swimming and Diving Meet on Thursday and Friday in Topeka. Isaac Smith will compete in the 50 yard freestyle and 100 yard butterfly. Smith enters the meet seeded 14th in the freestyle race and 11th in the butterfly.
The Indians also send their 200 yard freestyle relay. The relay consists of Blade Goering, Brett Bowels, Scout Perryman and Isaac Smith.
The 5-1A prelims will begin at 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. Final will start Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Kansas man sentenced for dismemberment murder
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man will spend more than 50 years in prison for the slayings of two men, one of whom was dismembered.
Maximo Campillo-Echevarria, 63, Topeka, was sentenced Thursday for the September deaths of 61-year-old Thomas Paul O’Conner and 22-year-old Chance Christian Crank, who was dismembered. He was sentenced to 51 years for O’Conner’s death and a concurrent term of nearly 13 years for Crank’s death.
O’Conner was found suffering from stab wounds at an apartment building in September. At the same time, firefighters found Crank’s dismembered body while extinguishing a fire at Campillo-Echevarria’s nearby apartment.
Campillo-Echevarria was convicted in 1981 of first-degree murder in the death of 34-year-old Pedro Machado. He was paroled from a life sentence in 2000.
Campillo-Echevarria fled Cuba in the 1980 Mariel boat lift.
Sunny, windy Friday
Today Mostly sunny, with a high near 40. North wind 9 to 14 mph becoming light and variable.
Tonight Partly cloudy, with a low around 25. South southeast wind 9 to 13 mph becoming west southwest after midnight.
SaturdaySunny, with a high near 57. Breezy, with a west southwest wind 8 to 13 mph becoming northwest 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday NightMostly clear, with a low around 34. Northeast wind 6 to 16 mph becoming south after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph.
SundaySunny, with a high near 72. Breezy, with a south southwest wind 13 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph.
Sunday NightMostly clear, with a low around 30.
Washington’s BirthdayMostly sunny, with a high near 42.
Former Pitt State professor jailed third time for alleged stalking
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — One of the two former Pittsburg State University associate professors arrested for stalking and breach of privacy last year has been arrested again.
Accounting & Computer Information Systems-photo Crawford County
Pittsburg police say 47-year-old Peter Rosen was arrested Wednesday on charges of stalking and violations of a protection from stalking order. He was released on $2,000 bond.
The Pittsburg Morning-Sun reports Rosen has been arrested three times since a search in December found illegal videotaping of someone who was nude or nearly nude.
Rosen, former associate professor and chairman of Accounting and Computer Information Systems, also was arrested in November on a misdemeanor stalking charge.
All three arrests involve the same person.
Barry Wilson, former associate professor and chairman of Graphics and Imaging Technology, was arrested at the same time as Rosen in December. He was released $2,000 bond.
LeRoy Joseph Schmidtberger
LeRoy Joseph Schmidtberger, 85, of Overland Park, KS, passed away on February 10, 2018 in Houston, TX. He was born on March 21, 1932 in Vincent, KS to Nicholas and Katherine Schmidtberger.
He grew up on a farm in Vincent, KS. After leaving the farm he worked for Union Pacific Railroad, then joined the Army and because of his railroad experience, was assigned to the Railway Transportation Division. In the late 1960’s he founded Schmidtberger Supply Company in Hays, KS. He loved spending time with his family. His recreational time was spent boating, skiing, fishing, hunting, woodworking and he earned his pilot’s license. LeRoy joined the Knights of Columbus in 1958 and became a 4th degree Knight in 1961. He has been deeply involved in the Knights of Columbus for over 50 years. He was a dedicated, active parishioner of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Overland Park, KS.
LeRoy is survived by his children, Terry Schmidtberger and Diana Schmidtberger, both of Houston, TX; grandchildren, Lyndsi, Travis and Kelsi Schmidtberger; and a great-grandson, Hayden.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 60 years, Melba Schmidtberger; his parents, Nicholas and Katherine; an infant brother, Joseph; an infant sister, Mary Katherine; brothers, Marvin and Robert; and his grandson, Scott Schmidtberger.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be given to Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Overland Park, KS.
Rosary: Thursday, February 15, 2018 from 6:00pm to 6:20pm
Visitation: Thursday, February 15, 2018 from 6:20pm to 8:00pm
Service: Friday, February 16, 2018 at 10:00am
Interment: Resurrection Catholic Cemetery
Tigers hold off RiverHawks for key home win
By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
HAYS, Kan. – Fort Hays State hit their first six shots in building an early nine-point lead then held off Northeastern State down the stretch for an 81-74 win at Gross Coliseum. It’s the Tigers second win over the RiverHawks in a week after a double-overtime victory in Tahlequah a week ago and they improve them to 15-10 overall and 8-8 in the MIAA. NSU has lost four straight and five of their last seven and fall to 7-18 and 3-13 in the MIAA.
Mark Johnson Postgame Interview
Trey O’Neil Postgame Interview
Game Highlights
The Tigers shot 57-percent in the first half and led by as many as 16 in the first half. They pushed that lead to 17 a couple of times in the first three minutes of the second half only to see Northeastern go on a 21-10 run to pull within four with 1:21 to play.
The Tigers went 8-for-12 at the free throw line in the final 1:50 to hold on for the win.
Hadley Gillum led four Tigers in double-figures with 20 points and seven rebounds. Trey O’Neil scored 17 with five assists and three steals. Brady Werth added 13 points and Marcus Cooper scored 12. Four of Cooper’s five made shots were dunks including an alley-oop from Kyler Kinnamon which pushed the lead to 15 early in the second half.
Jamir Andrews led the RiverHawks with 22 points.
Morris leads No. 19 Wichita State past Temple
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — As his teammates headed to the locker room after allowing 56 first-half points, Wichita State senior center Shaquille Morris witnessed their frustration.
And he saw opportunity.
Would No. 19 Wichita State allow Temple to beat the Shockers for a second time in 15 days? Or would Wichita State storm back?
After the Shockers’ 93-86 victory Thursday, thanks in large part to Morris’ 23 points and 13 rebounds, he had his answer.
“Tonight defined our team,” Morris said. “We’ve gotten better.
“We needed a game like this, especially being down second half and showing resilience.”
Darral Willis had 24 points for the Shockers (20-5, 10-3 American Athletic Conference). Morris and Willis, senior big men, were combined 18 of 21 from the floor.
“We rode them,” Shockers coach Gregg Marshall said. “When they play like that, you can ride them.”
Austin Reaves scored 11 points for Wichita State, and Landry Shamet and Conner Frankamp each scored 10.
Temple (15-11, 7-7) hit a season-high 16 3-point shots on 29 attempts. Obi Enechionyia led Temple with 17 points and other Owls were in double figures — Quinton Rose (16), De’Vondre Perry (15), Shizz Alston (15) and Josh Brown (13).
Temple brought a five-game winning streak into the game and was hot in the first half. The Owls were 11 of 15 from the 3-point line while building that 56-42 halftime lead.
Enechionyia spurred the offensive outburst, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points in a 13-7 run the start the game. He entered the game averaging 11.1 points.
“Obi really got us started,” Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. “I don’t think we could have played any better offensively in the first half.”
Shamet acknowledged he was “pretty frustrated” at halftime. “You don’t want to be getting beat like that at home,” he said. “It was like we couldn’t find an answer.”
Wichita State did after halftime, opening with an 11-0 run and eventually taking its first lead, 66-62, on a Willis 3-pointer with 11:31 to play.
“We made some coaching tweaks,” Marshall said, “but it was really just about finding a way.”
Morris did much of the damage with 16 points and eight rebounds in the second half. Dunphy credited Morris with “having a basketball IQ off the charts.”
Morris’ putback resulting in a three-point play with 1:54 remaining gave Wichita State an 84-81 lead it would not lose. The Shockers outscored the Owls 36-8 in the in the paint.
“Stickbacks killed us,” Dunphy said.
Marshall said Morris diving in a pile of players to retrieve the ball, resulting in a Conner Frankamp layup, showed him more than any other play.
“This might have been Shaq’s finest game as a Shocker,” Marshall said. “He was a beast.”
BIG PICTURE
Temple: The Owls backed up their hot streak, going toe to toe on the road with a top-20 team in a crazy environment.
Wichita State: The Shockers overcame a huge deficit to beat a hot opponent and, combined with Cincinnati’s loss, get back in the conference race.
COACHING VOICE
Dunphy has been to more than his share of arenas, but Thursday was his first game at Koch Arena.
“You hear a lot about it, and it’s a special place,” Dunphy said. “Late in the game, we were trying to get our guys to come off the center line to press. We had no chance of them hearing us.”
Marshall said it was “the loudest Koch Arena has been in many a year.”
SHAMET HELPING
Shamet had five assists, giving him 252 for his career. He is just the third Shocker to reach 250 before the end of his sophomore season, joining Fred VanVleet (282) and Joe Griffin (306).
UP NEXT
Temple: The Owls host Houston on Sunday
Wichita State: The Shockers travel to No. 5 Cincinnati on Sunday. The Bearcats lost at Houston on Wednesday.
Man sentenced for abduction, rape of Kansas deputy
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 41 years and three months in prison for kidnapping and raping a suburban Kansas City sheriff’s deputy with the help of another man.
26-year-old William Luth, of Blue Springs, Missouri, was sentenced Thursday after the prosecutor read a statement from the deputy in which she described “two hours of hell.” The deputy wasn’t in uniform when she was abducted in October 2016 from the parking lot of a detention center in Olathe, Kansas, while headed to work. She was released in the Missouri suburb of Lee’s Summit.
Charges in the attack also are pending against Brady Newman-Caddell. Luth and Newman-Caddell also are charged with sexual assaulting a Missouri woman while her 2-year-old daughter was in the same bed.
Man sentenced for abduction, rape of Kansas deputy
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 41 years and three months in prison for kidnapping and raping a suburban Kansas City sheriff’s deputy with the help of another man.
26-year-old William Luth, of Blue Springs, Missouri, was sentenced Thursday after the prosecutor read a statement from the deputy in which she described “two hours of hell.” The deputy wasn’t in uniform when she was abducted in October 2016 from the parking lot of a detention center in Olathe, Kansas, while headed to work. She was released in the Missouri suburb of Lee’s Summit.
Charges in the attack also are pending against Brady Newman-Caddell. Luth and Newman-Caddell also are charged with sexual assaulting a Missouri woman while her 2-year-old daughter was in the same bed.
Big first quarter carries Tiger women past Northeastern State
By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
HAYS, Kan. – Lanie Page scored a game-high 19 points and fueled a 13-4 first quarter run that gave the Fort Hays State women the lead for good in a 73-45 victory over Northeastern State. Page scored 15 of her points in the first half as FHSU secured a school record seventh straight 20-win season.
The Tigers have won eight of their last nine games and improve to 20-5 overall and 11-5 in the MIAA.
Tony Hobson Postgame Interview
Game Highlights
Tatyana Legette scored 12 points and had 11 rebounds, Kacey Kennett added 11 points and Carly Hiem scored eight points and had four steals and three blocks.
The Tigers came out on fire, hitting 7 of 9 threes in the first quarter in building a 28-14 lead and were up as many as 23 in the second quarter before settling on a 20-point lead at the half.
FHSU shot 37-percent from the floor and went 11-of-26 from beyond the arc.
Kan. man wants to withdraw plea in baseball bat killing
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty to killing a Topeka man with a baseball bat wants to withdraw his plea.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports 37-year-old Arthur Lee Ford IV, of Topeka, asked Wednesday to withdraw his plea after realizing he could spend nearly 50 years in prison, rather than about 23.
Ford accepted the plea deal in October to a reduced charge of second-degree murder in the 2016 death of 52-year-oldl Mark Everett Johnson.
Prosecutors say Johnson was killed during a break-in at his apartment.
At the time, Ford’s attorney told him he likely would be sentenced to about 23 years in prison. Instead, the sentence could be 49 years because Ford has a stronger criminal history than originally believed.
The motion to withdraw Ford’s plea will be heard March 22.
Tiger softball drops two games in Oklahoma
Fort Hays State fell twice on Thursday (Feb. 15) in a pair of games in Claremore, Oklahoma. The Tigers fell to the home team Rogers State by run rule, 10-0, and saw a big lead evaporate late in a 6-5 loss to Oklahoma Baptist in a neutral site contest.
Rogers State 10, Fort Hays State 0
The Tigers fell by run rule in their first contest Thursday, a 10-0 defeat at the hands of Rogers State. Fort Hays State had two runners reach base, one by walk and one by error, but could not scratch out a hit against Rogers State starter Alex Brake in the shortened contest that ended in the fifth.
Each Tiger that reached base also stole a base, Terran Caldwell following a leadoff walk in the first and Bailey Boxberger after reaching on an error in the second.
Tiger starter Hailey Chapman lasted just 1.1 innings and allowed eight runs on four hits and four walks. Carrie Clarke relieved for 0.1 innings, and Sierra Rodriguez pitched the final 2.1 innings. Rodriguez allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk.
Oklahoma Baptist 6, Fort Hays State 5
Fort Hays State built a 5-0 lead, but saw it evaporate quickly late in a 6-5 loss to Oklahoma Baptist. The Tigers scored twice in the first and three times in the second, but went scoreless the final five innings, while OBU scored six runs over the final two innings.
Tess Gray put the Tigers on top early with a two-run home run in the first inning. Candace Bollig tacked on to the lead in the second with a two-RBI single, followed by another RBI single from Grace Philop.
Hailey Chapman cruised along through five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. Oklahoma Baptist led off the sixth with a home run and proceeded to scratch out three singles over the next four batters to plate another run. With two runners aboard, the biggest blow was a three-run homer allowed to OBU catcher Hailey Seago that tied the game 5-5. Sierra Rodriguez came on in relief following the home run.
Oklahoma Baptist benefitted from a throwing error that allowed the first batter of the seventh inning to reach base. After Rodriguez got one out, OBU took the lead on an RBI single by Bry Flanagan. Rodriguez escaped further damage, stranding runners at first and third.
Grace Philop led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, then moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Gray. However, the Tigers could not find a timely hit to extend the game.
Rodriguez took the loss even though she did not allow an earned run. Chapman threw 5.1 innings and allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Amanda Peterson picked up the win for OBU, throwing the final six innings of the game after relieving for starter Chandler Roberts. All three runs Peterson allowed in the second inning were unearned. She scattered nine hits and allowed one walk.
Fort Hays State, now 2-7, returns to action on Saturday when it hosts the FHSU Crossover Tournament. FHSU will face Harding and Wayne State (Neb.) on Saturday, then Upper Iowa and Rogers State on Sunday. See the Tournament Homepage for a schedule of all the games in Hays over the weekend.