Watch a recording of the boy’s 58-52 victory over Lawrence.

Matt Baker a Maryville University wrestler and 2008 East graduate is being featured on NCAA “All Access”. In this video mini-series the NCAA selects a school and one of their athletes to do video blogs of their daily life. So far Baker has shot four videos, and he is continuing to shoot them weekly. After Baker shoots the videos, he submits them to one of his assistant coaches where they are passed on to “All Access” and posted to be viewed on the NCAA’s Website.

Currently Baker is a fourth-year junior, but his first three years of college were not spent at Maryville. After graduating from East in 2008, Baker began his wrestling career at Division II wrestling powerhouse, the University of Nebraska-Omaha (UNO). Baker redshirted his freshman year, earned 24 wins the season after that and was a Division II All-American last season. After a national championship win in the 2010-11 season, UNO and head wrestling coach Mike Denney had won their third straight, and sixth out of the last eight Division II National Championships. Just hours after winning the national championship, Baker received a text from assistant coach Ron Higdon to return to their hotel as soon as possible.

“I didn’t know what was happening,” said Baker, “My first thought was that maybe someone had gotten hurt, but really I didn’t know what to expect.”

Nothing could have prepared the team for the news they were about to receive. After gathering in the lobby of their Kearney, Neb. hotel, the team was told that UNO athletic director Trev Alberts was proposing moving from Division II to Division I. If the school made the jump, they would join the Summit League which does not provide funding for football and wrestling, and therefore the programs would be cut. On the eve of their third consecutive national championship, a night that should have been spent celebrating, the UNO Mavericks were in utter disbelief.

“At that point I thought no way,” said Baker. “No way this could come true, there is no way they could let this happen.”

When the team made their return to Omaha, they began to organize any kind of student resistance they could muster up. Unfortunately, the resistance was a waste of time. Alberts had told Denney that the move was just a proposal, and nothing had been decided yet. But in reality, it was too late. Upon meeting with the wrestling and football teams for the first time, the decision had already been made; the programs were going to be cut.

Fortunately for Denney and his team, their success was admired and sought after by many other schools. Within a day of hearing the proposal, Denney was bombarded with phone calls and e-mails from schools interested in offering him a coaching job. However, one of the offers seemed to stand out from the rest. Maryville University, a private school in St. Louis did not have a wrestling team, but was highly interested in adding one. Jeff Miller, the vice president of Maryville made an offer for Denney, his coaching staff and the whole UNO team to make the move to Maryville. Upon hearing the offer, Baker and some of his teammates began to discuss it, and could not deny its appeal.

“I remember thinking, if we get enough guys, and the right guys, we can win a national championship next year,” said Baker.

Denney accepted the offer from Maryville, and the wrestlers began examining their options. Ideally, the whole team and the recruits they signed would have been able to make the move, but due to everyone’s individual academic and family needs this was not a reality. Being that Maryville is a private school, the tuition was also more than everyone can afford. Even after these hurdles, 12 of the 19 wrestlers on Maryville’s roster either wrestled at UNO or were incoming freshmen planning on wrestling there.

After figuring out who would be joining him in Maryville, Baker soon realized that a National Championship may not be in the cards for this season. But that does not mean that the future for Maryville’s program is not bright. On campus, the interest level in wrestling is high and gaining even more support. The roster is set with one of the top freshmen classes in the country and with leadership from upperclassmen like Baker they are getting better week by week. Three of these freshmen start, and have gotten first place finishes for the team at multiple meets this season. Denney says that he believes he has about eight years left of coaching, and Baker is confident that during his tenure Maryville will bring home a national championship.

“It probably won’t happen this year,” said Baker, “But Coach Denney will be able to in his time here, I have no doubts.”

For more on the cutting of UNO’s football and wrestling programs, check out the ESPN Outside the Lines report.

In the second round of the 48^th Annual McPherson Invitational Tournament, the Lancers fell to the hometown Bullpups 60-51. From the beginning of the game, Coach Shawn Hair’s team was unable to establish any rhythm on the offensive end. In a pregame interview, Hair said the Lancers would have to take care of the ball and not let the turnovers get the best of them. This was not the case however, as the Lancers turned the ball over 26 times.

The second quarter was characterized by more offensive woes from the Lancers as they continued to struggle with turnovers. McPherson senior guard Jordan Hart provided most of their offensive firepower. None of the Lancer defenders seemed able to contain him. After struggling to retain quality offensive possessions, senior guard Andy Hiett led an 11-5 Lancer run to end the quarter. Going into halftime, East trailed 29-20.

After carrying the momentum into halftime, the Lancers found themselves down 15 early in the third quarter. Juniors Vance Wentz and Zach Schneider proved to be the key sources of offense for East again as they fueled a comeback to bring the Lancers within one. Key assists from senior guards Henry Simpson and Alex Schoegler helped fuel the run as well. Late in the quarter, Schneider hit three free throws to give the Lancers a one point lead, their first of the game.

Coming into the fourth quarter, the Lancers looked to be controlling the game. McPherson was able to pick up the intensity on the defensive side and force more Lancer turnovers. Hart continued to give the Bullpups solid offense and got some help inside from junior Keaton Sorenson. After East gave up a few buckets and failed to convert on the offensive end, McPherson finally pulled away.

The Lancers drop to 6-4 on the season, and will play a tough Lawrence Free State team in the 3^rd place game tomorrow at 5:30. Hair’s team will be looking to rebound against a Sunflower League opponent who fell just short of the tournament’s championship.

Points by Player:

Wentz: 20

Schneider: 14

Hiett: 10

Tuttle: 4

Simpson: 2

Sutherland: 1

]]> http://smeharbinger.net/sports/live-broadcast-boys-basketball-vs-mcpherson-high/feed 0 http://smeharbinger.net/sports/weekly-winter-sports-update-week-2 http://smeharbinger.net/sports/weekly-winter-sports-update-week-2#comments Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:21:34 +0000 The Harbinger Online Staff http://smeharbinger.net/?p=38993 Swimming:  
Last week the Lancer’s won their duel meet against reigning state champion, Blue Valley North, in what was an extremely close meet.“Going in we knew we could we win but all of the [Blue Valley] North kids thought that they had the meet,” senior Jack Haverty said. “The entire meet their was so much energy, I’ve never heard the pool that loud. In all of the relays we were underdogs but we came out victorious in all of them.”

“We need our play makers to make plays in big games,”  Stein said.  “Even though they did that for the most part we were just not able to convert.”

The Lady Lancers have a full week of practice before their next game.  Tuesday, Jan. 24 the Lady Lancers will take on the SM Northwest Cougars at home for the first time this season at home.

Girls Game Wrap Up

>>By Andrew McKittrick

Watch a recording of the Lancer’s 46-26 victory over SM West.

Boys Game Wrap Up

>>By Will Webber

“I think we are off to a good start we won our first meet and did well yesterday too”  Patrick said.  “I feel really good about how our team has been playing early.

“The coaches pushed me to start wrestling,” senior Tyler Nelson said, “But once I got started I just could not quit.”

The Lancers were favored over the Pioneers last night, as their returning state-placers had an advantage over a less experienced Leavenworth team. The seniors got some help from junior Gavin Jorns who quickly pinned his opponent scoring the team six points. Senior Ben Randolph struggled in his match against a less experienced Leavenworth opponent, but was still able to come out with a victory.

Senior Ben Randolph along with Blaine Hill are the two Lancer wrestlers planning on receiving a wrestling scholarship next year. Benedictine and Cornell College are currently Randolph’s top choices, while Hill remains undecided.

“Wrestling was my favorite sport through high school, I think lessons I learned from it will stay with me for the rest of my life,” Randolph said.

With two returning Sunflower League Champions and four returning state-placers the Lancers have high expectations for the rest of the season. League will take place on Feb. 11 and state is two weeks later starting Feb. 24.

In the first quarter, the Indians were putting a lot of pressure on the Lancer guards as soon as they would cross half court. They were also emphasizing their defense on junior Vance Wentz, as they would double-team him almost every time he touched the ball. The key source of offense for the Lancers was in the paint coming from junior Billy Sutherland. Sutherland’s size caused a mismatch for the Indians, and he was able to take advantage as he finished the game with 15 points. At the end of the first, the Lancers were on top 11-9.

The second quarter was pretty evenly matched, and seemed to just be going back and forth. Senior guard Josh Wilkes was able to get a couple of three-pointers for the Indians and helped to jump-start their offense. The Lancers continued to go inside to Sutherland, and also tried to establish Wentz on the offensive end. He continued to be double-teamed, and struggled to find open looks. Going into the half, the Lancers remained ahead 24-23.

Right after halftime, it was a display of lock down defense by both teams, and neither scored for the first three minutes. However, the Lancers were able to break this cycle with their guard play. Senior guards Andy Hiett and Alex Schoegler got the transition offense going, and jump-started the Lancer run late in the quarter. The Indians were outscored 13-6 in third, and at the end of the quarter the score stood 37-29.

The Indians were able to generate more offense in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit they had gotten themselves into. Any time it appeared that they were starting to make a run, the Lancers would answer back with a basket of their own. After the defeat last Friday against Shawnee Mission South, the Lancers have rebounded nicely and have won back-to-back games. The team now stands at 3-1, and it appears that their season is back on track.

McKenzie Swanson | Harbinger Online

Swimmers and non-swimmers alike were hearing floods of rumors and stories like these about Grant Minick, a senior who moved to the East area from Manassas, VA., a week before school started this year. East swimmers that swim for the Kansas City Blazers with Minick heard the news first and spread the word about this new teammate quickly.

But these high expectations were crushed when Minick fractured his left femur at a lacrosse practice in early October while cutting hard to dodge a fellow player.

“I was making a hard cut to my left and when I planted it just snapped,” Minick said. “I knew right away that it was my femur… because it popped really loudly.”

After the injury, Minick’s thoughts instantly jumped to his swim season and how it didn’t stand a chance. He thought about the time he spent at two-a-day practices and dry land to perfect his strokes and his speed. He thought that he wouldn’t have a chance to get up to his top shape for his last year on the swim team.

After about two months of physical therapy and easing back into swimming, Minick’s injury is healing and he expects to be able to compete for East after winter break.

East’s head swim coach Wiley Wright had never met Minick prior to his injury, but sympathized with him as soon as he heard the news. Wright had first heard about Minick when East’s girls’ swim coach, Rob Cole, told him in September that there was a new family whose daughter and son were strong swimmers.

“I felt sorry for the kid, you know, senior year, new school–that’s tough as it is and then to do that on top of that…I’m sure that wasn’t the highlight of his senior year,” Wright said.

The East swimmers quickly found out about Minick’s injury through word of mouth and were shocked, both because of the injury and what it meant for Minick’s swim season.

“I was kind of in disbelief about it,” sophomore Zack Holbrook said. “I was like, ‘wow, that can really happen to him after we just got him.’ He’s a great swimmer and I didn’t want to believe it.”

Because the injury was so close to swim season, the swimmers figured that Minick would be out through January and he would not have time to get in shape for the state meet on Feb. 16-18. However, Minick’s recovery has been quicker than they expected, partly due to Minick’s dedication to get back in the water.

The day after Minick broke his leg, he had surgery to insert a metal rod into his leg, which landed him on crutches. About a month after the surgery, Minick began working with physical therapist Lori Miller through the Athletic Rehabilitation Center three times a week. This was about two weeks before the swim season started. Miller focused on increasing the joint mobility to Minick’s hip and knee–the two joints that the femur is part of–and increasing his strength. Although Minick’s muscles were not harmed, they were weak from disuse after surgery.

At Minick’s first physical therapy session, Miller worked with him on bending his knee further and easy exercises to activate the quadriceps muscle. Since the first session, Minick’s strength has improved and he no longer needs crutches or even has a limp. At the most recent session, Miller continued to focus on strengthening Minick’s muscles, but was able to prescribe more strenuous exercises including squats, lateral band walks, and calf raises because Minick’s legs were stronger. So far, according to Miller, Minick’s healing process has been right on track and is going quickly now.

“[Minick] is starting to progress at a quicker rate now which I think it partly due to swimming,” Miller said. “He is getting more core and muscle strengthening by being in the pool which is definitely helping his recovery.”

Minick has noticed the quicker healing and strengthening as well, which has been faster than he, and the other swimmers, expected.

“I think [my recovery] is going a little faster than the average… I’m definitely trying to get back as fast as possible because I have sports to look forward to this year,” Minick said.

McKenzie Swanson | Harbinger Online

“Now he’s able to finish an entire practice and he’s going the same speed as everybody else at practice which is great to see,” senior Andrew Hornung said.

Minick is comfortable in the water now, but certain things are still hard for him such as sprinting and starts.

“Getting my speed back up [is hard] because I can do aerobic right now with my pull but my speed relies a lot on my legs and my leg’s really weak right now,” Minick said.

As of now, Minick hopes to be able to begin practicing with the East swim team after winter break. Until then, he will practice with the KC Blazers and not participate in meets. Minick will continue his hard work in and out of the water so he will be ready to race for East come January.

2) Girls Basketball-Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012
Throughout this year’s seniors careers, they have never been able to beat one team: Olathe South.The Falcons have attributed to several heartbreaking losses throughout the last three years against the Lady Lancers, including last season’s 59-43 loss near the end of the season. Senior Caroline Nick is one of four seniors on this year’s team and she can’t wait to get another crack at South. “They are the one team we have never been able to beat and I know we all would really like to take them down,” Nick said. “We have a really strong team and it would be a really big win for us to get some momentum at the end of the season.” Look for this game to be a really physical and go down to the final seconds. “This team has a lot of potential and could really surprise some teams this season,” Nick said.

3) Swimming-Feb. 16th-18th, 2012
The Lancer Swim team is coming off of a very disappointing end to last season. As the team headed into the state tournament, they felt they had a very good shot at winning state for the 6th time in 7 years. However, rival Blue Valley North was able to take the title away from them. This season, the Lancers have high hopes as always, and with a very good group of seniors coming back, the state meet is what they are looking forward to. “We really feel good about our chances this year,” senior swimmer Jack Sayler said. “Obviously the whole season is important but what really matters is what you do at state so that is what we are looking forward to this year.” The Lancers will not want to lose to BV North for the second year in a row, so it should be a hard fought battle during the four times the two teams meet this season.

4) Wrestling-Friday Dec. 16, 2011
Last season the Lancers had two Sunflower League champions: senior Blake Hill and junior Gavin Jones They also had five state placers including Jones, senior Ben Randolph and the three Hill brothers, graduated senior David and seniors Blake and Blaine. Aside from David, all of these placers are back for the 2011-2012 season. This group of returning placers should help the team do very well this season. “We have such a well rounded team and if they put in the effort they should be successful this season,” head coach Chip Ufford said. “We just need to build off success we have had in the last couple of years.” The team has many other seniors coming back hoping to help make an impact on the team, including senior Tyler Nelson. “We have the talent to win districts and league this year,” Nelson said. “We were runner up last year and just need to continue to work hard throughout the season to get ready.” On Dec. 16 the team will face district rival SM South for the first time of the season. The SM South match is always very heated so it should be one not to be missed.

5) Bowling- Feb. 15, 2012
With only four seniors coming back this winter, the bowling team will be looking to underclassmen to step up for them throughout the season. As always, the biggest time of the year comes at the end of the season with state and regionals, but another big meet will be on Feb. 15 at the Shawnee Mission Varsity Meet. “[It is] one of the only varsity meets of the year so it’s very important,” head coach Patty Kennedy said. “We are always very excited for the season and should have a good year.” Since this will be the only time that all the Shawnee Mission varsity teams will face off together, it should be a heated battle for the District Championship.

“I laid him out,” Jack said. “It was his first year and we weren’t supposed to make that much contact with other players. I saw an opening, lowered my shoulders and decked him. After the hit I got yelled at by the coaches and my parents. But it was absolutely worth it. I would never do that to any other player, but Frank is my brother.”

The Esberg brothers are one of six pairs of brothers on the lacrosse team this season, something that is very rare to find in any sport. And as anyone with a brother or sister would know, playing with their sibling on the team has its ups and downs.

“It’s cool having him on the team because we haven’t been on the same team before because we’re two years apart,” sophomore Connor McGannon said of  his brother, senior Patrick McGannon, who has played lacrosse three years at East and one year at Rockhurst. “He gives me someone to look up to and learn from. Every time I make a mistake he helps me find out what I did wrong and how to fix it. He’s really helped me improve as a player. I also sometimes help him if he makes a mistake and talk to him about it.”

But according to Connor, sometimes the advice can be just as annoying as it is helpful.

“Sometimes I don’t want to hear what he has to say and he doesn’t want to hear what I have to say,” Connor said. “It can get pretty painful to listen to when were on the way back from game. But I know he just wants me to get better.”

Frank is also experiencing the positives and negatives of having Jack not only being on the same varsity team as him, but also the same midfield line.

“It’s nice to know a lot of seniors because of Jack and have someone to toss around in the backyard with, but the bad part is probably that I can’t say anything because he’ll just mess with me and tell me to shut up,” Frank said. “He gave me the name rib pads after I wore rib pads to a couple games. He’s also given me the honor of being the team waterboy and ball bucket captain.”

But according to Jack, the hazing is well deserved.

“He still wears rib pads,” Jack said. “No one wears rib pads in high school lacrosse, so of course I’m going to give him some crap for it. He’s a freshman on varsity so I like to make him earn that by giving him a hard time and making him play hard at practice.”

The Esbergs aren’t the only brothers that give each other a hard time at practice. Sophomore twin brothers James and Patrick Simmons not only mess with each other but also their teammates.

“For the most part we work pretty hard, but sometimes we play pranks on our teammates together,” Patrick said. “Sometimes we mess with the freshman players while coach is talking or when we have a break. But when we get on the field, it’s strictly business.”

Other brothers, like junior Jeff and freshman Kevin Cole, have pushed each other this season to get better. Jeff is playing his first year of lacrosse while Kevin has been playing since elementary school. The brothers are regarded as two of the hardest workers on the team. Jeff, a member of the varsity football team, has pushed his little brother to become more athletic and  stronger. Kevin, who is the starting varsity goalie, also says that his older brother has helped him get through some rough games.

“One night, everyone was playing decent but I was playing awful and coach pulled me out of the goal,” Kevin said. “At halftime, Jeff came up and just got on me for some poor mistakes. He really helped get the right mindset and get back in the game. He always pushes to get better.”

With the help of all twelve of these brothers, East has reached second place in the state rankings with a 5-3 record. Jack believes that the large number of brothers on this years team is just another example of how lacrosse is growing more and more at East and the Midwest.

“Our grade was one of the first grades to go through a youth lacrosse league and that really affected our little brothers and their friends,” Jack said. “That has really helped spread the sport at East and gotten more kids playing. We have 30 freshman this year, which is probably the most we’ve ever had. So I can definitely say the talent is getting better each year.”

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Entering last night’s game, the Lancers had racked up six wins against opponents with a combined record of 18-30 on the season. Anyone skeptical about the legitimacy of this team as a true state title contender had to be impressed with the way the Lancers dominated the game on both sides of the ball against SM West, now 6-2.

The defense stole the show early for the Lancers. Senior defensive lineman George Brophy and senior linebacker Josh Mais plugged up holes in the trenches and kept Viking running backs Will Livingston and Tre Burt from breaking any big runs. Brophy set the tone for the Lancers with an early sack on the mobile quarterback for the Vikings, Armani Williams, for a nine yard loss.

Mais continued the defensive pressure by stepping in front of a second quarter pass from Burt and intercepting it, then returning the ball deep into Viking territory. Schrock led the Lancers on the first scoring drive of the game for either team, and he punctuated the drive with a one-yard quarterback keeper. Senior kicker Chase Woofter put the Lancers up 7-0 with an extra point. Woofter was a perfect 3-3 on extra points, and he did not attempt any field goals.

After a 27-yard field goal by the Vikings on the last play of the first half, the Lancers took a 7-3 lead into the locker room. The third quarter was where the Lancers truly broke the game open. Schrock and junior running back Adam Lowe perfectly executed the option to the left side of the field, and Lowe scampered into the end zone for a seven yard touchdown after receiving the pitch from Schrock. Minutes later, Schrock found junior wide receiver Elliot Faerber, the Sunflower League leader in receptions, on a post pattern down the middle of the field for a 21-yard touchdown.

The Vikings were able to muster just one late touchdown, a 12-yard pass from Williams to wide receiver Derrian Henderson, but it wasn’t enough. East was able to run the ball effectively and keep the clock moving, and the final dagger to the Vikings came when Lancer punter Connor Rellihan turned a bad snap on 4th and long into a first down with less than a minute to play.

A late injury to Schrock is the only thing that put a damper on this huge win for the Lancers. Schrock says that he separated his right shoulder and sprained the AC joint in that shoulder. The timetable for his return is uncertain, with one doctor telling Schrock that he could return in 2-4 weeks and another giving him an estimate of 4-6 weeks. Senior quarterback Robby Moriarty will fill in during Schrock’s absence, which will assuredly extend through next week’s game against SM South, currently 2-6, and into the first round of the playoffs.

When it was all over, the Lancers rushed to their friends, family and fans to celebrate their snapping of the Vikings’ six game winning streak. With the win, Chip Sherman’s team, currently ranked 15 in the state by Metro Sports, leads District 2 for Class 6A. The Lancers will close out their season against the SM South Raiders next Friday, which is senior night, before beginning their quest for the first state title in school history.