KSHSAA Covered

JUNCTION CITY – More than two decades after KAY Leadership Camp began shaping their lives, longtime friends Kate Bryan and Angel Romero stood before a new generation of campers hoping to provide the same spark. Marking 20 years on the KLC staff, Bryan and Romero took the stage July 28 at Rock Springs 4-H Center for speeches titled “Be the Roar That Inspires,” showing campers that inspiration is not about having the loudest voice but using it to lift others.

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA) and The Good Game announced a new partnership designed to support a safer, more compliant and centralized approach to interscholastic activities. The partnership brings together KSHSAA’s statewide network of schools, administrators, students and families with The Good Game’s sports technology platform to simplify registration, participation and activity administration.

As a senior cheer captain who attended KSHSAA Summer Spirit Camps since eighth grade, Satanta’s Mia Burrows had witnessed the emotional tidal wave that sweeps over those participating for the final time. Still, the special recognition for high school seniors at the conclusion of the July 6-9 session at El Dorado’s Butler Community College hit differently. “It was definitely super sad,” said Burrows, who will cheer alongside seven girls and one boy this coming school year at Satanta.

The whistle is about to blow on a new era in Kansas high school sports. This fall, girls flag football officially joins the Kansas State High School Activities Association lineup, bringing new opportunities for hundreds of student-athletes across the state. But as teams prepare to take the field for the inaugural sanctioned season, another roster is just as important — the one wearing black-and-white stripes. For longtime official Matt Renk, that need has never been more apparent.

It’s no secret that recruiting officials to alleviate a state-wide, all-sports-encompassing shortage has been a point of emphasis for the Kansas State High School Activities Association in recent years. And while those efforts continue to be a priority, so too is the development and improving the quality of those officials that have made the commitment to Kansas high school athletics.

Betsy Dutton was working on her college degree as an aspiring teacher when opportunity knocked. Dutton, then Betsy Halloran, studied theater and English at Sterling College in the early-1980s. Her theater advisor, Diane DeFranco-Kling, served on the Sterling USD 376 Board of Education and had children approaching high school age. “She wanted a theater teacher for her kids,” Dutton said.

As much as he was enamored with the sport when he was a young boy, track and field was never Mike Bradley’s true love when it came to athletics. “Not even close,” he said. “My first love by far was basketball. I would have rather played basketball than eat, and I like to eat. “I never really enjoyed running. And people would as me, ‘How can you be successful without the joy of running?’ I didn’t enjoy running, but I enjoyed competing and I enjoyed winning.

ALL-LEAGUE SOFTBALL TEAMS ARK VALLEY CHISHOLM TRAIL DIVISION I First team Pitcher – Addi Gutzmer, so., Derby; Ashlyn Hamilton, sr., Derby; Joslynn Stiglitz, sr., Maize. Catcher – Gabi Uffendell, sr., Maize. First base – Kohlbie Craft, sr., Hutchinson. Second base – Savannah Gering, fr., Maize South. Shortstop – Karlie Demel, sr., Derby. Third base – Lilly Clements, jr., Campus.

ALL-LEAGUE BASEBALL TEAMS ARK VALLEY CHISHOLM TRAIL DIVISION I First team Pitcher – Hudson Halstead, sr., Derby; Quincy Koehn, jr., Maize; Porter Newell, sr., Maize; Gavin Short, sr., Maize. Catcher – Jaxon Anthony, jr., Salina South. First base – Parker Meirowsky, sr., Maize. Second base – Scotty Hadley, sr., Maize. Shortstop – Trace Van Asdale, jr., Campus. Third base – Halstead, Derby.

The Kansas Golf Coaches Association has announced its 2026 boys All-Class teams. The six individual grass-greens state champions earned all-state recognition in their respective classes. Blue Valley North’s Drew Krystyn (6A), Wamego’s Regan Kueker (4A), Wichita Collegiate’s Landon Langston (3A), Humboldt’s Connor Newman (2A) and South Gray’s Gavin Wahl (1A) were named to the first team. Goddard’s Cohen Museousky, the 5A champion, earned second-team honors.