By JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

Hesston’s perfect volleyball start was spoiled by Smoky Valley 25-23, 18-25, 25-16 and Cheney 25-27, 25-20, 25-23 Tuesday night.
The Swathers (10-2) captured the Central Kansas Preseason Tournament for the second straight year with a 25-14, 25-15 victory over Kingman. The Swathers beat Lyons 25-8, 25-22 in the semifinals and Hillsboro 25-22, 25-20 in the quarterfinals.
“Our key to winning the championship match was better passing and defense, much more aggressive hitting, and reducing our errors from earlier in the day,” said Hesston coach Jason Peters. “We had good moments throughout the tournament, but were not very consistent until the finals, when we played much better throughout the whole match.”
In the CKL Tournament, Kailey Jo Ince led the team with 93 total kills and 39 digs, including 21 kills in the championship match, and was named the AVCA/MaxPreps Player of the Week for the state of Kansas for her performance.
Mia Loganbill had 24 kills with 6 aces and Kennedy Teach added 38 digs with 100 serving. Kinsley Miller had 6 kills in the championship match, and also added 8 aces for the tournament. Alaina Dunlavy had 116 assists and 8 aces, as well as 27 digs. Rylie Schilling led the team with 8 blocks, while Cameron Denno added 4 blocks, 14 kills, and 4 aces. Brityne Rucker set 21 assists, and had 19 digs.
At Moundridge, Hesston defeated Conway Springs 25-16, 25-14 and Moundridge 25-18, 25-17. At Hutchinson, the Swathers beat Trinity Catholic 25-16, 25-17 and Minneapolis 25-9, 25-13.
Hesston’s defending Class 3A state tennis champion is off to a fast start.
The Swathers’ Morgan Holopirek, fifth last year, won the Hesston Tournament, and finished second to Wichita Collegiate’s Sydney Lair 8-2 at the Maize Invitational. Hesston’s Ashley Hubbard and Makayla Russell placed first at No. 2 doubles. No. 2 singles Halle Krehbiel placed third and No. 1 doubles Olivia Brubacher and Kylie Martin finished third. At Hesston, Holopirek placed first and No. 1 doubles Brubacher and Martin and No. 2 doubles Russell and Ariana Miller placed runner-up.
Garden Plain outlasted Hesston (0-1) 33-27 behind 286 rushing yards by Nate Pauly. Hesston QB Zach Esau threw for 285 yards, but was intercepted three times. WR Tanner Bachman and WR Cameron Cox (147 yards) caught TD passes and Esau and Parker Roth (65 yards) scored rushing TDs. Hesston returns first-team QB-DB Zach Esau, WR-DB Zach Vogt, OL-LB Jake Wingfield and RB Alex Hostetler.
LARNED
RB Anthony McConnell rushed for 81 yards and two TDs in a 31-16 loss to Pratt in Friday’s football opener. RB Kolby Keith gained 78 yards as the Indians gained 233 yards rushing. But the Indians had two interceptions and lost a fumble. Larned’s top veterans are WR-DB Kolby Keith, RB-LB Brandon Bartz, RB-LB Nate Williams and OL-DL De’Shaun Clark.
Larned’s tennis team featured three first-place finishes while winning the Larned Tennis Invitational. Larned’s No. 1 singles Amanda Lessard, No. 2 singles Kristin Anderson and No. 2 doubles Abby Kelty and Ali Leiker placed first in their divisions. No. 1 doubles Macy Haas and Katelynn Sanger finished runner-up with a 7-3 loss to Hoisington’s Emma Harmon and Tyann Schremmer.
HOISINGTON
RB-DB Cameron Davis ignited a 44-3 football victory over Kingman with 174 yards and two touchdowns. All-CKl RB Hunter Hanzlick added 129 yards and three touchdowns. The Cardinals rushed for 406 yards. QB-DB Tyler Specht and OL-LB Landen Urban also return.
No. 1 doubles Emma Harmon and Tyann Schremmer placed first in the Larned Tennis Invitational. The Cardinals beat Larned, Lyons, Colby and Ellinwood. No. 1 singles Katherine Warnken finished second.
Hoisington’s returning third-place golf team finished third (191) at the 9-hole Nickerson Invitational at Crazy Horse Golf Club. Sydner Boxberger and Maddy Wilborn tied for third with 46s.
Hoisington’s Dayne Yott won the boys varsity race (19:04.73) in the Josh Emerson Cross Country meet at Hoisington, The Cardinals placed second with 45 points. Christoper Ball placed sixth (21;12.07) followed by Jonathan Ball (22:19.04) and Brinttain Noah (22:25.42). Hoisington’s Jessi Kindscher placed fourth (24:15.05) and Vikki Donetz finished fifth (25:33.48).
KINGMAN
Hoisington routed Kingman 44-3 in Friday’s CKL football opener, RB Payton Pickering, who gained 83 yards, set up field goal by Jon-Ole Wickmann with a 50-yard run. The Cardinals rushed for 406 yards. RB-DB Payton Pickering, QB-DB Tal Hartley, OL-LB Drew Krehbiel and RB-DB Will Milford.
NICKERSON
Nickerson (1-0, 1-0 CKL) scored 33 unanswered points en route to a 57-16 football rout over Haven. RB Austin O’Toole accounted for 126 yards rushing and a TD and 126 yards receiving and two TDs from QB Tanner Schrag. RB Peyton Kuhns rushed for 179 yards and two scores. RB Trystan Isley gained 140 yards with three scores. OL-DL Garth Henke, WR-S Braden Stewart and DB Austin Engelland also return. The Panthers rushed for 472 yards and gained 598 yards.
The young Panther volleyball team split matches, winning over Wichita Independent 25-12, 25-15, but losing to Cheney 25-22, 25-21.
PRATT
Pratt opened the football season with a 31-16 road win over Larned. Sophomore Travis Theis led the Greenbacks with 187 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Theis also tossed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Noah Myers, and senior Hunter Kaufman added 68 rushing yards and a score. QB Landon Struder, WR-DB Hunter Kaufman, FB-LB Travis Theis and OL-DE Traik Peltier also return for the Greenbacks.
Breane Farr (46) tied for third at the Nickerson Invitational at Crazy Horse Golf Club. Pratt placed sixth (226).
No. 2 doubles Tori Hassler and Nicole Reichenberger placed first at the Lyons Tournament. No. 2 singles Hailey Hewatt placed second. No. 1 doubles Brynn Hampton and Julieann McClain placed third.
HILLSBORO
Hillsboro (1-0, 1-0 CKL) rewarded first-year coach Devin Metzinger with a 35-0 victory over Lyons. QB Kaden Kleiner rushed for a TD and passed to Jacob Funk for a TD. RB Jorge Hanschu led a 271-yard ground game with 124 yards and a score. Jeffrey Jorgenson returned an interception 63 yards for a TD. RB Brooks Gardner scored a TD. The Trojans yielded 38 yards. The Trojans also return WR-DB Elliot Ollenburger, WR-DB Carson Herbel and OL-DL Colin Settle.
HAVEN
Haven (0-1, 0-1 CKL) lost 57-16 to Nickerson in its football opener. QB Thane Unruh rushed for 113 yards and a TD. RB Mark Carney gained 58 yards and scored a TD. Haven features first-team QB-DB Thane Unruh, first-team DB-kick returner Mark Carney, WR-DB Jeff Hendrixson, OL-DL Cordell Waggoner and honorable mention All-CKL OL-DL Patrick Hartung,
HALSTEAD
Layke Heimerman rushed for 154 yards and a TD and Chase VanSteenburg gained 94 yards with a score in Halstead’s opening 36-6 victory over Smoky Valley. East Division champion Halstead (1-0, 1-0 CKL) lost to eventual Class 3A state runner-up Wichita Collegiate in the Class 3A semifinals. Halstead features All-CKL QB-DB Chase VanSteenburg, honorable mention All-CKL FB-LB Layke Heimerman and OL-DL Gage Hardtarfer.
LYONS
Lyons (0-1, 0-1) was smoked 35-0 by Hillsboro. The Lions managed 32 yards rushing and 6 yards passing on 2 of 11 attempts by QB Terek Smith. RB Tyler Edwards gained 27 yards.
SMOKY VALLEY
Smoky Valley RB Kyle Anderson gained 55 yards rushing and had 94 yards receiving and a touchdown from QB Brett Heitschmidt in a 36-6 loss to Halstead. Heitschmidt threw for 105 yards. RB-DB Kaj Sjogren and OL-DL Skyler DeMott also return for the Vikings.