The Barton Community College women’s basketball team was selected to finish in sixth place in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference West Division preseason coach’s poll released this week.
Barton finished in sixth place last season in the West. Hutchinson was picked to win the West followed by Seward.
The Cougars will begin their season Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Barton Gym against the Bethany JV.
Barton returns one player from last season in third-team all-West pick Alisha Fanshier. Fanshier, a sophomore from St. John, averaged 13 points a contest and led Barton with 56 3-pointers. She converted on 37 percent of her 3s and hit 84 percent of her free throws, going 91-for-109.
Following Hutch and Seward at the top of the league were Garden City, Cloud County, and Butler. Following the Cougars were Pratt, Colby, and Dodge City. Independence was picked to win the East followed by Johnson, Cowley, and Coffeyville.
The Barton men’s basketball team begins its season on Monday night at 7 in the Barton Gym.

Spring Hill football player
collapses on sideline

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A northeast Kansas high school senior who died Friday after collapsing during a football game had sustained a concussion during a recent football  game, his father said.
Nathan Stiles, 17, a linebacker for Spring Hill, left the game against Osawatomie before half time Thursday evening. The Broncos went on to beat Osawatomie by an astounding score of 99-72.
He collapsed on the sidelines, and was flown to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead early Friday. A cause of death was not immediately released.
Ron Stiles, Nathan Stiles’ father, said he was not certain what caused his son’s death. But he said Nathan had sustained a concussion in the school’s homecoming game earlier this month.
“He had a concussion several weeks ago from football, from that homecoming game,” Ron Stiles said. “He had the green light to play, and I don’t know exactly what all has happened there. The problem is that he definitely had the trauma.”
Stiles said “there wasn’t any type of malicious hit” during the game Thursday.
“There was certainly nothing that was done that was bad by any part of any player. I certainly don’t want that to be thought,” he said. “The last thing I thought we’d be doing is losing my son that night.”