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Written by David Wolman
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
Golfers who make the trek to Osawatomie Municipal Golf Course over the next month will notice a slight inconvenience.
The fairway on hole No. 4 is being rebuilt, a project which was long overdue, said Brad Waggoner, Osawatomie Director of Golf.
Patchwork projects have been done to attempt to keep the fairway’s surface level and as moisturized as possible in the club’s long history.
Among those was having an irrigation system installed four years ago. But that was only part of a solution to a bigger problem.
Waggoner first presented the idea to Osawatomie City Manager Bret Glendening three or four years ago. Both parties knew it was a project that eventually needed to be completed, but with the golf course employing just two or three people, the timing just never worked out.
That is, until recently.
“It was a project that we felt could be done before the golf season,” Glendening said.
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Written by David Wolman
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
Mother Nature hasn’t been so kind to the Osawatomie baseball team. Wet weather has forced the Trojans indoors for the first week of practice, and that hasn’t allowed them to get in as nearly the number of drills as they have liked. 
“We haven’t done a whole lot in practices so far because of the weather,” Osawatomie coach Brett Woolery said. “We’re hoping to get on the field some time next week. It has given us a chance to get a lot of swings in the cages, however.”
The forecast, as of Monday, offers some hope as the sun will break out early next week following some rain showers Friday and Saturday.
The home run threats in the middle of the lineup for Osawatomie last season with Sean Callahan and Vance Gorman (combined for six home runs and each had at least a .330 batting average) may be gone, as well as fellow graduating seniors Riley Divine and Travis Marsh (5-0 pitching record, allowing just 18 runs in 29 innings in 2009). But Woolery does have a large talent pool of returners to choose from, and he believes with that large of a contingent, it will help make for a competitive team.
“Sean and Vance were two of our top players the last couple of years, they’ll be very tough to replace,” Woolery said. “But I think we have some younger guys who are up to the task.”
Chance Sinclair (pitcher/outfield), Seth Jones (third base/pitcher), Daine Needham (outfield), Spencer Booe (second base), Brant Johnson (infield/pitcher) and Cody Wiseman (outfield) all return for the Trojans. Hunter Taylor is back and will vie for playing time both behind the plate at catcher and first base.
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Written by David Wolman
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
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The five winter sports coaches for Osawatomie all shared their favorite moments of this past season for their respective teams during the annual winter sports banquet March 9, but boys’ basketball coach Darren Soucie provided a bit of humor. It certainly brought a smile on Spencer Booe’s face. 
“A couple of weeks ago during practice, we were working on a five-on-five press defensive drill, soon it’s a four-on-six drill,” Soucie said. “I asked myself, ‘What the heck is going on? We’ve got to get Spencer on the right team.’ Spencer said, ‘Coach, I thought you wanted me on defense.’ He’s one of those kinds of kids who has a smile and keeps going on. It’s good to see a kid who wants to play defense.”
Despite seeing its season come to an end with a double-overtime loss to Louisburg in the semifinals of the Class 4A substate tournament, Osawatomie has plenty to be proud of. The Trojans finished 19-3 overall, went a perfect 10-0 in the Pioneer League for the second straight season and garnered state rankings from several major media outlets in Kansas and Missouri throughout the course of the season.
“It’s been a great season for the Osawatomie Trojans,” Soucie said. “The season didn’t end on the varsity level the way we wanted it to, but the guys have nothing to hang their heads about.”
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Written by David Wolman
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
Practice is underway for the Osawatomie-Paola girls’ swim team, and coach Sarah Dorsett definitely has her hands full — in a good way. 
A good turnout was something she was expecting, but nowhere close to the 33 swimmers who have come out. There are times when she could use an assistant coach to help her with the unusually large group, but she’ll take that high of a number any day, especially when it comes to help building depth.
“This exceeds what I expected from both schools. It’s great,” she said. “I have got 33 on the roster and usually have at least 25 in the pool. It is busy. However, most of the girls listen, pay attention and do the work.”
Fundamentals have been worked on by the newcomers during the first couple of weeks of practice. The returning varsity letter-winners who have put in the work in the pool since the end of last season have been working on more advanced techniques.
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Written by David Wolman
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 09:00 |
PITTSBURG, Kan. — The end of the season is approaching for the Linn County Twisters, but like years past, this is the point of the season when they’ve stepped it up in a big way on the mat.
The Twisters took 29 grapplers to the Subdistrict 1 South qualifying tournament last weekend at Pittsburg State University, and 15 of them are still in a position to earn a berth in the state tournament. By virtue of their top-four finishes, those 15 Twisters qualified for this weekend’s District 1 tournament in Topeka.
Hunter Bindi (8-and-under), Gavin Cullor (8-and-under), Case Pemberton (12-and-under), Tanner Snow (12-and-under), Cordell Dunlop (12-and-under), Chaz Epperson (14-and-under), Kaleb Konitzer (14-and-under) and Jace Roy (high school) all captured subdistrict titles in their respective weight classes.
The winning didn’t stop there for the Twisters as Dannon Brake (14-and-under) and Billy Teters (high school) placed second, while Garrett Sullivan (8-and-under) and William Holland (14-and-under) struck for bronze. Colby Stephens (8-and-under), Adam Moore (12-and-under) and Dylan Rice (12-and-under) also qualified for the district tournament by placing fourth.
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