Spring sports
Baseball – Drew Dechant, Trinity Catholic. Dechant was just as lethal at the plate as he was on the mound. Sporting a fastball that routinely clocked at more than 90 mph, Dechant went 10-0 with a 1.53 ERA. He gave up just 22 hits in 60 innings pitched. He walked just 19 batters and struck out 137. While batting, Dechant sported a .557 batting average with four home runs and 40 RBIs. Thanks in part to Dechant’s big season, Trinity Catholic had a record-setting season, winning 18 games. Dechant is headed to Hutchinson Community College to play baseball.
Boys golf – Brooks Dyer, Andale. Dyer had a consistent season and saved his best golf for last. He sported a season average of 77.1, had eight top-10 finishes and finished outside the top 12 at just one tournament. At the Class 4A Substate tournament in Cheney, Dyer won the tournament by four strokes with a 73. He carried that momentum over to the state tournament in Hesston, where his second-round 67 was the best round for any competitor at the tournament. Dyer finished with a 2-under par 140, placing fourth overall and helping Andale to third place.
Boys tennis – Janmejay Patwardhan, Hesston. Patwardhan had a breakthrough season. The junior entered the Class 4A state tournament with a sparkling 26-5 record. Patwardhan earned the No. 2 seed at the state tournament in Topeka, and he won his first three matches, dropping just one set. Patwardhan dropped the state championship match to the No. 1 seed, Wyatt Shultz of Parsons
Boys track and field – Garrett Gleason, Buhler. The sophomore has rapidly turned into one of the state’s best sprinters. Gleason won a pair of 4A state championships, winning the 100 meters (10.63 seconds) and 200 meters (21.71), while also taking second place in the high jump (6 feet, 2 inches). Gleason swept those events at the Buhler regional. Gleason also participated in the 300 hurdles and long jump.
Girls soccer – Rhyan Galyon, Hutchinson. Galyon finished off one of the best Salthawk soccer careers in style with another strong season. A speedy, dazzling creator who could score or set up teammates, Galyon finished the season with 22 goals and 11 assists. Although she had to play through injury late in the season, Galyon fought through it and scored the only goal in Hutchinson’s Class 5A West Region semifinal win, 1-0 at Andover Central. Galyon is going to play collegiately at Miami Dade College in south Florida.
Softball – Avery Brawner, Haven. The three-sport standout saved her best for last. Brawner was 16-2 as a pitcher, and at the plate, she was just as lethal, sporting a team-best .467 batting average, with 50 runs scored and 41 RBIs. Brawner leaves Haven as one of the greatest players in the program’s strong history, setting pitching records in wins (77) and strikeouts (579). Brawner will attend Hutchinson Community College and play softball.
Girls swimming – Lauryn Vogt, Hillsboro. Vogt led one of the smallest swim programs in Kansas to a seventh-place finish at the Class 5-4-3-2-1A state meet at the Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center. Vogt won a pair of individual state championships, taking the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 24.83 seconds. She also won the 100 freestyle in a time of 55.36, winning by more than two seconds. Vogt also helped two Trojans relays compete for titles, as the 200-freestyle relay finished in second place (1:44.52), and the 200-medley relay finished in fourth place (1:57.39).
Girls track and field – Ashley Lehman, Hesston. Lehman wrapped up one of the best high school track careers the area has seen with a dominant performance at the Class 3A state meet on May 29-30 at Wichita State. Lehman won four state championships, including the 100 meters (12.01), 200 meters (24.1), 400 meters (54.94) and pole vault (12 feet, 8 ¼ inches). Lehman scored 40 points, helping Hesston amass 79 points and win the state championship.
Winter sports
Note – Basketball players of the year were announced in April
Boys bowling – Tanner McAllister, Hesston. McAllister was one of the state’s best bowlers. His 234 game average was tied for the best in the state, across all classifications. McAllister was one of six boys to have a perfect 300 game, and his best series of 828 led the state in all classifications. At the state meet, McAllister came in fifth place with a 731 and was the 4-3-2-1A regional champion.
Boys swimming – Hudson DeWeese, Buhler. DeWeese had a strong finish to his high school career. He finished in the top 25 in four different events across all classifications. He was 13th in the 200-yard freestyle (1 minute, 52.7 seconds), 17th in the 200 individual medley (2:09.28), 17th in the 500 freestyle (5:20.98), and 18th in the 100 freestyle (50.86). At the 5-4-3-2-1A state meet, DeWeese finished seventh in the individual medley and 11th in the 100 freestyle.
Boys wrestling – Jace Grizzle, Lyons. What else can be said about Grizzle? All he did this season was go 40-0 and win the 150-pound Class 3-2-1A state championship. At the state meet in Hays, Grizzle was dominant. He won his first three matches by pin, and none of those matches went beyond the first period. In the state championship match, Grizzle beat Jasper Johns of Minneapolis 4-0.
Girls bowling – Cheyann Geesling, Buhler. The individual 4A state champion had a stellar season for the 4A team runner-up. Geesling’s state performance ended with a 629 series, winning by 12 pins. Geesling also took third place in the 4A regional, which Buhler dominated by taking the top three places. Geesling also was first-team all-state.
Girls wrestling – Elizabeth Dick, Nickerson. Dick had a dominant season, finishing with a 27-2 record. At the Class 4A regional, Dick won the 235-pound division, with only the championship match going the distance, which Dick won 4-1. At the state meet in Salina, Dick won her first three matches by pin, including two in the first period, before she fell in the state championship match, 10-4, to Baldwin’s Finnley Kellerman.
