Remembering the moments of 2005 years ago
— Eat his dust
Peabody-Burns High School cross country runner Andrew Topham not only won every race he ran in 2005, no one finished even close to him.
Topham closed out his perfect regular season with a first-place finish at regionals. His time of 16 minutes 33 seconds was 37 seconds faster than the second place finisher. At state his winning time was even better at 16:30, finishing 18 seconds ahead of second-place Kaleb Humphreys of Sterling.
— Twice the fun (and run)
Current MHS junior Danielle Cope found success with her feet twice in 2005, qualifying for the 3A state track meet in May, and the 3A state cross country meet in October. Cope finished 12th in the 3200-meter run in track, and 36th out of 101 runners in cross country.
— Trojans dominate track
While 29 athletes from all five county high schools participated in the state track meet, it was the Hillsboro High School girls' team that came out on top. The Trojans, led by sophomores at the time Hannah Marsh and JuliAnne Chisholm, took first place at the 3A meet with 55 points. Chisholm won the high jump and 300m hurdles, and Marsh took first in the long jump. The 4x400m relay team of Marsh, Chisholm, Tina Frick, and Jessica Heidel also took first.
— Sixth turns out to be first
When MHS wrestler Adam Depler took sixth place at the 2005 state wrestling tournament this past March, he became the first Warrior to claim a medal at high school's highest level.
While Dustin Delaney claimed a medal in the mid-90s as a MHS student, it was a part of a combined team which used Hillsboro as its school name.
Depler was the first Warrior wrestler since MHS had its own program and has been coached by Chad Adkins. Currently the senior is ranked number one in 3A in the 189-pound class and eyes a return to Hays this spring.
— Three times is a charm
Goessel High School sent three teams in 2005 to state competition.
The Bluebirds took first in the 1A Wichita regional cross country race, which sent the team to state. GHS also qualified for the state volleyball tournament in the fall, and the state track meet this past spring.
Despite not taking a team title at any of the competitions, the Bluebirds proved they have superior athletes up and down their rosters.
— The track capital of Kansas?
All five schools had at least one team member earn a medal at their respective state track meets.
centre
Justin Garrard - second 3200m relay.
Dustin Burnett - fourth 800m dash.
Megan Gutsch - seventh shot put.
Hillsboro
Hannah Marsh - first long jump; fourth 200m.
JuliAnne Chisholm - first high jump; first 300m hurdles; second 110m hurdles.
Marsh, Chisholm, Jessica Heidel, Tina Frick - first 4x400m relay.
marion
Jeremy Vondenkamp - seventh 110m high hurdles.
peabody-burns
Andrew Topham - fourth 3200m relay.
Marion Nava, Brian Baker, Jonathan Foth, and Isaiah Eldridge - fifth 4x100m relay.
goessel
Garrett Hibert - fifth javelin.
Justin Fensky - seventh long jump.
— A tale of two Warriors
When Peabody-Burns and Marion High Schools combined to form one baseball team in 2005, one thing was for sure: they would be called the Warriors because the teams shared the same mascot.
Another sure thing was pitcher Bryan Swenson. The southpaw finished 7-2 on the season with an ERA a shade above two. At the plate during the regular season Swenson hit .462 with three homeruns and 19 RBIs. In regionals he carried the Warriors with a .667 batting average, four homeruns (two grand slams) and 14 RBIs.
The Warriors finished as regional runner-up with a 4-3 loss to Santa Fe Trail in the championship game.
— Bookless not medal-less
HHS cross country senior Daniel Bookless capped off a fine season with a 14th-place finish this past October at the 3A state boys' cross country meet.
Bookless was the team leader all year for Hillsboro as he was the first Trojan to finish in every race.
— Where's the playoffs??
Despite not making the playoffs due to Kansas' quirky system, the Marion High School Warriors football team finished first in the lower division of the Mid-Central Activities Association. In 2005 MHS was 5-0 in the MCAA, and 7-2 overall.
— Better every year
After just missing out as freshman, MHS golfer Travis Hett qualified in May for the 3A state golf tournament.
Despite not having his best day with an 87, Hett still finished ahead of more than 50 golfers and proved he may be tough to beat in his final two seasons as a Warrior.
— A season for their coach
Peabody-Burns High School was delivered a blow in January when head varsity boys' basketball coach Leon Harris died Jan. 24 after collapsing during practice.
The first-year coach lived in Wichita and did not teach at the school. Co-worker Delbert Mellott, who was at the practice when Harris collapsed said he was having fun coaching the boys.
A normal reaction for the team would have been to turn it in and give up. Instead the Warriors advanced to the 1A sub-state finals, just one victory shy of the state tournament.
