Six linemen from the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities will compete against hundreds of other utility workers at the annual International Lineman’s Rodeo through Oct. 15 at the National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, Bonner Springs.
An annual trade show and expo will be held in Overland Park, Kansas, in conjunction with the event.
The lineman’s rodeo features linemen competing in events based on traditional lineman tasks.
BPU will be represented by one team and three apprentice linemen. Matt Campion, Jake Janes, Trenton Overton, Josh Cook, Garrett Gilbert and Dawson Crouss will be competing against more than 900 linemen representing more than 200 teams from private and municipal utilities. Last year’s BPU team placed fourth in the municipality division.
The rodeo competition will begin at 7 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Ag Hall, near 126th and State. An awards banquet will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Overland Park Convention Center.
The International Lineman’s Rodeo was first held in 1984 and was created to maintain a focus on safety and safe work practices, and to recognize the technical craft skills of utility linemen.
For more information, see www.linemansrodeokc.com.
Bonner Springs junior Penelope Kline lined up a backhand return in the championship match of the 5A regional girls’ tennis tournament at Mill Valley High School. Kline lost the match but her second-place finish earned her a berth in the state tournament. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
by Brian Turrel
Two Bonner Springs tennis players are headed to the KSHSAA 5A state tournament in Andover next weekend after placing in the regional tournament at Mill Valley High School this Saturday.
Penelope Kline took second place at the regional, nearly knocking off top-seeded Heidi Baillos of Mill Valley. Kline took the first set of the championship 6-3, with the tremendous pace on her forehand and serve forcing Baillos onto the defensive.
Baillos lacked Kline’s sheer pace, but countered with an uncanny ability to drop her shots just inside the endline no matter what was hit her way. Kline won a few points by mixing in drop shots, but Baillos won the second set 6-2.
An extended break before the decisive third set seemed to refresh the Bonner junior, who immediately broke serve and took a 2-0 advantage. However, the accuracy of her ground strokes and serve was on the wane, and Baillos, looking fresh as ever, broke two consecutive Kline serves to take the match (6-4) and regional title.
Autumn Ashford placed fifth in the regional, defeating St. James’ Abby Coker decisively (6-0, 6-1) in their consolation match. Ashford’s only loss was in the second round to tourney champ Baillos.
Bonner Springs also qualified two doubles teams, Newson/Smith and Leslie/Profeta, but both lost their first-round elimination match-ups.
After the match Bonner Springs head coach Matt Dow talked about his team’s showing at the tournament.
“It was a great performance,” said Dow. “I’m so happy with how hard Penelope worked — how hard Autumn Ashford worked. Great tennis, hard work, gutsy tennis — a lot of grit and determination today.”
Sumner Academy qualified two singles players and two doubles teams for the regional. Sofia Mercado was seeded 13th in singles and lost in the first round to St. Thomas Aquinas’s Megan Law. Melissa Ortega was seeded 15th and lost to Kline in the first round.
Sumner’s doubles teams, Fileto/Garcia and Vang/Tial, were both eliminated in the first round.
Piper High School’s Avery Roellchen also qualified for the tournament in singles. Despite an early lead, she narrowly lost 9-8 to Leavenworth’s Riley White in the abbreviated nine-game play-in format.
Bonner Springs junior Penelope Kline and coach Matt Dow posed together after Kline received her medal. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Bonner Springs junior Autumn Ashford went 3-1 at the tournament, placing fifth and advancing to the state tournament. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Sumner Academy senior Seydi Garcia played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Bonner Springs junior Pirsten Leslie played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Bonner Springs junior Luci Smith played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Sumner Academy senior Sofia Mercado returned a shot in her first-round match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Piper junior Avery Roellchen played in a first-round singles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Sumner Academy senior Maria Fileto played a forehand return in her first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Bonner Springs junior Sofia Profeta played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Sumner Academy senior Pajah Vang played in a first-round doubles match. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
