Bishop Ward baseball has seen much success in the last 10 years under the leadership of Head Coach Dennis Hurla: the team has won seven regional championship titles, six state championship titles and smashed four state records since 2004.
Last Thursday, the preseason baseball poll conducted by the coaches in Kansas Class 4A DII had the Bishop Ward Cyclones ranked No. 1 in the state.
With the start of the season quickly approaching, coach Hurla and Bishop Ward have announced new talent to the 2014 baseball team: coaches Chance Brull, Bill Grosdidier, class of ’77, Ralph Anthony Sanchez, class of ’01, and Michael Golubski, class of ’12.
Coach Chance Brull attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School and then successfully became a four-year Doane College letter winner and NAIA All-American pitcher. He represented the United States of America in the Goodwill Series played in Australia, where the USA team competed against the Chinese national team and the Australian semi-professional team. Chance will assist in pitching and coaching JV games.
Coach Bill Grosdidier attended Bishop Ward High School and graduated in 1977. He played on the 1977 5A-6A Bishop Ward team and pitched a shutout state tournament game against the No. 1 ranked Wichita Southeast team. He earned a baseball scholarship to Benedictine College where he played for four years as a pitcher. Then in 1983, he signed a contract to play baseball for the Atlanta Braves organization from 1983-1986, reaching AA level. Grosdidier will assist in pitching and coaching varsity games.
Coach Ralph Anthony Sanchez is a 2001 Bishop Ward High School graduate and lifelong resident of Kansas City, Kan. He was the starting second baseman of the 2001 Bishop Ward baseball team that placed third at state. Sanchez will coach infielders and JV games.
Coach Michael Golubski graduated from Bishop Ward High School in 2012. He was the starting third baseman of the 2010 Bishop Ward state championship team. Golubski will coach outfielders and JV games.
Kristin Blacksher is the marketing and alumni manager for Bishop Ward High School.
Despite falling snow that was quickly accumulating on the ground, KCKCC freshman Montana Fasching launched a shot in the opening Jayhawk Designated Tournament at Salina Monday. (KCKCC photo by Gary Shrader)
by Alan Hoskins
Kansas City Kansas Community College had to settle for fifth place in the opening Jayhawk Conference Designated Tournament when snow shortened the tourney to 18 holes Monday.
Played at Salina Municipal, the Blue Devils finished with a 298 total, just two strokes back of fourth place Barton County.
Boasting the top three medalists, Dodge City was a runaway winner with a 272 total that was eight shots under par. Hutchinson finished second at 282 followed by Johnson County, 288; Barton, 296; KCKCC, 298; Garden City, 299; Independence, 300; Coffeyville, 308; Colby, 311; and Allen County, 318.
Four freshmen led the Blue Devils. Seve Sites of Shawnee Mission West tied for ninth with a one over par 39-32-71. Lane Pauls of Newton finished in a two-way tie for 15th with a 38-34-72; Piper’s Montana Fasching deadlocked for 28th with a 37-39-76; and Dalton Ayers of Newton shared 41st with a 41-38-79.
Sophomore Collin Herron of Topeka Hayden and freshman Alex Otting of Basehor-Linwood rounded out the KCKCC scoring with 82 and 85.
“For the first time out, the kids played pretty well,” said KCKCC coach Gary Shrader, who said snow held up the start of the first round for three hours. “We were able to finish the round but wind, snow and rain stopped the second round. We had kids hit drives but then couldn’t find their golf balls because of the snow”
The Blue Devils will be competing in the 36-hole Bethel College Invitational Saturday and Sunday. One 18-hole round will be played at Sandcreek Station in Newton; the other 18 at the Hesston Golf Club.
“Two of our players, Lane Pauls and Dalton Ayres, are from Newton so they’re real excited about this tournament,” Shrader said.
Kansas City Kansas Community College coach Valerie Stambersky is one of three finalists for National WBCA Basketball Coach of the Year.
Named in honor of legendary Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt, the inaugural Pat Summit Trophy will presented at the Fourth Annual WBCA (Women’s Basketball Coaches Association) Awards Show to be held during the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, April 7.
Trenia Tillis Jones of Tyler Junior College and 2009 Coach of the Year Ned Mircetic of Ventura College are the other finalists for the 2014 Russell Athletic-WBCA Community College Coach of the Year award which will be announced in the Broadway Ballroom of the Omni Nashville Hotel.
“I’m a little lost for words; it’s a great honor,” Stambersky said. “My assistant, Shaun Burki, told me I had been nominated and I laughed. But then I received an email informing me I was a finalist and was totally shocked.”
Stambersky will be accompanied by her husband, Damian Stambersky, and their two children, 6-year-old son Taylor and 4-year-old daughter, Tyler, at the Women’s Final Four.
“In her 15 years at KCKCC, coach Stambersky has done things the right way,” Burki said. “She’s certainly helped me grow as a coach and as a person and I hope that all of her hard work and passion will come to fruition and she’ll win the national coach of the year award I believe she rightly deserves.”
In addition to her coaching duties, Stambersky is the assistant athletic director. Those responsibilities include maintaining the college’s athletic website and campus wide communications.
The winningest coach in KCKCC history with 183 victories, Stambersky’s 2013-2014 team recorded a career best 24-8 record with six of the eight losses to teams ranked in the top four nationally.
Three of the losses came to Highland, which lost in overtime in the national championship game; two to Johnson County, which finished No. 2 in the national rankings; and one to North Iowa, which was No. 1 in the final rankings.
The Blue Devils gave national runnerup Highland a huge scare in the semifinals of the Region VI tournament before a late comeback fell short in a 62-58 loss at Highland.
“Another minute and I think we could have got it into overtime,” Burki said.
The 24 wins are the most since KCKCC finished fifth in the nation with a 35-2 record in 1997. Averaging 74.8 points, the Lady Blue Devils were also the highest scoring team since 1997 while holding opponents to 59.7 points per contest.
Balance was a key to the success with nine players averaging 6.2 or more points a game. With only three sophomores and the only returning starter (Samantha Hurst) lost for the season in the 11th game of the year, the Blue Devils were still 14-1 in December and despite being without their top two scorers for the first five games of January, they still won four of five. Seven of this year’s top nine scorers and rebounders will return next season.
“The WBCA congratulates these coaches on being named finalists for the Pat Summitt Trophy present to the 2014 Russell Athletic-WBCA Junior-Community Coach of the Year,” WBCA CEO Beth Bass said. “Each coach helped lead their team to an outstanding season and was selected by their peers to be candidates for this honor. On behalf of the WBCA and its members, I wish all of the finalists the best of luck at the WBCA Awards Show in Nashville.”
This is the first year the award will bear Summitt’s name and is the only national coach of the year award to do so. The winningest basketball coach (men’s or women’s) in NCAA Division I history with 1,098 career victories, Summitt stepped down as head coach in April 2012 after leading the Lady Vols to eight NCAA Division I national championships. She was named Division I national coach of the year three times.
Russell Athletic and the WBCA annually recognizes six national coaches of the year – NCAA Division I, II and II, NAIA, junior-community college and high school. It is the 32nd year that the WBCA has honored the junior-community college coach of the year. The late Kurt Budke, who got his coaching start at KCKCC, was the 1995 Coach of the Year while at Trinity Valley. B.J. Smith of Highland was the 2012 recipient.
