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The year in sports was one with a pair of firsts for two local swimming programs as the Miami County YMCA Vipers competed in their first home meet and Alex Weatherbie became the first member of the Osawatomie/Paola swim team to qualify for state.
There were record runs in football as two single-season rushing marks held by Paola Panther icons Jeremy Dillard and Brian Shay were broken by sophomore Skylar Hawkins, who ran for more than 2,000 yards and 33 touchdowns.
Katie Dillam scored two goals to lead the Spring Hill girls’ soccer team to a 3-2 victory for its first win in the program’s first game.
Paola goalie Wil Cunningham posted his record sixth shutout of the season and Brandon Gaus scored on a penalty kick as the Panthers won its record ninth game with a 1-0 victory against Ottawa in double overtime.
Coach Michelle Abshire notched the 300th victory of her career as the Paola volleyball team posted its third consecutive season with 30 or more wins.
It was a year of personal triumphs as regional, state and national titles were claimed by area athletes.
It was all part of the people who made the sports news in 2008. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights.
Vipers make history, Jan. 19: The Miami County YMCA Vipers Swim Team competed in its first home meet. The team, organized by Paola Piranhas Swim Club coach Gerri Hart, started with just seven swimmers and had 35 members for its first home meet.
Entering the hall, Jan. 30: The Paola Panther 2001 state championship wrestling team was inducted into the Paola High School Athletic Hall of Fame. The Panthers won the state title that season without having a single individual state champion.
Lucky number 23, Feb. 8: Shanna Funk, a Paola guard, scored 23 points, matching her uniform number, in a 70-47 victory against Spring Hill.
Winning in the classroom, Feb. 13: The Paola High School girls’ basketball program reached its team GPA goal with a 3.57, including six perfect 4.0 marks from Nellie Evans, Courtney Johnson, Taelor Karr, Rachel Schmidt, Taylor Smith and Allison Wood.
State swimming history, Feb. 15: Alex Weatherbie of Paola became the first member of the Osawatomie/Paola boys’ swim team to compete in the state fianls. Weatherbie qualified for state in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events.
Wrestler of the year, Feb. 16: Matt Noblet of Paola was named the regional wrestler of the year.
State placers, Feb. 23: Paola’s Noblet and Russell Naylor of Spring Hill placed third and Paola’s Sharky Slyter was fifth in the state wrestling tournament.
Responsibility in coaching, March 3: Paola High School football coach Michael Dumpert was recognized as one of Liberty Mutual’s 2007 Responsible Sports Coaching Award winners.
Metro wrestlers, March 5: Matt Noblet of Paola, Spring Hill’s Russell Naylor and C.J. Randall of Prairie View represented Kansas in the annual Metro Classic held at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Bronco girls’ soccer history, March 13: Katie Dillam scored two goals as Spring Hill defeated De Soto 3-2 to mark the first win for the program in the school’s first girls’ soccer game.
National medalist, March 16: Breanna Rains, a student at Cottonwood Elementary School, placed third in the USA Wrestling Folkstyle National Championships in Oklahoma City.
State champions, March 29: Local wrestlers Austin Hood, Reece Conklin, Zackery Grimes and Case Pemberton captured titles in the Kansas State Wrestling Folkstyle Championships.
Two-sport athlete, April 11: Jennifer House of Spring Hill signed with the Allen County Red Devils to play volleyball and basketball. House was an all-league selection in both sports in high school.
20th anniversary, May 3: Paola Panther baseball players celebrated 20 years with some infield and a little batting practice at Russell Field and shared stories with coach Paul Brack, who has been with the team since day one.
League champions, May 6: Spring Hill pitcher Cody Lillich recorded the win in a 15-5 victory against Louisburg, including a pair of hits and then homered and singled to score the game-winner in a 5-4 win in the nightcap, sealing the Frontier League title for the Broncos who were 12-2 in league play and 19-3 overall.
Conference title, May 7: Rachel Schmidt and Bridget Kennedy each won four events to lead the Osawatomie/Paola girls’ swim team to the inaugural Inter-Conference Swim championships team title at Turner High School.
Regional champions, May 16: Eight days after losing the Frontier League track and field title to De Soto by 14 points, the Paola Panther boys defeated the Wildcats by 9.5 points to win a Class 4A regional title at Ottawa.
Record leap, May 24: Joe Stephens broke the Paola High School record in the long jump twice on his way to winning the event at state. Stephens added another gold in the 110-meter high hurdles.
Sprinting to gold, May 24: Ashley Smith of Paola ran her way to a dream, winning the Class 4A state title in the 100-meter dash.
Dominant pitching, June 10: Mallorie Nelson threw a one-hit shutout to lead the Paola Explosion to a 15-0 victory against the Danger Force of La Cygne.
All-star cheerleaders, June 13: Paola Panther cheerleaders Mikaila Barbour, Paige Gochenour, Alyshia McKinney and Taylor Smith were named all-stars during a Universal Cheerleading Association Camp in Baldwin City.
Clutch performance, July 11: Major League Division all-star pitcher Andrew Henn allowed just one hit and struck out eight to lead Paola to an 11-0 shutout victory against Girard.
State champs, July 18: Ryan Kendrick, Duncan Waltrous and Blain Oberheide shared the pitching duties as the Paola Minor Division all-stars defeated Riverton 11-8 to win the state title in Baxter Springs.
All-world pitcher, Aug. 13: Kylee Mader of Paola was named to the all-world softball team after leading her Lawrence Phenix softball team to third place in the USSSA 2008 Fastpitch World Series in Arvada, Colo.
Bronco upset, Sept. 5: Quarterback Jordan Miller hooked up with James Beard for a 36-yard touchdown pass and Mike Collett kicked the extra point as Spring Hill upset Eudora in week one, 14-13.
Record night, Sept. 12: Paola sophomore Skylar Hawkins ran for a Panther record 280 yards and five touchdowns in a 35-0 shutout against Ottawa.
First varsity title, Sept. 17: Panther Thad Husted pointed to the heavens for his father after winning the Paola Invitational for the first varsity title of his running career.
300 and counting, Oct. 4: Paola went 6-0 to place first in the Spring Hill Invitational, notching Panther volleyball coach Michelle Abshire’s 300th career victory in the final match of the morning session with a 25-16 and 25-12 sweep against Topeka West.
New ground in soccer, Oct. 21: Paola goalie Wil Cunningham recorded his record sixth shutout of the season as the Panthers defeated Ottawa 1-0 in double overtime for the program’s record ninth victory of the season. Brandon Gaus scored the game-winner on a penalty kick.
State bound, Oct. 25: Mike Gamerl, Sam Rourke, Devon Wolf and Thad Husted placed in the top 20 at regionals to lead the Paola boys to state for the third consecutive year and Emily Prothe placed 17th to become the first Panther girl to qualify since 2004.
Coach for a week, Oct. 30: Tim Kelley of Paola had the winning bid at the Panther A.C.E. auction and won the chance to be on the sidelines as a guest coach. He picked a good game, pacing the sidelines during a 39-32 comeback victory as the Panthers defeated the rival Louisburg Wildcats to win the district title.
Legendary marks, Nov. 8: Skylar Hawkins ran past Brian Shay and Jeremy Dillard with his 1,903 yards and 28th touchdown, setting new single-season marks in both categories as the Panthers defeated Columbus 35-6 in the Class 4A regional playoffs.
Two join hall, Nov. 11: Jon Lee (1998) and David Ward (2002) were inducted into the Paola High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
NCAA Division I signing, Nov. 12: Paola senior Taelor Karr signed a letter of intent to play college basketball for the Kansas State University Wildcats.
Dominating stars, Nov. 17: Megan Hayes and Rachel Hanf of Paola helped lead the Kansas all-stars to a four-game sweep over Missouri in the 12th annual Missouri vs Kansas Senior All-Star Volleyball Match at Avila University.
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