The annual 2023 Fall Extravaganza is Monday, November 20 from 5-8 p.m. at the Fort Scott Middle School. The event began in 2009.
“Fort Scott High School Swimming is sponsoring the event,” said Madeline Martin, the swim coach for both boys and girls teams.
“The purpose of the event is to help our swimmers raise money to attend the 2024 Summer Olympic Swim Trials as well as bring an opportunity to town to support local businesses.”
“We have 56 booth spaces this year, a few more than last year in addition to several new vendors,” Martin said.
“We have 11 boys coming out this year through our cooperative agreement with Frontenac and Pittsburg (school districts),” Martin said. “This girl’s season I am planning on 15+ girls from our COOP with Pittsburg, Frontenac, Arma, Colgan, and Humboldt ( school districts).”
The swim team practices from Monday-Friday in Pittsburg at the YMCA.
“Boys swimming has been active in Fort Scott since the winter of 2019 and then girl’s season began the spring of ’20 but was cut short due to COVID,” she said. “Angie Kemmerer began coaching the team and this will be my third year as swim coach.”
The money raised from booths at the Fall Extravaganza will allow the student-athletes to go to the Summer Olympics in Indianapolis, Indiana in June 2024.
“We are going to be spectators at the Summer Olympics,” she said. “The kids are excited to go watch some of their favorite athletes in person and watch a high-level competition in person.”
CHAMPIONS FOREVER- Are you ready to be inspired?! They were finalists on America’s Got Talent!! — Bruce, Diane and their family of 12 children have been in 40 countries, using their Spin-tacular Basketball Show to entertain and share a message of HOPE to this generation! They had even been invited to perform for 3 back to back NBA Finals Games. This show is an awesome way to tie up Summer with your family, right here in Fort Scott. Champions Forever will be at Fort Scott High school on Sunday, August 6th at 2:00 p.m. Get your tickets at www.advancebourboncounty.com
The Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce invites members and guests to the Chamber Coffee this Thursday, July 27th at 8am.
This week’s coffee will be hosted by Woodland Hills Golf Course located at 2414 Horton St.
Coffee and light refreshments will be served.
Fort Scott’s Woodland Hills Golf Course was named a Top 10 golf course in Kansas by Best Things Kansas and number 6 in the entire state.
Woodland Hills has also been named one of the best municipal courses in Kansas. Woodland Hills is an 18-hole park-style course, winding through beautiful scenery, with elevation changes and some of the best views in Bourbon County.
Come enjoy one of Southeast Kansas’s hidden treasures at the Woodland Hills Golf Course.
Contact the Chamber of Commerce at (620) 223-3566 for more information.
Andre Norris and Fort Scott Head Coach Blake Cochran participated in the NJCAA Rising Stars All-Star Game, which features the top junior college freshman in the country. The event was held in Council Bluffs, IA, July 14-17, where NCAA schools will be in attendance to watch the 60 selected players.
Norris is a 6’4, guard, from Arlington, TX, where he had a stellar freshman campaign. He broke the all-time steals record in Fort Scott history with 113 and led the country in that category. Andre averaged 10.7 ppg, 3.7 ast, 3.5 stl, and 3.1 rbs last season with a career-high 33 points against Link Year Prep. He has received multiple offers gaining a lot of interest from Division-1 programs for his sophomore campaign.
This will be his second all-star event Norris was selected for as he was a stand-out performer during the JA-48 Event in Wichita, KS, hosted by JucoAdvocate.
Cochran was selected to coach in the NJCAA Rising Stars All-Star game and USA Basketball Academy.
Cochran is one of six junior college coaches during the event which will feature the top 60 junior college freshman in the country from 43 different schools.
The other coaches are:
Mike Marquis – Tyler Junior College
Jerry Carrillo – Cochise College
Andy Shaw – Iowa Western Community College
Jason McKinney – Iowa Lakes Community College
Joel Wooten – Southeast Community College
Players will be grouped into six teams and play three games over the course of July 15 & 16.
This event Schedule will feature a shoot-around, two practices, and three games with multiple seminars for the student-athletes.
Kolby Martinez, 21, is born and raised in Fort Scott, according to his cousin Alexis Wilson, Fort Scott.
“He enjoys fishing at Fort Scott Lake, and Gunn Park pond,” she said. “On June 16, 2023 he caught his new personal record of a 50-pound catfish at Fort Scott Lake, using bluegill for bait.”
“He loves fishing and does it as a hobby,” said Wilson.
Kolby is open to helping newcomers learn how to fish, she said.
Left to right: Martin Hudecek-Ashwill, Martin Ashwill II (rear), Adam Ashwill, Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill in this 2017 submitted photo.
The 42nd annual bicycle “Race Across America” will pass through Fort Scott this week, according to a press release.
The bicyclists will cross the length of the American continent, over 3000 miles from Pacific Ocean to Atlantic Ocean, stopping to sleep only when necessary. The average sleep time for a solo is 2-3 hours per day.
Along the route, they pass 54 time stations, spaced approximately 50 miles apart, where their crew must call RAAM headquarters to report the rider’s or team’s arrival time and any other important news.
The Fort Scott Time Station 30 is the 1,778.6 Mile mark.
“Our family runs the time station (Time Station 30) for Race Across America,” said Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill. “We’ve been doing it since 2015 and have entertained hundreds of cyclists and crews from all over the world.”
The family runs the time station from their house at 21 N. Caldwell, Fort Scott.
“We provide a place for the racers and crews to rest, get some food and water, use the bathroom, and we provide escort service to any stores they might want to go to and to Buck Run (Community Center)for showers,” Kristi said. We also fly their nation’s flag on Wall Street and cheer for them as they approach. It is a festive atmosphere and many racers and crew members have said this is the best time station on the route.”
The community provides for the visitors as well.
“Walgreens provides water, Fort Cinema provides popcorn, Taco Bell provides tacos, Dominos provides pizza, and the refrigerator is provided by Rent-A-Center, 4-States Sanitation provides trash bins,” she said. “In addition, Buck Run lets racers and crew members take showers there.”
“Martin also has a small repair shop here where he fixes their bicycles if they need him to,” she said. “He’s a bike mechanic and has an array of tools that the bike mechanic on the team may not have.”
Pictured is the kitchen of the Ashwill family. The family gets food donations from area businesses for the racers.
“Race Across America is an annual international 3000+ mile bicycle race that starts in Oceanside, California and ends in Annapolis, Maryland and runs right through Fort Scott,” she said. “The solos have to make it in 12 days while the teams have to make it in 9 days. There are various times for women and older riders and teams, but the finish times are all around the numbers given.”
This year their are 31 solos and 16 teams.
“One of the teams is a four-man team from Germany in the age category of 80-84,” she said. “They have nine days, 12 hours provided they leave with the solos.”
“The race starts on June 13 and we expect the first rider to arrive on June 18 or 19, depending on how things go in the desert.”
By June 22, all riders should be through the area.
“It gets so hot out there (in the desert) that sometimes the riders succumb to the heat and end up not finishing the race. The forecast for this year is that it’s supposed to be cooler and, if that’s the case, there won’t be as many DNF’s and this time station will be very busy. We are every year, but this will make it even more so.”
“DNF means Did Not Finish,” she said. “Nobody wants that, but it does happen often during this race.”
Martin Hudecek-Ashwill with Christoph Strasser from Austria.
The time station in Fort Scott will be staffed with enthusiastic volunteers and provide a festival-like atmosphere for spectators of all ages and the traveling group of racers and crews as they pass through the community, according to the press release from Ashwill.
The manned time station is located at 21 N. Caldwell and is an open house to all racers and crew, she said.
“Race officials are invited to take their sleep at the Time Station 30 house instead of spending money at a hotel or sleeping in their cars, which is the majority case,” Ashwill said. “In 2015 we opened our house for the event and the racers and crew loved it. It is the first time that the Race Across America actually had a house opened up to them.”
May-Brit Christiansen from Norway, Adam Ashwill, Johnny Stausholm, from Norway, Kristi Hudecek-Ashwill, Martin Hudecek-Ashwill holding the flag of Norway in this 2017 submitted photo. “Johnny was the rider and had to DNF in Arizona, but still drove to Fort Scott to see the time station and brought gifts for Adam,” Kristi said.
“This is the only time station that has been in RAAM movies, one of which was shown at the AMC Theater in Olathe,” Kristi said. “The movies have been on airlines and have been shown all over the world.”
The time station members with Stefan Schlegel and his crew from Germany in 2017. Schlegel had to quit the race at this time station for health reasons and threw a barbecue for the family and anyone who happened to walk by,
The Fort Scott Hurricanes team, 2022. Submitted photo.
Fort Scott Hurricanes is a competitive summer swim team for youth who range in age from 5-18 years.
The group started around 1980, said Tara Holt, who is the Parent Board President of the swim team.
This year the team is part of the Tri-State Swim Conference.
The local club petitioned Tri-State at the fall conference meeting in 2022 to become a permanent member.
“Full, official membership gives our team the right to vote at conference meetings and to be on the rotation to pick invitational swim meet dates,” she said. “The conference approved our permanent membership… at the first of the month. Being a part of the Tri-State Swim Conference has given our swimmers more consistent competition.”
The head coach of the Hurricanes, in her fourth season, is Samantha Short.
Hurricane’s Assistant Coach Claire Holt, Eli Holt and Coach Samantha Short at the 2022 Tri-State A Championships. Submitted photo.
“We are fortunate to have her back coaching for us this season! The kids and parents love her!” Holt said “Our new assistant coach will be Claire Holt. Claire is joining us as a coach after having been a swimmer for the Hurricanes for 13 seasons. She graduated last year.”
One way to support the youth swim team is to order Papa Don’s Pizza on Wednesday, May 17 from 10:30 A.M. to 8 P.M.
“Papa Don’s will be giving the Hurricanes 10% of the proceeds that day!” Holt said. “The Hurricanes thank Papa Don’s for their generosity!”
“The Hurricanes will have a meeting for the parents of new swimmers on Wednesday, May 3 at 5:30 P.M. in the small gym at Buck Run Community Center,” Holt said.
The 4A Girls Sub-State Basketball Championship game between Topeka-Hayden and Fort Scott will be Saturday, March 4th at 5:00 at Fort Scott High School.
Doors will open to spectators at 3:45.
Admission is $8 adults, $6 students. No passes per KSHSAA post-season policy.
FSHS students will get in for free but must get ticket at door.
The FSCC Cheer Team: Front row: Seth Thomas, Angie Martinez, Allie Brewer, Karlie Knechtel, Emily Noll. Second row: Addey Froggatte, Madison Warner, Haven Conner, Mackenzie Heuszel, Lamyjah Lewis- Kent, Denise Barnard, Brooke Snell, Lillie Easterby. Boys: Brayden Moore, Xavier Kasper,Josh Martin, Gage Pugh, Malachi Kucza, Ethan Bittle, Donovan Law and Javonte Garrett Top row of girls: Julia Lopez, Hannah Merando, Savanna Fisher, Haily Sheat, Stephanie Matul, Macy Michalski, Claire Holt Not pictured: Andrea Matul and Ally Gomez Gonzales. Submitted photo.
The Fort Scott Community College Cheer Team is heading a second time to Florida for the National Cheer Association contest. There are over 400 teams competing in the contest on April 5-9 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“We compete small coed advanced against other junior colleges all over the nation,” FSCC Head Cheer Coach Chelsea Yount, said.
The cheer teams cheer all FSCC men’s and women’s basketball games, home flag football games, and “We are super fans home volleyball games,” Yount said.
“We also compete in four competitions this year,” she said. “National virtual college championship-we are reigning national champions,
Innovative choreography College open competition, and NCA nationals Region 6 regional games.”
The team practices Monday – Friday from 8-10 a.m. plus three hours a week of weights, and has a two-hour study hall in addition to the FSCC games.
Head coach Yount, from Shawnee, is assisted by coach Allee Morillo, Olathe.
From left Allee Morillo, FSCC Assistant Cheer Coach and Head Coach Chelsea Yount. Submitted photo.
The team is comprised of the following athletes and where they are from:
Addey Froggatte – Princeton, KS
Allie Brewer – Ottawa, KS
Ally Gonzales Gomez- Carthage, Mo
Andrea Matul- Carthage, Mo
Angie Martinez- Houston, TX
Brayden Moore- Fort Scott, KS
Brooke Snell- Wichita, KS
Claire Holt- Fort Scott, KS
Denise Barnard- Nevada, MO
Donovan Law- La Cynge, KS
Emily Noll- Spring Hill, KS
Ethan Bittle- Prattville, AL
Gage Pugh La Cynge, KS
Haily Sheat- Lamar, MO
Hannah Merando- Walnut, KS
Haven Conner- Mound City, KS
Javontte Garrett Memphis, TN
Josh Martin La Cynge, KS
Julia Lopez- Arma, KS
Karlie Knechtel- Boulder, CO
Lamyjah Lewis-Kent- Omaha, NE
Lillian Easterby- Wichita, KS
Mackenzie Heuszel
Macy Michalski- La Cynge, KS
Madison Warner
Malachi Kucza- Lawrence, KS
Mason O’Brien- Uniontown, KS
Savanna Fisher- Carthage, Mo
Seth Thomas- Lawrence, KS
Stephanie Matul- Carthage, Mo
Xavier Kasper La Cynge, KS
The FSCC Cheer Team. Submitted photo.
To help get the team to nationals, they have several fundraisers.
“We currently have a raffle for a Visa 500$ gift card,” Yount said. “You can reach out to us on social media or email me at chelseay@fortscott.edu .”
“We will have several other fundraisers coming up, and are always looking for business sponsors to help fund the trip,” she said. “All funds raised will go to competition fees, hotel stay, food, flight/travel expenses, team gear and more.”
The Fort Scott 5/6th grade Tiger football team is undefeated and will host on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at Frary Field the championship game against Prairie View.
“These boys have worked so hard, said Leslie Godden “They’d love to have the stands packed and have other community schools/ events and older athletics there to support them!”
“Also the youth cheer team will be there cheering them on,” she said.
