Hammel Retiring as Riley County Boys’ Coach

After 31 years at Riley County, 26 of those as the head boys basketball coach, Kelly Hammel is stepping down as coach and retiring as a teacher at the end of the current school year.  Hammel was a varsity assistant from 1982 to 1987, and then took over as the Falcons’ head coach in 1988.  He won 348 games during his Riley County tenure, and lost 251.  Hammel led Riley County to six state tournaments, four straight from 2000-2003, followed by another pair in 2005 and 2006.  The Falcons finished 2nd in 3A with a controversial loss to Maur Hill in 2006, and advanced to the semifinals in 2003, before falling in double overtime to Norton.