Author: KMAN Staff

From the Big 12 all-freshmen team one year to being named preseason all-Big 12 the next, that’s K-State Kaitlynn Pelger.  The Wildcat middle blocker is the only K-Stater to make the team announced Tuesday, and one of only four sophomores throughout the league.  Pelger, an Olathe South product, led K-State with 328 kills a year.  She also hit .254 and averaged over one dig per set. The preseason Big 12 player of the year is Rachel Adams of Texas, Hannah Willms of Iowa State is the preseason newcomer of the year, and the Longhorns’ Khat Bell is the preseason freshman…

Read More

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops says starting linebacker Travis Lewis has broken his foot and will miss up to eight weeks.  Stoops said in a news release Tuesday that Lewis broke a bone in his left foot during Monday’s practice.  Stoops said sophomore nickel back Corey Nelson will move to Lewis’ spot at linebacker.  Stoops said the injury to Lewis is disappointing but said the team will adapt.  Lewis is a senior from San Antonio and has led OU in tackles each of the past three seasons.  OU trainer Scott Anderson said Lewis’ injury does not…

Read More

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP)   The state of Kansas plans to audit the K-State athletic department’s online sales of its athletic merchandise.  The Lawrence Journal-World reported Monday that the audit will determine if the school is not collecting sales tax on merchandise sold through its online store.  Kenny Lannou, a spokesman for the athletic department, says the department believes the orders don’t have to be taxed because they are filled by a Florida online company that has no employees or offices in Kansas.  But Richard Cram, of the revenue department, notes that the store is called the “K-State Official Online Store”…

Read More

K-State golfer Ben Juffer is onto the 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship after shooting 3 under par 139 over 36 holes at Tallgrass Country Club in Wichita to claim the only qualifying spot out of 24 competitors.  By making four birdies over the final nine holes of the second round, including a chip-in from 30 feet on his 35th hole, Juffer became the 14th Wildcat to qualify for the U.S. Amateur since 1999 and is the first since Mitchell Gregson in 2009. The 2011 U.S. Amateur will be held August 22nd through the 28th at Erin Hills Country Club in Wisconsin.

Read More

The Manhattan Mercury is reporting that Michael Sanchez has been hired as the new Manhattan High girls’ soccer coach.  Sanchez has been for the Indians’ boys soccer program since 2006.  He is a California native, attended high school in Lawton, Oklahoma, and played soccer at McPherson College.  Sanchez replaces Brett Nelson, who spent four years as MHS girls soccer coach before accepting a job as Marlatt Elementary School Principal. Nelson led the Indians to the state tournament this past season.

Read More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP)   James Shields threw a six-hitter for his major league-best eighth complete games this season, Evan Longoria homered and had four RBIs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 4-0 on Tuesday night.  Shields (11-9) also has four shutouts this year.  The right-hander is 6-2 in nine career starts against Kansas City.  Longoria drove in two runs on a single during the first and hit a two-run homer in the sixth.  He has driven in 12 runs over his last 12 games despite having just nine hits during the stretch.  Jeff Francis…

Read More

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP)   Tamba Hali thanked Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt and his family, then talked about getting back to work.  Kansas City’s star linebacker spoke with reporters Tuesday for the first time since signing a five-year, $60-million contract last week.  The Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Hali during the offseason, but there was no lengthy holdout from a player coming off of a career year in which he had 14.5 sacks.  Hali’s deal made him the second-highest paid outside linebacker in the league behind Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware.  The contract included $35 million guaranteed.

Read More

Performance targets increased by as much as 8 percent, but still more Kansas public schools met adequate yearly progress requirements in the 2010-2011 testing cycle than in the previous year. The state Board of Education learned Tuesday that 84% of the state’s 1300-plus public schools met AYP in 2010-2011, compared to 81 percent in 2009-2010. However a couple of area schools didn’t fare as well. As announced at the last USD 383 school board meeting,  schools that did not meet AYP include Amanda Arnold Elementary, Marlatt Elementary, and both of Manhattan High’s campuses. In Geary County, Junction City Senior High School did…

Read More

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Topeka fire officials say a blaze at the city’s public high school caused $400,000 damage. No one was injured in the Tuesday evening fire at Topeka High School. WIBW reports that police say the fire originated in an area of roofing construction and is not considered suspicious. Teachers who were scheduled to report to work Wednesday will meet at a city church. School officials say the fire is unlikely to delay the scheduled opening of school next Wednesday. Topeka High was one of the first million-dollar high schools built west of the Mississippi and is a landmark…

Read More

HOLTON, Kan. (AP) A 19-year-old Holton soldier who died in Afghanistan will be laid to rest Saturday in his hometown. Pfc. Cody G. Baker, who died last week, will be buried with full military honors at Holton Cemetery. Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Evangel United Methodist Church in Holton. The Pentagon said Baker and 21-year-old Pfc. Gil I. Morales Del Valle, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Aug. 3 when their vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device. They were infantrymen with a battalion from Fort Polk, La. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Baker, a 2010 graduate of…

Read More