Posted: Jan 22, 2014
Top 13 Most Memorable Seward County Athletic Moments of 2013
As the calender turns over tonight, it is time to take a look back at the top 13 Seward County Athletic moments of 2013.
#13- February 3, 2013- Bryson Allen's walk off home run vs. McCook
Just three games into his Saints career, Seward County freshman Bryson Allen put himself on the map. In a game tied at 6-6 in extra innings against McCook, Allen launched a 2-0 pitch screaming over the left field wall for a three run home run to give the Saints a 9-6 victory and a series sweep against the Indians. Allen went on to lead the Saints in nearly every major offensive category in 2013 and was named the Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year.
#12- September 22, 2013- Seward dominates Metro State Invitational
Going into the 2013 Metro State Invitational, the Seward County Saints and Lady Saints tennis teams found themselves in a field packed with four year schools. In the end however, it was the team coming from a town with a population less than many of the bigger school's enrollment numbers that came out as champions. The Saints and Lady Saints captured titles at #1 singles in both the men's and women's draws. They brought home championships in both #1 doubles brackets. They also returned to Liberal with hardware from the #3 men's singles bracket in a weekend that is most easily described as dominant.
#11- April 24, 2013- Stephanie Mark breaks school's RBI record
Jayhawk West pitchers took a deep breath on May 11th when Seward County slugger Stephanie Mark walked across the stage and picked up her diploma at SCCC commencement ceremonies. That's because for two seasons, the sophomore first baseman was a terror for pitchers to had to go up against her powerful right handed bat. After breaking school records for hits and doubles earlier in the 2013 season, Mark notched her name at the top of another all-time category, launching a 4th inning pitch over the center field wall against Colby to drive home two runs, to give her 116 RBI's in her career to break the all-time school record. Mark finished her career with 122 RBI's, 174 hits, and 45 doubles, all school records.
#10- October 22, 2013- Bert Luallen becomes all-time winningest coach
Bert Luallen went into his teams match with Dodge City like he would any other late season, Jayhawk West Conference tilt on Dig Pink Night in the Greenhouse. What he didn't know was that this night would turn out as anything but ordinary for the 9th year Head Coach. After his team posted a 25-11, 25-21, 25-17 beating of the Conquistadors, Luallen was surprised on the court by Athletic Director Galen McSpadden who handed him the game ball and informed him that he had just become the all-time winningest coach in Seward County history with his 226th victory with the Lady Saints.
#9- May 12, 2013- Comeback kids knock off #2 Cowley
In what has come nearly commonplace at the Region VI Baseball Tournament in Wichita, the Seward County Saints and Cowley Tigers locked up in a battle between the Jayhawk West Champions and the Jayhawk East Champions. However, the two weren't used to meeting each other at this point in the tournament as each faced elimination with a loss in the contest. Cowley went into the game with a lineup stacked with Division I talent and a #2 national ranking while the Saints took the field with 17 freshman on their roster and without any sort of national ranking at all. Seward found themselves down 7-4 after six innings of play, but just when it looked like their season was in its final moments, the Saints fought back, scoring three times in the 7th and another in the 8th before holding on to knock off the #2 Tigers and end their season instead. The Saints would later that same day come from behind again, getting an RBI single from Reed Thompson in the 11th inning of their game against Kansas City Kansas to win 8-7 and continue their improbable run in the tournament.
#8- April 17, 2013- Saints make waves on national signing day
National signing day can be somewhat of a hit or miss at the junior college level. The 2013 national signing day for the Seward County Saints Men's Basketball team was certainly a hit as four Seward sophomores sat down together, signing their National Letters of Intent simultaneously in the All-American Room at SCCC. Saints big men Leslee Smith and Edson Avila both inked high major deals as Smith signed with Big 10 member Nebraska while Avila was headed to the Big 12's Oklahoma. Seward guards Kaheem Ransom and Jabari Peters stayed together, both inking with the Sam Houston State Bearkats. Smith currently leads Nebraska in rebounding with 6.5 per game while Ransom and Peters have combined to average over 23 points a game for the 'Kats who are off to their best start since the 2007-2008 season.
#7- October 11, 2013- Paula Lopez & Paula Coyos net third place finish
Despite traveling half way around the world to begin their collegiate tennis careers, Seward County freshmen Paula Lopez & Paula Coyos fit in like naturals from day one in Coach Jerry Thor's program. The duo marched their way to a number of tournament titles in their first fall in Liberal before becoming just the second Seward duo to ever compete at the ITA National Tournament in Fort Myers, Florida. Not only did the two compete in the tournament, but they showed well, posting a 2-1 record on the way to a 3rd place finish at the event. Together, the pair finished the fall 14-3 as a team and combined to go 25-5 in singles play.
#6- December 6, 2013- Fabiana Monte's buzzer beater keeps Seward undefeated
Facing yet another tough early season test, the 7th ranked and 8-0 Seward County Lady Saints went into their final two games of the first half of their 2013-2014 season with just seven players for the Pizza Hut Classic in the Greenhouse. Night one of the classic pitted them against the McLennan Highlassies in a battle that on paper was set to be a dandy. A dandy it was as the two teams went back and forth for the first 39 minutes of the game before entering the final minute of the contest with just one point separating them. After McLennan took an 86-85 lead with under 10 seconds to go, it looked like the Lady Saints dream of an undefeated season was just about to be popped. That's when fan favorite Fabiana Monte came to the rescue. Out of a timeout, the sophomore from Sao Paulo, Brazil drove to the basket, hoisting up a runner with 3.8 seconds left which found its mark to send the Greenhouse into a fury and give the gals in green an 87-86 victory to remain unbeaten on the season.
#5- February 12, 2013- Caitlin Demarest wins Pancake Day race
While she will openly admit that she entered the 2013 Pancake Day Race more as a joke with her friends than for the face that she was actually a competitive racer, you certainly wouldn't know it as Seward County Assistant Women's Basketball Coach toed the starting line on Kansas Avenue. On a cold and wet day, Demarest raced in front of the pack, leading nearly wire to wire to bring home the coveted 2013 title in a time of 64.3 seconds and etch her name forever in the history of Pancake Day lore. Demarest's win marked the second straight victory for a Seward County athletics department member after cheerleader Kaela Krueger won the race in 2012.
#4- April 30, 2013- Saints Baseball returns to the top of the Jayhawk West
Going into the final day of the Jayhawk West schedule in 2013, the Seward County Saints needed to take care of business and get some help from their friends up in Dodge City if they were to walk away with sole possession of the Jayhawk West crown. After an injury to starting pitcher TJ Looney and an already taxed Saints bullpen situation, things didn't look promising for the guys in green. That's when little used freshman right hander Adam Guay came to the rescue, throwing 8 innings of two hit baseball out of the Saints bullpen, stymieing the Cloud County bats as the Seward offense got going in a 10-0 win to give the Saints their 10th Jayhawk West Conference Championship in the past 13 seasons. Guay, who entered the game with an 8.14 ERA went on to be one of the Saints key cogs down the stretch, posting a 1.27 ERA and a perfect 3-0 record in the final two weeks of the season.
#3- February 27, 2013- Saints win third consecutive Jayhawk West title
You couldn't have written things in a storybook any better. The red hot Seward County Saints meeting up with the #5 Hutchinson Blue Dragons with a winner take all Jayhawk West Conference Championship game on the Greenhouse floor to close out the 2012-2013 regular season. That was the situation that appeared to close the 2012-2013 campaign and the game lived up to its billing between the two heavyweight rivals. After going back and forth for 40 minutes, the game was tied with under 10 seconds to go when Malcolm Hill-Bey knifed the length of the court through the Hutchinson defense and found big man Leslee Smith with a pass on the block which was later deposited into the basket to put the Saints up 62-60 with just 4.5 seconds to go. A last ditch effort from the Dragons was off the mark and the Greenhouse floor was quickly filled with SCCC students who stormed the floor to celebrate the Jayhawk West title with the team. The Jayhawk West Championship marked the third straight for Seward, the first three year stretch in Seward County history that that had ever been accomplished.
#2- October 11, 2013- Seward tennis duo wins National Championship
Seward County freshmen Ronzai Saurombe and Alejandro Gonzalez were the only at-large team that were invited to the 2013 ITA National Championships in Fort Myers, Florida so it was no surprise when the Saints were given the #8 and lowest seed in the tournament bracket, making it an uphill fight for the duo to make any noise at the event. Noise however, is exactly what Saurombe and Gonzalez would make, knocking off the #1 seeded team from Tyler in the first round before dispatching of the #4 seeded squad from Georgia Perimeter in the second round to reach the finals. In the title match, the pair squared off against the #3 seeded team of Fresno City College, making it a true National Championship between the final NJCAA team remaining and the final CCCAA team remaining. The Saints came out on top of a grueling 6-4 first set and with momentum on their side, breezed to a 6-2 win in the second to capture the school's first even ITA National Championship. Saurombe and Gonzalez combined to go 13-2 together this fall with their only two losses coming in tournament championship matches.
#1- April 26, 2013- Brownlee, Gould, & Slaughter enter Saints Athletics Hall of Fame
Emotional isn't a strong enough word to describe the feeling in the Greenhouse on April 26th as the Saints Athletics Hall of Fame opened its arms for three Seward County greats. Coming back for the first time to the place in which he set the school's all-time scoring record was former men's basketball player Tony Slaughter. Ginny Wylie spoke on behalf of her grandfather, the man that was a fixture at Seward County games for years and who's name sits on the Saints current baseball facility, Brent Gould. Finally, a man who wore so many Seward County hats over the past 40 years, from teacher to bus driver and from athletic director to fan, and many others, Charles Brownlee. Slaughter's speech focused on his memories in his two years in Liberal while Wylie's was jokingly about her spite for Seward County since her grandparents would routinely choose the Saints games over her own. Brownlee, who was in the midst of a lengthy and valiant battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease brought most to tears with his speech. He battled through his words, showing his true love for Saints and Lady Saints athletics. He talked of his memories and the multifaceted support with himself, his blood family, and his Seward County family.
Just three games into his Saints career, Seward County freshman Bryson Allen put himself on the map. In a game tied at 6-6 in extra innings against McCook, Allen launched a 2-0 pitch screaming over the left field wall for a three run home run to give the Saints a 9-6 victory and a series sweep against the Indians. Allen went on to lead the Saints in nearly every major offensive category in 2013 and was named the Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year.
#12- September 22, 2013- Seward dominates Metro State Invitational
Going into the 2013 Metro State Invitational, the Seward County Saints and Lady Saints tennis teams found themselves in a field packed with four year schools. In the end however, it was the team coming from a town with a population less than many of the bigger school's enrollment numbers that came out as champions. The Saints and Lady Saints captured titles at #1 singles in both the men's and women's draws. They brought home championships in both #1 doubles brackets. They also returned to Liberal with hardware from the #3 men's singles bracket in a weekend that is most easily described as dominant.
#11- April 24, 2013- Stephanie Mark breaks school's RBI record
Jayhawk West pitchers took a deep breath on May 11th when Seward County slugger Stephanie Mark walked across the stage and picked up her diploma at SCCC commencement ceremonies. That's because for two seasons, the sophomore first baseman was a terror for pitchers to had to go up against her powerful right handed bat. After breaking school records for hits and doubles earlier in the 2013 season, Mark notched her name at the top of another all-time category, launching a 4th inning pitch over the center field wall against Colby to drive home two runs, to give her 116 RBI's in her career to break the all-time school record. Mark finished her career with 122 RBI's, 174 hits, and 45 doubles, all school records.
#10- October 22, 2013- Bert Luallen becomes all-time winningest coach
Bert Luallen went into his teams match with Dodge City like he would any other late season, Jayhawk West Conference tilt on Dig Pink Night in the Greenhouse. What he didn't know was that this night would turn out as anything but ordinary for the 9th year Head Coach. After his team posted a 25-11, 25-21, 25-17 beating of the Conquistadors, Luallen was surprised on the court by Athletic Director Galen McSpadden who handed him the game ball and informed him that he had just become the all-time winningest coach in Seward County history with his 226th victory with the Lady Saints.
#9- May 12, 2013- Comeback kids knock off #2 Cowley
In what has come nearly commonplace at the Region VI Baseball Tournament in Wichita, the Seward County Saints and Cowley Tigers locked up in a battle between the Jayhawk West Champions and the Jayhawk East Champions. However, the two weren't used to meeting each other at this point in the tournament as each faced elimination with a loss in the contest. Cowley went into the game with a lineup stacked with Division I talent and a #2 national ranking while the Saints took the field with 17 freshman on their roster and without any sort of national ranking at all. Seward found themselves down 7-4 after six innings of play, but just when it looked like their season was in its final moments, the Saints fought back, scoring three times in the 7th and another in the 8th before holding on to knock off the #2 Tigers and end their season instead. The Saints would later that same day come from behind again, getting an RBI single from Reed Thompson in the 11th inning of their game against Kansas City Kansas to win 8-7 and continue their improbable run in the tournament.
#8- April 17, 2013- Saints make waves on national signing day
National signing day can be somewhat of a hit or miss at the junior college level. The 2013 national signing day for the Seward County Saints Men's Basketball team was certainly a hit as four Seward sophomores sat down together, signing their National Letters of Intent simultaneously in the All-American Room at SCCC. Saints big men Leslee Smith and Edson Avila both inked high major deals as Smith signed with Big 10 member Nebraska while Avila was headed to the Big 12's Oklahoma. Seward guards Kaheem Ransom and Jabari Peters stayed together, both inking with the Sam Houston State Bearkats. Smith currently leads Nebraska in rebounding with 6.5 per game while Ransom and Peters have combined to average over 23 points a game for the 'Kats who are off to their best start since the 2007-2008 season.
#7- October 11, 2013- Paula Lopez & Paula Coyos net third place finish
Despite traveling half way around the world to begin their collegiate tennis careers, Seward County freshmen Paula Lopez & Paula Coyos fit in like naturals from day one in Coach Jerry Thor's program. The duo marched their way to a number of tournament titles in their first fall in Liberal before becoming just the second Seward duo to ever compete at the ITA National Tournament in Fort Myers, Florida. Not only did the two compete in the tournament, but they showed well, posting a 2-1 record on the way to a 3rd place finish at the event. Together, the pair finished the fall 14-3 as a team and combined to go 25-5 in singles play.
#6- December 6, 2013- Fabiana Monte's buzzer beater keeps Seward undefeated
Facing yet another tough early season test, the 7th ranked and 8-0 Seward County Lady Saints went into their final two games of the first half of their 2013-2014 season with just seven players for the Pizza Hut Classic in the Greenhouse. Night one of the classic pitted them against the McLennan Highlassies in a battle that on paper was set to be a dandy. A dandy it was as the two teams went back and forth for the first 39 minutes of the game before entering the final minute of the contest with just one point separating them. After McLennan took an 86-85 lead with under 10 seconds to go, it looked like the Lady Saints dream of an undefeated season was just about to be popped. That's when fan favorite Fabiana Monte came to the rescue. Out of a timeout, the sophomore from Sao Paulo, Brazil drove to the basket, hoisting up a runner with 3.8 seconds left which found its mark to send the Greenhouse into a fury and give the gals in green an 87-86 victory to remain unbeaten on the season.
#5- February 12, 2013- Caitlin Demarest wins Pancake Day race
While she will openly admit that she entered the 2013 Pancake Day Race more as a joke with her friends than for the face that she was actually a competitive racer, you certainly wouldn't know it as Seward County Assistant Women's Basketball Coach toed the starting line on Kansas Avenue. On a cold and wet day, Demarest raced in front of the pack, leading nearly wire to wire to bring home the coveted 2013 title in a time of 64.3 seconds and etch her name forever in the history of Pancake Day lore. Demarest's win marked the second straight victory for a Seward County athletics department member after cheerleader Kaela Krueger won the race in 2012.
#4- April 30, 2013- Saints Baseball returns to the top of the Jayhawk West
Going into the final day of the Jayhawk West schedule in 2013, the Seward County Saints needed to take care of business and get some help from their friends up in Dodge City if they were to walk away with sole possession of the Jayhawk West crown. After an injury to starting pitcher TJ Looney and an already taxed Saints bullpen situation, things didn't look promising for the guys in green. That's when little used freshman right hander Adam Guay came to the rescue, throwing 8 innings of two hit baseball out of the Saints bullpen, stymieing the Cloud County bats as the Seward offense got going in a 10-0 win to give the Saints their 10th Jayhawk West Conference Championship in the past 13 seasons. Guay, who entered the game with an 8.14 ERA went on to be one of the Saints key cogs down the stretch, posting a 1.27 ERA and a perfect 3-0 record in the final two weeks of the season.
#3- February 27, 2013- Saints win third consecutive Jayhawk West title
You couldn't have written things in a storybook any better. The red hot Seward County Saints meeting up with the #5 Hutchinson Blue Dragons with a winner take all Jayhawk West Conference Championship game on the Greenhouse floor to close out the 2012-2013 regular season. That was the situation that appeared to close the 2012-2013 campaign and the game lived up to its billing between the two heavyweight rivals. After going back and forth for 40 minutes, the game was tied with under 10 seconds to go when Malcolm Hill-Bey knifed the length of the court through the Hutchinson defense and found big man Leslee Smith with a pass on the block which was later deposited into the basket to put the Saints up 62-60 with just 4.5 seconds to go. A last ditch effort from the Dragons was off the mark and the Greenhouse floor was quickly filled with SCCC students who stormed the floor to celebrate the Jayhawk West title with the team. The Jayhawk West Championship marked the third straight for Seward, the first three year stretch in Seward County history that that had ever been accomplished.
#2- October 11, 2013- Seward tennis duo wins National Championship
Seward County freshmen Ronzai Saurombe and Alejandro Gonzalez were the only at-large team that were invited to the 2013 ITA National Championships in Fort Myers, Florida so it was no surprise when the Saints were given the #8 and lowest seed in the tournament bracket, making it an uphill fight for the duo to make any noise at the event. Noise however, is exactly what Saurombe and Gonzalez would make, knocking off the #1 seeded team from Tyler in the first round before dispatching of the #4 seeded squad from Georgia Perimeter in the second round to reach the finals. In the title match, the pair squared off against the #3 seeded team of Fresno City College, making it a true National Championship between the final NJCAA team remaining and the final CCCAA team remaining. The Saints came out on top of a grueling 6-4 first set and with momentum on their side, breezed to a 6-2 win in the second to capture the school's first even ITA National Championship. Saurombe and Gonzalez combined to go 13-2 together this fall with their only two losses coming in tournament championship matches.
#1- April 26, 2013- Brownlee, Gould, & Slaughter enter Saints Athletics Hall of Fame
Emotional isn't a strong enough word to describe the feeling in the Greenhouse on April 26th as the Saints Athletics Hall of Fame opened its arms for three Seward County greats. Coming back for the first time to the place in which he set the school's all-time scoring record was former men's basketball player Tony Slaughter. Ginny Wylie spoke on behalf of her grandfather, the man that was a fixture at Seward County games for years and who's name sits on the Saints current baseball facility, Brent Gould. Finally, a man who wore so many Seward County hats over the past 40 years, from teacher to bus driver and from athletic director to fan, and many others, Charles Brownlee. Slaughter's speech focused on his memories in his two years in Liberal while Wylie's was jokingly about her spite for Seward County since her grandparents would routinely choose the Saints games over her own. Brownlee, who was in the midst of a lengthy and valiant battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease brought most to tears with his speech. He battled through his words, showing his true love for Saints and Lady Saints athletics. He talked of his memories and the multifaceted support with himself, his blood family, and his Seward County family.
We hope you have enjoyed our top 13 for 2013. Thank you for your continued support of Seward County Athletics and we wish you a very happy 2014 to you and yours.