Leavenworth basketball stars sign with colleges
Everything just came together last season for the Leavenworth High School girls basketball team.
The Pioneers lost just one game and won the Kansas Class 5A state title, but perhaps the most impressive part was that they did it with just one senior.
The talented junior class that led them to the championship quickly became one of the most desired in the nation, picking up three Division I offers. On Wednesday, they completed the process in front of family and friends when Tyler Johnson signed with Kansas, Rachel Blackburn signed with Nebraska, and Tashia Jones signed with Oklahoma State.
“It was not just us three that did all the work,” Johnson said. “We have an amazing team and we strive for greatness. We worked so hard to get where we are. We would not have gotten these scholarships without Coach (Derek) Zeck and the other girls.”
Johnson was the statistical leader of the group, averaging 15.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Jones followed with 12.9 points and 6.7 rebounds.
Johnson will play at Kansas with fellow Sunflower League product Kylee Kopatich of Olathe South, who flipped her commitment from Kansas State to Kansas after the coaching change.
Blackburn said now that the paperwork is out of the way, this sets up another exciting season for Leavenowrth, which will march forward with former assistant Jordan Mellott at the helm.
“We’ve signed with our schools, so there’s no more pressure to get recruited,” Blackburn said. “It relieves us and now we get to go out and play and win another championship.”
Shockers land Shamet
Park Hill senior Landry Shamet says he avoids the recruiting websites, databases and rankings.
But they sure fell in love with him — even if that infatuation was late in its development.
After spending a portion of his junior season unranked, for example, Shamet now sits at No. 88 on Rivals for the 2015 class — the second-best ranking in Missouri behind Hickman’s Jimmy Whitt.
In that case, it appears Wichita State got a good one when Shamet, a 6-4 guard, signed his letter of intent Wednesday to join the Shockers.
“That’s a team that’s been a blue-collar team and works hard for everything they have. The situation there felt perfect,” Shamet said. “I feel like I have an opportunity to have an impact early and win a lot of games. That’s what it came down to. I want to win.”
Landry averaged 20.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists for the Trojans last season, leading them to a district championship.
“This is a guy we’ve been recruiting for several years, and he’s blossomed into an outstanding player,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said in a release. “He’s an excellent shooter, ball handler and defender who knows how to play the game.”
UCLA signs track star
Grandview senior Anglerne Annelus says her love for track began shortly after her freshman season, when she joined a summer club team to improve her sprinting techniques.
In reality, though, it began on the streets of Grandview, where she would challenge neighborhood kids — almost all of them boys — to race up and down the sidewalks.
She doesn’t remember losing very often.
“The boys didn’t handle it well at all. They didn’t like losing to a girl,” Annelus said. “They always asked for rematches.”
Perhaps they can take some consolation, all these years later, in knowing they aren’t alone. Annelus still rarely loses. She has won six Missouri Class 3 state titles in the last two seasons alone.
The next challenge awaits. Annelus signed a national letter of intent Wednesday to run track next season at UCLA.
“I liked everything about it,” Annelus said of her college choice after visiting two weeks ago. “It’s great weather; the coaches were really inviting; the team was great; and I have a brother who lives there.
“It seemed perfect.”
Texas gets elite pair
The Fastpitch Coaches Association reigning catcher of the year, Reagan Hathaway of Olathe Northwest, had plenty of options when she started looking at colleges. However, it took just one visit to convince her that the University of Texas was the right place for her.
She made it official on Wednesday and will celebrate on Thursday at a signing ceremony at the school.
“I have been waiting for this for so long and it is kind of weird that it is here, but it is exciting,” Hathaway said.
She batted .759 with 11 doubles and six home runs for the Ravens.
Another elite Kansas City area athlete, Kansas City Christian tennis player Johnny Goodwin, was drawn to Texas for the warm weather and a high level of competition.
He signed his letter of intent on Wednesday.
Goodwin will play one more season of high school tennis before he leaves, but already has a Kansas Class 3-1A state singles title. He also helped bring the Panthers the program’s first team title last season.
“It still feels a bit like a dream,” Goodwin said. “It’s something I’ve always looked forward to and I’m excited to be here now.”
Wrestlers pick Missouri
The Missouri wrestling program, ranked sixth in the NWCA Coaches Poll, is adding two local competitors — Lee’s Summit West’s Austin Eveler and Lee’s Summit North’s Keegan McCormick.
Eveler won the Class 4 132-pound state championship last season. McCormick placed fifth in 145 pounds.
Park Hill wrestling state champions Colston DiBlasi (Iowa State) and Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State) are also headed to top-20 programs.
Runners pick Arkansas
Blue Springs senior Stephen Mugeche and Blue Springs South senior Grace Klausen supplied the top performances among all Kansas City runners at the Missouri state cross country meets last weekend.
They both signed with Arkansas on Wednesday.
Mugeche won the Missouri Class 4 boys state meet in Jefferson City, using the fifth best time in meet history (15:32.23). Klausen finished in 18:15.45 and placed fourth in Missouri Class 4 girls, the best showing among female runners from Kansas City.
Both runners plan to participate in track, too.
This story was originally published November 12, 2014 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Leavenworth basketball stars sign with colleges."