October brought a plethora of thrills and chills to the local sports scene, with athletes across the area shining brightest when the games mattered most.
Four boys and four girls are again nominated for the Iola Register’s Athlete of the Month.
On the boys’ side, the nominees are Iola cross country runner Cole Moyer and a trio of football standouts: Iola’s Easton Weseloh, Humboldt’s Mason Sterling and Marmaton Valley’s Brayden Lawson.
For the girls, nominees are Iola’s Kaysin Crusinbery for her prowess on the volleyball court, along with Skylar Hottenstein of Humboldt and Southern Coffey County’s Karley Ohl. Crest’s Peyton Schmidt, a key member of the Lady Lancer cross country team, also is up for consideration.
Votes can be cast by clicking here, calling (620) 365-2111, or sending an email to [email protected].
The top male and female vote-getters will receive a free specialty pizza, courtesy of Rookies in Iola.
Voting will run through Sunday.
The nominees:
Kaysin Crusinbery, Iola volleyball
Crusinbery capped her IHS volleyball career in grand fashion in October, eclipsing 2,000 career assists.
She saved her best for last for the 21-15 Mustangs, averaging nearly 10 assists per set, or 792 for the season. For perspective’s sake, the rest of her teammates had 42 combined. She also had a career high 54 kills for the year, while serving up 18 aces and compiling 171 assists. Iola bowed out in the Class 3A substate regionals.
Skylar Hottenstein,
Humbodlt volleyball
Humboldt High’s LadyCub volleyball squad racked up 28 wins this season, with Hottenstein as the squad’s defensive specialist.
Hottenstein was particularly adept at handling opposing team’s serves, averaging more than 26 serve receives per match. To that end, she also racked up a team-high 442 digs, an average of 40 per match, and ranked second on the team in service aces with 44.
The Lady Cubs advanced to the Class 3A Substate Semifinals.
Karley Ohl, Southern Coffey County
volleyball
Ohl made her senior season count, leading the Lady Titans with 278 kills, more than the rest of the team combined. Ohl also led SCC with 34 blocks, and was second on the team with 96 digs and third with 25 service aces.
The Lady Titans advanced to the Class 1A Substate Semifinals.
Peyton Schmidt, Crest cross country
Schmidt shows no sign of slowing down with her third year of high school cross country her best one yet.
The Lady Lancer junior took seventh Saturday at the Class 1A State Meet, and was a leading figure on Crest’s Three Rivers League and Regional championships, and a second straight runner-up finish at Saturday’s state meet.
Cole Moyer, Iola cross country
Another senior who went out on top was Moyer, who had two goals entering 2024: to set a new personal record on the course, and to qualify for the state meet.
He crossed both off his list on a crisp autumn morning at the Class 3A Regional Meet in Richmond on Oct. 26, finishing the 5K route in 17 minutes, 41 seconds. Moyer capped that with a time of 18:41.3 at Rim Rock Farm Saturday at the Class 3A State Meet.
Easton Weseloh, Iola football
With Iola’s football team bidding adieu to a large senior class from 2023, Weseloh seamlessly transitioned to a team leader on both sides of the ball, often being counted on for tough inside-the-tackle runs, and punishing hits on defense.
Weseloh ranked second on the team with 392 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Weseloh ranked third on the team in tackles with an average 8 per contest.
The Mustangs (4-5) bowed out in the Class 3A playoffs Friday.
Mason Sterling,
Humboldt football
Sterling’s emergence out of the backfield is one of the many reasons why Humboldt remains undefeated on the gridiron in 2024.
The junior has rushed for 741 yards on just 60 carries, an average of more than 12 yards per attempt, and scored 10 touchdowns. He’s also one of Humboldt’s key receiving weapons, racking up five touchdown receptions and averaging more than 21 yards per catch.
Defensively, Sterling has pulled in four interceptions, recovered a pair of fumbles, caused two others, and racked up 53 tackles, an average of nearly 6 per game.
Humboldt (9-0) hosts Riverton Friday in a Class 2A playoff game.
Brayden Lawson, Marmaton Valley football
The Wildcats are in the midst of their best season in years, thanks in large part to their burly senior quarterback.
All he’s done is throw for 30 touchdowns (to only three interceptions) and nearly 1,700 yards over nine games. He’s also MV’s leading rusher, scoring 18 more times on the ground and eclipsing the 100-yard mark three times. He also leads the team in tackles, averaging nine per contest, quarterback sacks, 6.5 for the season, and quarterback hurries, with 13.
This comes despite the fact most of Marmaton Valley’s games have ended at halftime, via Kansas’ eight-man mercy rule. Only two have gone a full four quarters.
The Wildcats (8-1) host Frankfort Friday in the Eight Man-II playoffs.
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