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  • Wheelchair travel forms bond between native and visitor

    WheelChairChambersHett950o Torey Hett of Marion shares a light moment with Ryan Chalmers during the Challenge Games in Derby. Chambers is traveling across the country in his racing wheelchair. In the upper left photo, Chalmers shows his traveling form as he rolls along the highway.

    When Ryan Chalmers, 24, arrived in Newton on Saturday, it marked the 35th day of his 71-day journey across America in his racing wheelchair.

    Although Chalmers planned to continue through Marion County on Saturday, Torey Hett of Marion asked if he might consider staying until Sunday morning and take part in the Challenge Games at Derby.

    Like Hett, Chalmers also was born with spina bifida, which is an incomplete closure of the spinal column, and means they do not have complete use of their legs.

    With Chalmers averaging 60 to 70 miles a day since starting his journey April 6, one of the first questions Hett asked Chalmers was if he became sore traveling those distances.

    “He told me the first week he was, but that now he is getting used to it,” Hett said.

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Hillsboro sweeps past Halstead with lopsided wins

HHSgbHalstead2Maci619 Maci Schlehuber splits Halstead's defense for drive into the lane. Schlehuber missed this shot but tossed in 10 points for the game.   HHSgbHalstead2Danae621 Danae Bina puts up a shot against Halstead's Sydney Beat. Both girls scored 14 points for their respective teams.   The first half was about all it took for the Hillsboro basketball teams to determine the outcome of Tuesday’s games at home against Halstead. The Trojan girls led by 24 at intermission on the way to a 66-30 victory, while the boys led by 25 at halftime en route to a 46-19 decision. The running clock was in play the entire fourth quarter in both games.

GIRLS - Hillsboro dominated the Dragons out of the gate even though the Trojans led by only eight after one quarter, 19-11. Turning up the defense another notch, Hillsboro shut out the Dragons for the first 5:11 of the second quarter while racking up 12 points to take a 31-11 lead. By halftime the lead stood at 32-17.

The third quarter was more of the same as the Trojans limited the Dragons to two three-point baskets and a free throw while throwing in 22 points to claim a 56-24 margin by the end of the quarter.

With coach Nathan Hiebert subbing deeply after the first minute of the fourth quarter, the Trojans cruised to the 36 point victory.

Hillsboro finished with four players in double figures, led by Tena Loewen with 16. Danae Bina added 14 and Maci Schlehuber and Addie Lackey each added 10. As a team Hillsboro shot 54 percent from the floor (26-48) while Halstead made 38 percent (11-29).

The win boosted Hillsboro’s record to 6-1 in the league and 16-2 overall while Halstead slipped to 2-5 and 7-11.

BOYS - Though Hillsboro was favored to win going in, it was a surprising how quickly and thoroughly the Trojans took control of the game. Keying off a defense that forced eight turnovers in the first quarter, Hillsboro established a 16-4 lead by the end of the period. Four Trojans contributed points, led by Harry Faber with five.

The Dragons didn’t score their 10th point until almost three minutes into the second quarter, then didn’t score again the remaining five minutes as Hills­boro inflated the margin to 35-10 by halftime.

The third quarter turned a little ragged for both teams. The Trojans continued their relentless pressure on defense, but struggled to score, showing less patience and teamwork on the offensive end. Even so, the Trojans reached the 30-point lead by the end of the period, 41-11, to kick in the running clock for the fourth quarter.

Shaq Thiessen led the Trojan attack with 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Brett Weinbrenner chipped in 11. As team, Hillsboro shot just under 49 percent for the game (17-35) while limiting Halstead to 16.6 percent (6-36). The defense contribute to 21 Halstead turnovers, compared with 15 for Hillsboro.

With the win, Hillsboro improved to 11-7 for the year and 5-2 in the Central Kansas League while Halstead dropped to 3-4 and 7-11.

HHSbbhalstead2Shaq631 Shaq Thiessen scores the layup for two of his game-high 17 points against Halstead. HHSbbHalstead2Harry637 Harry Faber elevates well above the Halstead defense for a shot during the first half. Faber scored seven points in the game.