By Greta Klein, Ad Astra Sports Contributor
Volleyball – During Senior Night, Oct. 17 at Jim Baker Fieldhouse, Buhler swept in the triangular with Rose Hill (25-14, 25-16) and Circle (25-18, 25-18). The Crusaders (16-15) remain unbeaten in AVCTL III play and captured the league title for the first time in 20 years. This past week, senior Breann Ruda surpassed 2,000 career assists. On her way to breaking the most kills in a season (360), junior Emerson Waldren is one kill short of beating this school record.
Buhler concludes the regular season at Abilene on Saturday.
Cross Country – The Crusaders swept the AVCTL 3 League at Clearwater on Thursday, for junior varsity and varsity girls and boys. The girls placed first with 37 points, having won back-to-back league titles. Following in second and third place were Augusta with 58 points and McPherson with 71 points. Five Crusaders finished in the top 12 including Corbin Starkweather who placed second (20:03.04), Isabella Friesen placed sixth (20:51.44), Ava Koster placed eighth (21:33.69), Audrey Foster placed ninth (21:42.14), and Haylee Kinast placed 12th (22:03.83).
The varsity boys also placed first with 33 points making this their seventh league championship in a row. McPherson placed second with 49 points and Augusta came in third with 62 points. Four of the top nine finishers were Crusaders. Gavin Lindahl placed third (16:32.78), Kai Mendenhall placed fourth (16:44.22), Henry Trumpp placed fifth (16:50.56), and Ryan Cherry placed ninth (17:35.24).
Head coach Curtis Morgan was named AVCTL III Coach of the Year.
“All of the hard work and dedication throughout the season came down to today’s race and it was awesome to see our kids put it all out on the course today,” coach Curtis Morgan said. “The coaches are so proud of them.”
Buhler will host Regional Cross Country on Saturday, Oct. 26 at Prairie Ridge Cross Country Park.
Golf – At the 4A McPherson Regional on Oct. 14, Buhler finished third while carding a 341 and qualified for state. Scoring a 326, McPherson won the tournament and Topeka Hayden came in second with a score of 326. Buhler stacked five golfers inside of the top 15. Anika Paulsrud carded an 80, placing sixth. Macy Miller finished 10th with a score of 85, Addison Specht carded an 87 placing 11th, and Juliette Shank and Harlie Terrell both scored an 89 putting them in 14th and 15th places.
“The team posted its best team score of the year so far,” coach Brennan Torgerson said. “Very proud of them.”
State golf will be played Monday and Tuesday at Hesston Golf Course.
Soccer – Despite battling through injuries this season, the Crusaders went 1-1 on the week after hosting against El Dorado and playing at Salina South. Tuesday, Buhler defeated El Dorado 11-0 following the use of the mercy rule. Before the game, seniors Dylan Anderson and Von Woleslagel were recognized for senior night. Having a fast turnaround, the Crusaders traveled to Salina South where they fell short 3-0 on Thursday. Buhler is 6-7-1 before heading into the last regular season game at Berean Academy on Tuesday.
“If these boys pick it up in the postseason, we can make another run,” coach Josh Tafolla said. “We just need our defense to lock down and our offense to put the ball in the back of the net and I think we’ll be just fine.”
Tennis – While competing at the Winfield Regional on Oct. 11, Buhler qualified all four entries for State. Sophia Spies won the singles title after defeating Winfield’s Sophia Herger in the final match 6-0, 6-2. Rebounding from a quarterfinal loss, Ashlyn Coker placed fifth in singles. Addison Caywood and Emily Allen placed fourth in doubles. Also finding their way to State, Katelyn Harding and Kyle Bradshaw placed sixth in singles. State tennis is held Oct. 18-19 in Topeka. Spies who is 29-3 on the season drew the No. 2 seed in singles and earned a first-round bye.
