By Brad Hallier
The Hutchinson High winter sports season will continue at least through the end of the week.
The boys basketball team, seeded No. 5 in Class 5A West, will travel to No. 4 Great Bend for a 7 p.m. substate championship game, after the Salthawks overcame a sluggish start Tuesday to beat Eisenhower 69-63. The ninth-seeded girls will travel to top-seed and undefeated Andover on Saturday after they had one of their best games of the season Wednesday, beating No. 8 Kapaun Mount Carmel 41-37 in Wichita.
Kaia Smith poured in a game-high 21 points for the Salthawks against Kapaun, hitting five 3-pointers. Grace Posch added 15 points, sinking a pair of 3-pointers along the way.
In the boys’ win, Terrell King had 17 points, while Julian Smith added 16 and Devon Spiller 12.
The game at Great Bend is a rematch from a Jan. 12 game in Great Bend that the Salthawks won 71-61. Great Bend has won its last seven games.
Wrestling – Kade Smith finished just short in his quest to win a Class 5A wrestling state championship on Saturday in Park City, as he fell in the 157-pound championship match, 14-3 to Andover’s Bradley Trimmell.
Smith finished his season 34-7. In his other three matches, Smith won by pin, major decision, and then won a thrilling semifinal in overtime, 5-3.
Two other Salthawks earned medals. Cruz Cannon advanced to the semifinals before losing 18-6 to Basehor-Linwood’s Trevor Christenson. But Cannon came back with two more wins in the consolation bracket in earning third place at 106 pounds.
At 285 pounds, Camden Jensen also advanced to the semifinals but lost a 4-3 heartbreaker Rykan Carver from Shawnee Heights. Jensen then split his final two matches to get fifth place.
