The Mirror / Benton Smith

Benton Smith covers sports and news for The Mirror. Although he hails from the state of North Carolina and graduated from the University of North Carolina, he assures you that neither that place nor the men's basketball team at said university have much or anything to do with him. Benton was a sports writer for the Lawrence Journal-World before coming to Tonganoxie. He is an avid basketball fan and football devotee but finds himself of late enjoying baseball more than he ever thought possible — he is 99 percent certain that is because the Kansas City Royals are actually competitive. Since joining The Mirror staff in February of 2008, Benton has learned that all high school sports, their athletes and coaches are pretty much a blast to cover.

Recent stories

Tough act to follow: New Tonganoxie High javelin coach steps into some big shoes; By Benton Smith; March 16, 2010; When former Tonganoxie High javelin coach Dave St. Cyr died this past December, it left more than a void in the hearts of the people who knew him. He also left behind some pretty big shoes to fill.
Lindsay sprinting to WSU: THS senior sprinter signs with Shockers; By Benton Smith; March 16, 2010; It had been months since DJ Lindsay made the decision, but it finally became official Thursday. That’s when the Tonganoxie High senior sprinter signed a letter of intent to join the track team at Wichita State University.
Star forward deals with season-ending injury: By Benton Smith; March 16, 2010; As his teammates ran up and down the floor, attempting to win a spot in the sub-state finals, Keaton Schaffer sat alone in a nearby locker room.
Smith: Midwest not an easy road to Final 4: Plenty of obstacled for Jayhawks; By Benton Smith; March 16, 2010; By Thursday afternoon, March Madness will officially be here. But Kansas University men’s basketball fans probably started feeling early onset madness Sunday night, when the brackets were announced.
Early exit: Chieftains eliminated without Schaffer: By Benton Smith; March 9, 2010; Tonganoxie High’s boys basketball team rolled into its sub-state semifinal poised to knock off No. 1 seed Pleasant Ridge. Instead, just 7:17 into their second playoff game, the course of the Chieftains’ postseason was altered completely.
Smith: Untimely injury didn’t seem fair: By Benton Smith; March 9, 2010; Sometimes sports just aren’t fair. Basketball was downright cruel to the boys of Tonganoxie High on Friday night.
Spring sports practices begin free of winter’s ice and snow: By Benton Smith; March 9, 2010; Even though it’s still technically winter, it almost felt like spring outside this past week. Nobody was happier with that development than spring sports coaches at Tonganoxie High.
Minus leading scorer, THS loses semifinal: Chieftains’ season ends with Schaffer sidelined; By Benton Smith; March 5, 2010; A routine drive to the basket altered the postseason fortunes of Tonganoxie High’s boy’s basketball team in a Class 4A sub-state semifinal Friday night.
Medal marks end of Maus’ time as prep: Hand has eye-opening state experience; By Benton Smith; March 2, 2010; It was far from a dream-sequence ending, but the emotions of the moment following the culmination of his prep career still overwhelmed Tonganoxie High senior wrestler Jeremie Maus.
Chieftains cruise to sub-state semis: THS routs Atchison in postseason opener; By Benton Smith; March 2, 2010; There wasn’t much drama to be found in the sub-state opener for Tonganoxie High’s boys basketball team. That was fine with the Chieftains, whose Tuesday performance against Atchison could be described with another D-word: dominating.

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Recent photos

New Tonganoxie High javelin coach Brandon Ruud goes over throwing techniques at a recent practice with freshman Jo Kissinger. Ruud is replacing former THS coach Dave St. Cyr, who died this past December.

Jeremy Carlisle explodes to the basket for a layup in the final seconds of Tonganoxie High’s 64-61 loss to Pleasant Ridge in a sub-state semifinal Friday night at Hoyt. Carlisle led the Chieftains with 24 points and five assists in the team’s season finale.

Dane Erickson is forced to take a difficult shot in traffic against Pleasant Ridge in Hoyt on Friday. Tonganoxie High lost the sub-state semifinal game with the Rams, 64-61.

Justin Jacobs fights back tears as he makes his way off the court following Tonganoxie High’s season-ending loss to Pleasant Ridge on Friday in Hoyt. The Chieftains lost to the Rams, 64-61, in a sub-state semifinal.

Austin Vickers prepares to release a three-pointer against Pleasant Ridge on Friday. Tonganoxie lost to the Rams, 64-61, in a sub-state semifinal at Hoyt.

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