Kansas City Royals fans enjoyed FanFest this past weekend.

Linda Ehm of Junction City was in attendance for the event at the Kansas City Convention Center.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Former Kansas State defensive end Jordan Willis recorded a pair of sacks and forced fumbles en route to South Team Outstanding Player honors on Saturday in the Reese’s Senior Bowl held at Ladd-Pebbles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.

Willis’ effort, which also included a pass breakup, helped the South squad earn a 16-15 victory.

Saturday’s game was the culmination of a week’s worth of work by Willis, who was able to display his skill set in front of all NFL teams.

The 2016 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Willis earned All-America honors from numerous publications after tying the K-State single-season sack record with 11.5 to go along with 17.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. The Kansas City, Missouri, product left K-State ranked third in school history in career sacks (26.0), while he finished ninth in career TFLs (40.5) to become the first Wildcat to enter the top 10 since 2001.

The next step for the country’s top NFL prospects is the NFL Combine, which will be held February 28 through March 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. A complete list of invitees will be announced at a later date. The 2017 NFL Draft will take place April 27-29, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Junction City Blue Jay wrestling head coach Bob Laster has worked in that job for three decades. And before that he was a wrestler for the Blue Jays during his high school days.

Saturday evening Laster was honored during a reception held in his honor to thank him for his efforts and success coaching the Blue Jays. Family, friends, and many former wrestlers were in attendance to recognize and give the coach a standing ovation.

Laster told JC Post the reception meant a lot. “The most rewarding thing is when kids come back and you get to see how they have developed and changed into men. This means a lot to me, and having people coming back and showing some love really lets me know what my job is all about. And that’s the rewarding part.”

In addition to members of this season’s team, many former Blue Jay wrestlers were in attendance for the reception. Among them were the first wrestler to capture a state championship under Laster, Rick Bazan. That occurred during Bazan’s senior year in the 132 pound weight class,  and in Laster’s first year as head coach in 1985 .  Bazan called Laster a great coach. He has now served as an assistant on the coaching staff for many years. Bazan noted when he began coaching he realized that Laster knew a lot. “This is hard stuff, and he’s taught me so much about coaching. But it was good, coach Laster always had your back, always had your back.  When you can count on somebody like that, that goes a long ways.”

The 160 pound 6A state champion for the Blue Jays in 1994, Bobby Lashley, attended the reception. He remembered how the coach mentored him and students in the school. “Coming back, talking to a lot of these guys he mentored everyone. I mean there were probably hundreds of kids that came through the school that he mentored, and it’s not about winning titles or winning places or medals or things like that. It’s just some things that he did for my life. I know without a shadow of a doubt I would not have accomplished the things that I accomplished to this day without meeting him.”

Lashley was a three time national champion and four time All-American at Missouri Valley College, joined the Army team and finished second at the World Championships, and was a USA All-American. Then in professional wrestling Lashley represented Donald Trump in one of the largest Wrestle Mania’s in history, was a United States champion, ACW World Champion, four time TNA world champion, and is currently 16-2 as a mixed martial arts fighter.  He remains in close contact with Bob Laster.

Some of the records and accomplishments during the 30 years the program at JCHS has been guided by Bob Laster include 272 dual wins, 145 times a Blue Jay wrestler has qualified for the state tournament with some of those being wrestlers who qualified multiple times, 21 times a Blue Jay captured a state weight class championship, and again in some cases there were wrestlers who accomplished that feat multiple times.

Laster has been named Coach of the Year three times, and his teams have won one regional championship, six league titles, three were undefeated in dual competition, and multiple teams have placed high in the team standings at the state tournament.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee jumped out to an early lead and never trailed, as the Volunteers posted a 70-58 win over Kansas State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 14,398 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Wildcats (15-6, 4-4 Big 12) were hampered by a poor first half for the second straight game, scoring a season-low 22 points on 36.4 percent shooting (8-of-22), including missing all 6 of their 3-point field goals. In contrast, the Volunteers (12-9, 4-4 SEC) used a 22-12 rebounding edge to connect on 53.6 percent (15-of-28) from the field.

K-State closed the gap to 57-48 on a jumper by sophomore Barry Brown with 9:06 remaining, but Tennessee responded by scoring 7 of the next 9 points to push back in front 64-50 with 5:05 to play and were never threatened the rest of the way. The Volunteers dominated on the glass, holding a 43-29 rebounding advantage and scoring an opponent-high 23 second-chance points off of 16 offensive rebounds.

The 58 points were a season-low for the Wildcats, as they converted on just 39.6 percent (19-of-48) of its field goals, including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from 3-point range. The Vols scored nearly half of their 70 points in the paint (34) to go with their 23 second-chance points, while connecting on 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field, including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from long range.

Brown was one of three Wildcats to score in double figures, as he tallied 15 of his game-tying 17 points in the second half, to go with a team-best 4 assists and 2 steals. He has now scored in double figures in a team-high 17 games. Senior Wesley Iwundu scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while sophomore Kamau Stokes added 11 points and 3 assists. Stokes rattled off double-digit scoring for the 11th consecutive games.

Freshman Grant Williams led the way for Tennessee with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while freshman Jordan Bowden and senior Robert Hubbs III chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively.

The Basics

• Final Score: Tennessee 70, Kansas State 58
• Records: Kansas State 15-6, 4-4 Big 12 // Tennessee 12-9, 4-4 SEC
• Attendance: 14,398
• Next Game: Wednesday, February 1 // vs. TCU // 6:30 p.m. CT // ESPNews

The Short Story

• Tennessee used a strong first-half performance to lead the way from start to finish in a 70-58 victory over K-State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday before 14,398 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• The Volunteers, which defeated the Wildcats for the second time in Challenge history, dominated the glass, 43-29, and used 16 offensive rebounds to score 23 second-chance points.
• Tennessee scored 39 of its 70 points in the first half on 53.6 percent (15-of-28) shooting, totaling 13 second-chance points off 9 offensive rebounds and 13 points off 7 K-State turnovers.
• Trailing by 19 less than two minutes into the second half, the Wildcats were able to close to within 57-48 on a layup by sophomore Barry Brown with 9:06 remaining. However, the Vols scored 9 of the next 11 points to push the game out of reach at 66-50 with 4:07 to play.
• K-State scored a season-low 58 points on 39.6 percent shooting (19-of-48), including just 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from 3-point range. Forwards D.J. Johnson (4) and Dean Wade (3) combined for just 7 points.
• Brown led three Wildcats in double figures by scoring 15 of his game-tying 17 points in the second half, while senior Wesley Iwundu (14) and sophomore Kamau Stokes (11) also had double digits.
• Freshman Grant Williams led three Vols in double figures with a game-tying 17 points
• TOM GILBERT
  Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

Fourteen high school wrestling teams converged on the Shenk Gym at Junction City High School for the JCHS Invitational on Saturday.

The Junction City Blue Jays finished in fourth place 145 points. Shawnee Heights finished first with 203.5, Lawrence Free State second with 188.5, and Kapaun Mt. Carmel from Wichita third with 181 points.

Two Blue Jays capured first place in their weight classes….Max Bazan at 126 pounds and Aryus Jones at 182 pounds.

Coach Bob Laster stated Bazan and Jones have been very consistent the entire season. “I was really happy that they could come out as champions. I was really happy for Aryus because this is his last Junction City High School outing, so I’m glad that he was able to finish on a good note.”

Some of the other Blue Jay results included a second place finish by Jeffrey Walters at 220 pounds,  third place finish by Steven Sicard at 113 pounds, and a fourth place finish by Tanner Bogenhagen at 132 pounds.

Team points:

–Shawnee Heights 203.5, Lawrence Free State 188.5, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 181, Junction City 145, Salina Central 133, Salina South 89.5, Atchison County Community High School 60, Shawnee Mission Northwest 58.5, Topeka High 56, Highland Park 54, Wabaunsee 41, Herington 39, Southeast of Saline 36, Topeka West 22.5.