Teams to Watch: 2A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A couple of the 2A top teams from previous years were hit hard by graduation – Hillsboro, St. Marys and Lyndon in particular – but there are some really loaded teams back who would like to challenge for the top slots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are some teams to watch in 2A:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Returners:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wichita Independent – The Panthers certainly can't be considered a favorite. Not yet anyway. But they do return the most players from the state tournament. They actually had no seniors a year ago. They bring back a couple of all-leaguers in <strong>Joseph Recalde-Phillips</strong> and <strong>Christian Dean</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Inman – Fresh off a great football season, it may take the Teutons a bit to shift gears. But they've got a bunch of players back, led by senior <strong>Eli Brunk</strong> and junior [player_tooltip player_id='1270271' first='Tanner' last='Heckel']. They have a ton of experience and know how to win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ellinwood – One of the state's best players leads a deep and experienced group. [player_tooltip player_id='1080178' first='Britton' last='Dutton'] (pictured) is a scoring machine, but he won't have to do it all for the Eagles. He is joined by fellow seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1378400' first='Koy' last='Behnke'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1378393' first='Parker' last='Scheck'], a couple of guys with length and diverse skills. Junior <strong>Drew Heinz</strong> is a feisty guard to help out Dutton. The Eagles are tired of getting upset at substate and want to make a run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moundridge: Like Ellinwood, Moundridge didn't appreciate having their season cut short a year ago, but they return a lot of nice players. They have the point guard and post in place with slick [player_tooltip player_id='1146283' first='Landon' last='Kaufman'] and big man [player_tooltip player_id='1561988' first='Logan' last='Churchill']. They also can hope for more from sophomore Barret Moddelmog, who earn all-league honorable mention as a freshman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Challengers:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valley Falls – The Dragons lost a lot to graduation, but have two key pieces back. Tough and versatile [player_tooltip player_id='1454192' first='Dylan' last='Cervantez'] will be joined by athletic [player_tooltip player_id='1461342' first='Zac' last='Evans']. They will need a lot of other young players to step up, however.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lyndon – Same as Valley Falls, Lyndon will be back if they can develop some young players to help [player_tooltip player_id='1454194' first='Jackson' last='Biggs'], a long and athletic shooter. They have some small, quick guards in <strong>Evan Feuerborn</strong>, <strong>Ryan Bones</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2387748' first='Jalen' last='Massey']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Unknown:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hillsboro – The Trojans' two year run as 2A champs came at a price. They relied heavily on the class of 2022. Four primary pieces of those title teams are now gone. Hillsboro does return [player_tooltip player_id='1080187' first='Brekyn' last='Ratzlaff'], the catalyst of those teams, as well as senior <strong>Tyson Plenert</strong>. But they will lack size and experience.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>TMP – The Monarchs are an unknown partly because they drop down from 3A. One would assume that's to their advantage, but you never know. TMP returns a stud in 6-foot-6 forward [player_tooltip player_id='1212164' first='Dylan' last='Werth'], the best player from last year's tournament team. They graduated a lot, but return some subs from that team, including seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1146303' first='Kade' last='Harris']</strong> and <strong>Luke Rome</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->