Kaylor Regensburg and Aiden Conner are 3A State Champs in Fortnite. Photo courtesy of USD 210 Eagles Facebook.

It was a long eight hour drive from Hugoton High School to Highland Community College located in Highland, but the members of the Hugoton Esports team made it worth it as they brought home a plethora of awards, including a State Championship and runner up! Students competed in the first ever State Championship hosted by the Sunflower Showdown Esports League.

The Sunflower Showdown Esports League was started this year by the Highland Community College Esports Coach, Matt Ludwick as a model for KSHSAA to observe as they work out the details in making esports a sanctioned event. The teams started the season back in September and played once a week as they worked their way up the standings and earned a qualifying bid to the in-person State Championship.

Hugoton qualified four Fortnite teams, three Mario Kart racers, and three Super Smash Brothers players.

In Fortnite, Hugoton was heavily favored to come out on top as they held the top four seeds in the 3A bracket, and in the Grand Finals bracket which included classification. Hugoton held the first, third and fifth seeds going into the tournament. The Eagles would go on to make it an All-Hugoton finals after the Red team consisting of Enjo Moreno and Brandon Lopez defeated the 1A State Champion team from Troy.

The Crimson team consisting of Aiden Conner and Kaylor Regensburg defeated the 2A State Champion from Jackson Heights in the semifinals. Team Crimson would prove to be too much for Team Red and brought home Hugoton’s first ever Esports State Championship.

In the consolation bracket, Hugoton’s White team, consisting of the freshman duo Gage Harris and Caiden Mason, faced a huge challenge. The Eagles ran into the second overall ranked Jackson Heights team who had previously been undefeated prior to their semifinal loss to Hugoton’s Crimson team. Team White ran out to a 4-1 lead and was able to hold off the Cobra’s comeback to pull off the biggest upset of the tournament to reach the medal round. Hugoton White would end up losing to Troy earning them fourth place.

Hugoton also had a group of students who competed in the Nintendo Switch game categories of Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers.

The event held some high level competition, as there were contestants from both events that had just been awarded Regional National Championships the week before.

Jacob Payne would end up medaling in both 3A events, placing third in Mario Kart, losing to the runner up by a single point, and fourth in Super Smash Brothers.

In the Grand Finals, it was a different Hugoton player who made the most noise as Jesus Maldonado would make a run to the consolation semifinals where he faced off and lost to a competitor from Royal Valley. Sophomore Ethan Bowers and Freshman Kaiden Hatch both participated, but did not make it past the earlier rounds of the competition. The Sunflower Showdown League also held competitions in Rocket League, Valorant, and Overwatch.

The league plans to return in the Spring of 2025 with the State Championships taking place at Pratt Community College. The Hugoton Esports team will now get ready for their Winter and Spring seasons starting in January.

The Eagles are currently planning to participate in the Sunflower Showdown League again, as well as the national level in the High School Esports League which will host seven new games next semester including Brawlhalla, Street Fighter, and Geoguessr, all of which Hugoton is expected to fare extremely well in. The Eagles will also be joining a second national esports league called PlayVS in order to grant students more opportunities with three additional new games that are not provided by the SSEL or HSEL as well as access to Special Olympics Unified esports competitions.

The Hugoton Esports program currently consists of over 70 students and about 25 participating in after school competitions.

Wishing everyone a Safe and Merry Christmas and delivering the Sheriff’s report are, left to right, Undersheriff TJ Steers, Sheriff Ted Heaton and Deputy Cuylor Miller.

Sheriff Ted Heaton brought in his accident report for Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

Wednesday Stevens County Sheriff Ted Heaton and all of his Deputies worked an accident at the intersection of Highway 56 and Highway 25.

Vehicle one was a 2022 Kenworth and vehicle two was a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado. Vehicle one, the Kenworth driven by Shannon Thompson of Phoenix, Az. was south bound on Highway 25. She failed to stop at the stop sign, entering Highway 56. Vehicle two, the Silverado driven by Dack Downing of Moscow, was west bound on Highway 56. At Revenue Corner the Silverado struck the semi that had just entered Highway 56 still south bound after failing to stop. The semi was hauling a load of beer.

Both drivers were transfered to Stevens County Hospital by Stevens County EMS.

Sheriff Heaton sends out a special thank you to the Stevens County EMS/Firefighters for their quick response to the scene. A special thank you to the Stevens County Animal Control Officer that took the involved dog to safety. Ted also expressed his appreciation for all of his deputies for their great job of handling the situation.

Sheriff Heaton wishes to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Safe and Merry Christmas!!

Members of the Show Choir, in no particular order, are Jayden Burrows, Faith Beesley, Lelani Gerber, Morgan Niehues, Ella Beesley, Chaney Poulsen, Morgan Anderson, Ava Vertrees, Tobias Grubbs, Marco Amador, Carson Slocum, Taylan Hill, Justin Quevedo, Josephe Hernandez, Clayton Grubbs, and Joe Zambrano. Photo courtesy of Renee Beesley.

The Hugoton High School Show Choir under the direction of Renee Beesley traveled to Branson, Mo. November 20 – 24 to perform for thousands of people at the Clay Cooper Theatre, Pierce Arrow Theatre and the Mickey Gilley Grand Shanghai Theatre. This year’s show consisted of 30 minutes of Christmas songs and singing through the decades. HHS Show Choir had 100 members of family and friends travel to Branson with them to cheer them on at each show. While they were in Branson they also got to see the “Miracle of Christmas” at Sight and Sound theatre, enjoy a dinner show at Dolly Parton’s Stampede and spend half a day at Silver Dollar City, as well as work with a professional choreographer prior to one of their shows.

The HHS Show Choir will be performing their full Branson show at their Christmas Concert December 16, at 7:00 p.m. at the HHS auditorium. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Our VERY OWN Robert Williams has been selected to play in the PRESTIGIOUS Blue-Gray All American Bowl football Classic, December 16 at Dallas Cowboy’s AT&T Stadium with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff. Robert is the first Hugoton Eagle to be selected to play in this prestigious event.

Robert was selected for this event this past summer after he participated in the UT-Permian Basin Football Combine in Odessa, Texas. At the combine he was rated the #2 linebacker at the event by both Rivals and the Blue-Gray selection committee. He was the ONLY Kansas player at this event. Most of the 176 players that attended were from Texas and mostly 5A and 6A players.

Robert has been a mainstay for the Eagle football program for the past four years. He was a four year starter for the offense and a three year starter on defense. He has been a two year ALL GWAC selection on defense and was selected this year by the GWAC coaches as a First team offensive lineman. Robert has also been a STATE QUALIFIER in Powerlifting and has been a Honor Student all four years of his High School Career maintaining a 3.97 G.P.A.

CONGRATULATIONS ROBERT WILLIAMS ON RECEIVING THIS PRESTIGIOUS SELECTION!! G.A.T.A/I.G.Y.B.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The game will be Monday, December 16 at 1:00 p.m. at AT&T Stadium and will be televised on ESPN3 and on ImpactFootballNetwork.com on a delayed broadcast.

Remember a lot of Hugoton’s local business people are going to be celebrating Pink Friday, November 22. The businesses are urging people to “Support Small First” and stay at home and support your local businesses.

Participants include, on Main Street, Main Revelation at 524 S. Main from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Yardmaster Garden and Gifts at Third and Main from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. In the Hugoton Senior Center at 624 S. Main, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., will be RF Designs, Jill’s Tupperware, Shae’s Design Co., The Sweet Room, Kaben Kandles, It’s Tastier in Kansas, BK Rug Designs, Wolters Construction, Hinds Designs, Belen’s Custom Creations, Diana’s Crafty Creations and C-B Bakes & KYNS. Unbroken Bonds Permanent Jewelry will be from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m.

The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) announced student Lainey Cox from Hugoton, has been selected to become a member of the esteemed organization. The Society recognizes top scholars who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, scholarship and community commitment. The announcement was made by NSHSS Co-founder and President James W. Lewis.

“On behalf of NSHSS and our co-founder Claes Nobel, a member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes, I am honored to recognize the hard work, passion and commitment that Lainey has demonstrated to achieve this exceptional level of academic excellence,” said Lewis. “Lainey is now a member of a unique community of scholars — a community that represents our very best hope for the future.”

“We are proud to provide lifetime membership to young scholars to support their growth and development,” stated Lewis. “We help students like Lainey build on their academic success by connecting them with learning experiences and resources to help prepare them for college and meaningful careers.

NSHSS members automatically become lifetime members at the time of their initial membership. Each step along the way — from high school to college to career — NSHSS connects outstanding young scholars with the resources they need to develop their strengths and pursue their passions.

Formed in 2002 by James W. Lewis and Claes Nobel, member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes, the National Society of High School Scholars recognizes academic excellence at the high school level and helps to advance the goals and aspirations of high-achieving students through unique learning experiences, scholarships, internships, international study, and peer networks. Currently there are more than 1,700,000 members in over 170 countries. To help us further efforts that provide students with continued opportunity, please acknowledge NSHSS in any press release mentions by providing a resource link to www.nshss.org. For more information about NSHSS visit www.nshss.org.

Debbie Nordling is honored Monday as this year’s Delta Lambda Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi 2024 Woman of the Year. Congratulations Debbie!!

Debbie Nordling is this year’s Delta Lambda Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi 2024 Woman of the Year. Debbie grew up in Great Bend, the daughter of the late Jack and Nadine Foltz. She graduated from Great Bend High School in 1975 and attended Barton County Community College for one year. In the Fall of 1976, she entered KU as a transfer student. Debbie graduated from the Kansas University School of Education in 1979 with a degree in Elementary Education.

On her third day at KU, Debbie met Erick Nordling at the Hawk. After dating for a couple of years, they married in August of 1978. In the spring of 1980 Debbie and Erick walked the hill together during graduation at the University of Kansas. They have resided in Stevens County since 1985.

Debbie and Erick recently celebrated their forty-sixth anniversary. They have three children, Erica Nordling-Martin, Ryan Nordling and Burke Nordling. Erica has four children: Brayden, who is in his junior year at K-State working towards an Agronomy degree; Effie, who is in her sophomore year at McPherson College working on a degree in Physical Therapy; Bronsen, a seventh grader and Elise, a fifth grader. Erica is married to George Martin and resides in Hugoton.

Ryan lives in Wichita, and has a daughter, Bay, who is five years old. Burke is married to Anna, and they live in Olathe. They have two children, Audrey, 10; and Bradley, 5.

With a total of seven grandkids, Debbie is a busy lady. Adding to the kids and grandkids, Erick and Debbie are also parents to their two dogs, Blue and Maverick, two cows and two donkeys.

Debbie began her teaching career in 1981, teaching in Derby and Topeka, later moving to Hugoton to teach third grade.

In 1991, after teaching for 10 years, Debbie took a total career change and jumped into insurance and financial services with State Farm Insurance. State Farm has led her to many awards, travels and opportunities. She was named Rookie of the Year in 1991, after starting business in September! She has achieved “President’s Club” at least twice in her State Farm career, which means she was in the top 50 agents in the United States for State Farm. She also has earned State Farms’ Honor Club designation for twenty-six years. Debbie just celebrated her thirty-third anniversary as Hugoton’s local State Farm Agent.

In 1998, she was appointed by Governor Graves to serve on the Supreme Court Nominating Committee where she helped review and interview candidates to submit to the Governor for appointment as judges for the Kansas Court of Appeals and the Kansas Supreme Court. She served two terms.

Debbie and Erick were the Stevens County coordinators for the KU Honors Program. Debbie has also served on a variety of KU alumni boards, including Southwest Kansas Alumni Chapter, the National Board, and the Chancellor search committee. They had great fun hosting the backyard generations picnic for our corner of the state for several years. They both are lifetime members of the Alumni Association and members of the President’s Club, and in 2007 received the Mildred Clodfelter Award.

Debbie is very active in the community and a great volunteer. She was the first female member of the Hugoton Rotary Club where she held many roles, one being the first female president. She has also served on the Hugoton Area Chamber of Commerce and Stevens County Economic Development Board.

Debbie was also a charter member and board of director for the Southwest Friends of the Arts, a 501(c)(3) which puts on community dinner theaters and plays.

She is an active member of the Hugoton Methodist Church, where she often helps with Sunday morning children’s messages and Praise Kids and has spent a number of years as a member and chair for the Church Trustees.

Debbie continues to volunteer and help the community kids. She occasionally hosts story time at the Elementary School, guest speaks at Middle School Civics, helps with Career Day and Reality U. Debbie is also a member of Chapter GC P.E.O., where she has been a past president.

During her teaching tenure at USD 210 she encountered and saw the ripple effects of child hunger. When she left teaching, her mission was to build better communication between businesses and the classroom regarding child hunger. In her journey to help with child hunger Debbie volunteered in the early stages of an effort by the then current Superintendent of Hugoton schools and Marsha Ousler to operate a non-profit organization called Unified Support Agency, or U.S.A., Inc. for a shortened name. The Unified Support Agency started as a food assistance program in a small room in the current fire station annex. After several years and changes, Unified Support Agency branched off from the school and is now known as Project Hope. Without Debbie’s dedication to feeding the families of Stevens County, Project Hope would not be what it is today. During 2019 Debbie and several other members of Project Hope started a weekend food distribution for students in the Hugoton Middle and High schools that were identified as “chronically weekend hungry.” Along with the school counselors, the Eagle Market was developed and is currently serving those students in need. Debbie has been a member and served as Project Hope’s President for many years and she just retired from the board this year.

In early 2020 Debbie and several community members had a dream to remodel the old movie theater in Hugoton. They formed a committee and the dream came alive. Many thought the group had lost their minds since the building was in great disrepair. But as COVID 19 struck the nation, Debbie continued gathering donations from the community to purchase the old movie theater building. In March of 2020 the committee was able to purchase the building. After a lot of hard work and dedication the High Plains Theater is a fully functional theater plus so much more. The High Plains Theater and this community would not be what it is today without Debbie Nordling.

In 2021, Debbie was the recipient of the Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2022, Debbie saw a need for retail communication and came up with and started the group Retail Roundup. Once a month, local business owners gather to discuss how to bring our retail businesses together by hosting quarterly downtown events, seasonal games and open houses. The group later became Hugoton Impact.

There is undoubtedly a lot more that could be mentioned. She is a go- getter who gives herself fully to projects she undertakes. No job is ever too BIG. Debbie does a great job getting others involved to make the community better and Hugoton is lucky to have her in the community.

Congratulations Debbie.

Pictured from the left are Council Vice President Elisha Staggers, and Lalane, Ben, Lindy and Carter McClure.

Plus One Cattle Co. was selected as the Friend of 4-H at the yearly 4-H Achievement Banquet.

Their business has actively donated for many years to the Gas Capital Livestock Show, the Livestock Auction and sponsored buckles as well as horse awards at the fair. They have donated product to the Superstar show and various 4-H events and fundraisers.

Their family members are involved on the fair board, as fair superintendents, as community leader and project leaders. Stevens County 4-H council and its members would like to thank the McClure family and Plus One for their support.

American Implement recently participated in a John Deere national program called “Tech of the Year.” This program is aimed to recognize and highlight passionate technicians from across North America.

American Implement currently employees approximately 120 technicians throughout their 16 locations throughout Western Kansas and Southeast Colorado ranging in specialties and experience levels. The Service Team is rounded out by Service Admins/Writers, Service Managers and supporting specialist roles helping to maximize customer service and efficiency.

The John Deere Tech of the Year Program has several technician qualification standards to be nominated. American Implement was proud that several of their high preforming technicians were eligible and this year, Joe Beltz of Hugoton, was chosen to represent American Implement in this program.

The program had approximately 160 dealership nominees. Ninety-eight territory winners, then 12 divisional winners were selected through a blind, peer-dealership and John Deere field team review process based on how their passion for their customers, their peers, their communities, and their careers were portrayed through the submission.

Joe was the local Territory and then the Divisional Winner, representing a four-state area, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. He will travel to the John Deere World Headquarters in Moline, Il., to be recognized for his accomplishments. Joe felt humbled to be able to represent American Implement in this program and while this award speaks volumes of his career and skillsets, he refers to himself as just an, “Average Joe.”

American Implement is now “three for three,” having Divisional Champions in the John Deere Tech of the Year Award Program and currently is the only dealership to have multiple Divisional Champions in North America. To learn more about American Implement go to www.americanimplement.com, or like American Implement on Facebook, and follow on Instagram at @AmericanImplement.

Elsie Gonzales, Coach Rex Evans and Morgan Anderson. Photo courtesy of Rex Evans.

Congratulations to Morgan Anderson and Elsie Gonzales for qualifying for next week’s 4A State Golf Tournament in Hesston! Morgan finished sixth in Monday’s Regional in Ulysses and Elsie finished thirteenth! Monday, October 7 the golf team participated in the GWAC tournament at Goodland. Morgan placed ninth at the meet. Morgan and Aislee Austin earned Honorable Mention All-GWAC in girls golf. Morgan finished in seventh place and Aislee in twelfth. The results are based on the three qualifying tournaments.