Wheatland-Grinnell pulled off a championship sweep in the Western Kansas Liberty League girls and boys tournament title games last Saturday in Goodland. 

The Thunderhawk girls captured their third straight WKLL tournament championship, outlasting Cheylin 54-52 in the final.  

The Wheatland-Grinnell boys beat Weskan 62-49 in the championship game. 

The girls’ championship game went down to the wire after Cheylin star Taylor McCarty hit a game-tying 3-pointer with about 13 seconds left.  

However, Wheatland-Grinnell quickly answered when Natalie Bixenman launched a full-court pass to Jayden Wood, who scored the game-winning bucket with about seven seconds left. 

“Very proud of the girls and their 3-peat,” Wheatland-Grinnell girls coach Marlin Beougher said. “They played really well and responded to everything Cheylin threw at them. 

“The girls never quit or got discouraged when they were down.”
 

Wood led four Thunderhawks in double figures with 17 in the title game. Marissa Beckman and Brooklyn Thomas added 12 each while Bixenman finished with 11. 

Thomas came up huge in the semifinals, scoring 27 points in a 69-43 win over Western Plains. Wood scored 16 and Bixenman had 10. 

In the first round, the Thunderhawks cruised to a 57-25 win over Weskan. Bixenman scored 20 and Thomas had 18. 

“We are really coming together as a unit and look forward to the rest of the season,” Beougher said. 

The Thunderhawk girls (16-4) took a 55-48 loss to Quinter on Tuesday. They will play at Cheylin on Friday. 

The Wheatland-Grinnell boys were led by Daniel Mason’s 21 points in the final against Weskan. Jackson Foster added 18. 

“I am proud of our guys and their competitiveness for tourney week,” Wheatland-Grinnell boys coach Will Bixenman said. “We set a goal at the beginning to win our league tournament, which obviously creates a lot of expectation and a stressful week but our team handled all that perfectly and competed their tails off.”
 

In the semifinals, the Thunderhawks put four in double figures – Riley Tuttle (18), Spencer Beckman (15), Foster (13) and Mason (11) – as they edged Cheylin 61-58. 

Wheatland-Grinnell opened the tournament with a 69-41 win over Northern Valley. Beckman led four Thunderhawks in double figures with 16, followed by Mason (15), Foster (14) and Tuttle (11). 

“We shot it extremely well in the quarterfinals against Northern Valley, which obviously helps,” Bixenman said. “We survived a hot shooting night and a tough battle in the semis with Cheylin.  And I think we just made tough play after tough play against Weskan in the championship. 

“I don't feel like our kids ever got rattled during a couple of their runs and we scored crucial baskets and got huge stops when we needed them.”

Bixenman said it was a strong team effort.

“I'm really proud of Branton Goetz, who doesn't get all the hype every night, but he does all of the dirty work for us,” Bixenman said. “Jackson Foster is just tough as nails, Spencer Beckman is our energizer bunny and leader, and Riley Tuttle and Daniel Mason are our go-to for offensive production. 

“I'm also really proud of Daniel. He missed a handful of games before the tournament and started to come back off the bench this week.  He had one of his worst games in the semifinals, but then had a monster game in the championship game.”

The Wheatland-Grinnell boys are 13-7 on the season. They finished 10-11 last season.

“I think the key to the way we’re playing right now is everybody sticking to their role and getting out in transition,” Bixenman said. “We've done a good job of that the last month, in part because of our defense and rebounding.  

“It's been a tough two or three years of taking our lumps in every sport, and just learning to play, but it's starting to feel like it's coming together.  They are just flat out competing hard.”