BonnerSprings.com / 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

BLHS boys rally past Tonganoxie: By Benton Smith; February 4, 2010; It wasn’t easy, but the Basehor-Linwood boys basketball team remained undefeated in the Kaw Valley League with a 61-52 win Tuesday at Tonganoxie.
Surprise lineup gives Braves first soccer victory: By Benton Smith; September 1, 2009; When the Bonner Springs High boys soccer team arrived at Chieftain Park on Tuesday for its season opener, the Braves players didn’t know what the evening would have in store.
Mill Valley Returns to top of KVL standings: By Benton Smith; July 23, 2009; Lansing High may have won more league titles, but Mill Valley returned to its place on the Kaw Valley League throne for the 2008-2009 school year, earning The World Company Newspapers’ annual KVL Athletics Department of the Year award for the fifth time in the six years of the award’s existence.
Tonganoxie sweeps BSHS softball: By Benton Smith; April 29, 2009; The Chieftains didn’t look like a winless team on Thursday when Bonner Springs came to visit, and by the end of the evening, that adjective no longer fit.
Magic 8th: Bobcats storm past THS in extra inning: By Nick Bratkovic & Benton Smith; April 16, 2009; Basehor-Linwood softball players stepped up their performances in extra innings on Thursday.
Lansing edges MVHS as Kaw Valley king: By Benton Smith; August 21, 2008; After four years of supremacy, Mill Valley’s reign as the top athletics department in the Kaw Valley League is over.
From Way Downtown: MLS not bad fit at the CAB: By Benton Smith; 12:00 a.m., July 22, 2008 Updated 04:32 p.m.; Until recently I had never in my life watched a Major League Soccer match. Not even on television.
Opening day of Butch Foster Memorial Baseball Classic is in the books: By Nick Bates, Benton Smith, Chris Wristen; 02:30 p.m., April 24, 2008 Updated 03:29 p.m.; The Butch Foster Memorial Baseball Classic is under way at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, and St. James Academy, Bonner Springs, Spring Hill and Basehor-Linwood all advanced to the winner’s bracket on Thursday.
Henley earns complete-game victory against Tonganoxie: By Benton Smith; April 9, 2008; It was two triples, one in the second and one in the sixth, off the bats of Basehor-Linwood players that decided the tight, well-pitched game between THS starter Logan Forbis and BLHS lefty Tyler H

Full story list

Recent photos

Jake Barren, Bonner Springs senior, closes in on a pin against Mill Valley’s Brian Callahan in the 285-pound finals Saturday at the Kaw Valley League Championships. Barren’s victory helped the Braves to a third-place finish as a team.

Collin Stirling, 189-pounder for Bonner Springs, prepares to break the grasp of his Tonganoxie opponent, Austen Holloway. Stirling won the match by pinfall, helping the Braves to a 50-24 dual victory Thursday at THS.

Brian Callahan, Bonner Springs 171-pounder, tries to put a hold on Tonganoxie's Jeremie Maus. Maus went on to defeat Callahan, 7-4, but the Braves won the Thursday dual at THS, 50-24.

Bonner Springs wrestler Ryan Demato (152) grabs Tonganoxie's Ian McClellan in an attempt to roll him over. McClellan defeated Deemato, 6-2, but the Braves prevailed in the Thursday dual, 50-24.

Bonner Springs' Jonathan Blackwell (130) tries to pin down Tonganoxie's Tyler Hand in a Thursday dual at Tonganoxie High. Blackwell won by pinfall and the Braves won the dual, 50-24.

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