The Shawnee Dispatch / 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

Mill Valley reigns as KVL’s top sports school: By Benton Smith; July 21, 2010; The results have been tabulated, the points distributed and it should come as no surprise that — once again — Mill Valley is king of the Kaw Valley League.
Chieftains’ 4th-quarter rally edges Mill Valley: By Benton Smith; February 23, 2010; Tonganoxie High’s boys basketball team trailed the first 12-plus minutes of the second half, once by 11 points, but put together a spectacular fourth quarter to beat Mill Valley, 60-57, Tuesday night.
THS girls lose by 2 at Mill Valley: By Benton Smith; February 23, 2010; For the second time in a week, the Tonganoxie High girls basketball team lost by two points on the road.
Tonganoxie rallies past St. James, 40-28: Chieftains score 19 unanswered points to close the game; By Benton Smith; October 9, 2009; Down seven points in the fourth quarter, Tonganoxie High’s defense stepped up, refusing to let St. James Academy back in the end zone, and the Chieftains scored 19 unanswered points for a 40-28 non-conference victory on Friday night at Beatty Field.
Mill Valley returns to top of KVL standings: By Benton Smith; August 12, 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.
Jaguar boys win thriller: By Benton Smith; February 24, 2009; A tightly contested Kaw Valley League game ended in dramatic fashion at Tonganoxie High on Tuesday as Mill Valley escaped with a 65-63 win over the Chieftains.
Mill Valley girls fall just short: By Benton Smith; February 24, 2009; Even though the Mill Valley girls were without senior guard Becky Newhouse, the Jaguars gave the Chieftains all they could handle on Tuesday at Tonganoxie High.
Mill Valley soccer holds off Tonganoxie: By Benton Smith; September 23, 2008; For 95 percent of Tonganoxie High’s 80-minute soccer match Monday night with Mill Valley, the Kaw Valley League opponents went toe-to-toe.
Lansing edges MVHS as Kaw Valley king: After 4-year reign, Mill Valley dethroned by Lansing as league’s top sports school; By Benton Smith; August 20, 2008; After four years of supremacy, Mill Valley’s reign as the top athletics department in the Kaw Valley League is over.
Tonganoxie rallies to beat Mill Valley: By Benton Smith; May 8, 2008; Tonganoxie High responded to a Mill Valley sixth-inning rally with one of its own to get an 8-5 Senior Night win on Thursday evening at Leavenworth County Fairgrounds.

Full story list

Recent photos

Mill Valley's Morgan Oshinski records a solo block during a match against Tonganoxie at the Kaw Valley League Tournament.

Mill Valley senior Erin Graviette pounds a kill during a match at the Kaw Valley League Tournament.

Mill Valley's Dani Niemann goes up for a kill during a match at the Kaw Valley League Tournament.

Tonganoxie quarterback Jeremy Carlisle sneaks low for a one-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter of the Chieftains' 40-28 victory against St. James Academy on Friday night.

Jason Espeland and Justin Jacobs engulf a St. James Academy ball carrier during Tonganoxie High's 40-28 non-conference win on Friday night at Beatty Field.

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