Herington USD 487 -

The Railer High School Volleyball game scheduled for tonight at Solomon has be postponed. We will look to make up the games at a later date. Thank you for understanding!

The Herington JV Football game scheduled for tonight has been cancelled.

The middle school staff members chose 8th grader, Hannah Pritchard, as the August Student of the Month. Hannah participates in Band, Volleyball, Track, Summer Weights, and Quiz Bowl. Hannah feels that she was chosen as the middle school student of the month because she works well with others, communicates with her teachers, turns in her assignments, and follows the Railway Expectations. Hannah is the daughter of Erin and JB Pritchard.

Week Events

Live Stream link for tonight's football game at Goessel https://youtu.be/zMSD2xCd5J8

On Tuesday, Sep 7, 2021 The Lady Railers began league play as they traveled to Elyria Christian. As defending league champions, the Lady Railers knew that they had something to prove tonight as they played two of the scrappiest teams in the Wheat State League. When asked about her feelings on the night as a whole, Senior Halle Rutschman said, “The night was suspenseful and filled with lots of actions and stress, but thankfully I was blessed with accountable teammates and we were able to pull through with two wins”. Elyria Christian The first team that the JV and Varsity played was Elyria Christian based out of McPhearson, who had a home court advantage and utilized it. The first squad to take on the Lady Eagles was the Junior Varsity. Abiding by Wheat State League regulations for JV volleyball play, they play two sets regardless of a potential tie. They won the first set 25-10 and lost the second set 23-25. After a smashing win, the team became too comfortable and had to dig themselves out of a hole. Unfortunately, their fight came too late for the lead that the eagles had put up in the second set. On the other hand, the varsity team was able to close out their match against the Lady Eagles in two sets with a steady intensity: 25-19 and 25-14. Senior Halle Rutschman led the team in kills during this match with six. From behind the line, sophomore Tyler Urbanek led the team with a 92.3% serving percentage. Senior middle hitters, Emma Alt and Megan Mortenson, led the team with blocks in this match with one a piece. The team played an excellent game defensively as three different players were in double digits for both digging and successfully receiving served balls. Awaiting their final opponent of the night, the varsity team took a break as they watched the JV team take on the Lady Bluebirds. Goessel The Junior Varsity team focused on starting off fresh with their second match of the night after losing their last set in a tough battle. It was known going into this match that the Goessel Bluebirds were both well coached and aggressive. The JV squad understood what was being asked of them and delivered. After playing an impressive game on the defensive side and a solid game on the offensive side, they lost 20-25 and 13-25. The varsity team had to create their own energy as they competed on an away court. The varsity team adjusted beautifully to the adversity of missing players due to COVID-19 protocols and were able to work together. In a thrilling match that kept everyone on the edge of their seats, the Lady Railers prevailed and defeated the Lady Bluebirds 23-25, 25-13, and 25-23. Tuesday night Halle Rutschman proved to be a reliable and lethal resource for the lady rails at the net where she led the team total all night with 11 kills, five of those coming from their match against Goessel. Senior Madilynn Becker had 20 digs and 11 balls that were successfully received against the Bluebirds. The team took many lessons away from the night and enhanced their overall chemistry with each other. They are grateful for the competition that they experience and are working hard to prepare for the competition that they will face on Thursday at Council Grove. They are set to play Council Grove and Riley County. Sophia Weber - Sophomore

The Herington High School Cross Country Varsity and JV squads traveled to Mission Valley on Thursday, September 2. They are under the leadership of coach Troy Biehler, who is entering his second year as the cross country coach at Herington High School. This year they have a larger team than they had the previous year and are able to compete at competitions in both JV and Varsity divisions on both the men and women’s sides. The team is small in numbers and young with one freshman, Jaiden Vogt, who is a long distance runner in track and is excited to pursue cross country this year. There are two sophomores, Korey Meier and Sumner Schlesener, who are both first year members of the high school cross country team as well. The two veteran juniors of the team are Davanne Schaffer and Koy Mueller who are both entering their third year on the team. On the girls side, Davanne Schaffer competed as a varsity runner in the three mile run. She ran a time of 27:08.24 and placed 12th. She shared that her strategy for the race was to have fun and set a good time for the first meet of the year. Jaiden Vogt competed as a junior varsity runner in the three mile run. She placed second and earned a medal in her cross country debut, running a time of 30:43.39. On the boys side, Koy Mueller competed as a varsity runner in the three mile run. He placed 11th in his division and ran a time of 19:53. Korey Meier and Sumner Schlesener competed as junior varsity runners in the three mile run. Korey placed 10th against a large group of junior varsity boys and ran a time of 26:50. Sumner Schlesener placed 15th while running a cross country course for the first time and ran a time of 28:11. Sophia Weber - Sophomore

HS Volleyball travels to Council Grove today. Varsity, JV and C team girls will be playing at 6:00 against Riley County and 7:00 against Council Grove. Good Luck Lady Railers!

Good Luck to the Cross Country Runners today at Lyndon. Varsity Girls run at 5:00, Varsity Boys at 5:30 and JV Girls and Boys at 6:00.

On Friday September 3, the Railer Football team played their first full game. Railer fans had other opportunities to see them in pre-season fashion during the annual inter squad scrimmage and a jamboree that featured. The details of this game were full of questions as far as finding officials and more importantly an opponent. Due to the Centre Cougars dropping from 8-man football to 6-man football, the Railers had to find a different opponent for their first game. Due to their official forfeit against the Railers, Herington has advanced their record to 1-0. After getting word that Madison-Virgil was without an opponent for week one, they used their practice time to take on the bulldogs. They started off the first half with explosive offensive plays but faced several setbacks due to penalties. Their defense really stepped up and helped limit the bulldogs in the first half. COVID-19 protocols were definitely a factor in their game and forced them to alter their personnel. They went into halftime 0-16 and were still energized from the plays they were able to create in the first half. In the second half of the game, the Railers were not able to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Senior Ridley Swader had a rushing touchdown to put the Railers on the board. The Madison Bulldogs used their strong offense and a lot of experience to stay in control of the game. The Railers learned many things about both the chemistry of their team and the progress that they have had from last season through this game. At the end of the day, the Railers lost 53-6. In his first year as the Varsity Quarterback, Sophomore Tyus Becker said, “They weren’t forty-five points better than us, that will be one of the hardest games we will play and it really showed us how capable we are. Playing a good team just makes us better and I feel like we know how to play like a team now.” The Railer Football team is preparing to take on the Goessel Bluebirds this Friday at 7:00. This game will begin league play for the Railers, both the coaching staff and the players are eager to explore their potential this year. Their next home game will be on September 17 with a kickoff at 7:00 P.M. -Sophia Weber - Sophomore

USD 487's new masking policy mandates all visitors and spectators attending events located inside the school will need to wear a mask and practice social distancing. Thank you for your cooperation!

HMS Railers will be in action Thursday as we host Peabody-Burns! Game Times: Volleyball 4:30pm A-Team Volleyball 5:30pm B-Team Volleyball 6:30pm C-Team Football 6:00pm 6-man game

Sophomore Sophia Weber will be writing sports news for USD 487. Her first story features the HHS Lady Railers. Coming out hot, the Lady Railers kicked off their 2021 Volleyball Season in style. With new uniforms and a student section dressed in old ones, there was no place better to be compared to the Herington High School Gym. When asked about her feelings on the night as a whole, Coach Lisa Beye said, “I was very pleased how we came back and ended up competing against a state calibar team, even though we came up short we are now able to learn from the outcome and move on.” Central Christian The first team they played was Central Christian based out of Wichita, their team was young and scrappy. The Lady Railers took care of this team in two sets. The first set was 25-11 and the second set was 25-7. Throughout this set they had to practice discipline and figure out how to set the pace of the game. Speaking of coming out hot, Sophomore, Ashley Mascareno, led the team in kills and kill percentage during their match against Central Christian with five kills and a 71.4 hitting percentage. Seniors, Halle Rutchman & Madi Becker proved to be a dynamic duo and also served up an ace each. Halle continued to put on a show defensively as she had 25 digs and successfully received served balls seven times. Senior, Emma Alt, was step for step with the hitters on the opposing team and earned three points for the Lady Railers in blocks. Putting up impressive numbers and refining their chemistry together was essential for the challenge they had up ahead. They were about to take on Lebo, who is ranked fourth in Class 2A across the state of Kansas. Lebo Lebo had strong hitters and quick feet, the matchup against the Lady Railers would be one to watch. The energy in the room was full of adrenaline and anticipation, no one truly knew what the outcome would be. The Lady Railers approached the first set with hesitation and seemed taken aback by the challenge. Going into the second set, they played with a purpose and an intensity that was not matched by the Lebo Wolves. In the third set, they fought for a lead and fought even harder to keep it. The Lady Railers lost, 14-25, 25-21, 22-25. This go around, Emma Alt led the team in kills with four and many reliable hits to continue rallies. She was also able to make other rally-ending plays at the net with her blocks, leading the team with seven blocks. Freshman Leslyn Kremeier had an impressive debut on the Varsity High School Volleyball court with ten digs and seven successful serves received. Coming up short in the end was not easy, but it was a learning experience for the Lady Railers. They are preparing now for their next game on Tuesday against the Elyria Christian Eagles and the Goessel Bluebirds at Elyria Christian near McPherson.

NASP-National Archery in Schools Program Monday, September 13, 2021

High School Volleyball at Elyria tonight. Notice the start times have changed. 4:00 Herington JV vs Elyria JV 5:00 Herington V vs Elyria V 6:00 Herington JV vs Goessel JV 7:00 Herington V vs Goessel V ***matches will start early if they are ahead

We had a terrific turnout for our “Lunch on the Concrete” event today at HES! Thank you to all the families that joined their student for lunch. We will try to do this again in the future! #backontrack

We had a terrific turnout for our “Lunch on the Concrete” event today at HES! Thank you to all the families that joined their student for lunch. We will try to do this again in the future! #backontrack

Due to rising COVID-19 numbers in the surrounding communities, USD 487 will be implementing a mask mandate in all buildings effective September 7th through September 20th. Thank you for helping us keep our schools open and our students attending in person.

Railer Shirts

The Herington vs Centre Middle School Football Game scheduled for this evening has been canceled!!!