NEWS FROM CHASEAMERICA

Senior Layd'n Hinderliter concludes his high school golf career at the Sand Green State meet in Mankato today with a score of 94.

Layd’n had a very successful high school golf career, qualifying for the State meet 3 years in a row. We are very proud of him and all of his hard work. Great job Layd'n!

Does anyone know the history behind these two tablecloths?
Message me, Sherry Cole @ colesherry312@gmail.com if you know anything plz.

How do you know when the culture is changing? School got out on Friday, we start summer weights in two weeks, but they couldn’t wait that long. These kids ASKED ME ( Jacob Bauman) if they could come put some extra work in in the weight room today, and by the end of their workout were already asking when they can come again this week. These kids never cease to give their all in everything they do and I am so proud of the growth I continue to see in them every single day. We’re still moving in the right direction.

We are excited to announce we applied for the KDHE Recycle Tire Grant and was awarded funds to help pay for new picnic tables in the new city park Pavilion!
Every penny counts in a small town like ours! Thank you KDHE. We would also like to Thank Crystal and Rose Marry with Ranson Financial! None of this would be possible without these grant writers! New splash pad in photo also.

2026 Bike Ride to Raymond is in the books!!! These kids impress me each year! Massive shoutout to everyone who made this opportunity possible and kept us safe! Rice County Sheriff's Department led the way with bright lights and stopped traffic so our students could cross 56 safely. Rusty and Amie came in with trucks and a trailer to aid when some of the kids' legs couldn't go any further. Megan was the best caboose picking up kids along the way. Mrs. Peterson and Emma put in miles going back and forth to encourage our cyclists. Then there's the biggest reason, other than tradition, we want to make it to Raymond. The ladies there spoil us with all sorts of baked goods, water, and gatorades. They also rewarded the cyclists and volunteers with Sonic coupons for another refreshing treat down the road. We have the BEST community to love on our kids!!!

The CHS Powerlifting Team competed at the K.E.M.F.A. State Powerlifting Meet for the first time in several years. While most of the team didn't have the day they wanted, and felt they left some lbs on the table, it was a successful and fun Saturday! We are proud of them for trying something new this year and continuing to strive for improvement.

All athletes

123lbs - Dominick Estabrook

156lbs - Malik Carson

165lbs - Trey Hudson

198lbs - Sebastian Torres

HWT - Santiago Torres

165lbs - Emmabelle Bowen

PWT - Harmony Bowen

Top 6 State Medalists

123lb class - Dominick Estabrook - 3rd Bench - 145lbs, 4th Squat 195lbs

156lbs class - Malik Carson - 4th bench - 240lbs

PRs today

Trey Hudson - Clean 150lbs

Sebastian Torres - Squat 235lbs

The RJH track team traveled to Victoria. Tons of PRs!! Every single kid on the team either placed or PR'd today!! Go Bulldogs!

Placing Top 6

Kenya Campuzano - Discus 2nd, 75-7

Kenya Campuzano - Shotput 4th,31-3.5

8th Grade Boys 4x100m - 3rd, Elvis Martinez, Michael Weaver, Aiden Hunter, Manuel Torres

PRs

Charli Black - Long Jump

Chloe Crawford - Long Jump

Aiden Hunter - Triple Jump

Elvis Martinez - Triple Jump

Kenya Campuzano - Discus

Kinsley Crawford - Discus

Bentley Poe - Discus

Gage Ukens - Discus

Gage Ukens - Shotput

Aiden Hunter - Javelin

Manuel Torres - Javelin

Jaxon Kelso - 100m

Andy Martinez - 100m

Zechariah Jeffery - 100m

Liam Diloretto - 100m

Aiden Hunter - 100m

Elvis Martinez - 100m

Chloe Crawford - 200m

6th/7th Grade Boys 4x200 - Andy Martinez, Jaxon Kelso, Zechariah Jeffery, William Martinez

First track meet was a success! Had lots of kids compete for the first time.
Humberto Rincon placed 5th in HJ and Malik Carson placed 1st in LJ and 2nd in the 100m.

Top 3 finishers

Malik - 1st Bench, 2nd Squat, 2nd Clean, 2nd Overall

Santiago - 3rd Bench, 3rd Squat, 3rd Overall

Dominick - 3rd Bench, 3rd Clean

Emmabelle - 2nd Bench, 2nd Squat, 2nd Clean, 2nd Overall

Harmony - 3rd in Bench

PRs (Personal Records)

Santiago - Bench 230lbs

Dominick - Bench 150lbs (Tied PR)

Emmabelle - Bench 90lbs, Squat 180lbs

Harmony - Bench 130lbs (Tied PR)

Trey - Squat 240lbs, Clean 135lbs

Sebastian - Squat 230lbs

Got to stop at Coronado Heights afterwards, which none of the team had been to besides Santiago. Was a fun day of lifting, proud of all the kids!

USD 401 is excited to announce some of our new hires! Please join us in welcoming Carl Nolan Jr. for CHS Football Coach 2026-2027 and Pepper Unruh K-12 Agriculture Education.

RJH 8th grader Kenya Campuzano got 1st place in the shot put and discus at the first track meet of the season yesterday! She also got 4th place in javelin. Other top 6 placers included Aiden Hunter - 4th in TJ, Elvis Martinez - 5th in the 200m, and Manuel Torres - 6th in Javelin.

Members of the Community and City Council Traveled to Topeka to receive a $650,000 grant towards our Sewer Rehabilitation Project.

Thank you to the Kansas Commerce for Selecting our town.

Big Thank you to Ranson Financial for writing and administrating our Grant!

High school ag education students showed off the big equipment and tractors on Friday to the younger students of USD 401. They enthusiastically shared their passion for agricultural equipment and the industry, helping all students better understand and appreciate modern agriculture and how farmers feed the world!

Falyn Spangler, 2024 graduate, is continuing the legacy started during her years at Chase High School. She writes, "FFA has made a huge impact on my life. Learning all of the leadership skills through my presidential time in FFA made a huge impact on how I handle things at work. FFA also taught me the proper conformation in different livestock species which I use every day. I have learned so much through FFA and the Ag Education program at Chase, and I am so happy that FFA can be brought to anyone nationwide."

If you wish to support the legacy of Chase Ag Education feel free to contact the school directly. We gladly take donations of bovines, feed, seed and manual labor! The future of agriculture begins wherever education, opportunity and passion take root.

In preparation for the March Alumni Newsletter, I was curious about where some of us landed. Here is what I discovered. Out of 927 addresses that we have in our alumni files this is what I discovered.

North Carolina-5

South Carolina-3

Out of Kansas, Chase has 164, Lyons has 81 and Ellinwood has 37

The Chase FFA Chapter was proud to show their appreciation to the amazing teachers and staff who support them every day!

Members prepared and served breakfast featuring beef that our students helped raise. From pasture to plate, this meal represented the hard work, dedication, and agricultural education that FFA is all about.

Thank you to our teachers and staff for everything you do for our students and our chapter — we are grateful for your constant support!

Our members provided treats for the younger students to celebrate and share what FFA is all about. We love being able to connect with the next generation, build relationships, and show them the excitement and opportunities that agriculture and FFA can offer.

Riley Bowen, a senior guard/forward for Chase High School, broke the school's single-season record for three-pointers made this season, sinking 52 in 19 games. The previous mark was 34.

Bowen, who wears No. 24, missed five potential games due to team forfeits stemming from Chase having a lack of players, which likely would have boosted her total further.

She also set a new single-game school record with seven three-pointers in a contest against Central Plains on Dec. 16.

Students attend the Farm Bureau meeting and help prepare for 2nd Grade Ag Day! Serving, leading, and advocating for agriculture — that’s what it’s all about.

A huge thank you to the Habiger Family for their continued support of the Chase FFA Chapter! Over the past two years, they generously donated a bottle calf, and we are incredibly grateful for their investment in our program.

These donations have made a tremendous impact on our chapter. Because of their generosity, our members have been able to gain hands-on experience and share valuable knowledge about cattle and the agriculture industry with ALL students.

Support like this helps us continue to grow, educate, and promote the importance of agriculture in our community. Thank you, Habiger Family, for making a difference in Chase FFA!

Chase FFA members delivered birthday kits to the Chase Food Pantry — because everyone deserves to feel celebrated on their special day!

These kits include everything needed to make a birthday cake and celebrate, even during difficult times. We are so proud of these students for recognizing a need in our community and stepping up to make a difference.

While many spent Valentine’s evening on dates and flowers, these amazing high school students chose something even more meaningful—serving dinner at a nearby shelter. With beef generously donated by Chase FFA, they not only helped provide a warm meal but also experienced a beautiful full-circle moment of giving back to their community. Their kindness, compassion, and servant hearts remind us what love truly looks like.

First I wanna say how incredibly proud I am of every one of these boys and girls. When I first took this job I had all negativity about these kids and how they wouldn’t win. These boys came in and put the work in every single day and I couldn’t ask for more from them. From all of our bumpy roads to the multiple wins we achieved. I’m forever going to be grateful for this team and glad I got to work with them. I can forever say I couldn’t have asked for a better group of 8th graders to set the standard for the future. I also want to shout out the parents for putting trust in me and giving me the opportunity to coach these boys and girls. Forever Grateful! Evan Williams

Our FFA officers had an exciting opportunity to visit Ad Astra Radio in Hutchinson, KS to record radio spots promoting National FFA Week!
We’re proud of these students for representing our chapter and spreading the word about leadership, service, and agriculture.

This award celebrates the heart, integrity, and enthusiasm that Grace Faltysek brings every day.
Thank you for inspiring our athletes and representing our program with pride!

The RJH Boys Basketball team put in a show and won their game against Fairfield 38-24!
Thank you Sarah, hope you didn't mind me using your photo.

Chase Grade School and Raymond Junior High Spelling Bee was held. The top 4 spellers will go to the Rice County Spelling Bee at Sterling High School on Saturday, February 21st.

Top grade school spellers were: Alivia Rush, 1st; Alia Smith, 2nd; Ava Alcorn, 3rd; Arya Koppa, 4th; and Zahriah VanAvery, alternate.

Top junior high spellers were: Kenya Campuzano, 1st; Gage Ukens, 2nd; Charlotte Black, 3rd; Nevaeh Carter, 4th; and Bentley Poe, alternate.

The powerlifting team had their first meet at Valley Falls HS. Everyone got top 4 in at least one lift. Dominick got 4 medals (bench - 1st, squat - 2nd, clean - 3rd, overall - 2nd) Malik got 4 (bench - 2nd, squat - 2nd, clean - 3rd, overall - 2nd) Harmony also got 3rd in clean.

Back row Left to right: Asst. Coach Mason Cobb, Justice Cavender (jr), Humberto Rincon (sr), Robert Devorss (soph), Trey Hudson (soph), Carlos Rincon (jr), Head Coach Jacob Bauman Front row left to right: Dominick Estabrook (soph), Santiago Torres (soph), Malik Carson (soph), Leland Rice (sr), Sebastian Torres (fr)

Paul Coffman, Chase grad came to the High School and talked to all the students and faculty Nov 14th and talked about his career, the struggles he has overcome, and his achievements. He had other obligations for career day but made the trip on the 14th to inspire the students.

Visitor, Raechel Manley , Rice County Clerk spoke to grades K-8th about the history and importance of voting and donated 2 books to our library.

The Chase Kats football team showed up to help the Coronado Quivira Museum by setting up exhibits.
The museum staff commented on how wonderful the boys were and plan to have them back out in the future.

The seniors traveled to Lyons to attend Voters Ed. While there they were able to show off some of their knowledge
by answering questions against other area schools.

Think you to Chase/Raymond USD 401 students for visiting us and learning about Lithium Battery Safety!

2025 Football Homecoming Court
Layd'n hinderliter, Leland Rice, Humburto Rincon, Jacob Vahsholtz, Alivia Black & Riley bowen

I went to the High school first to do a little biz. While there Superintendent Kylee McDonald and new principal Ann Jones showed me several new murals. Two in the old gym of Felix and the Bulldog and one in the new gym for the students section (southeast corner) of a doghouse for the Bulldogs and Felix. Exciting things going on at CHS.

Summer Weights ended last week, and we had 13 kids hit our 75% attendance goal! 9 HS boys, 2 HS girls, & 2 JH boys. Proud of the work they put in this summer! Check the photos for their ending max totals. Thank you everyone who sponsored for the fundraiser. We raised over $2,000!

After a full body workout in the weight room, the kids went through a hard conditioning drill when we moved into the gym.

Finished the day with a 3v3 tournament. Pictured are your champions who finished with a 4-1 record.

Robert Devorss Malik Carson Aiden Hunter

One week of summer weights is in the books! Spent the first week testing 3 main lifts and getting a baseline for our workouts going forward. Pictured are the top 3-5 in each lift, including relative strength. Relative strength measures your max lifts divided by your body weight

We’re thrilled to announce that Anna Jones has been named the new Principal of Chase High School for the 2025-2026 school year!

Anna is no stranger to our community—she brings a strong understanding of curriculum and instruction, a collaborative spirit, and a supportive leadership style that will serve our students and staff well.

As we welcome Ms. Jones, we also want to send our heartfelt thanks to Mrs. Schepmann for her dedicated leadership. While we’ll miss her greatly, we’re excited to continue our connection as she joins Sterling College’s Department of Education.

Join us in celebrating this new chapter for Chase High School!

Jarett Mermis's idea was to help clean the entrance into the city to help with some grant and funding opportunities. So he and wife Audrey (Pray) came up with some ideas they had seen and they found this idea from the Fort Worth stock yard signs that go over the roads. So they put a design together and presented it to city council. Tom Kizzar suggested Chase in red. They liked the idea and asked for it to be put to bid, Leon’s Welding and Fabrication out of Hays won that bid and the city has some ARPA funding from covid relief to use and elected to do so with that. So between their company (JM Builders) and Tim White they helped put it up and will get it cemented soon. Also big thank you to Ellinwood Roustabout and Jayhawk Pipeline for bringing their cranes to place it for us!