The Shawnee Dispatch / Benton Smith

Benton Smith covers sports and news for The Mirror. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina but bleeds Crimson and Blue for the Jayhawks.

Recent stories

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.
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.

Full story list

Recent photos

Mill Valley's Oliver Parsons placed 16th in the 5K race at the Tonganoxie Invitational.

Mill Valley's Chelsea Pfannenstiel finished ninth at the Tonganoxie Invitational.

Mill Valley's Tyler Gude pushes toward the finish line at the Tonganoxie Invitational. He placed 10th overall in the 5K race in 17:23.

Mill Valley's Meredith Brooks pushes toward the finish line on Tuesday at the Tonganoxie Invitational. Brooks finished fourth in the 4K race in 16:20.

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Talking points

Do you think it’s worth it to shop on “Black Friday?”

“I didn’t go, because I knew there would be crowds and I didn’t want to deal with it. But I did see some things I wanted, and I thought I’d go get them the next day.”

— Walter Bramlage

More responses