Oliver wins basketball all-star game MVP

Wabaunsee High School's Abby Oliver continued her amazing senior athletics season by winning the Flint Hills Optimist Club All-Star Game MVP after her Red Team defeated the Blue Team 66-62 Saturday night in Emporia. Oliver, a Washburn basketball commit and standout volleyball and softball player, scored 22 points in the win.

Below is an excerpt from Conor Nicholl's "Spring Revival" feature on Oliver from the new Kansas Pregame Spring Sports Preview. Find more features and team previews in the new digital edition. Check back for a final list of hard copy distribution locations soon.

Cottonwood Falls-Chase County has long reigned in Class 2-1A softball and set the state record with 94 wins from 2012-’16. The Bulldogs had won titles in ’12-’15 and again in ’17. In 2017, Chase County defeated Alma-Wabaunsee in the state semifinals, 5-3, the only time the Bulldogs permitted runs at state. CC then run-ruled Ellinwood in the title, and Wabaunsee finished third.

Last season, Wabaunsee won its first two state contests by identical 11-3 scores. In the finals, the Chargers faced Chase County. This time, the Chargers earned a 15-0 victory in four innings to complete a 20-6 season and the program’s second ever softball title, first since 2007. “Our bats were on fire,” Oliver said.

An outfielder, Oliver significantly helped with the state championship run with 10 RBI at state, including five apiece in the state semifinals and championship. She was Sports in Kansas (SIK) 2-1A State Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Overall, Oliver delivered eight state tournament hits, includ-ing 3 of 4 with a homer in the championship game for coach Brian Henry. For the year, she batted .452 with four homers and led the squad in triples (six) and RBI (38). Twenty-three of her 38 RBI and 22 of her 38 hits came in May. She batted .420 as a sophomore.

“I kind of struggled through the season with my hitting, but when it came down to state and the pressure, I pulled myself together,” she said.

The softball accolades continued a highly decorated career for Oliver, a Washburn basketball signee and Class 2A Girls Player of the Year by Sports in Kansas this winter. Oliver helped Wabaunsee basketball earn second in ’17 and third this spring. In volleyball, Oliver joined the squad in ’18 and helped the Chargers to a Class 2A runner-up showing.  A-W basketball coach Shanna Perine called Oliver the best leader she has ever coached.

Find the rest of Oliver's feature and more coverage of athletes and teams from across Kansas in the new Spring Sports Preview.