Katie Linenberger, Kenlee Winter, Jaysa Roa, Molly Martin and Riley Dreher are leading the Hays High Indians through their perfect season, a group of seniors who have competed together since the beginning of their careers. HAILEY CHAPMAN / HAYS DAILY NEWS
By Hailey Chapman
Hays Daily News
It’s always been written in the stars- or at least drawn up in their coaches playbook.
Even when they didn’t know they were something special, their families, friends and support system watched something magnificent blossom before their eyes.
The Hays High School girls basketball team has notched a stunning 20-0 regular season record, led by five seniors who have competed together since the beginning of their careers. Together, Jaysa Roa, Molly Martin, Kenlee Winter, Riley Dreher and Katie Linenberger have created a legacy not seen in over two decades.
The path to greatness began with a scrappy group of second graders, recruited by Jamie Dreher, Fort Hays State University Hall of Famer from the class of 2003.
“Basically, I started the recruiting process in kindergarten. I would walk around and as I would see somebody tall I would imagine them on my basketball team some day,” Dreher said, looking for the right fit to join her daughter on the court.
She recruited Martin on the diamond, both noting that while softball was not her sport, there was a glimmer of hope on the court. Dreher remembers a quick and agile young athlete, willing to leave it all out there for her teammates. Paired with her natural inclination to hype up her teammates, sharing her highly sought after arm sleeve and headband, Martin became a crucial piece to a special team.
Roa and Linenberger connected through the Hays Tribe Basketball team, a local club team their brothers competed on, Linenberger’s height just an added perk.
Following the team’s first season, Dreher was introduced to Winter, a scrappy fourth grader, notorious for fouling her opponents.
“I remember seeing her play and I thought, I would like that on my team, she fouled the heck out of people,” Dreher said.
Dreher recalled a freshly injured Winter turning up to practice wearing a boot, encouraged by her mom to push through the pain. The relentlessness of her childhood days translated well into her high school career, an athlete who refuses to give up the ball without a fight.
After playing a Wichita area team when the girls were young, the small town girls were defeated by a large margin. A few years later, Dreher shared that they were able to play against that same team.
“We lost, but I think this time it was by 2 or 3 points. I remember looking at our assistant coach and we both kind of wondered, are we good?”
Growing up, the girls would play teams that pulled from different schools in each of their towns. Though the losses stung, it couldn’t surmount the pride that their coaches felt knowing one day, while big city teams would split up for their high school seasons, the Hays High five would remain a unit.
“Let them be great, let them think they’re beating us. If we’re winning some tournaments and we’re all going to be at the same school, it’s probably going to translate pretty well,” Dreher said.
The girls shared, sometimes, they still ask the same question. Around town, however, there is no question. The Hays High girls are good and they have something to prove.
Though they knew they would compete, though they knew the level they held themselves to, they first felt greatness following their championship win in the Hays City Shootout. With a pair of dominant wins to reach the final round, the Indians secured their first piece of hardware for the 2024-25 season in a 63-56 over ranked opponent Life Prep. Any lingering doubts were squashed after going on to win the Colby Orange and Black tournament, including a 74-72 OT win over 4A ranked Wellington.
Hays remains Wellington’s only loss on an 18-1 season.
Though limited, the Hays High girls have found ways to overcome the fear of losing, tactics they will take with them into their postseason run towards a state title.
“We just have to play our game. When you’re in those situations, it’s easy to think about all the pressure, but when you lock in, it eases the pressure. We just think back to practices and all of the work we’ve put in,” Winter said.
Throughout the season, the Indians have danced throughout the top ten rankings, starting at No. 8 in Class 5A, reaching as high as No. 2. The coveted No. 1 spot, however, has not been relinquished to a Western Kansas school. Despite their 19-0 record, the Indians have seen their team ranked consistently No. 2 through No. 4, a Facebook commenter on a previous HDN story diagnosing the team with “Rodney Dangerfield Syndrome”, receiving “no respect” for their accolades this season.
“Even if we’re not number one, we’re ready to prove we are number one,” Martin said. “I don’t think we look at those things, in our hearts, we’re number one and we know who we are as a team.”
“We know us better than anyone, we don’t need someone else to tell us that,” Dreher added. “They don’t know us.”
Impending matchups in the postseason will likely see the Indians take on top teams from Eastern Kansas.
“You can say that games we’re playing right now are not going to be as tough as what other schools are seeing, but when we get put in our tough games, like Wellington and Life Prep, that’s when we really shine,” Winter said. “We aren’t the team that cracks under pressure.”
Dreher echoed the same sentiment, stating that no matter the opponent, the Indians are always playing at their pace. Regardless of the other team on the court, Hays is competing against themselves, pushing to be better than the team they were in the contest before.
Alongside a trust in their training comes a trust and love cultivated by five-year Head Coach Len Melvin, the five seniors making up six of the athletes he has seen through their high school careers entirely.
“It’s rare that you get five seniors and it’s really rare that you get as much playing time as they all have,” Melvin said. “It’s rare to have five kids play so many minutes of basketball, so many games. It comes down to just court experience.”
Martin has been a four-year starter for the Indians, recently notching the 1,000-career point mark in their home contest against Garden City.
“Her role has been kind of a roller coaster. When she came to us, we had a point guard and then we lost her to graduation, which put her in that role and I think Molly would agree, that’s not where she needs to be. She needs to be running off screen, bombing threes and playing downhill,” Melvin said.
Last season, Martin capitalized on her opportunity to break the Hays High School record for career three-pointers. The opportunities afforded to her and her fellow seniors have been the fruits of their labor, fully embracing their role and what’s needed of them for the success of the whole. Alongside Martin, Linenberger has proved pivotal in the Indians primary center.
“Katie has got tons and tons and tons of minutes since her freshman year and she just, early on, got beat on. We had some bigger girls in the gym that were physical,” Melvin said. Though everyday might not have been her day, Melvin expressed his gratitude for her tenacity and willingness to go through the rough to get to the reward.
“When you create this environment where you’re constantly playing so hard, it becomes contagious, and Katie has been a tremendous leader in that regard,” Melvin said.
Senior Jaysa Roa got her first career start during the Indian’s senior night matchup against Great Bend on February 28, her role, according to Melvin, one of the most crucial and trying amongst the team. Roa has played limited time this season, but made the most of each moment. While on the bench, she is the first to her feet following a basket from her teammates.
“What I love about Jaysa is she knew that going in. We were honest and she was still willing to go through it with us,” Melvin said. “She has owned her role so well and so unselfishly, it’s sending a message to the younger players that’s really powerful that she might not understand right now, but we’re all going to see the benefits of it. I’m really grateful for her willingness to get in and get after it every day. She’s just an unbelievable kid.”
From day one, Roa was always seen as an athlete with good character. Raised by parents who encouraged her to write thank you notes to her coaches growing up, she became the athlete that knows her role and uses her abilities to propel her teammates forward.
With five talented seniors comes a naturally competitive atmosphere, creating depth within the roster that allows a wealth of experience in the years to come. In their senior season, Dreher and Winter went from starters to alternating roles.
“No matter which one of them is in with the second group, they then go in and are the leader, a different position than they might have with the first group on the court. It’s pretty awesome to have two kids with that ability,” Melvin said.
The pair, two of the most daunting defensive players in Western Kansas, have found that the key to their team’s success comes with their 100 percent on the court. When one gives it all, the other is ready to step in and pick up.
“Riley for a long time, it was who is the best player, that’s who you’re guarding, hold her under ten points and we’re going to win the game,” Melvin said. “That’s a threatening task for anybody and I know it’s a lot of pressure for somebody to go out there and guard girls that are going on to play Division 1 basketball.”
Winter, who got to work on the varsity floor later than her teammates due to injury, has proven that size doesn’t hold a candle to heart. An infectious player on the court, her teammates seem to feed off of her energy, applying pressure through all four quarters of each contest they compete in.
“I would say that Kenlee has always been the best on-ball defender we’ve had in my time at Hays High,” Melvin said. “When she came off of her injury, we had strong players ahead of her. She was one that had to wait for her time and when it came, she made the most of it. Now, obviously, she’s giving people headaches every night that we play.”
A special group of seniors who have put in the work not only to find success in competition, but ensuring they win the day every day, the Hays High five are sure to leave a mark on the program.
“They’ve been tremendous leaders. They are absolute goof balls, but what they do when the ball goes up, it’s on. That’s what our younger kids see and it creates a very competitive atmosphere. They know in practice, it’s going to be an absolute dog fight. When you’re playing that hard every single day, it doesn’t really matter who you’re playing against because it’s what they do every day,” Melvin said.
Childhood Coach Dreher added that their impact will stretch beyond current players, down to the girls in the stands repping Hays High maroon and gold every Friday night. She alluded to a team she watched go to the state tournament as a kid, the athletes she looked up to and inspired her to go on to compete.
At ten years old, Dreher watched her hometown high school team compete in the state tournament and from that point forward, it was hard to keep a ball out of her hands.
“If you just watch all the little girls that go up to the team after the game, it’s special. It’s been a while since there has been that kind of influence on young kids,” she said.
As the girls reminisce on the finite time left in their season, they truly feel they are making the most of every moment, never letting things get too serious- according to Melvin, sometimes on an annoying level. Though he has his hands full with a spunky senior group, there is a kinship between coach and athletes that has allowed for such success.
“I mean, he’s been here for five years, and as you can tell the program just keeps getting better. Obviously, he’s doing something right,” Winter said. “When I think of Melvin, I think of him after every game, he’ll say ‘I love you guys’ and give us a big hug-”
“You walk out of the locker room and you just feel good,” Winter concluded, teary eyed.
The bravado of his coaching style on the court might intimidate outsiders, but to his players, he has shown his undying support and care, translating to a mutual trust within the Hays High program.
“He is the perfect amount of knowing when to be serious and when to be a good guy,” Roa said.
“He pushes us to be our best selves. He’ll yell at us, but he cares for you. He’s not one of those coaches where the criticism makes you hate the game, he’s made us all love the game more,” Martin said. “He sacrifices time away from his family every day, so it’s like we’re his second daughters.”
Their record will speak for itself in years to come, but as they move on to the next chapter of their lives, they leave behind advice for their teammates, along with the next generation of Hays High Indians.
“I’d try to get them to understand it’s not about comparing yourself to who was there before you. It’s about being your most successful self, doing your best at your role and where you fit into the team,” Winter said.
With big shoes to fill, Winter believes true success comes from the ability to know your role and embrace it to become the best version of yourself.
“The most important part is to be every single one of your teammates’ biggest cheerleaders,” Martin said.
In their final moments on their home court, the five Hays High seniors could be seen exploding off the bench, three fingers, arms extended in their air, cheering on their teammates who will take the varsity court next season. Their influence can be seen both on and off the court, teammates mirroring their energy from all sides of the game. The best send off for these five would be a state title, the best way to honor their historic year- not making it the last.
