In each of Abby Ogle’s first three seasons as a key member of Baldwin High’s girls basketball team, the team that knocked the Bulldogs out of the 4A-II playoffs went on to be crowned champions.

Ogle didn’t want that to happen again this season. She had a better idea: Keep winning until they won it all. That’s how it played out, a couple of scares notwithstanding.

Ogle twice had to come out of the title game in the fourth quarter: once because she banged her head against an opponent’s knee, the second time to have a cut on her arm covered.

Neither distraction kept her from scoring 22 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 58-57 victory against Andale.

Despite frequently looking to set teammates up before seeking her own shots, Ogle led the Bulldogs with a 17.4 scoring average and dominated defensively with 6.4 steals per game. She also averaged 4.4 assists. Her scoring averaged spiked to 21 points in the state tournament.

“One of the main things I did was I shot hardly any 3s just because we had shooters,” Ogle said of the unselfishness she displayed as a senior. “If I see people open who can shoot, I’ll pass it to them, because I’m confident in the team.”

Winning it all brought out the emotional side of Ogle, a spirited competitor.

“It felt so good I cried just because of how happy I was,” Ogle said. “I think we cried more than the team we beat. I couldn’t even stand because I was crying so hard, which is kind of funny.”

Never one to shrink from a steep challenge, Ogle, the Journal-World’s female Athlete of the Year, sought the best level of basketball competition she could find in selecting a college in hopes of improving enough to increase her status as a recruit. She signed with perennial powerhouse Hutchinson Community College.

Several other junior colleges and NAIA schools recruited her to play basketball, and she certainly would have been welcome to continue her successful track career. Hometown Baker University was among the schools offering her scholarship money.

“It was just too close for me,” Ogle said. “I wanted to get out a little bit and go where I don’t know anybody and see how it works.”

Ogle’s hope is that after a successful career at Hutchinson “schools bigger than NAIA” will recruit her. Ogle has run a leg of multiple state-championship relay teams for Baldwin and has placed in multiple individual events in seasons past.

She is aware of what she has to do to attain her first gold in an individual event. To do so, she must avenge a near-miss in the 300-meters at the hands of Andale’s Abby Smarsh, who is bound for Wichita State to run track.

Both runners set personal records in the race, Smarsh clocked in 45.25, Ogle taking second in 46.08.

“She usually gets me,” Ogle said of Smarsh. “She has really good starts and mine are mediocre. Starts are very important. Once you have that start, all you have to do is keep it.”

Owning up to a problem puts one halfway toward a solution to it. Ogle hopes that hard work takes care of the rest.

“I’ve been working on lots of speed stuff and then making sure I have the right techniques to get out of the blocks better for both my 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles,” Ogle said. “Last year, I was about seven seconds to the hurdles. I’m now about 6.5, 6.7”

Her track career will end when she hands the baton off after running the first leg of Baldwin’s 4X400 relay at state.

“I always find my way to the ground pretty soon after I run the 4X4,” she said. “I always give it my all and die.”