By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Few people know what it feels like to win a state basketball championship. The rush, the exhilaration, the exhaustion and relief, the bond with teammates and the bittersweet end of the journey … few have actually had that experience.
When Jenny Schmidtlein watched from the crowd Saturday as her daughter Hailey received a gold medal on the Hutchinson Sports Arena floor, she had a pretty good idea what her daughter was feeling.
Hailey Schmidtlein scored 24 points in Saturday's 57-52 Hayden win over Bishop Miege in the Class 4A state championship game, joining her mom as a state basketball champion. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Jenny (Hubbell) Schmidtlein (No. 11) was a member of Hayden's 2004 Class 4A state championship team and is the mother of current Wildcat sophomore standout Hailey Schmidtlein. [KSHSAA Gallery of Champions]
The 2003-2004 Wildcats defeated Wichita Collegiate 45-37 at the Bicentennial Center in Salina to claim the Class 4A title after beating Labette County and Colby in the first and second rounds of the tournament. Wearing No. 11, Jenny Hubbell (now Schmidtlein) was a member of that team.
Having won three Class 4A titles in the 1990s, the 2004 Wildcats probably had no idea it would take 22 years to bring home another crown. The long wait finally ended Saturday when the Wildcats knocked off perennial power Bishop Miege.
Did Hailey know that her mom was on the last team to win a title for Hayden?
“Oh yeah,” the sophomore said with a laugh. “I’ve been getting a lot of texts about it already.”
As if they were clairvoyant, the first thing both mother and daughter said in separate interviews was they look forward to seeing the 2026 team memorialized in the Hayden gymnasium.
“I told Hailey the minute she was a freshman, I said, ‘You’re gonna be the next person on that sign at Hayden,' ” Jenny said after Saturday’s game. “I’m very excited that she will be the next person underneath mine.”
“It’s really cool knowing that my state title is going to go right next to my mom’s,” Hailey said.
Winning is a tradition at Hayden, and it’s a family tradition for the Schmidtleins. Hailey’s father, Scott, was member of the 2004 Hayden football team that won the 4A title.
“With both my parents being part of (the tradition) at Hayden, I’ve been raised with it,” Hailey said. “I’ve been taught to always play with heart no matter how the game is going, and I think that’s been a big part of it is that’s how her team played.”
The younger Schmidtlein led the most recent version of the Wildcats to a 19-6 regular season record, averaging 17.5 points, 7.5 points and four steals per game. Her stats took a dip in the playoffs, but she was at her best in the championship game on Saturday. She scored 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and recorded three assists and four blocked shots.
Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson saw it coming.
“I’m going to take credit for it because I told her before the semifinal game, I said, ‘You’re going to go off today.’ And when that game was over, I said, ‘I was off by one game. It’s happening.’ ” Reynoldson said.
Reynoldson said Schmidtlein impacted the championship game as much with her defense as she did with her offense.
She was one of several Wildcats – including senior Ella Foster and junior Alana Mitchell – who guarded Murray State commit Mary Grant, a dynamic Bishop Miege guard who lit the Wildcats up for 27 points a year ago.
Hailey was also sent into the lane to try to contain the Stags’ powerful post, Jayla McClinton, who is headed to play at Southern Illinois University.
“When you’ve got a girl like Hailey, she can guard their best player and not just guard her but make her really uncomfortable,” Reynoldson said of Schmidtlein’s work against Grant. “It doesn’t surprise me. She’s awesome. It’s not just her talent. It’s not her athleticism. It’s just the person she is. She’s so humble and does all the right things all the time. She’s a great example.”
Watching the state tournament brought back fond memories for Hailey’s mother.
“In our semifinal game, we won 18-17, and (Colby) held the ball the whole time. So, I’m glad we have a shot clock now,” Jenny said. “I thought it was really cool back then and it’s amazing to see your own daughter go through it now. So, I can only imagine what my parents went through when they saw me doing it.”
The Schmidtleins cheered from the stands as, over the years, the Hayden girls repeatedly fell just short of another title. The Wildcats finished second in 2009. They finished third in Class 4A Div. I in 2015. They took second in 4A Div. II in 2016. In 2024, the Wildcats placed third in Class 3A. And last year, the Wildcats placed third after being defeated by Bishop Miege in the semifinals.
So many close calls can be discouraging. But Jenny said the Hayden community stays focused on the positives. She pointed out that the Wildcats finished second in the state in volleyball in the fall, and were second in state in soccer last spring, Hailey’s freshman season.
“This isn’t new to Hailey. She was here for state volleyball. She was here for state soccer last spring,” Jenny said. “So, we’re knocking on the door in every sport.”
