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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' girls wrestling team turned in a strong performance in Saturday's Class 5A East regional at Bonner Springs, posting a runnerup team finish while advancing all 14 competitors to the state tournament Feb. 27-28 at Park City.

Shawnee Heights sophomore Olive Jones (top) won the 135-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A East regional. [File photo/TSN] 

Shawnee Heights senior Cianna Graves won the 155-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A East regional. [File photo/TSN]

The T-Birds, ranked No. 3 in 5A by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, got individual regional championships from 135-pound sophomore Olive Jones and 155-pound senior Cianna Graves and put four other wrestlers in the finals, finishing second to top-ranked Basehor-Linwood by a 275-212.5 margin.

Jones improved to 35-1 on the season with a 1 minute, 25-second win by pin over Basehor-Linwood sophomore Willow Rademacher (30-10) in the 135 final while Graves improved to 31-2 with a 5-1 decision over Bonner Springs senior Addison Vogel (25-3) at 155.

The T-Birds got second-place finishes from freshman 120-pounder Brinnley Morris (17-3), junior 125-pounder Audrey Hinkly (25-12), senior 145-pounder Olivia Stevens (29-5) and junior 190-pounder Brooklyn Binkley (20-11) while sophomore Bianca Juarez (110 pounds) posted a third-place finish.

Freshmen Makynzie Allen (100) and Stella Engel (235) qualified with fourth-place regional finishes while freshman Raelyn Kelly (130) finished fifth, senior Shelby Watson (170) sixth, sophomores Halle Hill (115) and Evelyn Ruby (140) seventh and freshman Carmarra Smith (105) eighth.

Highland Park senior Makayla Cadet, the defending 5A state champion at 190 pounds, earned a shot to defend her title with a third-place regional finish. Cadet is 20-2 on the season.   

Washburn Rural senior Emme Blanco won the Class 6A West 145-pound regional title Saturday at Wichita South, helping Rural finish third as a team. [File photo/TSN]

 Washburn Rural senior Elia Smith won the 170-pound title in Saturday's Class 6A West regional at Wichita South for the third-place Junior Blues. [File photo/TSN]

Rural regional champs Blanco, Smith lead 13 Junior Blues 6A qualifiers

Washburn Rural seniors Emme Blanco and Elia Smith captured individual regional championships in the Class 6A West regional Saturday at Wichita South, powering the Junior Blues to a third-place team finish with 13 state qualifiers.

Blanco, now 37-3 on the season, won the 145-pound title with a 5:35 pin in the finals over Garden City freshman Aria Cordes while Smith, 32-3, earned a 4-1 decision over Derby senior Chloe Spears (36-6) in the 170-pound regional final.

The Junior Blues got third-place regional finishes from 125-pound senior Lacey Middleton (36-6), 140-pound senior Madi Blanco (35-4) and freshman 155-pounder Raella Ebanez (31-8) while freshman 105-pounder Aliyah Tangpricha (25-5), freshman 135-pounder Alea Estep (21-16), 190-pound junior Lily Davis (33-10) and sophomore Emma Mehl (24-14) placed fourth.

Junior Dixie Day (120) qualified for state with a sixth-place regional finish while freshman Ashlyn Johnson (110) finished seventh and freshman Hadley Rosenbaum (100) and junior Rylee-Jade Ebanez (130) placed eighth.

Topeka High freshman 235-pounder Kya Dawkins qualified for state with a seventh-place regional finish while senior 170-pounder Taniza Huggins advanced with an eighth-place finish.

The 6A state tournament will be contested Feb. 27-28 at the AdventHealth Sports Park in Overland Park.

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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

The Rossville Lady Dawgs extended their winning streak to four games Friday night with a 54-39 victory over Abilene.

Abilene (4-14) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, but Rossville junior Nora Burdiek quickly answered.

Burdiek scored on a layup, drew a foul, and converted the three-point play to put the Lady Dawgs on the board.

Moments later, senior Rylee Dick drove to the basket and finished to give Rossville a 5-4 lead.

After Abilene briefly regained the advantage, Burdiek sparked a 9-0 run, scoring the first points of the surge as Rossville built a 14-6 lead.

The Cowgirls added a late basket, but the Lady Dawgs closed the first quarter in control, 17-8.

Rossville opened the second quarter with two free throws to stretch the lead to 19-8.

Abilene responded by chipping away, outscoring the Lady Dawgs 9-8 in the period to cut the deficit to 25-17 at halftime.

“You know, teams really haven't pressed us all year,” Rossville coach Derek Dick said. “We generally handle the press pretty well, but we struggled with it tonight. I'm not really sure why.

"We have stretches where we look really, really good, but we also have stretches where we look sloppy and undisciplined. That’s what we’ve been trying to clean up, and tonight we kind of reverted back a little bit.”

The third quarter proved to be the difference. Rossville came out firing with an 8-0 run, highlighted by four quick points from Burdiek to push the lead to 33-17.

“They were starting to make me mad, and that makes me want to try even harder and do whatever I need to do to help us win,” Burdiek said of her aggressive play during the run.

Dick also came alive in the third quarter, scoring nine of her team-high 18 points during the period.

“We always try to play through the paint,” Derek Dick said. “Whether it’s throwing it inside to Nora, which is obviously a great option, or penetrating off the dribble and touching the paint before kicking it out. Our percentages are much better when we play through the middle.

"Teams scout us and try to prevent that, especially teams with length like Abilene, but we want to stay aggressive.”

Rossville carried a 44-26 lead into the fourth quarter. Abilene attempted to rally, but Dick hit an early 3-pointer and followed it with a steal and layup to extend the lead to 51-26, putting the game out of reach.

“We've been working hard in practice and everyone has been working together, bringing each other up,” Burdiek said. “I think that's a big, big part of it.”

Rossville (10-8) now turns its attention to a major challenge, a second matchup with Class 3A No. 1 Silver Lake (18-1) Tuesday at Rossville.

The Eagles won the first meeting 69-53 at Silver Lake.

“We just have to keep our momentum going into the matchup,” Derek Dick said.

“We just have to keep working hard and playing as a team, and we can beat them,” Burdiek added.

ROSSVILLE 54, ABILENE 39

Abilene   8 9 9 13 -- 39

Rossville 17 8 19 10 -- 54

Abilene (4-14) -- Herrman 20, Stover 4, Barbieri 4, Taylor 3, Crane 3, Crump 3, Pickerign 2, K. Stover 0.

Rossville (10-8) -- Dick 18, Burdiek 17, M. Sanders 9, Miller 7, Mitchell 2, E. Sanders 1, Bunck 0.

3-point goals -- Abilene 3 (Crump, Taylor, Crane), Rossville 3 (Dick 2, Miller). Total fouls -- Abilene 20, Rossville 15. Fouled out -- Crane. Technical fouls -- none.

By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

Winners of four of their last five games, the Rossville Bulldawgs welcomed Abilene on Friday night -- and rode a historic 40-point performance from senior Jack Donovan to a dominant 95-48 victory.

Senior Jack Donovan scored 40 points Friday night as Rossville rolled to a 95-48 win over Abilene. [File photo/TSN]

Rossville got on the board first when junior Cael Horgan knocked down a 3-pointer for a 3-0 lead. Abilene responded quickly with two baskets to go up 4-3, but Bulldawg senior Cameron Miller attacked the rim to reclaim a 5-4 advantage.

The Cowboys answered with a three, and Miller followed with one of his own to tie the game at 8-8.

Abilene pushed ahead 12-8, but the Dawgs responded with a 7-0 run to take a 15-12 lead. The Cowboys countered with back-to-back 3-pointers to go up 18-15.

Senior Jakoby McDonnell scored inside to cut it to one, and Conner Bush added a basket late to tie the game at 19-19 after the first quarter.

Abilene opened the second quarter with a free throw before McDonnell attacked the rim and drew a foul. He calmly sank both free throws to put Rossville back in front, 21-20.

That’s when Donovan took over.

After scoring just three points in the first quarter, Donovan erupted during a 10-0 run, hitting two 3-pointers to spark the surge.

He added another three and a layup to extend the lead to 34-22.

After both teams traded baskets, Donovan buried yet another three, followed by a layup and a three-point play.

By halftime, Donovan had poured in 20 points -- 17 of them coming in the second quarter alone -- and Rossville held a commanding 50-32 lead.

“Jack's starting to settle in and see the game a little bit more,” Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell said. “I think there were times where we got to a point where we were searching for the shot instead of letting it just settle and come to him. I haven't given Jack the red light -- if he feels hot and decides to heat-check a couple, you kind of let that ride.

"He's a fantastic basketball player. Today he threw that ball up there and they fell through the net, and you can't go wrong when that happens.”

“It really depends on where he takes that first shot from,” Jakoby McDonnell added. “Sometimes I’ll pass it to him and he’s right on the 3-point line, and other times he’s near halfcourt. If he makes the really deep one, he’s probably going to have a good night because he’s feeling it.”

Rossville wasted no time extending the lead after halftime.

Donovan opened the third quarter by drawing a foul and hitting both free throws. He added four more points to push the lead to 62-36, then knocked down another three for his 29th point of the night.

By the end of the third quarter, Rossville had blown the game wide open, leading 79-37.

“I wasn't really thinking about it that much,” Donovan said of his big night. “I was just trying to hit the shots I was putting up. They don’t always go in, but it was nice that they were going in tonight. It was a good feeling.”

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