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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Seaman boys basketball, ranked No. 6 in Class 5A, has won seven of its last eight games after taking down city rival Topeka High on Thursday night at Seaman, 62-55.

 

Senior KaeVon Bonner scored a game-high 24 points in Thursday's 62-55 Seaman win over Topeka High. [File photo/TSN]

“I thought our defense was outstanding in the first half to hold them to 19 points,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "They’re a team that’s capable of getting hot and getting on a run. Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough offensively to take advantage of that and build a bigger margin other than the six points … knowing they would respond, and they did. I knew it was going to be a battle and this was a good win for our guys.''

“One thing about this team this year is we have pretty good chemistry,” Viking senior Matthew McConnaughey said after finishing with 10 points.

 

The Trojans began the game with a 4-2 lead but then Seaman went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead and force a timeout for Topeka with 2:47 left in the first quarter, as the Vikings led 12-5.

It took a while for Topeka High to score its first field goal in the second quarter, scoring just three points on free throws as the Trojans trailed by eight, 16-8. They slowly crept their way back off a couple of 3-pointers from senior Bryson McComas and Elisha Guest, making it a 23-19 game.

 

But then Seaman senior Kae’Von Bonner converted a floater off the window as time expired for halftime, as the Vikings took a six-point lead, 25-19.

Bonner had a game-high 24 points, with 11 of them coming in the fourth quarter.

In the third quarter, Topeka High would re-take the lead for the first time since 4-2 thanks to a 9-2 run to begin the half, led by McComas, Guest (who had a team-high 19 points) and senior Jalen Aldridge as the Trojans went in front, 28-27.

Both teams would trade buckets but then Seaman built a little cushion off a Griffin Zuniga triple, making it 34-30, and the Vikings led 40-35 heading into the fourth.

The Vikings led by eight at one point, but the Trojans trimmed the deficit to two after Octavian McFadden drilled a three making it 47-45.

Seaman built a six point lead again off a Bonner bucket, but then McComas brought High within three (54-51).

But then Seaman got in the bonus early and made crucial free throws when needed.

Zuniga iced the game off a Trojans turnover with under 20 seconds remaining, putting home a layup as Seaman nabbed its 16th win on the year. Zuniga had 14 points for the Vikings.

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

After a year’s absence, the Centennial League boys swimming championship trophy will return to the Washburn Rural trophy case. The Junior Blues took revenge on last year’s champion, Manhattan, in the league meet at the Capitol Federal Natatorium Thursday.

Washburn Rural poses for a team picture after winning the 2026 Centennial League swimming championship Thursday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Manhattan and Washburn Rural have taken turns with the trophy since 2022, and this year was the Junior Blues’ year to take the title, scoring 511 points to Manhattan’s 421.

The Junior Blues demonstrated their depth by winning all three of the meet’s relay races. Washburn Rural and Manhattan also displayed their dominance on the all-league teams. Of the 24 swimmers and divers to receive first- or second-team All-Centennial League recognition, 12 were from Washburn Rural and eight were from Manhattan.

“It means a lot to the boys for (the trophy) to be in our trophy cabinet, for them to be able to walk by every day and see it and know that they earned it back,” Washburn Rural coach Bob Burdick said. “It leaves kind of a hollow spot when it goes away. But Manhattan’s a great competitor. Great team, great coach. So, it makes it special when you earn it.”

Junior Daniel Allen won four gold medals for team-champion Washburn Rural in Thursday's Centennial League swimming meet. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Leading the Junior Blues was junior Daniel Allen, who placed first in two individual events and was part of two first-place relays. Other top scorers included freshman Braeden Montgomery and sophomore Thomas Appuhn, both of whom were part of two winning relays and took home a first and a second in individual events.

Sophomore Thomas Appuhn was part of three victories for team-champion Washburn Rural in Thursday's Centennial League swimming meet. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Freshman Braeden Montgomery helped lead Washburn Rural to the Centennial League swimming title Thursday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN] 

“Winning the league trophy feels great,” Appuhn said. “The team is doing really good this year and it was a team effort to get the trophy back. Getting it back was one of the key ambitions this year, so we made sure we had a diverse team that was able to swim all the events that we needed in order to get it.

“We had a developmental season last season, just trying to get more swimmers to practice and swim year round instead of just during the high school season. So this feels great.”

The only Topeka school to take home a medal was Topeka High, whose senior Will Stewart placed third in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle.

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Topeka West girls basketball coach Angie Ketterman found a bright spot in her team’s 63-40 United Kansas Conference home loss to Leavenworth Friday -- the Chargers fought to the end.

Senior Addaline Hall paced Topeka West with 13 points in Friday's UKC loss to Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Despite trailing by double digits from late in the first period on, the Topeka West girls battled and scrapped to the final buzzer. The Chargers’ intensity produced a number of tense exchanges and a bevy of whistles in the fourth period. Ketterman said afterward she appreciated her team’s effort and attitude.

“I feel like we really battled a lot harder than we have in the past,” Ketterman said. “That’s what we’ve been really talking about, especially on defense.”

Topeka West junior Sydney VanDyke scored 10 points in Friday's UKC loss to Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Senior Addaline Hall led Topeka West with 13 points, followed by Sydney VanDyke with 10. But the Chargers struggled at the offensive end, hitting just 13 of 56 shot attempts.

“Tonight, we missed a lot of our free throws,” Ketterman said. “We missed some of those easy things. But I feel like our girls battled. They got very frustrated the last minute and a half. That shows that they really wanted this. They played hard.

“I’m not going to take that away from them. They did play hard. But we missed a lot of free throws and some easy shots.”

Ketterman said that in the Chargers’ three remaining games, she hopes to see similar tenacity and effort, which will serve as a foundation for improvement.

“I hope to see us keep battling like that, to show the younger ones what it takes to get those wins,” Ketterman said.

LEAVENWORTH GIRLS 63, TOPEKA WEST 40

Leavenworth 17 11 16 19 -- 63

Topeka West    9 11 10 10 -- 40

Leavenworth (7-12, 5-7) – Walker 4-12 3-4 14, Huewitt 4-12 6-8 14, Brown 6-11 3-6 16, Allen 1-4 0-0 2, M. McIntyre 4-12 1-2 9, Graham 0-3 0-2 0, P. McIntyre 0-3 2-2 2, McCann 2-3 0-0 6, Noell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-60 15-24 63.

Topeka West (5-14, 2-11) – Allen 1-11 2-2 4, Gonzales 2-5 2-2 7, VanDyke 3-17 4-10 10, Hall 4-16 5-8 13, McGlory 1-5 0-0 2, Kutina 2-2 0-0 4, Ogles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-56 13-22 40.

3-point goals – Leavenworth 6 (Walker 3, McCann 2, Brown), Topeka West 1 (Gonzales). Total fouls – Leavenworth 21, Topeka West 21. Fouled out – Allen. Technical fouls – VanDyke.