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State champions headline 2023 All-Shawnee County boys track and field team

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seven athletes who had a hand in eight state titles, including five multiple-event state champs, headline the 2023 All-Shawnee County boys track and field team.

Hayden senior Jake Muller (right) won his second Class 4A 300-meter hurdles state title last Saturday, one of his three state gold medals on the day. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]

Hayden junior Finn Dunshee (left) was the 4A 100-meter dash champ and also won state titles in the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays last weekend. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]

Hayden senior Jake Muller and junior Finn Dunshee took home three gold medals apiece, posting individual wins to go with two relay victories, while Wildcat sophomores Jensen Schrickel and Liam Stegman teamed with Muller and Dunshee for the two relay titles, including a Class 4A state meet record.

Highland Park senior Tre Richardson (middle) won the Class 5A boys 100-meter dash last Saturday at Cessna Stadium, the first of his two state titles on the day. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Highland Park senior Tre Richardson won the Class 5A long jump, finished second in the triple jump and scored 33 total points in the state meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Highland Park senior Tre Richardson turned in a monster individual 5A state performance, winning a pair of state titles and posting a runnerup finish while scoring 33 points by himself to outscore 22 other 5A schools.

Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel won the Class 5A state title in the 3,200 meters and finished second in the 1,600 last weekend. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

Topeka West sophomore Alesecio Batson won the Class 5A triple jump championship last weekend in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel and Topeka West sophomore Alesecio Batson also won 5A state titles, with Esquibel also recording a second-place finish as 16 members of the All-Shawnee County team earning state medals.

Hayden's Liam Stegman, Jake Muller, Jensen Schrickel and Finn Dunshee won Class 4A state titles in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays last Saturday in Wichita. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]

Muller won the second 300-meter intermediate hurdles state title of his career in 38.41 seconds while Dunshee won the 4A 100-meter dash in 10.84 and Muller and Dunshee teamed with Schrickel and Stegman to win the 4x100 (42.65) and 4x400 relay championships while setting the 4A meet record in the 4X400 relay (3:20.99). Schrickel also finished third in the 400 (49.63).

Richardson won the 5A 100-meter dash in 10.73 seconds and the long jump at 23 feet, 4.50 inches, finished second in the triple jump (46-5.75) and fourth in the 200 dash (22.49).

Esquibel won the 5A 3,200-meter run in 9 minutes, 18.67 seconds and added a runnerup finish in the 1,600 (4:15.26) while Batson won the 5A triple jump at 48-4.25.

Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge finished second in the 5A 3,200 (9:21.24) and added a fourth-place finish in the 1,600 (4:22.45) while Shawnee Heights senior Jordan Garvin finished second in the 5A 300 hurdles (39.68) and Washburn Rural junior Jamond Lane was second in the 6A discus (167-6).

Washburn Rural junior Josh Sulzen-Watson finished fourth in the 6A discus (157-4) and fifth in the javelin (168-6).

Cair Paravel Latin sophomore Ben Roeder, who competed for Topeka High during the regular season and CPLS in the postseason finished fourth in the 2A 200-meter dash (23.43) and fifth in the 400 (50.70).

Shawnee Heights senior Jeremiah Smith, a former state champ, posted a fifth-place finish in the 5A 100 (10.95) while T-Bird junior Alex Dittman took fifth in the 5A javelin (165-9) while Hayden senior Joe Otting earned a 4A state medal with an eighth-place finish in the discus (142-11) and Washburn Rural freshman Liam Morrison took eighth in the 6A 300 hurdles (46.39).

Also earning berths on the All-Shawee County boys first team were Seaman senior Branen Moore, junior Aaron Merritt, sophomore Bryce Cochran and Peyton Holmes, Washburn Rural seniors Easton Dial and Davin Johnson and junior Colin Rausch, Highland Park senior Keijuan Johnson and Topeka High senior V'Ante Peoples, juniors Jaziah Mack, Logan Murray,and Travis Shyne and freshman Malachi Murph.

All-Shawnee County picks were based on meeting minimum performance standards as well as coaches' recommendation and postseason performances.

ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY BOYS TRACK AND FIELD

Five city players land first-team spots on All-UKC soccer team

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Five city players have earned first-team berths on the 2023 All-United Kansas Conference girls soccer team, selected by conference coaches.

Seaman senior Jaycee Schumann (10) has been named to the All-UKC soccer first team in the Vikings' first season in the league. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]

Seaman senior Brooklyn Yingling has received first-team all-conference soccer honors from the UKC. [File photo/TSN]

Shawnee Heights sophomore Lailah Benz (2) has been named to the All-UKC soccer first team for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman, which posted a 14-2-2 overall record in its first season in the UKC, is represented on the first team by senior forwards Jaycee Schumann and Brooklyn Yingling, junior defender Elinore Stallbaumer and freshman midfielder Ava Huston.

Shawnee Heights, which posted a 7-10-0 record, put sophomore midfielder Lailah Benz on the first team.

Senior midfielder Sierra Montez of UKC champion Piper was named the conference player of the year while Piper coach Ryan Von Bevern was named the coach of the year.

ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE SOCCER

Hayden's Sandstrom, Shawnee Heights' Esquibel named Rising Stars of the Year

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Hayden's Lauren Sandstrom and Shawnee Heights' Jackson Esquibel, who both recently completed their junior years of high school, were selected Thursday night at The Foundry as the Dan Key Farmers Agency girls and boys 2023 Rising Stars of the year.

Hayden's Lauren Sandstrom (left) and Shawnee Heights' Jackson Esquibel (right) pose with Dan Key Thursday night after being named the 2023 Dan Key Farmers Agency Rising Stars of the Year. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Sandstrom and Esquibel were picked from seven girls and boys finalists chosen from weekly Rising Stars who were selected through the 2022-2023 school year.

Sandstrom was a three-sport standout for Hayden, earning a Class 4A state doubles championship with Emily Sheetz last fall and helped lead the Wildcats to a state tournament berth in basketball and a third-place state finish in soccer.

Esquibel capped a big year as a distance runner for Shawnee Heights last weekend at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium with a Class 5A state track championship in the 3,200-meter run and a second-place finish in the 1,600. Last fall Esquibel was a state medalist in the 5A cross country meet, finishing eighth.

Other girls finalists included Rossville three-time state wrestling champion Kendra Hurla, Silver Lake three-sport stars Makenzie McDaniel and McKinley Kruger, Seaman four-sport standout Anna Becker, Washburn Rural 2022 volleyball and basketball state champ Zoe Canfield and Highland Park basketball star Amelia Ramsey.

Hurla, McDaniel, Kruger and Canfield recently completed their junior years of high school while Becker and Ramsey recently finished their sophomore years.

Other boys finalists included Washburn Rural state wrestling champion Easton Broxterman, Topeka West state triple jump champion Alesecio Batson, Seaman football and baseball standout Max Huston, Washburn Rural star quarterback Branton DeWeese, Shawnee Heights football and wrestling standout Allen Baughman and Hayden football star and track and field state champion Jensen Schrickel.

DeWeese and Baughman recently completed their junior years of high school while Broxterman, Batson, Huston and Schrickel completed their sophomore years.

The Dan Key Famers Agency also recognized Shawnee County state team champions from the the 2022-2023 school year.