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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

After 13 seasons under the leadership of Doug Bonura, the Cair Paravel football program will have a new head coach. Longtime junior high coach Randall Bond will take over for the 2026 season, the school recently announced.

Longtime Cair Paravel Junior High football coach Randall Bond has been promoted to be the Lions' head varsity coach for the 2026 season. [Photo by Jan Pabitzky]

The promotion of Bond to the varsity head coaching position ensures a high degree of familiarity and continuity. Bond has worked closely with Bonura over the years, installing the offensive and defensive systems run at the high school level and promoting similar character traits among the junior high players.

“I think it’s going to be a great transition, and I think he’s going to do a great job,” Bonura said of his successor. “He’s been around the game for a long time. He’s very personable. He loves the boys and really wants to help them grow and mature. The kids know him and trust him. It’s a great opportunity for him to become a head coach.”

Bond is a theatre and choir teacher at Seaman High School. He brings extensive experience to his new coaching position. Prior to joining the Cair Paravel football staff seven years ago, he coached junior high football at Holton for 14 years, where he collaborated with varsity head coach Brooks Barta, a former Kansas State star and son of Kansas coaching legend Roger Barta.

Bond said he is excited to build on the foundation laid by Bonura and to further the relationships he forged with the students as junior high head coach.

“I was lucky enough to coach up at Holton and you talk about a community that is invested in the kids,” Bond said. “It’s not the same here because we’re not a small town, but it has that feel. The parents are invested in the kids. They want what’s best for the kids, and this kind of culture is just hard to find. For me, it’s the best situation to come into. I’ve already coached most of the boys and it’s just a welcoming, supportive community.

“I’ve learned a ton from coach Bonura. He’s a phenomenal leader. He coaches and teaches the boys the right way, has super high expectations for both players and coaches.”

Bonura guided the program as it earned membership in KSHSAA and transitioned to two seasons of 11-man football. The team will return to the 8-man level for 2026. During Bonura’s tenure, the team won Kansas Christian Athletic Association championships in 2013 and 2021, the school’s last year prior to participation in the KSHSAA playoff system.

The decision to resign now was not easy for Bonura, who noted that the team returns a lot of talent for the upcoming season.

“When you have something that you’ve invested in for 13 years and you want to see it continue to grow, it was a very difficult decision for me,” Bonura said. “But I think it was the right decision at this time. And it helps for it to not become my idol. I don’t want it to become about me.”

Family was a motivator for Bonura to coach football at Cair Paravel, and it was a motivator to call it quits. His youngest son was a senior on the 2025 team.

“I have seven kids, so there is a lot of life going on outside of Cair Paravel for me. So, it was the right move for me to be able to do the things my family needs at this time,” Bonura said.

“When I started, I just wanted to have fun with my boys, giving them a chance to play football and to develop a program that honored the Lord and in which young men can learn how to grow up in a world that can be difficult. That’s what football teaches.”

Bonura recalled a situation early in his tenure that illustrated that character development. His team had its undefeated season interrupted by a 50-6 thumping at the hands of Heartland Christian School from Colby. The two teams met again in the playoffs.

“We had a real gut check,” Bonura said. “I told them, ‘You guys were scared.’ There were only 12 boys on that other team, but they were tough as nails. I challenged our guys, that ‘suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope’ from (the Biblical book of) Romans.”

In the rematch, Cair Paravel lost 62-58 in what Bonura calls one of the best games during his time at the school.

“Our boys really grew from that experience,” Bonura said. “And when I see those guys we still talk about that game. They knew that they fought back and weren’t afraid of those guys anymore.”

Bonura thanked Jeff Brown and Ron Thornburgh who coached the team prior to his assumption of head coaching duties for facilitating a smooth transition and laying a solid foundation. He also credited the assistant coaches who have been on his staff over the years.

“I’ve worked with great people along the way,” Bonura said. “Great men committed to help young men grow in their walk regardless of wins and losses. That’s hard to do, because you want to be successful in the wins column.”

Cair Paravel athletic director Gary Cleverdon said Bonura would not be easily replaced, but that the process that ultimately led to Bond’s promotion had been a positive one.

“Doug took over a program that was just getting started in the eyes of many. Football at this school was not the big item on the block,” said Cleverdon. “It was always more than just football for Doug. He put his blood, sweat and tears into it, every ounce he had. We would have loved to have him until he just couldn’t coach anymore. But he knew the time was right.

“Turning a program over to anyone else is going to be big shoes to fill. We feel like we have the right person who has been with Doug for many years. It’s been a fantastic transition so far and I think it’s going to be a really good situation.”

Read more …

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' bowling team celebrated its Senior Day with a sweep of all four championships in Wednesday's five-school competition at Gage Bowl.

Senior Chevy Stallbaumer captured the boys individual title in Wednesday's five-school Shawnee Heights meet at Gage Bowl with a 688 series as the T-Birds also won the team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Senior Chevy Stallbaumer, who rolled a perfect 300 game last week, followed that up with a 688 three-game series on Wednesday to take boys individual honors by 40 pins as the T-Birds took the team title by 145 pins (2,545-2,400) over United Kansas Conference foe Basehor-Linwood.

Shawnee Heights sophomore Emma Wederski reacts to a strike during her final-game 257 Wednesday at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TopSports.news]

It was also a big day for Shawnee Heights sophomore Emma Wederski, who took top honors in the girls division with a 587 series as the T-Birds took the team championship by 113 pins (2,245-2,132) over Basehor-Linwood.

Stallbaumer's 688 series topped the 676 series he recorded in last Thursday's meet in Lawrence when he rolled his 300, with the T-Bird standout on target from the outset on Wednesday, bowling a 222 in his opening game before following that up with a 209 and finishing with his best game of the day, a 257.

"I felt great today,'' Stallbaumer said. "Everything kind of clicked. I missed a spare my first frame, but I kind of just shrugged it off my shoulder. There's nothing you can do. When you miss a spare you miss a spare and you get back up and you keep on pushing.''

Stallbaumer said his perfect game has just served as motivation for the remainder of the 2026 season.

"It definitely motivated me a lot,'' Stallbaumer said of his 300 game. "That's just going to keep me motivated throughout the whole season.''

Stallbaumer wasn't on the top six when Heights won the Class 5A state title in 2024 but played a major role last season as the T-Birds advanced to state and he feels like the team can contend to be among the state's elite again this season. 

"I feel like we can definitely progress as a team and just see how this season plays out,'' he said. "I feel like we can (contend). There's no doubt in my mind we can.''

Heights' Kaden Evans finished third individually in Wednesday's meet with a 621 series (203-214-204) while Evan Jones also topped the 600 mark with a 611, including a high game of 231.

Wederski began her day with games of 168 and 162 before catching fire in the third game with eight straight strikes out of the gate on the way to a 257.

Wederski said her team and a big crowd at Gage kept her going. 

"My team was hyping me up, along with the crowd and that really helped, and I was pretty proud of myself,'' Wederski said. "No one gets to see what we do in practices. We hype each other up during practices and having a crowd adds to the joy of it.

"Today was packed. I think this was the most packed we've seen it this season so far.''

And now Wederski just wants to build off Wednesday's success as the season goes along.  

"This is my first season on varsity, so it's a whatever happens happens kind of thing and I'm just taking one meet, one day at a time,'' she said.

Shawnee Heights put three bowlers in the girls top five, with Addison VanMetre finishing third with a 577, just one pin out of second and 10 pins behind Wederski, while Reese Bell placed fourth with a 547.

Bell had a high game of 228 while VanMetre had three games between 184 and 204.

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS INVITATIONAL

At Gage Bowl

Girls

Team scores

Shawnee Heights 2,245, Basehor-Linwood 2,132, Lawrence Free State 1,903, Leavenworth 1,752, Lawrence 1,751. 

Individual results

1. Emma Wederski, Shawnee Heights, 587; 2. Elly Findley, Basehor-Linwood, 587; 3. Addison VanMetre, Shawnee Heights, 577; 4. Reese Bell, Shawnee Heights, 547; 5. Kayleigh Ussery, Basehor-Linwood, 525.

Other Shawnee Heights -- Lauryn Valdivia 510, Tatum Simpson 484, Bailey Liby 434. 

Boys

Team scores

Shawnee Heights 2,545, Basehor-Linwood 2,400, Lawrence 2,386, Lawrence Free State 2,304, Leavenworth 2,196.

Individual results

1. Chevy Stallbaumer, Shawnee Heights, 688; 2. Graesyn Hoss, 648; 3. Kaden Evans, Shawnee Heights, 621; 4. Liyam Southammavong, Lawrence, 617; 5. Thomas Futtrell, Lawrence Free State, 616.

Other Shawnee Heights -- Evan Jones 611, Henry Schattilly 586, Trey Donath 531, Nathan Burnett 520.

 Rural girls roll to quadrangular win

Led by individual runnerup Megan Glinka, Washburn Rural's girls took the team championship in Tuesday's Rural quadrangular at West Ridge Lanes.

Glinka, a junior, led the Junior Blues with a 637 series as Rural won the team title by a 2,194-2,068 margin over Centennial League rival Emporia, while Manhattan was third at 2,046 and Junction City fourth at 1,963.

Read more …

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Hayden rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to outlast host Baldwin 74-68 in double overtime Monday in the weather-delayed final round of the Baldwin Invitational to claim the tournament championship.

Hayden's boys basketball team captured the championship in the 2026 Baldwin Invitational on Monday with a 74-68 double-overtime win over Baldwin. [Submitted photo/Hayden basketball] 

The two-time Baldwin Invitational champs went 3-0 in the tournament, with Monday's thriller following a 62-39 first-round win over Wellsville and a 78-53 win over Bishop Seabury in the second round.

Junior Carter Compton led the Wildcats with 13 points in Monday's win over Baldwin while junior Mason Becker added 12 points, senior Makhi Kidd 11 and junior Everett Tourtillot 10 points as Hayden improved to 7-8 on the season while posting its fourth win over its past five games.

Hayden senior Kade Mitchell (2), junior Carter Compton (12) and junior Mason Becker (4), with Wildcat coach Dwayne Anthony, were named to the Baldwin Invitational All-Tournament Team. [Submitted photo/Hayden basketball]

Compton and Becker were named to the all-tournament team along with senior Kade Mitchell.

Hayden will return to action Wednesday, hosting Shawnee Mission West in a non-league contest.