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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Shawnee Heights T-Birds punched their ticket for a third straight trip to the Class 5A State Tournament – in coach Ken Darting’s final season – by holding off Leavenworth 66-56 despite playing shorthanded and relying on reserves to carry a heavy load.

Shawnee Heights accepts the Class 5A sub-state trophy after Friday's 66-56 win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

The T-Birds got out to a double-digit lead in a sluggish first half. They then had to old off a Leavenworth surge in a frenetic second half. Having trailed by as many as 18-points, the Pioneers clawed to within seven midway through the fourth period.

But Darting’s veteran guards and a couple of freshmen showed poise under pressure to close out the game.

Senior JaiMarion Cook scored 17 points Friday as Shawnee Heights earned a third straight trip to the Class 5A state tournament with a 66-56 win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]  

Ja'Veon Alston scored 17 points in Friday's 66-56 Shawnee Heights win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN] 

JaiMarion Cook started the game hot, scoring eight points to give the T-Birds a 12-3 lead in the first four minutes. In the fourth quarter, it was Ja’Veon Alston who took over the game. He hit all three of his shots from the field and scored 10 points in the final period. Cook and Alston each scored 17 points to lead Shawnee Heights.

“I just came in and did my thing, tried to calm the team down, stay focused so we could fight through adversity,” Alston said. “As a point guard, I think their role should be to get any shooter open that’s on the court. Find the right person, get them open. A point guard doesn’t really take a lot of shots sometimes, but today, I had to step up for my team. Sometimes as the point guard, you have to take it in your hands.”

The T-Birds got 14 points from freshman Quincy Dixon and 11 from senior Aiden Scott, and freshman Fletcher Terrell helped handle the ball in crunch time.

Reserves Malachi Lee and Jacob Halloran stepped up to play significant minutes in the paint because junior Cam Ross – normally one of the team’s most productive players – was suspended for the game. Darting said the plan is for Ross to rejoin the team for the next upcoming practice and be a full participant at the state tournament.

“You know, it’s a cliché, ‘Next man up.’ But it’s real,” Darting said. “And if you don’t coach the team that way, somebody’s gonna turn a knee or sprain an ankle, or get kicked off (the team), or somebody’s gonna be in foul trouble. So you’ve got to have guys ready. Now, you don’t replace people with the same amount of athletic talent. But we have people that fit in, do the one or two things that they can do and do them consistently, and to me, that’s fun.”

Shawnee Heights makes its third trip to state in the past three years. The T-Birds failed to advance past the opening round in either tournament.

“It feels amazing to go three times, back-to-back-to-back,” Alston said. “I know every game is a challenge. It’s hard to get to the next round. You’ve got to be ready to go first round, take care of business. The crowd is crazy. You’ve got to tune it out, just play your game.”

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Defending Class 4A-1A state boys bowling champion Hayden didn't get the day it was looking for Friday in the 2026 state tournament at Wichita's Bowlero Northrock, finishing fifth as a team.

Hayden junior Kelton Meier finished sixth in Class 4A-1A bowling with a 717 series, leading the Wildcats to a fifth-place team finish. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Junior Reece Renyer bowled a 698 series for Hayden to finish eighth in Class 4A-1A bowling Friday in Wichita. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

But Wildcat junior standouts Kelton Meier and Reece Renyer wrapped up outstanding seasons with top-eight individual finishes.

Meier finished sixth individually with a 717 three-game series while Renyer was two spots back in eighth with a 698.

Meier opened his day with a 254 game and finished with a 268 after a second-game 195 while Renyer had a consistent day with games of 247, 215 and 236.

The Wildcats also got a 569 series from Ashton Litke, including a 236, while Andrew Lee had a 562, Jason Ahlstedt a 509 and Ben Mayer a 482.

Ottawa won the team championship with a 3,753 total while Hayden finished fifth at 3,297.

Central Christian's Andrew Burchfield won the individual title with a 773 series.

Hayden's girls finished seventh as a team while Jenna Henkensiefken earned an individual medal with an 18th-place finish, rolling a 486 series.

Emily Peterson bowled a 427 series and Izzy Glotzbach a 421 to round out Hayden's top three.

Ottawa won the team title at 2,900, giving the Cyclones a sweep of the team championships while Hayden finished at 2,260.

Buhler's Cheyan Geesling was the individual winner with a 629 series.

 

 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka has long been known as a bowling town, and Shawnee Heights' boys and Seaman's girls teams added to that tradition on Thursday at Wichita's Bowlero Northrock with a dominant performance in the Class 5A state tournament, sweeping the state team championships by a combined 461 pins. 

Shawnee Heights celebrates its Class 5A state boys team championship after putting three bowlers in the top 10 en route to a 103-pin victory. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

Competing in Thursday's morning session, Shawnee Heights's boys put three bowlers in the top 10 and all six T-Birds bowled 600-plus series, including two with 700-plus series, as Heights won its second state 5A team championship in three seasons by a 3,727-3,624 margin over Bishop Carroll. 

Seaman's girls celebrate their 358-pin win in Thursday's Class 5A state bowling tournament at Wichita's Bowlero Northrock. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

Seaman's girls then took center stage in the afternoon and ran away with the 5A girls title by a whopping 358 pins (3,297-2,939) over Emporia as third-place Claire LaDuke led four Vikings in the top 16.

Senior Chevy Stallbaumer bowled a 738 three-game series to pace Shawnee Heights' boys with a sixth-place individual finish while Larry Donath finished eighth with a 725 series and Evan Jones finished 10th with a 693.   

Senior Chevy Stallbaumer paced state champion Shawnee Heights with a sixth-place individual finish with a 738 series Thursday in Wichita. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

Stallbaumer put together games of 255, 237 and 246 while Donath rolled a final-game 276 after 222 and 227 games and Jones' series included games of 242, 224 and 227.

 

The T-Birds also got a 645 series from Braden Evans, a 640 from Henry Schattilly and a 636 from Kaden Evans.

Bishop Carroll's Ryan Pfeifer won the 5A individual championship with a 770 series to lead the Eagles to their second-place team finish while Andover finished third at 3,612, 12 pins behind Carroll.

Seaman's Garrett Shaw, competing as an individual, earned a state medal with a 15th-place finish, registering a 678 series.

Seaman's Claire LaDuke posted a third-place finish in Thursday's Class 5A state bowling tournament. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

LaDuke rolled a 688 series en route to her third-place individual finish to pace the Seaman girls while Leah Crawford finished fifth with a 655 series, Paige Snyder placed eighth with a 588 and Ava Carlson was 16th with a 552 series.

LaDuke put together a consistently strong series with games of 234, 247 and 207 while Crawford had the Vikings' high game of the day with a final game 254.

The Vikings also got a 515 series from Kayla Duncan and a 479 from Laci Cole.

Seaman also led the field with an 807 four-game total in its four Baker format games, including games of 245 and 226.

Shawnee Heights' girls finished fifth as a team with a 2,794 total while Reese Bell finished 14th with 560 series and Addison VanMetre was 15th with a 558.

Andover Central's Addison Crumley, competing as an individual, won the state individual title with a 718 series.