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Darting's coaching career comes to an end with 53-38 loss to Kapaun
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Shawnee Heights T-Birds hung with the top-seeded team in Class 5A for as long as they could.
But eventually, two-time defending state champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel pulled away, their size, experience and depth just too much. The T-Birds’ season ended with a 53-38 loss in the quarterfinals in Wichita.
Shawnee Heights senior JaiMarion Cook led the T-Birds with 11 points in Tuesday's Class 5A 53-38 loss to Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Shawnee Heights knew it had its hands full when it was seeded eighth in the bracket. Kapaun Mt. Carmel has followed up its back-to-back state titles with a 26-0 season thus far.
The T-Birds trailed just 12-10 after one period. But the Crusaders quickly hit on seven as their lucky number. They put together two 7-0 runs in the second period, then added another 7-0 run in the third period.
Heights slowed the Kapaun offense to a grind, giving up just 28 points in the first half. When the T-Birds scored first in the third period, they trailed just 28-20. But the eighth seed just couldn’t generate enough offense to pull off an upset. Shawnee Heights hit just 13-38 field goal attempts.
“We had a game plan. The kids tried to execute. They did execute – Kapaun had two-thirds of their average points,” Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said. “At halftime, we were down 10 and in the game. But they got a couple of runs there.”
Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s height posed a problem for the T-Birds. The T-Birds were out-rebounded, 33-20.
The Crusaders got a handful of second-chance buckets on offensive rebounds while locking down the paint at the other end.
“It’s not a surprise if you look at (both teams’) records,” Darting said. “If you look out on the floor, the size and the athleticism. Just physically, they’re just better at every position.
“I always tell the kids, ‘Make sure you get beat, not lose. And when you get beat, it’s just because you weren’t good enough.' ”
Shawnee Heights advanced to the tournament by amassing a 15-8 regular-season record, then defeating De Soto and Leavenworth in sub-state. But that résumé was deemed only eighth best in the bracket, forcing the T-Birds into the dreaded 1-8 matchup.
“We lost eight games coming in. Seven of those eight are in the 5A or 6A tournament, and the eighth one is De Soto, who we eliminated,” Darting said. “So that shows you that we could probably play with just about every team in this tournament. We just got the draw we did.”
Senior Jaimarion Cook led the T-Birds in his final game with 11 points. Two other seniors – Ja’Veon Alston and Aiden Scott – also played their final games Tuesday.
Eagles hold off Hesston for 54-45 quarterfinal win behind Hanni's 29 points
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- No. 2 seed Silver Lake never trailed in Wednesday's Class 3A girls quarterfinal against Hesston at White Auditorium after scoring the first six points of the night.
But the 26-1 Eagles had to fight off multiple Swather runs before finishing off a 54-45 win to advance to Friday's 3:30 p.m. semifinal at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Silver Lake senior Kailyn Hanni (4) scored 29 points with six steals in Wednesday's 54-45 Class 3A quarterfinal win over Hesston Wednesday at White Auditorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"Huge credit to Hesston,'' Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter said. "They're a great basketball team and I think they played up to their potential tonight. They played at a really high level, especially their bigs, their young bigs. They did a great job.
"The first half I felt like we were about ready to break it open and then they went on that run in the second quarter to finish it. They did a much better job of trying to play through their bigs the third quarter. We got in foul trouble and we had to adapt and improvise there and we were able to take their best punch and then throw one of our own and finish the game out. I'm super proud of our team.''
Silver Lake, which is in the 3A Final Four for the fifth straight season, including a state title in 2024 and a runnerup finish a year ago, will face No. 3 seed Holcomb (25-2) on Friday after the Longhorns advanced with a 45-32 quarterfinal win over Ellsworth.
Silver Lake led 15-9 at the end of the opening quarter after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from sophomore Karys Deiter and went up 27-13 after a traditional three-point play from Eagle senior star Kailyn Hanni.
But Hesston ended the half with an 8-1 run to cut its deficit to 28-21 and after falling behind 36-23 at the 5:35 mark of the third quarter the Swathers put together a 16-3 rally to tie the game at 39 with 6:16 remaining.
Silver Lake junior Savanah Wende reacts after hitting a big 3-pointer in Wednesday's 54-45 Class 3A quarterfinal win over Hesston at White Auditorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The tie lasted just 21 seconds, however, with junior Savanah Wende draining a 3-pointer to give Silver Lake a 42-39 advantage, part of a 10-2 Eagle run that put them back in control.
Hanni connected on three of four free throws over the final 49.6 seconds, closing out a game-high 29-point performance while hitting 11 of 16 free throws and coming up with six steals.
Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter had nine points, seven rebounds and four steals in Wednesday's 54-45 Class 3A quarterfinal win over Hesston at White Auditorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Deiter added nine points with seven rebounds and four steals as Silver Lake forced 26 Hesston turnovers, while Wende had seven points with a pair of 3-pointers.
Slaymaker steps down at Topeka High after leading Trojans to Class 6A state run
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Eighty-nine year-old Kansas coaching legend Ron Slaymaker has stepped down after two seasons as the girls basketball coach at Topeka High, including a Centennial League title and a trip to the Class 6A state tournament this past season.
Kansas coaching legend Ron Slaymaker has stepped down as Topeka High's girls basketball coach after leading the Trojans to back-to-back winning seasons in his two years at the school. [File photo/TSN]
Slaymaker had confirmed to TopSports.news several months ago that the 2025-2026 season would be his last, but declined to make that decision public, wanting the focus to remain on the Trojans throughout the season.
But after Topeka High's season ended Tuesday night with a 61-58 Class 6A state quarterfinal loss to Derby in Wichita, Slaymaker met with Topeka High principal Dustin Dick on Wednesday morning and with his team Wednesday afternoon to officially inform them of his retirement.
Slaymaker discussed his decision to step down Wednesday night while watching the Class 3A girls state tournament at White Auditorium, where the court is named in his honor.
"I explained to the girls, my old body is just wearing out,'' Slaymaker said. "My mind's still OK, I think, but my body just doesn't function.
"It's been two good years, and I feel good about it. Man, we could have won that game against Derby.''
Slaymaker, who led Topeka High to a 31-17 record in his two seasons at the school, is hopeful that the Trojans will also remember the past two years fondly.
"What I learned is that maybe five to 10 years from now that those girls will think of this pretty good,'' Slaymaker said. "Sometimes you look at a 17-year-old, 16-year-old and they're not grasping everything, but give them a little time and they will.''
Slaymaker was named TopSports.news' Shawnee County girls coach of the year in 2025 after guiding the Trojans to a 14-8 record and a nine-win improvement in 2024-2025.
Slaymaker's Topeka High team followed that up with a 17-9 record this past winter, overcoming an 0-4 start to win the Centennial League championship and earn the school's first trip to the state tournament since 2022.
