Welcome to Top Sports News

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka West had to deal with adversity for much of Monday night's Topeka Invitational Tournament championship game against USD 501 rival Topeka High, fighting through foul trouble and missing shots the Chargers normally make, both from the field and the free throw line.

Topeka Invitational Tournament MVP Prince Lassiter hoists the championship trophy after Monday's 71-57 win over Topeka High at Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

But thanks in part to some key contributions off the bench, the third-ranked (Class 5A) Chargers were able to keep their head above water through three quarters before closing with a 24-11 burst over the final eight minutes to take a 71-57 win over the Trojans before a nearly packed house at Highland Park.

"These guys have played together for three or four years, so they kind of understand that if one guy's maybe having an off night or in foul trouble they understand who needs to step up and make the big shots,'' West coach Christian Ulsaker said.

"Hats off to coach (Robbie) Sanders and Topeka High. They did play a very physical, tough game. Their guys were here ready and prepared to play against us. It's not an easy task, I'll say that. Watching our (junior varsity) guys go against our varsity, our varsity guys are pretty good and Topeka High held their own for three and a half, four quarters basically.''  

Now 12-2 on the season, Topeka West had to play much of the first half without tournament Most Valuable player Prince Lassister and fellow starters Jay'Veon Traylor and Malakyah Duncan, who all got in early foul trouble.

But reserves Jasper Phillips, Corde Fox, Trey Ware and JJ Doby helped West stem the tide and help the Chargers take a 30-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.

"Our guys that might not get a ton of minutes finally got some and they proved to us that they're able to take over that if they need to,'' Ulsaker said.

Topeka High (8-6) continued to keep the heat on West throughout the third quarter, trailing by just a point at the start of the fourth stanza after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Octavian McFadden.

The Trojans were still within two points (53-51) with six minutes remaining before the Chargers outscored Topeka High 18-6 down the stretch.

The end result was West's first Topeka Invitational title since 2022 and fifth title overall.

Senior Gad Munganga led Topeka West with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, in Monday's 71-57 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

"If we're winning by 30, losing by 30 or it's a tie game, we still keep the same composure,'' said Topeka West senior guard Gad Munganga, who led Topeka West with 17 points, including three 3-pointers.

Topeka West junior Prince Lassiter scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Monday's 71-57 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Lassiter, a 6-foot-6 junior, was named MVP after scoring 16 points (7 of 8 from the field) and grabbing eight rebounds.

"It's always frustrating,'' Lassister said about his first-half foul problems. "But I've just got to keep my composure and when I keep my composure I can continue to play and I don't get in foul trouble any more and I have fun with the game.''

Seniors Keimani Paul and Duncan added 12 and 10 points, respectively, with Paul and Traylor both named to the all-tournament team.

"We went in at halftime knowing that second half we had to come out and stay composed and not them get under our skin and that's what happened,'' Paul said. 

Senior Jalen Aldridge led Topeka High with 17 points in Monday's 71-57 Topeka Invitational Tournament loss to Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Topeka High senior Jalen Aldridge tied Munganga for game-high scoring laurels with 17 points while senior Elisha Guest added 12 points.

Guest and Trojan senior Bryson McComas were both named to the all-tournament team along with Lansing junior Deacon Manthe, who helped lead the Lions to a third-place tournament finish.          

TOPEKA WEST 71, TOPEKA HIGH 57

Topeka High 15 12 19 11 -- 57

Topeka West 15 15 17 24 -- 71

Topeka High (8-6) – Aldridge 6-12 4-7 17, Guest 3-9 3-4 12, McComas 3-10 0-0 6, McFadden 3-5 0-0 8, Redmond 1-5 3-6 5, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Villegas 0-0 0-0 0, Wilkerson 0-0 1-2 1, Luarks 0-3 0-0 0, Campbell 2-6 4-4 8. Totals 18-50 15-23 57.

Topeka West (12-2) – Munganga 5-9 4-6 17, Traylor 1-1 3-4 5, Duncan 4-10 2-7 10, Paul 3-7 4-4 12, Lassiter 7-8 2-5 16, Phillips 1-2 3-5 5, Fox 1-2 0-0 2, Ware 0-1 0-0 0, Doby 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 23-41 20-33 71. 

3-point goals – Topeka High 6 (Guest 3, McFadden 2, Aldridge), Topeka West 5 (Munganga 3, Paul 2). Total fouls – Topeka High 21, Topeka West 21. Fouled out – Redmond. Technical fouls – Duncan, Guest, McComas. 

Read more …

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights senior Chevy Stallbaumer became the second city boys bowler to roll a perfect 300 game this season in Thursday's De Soto quadrangular at Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence.

Stallbaumer bowled the 300 in his second game after opening with a 203 and he finished off his 676 three-game series with a 173.

Shawnee Heights' Evan Jones finished third individually with a 686 series while Stallbaumer placed fourth and Seaman's Garrette Shaw was fifth with a 647.

Jones bowled games of 203, 246 and 237.

De Soto won the boys team title with a 2,679 total while Heights was second at 2,588, Seaman third at 2,513 and Bonner Springs fourth at 1,981.

Seaman swept the top four places in the girls individual standings, led by sophomore individual champion Leah Crawford with a 655 three-game series, en route to the team title by a 2,531-2,137 margin over Shawnee Heights.

Seaman's Kayla Duncan was second with a 640 series while Paige Snyder was third at 632 and Claire LaDuke fourth with a 591.

Crawford rolled games of 241, 181 and 233 while Duncan had a high game of 255, Snyder a 235 and LaDuke a 229. 

Shawnee Heights' Reese Bell was fifth individually with a 573, including a high game of 247.

Hayden star junior bowler Kelton Meier registered a personal-record 791 series in Wednesday's bowling quadrangular at Gage Center, including a 280 game. [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]

Meier dominates bowling quad with 791 series

Hayden junior Kelton Meier, who bowled a 300 game in his season-opener, continued his blistering start to the 2026 bowling season with a personal-best 791 three game series in Wednesday's Shawnee Heights bowling quadrangular at Gage Center.

Kansas City-Turner's boys finished first as a team with a 2,590 total, followed by Shawnee Heights at 2,454, Hayden at 2,436 and Topeka West at 1,992.

Shawnee Heights' Trey Donath finished third individually with a 645 series while Hayden's Reece Renyer placed fifth with a 617.

Addison Van Metre, Shawnee Heights

Shawnee Heights won the girls team title by 430 pins with a 2,140 team score, led by junior individual champion Addison VanMetre with a 593 series.

Hayden's girls were second at 1,710, Turner third at 1,683 and Topeka West fourth at 1,323.

Shawnee Heights' Emma Wederski finished second individually with a 525 series and the T-Birds got a third-place finish from Reese Bell with a 524 as Heights swept the top three places. Heights' Bailey Liby finished fifth with a 483 series.

Paige Snyder, Seaman

Snyder, Seaman girls post quadrangular wins

Seaman's girls posted a 268-pin win in Wednesday's bowling quadrangular at West Ridge while Viking junior Paige Snyder took top individual honors with a 656 three-game series.

Seaman won the team championship by a 2,417-2,149 margin over Emporia while Washburn Rural was third with a 1,793 total and De Soto fourth at 1,690.

Snyder won the girls individual title by 28 pins over De Soto's Avery Lovegren while Seaman's Leah Crawford was third with a 623.

Read more …

By Rick Peterson

TopSports.news

Topeka High will host the 2026 Capital City Classic girls basketball tournament Thursday through Saturday, with Highland Park, Seaman and Shawnee Heights joining the Trojans in the event.

Shawnee Heights junior KK Emmot returns for the T-Birds, who captured the Capital City Classic championship in 2025 at Topeka West. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman (6-4 on the season) will open the tournament at 3 p.m. Thursday against Garden City (7-5).

Highland Park (4-7) and No. 2-ranked (Class 6A) Wichita Heights (12-0) are on the same side of the bracket with Seaman and Garden City and will play a first-round game at 4:30 p.m.

The Seaman-Garden City and Highland Park-Wichita Heights winners will play a 6  p.m. semifinal on Friday.

On the other side of the bracket, Topeka High (4-6) will take on No. 3-ranked (6A) Derby (11-2) in a 6 p.m. first-round game while No. 6 (5A) Shawnee Heights (10-3) will face Lawrence (6-5) at 7:30.

The Topeka High-Derby winner will face the Shawnee Heights-Lawrence winner in a 7:30 Friday night semifinal.

The tournament will conclude on Saturday, starting with the seventh-place game at 10 a.m., followed by the fifth-place game at 11:30, the third-place contest at 1 p.m. and the championship tilt at 2:30 p.m. in separate gyms.

CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC

At Topeka High
 
Thursday

3 p.m. -- Seaman vs. Garden City.

4:30 -- Highland Park vs. Wichita Heights.

6 -- Topeka High vs. Derby.

7:30 -- Shawnee Heights vs. Lawrence.

Friday

3 p.m. -- Seaman-Garden City loser vs. Highland Park-Wichita Heights loser.

4:30 -- Topeka High-Derby loser vs. Shawnee Heights-Lawence loser.

6 -- Seaman-Garden City winner vs. Highland Park-Wichita Heights winner.

7:30 -- Topeka High-Derby winner vs. Shawnee Heights-Lawrence winner.

Saturday

10 a.m. -- Seventh place.

11:30 -- Fifth place.

1 p.m. -- Third place.

2:30 -- Championship.

Carvel Reynoldson's Hayden girls basketball team will compete in this week's Lady Cat Classic at El Dorado. [File photo/TSN}

Hayden to compete in El Dorado

Hayden, 10-3 on the season, is the No. 2 seed for the 33rd annual Lady Cat Classic in El Dorado Thursday through Saturday.

Hayden, No. 9-ranked in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, will open its tournament bid at 6 p.m. Thursday against Gardner-Edgerton (3-7).

With a win the Wildcats will advance to a 6 o'clock semifinal on Friday to face the first-round winner between Mill Valley (9-4) and host El Dorado (5-6).

On the other side of the bracket No. 4 (5A) Maize South (11-2) will play a first-round game against Augusta (3-9) while No. 8 (5A) Kapaun Mt. Carmel (8-4) will face Goddard (5-5). Those two winners will play a 7:45 semifinal on Friday.

Read more …