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Created: 12 September 2025

By RICK PETERSON                                                                                                           

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural junior football standout Jadyn Baum and Rossville junior volleyball starNora Burdiek have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.

The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.

Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Baum and Burdiek over the past week:

Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural

JADYN BAUM, Washburn Rural

A running back, Baum carried the ball 12 times for a game-high 84 yards and two touchdowns in Washburn Rural's season-opening 51-41 non-league road win over city rival Shawnee Heights last Friday.

Baum scored on 12 and 39-yard touchdown runs in the second half and also caught four passes for 60 yards. 

Baum is also a standout wrestler for the Junior Blues, placing third in Class 6A as a sophomore.

 Nora Burdiek, Rossville

 NORA BURDIEK, Rossville

Burdiek turned in a dominating performance at the net last Saturday as the Bulldawgs posted five straight-set wins to capture the championship in the Rossville Invitational.

Burdiek, a multi-sport standout, registered double-digit kills in all five matches, with 11 kills against Waverly, 15 against Baldwin, 14 versus Iola, 12 against Wellsville and 12 kills in the Bulldawgs' final-match win over Burlington. 

Burdiek finished the week with 90 kills for the Bulldawgs after posting 26 kills in a pair of Big East League wins over Sabetha last Tuesday.

 

  

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights outlasted Topeka West in a wild romp Friday at Heights that saw 16 touchdowns and 111 total points scored. The T-Birds picked up their first victory of the season, 76-35 over the Chargers.

Senior quarterback Aiden Scott threw for three touchdowns and ran for two TDs in Shawnee Heights' 76-35 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Every time Shawnee Heights appeared to gain a commanding lead, the Chargers seemed to hit for a big play that kept the fires burning on both sides. The T-Birds continued to attack, even once reserves were inserted in the lineup. Eight different T-Birds found the end zone in the game.

“The whole sideline was going crazy as some of those guys who don’t get to play got out there,” senior quarterback Aiden Scott said. “Just seeing their faces light up when everyone scores. It’s amazing – our team atmosphere. We’re all for each other.”

David Wakes scored the first two touchdowns of the night in Shawnee Heights' 76-35 UKC win over Topeka West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Shawnee Heights took a 22-0 lead in the first period. But the Chargers took to the air in the second period and made things interesting. Quarterback Josiah Wilkie directed a touchdown drive to cut the T-Bird lead to 22-8. Later in the quarter, Topeka West took advantage of an interception deep in Shawnee Heights territory to convert a second touchdown drive, making the score 28-14.

Shawnee Heights junior Christian Labrador scored two touchdowns, including a 50-yard interception return, in Shawnee Heights' 76-35 UKC win over Topeka West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Shawnee Heights responded with 20 unanswered points in the final 3:16 of the period to go up 48-14 at the intermission. But even then, the Chargers didn’t fold. Wilkie hit on two long scoring passes to receiver Jayden Lindsay, and Nas Williams-Brown scored on a 72-yard scamper.

Shawnee Heights coach Jason Swift praised the Chargers for their effort, and said there was plenty for his team to like as well.  

“I saw a lot of kids get a chance to play,” Swift said. “We had some injuries coming into tonight. So, a lot of kids were, hey, this is your first night playing Friday night football. And I thought they did well. Did we make some mistakes? Yeah, we did. That’s part of being a kid. On Friday nights, the game goes a lot faster than it does on any other day. But our kids never quit. So, sure, we can improve on some stuff, but, you know, anytime you win a football game, it’s great.”

The T-Birds, who never punted, were only prevented from reaching the end zone on two possessions. Scott threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more.

For the Chargers, Wilkie completed 19 of 46 passes for 323 yards. Lindsay accounted for 155 yards receiving while Gad Munganga added 125 yards receiving.

Read more …

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

A good serve in a high school volleyball match can travel 50 miles per hour or faster. A good spike at the net can move even faster. Advanced players put spin on the ball to make it move in the air similar to a baseball pitcher. During each play, the volleyball is passed around to players darting in different directions to execute plays designed to hammer the ball at the opponent.

Cair Paravel senior Karsyn Hastert has become a multi-sport star for the Lions despite losing the sight in her left eye as a two-year-old. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

You better have your eye on the ball and your head on a swivel if you’re going to excel.

The nature of the sport makes what Cair Paravel Latin School’s Karsyn Hastert does remarkable.

Before her second birthday, the CPLS senior was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, an eye cancer that tends to plague small children. She had a surgery as a two-year old that cost her the sight in her left eye. She spent a lot of her earliest years in hospitals and doctors’ offices.

But from the minute she was old enough to play with her peers, Hastert was determined to not let the impairment slow her down.

“I don’t have a lot of memories of it. I think I was always trying to prove myself, that I wanted to just be normal when I was younger,” Hastert recalled. “I wanted to be as good as everyone else. So, I never really thought of it as a disadvantage because I was always telling myself 'I’m normal. I’m normal. I’m normal.’ ”

Cair Paravel senior volleyball star Karsyn Hastert listens to Lions coach Craig Congdon during Thursday's Topeka West quadrangular. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Hastert is not normal on the volleyball court. She is a standout for the Lions, a middle hitter who leads with intensity and positivity. Last year, she was one of just four players to receive unanimous all-conference honors from the Flint Hills League. Cair Paravel coach Craig Congdon said he is often asked by opposing coaches about Hastert’s eyes.

“They come up and say ‘Wait, does she have a visual impairment?’” Congdon recounted. “And they all say, ‘We can’t believe it.’ Usually, the other teams don’t realize it until they’re shaking hands and then suddenly they go, ‘Wait a second, that girl just killed us.’”

Congdon says there isn’t much he could do to prevent Hastert’s vision from being a problem. He says even if he could, the senior leader wouldn’t need the help.

“I don’t have to do anything to put her in positions to fight. She’s always going to do that herself,” Congdon said. “She is such a fierce competitor. I don’t know if, growing up, she felt like she had to make up for something. What she does is just incredible.”

Congdon admits he wasn’t always sure Hastert would play at such a high level.

“I’ve coached Karsyn for all of her high school career, so freshman year was the first time I interacted with her,” Congdon said. “It was then that I noticed something different about that eye, so I asked her dad, and he said she had a disease when she was a kid and lost it. I thought, ‘Oh, well, she’s surely not going to be able to judge balls in the air.’ And boy, she tracks the ball better than any of the other players I’ve had.”

“It’s all I’ve ever known,” Hastert said. “It’s not like I randomly lost it. I’ve always seen like this, so for me it’s just normal. When I don’t make a play, I never blame it on my eyes. I just think ‘I should have got there quicker.’ ”

The 5-foot-10 senior admits the visual impairment probably causes her more problems on the basketball court, where she is a post player. Volleyball has always been her best sport. She has not made decisions about college yet, but is open to the thought of playing at the next level.

Prior to this season, Hastert was hesitant to let others know about her visual impairment. But as a senior, she has decided to share her story.

“I’m more open to people knowing about it now than before, because when I was younger, I was really insecure about it,” Hastert said. “Before this year, I probably, just because of embarrassment, didn’t want people to think about it. But now I can say I wouldn’t want it any other way. I think it’s who I am and it’s part of my testimony, so I am willing to talk about it.

“I hope that, if someone has a story that’s similar, I can be an encouragement that they can be able to play. There are so many kids out there who have cancer or disabilities that don’t have to let that be a restriction. I think (my message to others) would be ‘You don’t need to worry about being normal. You can embrace who you are.’ ”