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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Star Silver Lake point guard Kailyn Hanni, named Miss Kansas Basketball by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association after leading the Eagles to their second Class 3A state championship in three seasons, has been selected as TopSports.news' Shawnee County winter girls senior athlete of the year for the 2025-2026 season.

 Kailyn Hanni, Silver Lake

The 5-foot-7 Hanni was also named the Shawnee County Player of the Year as a senior after helping lead the Eagles to a 28-1 record, earning all-county first-team honors for the third time.

Hanni finished her high school career with 1,404 points, 585 assists, 563 rebounds and 339 steals, finishing No. 1 on Silver Lake's all-time list in assists and steals and finishing No. 3 in career scoring.

Kailyn Hanni, Silver Lake

Hanni also set a single-game scoring record with 39 points and a single-game assist mark with 12, reaching that total on three occasions. 

Hanni was a four-sport standout for Silver Lake, helping the Eagles win the 3A state softball title this past spring while also helping the Eagles win a state golf championship during her career and placing third in the 3A javelin in track and field as a senior.

The Silver Lake star will play collegiately at Fort Hays State.

Other winter girls athlete of the year finalists 

Emme Blanco, Washburn Rural

EMME BLANCO | Washburn Rural

SPORT: Wrestling

Blanco posted a runnerup finish at 145 pounds in the 2026 Class 6A state tournament, helping lead Washburn Rural to a second straight third-place state team finish. Blanco, who captured Centennial League and regional championships, posted a 40-4 record on the season en route to earning a first-team berth on the All-Shawnee County team for the second straight season.

Makayla Cadet, Highland Park 

MAKAYLA CADET | Highland Park

SPORT: Wrestling

A two-time All-Shawnee County first-team selection, Cadet advanced to the 190-pound Class 5A state championship match as a junior and senior, winning the 5A state title as a junior and finishing second as a senior while posting a 23-3 record on the season. Cadet also received all-county honorable mention in softball.

Rylee Dick, Rossville

RYLEE DICK | Rossville

SPORT: Basketball

Dick put together an outstanding four-year career for the Bulldawgs, leading Rossville to a Class 2A state tournament berth as a senior, the Bulldawgs' first state appearance in 20 seasons. Dick averaged 20.6 points over the 2025-2026 season, finishing her career with 1,578 points to rank No. 2 on Rossville's all-time scoring list. She received first-team All-Big East League and All-Shawnee County honors. 

Maddie Gragg, Seaman

MADDIE GRAGG | Seaman

SPORT: Basketball

Gragg was a four-time All-Shawnee County and All-United Kansas Conference first-team pick for Seaman, helping the Vikings win the Class 5A state championship her sophomore season and post a runnerup state finish as a junior. Gragg averaged 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds over the 2025-2026 campaign while hitting 32 3-pointers. 

Cianna Graves, Shawnee Heights
CIANNA GRAVES | Shawnee Heights

SPORT: Wrestling

A four-time Class 5A state medalist and repeat All-Shawnee County pick, Graves saved her best for last, winning the 155-pound state championship as a senior to cap a 35-2 season. Also a United Kansas Conference and 5A regional champion, Graves helped lead Shawnee Heights to a third-place 5A team finish for the second straight season. Graves was also a standout catcher in softball, earning all-county first-team honors. 

Claire LaDuke, Seaman  

CLAIRE LADUKE | Seaman

SPORT: Bowling

LaDuke finished third in the 2026 Class 5A state tournament with a 688 three-game series as Seaman rolled to the team championship by a huge 358-pin margin over Emporia. A first-team All-City pick, LaDuke also helped the Vikings sweep city, United Kansas Conference and 5A regional team titles. LaDuke finished fourth in the city tournament, fifth in the UKC and third at regionals. 

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman product Cameron Brian, Rossville's Andre Johnson and Silver Lake's Dayne Johnson have put together memories that will last a lifetime over outstanding high school athletic careers.

But now the Shawnee County stars are ready to turn their focus on a future without competitive sports after experiencing one more highlight as members of the East team for Saturday's 7 p.m. Kansas Shrine Bowl all-star football game at Emporia State's Welch Stadium.

Dayne Johnson, Silver Lake

Dayne Johnson was a three-sport star in football, basketball and baseball, helping the Eagles post a 7-3 record in football as a senior before leading Silver Lake to a second straight third-place Class 3A state finish in basketball and a runnerup 3A finish in baseball.

But after considering his college options in football and basketball, Johnson opted to concentrate on academics at Kansas State while majoring in finance.

"I was mainly getting looks for football, but I'm just not as big of a fan for football,'' Johnson said. "I'm a basketball guy and I didn't have the looks I wanted in basketball.

"I'll definitely miss it a lot, but I knew sports have to end at some point so I'll go to school and hopefully have a good time there.'' 

But first, Johnson, who is playing wide receiver for the East, wants to take advantage of his opportunity to play in the state's premier all-star game.

"I think it's an honor to get invited and it's for a good cause and I just think being here will be a great time,'' he said. "I've enjoyed meeting all these guys and I'm excited to play in the game.''

And as Johnson, who ended his basketball career as Silver Lake's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, prepares to close his athletic career, he's proud of what he's been able to accomplish.

"Every day I tried to work as hard as I could and max out what my results could be and I'm pretty happy with the success I had in my high school career,'' said Johnson, who received All-Shawnee County recognition in all three of his sports.

Cameron Brian, Seaman (left) and Andre Johnson, Rossville.

Brian, an all-county linebacker and a starter for Seaman's basketball team that finished third in 5A, will also concentrate on academics in college, attending the University of Kansas.

"I'm just going to school,'' Brian said. "I had a few smaller (offers in football), but this is it for me. This is the last hurrah.

"It was definitely a tough decision, just growing up playing football. It's every young football player's dream to go play in the NFL, so it's definitely sad that I'm not going to play in college but at the end of the day I think it's a better decision for me.''

Brian feels like playing in the Shrine Bowl is a perfect way to say goodbye to sports.

"It definitely was important,'' he said. "I feel like every kid in high school wants to get to the Shrine Bowl. Everbody wants to be a star of their team and come out here and play and what the Shriners do is great work, so it's always good to come out here and put this on so people can come support them.''

Rossville's Andre Johnson, a linebacker for the East, plans to serve his country after helping the Bulldawgs finish second in 1A and earn all-county honors as a senior.

"My plan is go into the Marine Corps,'' Johnson said. "My family's really big into the military and I have two brothers in the Marines so that kind of interested me right there.

"My plan was to go to college and I decided I really didn't want to go to college, so I decided to go into the Marines and serve my country.''

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news 

The Washburn University athletic department has announced a broadcast network location change for the upcoming school year, with Brendan Dzwierzynski leading Ichabod broadcasts on the free Varsity Network through the Learfield Network.

Brendan Dzwierzynski has been named the director of broadcasting for Washburn University. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics] 

Dzwierzynski, who has served as the voice of the Ichabods in football and basketball, is moving to a full-time position in the athletic department as the director of broadcasting.

Dzwierzynski will handle play-by-play duties for Ichabod football, soccer, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, baseball, and softball. He will also write athlete profiles for wusports.com and will host the athletic department's coaches shows and podcasts.
 
"I'm thrilled to be joining Washburn Athletics full-time as the director of droadcasting, Dzwierzynski said. "This is an incredible opportunity to not only expand our play-by-play broadcast offerings but also to help tell the stories of the incredible teams, players and coaches at Washburn.

"This school has been so good to me since taking over as the voice of the Ichabods in 2023, and I can't wait to see where this new adventure goes."
 
Prior to Washburn, Dzwierzynski spent nine years as a play-by-play broadcaster and sports talk host for WIBW Radio in Topeka including the last two-plus seasons as the voice of the Ichabods. During that time, he has won nine awards from the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, including two first-place honors for best large market play-by-play.
 
Originally from LaGrange Park, Illinois, Dzwierzynski graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Kansas in 2017. He lives in Topeka with his wife, Abbey, and daughter, Alexandria.
 
"We're excited for this new adventure," Washburn athletic director Loren Ferré said. "We now have the ability to promote and tell the stories of our teams and great student-athletes through new avenues. The Varsity Network gives our fans a location to listen to Washburn Athletics wherever they go."
 
The Varsity Network is the official app for live and on-demand college sports broadcasts. Owned by Learfield, it is designed to be the ultimate hub for fans to hear their favorite school's hometown radio calls, coaches' shows, and original podcasts.

All links to broadcasts will be available through a mobile app as well as through the schedule pages on wusports.com.

With the app, Ichabod fans will be able to listen to Ichabod games and other content around the world and in their vehicles through the Varsity app using the car's entertainment center with CarPlay and all content will be archived as well.
 
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