By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2020 high school sports season will go in the books as unprecedented, for a lot of the wrong reasons.
Rossville junior quarterback Torrey Horak helped lead the Bulldawgs to the Class 2A state championship, the school’s fourth state title since 2014. [Photograph by Rex Wolf]
State basketball ended abruptly in March and the entire spring season was wiped out due to COVID-19 before things cranked back up in the fall, with several changes and safety guidelines in place.
However, through it all, Shawnee County teams and athletes persevered and were still able to thrive in multiple sports, etching their place in history.
Here’s a look at the top 10 stories of 2020:
- DAWG DOMINANCE -- Derick Hammes’ Rossville Bulldawgs captured their fourth state football title since 2014, capping a perfect season with a 27-20 win over previously-unbeaten Hoisington in the Class 2A state championship game.
- HISTORY -- In the first season of girls wrestling as an official Kansas State High School Activities Association sport, Washburn Rural made history as the first-ever state team champion, winning by an 84-80 margin over Great Bend, while Rural junior 235-pounder Dajia Anderson became the first city wrestler to win a girls individual title, posting a pin in her championship match.
- TWICE AS NICE -- Washburn Rural wrestling standout Bishop Murray captured his second Class 6A state championship in three seasons while Rossville senior Zach Archer won his second straight 3A-1A state title. Murray won the 113-pound title to cap a 34-3 junior season and help the Junior Blues finish second as a team for the second time in three seasons. Murray avenged a regional loss with a 5-2 win over Dodge City’s Damian Mendez in the finals. Archer finished off a 41-1 season with an 11-3 major decision over Osage City’s Connor Collins. Archer, who was 80-5 over his final two high school seasons, won the 106-pound state title as a junior.
- DESTINY DERAILED -- Topeka High girls basketball team put together one of the most dominating seasons in city history, winning 23 straight games by an average winning margin of 37.5 points. But the Trojans’ shot at a Class 6A championship and a perfect season was snatched away when the state tournament was canceled after the first round due to the coronavirus.
- TANNER TERRIFIC -- Hayden junior cross country star Tanner Newkirk, who had finished second in the 4A state meet as a sophomore, captured his first state championship and his third straight state medal at Wamego Country Club, clocking a 5-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 53.32 seconds to win by more than three seconds.
- MAKING A STATEMENT -- After wrestling most of his freshman season at the junior varsity level, Washburn Rural standout Jacob Tangpricha ended his sophomore season with the 106-pound Class 6A state championship, finishing the season with a 31-10 record after a 4-2 final-round victory over Derby's Cody Woods. Meanwhile, Gavin Carter closed out one of the top careers in city history with a second-place finish at 195 pounds, his fourth straight top-three state finish.
- FINAL FLOURISH -- Shawnee Heights’ boys soccer team reached the Class 5A final four for the second straight season, finishing third with a 2-1 victory over Andover Central while Washburn Rural bounced back from an early playoff exit in 2019 to finish fourth in 6A after the Junior Blues captured their 26th straight Centennial League title (outright or shared).
- POWER GAME -- Washburn Rural continued its storied volleyball tradition with a 35-6 record and a third-place finish in the Class 6A state tournament while Centennial League champion Seaman went 28-8 and earned a berth in the 5A quarterfinals for the first time since 2014.
- TOP FIVE TRIO -- Three city bowlers finished in the top five in their respective state tournaments, with Washburn Rural senior Chase Clausing posting a fourth-place finish in the Class 6A boys tournament (702 series) while Shawnee Heights senior Alec Elskamp was fourth in the 5A boys tournament (739) and Seaman sophomore Makenzie Millard placed fifth in the 5A girls tourney (644).
- DOUBLES TROUBLE -- Hayden senior tennis standouts Allyson Meier and Jenny Voegeli earned their third straight state doubles medals with a third-place finish in the Class 4A state tournament while Seaman junior Grace Unruh and sophomore Lauren Sweeney finished off a banner season with a fourth-place finish in 5A.
