By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks TopSports.news will recognize Shawnee County's all-time best teams in 21 sports as part of our Best of the Best project. The project continues with girls/boys wrestling and readers will have the opportunity to vote for teams in that sport through August 7. TopSports.news will begin to announce the top teams in all categories on Friday and continue into August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4881865x661A4906-151 while email votes/nominations will also be accepted at
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The Kansas State High School Activities Association hosted its first state wrestling tournament in 1930 and it took 90 years for Shawnee County to celebrate its first state team championship.
Washburn Rural's girls captured the first of their three state wrestling team championships in 2020, the first official girls state meet in Kansas history. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Washburn Rural captured the first boys state team wrestling title in Shawnee County history in 2021. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
But in four short years the county has put its stamp on wrestling's state history, with Washburn Rural claiming five state team championships and two runnerup finishes since 2020 while Rossville's girls also posted a runnerup team finish.
KSHSAA made girls wrestling an official state sport in '20 and Damon Parker's Junior Blues immediately became the queens of the mats, winning the first state tournament and repeating in '21 before adding a third title this past season after a runnerup finish in '22.
Rural's girls won the '20 title by an 84-80 margin over Great Bend on Dajia Anderson's state championship and the Junior Blues rolled to a 100-74 margin over Wichita North in '21 as Anderson and Rebekah Smith won state titles to lead the way.
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team, parents and coaches posed for a team picture after the Junior Blues won their third state title in four seasons in February at Hartman Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After finishing second to Dodge City in '22, Washbun Rural's girls captured title No. 3 in February as nine Junior Blues earned state medals and Rural took a 153-141 win over Garden City.
After finishing second as a team in '18 and '20, Parker's Junior Blues notched the first boys team championship in county history in '21, before Josh Hogan coached Rural to a second straight team crown in '22.
Rural posted a dominating 159.5-112 Class 6A win over Olathe North in '21 as five Junior Blues reached the state finals and Bishop Murray, Jacob Tangpricha and Jonathan Morrison won state titles.
Washburn Rural's boys won their second straight Class 6A wrestling championship in 2022. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
The Junior Blues repeated as 6A champions in '22 as Aidan Boline and Austin Fager won state championships to lead Rural to a 151-142.5 win ove Derby.
While Washburn Rural is the lone county school to claim a team championship, several other county teams have made their mark at state with runnerup team finishes.
Rossville's girls finished second in 3A-1A this past season as Kendra Hurla won a third straight state championship and Keera Lacock added a second-place finish.
Rossville's boys posted second-place team finishes in 2014 and '16, with the '16 Bulldawgs finishing just four points out of first as five Rossville wrestlers finished in the top three and Isaac Luellen and Cole avoren won individual championships.
Shawnee Heights' boys racked up 116.5 points en route to a runnerup 5A finish in '11 as Donnie Lockhart won a state title and Derek Holly and Tyler Willis finished second at state.
Vote for your favorite wrestling team at https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4881865x661A4906-151 while readers also have the option of writing in a candidate.
Vote as many times as you wish. Final selections will be based on reader vote as well as input from TSN contributors and current and past local sports media professionals.
Votes in girls/boys wrestling will be accepted through August 7.
TSN will begin publishing our Best of the Best lists on Friday and continue into August.
NEXT UP: The baseball Best of the Best Top 10 and Reader's Choice poll results will be posted on TopSports.news on Friday).
