TopSports.news
Fifty-three of Shawnee County's premier high school student-athletes from the class of 2023 will be recognized Wednesday night as part of the 18th annual Topeka Shawnee County High School Sports Awards banquet.
Washburn Rural product and Washburn University football signee Ty Weber is a nominee for the Topeka Shawnee County High School Sports Awards, which will be presented Wednesday night at WU. [File photo/TSN]
Recent Seaman graduate Lois Deeter, a three-time Class 5A state golf medalist, is a nominee for the 2023 Topeka Shawnee County High School Sports Awards. [File photo/TSN]
TopSports.news, in conjunction with the University of Kansas Health Systems St Francis Campus, A-1 Lock and Key and Washburn University, will host the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies at the Washburn University Memorial Union (6 p.m. start).
TopSports.news will present awards to the top female and male athletes in the fall, winter and spring seasons, as well as overall female and male athletes of the year and the most inspirational female and male athletes. A complete list of nominees is listed below.
Brinley Dyche, who helped lead Rossville to the Class 3A state softball championship this spring, is a nominee for the Topeka Shawnee County High School Sports Awards. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka West twin brothers Miles (left) and Ian Cusick won their second straight Class 5A state doubles championship this spring, leading the Chargers to their first boys 5A team title. [File photo/TSN]
To be eligible, an athlete must have compiled a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0. Athletes were nominated by their schools' athletic directors and coaches.
In addition to the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards, Grant Bruner and Jaycee Ginter will be honored as Washburn University Athletes of the Year and Chris Barnes, Kevin Bordewick, Crystal Kemp and Rick Peterson will be inducted as the 2023 Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame class.
A committee of local media members selected the 2023 high school winners, including the selection of overall female and male athletes of the year.
TOPEKA SHAWNEE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS AWARDS NOMINEES
FALL FEMALE — Jenessa Broxterman, Hayden; Jaydyn Wilson, Highland Park; Amelia Foster, Rossville; Lois Deeter and Lauren Sweeney, Seaman; Taylor Rottinghaus, Shawnee Heights; Mariah Farmer and Taylor Ross, Silver Lake; Marilena Zuniga, Topeka High; Makinsey Jones, Topeka West; Brooklyn DeLeye, Washburn Rural.
FALL MALE — Joe Otting, Hayden; Mackey James, Highland Park; Jacob Carver, Rossville; Bryson Vawter, Seaman; Jayden Berry, Shawnee Heights; Troy Heiman, Silver Lake; Peyton Wheat, Topeka High; Lenny Njoroge, Topeka West; Ty Weber, Washburn Rural.
WINTER FEMALE — Emily Ireland, Hayden; Ruby Hernandez, Highland Park; Katie Price, Seaman; Molly Busenitz, Shawnee Heights; Taylor Ross, Silver Lake; Kiki Smith, Topeka High; Azaryah Duncan, Topeka West; Addi Broxterman, Washburn Rural.
WINTER MALE — Joe Otting, Hayden; Jahmir Kingcannon, Highland Park; Jaxson Thomas, Seaman; Sean Wunder, Shawnee Heights; Ty Votaw, Topeka High; Malachi Berg, Topeka West; Jack Bachelor, Washburn Rural.
SPRING FEMALE — Noelia Cruz, Hayden; Zuly Hernandez, Highland Park; Brinley Dyche, Rossville; Bethany Druse, Seaman; Adisyn Caryl, Topeka High; Amiya Thurman, Topeka West; Emmerson Cope, Washburn Rural.
SPRING MALE — Jake Muller, Hayden; Tre Richardson, Highland Park; Bryson Vawter, Seaman; Alex Valdivia, Shawnee Heights; Elijah Kincade, Topeka High; Ian Cusick and Miles Cusick, Topeka West; Mason Casebeer, Washburn Rural.
MOST INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE — Alyssa Droge, Hayden; Laynee Brown, Seaman; Emari Doby, Shawnee Heights; Mariah Farmer, Silver Lake; Madeline Carter, Washburn Rural.
MOST INSPIRATIONAL MALE — Jake Muller, Hayden; Nicholas Freeland, Shawnee Heights; Mason Brokaw, Silver Lake; Lenny Njoroge, Topeka West.
WASHBURN UNIVERSITY ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR -- GRANT BRUNER
Bruner, a linebacker who began his Washburn career as a walk-on, picked up a pair of first-team All-America awards following his senior season, earning Associated Press D-II and Division II Conference Commissioners Association honors.
Bruner earned first-team All-MIAA and first-team D2CCA all-region honors in 2022 as he led the nation with 137 tackles, including a nation-best 80 solo tackles, while averaging 12.5 tackles per game.
His tackle total in '22 of 137 ranks third on the Ichabod all-time single-season list and his assisted tackle total of 80 is third on the single-season chart.
Bruner was a six-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and a two-time All-MIAA player.
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR -- JAYCEE GINTER
Ginter was the first Ichabod to receive first-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American honors in 2022 while also earning first-team D2CCA All-American honors.
Ginter became the third Ichabod to be named the MIAA Player of the Year and was a unanimous selection as an All-MIAA first-team pitcher/utility selection.
Ginter finished the 2022 season with a 30-7 record in the pitcher's circle, breaking the Washburn single-season win record while striking out 290 batters in 2341/3 innings to set a school record. Ginter led the Ichabods with 57 RBI and was second with 10 home runs, batting .385.
Ginter posted a 24-10 pitching record and 1.72 ERA with 243 strikeouts this past season while batting .303 with team-highs of seven homers and 41 RBI. Ginter led the MIAA in pitching victories and strikeouts and ranked second in ERA.
The former Shawnee Heights state champ was is a three-time first-team All-MIAA pick.
2023 TOPEKA SHAWNEE COUNTY HALL OF FAME CLASS
CHRIS BARNES
A 1988 Topeka High graduate, Barnes was a member of the Trojans' 1986 Class 6A state championship team for the late Willie Nicklin, a member of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame. Barnes lettered in football, basketball, track and golf at Topeka High before going on to an All-American bowling career at Wichita State and a Hall of Fame pro career in the Professional Bowlers Association.
The 53-year-old Barnes currently competes on both the PBA Tour and PBA50 Tour and has also competed internationally as a member of Team USA.
Barnes has won 19 PBA Tour titles. four PBA50 titles and over $2.4 million (U.S.) in total prize money during his long career. He has earned at least $100,000 in 14 PBA seasons, including 12 consecutive seasons (1999 through 2010–11). He won the PBA Rookie of the Year Award in 1998 and earned PBA Player of the Year honors in the 2007–08 season. Barnes was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame as parf of the 2018 class.
To date, Barnes has rolled 55 perfect 300 games in PBA competition.
KEVIN BORDEWICK
Bordewick coached Washburn Rural to its eighth Class 6A state volleyball championship last fall and a runner-up finish in the 6A state basketball tournament in March after the Junior Blues won state titles in 2019 and 2022.
Bordewick has a total of 1,311 career head coaching victories in volleyball and basketball, posting a 1,029-261 record in volleyball and 282-152 in basketball.
A Macksville native and Kansas State graduate, Bordewick ranks No. 3 on Kansas' all-time volleyball win list behind former Bishop Miege coach Gwen Pike and former Lansing and current Pleasant Ridge coach Julie Slater.
Bordewick has been part of 13 state championships at Washburn Rural overall, serving as an assistant coach to current Oral Roberts assistant Bill Annan for three 6A girls baskeball titles.
CRYSTAL KEMP
A 2002 Topeka High graduate, Kemp was a four-year letterwinner for the Trojans and averaged 21.7 points and 11.4 rebounds as a senior, leading her team to the Class 6A state tournament for the first time in 16 years, the I-70 league championship and a 19-4 overall record. Kemp was named to the Topeka Capital-Journal All-State first team. Kemp was also a three-year letter-winner in track and field and won a 6A state title in the discus with a school-record throw of 145 feet, 6 inches.
Kemp put together a banner four-year career at Kansas, averaging in double figures all four seasons. Kemp finished her career ranked in the all-time KU top-10 in points (7th with 1,637), rebounds (8th with 826), field goals made (6th with 654), field goals attempted (7th with1,285), field goal percentage (10th at 50.9), free throws made (tie for 8th with 323), free throws attempted (10th with 439), free throw percentage (eighth at 73.6), blocked shots (7th with 90) and minutes played (6th with 3,620).
Kemp was an All-Big 12 first-team pick as a senior, reaching double figures in all 30 games, and became just the sixth Jayhawk to accumulate more than 1,600 career points and 800 career rebounds.
RICK PETERSON
Born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas and a graduate of Wyandotte High School and Southwestern College (Winfield), Peterson is in his fifth decade as a sports writer, beginning his career in 1980.
Peterson worked in Baldwin and Ottawa before moving to The Topeka Capital-Journal in 1989, where he continued to work until December, 2020.
He was the first sportswriter to become a two-time winner of the Kansas State High School Activities Association's Oscar Stauffer award and a five-time winner of the National Sports Media Association Kansas Sportswriter of the Year award. Peterson, who has received more than 20 awards overall, has also received sportswriter of the year awards from the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, the United State Tennis Association Missouri Valley Region and other organizations as well as writing awards from the Kansas Press Association.
