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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the 15th time over the past 16 years, Topeka area high school football players got the opportunity to show off their talents for college coaches in Tuesday's Junior Combine at Shawnee Heights.
Ninety-seven players, most who will be seniors in the 2022 season, were on hand for the Combine while right at 20 colleges had representatives on hand.
"The sole reason why we do this is to give great football players in our area a chance to get exposure and allow college coaches to kind of eye test them and see what they look like,'' said Shawnee Heights coach Jason Swift, Combine organizer.
Participants took part in a variety of drills/tests, including a 40-yard dash (electronically timed), standing long jump. vertical jump, pro-agility 5-10-5 shuttle, bench press (maximum reps at 185 pounds), 3 cone L drill and 1 on 1 route running and lineman agility drills.
Swift said the Junior Combine is a chance for college coaches to get an up-close look at prospective recruits, some for the first time.
After the Combine high school coaches also got the chance to meet with the NCAA Division II, NAIA and junior college coaches in attendance.
"I know we've had several kids where a coach says, 'Yeah, I remember them from the Combine,' and that allows them to follow them through the fall and the recruiting process,'' Swift said. "This is great for that. The other reason why I love this is we piggyback the college night right on top of this so these coaches are allowed to meet with a lot of our area high school coaches and talk about our players and our prospects.
"It's really beneficial for colleges and the players.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Kevin Muff will always be thankful for the opportunity Washburn Rural gave him after he left college coaching.
But Muff, who coached the Junior Blues to the Class 6A state championship game in 2019, has decided its time for a change, confirming Tuesday that he has resigned as Rural's head boys basketball coach after five seasons. Muff plans to continue teaching and serving as an assistant track and field coach at the school.
"Rural took me in at a time where I was in a transition from college back to high school and for that I'm forever grateful,'' Muff said. "They gave me an opportunity to kind of re-establish myself and get back on my feet, so for that I'm extremely thankful. This season was a tough season (9-13 record) and this is more about thinking maybe it's just time to take a step back.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High boys basketball coach and athletic director Ty Baumgardner confirmed Tuesday that he is leaving High to accept a coaching position at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Ga., where he coached earlier in his career.
Baumgardner has served as Topeka High's athletic director for two years and coached the Trojans' basketball team last season. Baumgartner's position at Collins Hill is pending approval by the district school board.
"My wife still lives in Georgia and has a really good job in the same school district, loves who she works for and we just couldn't, this last couple of years, find anything close to that here that we felt she should come here for,'' Baumgartner said. "I wasn't looking for a job. We were going to make it work here, but the the coach (at Collins Hill) that took my place when I left ended up leaving and going back to where he came from and they reached out to me to gauge my interest in possibly coming back.
"And it was just kind of one of those deals where it was like, 'Maybe this is a little bit of fate,' because quite honestly it's the only job I would have gone back to Georgia for. I had already been there before, so you have the familiarity of it, a lot of the same people are still there at the school and then it's only about 15 minutes from where we live. And at the end of the day the family needed to be back together.''
Topeka High posted a 4-17 record this past season, but made improvement over the 2020-2021 campaign and Baumgartner felt that improvement would continue.
"It's hard to leave because I've got a good group coming back here and I felt like we really laid the foundation for the future this year, but family's got to come first,'' Baumgardner said.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Topeka High midfielder Haley Carpenter had an unforgettable night in Monday’s 2-1 victory over the Class 5A No. 8-ranked Shawnee Heights.
Coming into Monday night’s frigid cold game at Hummer Sports Park, Shawnee Heights had only allowed two goals the entire 2022 campaign (one to Seaman and one to De Soto), but Carpenter accepted the challenge and scored as many goals as the T-Birds had allowed all season with both of the Trojans' goals as High snapped Heights' six-game win streak
“It was a big moment for me,” Carpenter said. “It was a really big deal scoring in those tonight. We have great team chemistry and believe in each other. We always lift each other up, even when we are doing bad. I couldn’t have done what I did tonight without those girls.
“I’m glad I didn’t miss those goals because of how hard we worked to get down there.”
Both of Carpenter’s eye-opening goals came in the second half against the T-Birds.
“Her goals were huge,” Topeka High coach Derek Snook said. “Shawnee Heights is an incredible team that is well-coached. Haley was where she was supposed to be. She crashed the goal on shots near the goal very well. Her goals weren’t necessarily by design, but she got the job done.”
Topeka High (9-3) came in with a three-game win streak, gaining momentum towards the tail end of the season. The journey hasn’t been easy for the Trojans, who have dealt with adversity most of the year.
“I have to puff out my chest when I talk about how hard these girls work,” Snook said. “They are some of the smartest and most talented group of girls I’ve ever coached. They never give up on anything. They don’t give up in the classroom, when they have an injury or when the weather is bad.
“They never stop fighting and I’m so proud of them.”
Topeka High had to fight extra hard on Monday night. A win wasn’t going to be easy with a terrific T-Bird defense, wind gusts nearing 20 miles per hour and heavy rainfall.
The first half was a 0-0 stalemate. While Topeka High had eight different chances to score, Shawnee Heights had a difficult time getting the ball into High’s territory. That left the T-Birds with a slim amount of opportunities to score.
Topeka High’s high-flying defenders and mid-fielders blanked Shawnee Heights.
Faith Shields, Tae Thomas, Avery Zimmerman, Luxanna Sands and others were in the face of Shawnee Heights' players before they could even turn around.
On the flip side, Shawnee Heights also played terrific under pressure. While the ball was in their territory more often than not, they were able to make the Lady Trojans uncomfortable. Topeka High was just inches away from scoring on multiple occasions, but Shawnee Heights’ defense was strong.
Goalkeepers Keira Trupp of Topeka High and Tatum Hoge were fantastic.
While Trupp didn’t have to sweat as much as Hoge, she capitalized on every opportunity to get a save.
While the teams were in their locker rooms, the heavy rain started to pour. With the heavy rain, it was going to be even harder to score.
Four minutes into the second half, Topeka High had another close scoring opportunity, but couldn’t quite put it in.
Sands was left in open territory one-on-one with Hoge. Sands tried to fake-out Hoge, but Hoge made an incredible save.
Thomas would have that same opportunity moments later, but Hoge prevailed again, making a spectacular jump at the top of the goal getting the save.
With Hoge’s ownership of the goalie box for the entirety of the game, Topeka High needed to try a bit harder.
The Trojans once again found themselves in T-Bird territory where Carpenter would sneak a goal for Topeka High in the crowded box. Topeka High would take a 1-0 lead 8:05 into the second half.
Eleven minutes later, Zimmerman would set up Carpenter beautifully for her second goal while Hoge was on the ground in the slippery rain after defending a shot, allowing Topeka High to go up by two goals.
With 4:09 left in the contest, T-Bird midfielder Lily Marten would decrease the deficit by one goal with a goal from a penalty kick.
Shawnee Heights was able to get into Topeka High’s territory one more time, but Trupp denied the T-Birds' opportunity to tie the game.
Topeka High’s defense would hang on for the last remaining minute and defeat Shawnee Heights, 2-1.
Topeka High (9-3) will collide with Centennial League foe Topeka West Tuesday night at Hummer Sports Park. Shawnee Heights (10-2) will take on Blue Valley Southwest on Thursday night.
TOPEKA HIGH 2, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 1
Shawnee Heights (10-2) 0 1 – 1
Topeka High (9-3) 0 2 – 2
Goals -- Shawnee Heights:Martin. Topeka High: Carpenter 2. Assists – Topeka High: Zimmerman.
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FYI SHOUT OUT to TSN contributor Todd Fertig! He has been covereing both the 3A tournament in Hutchison and the 6A tourament in Wichita on the same day!