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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- When the Washburn Rural girls fell behind Wichita Heights 10-0 to start Wednesday's state quarterfinal game, the Junior Blues could draw confidence from one thing. They had beaten this team, the No. 2 seed in the 6A state tournament, earlier in the season.
Washburn Rural celebrates Wednesday's 50-43 win over No. 2 seed Wichita Heights in the Class 6A state tournament. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
With that in mind, the seventh-seeded Junior Blues slowly, methodically, began to chip away at that massive deficit.
The Junior Blues put together a remarkable comeback to defeat the Falcons 50-43 at Wichita State Koch Arena. Perhaps even more remarkable: That was the same score as the Junior Blues’ win over those same Falcons in January in the Capital City Classic.
“I don’t think we’re a team that gives up real easy. We fight and we scrap,” said Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick. “In the first quarter, those were our mistakes. Those were runouts that got them the lead in the first half.
“The only thing you can do at that point is just (take it) a possession on defense, a possession on offense. You just have to work in increments of one possession. That’s all you can do. Obviously, I wasn’t real thrilled with that start and I hope that doesn’t happen again. But I was real happy in how we maintained our composure.”
Nearly four minutes into the contest, sophomore Ella Hirsch finally got the Junior Blues off the mat with a 3-pointer. Those were her only points in the game, but they might have been the Junior Blues’ most important because they stopped the bleeding at 10-0.
Washburn Rural freshman Maddie Vickery scored 24 points to lead the way in Rural's 50-43 Class 6A state tournament win over Wichita Heights Wednesday night. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
After being shut out in the opening period, freshman Maddie Vickery took over, scoring 14 points in the second quarter. The Falcons couldn’t figure out how to defend her. She shot over or drove around every defender Wichita Heights sent her way.
A stern talking-to from her coach may have helped get Vickery started.
“He was like ‘Well, congrats. You’re the turnover leader for the team.’ That really set a fire in me,” Vickery said. “When I came out of the game and then went back in, I was like, ‘We have to want it more.’ That really set the tone for me.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Despite a regular season mark of 5-15, the Hayden Wildcats opened eyes by winning their Class 3A sub-state bracket last week and went to Hutchinson hoping to continue that run.
The Wildcats showed that – despite suffering numerous losses – playing a rugged regular-season schedule could lead to postseason success. But when they confronted the top-ranked team in 3A at the state tournament in Hutchinson, the run come to an end.
Hayden coach Trey Brown said his Wildcats should be proud of the posteason run they made in Class 3A. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
As the No. 8 seed at the Hutchinson Sports Arena Wednesday, Hayden was mowed down by the top seed, Beloit, 56-42.
Hayden finished the season 8-16. Wildcat coach Trey Brown emphasized the team can take pride in the run it made in the postseason.
“We told the guys that they should be proud,” Brown said. “They worked hard and battled adversity all year. It was tough to get here but they did it. It just wasn’t our night tonight.”
Senior Cooper Colboch led Hayden with 15 points on five 3-pointers in Wednesday's Class 3A state tournament loss to top seed Beloit. [File photo/TSN]
Things started promisingly enough. Hayden had trouble getting shots off in the paint against the big and long post players from Beloit. But Hayden senior Cooper Colboch offset the Trojans’ dominance in the paint with three first-quarter 3-pointers and Beloit held a slim 11-10 lead after one period.
But when the Wildcats went cold from the perimeter in the second period, it opened the door for Beloit to reel off 16 consecutive points to break out to a 27-13 advantage over the next five minutes.
Beloit blocked eight shots and forced eight Hayden turnovers in the first half.
“Once we got it into (the interior) we didn’t really have a plan,” Brown said. “We didn’t move off the ball well. We just stood still. They’ve got some great bigs, but we just struggled to move without the ball when we were penetrating. So, then we were just forcing it over guys who are 6-5, 6-6. That’s not going to work out in our favor a lot of times.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- For a Highland Park team still smarting from a heartbreaking one-point semifinal loss that ended the Scots' shot at an undefeated season a year ago, getting a second shot at Andover seemed like a chance at poetic justice.
Highland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson slams home a dunk on the way to a 22-point, 13-rebound performance in Wednesday's 57-32 Class 5A state tournament win over Andover. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
"It was exciting being in the state tournament no matter who you play, but honestly when we saw that matchup it was like deja vu,'' Highland Park coach Mike Williams said. "We kind of sat back and soaked it in and it just felt surreal. It felt like we were running right back 365 days ago.''
And the Scots took full advantage of that re-run opportunity in Wednesday's opening game of the Class 5A boys state tournament, ending Andover's championship reign with a wire-to-wire 57-32 romp at White Auditorium.
"It gave us a lot of motivation, knowing that we lost last year,'' said Highland Park 6-foot-4 junior Ja'Corey Robinson, who led the Scots with game-high totals of 22 points and 13 rebounds. "We really just wanted to get revenge from the loss and wanted to get our payback.''
With Wednesday's win Highland Park improved to 22-1 while advancing to Friday's 2 p.m. state semifinal to face last year's runnerup, Kapaun Mt. Carmel, which advanced with a 60-53 win over De Soto.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A whopping four local wrestlers garnered individual state titles in the 2024 state meet and that championship quartet headlines the TopSports.news 2024 All-Shawnee County boys wrestling team.
Washburn Rural junior 132-pounder Easton Broxterman has been named the Shawnee County boys wrestler of the year after winning his second straight Class 6A state title. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural junior 132-pounder Easton Broxterman was named the Shawnee County wrestler of the year after earning his second straight Class 6A state championship in his third straight trip to the state finals.
Washburn Rural junior Kristjan Marshall has his hand raised as the 150-pound Class 6A state champion. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Brody Byrne (right) won the Class 6A 157-pound state title. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Broxterman, who went 49-1 on the season, was joined on top of the 6A awards stand by junior 150-pounder Kristjan Marshall (39-4) and senior 157-pounder Brody Byrne (37-3), who both won their first state titles after posting fourth-place finishes in 2023.
Shawnee Heights senior 285-pounder Rykan Carver won a Class 5A state title in his final state meet, taking a 4-3 overtime decision in the championship match. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Rykan Carver (38-8) capped his high school career with a bang, winning the 5A state 285-pound championship in overtime to capture his first state medal.
Washburn Rural wrestling coach Josh Hogan has been named the Shawnee County coach of the year after three Rural wrestlers won state titles and finished third as a team. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural, which finished a close third in the 6A team standings, put a county-high eight wrestlers on the all-county first team, while Rural's Josh Hogan was named the county coach of the year and freshman 144-pounder Brodye Kocher-Munoz was selected as newcomer of the year.
The TopSports.news all-county team is based in part on selections made by the seven Topeka head coaches as well as at large selections for county schools Rossville and Silver Lake.
Also earning All-Shawnee County first-team honors for Rural in addition to the three state champions were sophomore 106-pounder Ryder Harrison (17-14), junior 120-pounder Walker Doyal (27-23), sophomore 126-pounder Cooper Stivers (11-5), sophomore 138-pounder Landen Kocher-Munoz (36-5) and senior 165-pounder Chase Calhoon (28-15).
Seaman and Shawnee Heights both put three wrestlers on the All-Shawnee County first team.
Seaman is represented by 144-pound senior Colin Little (40-10), 190-pound junior Deyton Mentzer (24-12) and 215-pound senior Hunter Reno (44-12) while Heights is represented by Carver, 138-pound senior Andrew Bonebrake (34-8) and 175-pound senior Allen Baughman (30-8).
Bonebrake and Baughman are both first-team repeat picks.
Rossville is represented on the first team by Class 3A-1A 215-pound senior state runnerup Barret Lietz (36-9) while Topeka High put 113-pound sophomore Luis Morones (19-10) on the first team.
ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY BOYS WRESTLING
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Four-time state individual champion Kendra Hurla of Rossville headines the TopSports.news 2024 All-Shawnee County girls wrestling team while state team champs Washburn Rural and Rossville combined for 10 spots on the first team.
Rossville senior Kendra Hurla celebrates her fourth straight 120-pound Class 4A-1A state wrestling championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]
Washburn Rural state finalist Molly Spader (with trophy) celebrates with her teammates after the Junior Blues won their second straight Class 6A-5A state championship. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
The TopSports.news all-county team is based in part on selections made by the seven Topeka head coaches as well as at large selections for county schools Rossville and Silver Lake.
Hurla was named the Shawnee County wrestler of the year after winning her fourth straight Class 4A-1A 120-pound championship while capping a perfect 38-0 senior season.
Rossville senior Hailey Horton gains the upper hand on the way to a 4-3 win in the Class 4A-1A 155-pound championship match. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Hurla and her senior Bulldawg teammate, 155-pound state champ Hailey Horton (37-4), led Rossville to the school's first-ever team title by a half point over Oakley (82.5-82.0) as senior 115-pound fourth-place finisher Keera Lacock (37-3) also earned a first-team All-Shawnee County spot for the Bulldawgs. Hurla, Horton and Lacock are all first-team All-Shawnee County repeat picks.
Washburn Rural junior Molly Spader gains the upper hand on Derby senior Amara Ehsa during the 105-pound state final. Spader dropped a tough 6-4 decision but Rural won its fourth state team title. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural, meanwhile, continued to rack up state crowns, winning its second straight title and fourth in five years by a 118-96 margin over Garden City as state 105-pound finalist Molly Spader (35-3) was one of seven Junior Blues to earn all-county honors.
In addition to Spader, Washburn Rural is represented by junior 115-pounder Maddy Blow (22-12), sophomore 130-pounder Madison Blanco (28-9), senior 135-pounder Laiken Clark (31-5), senior 145-pounder Fatima Escobar (35-7), senior 170-pounder TaAni Rhoten (36-2) and sophomore 190-pounder Elia Smith (25-14).
Clark and Rhoten placed third at state while Escobar posted a fourth-place finish and Blanco finished sixth.
Spader, Blow and Rhoten are all first-team all-county repeat selections.
Washburn Rural girls wrestling coach Damon Parker congratulates 105-pound junior star Molly Spader after her state semifinal win. Parker coached Rural to its fourth state team title in five seasons. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Bryce Gfeller, a two-time individual state champ for Rossville as a high school wrestler, coached the Bulldawg girls to the school's first state team title to cap the 2023-2024 season. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Washburn Rural coach Damon Parker, who has led the Junior Blues to four state titles and a runnerup finish in the five years since girls wrestling became an official Kansas State High School Activities Association sport, was selected as the Co-Shawnee County coach of the year with Rossville state-champion coach Bryce Gfeller.
Parker and Gfeller both won a pair of state individual titles as high school wrestlers before embarking on their coaching careers.
Rural sophomore Lacey Middleton, who placed sixth in 6A-5A at 120 pounds and went 32-10 on the season, was named the county newcomer of the year.
Shawnee Heights put five wrestlers on the all-county first team, led by junior Reece Taylor and sophomore Cianna Graves.
Taylor (25-10) finished fourth at 125 pounds while Graves (32-8) placed fifth at 155.
Also earning first-team berths for the T-Birds were senior 110-pounder Odessa Schmidt (25-9), sophomore 140-pounder Olivia Stevens (29-9) and sophomore 235-pounder Theo Ofusia (16-12).
Seaman put senior 100-pounder Ellie Ayres and junior 120-pounder Taylie Huston (30-10) on the All-Shawnee County first team, with both wrestlers earning 6A-5A state medals.
Heston, a repeat all-county pick, finished fourth at state while Ayres was sixth.
ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY GIRLS WRESTLING
