- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee County boys cross country teams, representing four county schools, garnered 12 state team titles over a period of 51 seasons.
But the program that laid the foundation for that strong tradition -- Joe Schrag's Topeka West Chargers -- sits atop TopSports.news' Best of the Best list.
Joe Schrag's 1974 Topeka West cross country team was tapped for the No. 1 spot on the TopSports.news Best of the Best Top 10. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Schrag's 1974 team, his second of four championship teams at West, earned the No. 1 position on the Best of the Best Top 10 after completing an undefeated season with a dominating 47-78 win over Leavenworth in the Class 4A state meet.
Brent Swanson, Bill Myers and Tim Powell are members of the Topeka West Hall of Fame, as is the '74 team.
Bob Karr's 1979 championship Seaman cross country team was picked No. 2 on the TopSports.news Best of the Best. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Another highly-respected team -- Bob Karr's 1979 Seaman team -- is No. 2 on the Top 10 after winning the 6A state championship by a 77-83 margin over Shawnee Mission South, which entered the '79 meet as the defending champ and a five-time champ overall.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A case could be made for any of Shawnee County's 11 state championship teams to garner the No. 1 spot on the TopSports.news Best of the Best girls cross country Top 10.
After all, the county's cross country pedigree goes way back to Silver Lake's Class 3A state crown in the second year of state competition in 1978, and has continued with Hayden's run of seven 4A championships, Seaman's 6A and 5A titles and a dominating season by Washburn Rural en route to a 6A crown.
Washburn Rural notched its lone Class 6A girls cross county championship in 1996, including a perfect score in the city meet and a sweep of league, regional and state titles. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
But in the end, a 1996 Washburn Rural team that put together what is arguably the best postseason performance in county history got the slight nod for the top position.
Scott Shufelberger's Junior Blues began their late-season push with a perfect team score in the city meet, followed by Centennial League and regional titles and capped by the 6A championship by a 59-64 margin over Olathe South as the Blues were paced by oustanding individual performances from Cate Holston and Michelle Simecka.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
High school bowling is a relative newcomer to the state scene, with the Kansas State High School Activities Association adding bowling as a state sport in 2005.
But local teams continue to make their mark, including three titles over the past two seasons.
Seaman's 2022 girls bowling team won the Class 5A-1A state championship by 29 pins, led by individual runnerup Makenzie Millard. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Washburn Rural won the 2023 Class 6A boys bowling state championship by 135 pins while putting three bowlers in the top 11 spots. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman's 2022 girls team and Washburn Rural's '23 boys team share the top spot on the TopSports.news Best of the Best bowling list while the Top 10 includes nine state championship teams.
Makenzie Millard finished second individually with a 697 series to lead the way as Bob Benoit's Seaman girls team posted a 29-pin win over Bishop Caroll in the '22 Class 5A girls state tournament while Jo Ricard's '23 Rural boys team put three bowlers in the top 11 places
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Twenty-seven Shawnee County teams have won boys state basketball championships, dating all the way back to 1932, but only two have completed perfect 25-0 seasons.
Hayden's 1982-1983 boys basketball team posted a perfect 25-0 record en route to a second straight Class 4A state title. [Submitted photo]
Highland Park's 2006-2007 boys basketball team posted a perfect 25-0 record en route to the Class 5A state title. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
And after a panel of sports media professionals with more than 120 years of combined experience was unable to come up with a clearcut decision, Hayden's 1982-1983 team and Highland Park's 2006-2007 squad share the No.1 spot on TopSports.news' Best of the Best Top 10 list.
Ben Meseke's '83 Wildcats won their second straight Class 4A state title while becoming the first Shawnee County boys team to record a 25-0 season while Ken Darting's Scots repeated the 25-0 fete in '07 on the way to the 5A championship.
Top players for Hayden's '83 team included Mark Turgeon, who went on to a distinguised playing career at Kansas and a long NCAA Division I coaching career, and Tom Meier and Rob Reilly, who helped lead Washburn University to the 1987 NAIA national championship.
All five of Highland Park's starters on the '07 team earned All-State or All-5A recognition, led by Kyle Weems, who went on to become the Missouri Valley Player of the Year at Missoui State and a long and ongoing professional career, and Lamont Austin, who played in the NCAA Tournament for Morehead State.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sunday, August 13, is likely to be a very sad day for area drag racing fans.
NHRA officials and Heartland Motorsports Park jointly announced on Friday that the final event at the Topeka facility will take place on Aug. 11-13 with the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
NHRA legend John Force, a 10-time Topeka winner, will make his final appearance at Heartland Motorsports Park Aug. 11-13 in the wake of Friday's announcement that the upcoming race will be the final NHRA national event at HMP. [File photo/TSN]
Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly Heartland Park Topeka, has hosted NHRA national events since the facility opened in 1989, but the track is likely to be closing its doors due to a long and ongoing tax and land dispute with Shawnee County.
NHRA officials announced Friday that the new Flying H Dragstrip in the Kansas City area will be part of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series national event schedule in 2024.
“We have a rich history at Heartland Motorsports Park and we want to thank Chris Payne and his team for many years supporting NHRA drag racing,” NHRA President Glen Cromwell said in a release. “But as one door closes, another opens and we are looking forward to the great opportunity of racing in the Kansas City area at a brand new facility. Scott Higgs and his team are building a fantastic new track at Flying H Dragstrip and we are excited to have our first event there in 2024 and create a wealth of new memories in the area.”
“We are extremely thankful for our longtime partnership with the NHRA and its racers, as well as all the fans who have visited Heartland Motorsports Park over the years,” Heartland Motorsports Park owner Chris Payne said in Friday's release. “Because of the actions by Shawnee County, unfortunately this will be the last national event at Heartland Motorsports Park. We look forward to completing the 2023 season as well.”
