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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West senior twin brothers Ian and Miles Cusick advanced to the Class 5A tennis doubles semifinals for the second straight season Friday in Arkansas City, continuing their bid for a state title repeat.
Topeka West seniors Ian Cusick (left) and Miles Cusick advanced to the Class 5A state doubles semifinals Friday at Arkansas City. [File photo/TSN]
The Cusicks posted 6-0, 6-2 and 6-1, 6-3 victories in their two matches on Friday and will face Newton seniors Otis Musser and Justin Franz in Saturday morning's semifinals.
Topeka West, which finished second as a team in the 2022 state meet, advanced its entire team to Saturday's final day of the state tournament.
West senior Carter Cool and junior James Maag went 3-1 in singles and juniors Caden McGee and Caleb Weybrew went 3-1 in doubles and all of the Chargers can still finish as high as fifth place on Saturday.
State competition will continue at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Washburn Rural senior Mason Casebeer went 3-1 on Friday to clinch a state singles medal in the Class 6A state tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [File photo/TSN]
CLASS 6A
Washburn Rural senior standout Mason Casebeer and the doubles team of senior Kiefer Von Lintel and freshman Dylan Willingham clinched Class 6A state medals Friday at Kossover Tennis Center.
Casebeer, a regional champion, dropped his first match of the day but bounced back with 9-0 and 9-2 wins to advance to Saturday's competition.
Von Lintel and Willingham went 3-1 Friday and advanced with a 9-7 win in their final Friday match.
Both Casebeer, a former state doubles medalist, and Von Lintel and Willingham can still finish as high as fifth place in 6A.
Rural junior singles player Lawson Lobatos and the doubles team of junior Dylan Dodge and freshman Keegan Knudtson were eliminated from competition on Friday.
Saturday's competition will begin at 9 a.m.
Hayden senior Gus Glotzbach and junior Joseph Luke have clinched state doubles medals in the Class 4A state tournament at Pratt. [File photo/TSN]
CLASS 4A
Hayden's doubles team of senior Gus Glotzbach and junior Joseph Luke advanced to Saturday's competition in the Class 4A state tournament at Pratt.
Regional champions Glotzbach and Luke won their first match of the day before dropping a 6-4, 7-6 quarterfinal decision to Parsons.
Glotzbach has clinched a 4A state medal for the third straight season while Luke has earned a state medal for the second straight season.
Hayden singles players Chris Hayes, a senior, and sophomore Evan George were eliminated from state on Friday.
State competition will resume at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
CLASS 3A-1A
Cair Paravel Latin freshman Drew Fay, making the Lions' first-ever appearance in state tennis, went 2-2 in singles on Friday in Wichita but was eliminated from competition with a tough 9-7 loss in his final match.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Highland Park senior Tre Richardson, a returning Class 5A state champion, captured four gold medals in Thursday's Meadowlark Conference track and field meet at Kansas City-Washington, leading the Scots to a third-place team finish.
Highland Park senior Tre Richardson won four events in Thursday's Meadowlark Conference track and field meet, taking wins in the long jump, triple jump, 100 and 200. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Highland Park senior Keijuan Johnson swept Meadowlark Conference titles in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles events Thursday in Kansas City, Kan.. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Richardson won the league title in the long jump at 20 feet, 4 inches, the triple jump at 43-2, the 100-meter dash at 10.97 seconds and the 200 dash in 21.50.
Richardson is the defending 5A state champ in the 200 and is a returning state placer in the long jump and triple jump.
Highland Park also got a pair of individual wins from senior Keijuan Johnson, who won the 110 high hurdles in 15.47 seconds and the 300 intermediates in 43.95.
Scot senior Gabe Davis finished second in the discus (99-9) and third in the discus (38-1) as Highland Park finished third as a team with 96.5 points.
Sophomore De'Asia Sanders picked up a league title in the girls javelin for the Scots with a throw of 85 feet, 3.50 inches while sophomore Ke'Ahjahnae Rice finished second in the 400 dash (62.96).
Highland Park's girls finished fifth as a team with 39 points.
Highland Park will compete in a 5A regional meet next Thursday at the Olathe District Athletic Complex, vying for berths in the state meet May 26-27 at Wichita State.
City athletes win 11 Centennial League titles
Manhattan swept the boys and girls Centennial League team championships in decisive fashion but city athletes also shined, combining for wins in 11 events.
Washburn Rural junior Josh Sulzen-Watson and Topeka High sophomore Aubreona Torres-Hill led the city contingent with two individual wins apiece.
Sulzen-Watson won the boys discus with a throw of 155 feet, 2 inches and won the javelin with a best throw of 181-1.
Topeka High sophomore Aubreona Torres-Hill won Centennial League titles in the 100 and 300 hurdles Thursday night. [File photo/TSN]
Torres-Hill swept the girls hurdles races, winning the 100-meter hurdles in 16.62 seconds and the 300s in 49.15.
Hayden's boys, who tied Washburn Rural for second place in the team standings, got individual wins from senior Jake Muller in the 300 hurdles (39.98) and sophomore Jensen Schrickel in the long jump (21 feet, 3.25 inches) while Muller and Schrickel also ran on the Wildcats' winning 4x400 relay in 3:23.74.
In addition to Sulzen-Watson's two wins, Rural's boys also got a win from junior Jamond Lane in the shot put (48-2.50) and the Junior Blues won the 4x800 relay in 8:19.66.
Washburn Rural sophomore Rylee Ismert (left) won the Centennial League 1,600 meters title Thursday while Payton Fink won the 3,200. [File photo/TSN]
On the girls side, Washburn Rural sophomore Rylee Ismert won the 1,600-meter run (5:28.56) and sophomore Payton Fink won the 3,200 (11:49.88).
Manhattan won the boys team title by a 116-77 margin over Hayden and Washburn Rural while the Indian girls won the league championship by a 166-77.50 margin over Emporia, with Washburn Rural third (76.50).
Topeka High and Washburn Rural will compete in a 6A regional at Wichita Heights next Thursday while Hayden will compete in a 4A regional at Shawnee Mission North next Friday.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Two veteran coaches struggled to find superlatives sufficient to describe the 0-0 double-overtime tie between Washburn Rural and Seaman Thursday night at McElroy Field.
The teams met at Washburn Rural with seedings on the line as two of the top programs in their respective classes.
Seaman's soccer team huddles up after Thursday's 0-0 double-overtime tie with Washburn Rural. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Washburn Rural soccer coach Brian Hensyel talks to his Junior Blues, who battled Seaman to an 0-0 deadlock Thursday night. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Seaman goalkeeper Maegan Mills kept Washburn Rural out of the goal in Thursday's 0-0 double-overtime tie. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Senior Mackinly Rohn and Washburn Rural battled to an 0-0 tie with Seaman Thursday night at McElroy Field. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Seaman entered the contest atop the standings in Class 5A East with a 13-1-1 record. The Junior Blues, meanwhile, carried an 11-4-0 mark and were second in the 6A West Regional.
A win would have meant a lot to either team. But the 0-0 tie had longtime coaches Brian Hensyel of Washburn Rural and Tim Nussbaum of Seaman grasping for adjectives.
“That was the highest level of high school soccer game I’ve ever seen,” Nussbaum said. “Everybody left everything on the field. That’s passion. That’s love. I won’t be able to talk tomorrow, but I don’t care.”
“That’s a fun way to end the regular season,” Hensyel said. “Two city rivals. That was probably the most exciting tie that I’ve ever been a part of.”
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The Hayden girls soccer team ended its 2023 regular season campaign with a dominant 10-0 romp past Tonganoxie while snapping its three-game winless streak at Hayden on Thursday evening.
After suffering a one-goal loss to Piper, an 0-0 draw with Manhattan and an 3-0 loss to Seaman, the Wildcats are back to winning.
Hayden's soccer team celebrates Thursday's 10-0 non-league win over Tongaoxie. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Hayden junior Lauren Sandstrom (12) scored a pair of goals in Thursday's 10-0 Wildcat win over Tonganoxie. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Hayden freshman Reese Huscher (15) had a pair of goals Thursday, helping the Wildcats end their regular season with a 10-0 win over Tonganoxie. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN] Group
The timing of the 10-0 non-league win couldn’t have come at a better time, with soccer regionals beginning next week.
Even though the win was satisfying for Hayden coach Klaus Kreutzer, it bugs him knowing that they didn’t learn much about what they needed to fix or what worked best due to how one-sided their victory was against an unfamiliar opponent.
“It’s tough because you don’t learn anything from a 10-nothing game,” Kreutzer said. “The win is nice, but it’s tough. But having said that, everybody got to play on Senior Night. So getting everybody in to play is a good thing. The whole team has been working, so they all deserve something.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural swimming coach Bob Burdick missed Thursday's girls Centennial League meet for a very good reason, with Burdick in California for his son's college graduation.
But his Junior Blues team would have made their coach proud, with Washburn Rural rolling to its third straight league team championship by a 520-435 margin over Manhattan at the Capitol Federal Natatorium.
Washburn Rural celebrates its third straight Centennial League girls swimming championship Thursday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Freshman Audrey Appuhn won four gold medals in Thursday's Centennial League swimming meet at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Makenna Pritchard (left), who won four gold medals, congratulates teammate Ella Bombardier at the conclusion the 50-yard freestyle after Pritchard and Bombardier finished one-three in Thursday's Centennial League swim meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"His son is graduating from USC tonight so he had to be at his son's graduation, but he's sending the love and we can feel the love and we're sending him love back,'' Pritchard said. "We're so proud of his son and we're so proud of him.''
Washburn Rural won eight events, with Pritchard, a senior, and freshman Audrey Appuhn winning four gold medals apiece. The Junior Blues added four second-place finishes and posted top-three finishes in 11 of 12 events.
"(Burdick) said, 'Go out and do what we always do,' '' Pritchard said. "We know how to swim, we know how to race. We're done it for the last four years together so he told us, 'Go out and do you.' ''
Pritchard posted individual victories in the 50-yard freestyle (25.36 seconds) and 100 free (55.94) while Appuhn won the 200 individual medley (2 minutes, 11.39 seconds) and the 500 free (5:13.53) and Mara Bara won the 100 backstroke (1:02.80).
Washburn Rural also swept the three relays, with Appuhn, Kiersten Harris, Bare and Pritchard winning the 200 medley relay (1:55.69), Harris, Molly Didde, Sophie Heinen and Genevieve Miranda winning the 200 free relay (1:50.84) and Miranda, Bare, Appuhn and Pritchard taking the 400 free relay (3:48.87).
While Pritchard was competing in her final Centennial meet, Appuhn made a big splash in her league debut, continuing an oustanding freshman campaign.
"Honestly, I've just been looking forward to this since I was eight and just to be able to come to the meet, it doesn't matter the place to me, just to be able to come here and see everyone that I love every single day, it really means the world to me,'' Appuhn said.
