- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practices at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will post preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2023 season Sept. 1.
-----------------------------------------
Considering some of the players Rossville graduated from the group that claimed two straight Class 2A state titles in 2020 and 2021, Derick Hammes' Bulldawgs' turned in a very respectable 5-5 record a year ago.
Derick Hammes has coached Rossville to five state football championships. [File photo/TSN]
But 5-5 isn't up to the Bulldawgs' extremely lofty standards and Rossville will be looking for much more this fall.
"Obviously it didn't feel like we want it to, so in that regard we feel like we've got to take a step forward,'' said Hammes, who has led Rossville to five state titles over the past nine seasons.
Hammes said he feels like this year's team, particularly this year's senior class, is determined to help the Bulldawgs return to the level of success they have grown accustomed to.
"I think they're motivated to and that's always a challenge from year to year is that when you go into our gym we have all the banners and things like that and we tell our kids, 'Make your mark as a senior,' '' Hammes said. "And how we recognize that is pretty cool and I think each one of our senior class tries to make sure they live up to that and they try to make their mark and put something on our walls.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Aiden Amis
AIDEN AMIS, Hayden
A senior, Amis earned All-Shawnee County honorable mention last season, qualifying for the Class 4A state meet with a 14th-place finish in regional competition. Amis posted a 13th-place finish in the city meet.
Jackson Esquibel
JACKSON ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights
A senior, Esquibel placed eighth individually in the Class 5A state meet last fall and earned medals in every 2022 meet he competed in, including runnerup finishes in the United Kansas Conference and regional meets. Esquibel helped lead ShawneeHeights to a 5A regional team championship. Esquibel was the 5A 3,200 meters champ in track and was second in the 1,600.
MAX GUTIERREZ, Washburn Rural
A junior, Gutierrez is a top varsity returner for a Washburn Rural team that earned a 16th straight city team title and a team berth for the Class 6A state meet last tall. Gutierrez finished 19th in the city meet.
JARED JOHNSON, Silver Lake
Johnson, a junior, was a Class 3A state qualifier last fall, earning his state berth with a 13th-place finish in regional competition. Johnson moved into the top 20 on Silver Lake's all-time list and earned All-Mid-East League honors.
Hayden Keller
HAYDEN KELLER, Washburn Rural
A senior, Keller earned first-team All-Shawnee County honors last season. A highlight for Keller was his ninth-place finish at the city meet, which helped secure the Junior Blues' 16th straight city team title. Keller also helped Washburn Rural earn a team berth for the Class 6A state meet.
CONNER OLSEN, Washburn Rural
Olsen, a junior, is a top varsity returner for a Washburn Rural team that earned a 16th straight city team title and a team berth for the Class 6A state meet last fall. Olsen placed 16th in the city meet.
JACK WALKER, Seaman
A sophomore, Walker was a Class 5A state qualifier in the 1,600 meters in track and will be counted on to be a factor for the Vikings this fall. Walker placed 23rd in the United Kansas Conference meet.
Related Stories and Videos
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Monday and Tuesday's Topeka Golf Association Bill McDonald Champions Stroke Play Tournament at Topeka Country Club was as much about perseverance as it was about golf, with the temperature eclipsing 100 degrees both days.
Gary Lucas won the Bill McDonald Champions Stroke Play title for the second straight year Tuesday at Topeka Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But just as he had in the 2022 tournament, which was also played in sweltering conditions, Gary Lucas beat the heat and the tourney field, earning the tournament championship in the city event for players aged 40 and over, shooting a 36-hole score of 146 with rounds of 74 and 72.
Jeremiah Nelson (77-70) and Phil Frost (74-73) finished a stroke behind Lucas at 147 while Dan Key (74-74) finished at 148 and Doug Hamilton (77-73) at 150.
Awards were presented Tuesday in seven different age divisions for low gross and net (including handicap) scores.
The Champions event is named in honor of Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Famer Bill McDonald, who was in attendance Tuesday.
Adam Head was honored Tuesday as the 2023 TGA Player of the Year, the third time he has won the award. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Also on Tuesday, Adam Head was honored as the TGA 2023 Player of the Year.
The Player of the Year award is based on results from all TGA events.
Head earned the Player of the Year award for the third time.
BILL McDONALD CITY CHAMPIONS STROKE PLAY TOURNAMENT
At Topeka Country Club
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practice at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will be posting preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2023 season Sept. 1.
-------------------------------------------
There's a lot of talk about Highland Park football these days ... for all the right reasons.
After snapping an eight-year, 65-game losing streak in its 2022 season-opener on the way to a breakout 6-3 campaign, there's a lot of excitement surrouning Jemaine Monroe's Scots entering this fall.
Jermaine Monroe and Highland Park football will be looking for another big year this fall. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I think more and more you're hearing more buzz in the hallways and the classrooms, kids talking about fooball and waiting for fooball season to start,'' Monroe said. "We're getting a lot of buzz on campus, along with other sports, but football has been getting a lot of buzz.''
Monroe has also seen a big jump in participation numbers after Hi Park struggled in that department for many years.
"The numbers are growing and there's more and more players that are interested in playing football,'' Monroe said. "Eisenhower and Chase (middle schools) sent us a lot of freshmen. I think we have 28 freshmen and we're sitting at right over 70 for total players.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Longtime Topeka broadcaster Mike Manns will be inducted into the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame on Oct. 22 as part of the association's class of 2023, honoring his 50-plus years in broadcasting.
Mike Manns
Manns, who began his broacasting career in Topeka in 1972, continues to provide play-by-play coverage for area high school football and basketball games even though he retired from reporting the news in '18.
Awards and recognition include receiving the KAB’s Hod Humiston Award for Outstanding Contributions to Sports Broadcasting in 2010.
Manns received the Kansas State High School Activities Association’s Oscar Stauffer sportscaster's award in '10 and '12 and the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association award in '09.
