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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The most recent of Shawnee County's 25 state championship volleyball teams garnered the No. 1 spot on the TopSports.news Best of the Best list.
Kevin Bordewick's 2022 Washburn Rural team, his eighth state championship team, leads the Top 10 after a 45-1 season, including 44 straight victories to end the year.
Washburn Rural's 2022 Class 6A 45-1 state championship team is ranked No. 1 on the TSN Best of the Best volleyball list. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
All-American and Kentucky signee Brooklyn DeLeye, who had more than 2,000 kills in her career, was the ringleader for the Junior Blues while other top players for Washburn Rural included Taylor Russell, Chloe Carlgren, Zoe Canfield and Jada Ingram.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Top Fuel points leader Justin Ashley picke up his sixth win of the season Sunday at the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park.
Top Fuel points leader Justin Ashley picked up his sixth win of the 2023 season Sunday at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) and Erica Enders (Pro Stock) also won at the 13th of 21 races in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series.
In the championship round, Ashley went 3.702 seconds at 323.58 miles per hour in his 11,000-horsepower Phillips Connect Toyota dragster to slip past BrittanyForce’s 3.707 at 323.58 in the final NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series national event at Heartland Motorsports Park.
After battling through several weather delays, the final round finished up under the lights as Ashley earned his 11th career win.
Ashley knocked off Josh Hart, Leah Pruett and Antron Brown to reach the final round before turning in the quickest run of the weekend to continue his impressive season while stretching his points lead to 83 points over Steve Torrence.
“We have a lot of history as a team here,'' Ashley said. "Jim Epler was the first Funny Car driver to go 300 mph and he did it right here in Topeka and my father won Funny Car here in 2007. This is the first race that him and I have won professionally at the same venue. It's really exciting and each one is more special than the next. We had four incredible turnarounds today and the team did a good job. Their ability to maintain composure and consistency on and off the race track is really second to none.
“It was tough to stay focused today. We really didn't know what today was going to bring but every driver and team were under the same circumstance. We didn't know if we were going to get a race in, let alone four rounds today, was probably the biggest challenge of all. But you have a lot of confidence as a driver when you have a team like the Phillips Connect team.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' star trio of Marcel Carter, Troy Wilson and Todd Allen combined for an amazing six individual victories as Miike Nash's T-Birds rolled up 86 points on the way to the 1989 Class 5A team championship by an 18-point margin over Liberal.
Shawnee Heights, the 1989 Class 5A state champ, is No. 1 on the TSN Best of the Best boys track and field Top 10. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
That performance earned the T-Birds the No. 1 spot on the TopSports.news Best of the Best boys track and field Top 10.
Carter, who went on to earn All-American honors at Florida, swept the 100, 200 and 400-meter dashes, while former NFL player Wilson swept the shot put and discus titles and Allen won the 3,200 to key Shawnee Heights' championship run.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Robert Hight protected the top qualifying position in Funny Car over Saturday's final two qualifying rounds at Heartland Motorsports Park, earning his 80th career No. 1 qualifier in the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
Joining Hight as top qualifiers were Steve Torrence in Top Fuel and Dallas Glenn in Pro Stock leading into Sunday's elimination rounds, which will get under way at 10 a.m. after a slight schedule change. .
Hight’s strong Friday run of 3.948 seconds at 321.19 miles per hour in his 11,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro SS held up Saturday, handing the three-time world champ his third No. 1 qualifier of the 2023 season and the 80th over his standout career.
hree-time Funny Car champ Robert Hight earned the No. 1 qualifier position for Sunday's Menards NHRA Nationals eliminations. [File photo/TSN]
Hight, who will be looking for his third win of the 2023 season, will open eliminations on Sunday against Jack Wyatt.
“That 80 is a big number, it shows I've been doing it a long time, but it also shows I've had great (John Force Racing) teams behind me,” Hight said. “You're not No. 1 qualifier without a really good race car.
"This is a tribute to all the good people I've worked with. This is big for us. I think we're turning a corner with this new combination. It's starting to respond. Jimmy (Prock, crew chief) was happy.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
In nearly 50 years of NHRA drag racing, John Force has seen multiple tracks come and go ... but this one will really hurt.
A 10-time Topeka winner, NHRA legend John Force watches the qualifying action Friday night during the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sixteen-time Funny Car world champ John Force takes part in Friday night qualifying during the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The 74-year-old Funny Car legend, who has a track-record 10 national-event wins at Heartland Motorsports Park (formerly Heartland Park Topeka) among his national-record 155 career victories, isn't quite ready to say he'll never race in Topeka again.
"Who knows what's going to happen? When they start tearing it down, that's when we'll know,'' Force said.
But in the wake of the NHRA's recent announcement that the HMP race, a staple on the national schedule since the Topeka track opened in 1989, will move to Odessa, Mo. in 2024, the drag racing GOAT is having trouble dealing with the news.
"It makes me sick, this is my life,'' Force said. "When you look at the big picture, I came (to this area) before Topeka was here. I raced at Kansas City. I stayed in Independence (Mo.) at the Ramada Inn. Then the AHRA went away and they built this track and I've been coming here every since.''
