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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Wednesday was only Shawnee Heights' second baseball game of the 2023 season.
But depending on how the rest of the T-Birds' season plays out, Heights coach Ryan Schmidt and his team may look back and realize just how big Wednesday's 7-6 non-league win over Bishop Miege was from a confidence and postseason seeding standpoint.
Shawnee Heights junior Carter Ulrich went 2 for 3 with a pair of doubles and five runs batted in as the T-Birds rallied for a 7-6 non-league win over Bishop Miege Wednesday at the Bettis Family Sports Complex. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights junior Johann Villa pitched six innings of solid relief to pick up the win in Wednesday's 7-6 comeback win over Bishop Miege. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights, which improved to 2-0, spotted Miege a 4-0 advantage in the top of the first and a 6-1 lead in the top of the third, but the T-Birds rode an outstanding relief effort from junior piitcher Johann Villa and clutch hitting from junior Carter Ulrich to a big comeback win at the Bettis Family Sports Complex.
"It couldn't be more of a team win, with the guys each doing their role,'' Schmidt said. "We just kept grinding through things and each guy was stepping up and picking each other up.''
Shawnee Heights only led once on the night, but that lead came on a two-run double from Ulrich in the bottom of the sixth and Villa shut the door on the Stags in the top of the seventh to close out the win.
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By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
There are a lot of parts of sports that can be controlled, one that cannot be controlled is who you play, for good or bad. For Shawnee Heights soccer it was the latter as the T-Birds opened the season with a 10-0 loss to Class 5A powerhouse Blue Valley Southwest.
Shawnee Heights sophomore Lailah Benz (2) tries to find operating room in Tuesday's 10-0 season-opening loss to Blue Valley Southwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Emily Loy (35) races after a loose ball in Tuesday's 10-0 season-opening loss to Blue Valley Southwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"It's just a hard first game to start the season, but we know where we’re at, we’ve got a measuring stick to know where we can go from here,” said Shawnee Heights coach Kellen Griffin. “I’ve got a lot of great leaders from the seniors and the captains and even some of the juniors and sophomores that were on the team on varsity last year so I don’t think it’s going to affect us in (a bad) way.”
The Thunderbirds bring 11 seniors into the season from a team that went 13-5-0 last season as well as sophomores Lailah Benz and Isabell Van Fleet who were both first-team All-United Kansas Conference selections in 2022.
However, they were unable to generate a shot on goal against the strong Timerwolves defense, something Griffin is confident will change going forward.
“The good thing is they’ve got a base style of play from where we were at last year, but now it’s something we can build on more because we don’t have to review everything,” Griffin said. “So we got a starting point already and we can kind of build upon that and adjust as we go forward throughout the season.”
Jumping right into the deep end of the schedule did allow for immediate observation for Griffin, and reinforced year-long goals and strategies that aren’t accomplished in match number one.
“I learned where some of our girls are at in terms of development from last year to this year,” Griffin said. “We are going to have measuring sticks in terms of where our team is at compared to some of the other opponents we face and we just need to make sure we are building the entire season so that way we are playing the best soccer at the end of the season.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Due to success in other sports, it took awhile for Washburn Rural's girls soccer team to get its entire team together, which was absolutely fine with Junior Blue coach Brian Hensyel.
Washburn Rural senior Mackinly Rohn puts Rural's second goal in the net after rebounding her penalty kick attempt in Tuesday's 3-0 season-opening win over De Soto. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
Senior Mackinly Rohn is congratulated by her Washburn Rural teammates after scoring a goal in Rural's 3-0 win over De Soto. [Photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
And getting a late start to preseason preparations wasn't a problem in Tuesday's season-opener, with Rural posting a 3-0 non-league win over De Soto at McElroy Field.
Washburn Rural senior Addi Broxterman and sophomores Delaney Hill and Ashley Schwarz joined Rural soccer's team on the run after helping the Junior Blues win the Class 6A-5A state wrestling championship while senior Brooklyn DeLeye and sophomore Kate Hinck got a late start after helping Rural finish second in the 6A state basketball tournament.
Senior goalkeeper Hailey Beck also missed preseason due to an injury but all six players turned in quality minutes in Tuesday's win, with Broxterman scoring Rural's first goal of the season while Hill and DeLeye were credited with assists and Beck combined for a shutout in goal.
"The spring sports season is always unique because unlike the fall it overlaps with the successes of the other seasons,'' Hensyel said. "And spring break was last week and some people are here and some aren't, so the first three weeks you're always trying to accomplish as much as you can but you know you're probably not going to be completely ready to play.
"Even though we have a lot to work on getting them all yesterday for the first time, for each of them to come out tonight and beat a good De Soto team was really a positive. It's always kind of a mess at the beginning but we're a work in progress.''
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural senior Brooklyn DeLeye has been named the Centennial League girls basketball player of the year after helping lead the Junior Blues to the league championship and a runnerup finish in the Class 6A state tournament.
Washburn Rural senior Brooklyn DeLeye has been named the Centennial League basketball player of the year after also earning that honor in volleyball. [File photo/TSN]
DeLeye averaged 16 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals, shot 59.7 percent from 2-point range and 38.5 percent on 3-point attempts as a senior.
DeLeye, 6-foot-2, is one of three city players earning spots on the all-league first team, with Topeka High senior Kiki Smith (5-8) and Hayden junior Lauren Sandstrom (6-0) also earning all-league recognition.
Topeka High senior Kiki Smith is a repeat pick on the All-Centennial League basketball team after leading the Trojans to a 16-6 record. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden junior Lauren Sandstrom earned a spot on the All-Centennial League first team after helping the Wildcats reach the Class 4A state tournament. [File photo/TSN]
Smith averaged a city-high 20.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.1 steals while connecting on 50 3-pointers.
Sandstrom, who helped lead Hayden to a 4A state tournament berth, averaged 13 points and six rebounds this past season.
Washburn Rural's Kevin Bordewick has been named the Centennial League coach of the year after leading Rural to the league title and a second-place finish in Class 6A. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural's Kevin Bordewick was named the Centennial League coach of the year after leading the Junior Blues to an 18-6 record and the team's third top-two state finish since 2019, including titles in '19 and '22.
Topeka High freshman Keimara Marshall (5-3) was voted the league newcomer of the year by Centennial coaches after playing a key role in the Trojans' 16-6 season.
Washburn Rural seniors Chloe Carlgren (6-0) and MaRyah Lutz (5-5) were named to the all-league second team along with Topeka High junior Ladaysha Baird (5-3) and Hayden sophomore Brylee Meier (6-0).
Seven city players earned all-league honorable mention.
ALL-CENTENNIAL LEAGUE GIRLS BASKETBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High all-state catcher Alesia Alvarez (front, second from left) celebrates the Trojans' 2022 Class 6A state softball title, High's second straight. [File photo/TSN]
ALESIA ALVAREZ, Topeka High
A senior catcher, Alvarez received first-team All-Class 6A honors from the Kansas Softball Coaches Association last season after helping Topeka High win a second straight Class 6A state title. Alvarez was also named to the All-Centennial League and TopSports.news All-Shawnee County first team last season.
ASPEN BURGARDT, Seaman
Burgardt, a senior, helped Seaman advance to the Class 5A state tournament last season while earning second-team All-Centennial League recognition. Burgardt also earned a second-team spot on the 2022 All-Shawnee County team and received All-Class 5A honorable mention as an infielder from the Kansas Softball Coaches Associaiton.
Topeka High senior shortstop Adisyn Caryl helped lead the Trojans to the Class 6A state championship for the second straight season in 2022. [File photo/TSN]
ADISYN CARYL, Topeka High
A senior shortstop, Caryl earned All-Class 6A first-team recognition from the Kansas Softball Coaches Association for the second straight season last spring after helping lead the Trojans to a second straight Class 6A state championship. Caryl was also named to the All-Centennial League and All-Shawnee County first team last spring.
Washburn Rural junior Emmerson Cope was named the Centennial League softball player of the year in 2022 after helping lead the Junior Blues to the undefeated league title. [File photo/TSN]
EMMERSON COPE, Washburn Rural
A senior pitcher/first baseman, Cope was named the TSN Shawnee County co-player of the year and the Centennial League player of the year after leading Washburn Rural to an undefeated Centennial League championship and a runnerup finish in the Class 6A state tournament last spring. A first-team Kansas Softball Coaches Association All-Class 6A pick in 2021 and 2022, Cope has signed a letter of intent with Nebraska.
Hayden senior pitcher Alyssa Droge is a top returner for the Wildcat softball team, earning second-team All-Shawnee County honors in 2022. [File photo/TSN]
ALYSSA DROGE, Hayden
Droge, a senior pitcher and outfielder, was a first-team All-Centennial League pick last season and also earned second-team All-Shawnee County recognition. Droge is expected to be at full strength this season after recovering from a serious knee injury.
