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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks TopSports.news will recognize Shawnee County's all-time best teams in 21 sports as part of our Best of the Best project. The project continues with girls/boys wrestling and readers will have the opportunity to vote for teams in that sport through August 7. TopSports.news will begin to announce the top teams in all categories on Friday and continue into August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4881865x661A4906-151 while email votes/nominations will also be accepted at
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The Kansas State High School Activities Association hosted its first state wrestling tournament in 1930 and it took 90 years for Shawnee County to celebrate its first state team championship.
Washburn Rural's girls captured the first of their three state wrestling team championships in 2020, the first official girls state meet in Kansas history. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Washburn Rural captured the first boys state team wrestling title in Shawnee County history in 2021. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
But in four short years the county has put its stamp on wrestling's state history, with Washburn Rural claiming five state team championships and two runnerup finishes since 2020 while Rossville's girls also posted a runnerup team finish.
KSHSAA made girls wrestling an official state sport in '20 and Damon Parker's Junior Blues immediately became the queens of the mats, winning the first state tournament and repeating in '21 before adding a third title this past season after a runnerup finish in '22.
Rural's girls won the '20 title by an 84-80 margin over Great Bend on Dajia Anderson's state championship and the Junior Blues rolled to a 100-74 margin over Wichita North in '21 as Anderson and Rebekah Smith won state titles to lead the way.
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team, parents and coaches posed for a team picture after the Junior Blues won their third state title in four seasons in February at Hartman Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After finishing second to Dodge City in '22, Washbun Rural's girls captured title No. 3 in February as nine Junior Blues earned state medals and Rural took a 153-141 win over Garden City.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The idea for Ken Berry's recently-released novel, GOOD COP -- BAD COP, was easy for the Topeka baseball legend to come up with.
But the former American League All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner hit some pratfalls along the way before closing strong to finish his fourth novel and 11th book overall.
Ken Berry's fourth novel, GOOD COP -- BAD COP, is available now. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
GOOD COP -- BAD COP chronicles the life of Stan Lundy, who inherited $2 million dollars at the age of 12, narrowly avoided service in Viet Nam due to a freak injury at 18 while unknowingly taking part in a $3 million dollar armored car robbery and being targeted for a murder attempt at the age of 21 while serving as a police officer in a small town in Iowa.
"This idea is old,'' Berry said. "I thought I had the whole thing figured out from start to finish but I kept running into roadblocks in the middle where I couldn't get past it. It didn't work for me, it didn't feel right.''
Former American League All-Star Ken Berry appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with former Yankees star Mickey Mantle in 1967. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Berry, who played 11 years in the Major Leagues for the White Sox, Angels, Brewers and Indians, eventually got the boost he needed after going to a buddy for help.
"I sat down with a banker friend of mine because there's a bank involved and I said, 'Here's the story, here's what has gotten us up to here and how can I get past this?' '' Berry said. "He said, 'Oh, just kill those two guys and move on.' I said, 'You're right!' And that was it.''
"They were guys that you would probably visualize needing to be knocked off eventually, just based on what transpired up to that point, so it was easy once he gave me that. I was off and rolling.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Getting set to begin his second season on the Pittsburg State University football staff, former Topeka High standout Tyrell Everett got the 2023 campaign off to a good start with a preseason pomotion.
Gorillas head coach Brian Wright announced Friday that Everett, a 2011 High graduate, has been promoted to the role of assistant head coach and defensive run game coordinator for Pitt State.
Topeka native Tyrell Everett has been promoted to assistant head coach and defensive run game coordinator for Pittsburg State University's football program. [File photo/TSN]
Everett, an All-City and Kansas Shrine Bowl pick for the Trojans, joined the Pitt State staff as defensive line coach in 2022. He will continue to coach the Gorillas' defensive linemen. "Tyrell is a very driven young coach and a passionate teacher of the game of football,'' Wright said in a Pitt State release. "Our players respond at a high level to his mentorship, and he will thrive in his additional duties for the Gorillas."
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks TopSports.news will recognize Shawnee County's all-time best teams in 21 sports as part of our Best of the Best project. The project continues with volleyball and readers will have the opportunity to vote for teams in that sport through August 6, with the top teams in all categories announced in late July and August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4881663x7A8C40E8-151 while email votes/nominations will be also accepted at
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Twenty-five. That single number sums up Shawnee County's proud volleyball history.
It took 27 years for county schools to notch their first state championship in the sport, but once Angie Bittner's Silver Lake team broke the ice with a Class 3A championship in 1998 the flood gates opened, with four county schools combining for 25 tiles over the past 24 seasons.
Silver Lake's volleyball team won the first of its nine Class 3A state titles in 1998. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Silver Lake and Washburn Rural have combined for an amazing 17 championships while Hayden and Shawnee Heights have combined for another eight titles.
Washburn Rural's volleyball team went 45-1 to capture the school's eighth Class 6A state title last fall. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Kevin Bordewick's powerhouse Washburn Rural program won the county's most recent state crown, with the Junior Blues winning their eighth state championship in 6A, the state's largest class, last fall.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks TopSports.news will recognize Shawnee County's all-time best teams in 21 sports as part of our Best of the Best project. The project continues with boys track and field and readers will have the opportunity to vote for teams in that sport through August 5, with the top teams in all categories announced in late July and August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4880338x001842f6-151 while email votes/nominations will be also accepted at
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Topeka High earned Shawnee County's first boys state track and field championship way back in 2016, the first of 14 state titles won by five county schools over 99 years
High leads county schools with six state titles, with five of those coming by 1973 before the Duke Tibbs-led Trojans ended High's 40-year title drought with the Class 6A title in 2013.
Topeka High won its sixth state track and field team title in 2022, ending a 40-year championship dought. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
The 1980s were also a golden decade for county schools, with Topeka West, Washburn Rural and Shawnee Heights combining for five championships in a six-year span.
Joe Schrag's Topeka West boys track and field team won its second straight Class 6A state title in 1984. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Jerry Beardslee's Washburn Rural won its first Class 5A boys track and field championship in 1984. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Mike Nash's Shawnee Heights' boys track and field team scored 86 points on the way to the Class 5A state title in 1989. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Joe Schrag coached Topeka West to back-to-back 6A crowns in 1983 and '84, with sprint star Mark Pickens and state-champion high jump and long jump champ Sharrieff Hazim leading the '84 Chargers while Pickens and distance state champs Rob Hays and Jeff Shelar all winnning state titles in West's '85 title run.
Jerry Beardslee's Washburn Rural team joined West as a state team champ in '84, with the Junior Blues taking the 5A title by a slim 63-58 margin over Kapaun Mt. Carmel as the Junior Blues posted a pair of relay wins and Anthony Dulan went 23 feet, 3.75 inches to take the long jump title.
