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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
This season's first meeting between Seaman and Shawnee Heights went down to the wire, with the Vikings ecaping with a three-point victory.
For more than a half, Tuesday night's rematch had all the makings of being just as close before Seaman, top-ranked in Class 5A, took control with a 23-1 second-half run on the way to a 50-37 United Kansas Conference win over the T-Birds on Senior Night at Seaman.
Seaman freshman Maddie Gragg (32) goes up for two of her game-high 21 points in Tuesday's 50-37 UKC win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman junior Taylin Stallbaumer (21), who had 10 points, drives to the hoop in Tuesday's 50-37 UKC win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"Basketball's a simple game,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "You get the ball, they get the ball. You get the ball, they get the ball. Sometimes we complicate it. We got on a run and then we went too much one on one, we went too much not running our offense and kind of going off script and that's when you let another team back in the game.
"By focusing on defense, the offense comes and when we're patient, we're good. We've just got to be patient.''
Seaman, which improved to 18-1 overall and 14-1 in the UKC, jumped out to a 16-11 first-quarter advantage before Shawnee Heights (13-6, 11-4) used a 13-6 second-quarter rally to take a 24-22 lead at the hal.
The T-Birds used a 6-2 start to the second half to take a 30-24 lead at the 5:49 mark of the third quarter before Seaman turned the tables on Heights.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
As the older sister, Washburn Rural star senior girls wrestler Addi Broxterman isn't ready to relinquish family bragging rights to younger brother Easton, a sophomore standout for the Junior Blue boys.
"We do wrestle, and I'll whoop him -- you can let him know that,'' Addi Broxterman joked.
Washburn Rural wrestling's brother-sister star combo of Easton and Addi Broxterman will take aim on state championships this week in Park City. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But most of the time the Broxtermans, two of the state's best, are content serving as each other's biggest fans.
And that will be the case later this week as the Broxtermans set their sights on winning their first high school state championships.
Both Addi, Rural's 125-pounder, and Easton, a 113-pounder, are coming off regional championships and will enter their respective state tournaments on the short list of top title contenders after both advanced to the state finals a year ago.
Addi Broxterman has finished second at state the past two seasons and will take a glossy 40-3 record into her final Class 6A-5A girls state tournament Wednesday and Thursday at Park City's Hartman Arena.
Easton Broxterman, 45-3 entering the 6A boys tournament Friday and Saturday at Hartman Arena, advanced to the state 106-pound championship match last season, finishing second to Junction City's Ezekiel Witt, and Broxterman gained a measure of revenge with a 15-3 major decision over Witt in last Saturday's 113-pound regional final.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Game is obviously a game of numbers, and the numbers 21, 11 and 3 were the difference Monday night in No. 5-ranked (Class 6A) Washburn Rural's 41-31 girls non-league loss to No. 6 Blue Valley at Rural.
Washburn Rural, the defending Class 6A state champion, turned the ball over 21 times on the night while scoring just 11 points in the second half and three points in the fourth quarter as Blue Valley, third in 6A a year ago, pulled away down the stretch for the double-digit victory.
Washburn Rural senior MaRyah Lutz shared team-high honors with nine points on three 3-pointers in Monday's 41-31 loss to Blue Valley. [File photo/TSN]
Rural coach Kevin Bordewick admitted that the Junior Blues' turnover woes were the single biggest factor in Monday's loss.
"I don't think there's any question about that,'' Bordewick said. "We weren't smart with the ball and it's not only the person making the pass but the person the pass is going to, we're not going to the ball. We're just expecting it to magically appear while they're jumping the passing lanes like crazy.
"Turnovers have been our bugaboo for a long time now and it caught up to us tonight. In offense you want to get in a rhythm and then everything kind of flows together. We couldn't get in a rhythm because we handed them the ball so many times.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights senior Nick Freeland won the 150-pound regional championship in Saturday's Class 5A regional boys wrestling tournament at Blue Valley Southwest, leading 19 local 5A state qualifiers.
Nick Freeland
Freeland improved to 38-7 on the season, recording a 3-2 overtime win over Spring Hill's Miles Bell in the title match.
Shawnee Heights finished a city-high fourth place as a team with 158 points while qualifying eight wrestlers for state.
In addition to Freeland, the T-Birds got second-place finishes from 132-pound junior Andrew Bonebrake (34-9 record), 138-pound freshman Gavin Hartman (26-19) and 215-pound senior Sean Wunder (39-3).
Heights got a third-place regional finish from 285-pound junior Rykan Carver as well as fourth-place finishes from 106-pound freshman Tristan Buce (21-16), 175-pound junior Allen Baughman (34-9) and an eighth-place qualifying effort from 157-pound freshman Evan Johnson (22-18).
Seaman finished sixth as a team with 136 points and had 10 state qualifiers, led by senior 285-pounder Jaxson Thomas, who posted a runner-up regional finish while improving to 42-5 on the season.
The Vikings also got a third-place finish from 132-pound junior Colin Little (29-9), a fourth from 113-pound freshman Cole Rosenberger (22-12), a fourth from 126-pound senior Draven Bennett (29-14), fifth-place showings from 120-pound sophomore Jayden Foster (18-7), 138-pound senior Lain Anderson (24-19) and 144-pound senior Zach Jowers (27-11), a sixth from 106-pound freshman Brayden Rice (7-7) and seventh-place finishes from 165-pound sophomore Samson Tootie (7-5) and 175-pound senior Zachary Adams (20-14).
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Easton Broxterman
EASTON BROXTERMAN, Washburn Rural
A sophomore 113-pounder, Broxterman bounced back from a scary incident early in the match to win a Class 6A regional wrestling title with a 15-3 major decision over Junction City junior Eziekiel Witt in a rematch of the 2022 state 106-pound state title match, won by Witt. With Saturday's regional victory, Broxterman improved 45-3 on the season while posting his first win over Witt.
Nick Freeland
NICK FREELAND, Shawnee Heights
Freeland, a senior, won the 150-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A regional wrestling tournament at Blue Valley Southwest, improving to 38-7 on the season. Freeland won his regional championship with a 3-2 overtime decision over Spring Hill senior Miles Bell.
Barrett Lietz
BARRETT LIETZ, Rossville
Lietz, a junior 215-pounder, captured a Class 3A-1A regional wrestling championship Saturday at Sabetha, taking a 6-1 decision over Oskaloosa sophomore Colsen Perry in the title match. Also an All-Shawnee County pick in football, Lietz will take a 32-8 record into this Friday and Saturday 3A-1A state meet at Hays.
