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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Highland Park's boys held on to the No. 1 spot in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A boy state rankings for the second straight week.
Highland Park senior Bo Aldridge and the Scots remained No. 1 in the latest KBCA Class 5A boys state rankings, released Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]
Highland Park is one of nine Shawnee County teams in this week's KBCA rankings, with Washburn Rural's girls climbing to No. 3 in 6A while Seaman's girls fell to No. 3 in 5A after dropping a double-overtime decision to United Kansas Conference foe Basehor-Linwood.
Shawnee Heights girls moved up to the No. 7 spot in 5A while Silver Lake's girls fell to No. 7 in 3A after a triple-overtime Mid-East League loss to Riley County and Topeka High girls are No. 8 in 6.
Washburn Rural remained 10th in the 6A boys rankings while Topeka West remained No. 6 in 5A and Hayden fell to No. 10 in 4A.
KANSAS BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION STATE RANKINGS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SHAWNEE MISSION NORTH BOYS (1-7) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (6-0)
Bo Aldridge and the top-ranked Highland Park boys will open the Topeka Invitational Tournament at 3:15 p.m. Thursday against Shawnee Mission North. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka Invitational Tournament at Topeka West
Top-ranked (Class 5A) Highland Park will open the Topeka Invitational Tournament in Thursday's 3:15 p.m. game against Shawnee Mission North, coached by former Topeka High coach Pat Denney. Highland Park is coming off a 91-29 Meadowlark Conference rout over Kansas City-Harmon last Friday while SM North is coming off a 44-34 Sunflower League loss to Shawnee Misssion South, the Bisons' seventh straight loss. Scot senior Bo Aldridge led the Scots with 27 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Harmon. The Highland Park-SM North winner will advance to an 8:30 p.m. Friday semifinal to face the winner of the first-round game between Wichita Southeast and Hayden.
Hayden junior Jacob Padilla (0) is coming off a 25-point performance with four 3-pointers in last Friday's 67-57 Centennial League win over Topeka High. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
WICHITA SOUTHEAST BOYS (4-5) vs. HAYDEN (4-4)
Topeka Invitational Tournament at Topeka West
Hayden will face Wichita Southeast in a 5 p.m. first-round game in the Topeka Invitational Tournament. Hayden, ranked No. 10 in Class 4A, snapped a three-game losing steak with a 67-57 Centennial League win over Topeka High last Friday while Wichita Southeast has won three straight games, including a 68-55 win over Wichita East on Tuesday. Junior Jacob Padilla led Hayden with 25 points, including four 3-pointers, against Topeka High while senior Joe Otting added 12 points. The Hayden-Wichita Southeast winner will play an 8:30 p.m. Friday semifinal against the winner of the opening-round game between Highland Park and Shawnee Mission North.
LANSING BOYS (1-7) vs. TOPEKA WEST (6-2)
Topeka Invitational Tournament at Topeka West
The defending Topeka Invitational Tournament champions will be on their home court to take on United Kansas Conference rival Lansing in a 6:45 p.m. first-round game. Topeka West will be looking to bounce back from last Friday's 71-56 UKC loss to Piper, which snapped the Chargers' six-game winning streak. Senior Xavier Alexander scored 19 points and hit three 3-pointers while senior Malachi Berg added 11 points and grabbed six rebounds. Lansing has dropped six straight games, including a 45-32 UKC decision to Basehor-Linwood last Friday. West beat the Lions 65-49 on Dec. 13. The West-Lansing winner will play a 6:45 p.m. semifinal Friday night against the winner of the first-round game between Lawrence and Topeka High.
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By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musings at the mid-month:
• My thoughts this week go back to when Kansas State hired Jerome Tang.
• From what could be college basketball’s epicenter, especially since Kansas is the reigning national champion, Bill Self applauded the move.
• Seems the two coaches maintain a healthy respect, which makes the clash Tuesday in Manhattan different than the last 10 years.
• Unexpected, of course, is how quickly Tang reshaped K-State into a team that appears as if it can compete favorably with any opponent.
• But then, KU is not just any opponent.
• The K-State men’s basketball coaches who won their first meetings against KU: Frank Martin (2008), E.A. Knoth (1921) and Mike Ahearn (1907).
• The dominance in this series amazes me since I’m old enough to remember many games considered tossups.
• Not old enough to meet Ahearn, though I saw and covered games in the fieldhouse named for him.
• In modern times, the Jayhawks seemingly soar each season while the Cats tend to arc or dip.
• Last weekend, KU put on a reunion celebrating 125 years of basketball that featured four coaches spanning 60 years.
• Just four, mind you, all with Final Four appearances.
• Self would deny it, but he’s the best of them.
• The consistently high level KU plays at is unmatched in college hoops, especially along a 125-year timeline.
• But the reunion ended, and former players and coaches flew home.
• Next up? A polar opposite engagement for the Jayhawks.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Q Stovall took a somewhat circuitous route to Shawnee Heights, but the 6-foot senior is getting more and more used to his new home, playing a key for the T-Birds' boys basketball team in a 6-2 start to the season.
"I have lived in New York, Connecticut and South Carolina and now I recently moved here,'' Stovall said. "This is not fast-paced like New York and the other states I lived in, but I can focus more here and work on my game.
"At first I was like, 'It's too slow,' but then I started liking it. I was able to focus on school and work out more.''
Senior Q Stovall is coming off a season-high 21 points in last Friday's 65-51 Shawnee Heights UKC home win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights newcomer Q Stovall has helped the T-Birds post five straight wins to improve to 6-2 on the season. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Stovall arrived in the Topeka area last May to live with his uncle and was able to get acquainted with his Shawnee Heights teammates and T-Bird coach Ken Darting in summer and offseason workouts.
"It was a big transition because I was out of shape at first,'' Stovall said. "But just working with coach Darting and the other coaches, they just pushed me through that whole process.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman senior Katie Price and the Washburn Rural boys captured championships last Thursday and Friday in the 19-school Free State Invitational bowling tournament at Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence.
Seaman senior Katie Price won the individual title in the Free State Invitational with a 750 series, leading the Vikings to a second-place team finish. [Submitted photo]
Price dominated the girls individual standings with a school-record 750 three-game series while Seaman finished as a team, leading after individual and Baker format competition before losing to Olathe East in the match play finals.
Washburn Rural's boys were in third place at the conclusion of the individual competition before riding an outstanding performance in the four Baker games and match play to rally for the team title..
Price posted a 134-win in the girls individual standings, bowling games of 223, 248 and 279 to give the Vikings a 96-pin advantage entering Baker competition and Seaman led East by a 74-pin margin after the Baker games. Seaman beat Mill Valley and Topeka West in match play before losing to East in the match play final.
City bowlers claimed five of the top seven spots in the girls individual standings, with Washburn Rural' Claire Ireland finishing second (616), Topeka West's Megan Wood fourth (594), Seaman's JaeLinn Thetford sixth (574) and Cheyenne Turkin seventh (571).
Topeka West's Brenna Rutschmann took 15th (524), West's Hannah Allen 17th (518), Washburn Rural's Ashley Billups 19th (513) and Rural's Gabby Martinez 20th (509).
Rural's boys were in third place, trailing by 38 pins, at the start of Baker competition but the Junior Blues rolled games of 212, 215, 241 and 195 in its Baker games and then claimed the team championship with match play wins over Lawrence, Topeka West and Shawnee Mission East.
Individually, senior Geo Peoples led Washburn Rural with a seventh-place individual finish (665) while Walker Thompson finished 13th (648), Josh Hammons 14th (640) and Reece Godby 18th (630).
Braxton Moore finished ninth individually with a 655 series to lead Seaman while Zander White placed 11th (653).
Topeka West was led by Dason Tidwell, who finished fourth individually (697), and 17th-place Cole Rodriguez (631).
Josh Egly posted a 19th-place individual finish for Shawnee Heights (626).
Rural girls win Newton TOC wrestling title
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team rolled to the team championship in the 21-school Newton Tournament of Champions last Thursday by a 220-166 margin over Garden City as four Junior Blues won individual championships.
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team won the championship in last Thursday's Newton Tournament of Champions by a 54-point margin, with four individual champs. [Photo by Natalie Tibbetts/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural sophomore Madison Davison won the 145-pound title in Newton's Tournament of Champions last Thursday, entering the tournament as the No. 16 seed and going 4-0 with four first-period pins. [Photo by Natalie Tibbetts/Special to TSN]
Sophomore Molly Spader, 19-3 on the season, won the 100-pound championship while senior Addison Broxterman (24-3) won at 125 pounds, junior Laiken Clark (22-6) at 130 and sophomore Madison Davison (14-12) in the 145-pound division.
