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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Wednesday was the day that Washburn Rural senior bowling standout Walker Thompson and his Junior Blue teammates have been waiting for since last March -- the start of a new season.
Walker Thompson
The perennially-strong Rural team stubbed its toe in Class 6A regional competition a year ago, falling short in its bid to earn a team berth for the state tournament, and the Junior Blues are looking for redemption in 2023.
Rural got that bid off to a good start in Weddnesday's season-opening Topeka High quadrangular at Gabe Bowl, with Thompson winning the individual title with a 693 three-game series while Rural captured the team championship by a 2,616-2,517 margin over Junction City.
"I feel great, I've been looking for this for a whole year,'' Thompson said after bowling games of 235, 235 and 223 Wednesday. "Last year we got kicked out in regionals and this year I've been dying to come back.''
Rural's Geo Peoples finished second individually with a 674 series while Logan Glinka narrowly missed the top five, rolling a 625 series.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Highland Park's boys basketball team celebrated its rise to the No. 1 spot in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A state rankings with a 107-64 romp past Meadowlark Conference foe Kansas City-Sumner Academy Tuesday at Sumner.
Senior Bo Aldridge (1) and the top-ranked Highland Park boys are coming off a 107-64 Meadowlark Conference win over KC-Sumner Academy on Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]
With the win the Scots improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference.
Highland Park will travel to KC-Harmon for a Meadowlark Conference game on Friday before competing in the Topeka Invitational Tournament next week at Topeka West.
HIGHLAND PARK GIRLS 64, KC SUMNER ACADEMY 20 -- Highland Park improved to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the Meadowlark Conference with a 64-20 conference road win over KC-Sumner, ranked No. 7 in Class 5A by the KBCA.
Sophomore DeAsia Sanders scored 20 points on eight of 12 shooting from the field for the Scots against the Sabres while sophomore Amelia Ramsey added 14 points.
Highland Park will be at home Friday to host KC-Harmon in a Meadowlark Conference contest before competing in the Salina Invitational Tournament next week. The Scots will play Salina South in a first-round game on Thursday, Jan. 19, at Salina South.
HAYDEN GIRLS 37, JUNCTION CITY 27 -- Hayden snapped a two-game losing streak with the Wildcats' first Centennial League victory, a 37-27 road decision at Junction City.
Hayden improved to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the Centennial League after dropping games to state-ranked Emporia and Washburn Rural to open league play.
Junior Lauren Sandstrom and sophomore Brylee Meier led Hayden with 13 points apiece.
Hayden will be back in action Friday, hosting No. 8-ranked (Class 6A) Topeka High in a Centennial League game.
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By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
Hours after becoming ranked for the first time all season, the No. 9-ranked (Class 5A) Shawnee Heights girls (6-1 overall, 6-1 United Kansas Conference) held Kansas City-Turner (0-7, 0-6) scoreless for the first 15 minutes of action and won 43-7.
“That’s something that we have been stressing,” said Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells. “There were definite goals to accomplish on defense and we told them it didn’t matter who was in the game ... we said ‘Do it on defense,’ and I’m really proud of their effort tonight.”
Bob Wells' Shawnee Heights girls basketball team improved to 6-1 on the season with a 43-7 UKC win over KC-Turner Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
The Thunderbirds' win was a true team effort, with all 15 available players logging minutes in the first three quarters. Twelve players scored with the high mark being just seven points.
“That’s something I really appreciated, they are sharing the ball and they are moving without the ball. It really was once we got into a little rhythm shooting the basket got a little bit bigger for us and everybody started knocking them down,” Wells said.
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By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
It took the Shawnee Heights boys (5-2 overall, 5-2 in the United Kansas Conference) less than four minutes to build a double-digit lead and for all five starters to score Tuesday night.
The Thunderbirds scored the first 12 points and would run away with a 67-41 win over Turner (0-7, 0-6).
Sophomore Jaret Sanchez led a balanced Shawnee Heights attack as the T-Birds rolled to a 67-41 UKC win over KC-Turner Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
“What I loved is that we played extremely hard, and we shared the ball, we didn’t miss very many open people,” said Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting. “We were getting the ball out and getting the shots we can make, which is what I liked most ... so offensively it was a good night.”
Shawnee Heights lived in the paint, making 30 total field goals with only three 3-pointers as the T-Birds scored 63 points in the first three quarters. Defensively the T-Birds held the Golden Bears to 14 points in the first half.
“I thought our rotation was good except on the weak side, and again, last 10 minutes we got lazy when we were up 35 and they got a bunch on easy backside rotations but when the game was in question I thought our defense was really good,” Darting said.
The win was the fourth straight for the T-Birds. It has been a group effort offensively in that stretch and it was no different Tuesday, with six players scoring at least five points.
“I think we are coming together at the perfect time,” Darting said. “We are a team that has to win with 10 or 12 players, we don’t have a guy that can take the game over, so I like how we are coming together.”
The opening quarter was dictated by the defensive pressure of Shawnee Heights to build a 12-0 lead. Turner was able to knock down a few shots late, playing the rest of the quarter even to trail 19-7.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Even though Topeka High's boys basketball team has struggled in the early going in the 2022-2023 season, Washburn Rural coach Alex Hutchins said he knew his Junior Blues, who cracked the Class 6A state rankings at No. 10 on Tuesday, couldn't afford to take anything for granted Tuesday night, particuarly at the storied Dungeon.
And although things got a little sloppy at times, Hutchins was happy to take the 54-42 Centennial League road win, the Junior Blues' fourth straight, and move on.
Senior Jack Bachelor (12) scored a game-high 17 points as Washburn Rural improved to 6-2 with a 54-42 win at Topeka High Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural sophomore Max Bettis (53) drives to the hoop between Topeka High junior Bryson Thrasher (2) and senior Ty Votaw Tuesday night at High. Bettis had seven points an 12 rebounds in Rural's 54-42 win while Thrasher led High with 16 points. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural, which improved to 6-2 overall and a perfect 3-0 in the league, trailed just once in the game, at 6-4, and by as many as 18 points (40-22) before fighting through a late Trojan run to claim the double-digit victory.
"If you paid attention you know that they've done this against pretty much everyone they've played,'' Hutchins said about High's rally. "I think Blue Valley Northwest is the only team that really put it to them. They did this against Manhattan, they did this against Emporia. They're scrappy. They hang in it and that 3-point line keeps them in it and keeps it interesting.
"You don't ever want to take wins for granted or ever get to where you're calloused enough where you don't enjoy them, so we'll enjoy this.''
Washburn Rural scored the last six points of the first quarter to take a 10-6 lead and the Junior Blues opened up a 21-6 lead in the second quarter en route to a 23-11 halftime advantage.
