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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' boys and girls wrestling teams opened the 2023 portion of their schedule on Saturday with a sweep of the team championships in the Wichita North Invitational.
The T-Birds won the boys team title by a 212-174.5 margin over Olathe West while the Heights girls topped Wichita North by a 159.5-147 margin.
Shawnee Heights' boys and girls wrestling teams swept the team championships in Saturday's Wichita North Invitational. [Twitter photo]
Shawnee Heights' boys got individual titles from junior 132-pounder Andrew Bonebrake, senior 150-pounder Nick Freeland, freshman 157-pounder Evan Johnson, junior 175-pound Allen Baughman, senior 215-pounder Sean Wunder and junior 285-pounder Rykan Carver.
Wunder improved to 24-1 on the season while Carver is 23-2, Freeland 21-2, Baughman 21-4, Bonebrake 18-4 and Johnson 13-10.
The T-Bird girls captured three inividual titles, with freshman Connie Burns winning in the 100-pound division, sophomore Madison Freeland winning at 135 pounds and junior McKenna Haltom taking the title at 145 pounds.
Burns improved to 14-1, while Freeland is now 15-2 and Haltom 13-3.
Washburn Rural was the top girls team in Saturday's Blue Valley Southwest Xtreme tournament. [Twitter photo]
Rural girls win BVSW Xtreme championship
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team won five individual championships on the way to the team title in the Blue Valley Southwest Xtreme tournament by a 215-185 margin over Paola.
The Junior Blues got indiidual titles from sophomore Molly Spader at 100 pounds, junior Kristen Rezac at 115 pounds, senior Addison Broxterman at 125, senior Alexis Fredrickson at 130 and junior Laiken Clark at 140.
Rezac improved to 16-2 on the season while Spader is 16-3, Broxterman 20-3, Fredrickson 19-4 and Clark 18-6.
The Junior Blues also had five competitors post runner-up finishes.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WASHBURN RURAL (5-2, 2-0) at TOPEKA HIGH (1-6, 0-2)
Senior Jack Bachelor led Washburn Rural with 15 points and went eight of eight from the free throw line in Friday's 46-36 Centennial League win over Hayden. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural remained unbeaten in the Centennial League with a 46-36 road win at Hayden last Friday while Topeka High dropped a 69-59 league decision to Emporia. Senior Jack Bachelor scored 15 points, including an eight of eight performance at the free throw line, in the Junior Blues' win over the Wildcats. Junior Isaiah Lyons scored 21 points with five 3-pointers for Topeka High against Emporia while senior Mason Gomez added 13 points with three 3-pointers.
Junior Brennon Dodge led Shawnee Heights with 17 points in Friday night's 76-50 UKC win at Lansing. [File photo/TSN]
KC-TURNER (0-6, 0-5) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (4-2, 4-2)
Shawnee Heights posted its third straight win on Friday, rolling to a 76-50 United Kansas Conference win at Lansing. Kansas City-Turner remained winless on the season after dropping a 60-41 UKC decision to Basehor-Linwood. Junior Brennon Dodge led the T-Birds with 17 points while senior Jeremyah Kendrick added 13 points, senior Q Stovall and sophomore Deacon Pomeroy 11 points each and sophomore Jaret Sanchez 10.
WABAUNSEE (2-3, 0-2) at SILVER LAKE (2-4, 2-2)
Both teams will be looking to bounce back from Mid-East League defeats, with Silver Laking dropping a 52-33 decision to Rock Creek Friday night and Wabaunsee falling to St. Marys, 67-64. Sophomore Jared Johnson led Silver Lake with 13 points while senior Troy Heiman added eight points.
Senior Bo Aldridge (1) led Highland Park with 18 points in Friday's 66-44 Meadowlark Conference win at Atchison. [File photo/TSN]
HIGHLAND PARK (4-0, 2-0) at KC-SUMNER ACADEMY (3-4, 2-2)
Highland Park remained undefeated with a 66-47 Meadowlark Conference road victory at previously-undefeated Atchison Friday night, with senior Bo Aldridge leading the Scots with 18 points. Kansas City-Sumner is coming off an 80-61 Meadowlark win over KC-Wyandotte. Senior Tre Richardson added 14 points and sophomore Jacorey Robinson 13 points for the Scots against Atchison.
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'By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WASHBURN RURAL (5-2, 2-0) at TOPEKA HIGH (7-2, 1-1)
Senior Brooklyn DeLeye scored a game-high 17 points Friday night as Washburn Rural improved to 2-0 in the Centennial League with a 56-32 win over Hayden. [File photo by Trevor Falcon/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural posted its fourth straight win on Friday night, a 56-32 Centennial League win over Hayden. Senior Brooklyn DeLeye led the Junior Blues with 17 points while junior Zoe Canfield added 15 points and sophomore Kate Hinck 11 points with three 3-pointers. Topeka High is coming off a 51-40 league loss to Emporia, which ended the Trojans' seven-game winning streak. Senior Kiki Smith led High with 13 points while junior Ayana Leesman added 11 points.
Senior Emari Doby led Shawnee Heights with 15 points in last Friday's 49-23 UKC road romp at Lansing. [File photo/TSN]
KC-TURNER (0-6, 0-5) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (5-1, 5-1)
Shawnee Heights ran its winning streak to five games in last Friday's 49-23 United Kansas Conference win at Lansing. Senior Emari Doby paced the T-Birds with 15 points while senior Taylor Rottinghaus added 13 points. Shawnee Heights is a game behind unbeaten Seaman in the UKC race. Turner is coming off a 47-12 UKC loss to Basehor-Linwood, remaining winless on the season.
Silver Lake junior Makenzie McDaniel scored 34 points and grabbed 2 rebounds on the week as the Eagles posted a pair of Mid-East League wins to improve to 6-0 on the season. [File photo/TSN]
WABAUNSEE (1-4, 0-2) at SILVER LAKE (6-0, 4-0)
Silver Lake is coming off a 59-30 Mid-East League victory over previously-unbeaten Rock Creek last Friday after knocking off previously-unbeaten Rossville on Tuesday. Junior McKinley Kruger scored 18 points and grabbed four rebounds for the Eagles against Rock Creek while junior Makenzie McDaniel had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Wabaunsee is coming off of a 42-22 Mid-East League loss to St. Marys.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Jack Bachelor
JACK BACHELOR, Washburn Rural
A 6-foot-2 senior Bachelor scored a total of 36 points and went 18 of 19 at the free throw line on the week as Washburn Rural opened 2023 with a pair of Centennial League victories. Bachelor scored 21 points and hit 10 of 11 free throws in a 64-58 win over Junction City on Tuesday and scored 15 points and went eight of eight at the free throw line in the fourth quarter on Friday in a 46-36 victory at Hayden.
Malachi Berg
MALACHI BERG, Topeka West
Berg, a 6-3 senior, scored 18 points, including the game-winning free throw with 1.6 seconds remaining, as No. 7-ranked (Class 5A) Topeka West rallied for a 51-50 United Kansas Conference road victory over No. 6-ranked De Soto. Berg also had seven rebounds, three assists and four steals as 6-1 Topeka West moved into a tie for the UKC lead with its sixth straight victory.
Koti Best
KOTI BEST, Seaman
A sophomore 130-pound wrestler, Best was named the outstanding wrestler in last Friday's Lady Vikes Dual Tournament at Seaman. Best went 5-0 in the tournament, posting four wins by fall, including three first-period pins before picking up a win by forfeit in her final match of the day. Best helped lead Seaman to a third-place team finish with wins over Lawrence, Shawnee Mission Northwest and Lansing.
Kaeden Bonner
KAEDEN BONNER, Seaman
Bonner, a 6-3 senior, scored 25 points and went five of five from the free throw line last Thursday night as Seaman returned from the holiday break with a 60-45 home United Kansas Conference victory over Leavenworth. Bonner helped Seaman, the defending Class 5A state champion, snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 2-3 on the season.
Makenzie McDaniel
MAKENZIE McDANIEL, Silver Lake
McDaniel, a 6-1 junior, scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds last Tuesday as No. 2-ranked (Class 3A) handed No. 9-ranked Rossville its first loss of the season in the Eagles' 63-50 Mid-East League road victory. Silver Lake added a 59-30 league win over Rock Creek on Friday to improve to 6-0 on the season as McDaniel contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Saint Mildren
SAINT MILDREN, Rossville
A 6-4 sophomore, Mildren scored a game-high 17 points last Tuesday as Rossville topped rival Silver Lake 50-43 in a home Mid-East League victory. Mildren helped the Bulldawgs push their winning streak to three straight games with a 52-33 league win over Riley County Friday night as Rossville improved to 3-4 on the season.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Frank Walton, a coaching fixture in Topeka high school football for more than two decades, passed away early Sunday morning at the age of 81 after a long battle with lung cancer.
Frank Walton, who had a highly-successful 16-year run as Topeka West's football coach and later coached at Topeka High, passed away early Sunday morning after a battle with cancer. [Facebook photo]
Visitation will be 10 a.m. Friday, January 20, at Topeka Bible Church, 1101 SW Mulvane St in Topeka.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Walton will be privately inurned in Rochester Cemetery.
Walton took over a struggling Topeka West football program and led the Chargers to 12 winning seasons in a 16-year run from 1977-1992, posting an 89-56 record and posting at least six wins 10 times.
After stepping down at Topeka West, Walton later returned to coach at Topeka High from 1994-1999. Walton also had a stint as an assistant coach under his son, Chris, at Cair Paravel Latin when that school was getting its football program off the ground.
Walton, who also served as Topeka West's golf coach, was inducted into the Topeka West Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.
Walton grew up in Beaver Falls, Pa. as part of a famous football family.
