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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
At some point in the past there may have been a better overall year for Shawnee County girls high school sports than 2022.
Then again, maybe not.
County schools captured state team championships in five different sports in three different classifications while county athletes combined to win 10 individual state titles.
That depth of talent made it nearly impossible to narrow down TopSports.news' list of the top Shawnee County girls stories to just 10, and even harder to decide which accomplishments deserve to be at the top of the list, but here goes.
Topeka High's softball team celebrates its 2022 Class 6A state title after a 2-1 win over city rival Washburn Rural. [File photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
1. CHAMPIONSHIP RE-RUN -- After posting a perfect 25-0 record and winning the school's first state softball title in 2021, Topeka High had a tougher path to a second straight Class 6A championship in 2022, but Stanford signee NiJaree Canady and the Trojans got the job done, taking a nail-biting 2-1 win over Washburn Rural in an all-city final to cap a 22-3 season. Canady ended her high school career with a second straight Gatorade Kansas Player of the Year award while then-senior Elycia Joyce and then-juniors Adisyn Caryl and Alesia Alvarez earned All-6A first-team honors.
Washburn Rural's volleyball team dogpiles on the court after winning the 2022 Class 6A state title, the eighth in school history. [Photo by Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography]
2. BUMP, SET, DOMINATE -- Perennial state volleyball power Washburn Rural was 1-1 two matches into the 2022 season before going on a 44-match tear to win its eighth Class 6A title under Kevin Bordewick, capped by a 25-21, 26-24 win over Blue Valley. Bordewick surpassed the 1,000-victory mark for his career during the season while Junior Blue star Brooklyn DeLeye, a multi-time Class 6A player of the year and Kentucky signee, went over the 2,000 mark for career kills.
Former Topeka West swimming star Kadence Jeffries finished her high school career six for six at state in her individual events. [File photo/TSN]
3. STREAK COMPLETE -- Topeka West swimming star Kadence Jefferies kept her incredible streak intact of never losing an individual race in the Class 5A-1A state meet. Jeffries swept the 200 and 500-yard freestyle state titles as a freshman in 2019. Then, after the '20 season was canceled due to COVID-19 Jeffries swept the same two events in '21 and '22, winning the 200 as a senior in 1 minutes, 53.29 seconds and the 500 in 5:03.66. Jeffries is now swimming for NCAA Division I Nebraska Omaha. Joining Jeffries as a 5A-1A state champion was Seaman sophomore Avery Walz, who won the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.03, helping the Vikings finish fourth in 5A-1A as a team.
Washburn Rural poses for a team picture after winning the Class 6A basketball title last March in Wichita. [Submitted photo]
4. SAME SONG, DIFFERENT VERSE -- Washburn Rural set the table for this fall's Class 6A volleyball championship with a run to the 6A basketball title last spring. The Junior Blues went 23-2 on the season, capped by a dominating 40-23 win over Derby in the state final. Brooklyn DeLeye, Zoe Canfield, Jada Ingram, Chloe Carlgren and Destiny Ochs were members of both the basketball and volleyball championship teams, along with coach Kevin Bordewick, who won his 10th 6A title as a head coach (eight volleyball, two basketball). Bordewick was also a part of three state championship teams in basketball as an assistant to Bill Annan.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee County high schools had plenty to celebrate in 2022, with county teams capturing three boys state team titles in three different sports while county athletes combined to earn nine individual championships.
Washburn Rural wrestling is No. 1 on TopSports' list of the top 10 boys high school sports stories of 2022 after winning its second straight Class 6A state team title while Seaman basketball is right behind the Junior Blues after winning the first boys state basketball championship in school history.
Individually, former Hayden distance ace Tanner Newkirk led the way with a record-setting three-win perfomance in the state track and field championships while 2022 was also about Highland Park's football team ending an eight-year losing skid with a breakout year, Shawnee Heights sprint star Jeremiah Smith running the fastest 100-meter dash in Kansas history and Washburn Rural senior Easton Bradstreet earning his place in Rural soccer history.
Here's a look at TopSports.news' top 10 Shawnee County boys prep stories of 2022, with the girls top 10 coming up next:
Washburn Rural senior Austin Fager flips Junior Blues coach Josh Hogan to the mat in celebration last season after winning the 182-pound Class 6A state championship to clinch Rural's second straight state team title. [Photo by Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography]
Washburn Rural senior Aidan Boline won the Class 6A 160-pound state championship as a senior, helping the Junior Blues repeat as state team champs. [Photo by Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography]
1. DATE WITH DESTINY PART II -- After posting a pair of Class 6A runner-up finishes, Washburn Rural's wrestling team captured the first-ever boys team championship by a Topeka school in 2021. The Junior Blues, with new coach Josh Hogan at the helm, made it two in a row in 2022, with senior state champions Aidan Boline and Austin Fager and then-freshman runner-up Easton Broxterman leading the way as Rural won the title by a 151-142.5 margin over Derby.
Seaman's boys basketball team celebrates the 2022 Class 5A state championship after its 66-47 win over De Soto in the title game. [File photo/TSN]
2. RUN FOR THE AGES -- A little past the halfway mark of the 2021-2022 high school basketball season, Seaman's basketball team was sitting with a so-so 7-7 record. Eleven wins later, including a dominating state tournament run, Craig Cox's Vikings were the Class 5A boys state champions for the first time in school history. With seniors Ty Henry, Mateo Hyman and Gavin Wilhelm and then-juniors Kaeden Bonner and Aron Davis setting the tone, Seaman won all three of its state games by double-digits, including a 66-47 romp past De Soto in the championship game.
Hayden distance star Tanner Newkirk ended his high school career with three Class 4A individual titles and two 4A state meet records in the 2022 state track and field championships. [File photo/TSN]
3. TANNERIFIC -- Tanner Newkirk capped his outstanding distance running career for Hayden with a record-setting performance in the state track and field championships at Wichita State's Cessna Starium. Now a freshman at Kansas, Newkirk, a former state cross country champ, pulled off the rare distance triple in Class 4A, winning the 3,200 meters in 8 minutes, 58.88 seconds, the 1,600 in 4:12.25 and the 800 in 1:55.0 while setting state meet records in the 3,200 and 1,600 and posting the No. 5 time in state history in the 3,200. Newkirk was joined as a Wildcat state champ by then-freshman Jensen Schrickel, who won the 4A long jump title.
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By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musings without mistletoe:
• Amazing how good players are without playing a down of college football.
• Translation: Tis the season for recruiting superlatives baked into signings.
• Those narratives bear additional importance, though.
• There’s no better time to shine than in your first season.
• If you do, you might move on to a seemingly better program. Or if you don’t, you might move on anyway.
• The immediacy of the transfer portal leads to immediate opportunities. Or sometimes, an immediate end to playing football.
• It can be a crap shoot with high stakes but the number of participants continues to soar.
• I notice high school standouts who sign with major-college programs out of state and wonder if they might return to play closer to home.
• Then I slap myself. I should want them to kick butt and be a beacon for their hometowns.
• Coming off its Big 12 title, Kansas State’s rise looks to continue if you believe in recruiting grades.
• I prefer to believe in player development.
• Is K-State still a developmental program?
• Few teams in the country collect stars (recruiting or real) like Alabama, which faces K-State in the Sugar Bowl.
• The Wildcats have often struggled in bowl matchups against teams filled with high-rated talent.
• Chris Klieman, however, provides K-State a fighter’s chance based on success against top 10 opponents.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden star Joe Otting made his decision to play football at Notre Dame six months ago and never wavered.
Otting made that commitment official Wednesday afternoon in front of friends and family at Hayden, signing his letter of intent with the Fighting Irish.
"I'm very excited to make it official and to get ready for the next journey out of me,'' Otting said.
Hayden star Joe Otting, flanked by his family, signs his national letter of intent with Notre Dame football Wednesday at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Joe Otting visits with well-wishers at Wednesday's national letter of intent signing ceremony at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden senior Joe Otting talks to a large crowd Wednesday at Hayden before signing his football letter of intent with Notre Dame. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Otting, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound offensive lineman, said his loyalty to Notre Dame has just gotten stronger since making his oral commitment in June.
"I'd say I've been up there six or so times and it's been a good process,'' he said. "To build a relationship with all the coaches, its been nice.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden junior girls basketball player Avery Grunert and Shawnee Heights junior wrestler Allen Baughman have been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Rising Stars of the Week.
Avery Grunert
Allen Baughman
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the 2022-2023 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Grunert and Baughman last week:
AVERY GRUNERT, Hayden
Grunert, a 5-foot-6 guard, scored a career-high 17 points off the bench to help lead Hayden to a 71-14 non-league win over Kansas City-Bishop Ward last Friday at Hayden.
Grunert was Hayden's leading scorer as the Wildcats finished the 2022 portion of the 2022-2023 season with a 3-1 record.
Grunert was a Class 4A state placer in golf this past fall, tying for 14th place to help lead the Wildcats to a third-place team finish for the second straight season.
ALLEN BAUGHMAN, Shawnee Heights
Baughman went 8-0 with eight pins in last weekend's Johnson County Classic at Blue Valley to capture the championship in the 175-pound weight class.
Baaughman, 16-4 on the season, capped his championship run with a win by fall over St. Thomas Aquinas' Elzie Slaughter at the 3:11 mark and recorded four pins between 30 seconds and one minute, helping Heights finish fourth as a team in the 25-school event.
Baughman was a TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 pick in football this past season.
