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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Damon Parker, who has coached Washburn Rural to three state team championships, garnered the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches wrestling list.
Damon Parker has led Washburn Rural to three state wrestling team championships, including a pair of girls crowns. [File photo/TSN]
Chad Parks, with 2022 state champ Maranda Bell, has had a highly-successful run as Shawnee Heights' boys and girls wrestling coach. [File photo/TSN]
Parker led Washburn Rural's girls to state team championships in 2020 and 2021, the first two seasons girls wrestling was an official Kansas State High School Activities Association sport, and led the Junior Blues to their first boys team championship in 2021, the first state boys team title by a Shawnee County team.
Parker led Rural's boys to state runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2020 and the Rural girls to a runner-up finish this past season. while coaching eight state individual champions, including three multi-time state champs.
Parker stepped down as Rural's boys coach after the 2021 season but is still coaching the girls team.
Current Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks was tapped for the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list, coaching multiple state champions and six T-Bird teams who have finished in the top eight in the Class 5A team standings, including a second-place team finish in 2011 .
Farmer Shawnee Heights coach Robert Gonzales, former Washburn Rural coach Ray Glaze and former Rossville coach Curt Brecheisen round out the top five on the Best of the Best Top 10 list.
Parks and Gonzales earned the top two spots in the Reader's Choice poll, combining for more than 2,800 votes, followed by former Topeka High coach and current Shawnee Heights assistant Erich Singer and Parker in balloting by TSN readers.
A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.
Former Seaman coach Dennis Switzky is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by former Silver Lake coach Harry LaMar, current Washburn Rural state champion coach Josh Hogan, former Seaman coach Pat Kelly and former Topeka High coach Beau Vest to round out the top 10.
Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST WRESTLING COACHES
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Kevin Bordewick, who has led Washburn Rural to seven Class 6A state volleyball championships and nine state titles as a head coach, garnered the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches volleyball list.
Kevin Bordewick has coached Washburn Rural to seven Class 6A state volleyball championships and nine state titles as a head coach overall. [File photo/TSN]
Former Hayden coach Jesica Farmer-Walter led the Wildcats to five state volleyball championships. [Hayden Catholic High School]
Bordewick led the Junior Blues to four straight championships from 2006-2009 and added titles in 2004, 2011 and 2012.
Washburn Rural is 937-220 in 27 seasons under Bordewick, with 23 state tournament appearances. He has a 984-260 career record in 30 seasons.
The veteran coach has also won 6A state basketball titles in 2019 and this past season and Bordewick has been a part of 12 state championships overall, serving as an assistant coach for Rural's three state basketball titles under former coach Bill Annan.
Former Hayden coach Jesica Farmer-Walter earned the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list after leading the Wildcats to five state championships in the Class 4A and 4A-Division II ranks.
Farmer Silver Lake coach Angie Bittner, current Silver Lake coach Sarah Johnson and former Shawnee Heights coach Kerry Kapfer round out the top five on the Best of the Best Top 10 list, with Bittner, Johnson and Kapfer combining for 11 state championships.
Farmer-Walter earned the No. 1 spot in the Reader's Choice poll, receiving more than 850 votes, followed by Johnson and Bordewick in balloting by TSN readers.
A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.
Former Shawnee Heights state champ Laura Curry is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by former Rossville coach Cathy Foote, former Hayden coach Susan Dickerson, former Seaman coach Erica (Cowhick) Book and current Seaman coach Tatiana (Schafer) Dowling to round out the top 10.
Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST VOLLEYBALL COACHES
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West legend Joe Schrag garnered the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches track and field list, adding the track honor after being named No. 1 on the cross country Top 10 earlier in the project.
Joe Schrag
Brad Nicks
Claudia Welch
Mike Nash
Schrag coached Topeka West track and Field teams to Class 4A state team titles in the now defunct Kansas Indoor Championships in 1975 and 1976 and added Class 6A State Outdoor titles in 1983 and 1984.
Over his four decades at West Schrag finished with a total of eight state championships, including four state cross country titles.
Schrag is a member of the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame as well as the Kansas High School Activities Association, Kansas Relays, Topeka Shawnee County and Topeka West halls of fame.
Former Shawnee Heights coach Brad Nicks earned the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list after leading the T-Birds to 5A boys team titles in 2007 and 2015 and the girls team championship in 2009. Nicks' Heights teams finished second in the girls division in 2019 and was the boys runner-up in 2018 before he moved on to Abilene as head football and boys and girls track coach.
Former Seaman coach Claudia Welch, former Shawnee Heights coach Mike Nash and former Washburn Rural coach Jerry Beardslee round out the top five on the Best of the Best Top 10 list, with all three leading teams to multiple state championships.
Nicks earned the No. 1 spot in the Reader's Choice poll, receiving more than 800 votes, followed by former Highland Park and Topeka High coach Beau Caryl and Schrag in balloting by TSN readers.
A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.
Hayden multi-time state champ Rick Strecker is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by former Seaman state champ Bob Camien, multi-time Rossville state champ Jason Broaddus, Caryl and former multi-time state champs Heavy Erwin and Jan Magnuson of Topeka High and Dixie Barb of Highland Park. Erwin, Magnuson and Barb share the No. 10 spot.
Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST TRACK AND FIELD COACHES
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Kevin Neal Jr. will no doubt have some tough decisions to make over the coming years.
Washburn senior defensive back Kevin Neal Jr. received All-MIAA honorable mention last season for the 9-3 Ichabods. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But deciding to return for his sixth and final year in the Washburn University football program wasn't one of them.
"It was a relatively easy decision,'' Neal said during this week's MIAA Media Day at Kansas City, Mo. "I love football so much and not playing the COVID year and then still having that extra year left I really wanted to utilize that last year because I love my teammates so much.''
The fact that the Ichabods are coming off a breakthrough 9-3 campaign that ended with a trip to the NCAA Playoffs also made the decision to come back a no-brainer for the 6-foot-1, 200-pound defensive back, who earned All-MIAA honorable mention last season.
The Ichabods return 73 lettermen, including 19 starters -- nine offense, seven defense, three special teams -- entering the 2022 season.
"I think we can be better,'' said Neal, a Platte City, Mo. native. "Last year definitely set the tone for what we can do and I feel like this offseason we've been training more as being the hunted and not the hunter and I think that's given us an extra edge to try to get us a conference championship.''
Neal is part of a 20-man group of seniors/graduate students that will be counted on to provide leadership for the Ichabods' underclassmen and newcomers.
"We definitely lost a lot of key pieces from last season,'' Neal said. "That senior class was really big, but overall I think our class will be really good at taking the younger guys and brining them up with us and I feel like we've been pretty good leaders for the team. I think we're going to be really good.''
Neal has played in 33 career games with 24 starts, making 148 tackles, including 5.0 tackles for loss.
A year ago Neal recorded 64 tackles with 49 solo stops and a game-saving interception in a win over MIAA champion Northwest Missouri State.
Neal, who compiled 16 tackles, including two tackles for loss, in Washburn's playoff game against Harding, said that the key now is to end his WU career with a bang this fall.
"I feel like I've put a lot of time in for the program and did a lot of good things for the program,'' Neal said. "With this last year I just want to have everything come to fruition. That's the goal, for sure.''
Washburn will open fall camp on Aug. 8 and will open its season at Yager Stadium on Sept. 1 against Lincoln.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka tennis legend Kevin Hedberg, who retired this spring after 43 years of high school coaching, earned the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches tennis list.
Retiring Washburn Rural tennis coach Kevin Hedberg led the Junior Blues to five state team championships and 24 top-three state finishes over a legendary 43-year high school coaching career. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden tennis coach James Sandstrom has led the Wildcat boys to four Class 4A state team titles and 16 top-three state finishes overall in boys and girls tennis. [Submitted]
Corey Wilson
Connie Robertson
Hedberg coached at Washburn Rural the past 32 seasons after an 11-year stint at Seaman, leading the Junior Blues to a Class 6A girls state title in 1993 and boys state championships in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
A member of the Topeka Tennis Association Hall of Fame, Hedberg coached singles and doubles champions in both boys and girls tennis while coaching 24 teams (boys and girls combined) to top-three state team finishes.
Current Hayden boys coach and former Wildcat girls coach James Sandstrom holds down the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list, coaching Hayden to Class 4A boys state championships in 2004, 2005, 2004 and 2019 and 16 teams that have posted top-three finishes in the state tournament, including four state runner-up teams (boys and girls combined).
Former Topeka West coach Corey Wilson, former Hayden coach Connie Robertson and current Topeka West coach Kurt Davids round out the top five on the Best of the Best Top 10.
Sandstrom, Hedberg and Wilson also earned the top three places in the Reader's Choice poll, with Sandstrom claiming the No. 1 spot, followed by Hedberg and Wilson in balloting by TSN readers.
A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.
Former Washburn Rural state championship coach Bob Gladfelter is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by Topeka High state champ John MacDonald, former Topeka High coach Larry Reid, Hayden girls coach Christy Sheetz and former Shawnee Heights coach Mike Bass to round out the Top 10..
Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST TENNIS COACHES
