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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
ETHAN BURNS, Seaman -- A first-team All-City selection in 2021, Burns finished off his sophomore season with a 13th-place finish in the Class 5A-1A state tournament, bowling a 643 series with games of 214, 213 and 216 to help Seaman win the third-place team trophy. Burns finished third individually in the Centennial League meet with a 660 series for the team-champion Vikings and was seventh at regionals with a 616 series as Seaman won the team championship.
JACK EASUM, Seaman -- Easum, a junior, placed 21st in the Class 5A-1A state tournament with a 615 series and a high game of 242 as the Vikings finished third as a team. A first-team All-City selection, Easum took 14th in 5A-1A regional competition with a 594 series as Seaman won the regional team title and he bowled a 591 series in the Centennial League tournament as the Vikings claimed the league championship. Easum rolled a 299 game in a regular-season quadrangular at Emporia.
ALEC GRANGER, Topeka High -- A senior, Granger earned second-team All-City recognition last season after qualifying for the Class 6A state meet as an individual. Granger posted a top-10 finish in the Centennial League tournament, taking 10th place with a 609 series.
MATT HARTTER, Washburn Rural -- Hartter, a senior, turned in an outstanding performance in the 2021 Class 6A state tournament, finishing sixth individually with a 675 series as Washburn Rural finished fourth in the team standings. Hartter's performance at state followed up a 13th-place finish in 6A regional competition with a 580 series.
JOSH HAMMONS, Washburn Rural -- A junior, Hammons won the boys individual title in a regular-season triangular with a 669 series and he went on to post a seventh-place finish in the Centennial League tournament with a 619 series and posted a 10th-place finish in Class 6A regional competition. Hammons helped Rural finish fourth at state.
WILLIAM SHAFFER, Shawnee Heights -- A junior, Shaffer was a Class 5A-1A state medalist for the T-Birds, finishing in18th place with a 618 series. Shaffer posted a ninth-place finish in the 2021 United Kansas Conference tournament with a 577 series, helping Heights finish second as a team.
AIDAN VanMETRE, Shawnee Heights -- A senior, VanMetre was a 5A-1A regional individual champion with a 681 series as Shawnee Heights finished second as a team. VanMetre posted a fifth-place finish in the United Kansas Conference tournament with a 592 series as the T-Birds finished as the league runner-up. He finished his season with a 55th-place finish in the 5A-1A state tournament. VanMetre was a first-team All-City pick.
ZANDER WHITE, Seaman -- White, a junior, earned second-team All-City recognition as a sophomore. White placed eighth in the state tournament with a 665 series to help lead Seaman to a third-place finish in the Class 5A-1A state tournament. White bowled a 277 games in a regular-season quadrangular at Emporia.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Unversity's women's basketball team will be looking for its third straight victory Wednesday when the Ichabods close out 2021 with a 7 p.m. non-conference game against Bethany College at Lee Arena.
Washburn is 3-7 on the season while Bethany is 11-5.
The Ichabods, 4-0 all-time against Bethany, are coming off a 79-62 win over Rogers State on Dec. 18 while Bethany took a 63-54 win over Saint Mary on Dec. 13.
Wednesday's matchup will be the first meeting between the Ichabods and Swedes since a 73-59 WU win in 2000, which was Ron McHenry's debut as Washburn's head coach. Wednesday's game will count as an exhibition for Bethany.
Senior Hunter Bentley. a former Bishop Miege standout, leads Washburn with a 12.1 scoring average and scored 15 points with three 3-pointers against Rogers State.
Abby Oliver averages 7.2 points and had 14 points against Rogers State while Mackenzie Gamble averages 6.9 points and has made a 3-pointer in every game except one on the year.
Lauren Cassaday averages a team-high 5.1 rebounds for WU while Aubree Dewey leads the Ichabods with 23 assists.
Bentley has reached the top 10 on Washburn's all-time scoring list and will move up to No. 9 with 23 more points. Crystal Walker (1999-2003) is currently ninth with 1,344 career points.
Hannah Ferguson leads Bethany with averages of 12.1 points and 6.2 rebounds. Kisa Unruh (11.3) and Autumn Garrett (10.8) also score in double figures for the Swedes.
Washburn will return to MIAA play on Saturday at Central Missouri before hosting Northwest Missouri on Jan. 6.
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As we complete our first year at TopSports.News and roll into 2022, we would like to re-introduce our TSN team. But, most importantly, we would like to say THANK YOU to every one that has clicked, read, commented and followed us throughout this year. Stay tuned, much more to come!
Rick Peterson, Director of Content, Feature Writer, Editor
Rick has been a sportswriter for more than 40 years, moving to The Topeka Capital-Journal in 1989. The first sportswriter to become a two-time winner of the Kansas State High School Activities Association's Oscar Stauffer award and a five-time winner of the National Sports Media Association Kansas Sportswriter of the Year award. Has also received sportswriter of the year awards from the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, the United States Tennis Association Missouri Valley Region, and other organizations as well as writing awards from the Kansas Press Association.
Kevin Haskin, Contributor
A six-time winner of the National Sports Media Association Kansas Sportswriter of the Year award. He began his career as a sportswriter with stints at the Iola Register and Kansas City Kansan before moving to The Topeka Capital-Journal. Kevin has spent more than 30 years as a beat writer and columnist.
Isaac Deer Contributor
Isaac is currently a Journalism student at Washburn University. Prior to joining TopSports.News, Isaac was a freelance journalist for several Minor League Baseball affiliates. He joined the Topeka Golden Giants as the President of Baseball Operations/General Manager of the team; also, has served as a League Executive for Mid-Plains League Collegiate Baseball. He has served as a play-by-play radio broadcaster for the Mid-Plains League and contributed sports articles for KSNT News in Topeka.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Two of the Kansas' most dominant girls athletic teams of 2021 call Shawnee County home.
So not surprisingly, those two teams -- Washburn Rural girls wrestling and Topeka High softball -- hold down the top two spots on TopSports.news' list of the Top 10 Shawnee County girls sports stories of 2021.
Washburn Rural has dominated girls wrestling in the state since the Kansas State High School Activities Association made it an official sport in the 2019-2020 school year, winning back to back state team championships and producing three individual champs, while Topeka High is coming off its best softball season in school history, going wire to wire for a perfect 25-0 season and the school's first state title in the sport.
And while the Junior Blues and Trojans were the only Shawnee County girls teams to capture state team championships in '21, five others posted top-three state team finishes while county athletes won nine individual titles in four different sports.
Here's a look at TopSports.news' top 10 Shawnee County girls prep stories of 2021:
1. TWO FOR TWO -- Washburn Rural made history when it won the first official girls wrestling state title in 2020 and Damon Parker's Junior Blues were even better in 2021. Led by individual champs Dajia Anderson and Rebekah Smith and finalist Addison Broxterman, the Junior Blues rolled to championship No. 2 by a commanding 100-74 margin over Wichita North and became the first school in state history to win girls and boys titles in the same season.
2. QUEENS OF THE DIAMOND -- Shawnee County has long been known for its softball prowess, with seven county teams winning state championships. With pitching and hitting star NiJaree Canady and fellow Division I recruits Zoe and Adisyn Caryl helping lead the way, Shane Miles' 2021 Topeka High team staked its claim as one of the best ever, capping a perfect season with a 7-1 win over Olathe North in the state championship game.
3. STREAK CONTINUES -- There was a year in between due to COVID-19, but Topeka West swimming star Kadence Jefferies kept her 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 entire '20 season was canceled, Jeffries, who recently signed with Division I Nebraska-Omaha, swept the same two events in '21, winning the 200 in 1 minutes, 53.08 seconds and the 500 in 5:03.13.
4. TREND SETTERS -- Dajia Anderson became the first city girls wrestler to win a KSHSAA state title in 2020 when she captured the 235-pound crown to clinch Washburn Rural's first state team crown. Anderson made history again last February when she became the city's first two-time state champ, winning at 191, and had company on the victory stand from senior teammate Rebekah Smith as Rural rolled to its second straight title.
5. QUEST COMPLETE -- Seaman tennis stars Grace Unruh and Lauren Sweeney were one of the state's best doubles teams in 2020, finishing fourth in Class 5A, but were determined to finish their quest for a state championship in '21. Done! Unruh, a senior, and Sweeney, a junior, swept city, Centennial League and regional championships for the second straight season before finishing off a perfect 36-0 season with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Andover Central's Maya Chon and Bryer Geoffroy in the state final.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Darting Basketball Academy, in conjunction with the Topeka non-profit group Sole Reason, will hold a Community Give Back Camp on Dec. 28 at Topeka Collegiate School to help provide new sneakers for kids in need.
The camp, which will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include 50 participants, with the price of admission a new pair of sneakers that will be distributed to local children. The camp sold out within 24 hours, but interested individuals are still welcome to donate shoes to the project.
The goal is to raise 200 pairs of shoes to distribute within the community.
"We have camps throughout the year and the community supports us a lot so we wanted to do something to kind of give back to the community and help kids,'' DBA's Kerry Darting said. "There's a lot of need in the community, so I thought it was a perfect fit to have kids come out and get better in basketball and then at the same time we're able to help a lot of kids.''
Current and former local high school basketball standouts as well as city coaches will serve as instructors at the Dec. 28 camp.
Sole Reason's goal is to provide every needy child in the local community with a new pair of sneakers.
If interested in donating a pair of sneakers, email Kerry Darting at