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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When Roger Laubengayer-Mena started working with Topeka High's girls wrestlers three seasons ago he could have probably counted his entire team on one hand.
Those days are long done, with depth now a team strength for the Trojans, who claimed the girls team championship in Saturday's Melvin Douglas Invitational at Highland Park by a 101-51 margin over USD 501 rivals Highland Park and Topeka High, who tied for second.
Topeka High's girls wrestling team poses for a team picture after winning the championship in Saturday's Melvin Douglas Invitational at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
opeka High senior Alesia Alvarez gains the upper hand on Highland Park's Kylisha James en route to winning the 170-pound championship in Saturday's Melvin Douglas Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Trojans claimed four individual titles on Saturday while also finishing second in three weight classes and posting top-three finishes in nine of 11 divisions.
Topeka High got wins from 100-pound sophomore Ingrid Cabrera, 105-pound junior Nevaiah Martin, 145-pound senior Marilena Zuniga and 170-pound senior Alesia Alvarez while the Trojans got runner-up finishes from freshman Diana Garcia (115), sophomore Zoe Dawkins (120) and sophomore Jeanea Bratton (135).
Other city girls champions included Topeka West sophomore AaZuaviyah Majors (125) and Tristyn Johnson (235) and Highland Park senior Ruby Hernandez (130).
High's Zuniga (5-0), West's Majors (3-0) and Highland Park's Hernandez (5-0) all remained unbeaten on the season.
Topeka High's boys wrestling team poses for a team picture after finishing second in Saturday's Melvin Douglas Invitational at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka High finished second behind Gardner-Edgerton (160-128) in the boys division, with Seaman third with 122 points.
The Trojans got an individual championship from 285-pound sophomore Julio Castro while Seaman got wins from freshmen Brayden Rice (106) and Meko Ortega (132).
Topeka West sophomore Malachi Kuebler (top) won the 126-pound title in Saturday's Melvin Douglas Invitational, taking a win over Highland Park senior Angel Vargas (bottom) to clinch the championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Fifth-place Topeka West got wins from sophomore Malachi Kuebler (126) and senior Mason Vickers (144) while eighth-place Highland Park got an individual title from sophomore Adrian Burney (175).
Kuebler (8-0), Ortega (5-0) and Castro (5-0) all remained unbeaten on the season.
MELVIN DOUGLAS INVITATIONAL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High's girls basketball team posted its fourth straight win on Saturday, taking the tournament championship in the Hardwood Classic at De Soto with a 55-39 romp past the host school.
Ayana Leesman led Topeka High with 14 points, while Kiki Smith had 12 points, 10 rebounds and four steals and Ladaysha Baird added 10 points.
Senior star Kiki Smith and the Topeka High girls are 4-1 on the season after winning the Hardwood Classic with a 55-39 win over De Soto. [File photo/TSN]
The Trojans are now 4-1 on the season.
Topeka High, which has made four straight trips to the Class 6A state tournament with a pair of runner-up finishes, will open Centennial League play on Tuesday at Manhattan.
The Trojans are the defending league champions.
Rossville's girls improved to 4-0 on the season on Saturday, winning the tournament championship in the Irish Classic with a 56-47 win oer host Chapman. [Submitted photo]
ROSSVILLE GIRLS 56, CHAPMAN 47 -- Rossville topped tournament host Chapman 56-47 on Saturday to win the championship in the Irish Classic.
Junior Emma Mitchell led the 4-0 Bulldawgs with 20 points, followed by junior Kinsey Perine with 12 points and sophomore Shyanne Haehn with 10 points.
Mitchell was named the tournament most valuable player and was joined on the all-tournament team by freshman Rylee Dick and Haehn.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team captured its first MIAA victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, taking a 55-45 road decision at Rogers State.
Washburn (4-4 overall, 1-2 MIAA) led 4-0 to start the game and a layup from Yibari Nwidadah pushed the lead to 6-3 with 4:19 left in the first quarter.
Emma Chapman scored a career-high 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Washburn'ss 55-45 MIAA win at Rogers State on Saturday. [File photo/TSN]
On the next possession, Rogers State (2-8, 0-4 MIAA) hit a 3-pointer to start a 12-2 scoring run to end the first quarter with a 15-8 advantage.
The Hillcats shot 50 percent in the first period, making 6 of 12 shots from the floor and 2 of 3 from 3-point rangewhile the Ichabods made just 25 percent from the floor.
In the second quarter, Rogers State made a layup at the 5:18 mark to go up 22-16, but that would be its final points of the frame as the Washburn defense locked in and held the Hillcats to just five shot attempts in the final five minutes.
The Ichabods scored five points during that time to trim the deficit to one, 22-21, at halftime.
After the break, the Ichabods quickly jumped ahead 32-26 as they began the second half on an 11-4 run.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's third-ranked (Class 5A) girls basketball team stepped outside the state lines Friday to improve to 3-0 with a 53-15 romp at Savannah, Mo.
Sophomore Anna Becker led the way with 15 points and seven steals as third-ranked Seaman improved to 3-0 with a 53-15 romp at Savannah, Mo. Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
Sophomore Anna Becker paced the Vikings with 15 points and seven steals while freshman Maddie Gragg had 12 points and junior Taylin Stallbaumer 9 points, 6 assists and five steals.
Seaman was in complete control by halftime, taking a 32-6 lead.
The Vikings will return to United Kansas Conference competition on Tuesday, traveling to Piper.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 64, SHAWNEE MISSION WEST 41 -- Washburn Rural captured the consolation title (fifth place) in the Shawnee Mission East Championship Showdown.with a 64-41 win over Shawnee Mission West, improving to 2-1 on the season.
Washburn Rural will be back in action on Tuesday, playing its home-opener against Shawnee Mission Northwest.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
EMPORIA – Sluggish starts in back-to-back days get the best of Hayden on Friday night at the Paul Terry Classic, as the Lady Wildcats took a 52-27 loss to Class 5A No. 5-ranked Emporia.
It wasn't a memorable day for Hayden by any means.
Hayden junior Lauren Sandstrom (5) hits a free throw in Friday's 52-27 loss to Emporia in the Paul Terry Classic. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
While the Lady Wildcats played better toward the end of the game, single-digit team scoring in all four quarters played a significant role in losing against an imposing Emporia team.
"For the second game in a row, we came out seemingly not ready to play," Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "In these three-day in-season tournaments, if you get exposed, it's hard to fix those things from night to night. We need to get tougher on defense."
Hayden couldn't catch a break. The Lady Wildcats shot 27 percent from the field, 0-11 from 3-point range and were out-rebounded, 35-20.
Emporia senior Rebecca Snyder had a sensational night for the Lady Spartans. Snyder had 26 points, 12 rebounds, went 7 of 7 from the free throw line, had two blocks and three steals.
"Rebecca is a great player," Reynoldson said. "She had 19 points in the first half against us. But, on our part, that's not enough ball pressure and backside help. That's not just on the player guarding her; that's everyone. It seemed like every time she got an offensive rebound; she got a bucket. She's tall, athletic, has nice post moves and a soft touch."
