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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden girls tennis coach Christy Sheetz doesn't feel like her sophomore state champ, Ainzley Zulueta, ever displays any real nervousness when she's on the court, a trait that has served her well over the first two seasons of her high school career.
Hayden sophomore Ainzley Zulueta will be shooting for her second straight Class 4A state singles title Friday and Saturday in Prairie Village. [FIle photo/TSN]
"That girl is as cool as a cucumber,'' Sheetz said. "There's something about the way that she is that the more pressure she has the better she does. That's pretty rare. I think she almost thrives in it.''
Zulueta said the truth is that she does get nervous, especially in a big match, but said she is usually able to do a pretty good job of hiding, and controlling, her emotions.
That will certainly be the objective Friday and Saturday when the Hayden star shoots for her second straight Class 4A singles championship at Prairie Village's Harmon Park Tennis Complex.
"I just don't think I show it,'' said Zulueta, who will take a 24-2 record into this year's state meet. "I try to control my emotions whenever I'm out there, but I'm definitely nervous, especially for state this year.''
Zulueta breezed through state as a freshman, but said there's likely to be more pressure this weekend due to last year's success.
"I don't think it was as extreme as it is now because last year no one really knew who I was,'' Zulueta said. "I could kind of play a little bit more freely but this year people are kind of expecting like a repeat so it's more pressure on me to perform even better than I did last year.''
The Hayden star feels like she's up to the task.
"I just try to get over it,'' said Zulueta, whose only two losses this fall came against defending Class 6A state champ Jill Harkin of Manhattan. "I experiennce this whenever I play USTA matches and all that so it's not a new feeling on anything, but it's still a feeling that I have to overcome and it's still tough but I've got to get through it because I realize at the end of the day this is important and I need to just give it my all.''
Zulueta said the easiest way to get rid of the butterflies is to get out on court and pound a few balls.
"The nervousness does disappear after hitting a few balls wiith my opponent or after like two games in,'' she said. "That's when I start to loosen up a little bit more. I think I just need to ease into it.''
Zulueta will have plenty of company in the state tournament, with Hayden sweeping singles, doubles and team championships in last Saturday's regional tournament while qualifying its entire team for state.
Christy Sheetz's Hayden team qualified all six members for the Class 4A state meet, including regional doubles champions Lauren Sandstrom (left) and Emily Sheetz (middle). [File photo/TSN]
The doubles team of junior Lauren Sandstrom and sophomore Emily Sheetz, who placed seventh in 4A last season, are 30-4 on the season while winning city and regional titles.
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By JOSH ROUSE
Special to TopSports.news
Topeka twins Nick and Kyle Herrman won the first of two Kansas BASS Nation high school fishing tournaments this past weekend on central Kansas’ Wilson Reservoir.
From left, Topeka twins Kyle and Nick Herrman hold up their winning five-fish bag of 14.67 pounds during the Kansas BASS Nation Youth Series tournament weigh-in Saturday, Oct. 8, at Wilson Reservoir. [Submitted]
Topeka’s Kyle and Nick Herrman, center, hold up their winning hardware Saturday, Oct. 8, following the Kansas BASS Nation Youth Series tournament on Wilson Reservoir. Buhler’s Drew Stivers and Logan Snyder, right, finished second, followed by Hanover’s Maxwell Sawin and Brandt Beikmann, left. [Submitted]
The twins used ChatterBaits and Zara Spooks to target the feeding frenzy that takes place in shallower waters during the fall and secured the season-opening win after falling just shy of a win several times last season.
“We wanted to focus on areas where we knew there would be bait and fish in,” Kyle Herrman said. “We had some baits on deck that we felt we could catch fish on. Our main area worked out, producing four keepers in the morning and later, as well. Our other areas also produced fish. So our game plan going into the tournament went well.”
The local siblings weighed their five-bass limit of 14.67 pounds to edge out Buhler’s Drew Stivers and Logan Snyder, who finished second with 13.75 pounds. Maxwell Sawin and Brandt Beikmann finished third for the Hanover KnotHeads fishing club with 10.77 pounds.
“Heading into the tournament, we felt like we had a solid game plan,” Nick Herrman said. “We spent a lot of time the weekend before the tournament trying to figure Wilson out. This paid off tremendously because one of the things we found in practice was the topwater bite, which is how we caught almost all of our keepers.
“It felt really good to get a win right off the bat. With getting second place three times last year, we were really excited we were able to break through and get a win.
Rounding out the top five were solo angler Blake Streck, representing the Panther Bass Fishing Club, with 10.42 pounds of fish, followed by Parker Welch and Maxwell Coughlin, for Kansas City’s Kickback Club, weighing 8.05 pounds.
The Herrmans’ fellow Capital City Fishing Club members, Laiken Emanuel and Hunter Hanson, finished 27th on Saturday after weighing just one fish for 1.28 pounds.
In the second high school tournament of the weekend, Louisburg’s Lucas Sheafer followed up his ninth-place performance Saturday (7.04 pounds) with a 16.34-pound bag Sunday to secure a victory over Kickback Club’s Cale Harlan and Derek Landis (14.55).
Levi Sorenson and Ethan Tripe, representing the Basehor-Linwood Bobcat Bass club, took third with 9.78 pounds, followed by Hanover’s Garrett Martin and Levi Griffith with 9.30 pounds for fourth place and Welch and Coughlin with 8.72 for fifth.
JUNIORS DIVISION
In the Juniors Division, Anderson Mesplay and Kelby Conrady had a strong weekend, finishing first and second on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The Mid-Kansas Kastmasters club weighed three fish for 8.42 pounds Saturday to pick up the victory over the Bobcat Bass team of Jackson Burns and Levi Comba (2.04 pounds), then weighed 4.95 pounds Sunday to fall just shy of another Bobcat Bass team in Dempsey Hoppes and Brock Blaser.
Hoppes and Blaser weighed a 5.52-pound bag for the victory Sunday. The Topeka Junior Hawgs team of Garreson Currie and Greyson Harper finished third Sunday with 1.77 pounds. Hanover’s Aysha and Myles Wolfgang (1.65 pounds) and Topeka’s Heston Hoffman and Jake Bartley (1.62) rounded out the top five.
Topeka’s Trey Herrman and Reid Currie also competed Sunday but did not weigh a fish.
NEXT UP
The next KBN Youth Series tournaments will take place Oct. 28 and 29 at Milford Reservoir in Junction City. For more information about competing in the youth tournaments, contact KBN youth director Travis Burch by phone at 913-562-4660 or by email at
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural sophomore cross country standout Payton Fink and Seaman sophomore football quarterback Max Huston have been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Rising Stars of the Week for last week.
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 Fink and Huston last week:
Payton Fink, a Washburn Rural sophomore, won her first individual city cross country title last Saturday, leading the Junior Blues to the team championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
PAYTON FINK, Washburn Rural
A sophomore, Fink won her first individual city girls cross country title last Saturday at Washburn Rural after finishing third as a freshman.
Fink led the Junior Blues to the team championship by a 21-35 margin over Seaman.
Fink clocked a winning five-kilometer time of 18 minutes, 10.9 seconds, setting a personal record.
Seaman sophomore quarterback Max Huston passed for 287 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 68 yards and three TDs in the Vikings' 56-13 UKC win over Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
MAX HUSTON, Seaman
Sophomore quarterback Max Huston completed 18 of 26 pass attempts for 287 yards and three touchdowns and carried the ball nine times for 68 yards and three TDs as Seaman rolled to a 56-13 United Kansas Conference win over Leavenworth.
Huston has completed 50 of 87 passes on the season for 797 yards and seven touchdowns and has rushed for 303 yards ad seven TDs on 48 attempts.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Three Topeka High soccer players with a multi-goal games led the Trojans to a 6-1 road victory over the Seaman Vikings.
Class 6A No. 7-ranked Topeka High put together its best offensive performance of the year on Tuesday night at Seaman, with the Trojans’ six goals a season-high for most goals scored in a game.
Topeka High exchanges well-wishes with Seaman after the Trojans' 6-1 win over the Vikings Tuesday night. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Trojan strikers Jaime Alvarado, CJ Brown and Aidan Morrison all netted a pair of goals in the high-scoring affair
Alvarado scored two goals in the first half while Brown and Morrison scored High's final four goals in the second half.
“We thought going with the wind that we would be able to score some more goals in the second half,” Topeka High coach Derek Snook said. “We needed to be a team-first team today and set each up for success and I think we displayed that well in the second half. We looked for each other instead of just ourselves.”
The Trojans are currently riding the wave of a five-game winning streak. The Trojans have lost a few close games on the road this year, but on Tuesday night, Topeka High brought the fight to North Topeka.
“We’ve been using each other well with our strengths and eliminating our weaknesses,” Snook said. “We’ve been on the attack instead of the other side lately. Our defenders have been creating lanes and setting up each other well. It’s been an emphasis to get with each other and get to the goal.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights soccer didn't have a great first half in Tuesday's non-league game at Hayden, but the one first-half goal the T-Birds did score set the tone for a 4-0 shutout over the Wildcats.
With Heights going into a brisk wind in the first half, senior Zachary Memmer scored the only goal the T-Birds would need just 5:06 into the game before 8-4-1 Shawnee Heights scored three times in the second half to pull away.
Hayden senior Daxton Ham (left) battles Shawnee Heights junior Jack Martin for the ball in Tuesday's 4-0 T-Bird win over the Wildcats. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Zachary Memmer (35) puts the ball in the net early in the T-Birds' 4-0 win at Hayden Thursday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"We kind of knew going in that maybe if we took the wind in the second half playing with tired legs, the second half would maybe unlock some things, and I think it did,'' Heights coach Nic Simons said.
"Going against the wind in the first half we looked like a team that played a little tight and I think we were very afraid of giving up counter-attacks and give Hayden a lot of credit, they had some very dangerous counters in the first half. But we did a pretty good job of kind of weathering that and I thought defensively it was another outstanding performance by our defense and by our keeper.''
Senior Tyler Lincoln put Heights in front 2-0 with 31:36 remaining in the game and senior Jordan Garvin and junior Jack Martin added goals to give the T-Birds their final margin with 20:05 left.
Garvin was credited with a pair of assists for the T-Birds while Memmer also picked up an assist.
Sophomore Carter Freeman picked up the shutout in goal for Shawnee Heights.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 4, HAYDEN 0
Shawnee Heights (8-4-1) 1 3 -- 4
Hayden (6-8-1) 0 0 -- 0
Shawnee Heights -- Goals: Memmer, Lincoln, Garvin, Martin. Assists: Garvin 2, Memmer. Shutout: Freeman.
