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Created: 16 February 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The Centennial League boys bowling tournament was a battle to the very end, with Seaman's Ethan Burns pulling out the individual title while Washburn Rural claimed the team championship Wednesday at West Ridge Lanes.

Washburn Rural won the team title by a mere four pins over Seaman (3,503-3,499) while the chase for individual honors was even closer, with Burns rolling a 728 three-game series to edge Rural's Josh Hammons by two pins.

Seaman's Ethan Burns rolled a 728 three-game series to win the individual title in Wednesday's Centennial League bowling tournament. [Submitted]

Washburn Rural's Josh Hammons finished second individually in the Centennial League tournament with a 726 series, leading the Junior Blues to the team championship by four pins over Seaman. [Submitted]

Washburn Rural built a big lead through American Ten-Pin and was able to barely hold off Seaman through the four Baker Format games.

Hammons led three Junior Blues in the top 10 and four in the top 13, with Walker Thompson finishing third (683), Logan Glinka 10th (623) and Geo Peoples 13th (599).

"We went in with the same mindset, just throw good shots over and over and don't worry about what other people do,'' Hammons said. "We just stayed consistent all day.''

Rural coach Jo Ricard agreed

"We started off extremely well and towards the end we started to tense and tighten up a little bit through the third game and so forth and I had my assistant (Steve Peoples) talk with them to get them all back on board heading into Baker,'' Ricard said.

Burns was one of three Seaman bowlers in the top 12, with Zander White ninth (625) and Jack Easum 12th (618).

Burns bowled a 692 series in a makeup meet on Tuesday at West Ridge and he said that success carried over to the league meet.

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Created: 16 February 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' boys basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak with Tuesday's 71-63 United Kansas Conference win at Leavenworth while clinching a winning season.

Shawnee Heights improved to 11-5 after winning just six games a year ago as four T-Birds scored in double figures.

Sophomore Brennon Dodge scored 18 points with three 3-pointers in Shawnee Heights' 71-63 UKC win over Leavenworth Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]

Sophomore Brennon Dodge led Shawnee Heights, 4-3 in the UKC, with 18 points, while sophomore Jayden Moore and sophomore Dylan Sanchez both added 12 points and freshman Deacon Pomeroy 10 points.

Dodge hit three 3-pointers on the night while Moore went 7 of 8 at the free throw line.

The T-Birds led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter and 32-24 at the half before opening up a double-digit advantage (53-38) with a 21-14 third quarter.

The Pioneers outscored Heights 25-18 in the fourth quarter but the T-Birds held on for the win.

Shawnee Heights will be at home Thursday to host Piper in a non-league game.

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS 56, LEAVENWORTH 54 -- Shawnee Heights held on for a 56-54 United Kansas Conference road win over Leavenworth in a game that was tight throughout.

The T-Birds, who improved to 8-8, 3-4, was led by junior Emari Doby with 21 points while senior Zoe Oczko added 12 points, junior Taylor Rottinghaus 10 points and senior Abby Schulte nine.

Rottinghaus provided a lift for Shawnee Heights, which played without sophomore starter Breezy Canady, who missed the game due to illness.

The T-Birds will be back in action Thursday, hosting Piper in a non-league contest.

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Created: 15 February 2022

 By ISAAC DEER

TopSports.news

Seaman’s Kaeden Bonner’s stellar 26-point night didn’t happen by accident, with Tuesday night meant to be for the 6-foot-1 junior.

Bonner hit six 3-point shots out of his 10 field goals as the Vikings rolled to a 79-44 home Centennial League win over Topeka High.

“Coming into the game, my team just told me to shoot the ball as much as I can,” Bonner said. “I felt confident. (Topeka High) was playing zone, so that just kept putting me back behind the (3-point) line. My confidence shooting the three has gotten much better.”

“Kaeden is capable of shooting the ball as well as he did tonight, night in and night out,” Seaman coach Craig Cox said. “When he sees the defense playing in the zone, he’s ready to shoot. It was nice for him to produce the way he did for us tonight.”

Seaman junior Kaeden Bonner scored 26 points with six 3-pointers in the Vikings' 79-44 romp past Topeka High Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]

Bonner lit the match and sparked the momentum for the Vikings early on, scoring  the first 12 points off of four 3-point shots.

The massive 79-point game was led by the production of Bonner, but the final score was a team effort.

The Viking starting five all had a piece in the 35-point romp, with Mateo Hyman and Ty Henry both scoring 12 points, while Aron Davis and Gavin Wilhelm combined for 13 points.

“Our guys did a fantastic job of attacking Topeka (High)’s zone. We were able to make the open pass and the extra pass. Our passing and scoring from everyone were great tonight,” Cox said.

Seaman’s first three quarters were eye-opening. Three quarters of scoring 20 or more points made it nearly impossible for Topeka High to keep up. The Vikings knew they were in the driver's seat when they put up 48 points going into halftime.

“Anytime you can get 48 points at the half is great,” Cox said. “I think that second quarter was the difference in the game for us.”

Despite the success from the 3-point line, converting contested shots and dunks, Seaman was also able to have an incredible night from the free throw line.

While Topeka High didn’t foul Seaman at a high rate, the Vikings shot 90 percent when they were given the free opportunity.

Seaman will host Lansing (9-8) on Friday night while Topeka High will hit the road and take on a gritty (4-13) Hayden team.

“I’d like for our guys to continue having fun,” said Cox. “Having fun and playing together should be what the game is all about. If we keep playing unselfish and having good chemistry, we should be good down the stretch.”

SEAMAN BOYS 79, TOPEKA HIGH 44

Seaman        20 28 23 8 – 79

Topeka High 16 13 8 7 – 44

Seaman (10-7, 9-5) – Hyman 4 3-4 12, Henry 5 2-2 12, Bonner 10 0-0 26, Wilhelm 2 0-0 5, Davis 3 2-2 8, Griess 3 2-2 8, Phillips 1 0-0 2, Barta 1 0-0 2, Freeman 1 0-0 2, Finley 0 2-2 2.

Topeka High (4-14, 4-10) – Lyons 2 0-0 5, Mays 3 3-3 9, Baumgardner 1 0-0 2, Flenoy 5 3-4 13, Gomez 2 0-0 6, Thrasher 3 1-2 7, Cameron 1 0-2 2.

3-point goals – Seaman 8 (Bonner 6, Hyman, Wilhelm), Topeka High 1 (Lyons). Fouls – Seaman 12, Topeka High 10. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.

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Created: 15 February 2022

By KYLE MANTHE

The Washburn Review

With each team coming off of wins, Topeka West and Hayden girls basketball were in action Tuesday evening.

The Wildcats kept rolling, picking up a second win in just 24 hours with a 53-35 home Centennial League decision over the Chargers even after starting slow.

“I do think we lacked energy tonight … we played last night and we played today and I do think we did for whatever reason have a little bit of a wakeup call,” said Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson.

Hayden was led by 25 points from senior Macy Smith, with 21 coming after the first quarter as Hayden moved to 10-7 on the year.

Hayden senior Macy Smith scored 25 points in the Wildcats' 53-35 Centennial League win over Topeka West Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]

“She scored really well for us tonight, but she also got in the lane and made the right play, she wasn’t just forcing stuff and I think that allowed the ball to get back to her,” Reynoldson said.

Topeka West showed progress, but could not follow up Friday’s win over Junction City with a second in a row, dropping to 2-15 overall.

“Absolutely (I am seeing progress), we played well against Junction City and we shot the ball well,” said Topeka West coach Jeff Skar. “I am pleased with some of the things that we are doing, I am disappointed for them that they don’t get to enjoy some of the fruits of those efforts.''

Scoring was hard to come by early, as Chargers sophomore Rebecca Bearman had all three points for West in the opening three minutes of the game.

The Wildcats would come back to take a 9-6 lead after the first quarter with all nine points coming in the paint or at the line.

Senior Carly Stuke expanded Hayden’s lead to five points early in the second quarter after two quick baskets.

Topeka West would come back to take the lead after free throws from junior Jazmyn Ford, who was all over the offensive glass.

From that point on Smith took over for the Wildcats, scoring the final five points of the quarter on either side to take a 18-14 lead into halftime.

“We got a good speech from coach coming to the bench after the first quarter,” Smith said. “I think it was the adrenaline and the work from my teammates and moving the ball around and getting open shots.''

Six early points in the third from Bearman kept the Chargers within three points until freshman Brylee Meier and Stuke knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers for Hayden.

The lead stayed within 10 until the final thirty seconds of the quarter when the Wildcats scored five points, including a 3-pointer from Smith, to put them up 40-27 entering the fourth.

“I think we got tired in the second half and some of those rotations weren’t as sharp, help and recover wasn’t as sharp and aggressive,” Skar said.

Another made 3-pointer from Smith had Hayden up by 16 with 5:49 left in the fourth quarter and put her over 20 for the game.

Topeka West got four points each in the quarter from Ford and sophomore Siani Sanchez, but never got closer than 14. Back-to-back layups by Smith with just over a minute left gave the Wildcats the 18-point win.  

“It’s always great to win, it gives everyone a great feeling and practices will be better the next two days because of it,” Reynoldson said.

Smith led all scorers with her 25-point night, including three 3-pointers for Hayden. Smith scored 16 of her 25 in the second half. Stuke added nine points.

“I think that we were moving the ball around really well, we always play as a team but I think tonight especially we did and on defense we were hustling and we were staying in the gaps on defense which allowed us to get steals and breakaways,” Smith said.

The Chargers were led by Bearman’s 13 points while Ford finished in double figures with 11. Sophomore Zoe Clark added seven.

"We talked about games like these you can’t have those lapses … because they will turn those into baskets,” Skar said. “Against a good team those things come back to bite you.”

Both teams stay at home in their next game, with the Chargers playing host to Emporia and Hayden welcoming Topeka High with both games on Friday.

HAYDEN GIRLS 53, TOPEKA WEST 35

Topeka West 6 8 13 8  -- 35

Hayden          9 9 22 13 -- 53

Hayden (10-7, 6-6) – Gruner 0-4 0-3 0, Lenherr 0-1 0-0 0, Sandstrom 2-3 0-0 4, Anguiano 2-4 2-2 6, Smith 9-17 4-5 25, Stuke 4-10 0-0 9, Huscher 1-4 0-0 2, Cruz 0-0 0-0 0, Schmidtlein 0-1 0-0 0, Meier 1-5 2-4 5, Greco 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-51 8-14 53.

Topeka West (2-15, 2-9) –  Sanchez 2-8 0-2 4, Mays 0-0 0-0 0, Foster 0-0 0-0 0, Duncan 0-5 0-0 0, Benson 0-3 0-0 0, Clark 2-6 2-2 7, Ford 3-9 4-6 11, Bearman 6-12 1-2 13. Totals 14-43 7-12 35.

3-point goals – Hayden 5 (Smith 3, Stuke, Meier. Topeka West 1 (Clark). Total fouls – Hayden 13, Topeka West 16. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.