- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sunday, August 13, is likely to be a very sad day for area drag racing fans.
NHRA officials and Heartland Motorsports Park jointly announced on Friday that the final event at the Topeka facility will take place on Aug. 11-13 with the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
NHRA legend John Force, a 10-time Topeka winner, will make his final appearance at Heartland Motorsports Park Aug. 11-13 in the wake of Friday's announcement that the upcoming race will be the final NHRA national event at HMP. [File photo/TSN]
Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly Heartland Park Topeka, has hosted NHRA national events since the facility opened in 1989, but the track is likely to be closing its doors due to a long and ongoing tax and land dispute with Shawnee County.
NHRA officials announced Friday that the new Flying H Dragstrip in the Kansas City area will be part of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series national event schedule in 2024.
“We have a rich history at Heartland Motorsports Park and we want to thank Chris Payne and his team for many years supporting NHRA drag racing,” NHRA President Glen Cromwell said in a release. “But as one door closes, another opens and we are looking forward to the great opportunity of racing in the Kansas City area at a brand new facility. Scott Higgs and his team are building a fantastic new track at Flying H Dragstrip and we are excited to have our first event there in 2024 and create a wealth of new memories in the area.”
“We are extremely thankful for our longtime partnership with the NHRA and its racers, as well as all the fans who have visited Heartland Motorsports Park over the years,” Heartland Motorsports Park owner Chris Payne said in Friday's release. “Because of the actions by Shawnee County, unfortunately this will be the last national event at Heartland Motorsports Park. We look forward to completing the 2023 season as well.”
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
You don't achieve the level of success that Washburn University's Justice Akinmoladun has enjoyed in football and track and field without setting the bar high.
Junior defensive tackle Justice Akinmoladun represented Washburn's football team at Tuesday's MIAA Football Media Day in Kansas City, Mo.
And as the 6-foot, 290-pound defensive tackle prepares to start his junior football season, Akinmoladun won't settle for anything less than being the best this fall.
"All-American, first team,'' Akinmoladun said when asked about his goals for the 2023 season. "I want to be first-team everything. I will be the best D-lineman in D-II.in the nation.''
Already an All-American thrower in track and field, Akinmoladun is also one of the top defensive returners for the Ichabod football team, which is coming off a 7-4 season.
Akinmoladun is one of just three returning starters on defense for Washburn, but said he is confident that the Ichabods have the talent to be strong on the defensive side of the ball again this season.
"That's the good thing about having good players last year is we had good players under them, too, who were able to see what they did to be great,'' said Akinmoladun, a native of Grandview, Mo. "We have a lot of good guys coming in who have been working their butt off this whole summer so I'm not worried.
"We're just a young group, but I think we're ready to go.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Kellen Simoncic's outstanding 2022 football season came to an abrupt end in the ninth game of the year at Northeastern State when the Washburn University quarterback went down with a season-ending injury to his right (throwing) shoulder.
Washburn quarterback Kellen Simoncic (left) draws a chuckle from Ichabod coach Craig Schurig during Tuesday's MIAA Media Day while Simoncic talks about his younger brother, Cody, who plays for Northwest Missouri State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"It was kind of a weird game, always playing down there (at Northeastern) is weird,'' Simoncic said. "We were driving and I kind of took off up the middle and tried to run a little bit and a guy hit me on the legs.
"I was always taught to try not to land on the shoulders and kind of roll on your back, but that didn't happen and I landed right on it.''
But after undergoing surgery and going through a lengthy rehabilitation period, the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder is chomping at the bit to return to action for the Ichabods.
"It was probably a couple of months at least to be able to throw,'' said the Smithville, Mo. native, who earned All-MIAA honorable mention a year ago. "We have a great training staff that spent countless hours working with me and I'm very thankful for them.
"But I was able to do spring ball, so that was awesome to get back out there and do 7 on 7.''
In his first season as the Ichabods' starter, Simoncic completed 195 of 312 pass attempts for 2,354 yards and 25 touchdowns while throwing just eight interceptions.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn University was picked fourth out of 11 teams in the 2022 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Football Preseason Polls, released during Tuesday's MIAA Media Day.
Craig Schurig's Washburn football team, coming off a 7-4 season last fall, was picked fourth in both MIAA preseason polls, released Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods received 73 points in the coaches poll, five points behind No. 3 pick Emporia State, and 16 points ahead of Central Oklahoma and Nebraska-Kearney, who tied for the fifth spot.
Washburn received 209 points in the media poll, 49 points behind Emporia State (one first-place vote) and 1 point ahead of Central Oklahoma.
The Ichabods posted a 7-4 record last season.
Washburn coach Craig Schurig, the dean of MIAA head coaches in terms of service with 22 seasons, said the MIAA may be more balanced than it's ever been.
"That's what makes our conference so tough,'' said Schurig, who has a 137-92 career coaching record. "Obviously by the end of the year there's going to be a couple teams that have kind of separated themselves like usual but it's the three through 10 and those are hard games.
"Sometimes the bottom team has had a rough year or whatever, but it's tough. You go toe to toe. When you look at some of the other teams you're like well they're seventh or eighth but those games will be damn hard so you've got to play really well every week. There's no week off.''
Defending MIAA champion Pittsburg State was tabbed No. 1 in both the coaches and media preseason polls.
The 2023 MIAA football season officially kicks off Thursday, August 31 with Washburn traveling to Pittsburg State.
In the coaches poll, Pittsburg State earned 98 total votes and eight first-place votes. Northwest Missouri earned three first-place votes and totaled 93 points to finished second.
The Gorillas also topped the preseason media poll, collecting 22 first-place votes and 320 points.
Northwest Missouri was ranked second by the media with 302 points and seven first-place votes.
2023 MIAA Football Coaches Poll
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks TopSports.news will recognize Shawnee County's all-time best teams in 21 sports as part of our Best of the Best project. The project continues with girls/boys wrestling and readers will have the opportunity to vote for teams in that sport through August 7. TopSports.news will begin to announce the top teams in all categories on Friday and continue into August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4881865x661A4906-151 while email votes/nominations will also be accepted at
-------------------------------------------------------
The Kansas State High School Activities Association hosted its first state wrestling tournament in 1930 and it took 90 years for Shawnee County to celebrate its first state team championship.
Washburn Rural's girls captured the first of their three state wrestling team championships in 2020, the first official girls state meet in Kansas history. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Washburn Rural captured the first boys state team wrestling title in Shawnee County history in 2021. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
But in four short years the county has put its stamp on wrestling's state history, with Washburn Rural claiming five state team championships and two runnerup finishes since 2020 while Rossville's girls also posted a runnerup team finish.
KSHSAA made girls wrestling an official state sport in '20 and Damon Parker's Junior Blues immediately became the queens of the mats, winning the first state tournament and repeating in '21 before adding a third title this past season after a runnerup finish in '22.
Rural's girls won the '20 title by an 84-80 margin over Great Bend on Dajia Anderson's state championship and the Junior Blues rolled to a 100-74 margin over Wichita North in '21 as Anderson and Rebekah Smith won state titles to lead the way.
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team, parents and coaches posed for a team picture after the Junior Blues won their third state title in four seasons in February at Hartman Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After finishing second to Dodge City in '22, Washbun Rural's girls captured title No. 3 in February as nine Junior Blues earned state medals and Rural took a 153-141 win over Garden City.
