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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Topeka Tennis Association will induct its 2022 Hall of Fame class on Saturday at the Bettis Family Sports Complex in the meeting pavilion, welcoming seven inductees into the hall.
The induction ceremonies will get under way at 6:30 p.m., with Jim Clark, Gail Johnson, Bob Keeshan, Greg and Harold Kossover and Charles and Gary Stearns being inducted.
The TTA induction weekend will get started with a 6:30 p.m. reunion/social at Genesis Health Club. Attendees will also have opportunity to play tennis.
Hall of Fame capsules:
JIM CLARK
Clark played No. 1 singles for Topeka High in 1944 and went on to serve as captain for Emporia State's tennis team and a CIC Conference champion.
Jim Clark
He coached tennis and basketball at Ottawa Junior High School and became active in the Topeka Tennis Club and Hughes Courts in 1957.
Clark as director of the Jayhawk Tennis Tournament in the 1960s, recruiting top players to Jayhawk and helping it become one of the Missouri Valley's most prestigious events.
Served as chair umpire for many of the Jayhawk finals at Hughes Courts.
Served as chair umpire for the Billy Martin vs. Vitas Gerulaitis charity event in Topeka.
GAIL JOHNSON
Johnson moved to Topeka in 1951 and started a tennis shot in his basement at 811 Randolph.
Gail Johnson
Johnon operated the only racket shop" in Topeka from 1951 to 1974.
In the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Johnson was regarded as the face of Topeka tennis.
He was the founding father of the Topeka Tennis Club, which is now the Topeka Tennis Association, and served as the Jayhawk Open Tennis Tournament director in the 1950s and '60s.
BOB KEESHAN
Silver Lake's Burkhardt, Seaman's Brewer named Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Athletes of the Week
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman senior baseball standout Dagen Brewer (3) has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Boys Athlete of the Week. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
DAGEN BREWER, Seaman
A senior catcher/infielder, Brewer had a big day in last Friday's 14-1, 12-1 Centennial League doubleheader baseball sweep over Topeka High at Hummer Sports Park.
Brewer homered in both games and went 4 of 4 at the plate with two doubles and five runs batted in for the Vikings in the nightcap as Seaman improved to 6-1 on the season.
Silver Lake senior Taryn Burkhardt has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Girls Athlete of the Week. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
TARYN BURKHARDT, Silver Lake
Burkhardt, a senior, went 8 for 8 at the plate in last Monday's 11-1, 14-2 non-league doubleheader softball sweep at Hayden.
Burkhardt contributed a triple and a pair of doubles while scoring four runs and knocking in three runs on the day for the Eagles, who finished second in the Class 3A state tournament last spring.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn athletic director Loren Ferré has announced the hiring of former Lady Blues standout Lora Westling as the sixth head coach of the Washburn women's basketball program.
A formal press conference to officially announce Westling as the head coach will be held in Washburn's McPherson Booster Room at 10 a.m. Friday.
Lora Westling
"I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to lead Washburn women's basketball into the future," Westling said. "This program was so instrumental in shaping me as a young woman and I do not take that responsibility lightly.
"Thank you to Dr. Farley, Loren Ferré, and the rest of the search committee for their work during this process and especially for their belief in me. I am ready to get to work immediately with this tremendous group of student-athletes, and look forward to being a part of the Topeka community again."
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
One of the most impressive streaks in Topeka prep softball came to an end Tuesday afternoon at Hummer Sports Complex.
Topeka High’s 31-game win streak came to a close with a 1-0 Washburn Rural victory in Game 1 and the Junior Blues finished off the Centennial League sweep with an 8-1 win in the second game.
Washburn Rural knew how big of a day Tuesday could potentially be, but the Lady Blues just wanted to approach the day as just another day.
“Today is a huge day for us,” first-year Washburn Rural coach Liz Stover said. “Topeka High is an incredibly tough and competitive team. Getting two high-quality wins against (High) is a big stepping stone for us. We have room to grow, but today was huge.
“We found out more about the heart of our team today. We knew what we had here was good. If we got behind at the plate, we were able to keep our head up and play good defense. Learning how to make adjustments earlier in the game will be big for us for the remainder of the season.”
Washburn Rural junior pitcher Emmerson Cope is congratulated by her teammates after Tuesday's 1-0 Rural first-game win over Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Campbell Bagshaw slides safely into base in Tuesday's doubleheader sweep over Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural’s Emmerson Cope’s contributions played a large part in the doubleheader sweep of the reigning Class 6A state champions.
Cope pitched two complete seven-inning games, with a combined 15 strikeouts and two walks. Cope would also hit two home runs, two doubles and brought in four runs, all in Game 2.
“Today was a huge confidence booster for myself and the team,” Cope said. “Going into the rest of the season with wins like today on our backs is big for us. We played great together today and getting a win against a team like Topeka High is special.
“At the end of the day, the only team that can beat us is ourselves.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Brandon McDonnell had a bird's eye view of the amazing turnaround that Rick Bloomquist's Topeka West's boys basketball team has put together in recent seasons.
Now the former Topeka High and Baker University player will try to engineer a similar turnaround in his first head coaching job at Rossville.
McDonnell was introduced Tuesday as the Bulldawgs' new head coach, taking over a team that was just 3-18 this past season but heading to a school that is very well-respected as a small-school athletic power.
Topeka West assistant Brandon McDonnell has been named the new head boys basketball coach at Rossville. [File photo/TSN]
McDonnell, a 2000 Topeka High graduate, has been on Bloomquist's staff for four seasons, serving as a varsity and junior varsity assistant and guiding the Chargers' freshman team the past two seasons.
He gives Bloomquist, who has led West to back-to-back Class 5A state appearances, a great deal of credit for getting him ready to to be a head coach.
"I love Bloom to death and one of the main reasons why is you don't often come across a coach that allows you to be on all three benches,'' said McDonnell, who played 13 seasons with the Harlem Legends. "My game nights consisted of putting puzzle pieces togethers with Dwayne (Anthony) at the JV level, then halfway into the fourth quarter I'd go and get my freshman boys ready and I'd coach that game and get those puzzle pieces together and then after that I'm walking into the pregame of the varsity and I'm helping put those puzzle pieces together. So for me I'm coaching three games in one night and loving every second of it because of the autonomy, I had the freedom to do it.
"There's obviously certain things that (Bloomquist) wanted implemented at the freshman level, but outside of that he actually gave me the program and there's not a lot of coaches that do that. Bloomquist let me coach and that's one of the main reasons why I'm in this position today because he didn't put a leash on me. He let me explore, he let me coach, he let me go through some failures and then work my way out of it and that's the only way that I learned. He made that possible. He's a phenomenal guy. He's a father figure to me and I know I could go to him for anything.''
