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Created: 12 April 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Four-time defending Class 6A girls soccer champ Blue Valley West made two first-half goals stand up for a 2-0 non-conference road win over Washburn Rural at McElroy Field Monday night, but Rural coach Brian Hensyel saw plenty of positives after his Junior Blues dropped their first game in seven starts on the year.

"One of the things I just told (the team) is after seven games last year we were 4-2-1 and this year we're 6-1 and we've played a very tough schedule and we're not going to back away from that,'' Hensyel said. "You have to play this team to kind of see what level you're at and we were right there today.

"We gave up a couple of bad fouls and they hit two amazing shots. They might have had a few more chances than us but it was kind of a back and forth game for the most part and a couple of little mistakes cost us.''

And although the Junior Blues suffered their first loss, Hensyel said Rural made strides.

"We got better today,'' Hensyel said. "We lost the game and the scoreboard doesn't say we got better today but playing a really tough team like that helps us.''

Washburn Rural freshman Kate Hinck (middle) battles Blue Valley West's Devin Monohan (left) and Sophia Raudez in Monday's game at McElroy Field. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural senior Belle Kennedy advances the ball Monday night as Blue Valley West's Addison Griffey (8) and Ashley Reecht (12) defend. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Junior Blues put together their best scoring threat of the night in the opening minutes, but Rural was unable to find the back of the net.

"The opening whistle we came out with a lot of energy and I thought the first 15-20 minutes of the game it was back and forth with both teams creating chances,'' Hensyel said. "There was a lot of good stuff going on and if you get that early goal then that maybe changes the complexion of the game a little bit.''

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Created: 12 April 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Juniors Alex Valdivia and Aiden Jones posted a one-two individual finish as Shawnee Heights rolled to the United Kansas Conference boys golf championship by an 18-stroke margin Monday at Lake Shawnee.

Alex Valdivia

Valdivia earned the individual championnship with a 69, while Jones was second with a 73 to lead the way as the T-Birds posted a four-man score of 312 to take the team title while De Soto was second with a 330 total.

Shawnee Heights won the United Kansas Conference golf title by 18 strokes Monday at Lake Shawnee. [Submitted]

Shawnee Heights also got a top-10 finish from junior Tanner Zerger, who tied for seventh place with an 83.

T-Bird junior Tyler Lincoln tied for 11th with an 87 while sophomore Zack Hohman tied for 17th with an 89 and sophomore Jensen Crawford 22nd with a 95.

Valdivia and Jones earned first-team All-UKC honors, with Valdivia being named the UKC player of the year, while Zerger and Licoln earned spots on the all-conference second team.

UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

At Lake Shawnee

Team scores

Shawnee Heights 312, De Soto 330, Basehor-Linwood 338, Lansing 349, Leavenworth 448.

Individual results

1. Valdivia, Shawnee Heights, 69; 2. Jones, Shawnee Heights, 73; 3. Moberg, Lansing, 79; 4. Bakerink, De Soto, 80; 5. Lowe, Basehor-Linwood, 81; 6. Strah, Basehor-Linwood, 82; 7. (tie) Koch, De Soto; Thurlow, De Soto, and Zerger, Shawnee Heights, 83; 10. Baechle, De Soto, 84.

Other Shawnee Heights -- 11. (tie) Lincoln, 87; 17. (tie) Zack Hohman, 89; 22. Jensen Crawford, 96.

All-United Kansas Conference

First team

Valdivia, Shawnee Heights; Jones, Shawnee Heights; Moberg, Lansing, Bakerink, De Soto; Lowe, Basehor-Linwood; Strah, Basehor-Linwood.

Second team

Koch, De Soto; Thurlow, De Soto; Zerger, Shawnee Heights; Baechle, De Soto; Lincoln, Shawnee Heights; Doyle Duncan, De Soto..

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Created: 11 April 2022

By ISAAC DEER

TopSports.news

Six home runs and a walkoff win Monday was everything Rossville's softball team had been working for.

Rossville’s offense boosted the Bulldawgs to 10-0 on the season and it was evident throughout the course of the 10-1, 9-8 doubleheader sweep over Silver Lake why that is the case.

Rossville's Vanesa Quinones (left), Kinsey Perine (middle) and Kinley Porter combined for six home runs in Monday's 10-1, 9-8 doubleheader sweep over Silver Lake. Perine hit three homers, Porter two and Quinones one roundtripper in the twinbill. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]

Kinley Porter, who didn’t have a home run on the season, hit two home runs against the Eagles, including the walk-off home run in Game 2 to give Rossville the sweep.

“Today was the first time I’ve ever hit a home run and the fact that I hit two tonight, it was special,” Porter said. “In practice, we practice every outcome and visualize winning games. We put our practice into real-life tonight and it paid off.”

The Monday home run derby was led by Kinsey Perine, who had a combined three home runs in the doubleheader.

“I stayed relaxed with each at-bat,” Perine said. “I had faith in our team and coaching. That’s five home runs for me now and I’m having fun.”

Corban University commit Vanesa Quinones also hit a long ball in Rossville’s Game 2 win after pitching a stellar game in the first game of the doubleheader.

“I’m proud of myself, but I’m more proud of our team,” Quinones said. “We have a team full of underclassmen that play like four-year starters. It was cool to see our girls start and finish strong.

“I’m lucky to be a senior on this team and lead such a talented group of girls.”

Rossville didn’t fold when the pressure was on in the back and forth slugfest in the second game.

Rossville coach John Nitsch said he had full confidence in his group that they wouldn’t crumble under the pressure.

“I told them that if we pitch, hit and play defense like we are capable of, we wouldn’t have any problems,” Nitsch said. “Our hitting is starting to come around more and that helps when our pitching and defense are playing as well as they are.”

The 10-1 victory for Rossville in the first game was led by the arm of Quinones, who pitched the entire seven-inning contest while only giving up a single run in the fourth inning.

Rossville was able to tally eight runs on the board before the third inning, including five runs in the first inning.

Perine had a home run, Brinley Dyche had a double and Rossville also scored on groundouts and a sacrifice fly.

Back-to-back doubles by Perine and Dyche in the bottom of the second inning and two errors by Silver Lake brought three runs home for Rossville.

That would be all Rossville needed to secure a 10-1 victory.

Game 2 would end up being a memorable game for both teams, with five lead changes and four instances where the game was tied.

Silver Lake had the hot start early in the second game, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning.

Kira Lowrey gave Silver Lake their first run with a single and Taylor Zordel would clear the traffic on the bases with a two-run triple. Lauren Rollenhagen would finish the four-run inning off with a run-scoring single.

For the second game in a row, Perine would lead off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run. That solo shot gave Rossville momentum going forward.

In the bottom of the second inning, Porter would hit the first home run of her life bringing herself and Emma Mitchell in to score. Rossville would only trail by one run at that point.

Perine would tie things up at 4-4 in the bottom of the third with her third home run of the day.

Quinones would follow Perine and Porter with a two-run home run of her own in the bottom of third bringing, Caylee Douglas home.

But Silver Lake wouldn’t give up, even after Rossville’s momentum-killing home runs.

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Created: 11 April 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Belle Kennedy will go down as one of the top players in Washburn Rural girls soccer history, and the senior remembers most every second of her prep career ... both the good and the bad.

Now the Junior Blues' star midfielder wants to do everything she possibly can to end her career with the best memories yet. 

"I think the thing that really struck me was COVID (in 2020) because we had like a whole season just taken from us, but I can remember games perfectly back to freshman year,'' Kennedy said. "Like I can tell you the game I broke my hip; I can tell you about all of that.''

Washburn Rural senior Belle Kennedy (10) is off to a hot start this spring after earning Class 6A midfielder of the year honors last season. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Kennedy, who has already scored six goals in six games this season, made an immediate impact for Washburn Rural as a freshman after moving to Topeka from California, helping the Junior Blues post a runner-up finish in the Class 6A state tournament.

And last season as a junior Kennedy helped lead Rural to a third-place state finish, scoring 17 goals and 12 assists and being named the 6A midfielder of the year.

But Kennedy has also had to work her way through disappointment, missing a chunk of her freshman year with the broken hip she suffered in a game against Seaman and missing all of her sophomore year when COVID-19 wiped out the entire season.

"My friend, Hunter McWilliams, was at my house and the second we heard it -- it was on the news that Governor (Laura) Kelly was shutting down all the school districts -- Hunter and I cried,'' Kennedy said. "We were heart-broken because we were so excited for our season.

"We had lost some strong players but we were still a really good team so we have all this faith and then it was just stripped from us.''

Kennedy and the Junior Blues bounced back with a banner 17-3-1 campaign a year ago and the fourth-ranked Junior Blues are off to a perfect 6-0 start this spring entering Monday's 6:30 p.m. home opener against four-time deending 6A state champion Blue Valley West.

Washburn Rural senior Belle Kennedy has helped the Junior Blues post second and third-place state finishes in her high school career. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

"Every game I try to remember the little things,'' Kennedy said. "It's different than club because high school is where you make more memories with your friends and your teammates because you're with them all day because you see them at school. So I try to remember every game to the best of my ability.

"You want to play as hard as you can every game because literally every game you play in league is going to be the last time you play that team, at least until playoffs start. People I know from other teams, I'll talk to them after games and it's nice to chat and be able to stand on our field or on their field and just be like, 'This is my last year, I'm going to give it all I've got.' ''

A team captain, Kennedy has set the bar high for the 2022 campaign, including trying to help the Junior Blues to win the program's first-ever state championship.

"Right now the biggest thing, my biggest goal, is to win state,'' Kennedy said. "That's my No. 1 goal because I promised coach (Brian) Hensyel my freshman year that we would do it, or at least try to the best of my ability to do it,'' she said. "A personal goal is just to try to get midfielder of the year again. I got it junior year so if I got it junior year why can't I do it again?''

While all of Kennedy's current focus is on helping the Junior Blues mount a title bid, she is also excited about her future after signing a letter of intent with hometown Washburn University.

"I looked at Washburn and it was not my first choice location-wise, but the second I went in and toured that place I fell in love,'' Kennedy said. "When you were on campus it didn't feel like you were in Topeka. The coach (Davy Phillips), the players, the dorms are great and the athletic facilities are off the charts.''

Kennedy got an added bonus when teammate and fellow All-Stater McWilliams made the decision to join her in the Ichabod fold.

"I think that honestly was like a cherry on top,'' Kennedy said.

"