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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Aiden Amis, Hayden
A junior, Amis earned All-Shawnee County first-team honors last fall after placing 10th in the city meet, 15th in the Centennial League and eighth in Class 4A regional competition. Amis was Hayden's second runner for the majority of the season behind Wildcat senior star Tanner Newkirk. Amis placed 24th at state as the Wildcats finished sixth as a team.
Mason Brokaw
Mason Brokaw, Silver Lake
A senior, Brokaw was a state medalist as a freshman and a state qualifier as a sophomore. Brokaw helped the Eagles finish second as a team in the Mid-East League meet last fall, earning all-league honors. Brokaw has also been a Class 3A state track medalist the past two seasons.
Michael Christopher
Michael Christopher, Topeka High
Christopher, a senior, earned All-Shawnee County honorable mention recognition in 2020 and 2021. Chriistopher was an individual Class 6A state qualifier last fall after taking 11th in the city meet and 21st in 6A regional competition.
Andrew Emerson
Andrew Emerson, Shawnee Heights
A senior, Emerson earned All-Shawnee County first-team honors last fall after helping the T-Birds finish seventh in the Class 5A state meet. Emerson placed 12th in the United Kansas Conference and 11th at in 5A regional competition.
Jackson Esquibel
Jackson Esquibel, Shawnee Heights
Esquibel, a junior, set a personal-best of 15:49 last fall and placed second or better in five of seven meets, including second-place finishes in the United Kansas Conference and regional meets and earned a Class 5A state medal with a 13th-place finish as Shawnee Heights finished seventh as a team. Esquibel is a two-time All-Shawnee County selection.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Stella Appelhanz
Stella Appelhanz, Seaman
A sophomore, Appelhanz steadily developed throughout her freshman season and finished as the Vikings' No. 3 runner, earning first-team All-Shawnee County honor. Appelhanz placed seventh in the city meet, 13th in the Centennial League, fourth in a Class 5A regional meet and 34th at state.
Anna Becker
Anna Becker, Seaman
Becker was a solid performer throughout her freshman season, placing 11th in the city meet, 12th in the Centennial League, sixth in Class 5A regional competition and 47th in the 5A state meet, earning first-team All-Shawnee County honors.
Madeline Carter
Madeline Carter, Washburn Rural
Carter turned in an outstanding junior season for Washburn Rural, earning five individual wins in her nine races and never placing lower than ninth place. Three out of her five first-place finishes came in a sweep of the city, Centennial League and Class 6A regional meets. Carter earned her third All-Shawnee County selection, her third All-Centennial League recognition and second All-State honor. Carter led the Junior Blues to city, league and regional team championships and a fourth-place finish at state.
Bethany Druse
Bethany Druse, Seaman
Druse, a senior, is a three-time All-Shawnee County selection and a two-time All-Stater. Druse had a solid junior season, improving her best time by 20 seconds and establishing a new Seaman five-kilometer record of 18 minutes, 48 seconds. Druse placed fifth at Rim Rock, fourth in the city meet, second in a a Class 5A Regional and sixth in the 5A state championships, leading the Lady Vikes to a fourth-place team finish. Druse was the 5A state 800 meters champion in track.
Mariah Farmer
Mariah Farmer, Silver Lake
Farmer was a Class 3A state medalist as a freshman and sophomore before missing all of her junior cross country season due to stress fractures. Famer has qualified for the state track meet the past two seasons.
Payton Fink
Payton Fink, Washburn Rural
Fink turned in an outstanding freshman season for the Junior Blues, finishing third in four straight races, including city, Centennial League and Class 6A regional meets. Fink earned her All-Shawnee County, all-league and All-State honors, finishing the year with a 19th-place state finish.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Even though Cole Schumacher was a key contributor on back-to-back state championship teams at Rossville, he had to start all over again when he joined the Emporia State football team as a walk-on in the fall of 2017.
Emporia State six-year senior receiver Cole Schumacher is excited to have one last season in a Hornet uniform this fall. [Photo courtesy of Emporia State Athletics]
Fast forward to 2022 and the 6-foot-1, 193-pound six-year senior wide receiver is getting set to wrap up a very solid college career that has made Schumacher, as well as ESU head coach Garin Higgins, very proud.
"He's earned everything that he's got here,'' Higgins said. "I saw him in camp the summer before his senior year and thought he did a good job and I remember going to see him at Rossville High School and talking to him about walking on. I think sometimes you can tell whether or not a kid really cares about Emporia State and I could tell that he did at that time and he wanted to be a part of our football sprogram.
"We gave him an opportunity and he's made the best of it.''
Schumacher, Emporia State's second-leading receiver in 2021 with 40 receptions for 406 yards and three touchdowns, is also proud of what he's been able to accomplish in a Hornet uniform.
"As a Hornet one of our sayings, part of our DNA, is, 'We earn everything,' and I really took that to heart and I've been able to earn the things I've been given here,'' Schumacher said. "I'm very grateful for it and it's exciting. I'm very proud of it.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's soccer will open its 2022 season at home Thursday with a 7 p.m. non-conference contest against Oklahoma Baptist.
Washburn University's soccer team will open its 2022 season at home Thursday against Oklahoma Baptist at Yager Stadium. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods return 13 players from its 2021 team that posted a 9-7-2 reord while adding eight freshmen and three transfers.
Washburn, which reached the quarterfinals of the MIAA tournament last season, will be looking to win its season-opening game for the second straight year.
Coach Davy Phillips is starting his sixth season at Washburn, which was voted eighth in the MIAA preseason coaches poll, while this season marks the 20th season of soccer at WU.
The program's overall record is 137-137-44 and 83-110-27 in MIAA play.
The Ichabods' 6-1-2 home record in 2021 was the school's best home record since the 2009 squad went 7-2. Washburn finished last season in sixth place in the MIAA with a 5-5-1 record.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: TopSports.news has finished its tour of preseason football practices at all 10 Shawnee County high schools and will post preview stories over the coming days leading into the opening games of the 2022 season Sept. 1-3.
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You don't graduate nearly 30 seniors and not feel it, a fact no one knows better than 20-year Shawnee Heights head football coach Jason Swift.
But while the T-Birds aren't loaded with a ton of experience, Swift is counting on the veterans the T-Birds do have, as well the momentum gained from a strong second half of the 2021 season, to make Heights a competitive team on Friday nights.
Shawnee Heights head football coach Jason Swift, who is starting his 20th year at the school, is counting on a small but experienced group of seniors to lead the T-Birds to success this fall. [File photo/TSN]
"Losing 27 seniors and bringing in 10 seniors it looks like (we're short of experience) on paper, but a lot of our 10 seniors had roles with us on Friday night and several of them have two years of starting experience,'' said Swift, whose T-Birds are coming off a 5-5 season.
"We have several senior starters coming back and then we started seven sophomores last year, so even though we lost 27 seniors I think we have some experience. I just don't have a great deal of experience.''
And Swift doesn't want to downplay the fact that Heights has holes to fill this fall.
"We're returning five or six starters on both sides of the ball so we're middle of the road, but we lost a lot of awfully good football players,'' he said. "With 10 seniors I would say a majority of our starters will be juniors.''
