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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WAMEGO -- Playing conditions for Thursday's Washburn Rural Invitational golf tournament were terrible, with players competing in feel's like temperatures in the mid-30s, with wind gusts of 40 miles per hour and rain late in the day at Wamego Country Club.
But Washburn Rural senior Giles Frederickson said he tried to put all of that out of his mind and just play golf.
Giles Frederickson
For the most part, Frederickson, a returning All-Shawnee County pick, accomplished that goal, shooting a 77 to tie for seventh place individually in the 98-player field.
"Weather is something you can't control and I've always been taught to focus on things you can control,'' Frederickson said. "The guys that go out there and complain about the weather are probably not going to do well today.
"I felt like I did a good job. I played really well on the front nine and on the back I had a couple of holes that choked me up a little bit but in the end I thought I kept a positive attitude all day and that was really what mattered.''
Washburn Rural senior Joe Morse hits a shot in Thursday's Washburn Rural Invitational at Wamego Country Club. Morse shot an 80 to tie for 14th place. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Four other city players cracked the top 20, with Washburn Rural senior Joe Morse and freshman Tagan Monasmith and Topeka West sophomore Myles Alonzo all shooting 80s to tie for 14th place while Rural junior Bryan Terrell tied for 19th with an 81.
Olathe West won the team title with a four-player score of 311, led by individual champion Myles Tarvin, who carded a four-over-par 74.
Washburn Rural finished sixth as a team with a 334 while the Junior Blues' second team finished at 336.
Rural coach Jared Goehring said Thursday's round was a case of survival.
"Today was just a test of their mental game most importantly,'' Goehring said. "They just had to have one thing in mind and that was to move on from a previous shot and just learn from this and grow because this is the great state of Kansas and the weather is just so unpredictable.
"It's going to make a good golfer out of them playing in these type of conditions one way or another.''
Shawnee Heights finished 12th as a team at 374, led by junior Alex Valdivia's 83.
WASHBURN RURAL INVITATIONAL
At Wamego Country Club
Team scores
Olathe West 311, Olathe South 312, Blue Valley West 321, Shawnee Mission East 327, Blue Valley Northwest 328, Washburn Rural Blue 334, St. Thomas Aquinas 334, Washburn Rural White 336, Manhattan 345, Free State 355, Mill Valley 356, Wamego 358, Shawnee Heights 374, Emporia 391, Lawrence 391, Blue Valley 396.
Individual results
1. Tarvin, Olathe West, 74; 2. Strong, Olathe South, 75; 3. (tie) Baker, Blue Valley West; Warren, Olathe West; Desai, Blue Valley Northwest, and Strong, Olathe South, 76; 7. (tie) Frederickson, Washburn Rural, and Randall, Free State, 77; 9. (tie) Fowler, Blue Valley Northwest, and Bishop, St. Thomas Aquinas, 78; 11. (tie) Reckrodt, Olathe South; Kidd, Blue Valley West, and Nichols, Olathe West, 79; 14. (tie) Morse, Washburn Rural; Goldsberry, Blue Valley West; Monasmith, Washburn Rural; Shelton, Shawnee Mission East, and Alonzo, Topeka West, 80; 19. (tie) Tyrell, Washburn Rural, and Wefald, Manhattan, 81.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The heavy wind gusts couldn’t blow away Tae Thomas as the Topeka High senior had two goals that helped the Lady Trojans defeat Cair Paravel Latin 4-1 at Hummer Sports Park on a frigid Thursday night.
Thomas’ goals were Houdini-like -- a goal from near the Northeast corner and a goal short of midfield -- that had a huge impact on the victory.
Tae Thomas
“I’m pretty proud of myself today,” Thomas said. “Of course, I have some things to work on. I need to play a bit quicker and find the open teammate more often, but I’m proud of myself for the good things I did do during the game.
“I’m always looking for the open teammate and the open shot.”
The three-sport athlete scored her first goal with 7:49 to go in the first half and her second goal came with 3:09 remaining in the second half.
“(Thomas) just brings so much energy to this team,” Topeka High coach Derek Snook said. “We moved her around in different positions today, just so we could put her in the best situation possible. She’s not a big talker, but her play and energy she brings to the field is something that everyone feeds off of.
“She’s a fantastic leader and today was fantastic for her.”
Besides Thomas’ two goals, midfielders Avery Zimmerman and Haley Carpenter contributed one goal each in the three-goal victory.
In the last two games, the trio of Thomas, Zimmerman and Carpenter have a combined 11 goals. The Lady Trojans as a team in the two-game span have outscored Highland Park and Cair Paravel, 16-1.
Thomas would stand before her teammates after Thursday’s victory and let everyone know how proud she is of the energy everyone played with.
“We knew (Cair Paravel) was going to be a tough game for us,” Thomas said. “I felt like we were more mentally prepared for this game than others. I felt like going against a tough team brought our energy up. We expected everyone to hustle, carry a heavy amount of energy and play our best. I think the energy was a big part of our win.”
Snook agreed with Thomas and thinks this team can go far if the tge Trojans play the way they did on Thursday night.
It took the Lady Trojans 1:01 to get on the board, with Zimmerman converting a penalty kick to give Topeka High the 1-0 lead.
“The early penalty kick gave us a nice advantage since it was so early,” Snook said. “We’ve had an issue so far this year with our shots just barely missing or having other things not go our way early in games. It was nice for us to be in a good situation like that early.
“Having momentum a minute into the game is nice.”
The strong defense for both teams would prevent anyone from coming close to scoring for 29:25 after Zimmerman’s goal.
Cair Paravel would answer back after the early 1-0 Topeka High lead. Freshman Zahra Lewis was able to separate herself from a group of Trojans and win the battle by kicking in the Lions' first goal of the night.
Topeka High regained the lead as Thomas scored her first goal that would slide over defenders' heads far away from where the goalie was.
Carpenter would end the first half with a goal giving the Lady Trojans a two-goal lead heading into the half.
After halftime, goals were harder to come by. The defense by both teams was exceptional and it made it hard for the offense to come up with anything.
Thomas would drill in her second goal from the deep Northeast corner with 3:09 left in the game.
That final goal from Topeka High would be the dagger in an impressive win.
Topeka High (3-2) will face Topeka West at Hummer Sports Park next Tuesday.
TOPEKA 4, CAIR PARAVEL LATIN 1
Cair Paravel 1 0 – 1
Topeka High 3 1 – 4
Goals: Topeka High – Thomas 2, Zimmerman, Carpenter. Cair Paravel – Lewis.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
City swimmers and divers claimed six wins in Wednesday's Topeka High Invitational, including two wins apiece from Topeka West senior Kadence Jeffries and sophomore Avery Walz, while Washburn Rural, Seaman and Shawnee Heights went two-three-four in the team standings in the 10-school event.
Jeffries won the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 57.03 seconds and the 500 freestyle in 5:10.53 while A. Walz won the 100 freestyle in 54.52 and the 100 backstroke in 1:02.48.
A. Walz also teamed with Joslynn Grace, Gabby Grace and Tauren Walz to win the meet-ending 400 free relay in 2:45.29.
Topeka High's Brianna Delvin was the one-meter diving champion with a score of 223.20.
Seaman sophomore Avery Walz earned three gold medals, including a pair of individual wins, in Wednesday's Topeka High Invitational. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka West senior Kadence Jeffries won the 200-yard freestyle and the 500 freestyle in Wednesday's Topeka High Invitational. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural rode its depth to a second-place team finish behind Free State (611-423) while Seaman was third (261) and Shawnee Heights (201).
Runner-up Washburn Rural's foursome of Molly Didde, Shelby Schmutzler, Taryn Lemke and Makenna Pritchard finished second in the 200 freestyle relay in 1:53.35 and Mara Bare, Kiersten Harris, Lemke and Pritchard finished third in the 200 medley relay (2:00.30).
Pritchard finished third in the 100 free (56.50) and Bare finished third in the 100 backstroke (1:07.12).
In addition to its three victories, G. Grace, A. Walz, J. Grace and T. Walz finished second in the 200 medley relay (1:54.98), G. Grace was second in the 200 freestyle (2:03.82) and the 100 freestyle (55.56), J. Grace was second in the 200 individual medley (2:22.11) and T. Walz third in the 50 free (25.78).
Shawnee Heights was fourth in the 400 free relay and fifth in the 200 medley relay and Ashtynn Landry placed fith in the 100 free.
TOPEKA HIGH INVITATIONAL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Mason Casebeer was a solid doubles player for Washburn Rural's boys tennis team last spring as a sophomore, including a 12th-place state finish in Class 6A and a spot on TopSports.news' 2021 All-Shawnee County team.
But Casebeer has switched to singles for the 2022 season, a move that has paid early dividends for both Casebeer and the Junior Blues as a team.
Washburn Rural junior No. 1 singles player Mason Casebeer, who went 3-0 on the day, returns a shot in Wednesday's Seaman quadrangular. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Casebeer went a perfect 3-0 in No. 1 singles in Wednesday's Seaman quadrangular at Kossover Tennis Center as Washburn Rural posted 4-0 sweeps over Topeka West, Lawrence and Seaman.
"It's a lot more work,'' Casebeer said of his transition. "It's a lot more running, instead of worrying about just one side. It's a lot more open court so it's a lot more diffcult, but it's more fun. I do like it.''
In doubles there's two players to share both the credit and the blame, but Casebeer knows that in singles it's all on him, both the good points and the bad.
"I like that more,'' Casebeer said. "I've done a lot of team sports in my life and I kind of came to tennis because I can put it more on to me than others. I like the responsibility of it.''
One of Casebeer's regular training partners is Rural state-class senior singles player Mason Thieu and Casebeer said Thieu has helped him improve.
"He's really fun to play against because he's really good,'' Casebeer said. "Rarely do I get points against him but when I do it's always a good rally and it's always a good one.''
Casebeer came to tennis after trying several of other sports and feels like he's found his perfect match in tennis.
"I fell in love with the sport,'' he said. "My (younger) brother started it really and I normally follow after him so once he started I started and I just loved the sport after that.''
Lawrence went 2-1 in Wednesday's quad, posting 4-0 win over Seaman and Topeka West, which was playing a split squad. Seaman went 1-2, with a 3-1 win over West.
SEAMAN TENNIS QUADRANGULAR
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Five Shawnee County high school soccer teams received mention in the Week 2 Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association girls state rankings.
Freshman Delaney Hill (left), senior Emma Krueger (right) and the Washburn Rural girls soccer team are ranked No. 4 in Class 6A by the KHSSCA. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural is ranked No.4 in Class 6A after getting the 2022 season off to a perfect 5-0-0 start while Hayden is No. 3 in 4A-1A after starting the year 3-0-1 and Cair Paravel Latin is No. 8 in 4A-1A at 3-2-0.
Topeka High received votes in the 6A poll while Shawnee Heights received votes in 5A.
KHSSCA COACHES POLL WEEK 2
