Details

Created: 09 January 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman's boys wrestling team didn't dominate Saturday's Seaman Duals tournament, with Hays assuming that role, but Patrick Kelly's team turned in a solid 4-1 performance on the day and gave the Vikings momentum heading into the final two months of the 2021-2022 season.

Topeka High also competed in Saturday's tournament, posting a 1-4 record.

Seaman opened with a 63-18 decision over city rival Topeka High and also took a 52-27 win over Basehor-Linwood, a 45-36 victory over Lansing and a 54-25 win over Lawrence before dropping a 60-18 decision to Hays in the Vikings' final dual of the tournament.

"We're kind of chasing (Hays) now in this tournament and we're glad to have that kind of quality team come in just to see where we're at,'' Kelly said. 

Seaman did not have a wrestler go undefeated Saturday, but 132-pounder Colin Little, 145-pounder Colin Best, 152-pounder Zach Jowers, 160-pounder Anthony Hurla, 182-pounder Hunter Reno and 195-pounder Jaxson Thomas all posted 4-1 records.

Seaman 182-pounder Hunter Reno (left) posted a 4-1 record in Saturday's Seaman Duals wrestling tournament. [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]

Jaxson Thomas, Seaman's standout 195-pounder, posted a 4-1 record for the second-place Vikings in Saturday's Seaman Duals. [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]

The Vikings also got 3-2 days from Jayden Foster (113), Justin Kruse (120), Draven Bennett (126), Deyton Mentzer (170) and Tyler Brown (285).

"We're kind of showing that we're a pretty balanced team and I think a few different twists and turns we're there, but we have a little ways to go,'' Kelly said. "We have several of those guys who are kind of right on the bubble and ready to make that jump.

"It's just a building process.''

Topeka High picked up its lone win in a 35-34 victory over Lawrence and the Trojans were led by 145-pounder Nick Davis, who posted a 3-2 tournament record.

High's Victor Mesta (106), Maurico Garcia (126), Alex Smith (138), Tre'Shawn James (170), Luis Muniz-Rodriguez (182) and Andrew Perez (220) also picked a pair of wins on the day.

DUAL RESULTS

Seaman def. Topeka High, 63-18; Hays def. Lawrence, 48-27; Lansing def. Basehor-Linwood, 42-34; Seaman def. Basehor-Linwood, 52-27; Hays def. Lansing, 65-18; Topeka High def. Lawrence, 35-34; Seaman def. Lansing, 45-36; Hays def. Topeka High, 72-12; Basehor-Linwood def. Lawrence, 42-37; Seaman def. Lawrence, 54-25; Hays def. Basehor-Linwood, 54-27; Lansing def. Topeka High, 52-30; Hays def. Seaman, 60-18; Lansing def. Lawrence, 47-36; Basehor-Linwood def. Topeka High, 66-18.

Seaman girls second in Lady Vikes Duals

Seaman didn't win the team championship in Friday's Lady Vikes Duals, but Jordan Best's Vikings couldn't have come much closer.

The Vikings were 3-1-1 on the day, opening with a 42-6 decision over McLouth and also posting a 39-6 win over Hays and a 48-5 win over Lansing.

Seaman tied Spring Hill 36-36, losing on a tiebreaker, and dropped a narrow 36-30 decision to Olathe North. Sprng Hill def. Olathe North, 45-21.

"It was just an amazing experience (Friday) night,'' Best said. "The girls have stepped up, even more than what they did last year, so to go out there and lose (the team title) in criteria is not what I wanted to see out of the team, but I'll take.

Seaman 120-pounder Reagan Carter went 5-0 in Friday's Lady Vikes Duals wrestling tournament (top). [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]

Seaman 132-pound wrestler posted a perfect 5-0 record in Friday's Lady Vikes Duals. [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]

Seaman 120-pounder Reagan Carter, 132-pounder Koti Best and 138-pounder Kaidence Heston all went undefeated in the tournament with 5-0 records while Madison Murray (115), Journey Jones (143) and Alex Cannon (191) posted 4-1 records.

"It's a great start,'' Best said.

DUAL RESULTS

Seaman def. McLouth, 42-6; Spring Hill def. Hays, 42-21; Olathe North def. Lansing, 51-12; Seaman def. Hays, 39-6; Lansing def. McLouth, 24-11; Spring Hill def. Olathe North, 45-21; Seaman def. Lansing, 48-5; Spring Hill def. McLouth, 48-12; Olathe North def. Hays, 48-24; Seaman tied Spring Hill, 36-36; Hays def. Lansing, 27-18; Olathe North def. McLouth, 54-12; Olathe North def. Seaman, 36-30; Hays def. McLouth, 27-6; Spring Hill def. Lansing, 54-3. 

Details

Created: 08 January 2022

By KYLE MANTHE

TopSports.news

Playing for the first time in 2022 and just the second time with a healthy roster, Washburn men’s basketball looked to use its Saturday game against Missouri Western as a jumping off point for the rest of the season.

The Ichabods were able to accomplish just that as they pulled off a near wire-to-wire victory, 76-64.

“We played well, the first 32 minutes of the game I thought we were terrific. The defense was good and the offense was cruising so that was fun to watch,” said Washburn coach Brett Ballard.

The win moved Washburn to 8-6 on the year and marks the first time they have been two games up in the win column all season.

“We have won four out of five, we are still hanging around the top of the league in the standings, we are two possessions away from being on a six-game win streak,” Ballard said. "We are not that far away from where we need to be. At the same time, we still got work to do, and still got some things to clean up.”

It was the Ichabods' season-long consistent presence, junior Jalen Lewis, who got them started early, scoring the team's first eight points.

Three others joined Lewis by knocking down outside shots early, including two by freshman Michael Keegan. Six made 3s in the first 13 minutes created an early double-digit lead.

Washburn junior Jalen Lewis scored 25 points to lead the way Saturday as the Ichabods took a 76-64 MIAA win over Missouri Western. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Washburn's Jalen Lewis, Tyler Geiman and Levi Braun celebrate a big play in Saturday's 76-64 MIAA win over Missouri Western. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Lewis continued to stay hot down the stretch as he knocked down three straight 3-pointers to give him 20 points in the first half as WU built a 40-25 lead after 20 minutes of play.

“When you see a couple shots go in, that kind of gets the game going for you and when you see coach has confidence to go to you more, and has confidence in you to make shots, then that definitely gives me a lot of confidence,” Lewis said.

“Guys got me in my spots and gave me confidence to shoot the ball, so I just kept on shooting. When you have five guys out there that the defense kind of has to key in on it makes the game a whole lot easier for me.”

To begin the second half Washburn’s two returning players, junior Jonny Clausing and sophomore Tyler Nelson, combined to score 11 of the first 14 points in the half.

“It’s great to have those guys back, those two guys are really good players at both ends of the court. Offensively, they give us some more weapons,” Ballard said. “We are happy to have those guys back around.”

A cutting layup by Keegan extended the Ichabods' lead to 20 points at the 14-minute mark, after which the Ichabods would not score for nearly the next four minutes as the Griffons went on a 7-0 run.  

Despite scoring only seven points over a nine-minute stretch Washburn remained ahead by double-digits by forcing turnovers on Missouri Western, which had 19 in the game.

“I thought the defense showed signs today,” Ballard said. “I was pleased with our defense the first 32 minutes of the game, we just got to have some more killer instinct to finish people off.”

Read more …

Details

Created: 06 January 2022

By ISAAC DEER

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' boys basketball team put on a defensive clinic against United Kansas Conference rival Lansing on Friday night, rolling to a home 56-35 win over the Lions.

The T-Birds' defensive effort held Lansing to single digits in the scoring column for three straight quarters.

“I have spent fifty years teaching defense and it was no question that we put good pressure on them (Lansing),'' Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said. "We really forced them to turn the ball over and that was the difference in the game for us.

“We know we aren’t great shooters. We aren’t bad shooters, but we are okay right now. We know we have to play our best defense. We have to keep the game in reach.”

Ken Darting's Shawnee Heights T-Birds improved to 5-1 with a 56-35 win over UKC foe Lansing Friday night. [File photo/TSN]

The T-Birds' shooting was cold in the first quarter. Shots were not falling for Shawnee Heights but that didn’t discourage the team after only putting up seven points in the first period of play.

Shawnee Heights' defensive and offensive output in the second quarter was the key to the game.

The T-Birds doubled their scoring from the first quarter as senior guard Jarin Sanders had some eye-opening passes to the interior that set up Jacob Malcom and Nathan Pewe to be successful.

Shawnee Heights' defensive effort in the second quarter set the tone for the night. Allowing just six points to a red-hot Lansing team was no easy feat. Brennon Dodge, Carter Olson and others displayed the physical brand of basketball that the T-Birds want to play with.

After being down in the first quarter, Shawnee Heights would regain a 21-19 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.

Read more …

Details

Created: 08 January 2022

By KYLE MANTHE

The Washburn Review

After winning its first game since the 2019-20 season earlier in the week, Highland Park girls basketball looked to build a winning streak as they played host to Manhattan Friday evening.

Early on there were positive signs but the Indians were able to pull away in the second half, posting a 64-34 Centennial League win on Ken Darting Court.

“In the first half we were pretty good, playing under control, doing everything we had been working on and then we've just got to learn to put a full game together,” said Highland Park coach Rob Brown.

The 64-34 loss marked the third most points put up by the Scots this year, but the game still moved them to 1-6 on the season. With the win, Manhattan improved to 4-4 on the year.

“We got some inside scoring from Grace (Dixon), Avery (Larson) was really good again, but everybody chipped in a little bit, so I was really pleased with how we played,” Indians coach Scott Mall said.

The baskets came fast and furious to begin the game, with Manhattan jumping out to a 14-6 lead after seven early points by junior Larson. Highland Park responded with a quick 4-0 run, finished off with the second basket of the quarter from freshman Amelia Ramsey. That left the score at 16-10 after eight minutes.

The Scots got the first five points of the second quarter to pull within one point before Manhattan connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to go along with four points in the quarter from senior Grace Dixon to push the lead to double-digits.

Senior Atiya Gonzales connected on a 3-pointer to keep Highland Park involved but they still trailed 29-19 heading into the break.

The Scots got four early points in the third quarter from senior Aisya Taylor to pull within eight points. The Indians responded with a 9-0 run, with five coming from Larson,to pull ahead, 40-23. The lead would grow to 20 points by the end of the third quarter.

“I think that they kind of got us sped up a little bit and we were getting tired, so us getting tired kind of hurt us on the defensive end. We weren’t staying in a stance, stopped talking, stopped rotating,” Brown said.

Manhattan continued the pace in the fourth quarter, led by eight points from sophomore Maxine Doering in the frame. Gonzales knocked in another 3-pointer, scoring four of the seven points for Highland Park in the quarter as they fell, 64-34.

“We will get to that point, it’s still early in the season, we are still learning, we know what this season is, it’s a rebuilding season so we are going to get better every night,” Brown said.

Gonzales led the Scots in scoring with 12 points while Taylor added eight in the loss that moved them to 1-6 on the season. 

For the Indians, Larson paced all scorers with 18 points while Dixon and Doering were in double figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively, as Manhattan moved to 4-4 on the year.

Next up for Highland Park will be a road trip to face Junction City Jan. 11.

MANHATTAN GIRLS 64, HIGHLAND PARK 34, 

Manhattan 16 13 18 17 -- 64

Highland Park 10 9 8 7-- 34

Highland Park (1-6 0-6) – Gonzales 3-18 3-4 12, Parker-Brown 0-1 1-2 1, Sanders 1-1 0-0 2, Reed 1-4 0-2 2, White 0-0 0-0 0, Nunes 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 3-14 2-6 8, Ramsey 3-5 1-3 7, Mitchell 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 12-45 7-17 34.

Manhattan (4-4, 3-3) – Sharda 0-0 0-0 0, Carson 1-1 2-2 4, Sa. Salmans 0-1 1-4 1, Ingram 1-3 0-0 3, Peabody 0-0 0-0 0, Larson 7-19 2-4 18, So. Salmans 1-4 0-0 2, Doering 4-12 4-4 12, Ruliffson 3-6 0-2 7, Jimenez 0-0 2-2 0, Dixon 7-11 1-2 15. Totals 23-57 12-20 64.

3-point goals – Highland Park 3 (Gonzales 3), Manhattan 3 (Larson 2, Ruliffson 1). Total fouls – Highland Park 14 Manhattan 13. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – Highland Park 1 (Rob Brown 1).