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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When NiJaree Canady, a 1,000-point scorer in just three high school basketball seasons, decided to bypass her senior season to concentrate on her future in softball, Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander knew her Trojans were going to need to make some changes, both in terms of personnel and style of play.
As a result, Topeka High, 68-5 over the past three seasons, is forcing the pace more offensively without the 6-foot Canady, a Stanford softball commit, in the middle while also trying to turn up the heat even more on the defensive end.
And while Alexander knows there's still plenty of work to be done, she's excited about the Trojans' 3-0 start and the way this year's team is creating its own identity heading into Tuesday's 6 p.m. Centennial League game at 2-1 Emporia.
"I think our true test is definitely going to be Tuesday against Emporia to see what we do against them, but I think that the guards know we're that fast-paced kind of team and we want to push it to the max,'' Alexander said. "We've got to do just a little better job or rebounding and things like that, but I think our leadership is key out there and they know when to push it and when to pull back a little bit.''
Topeka High junior Kiki Smith, who had 32 points, puts up a shot against Topeka West in the Trojans' 85-31 win last Friday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Tae Thomas (center) is coming off a 23-point performance in Topeka High's 85-31 win over Topeka West last Friday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Trojans have outscored their first three opponents by a 228-96 margin and are coming off an 85-31 league win at Topeka West last Friday night.
High got off to a little bit of a slow start offensively against the Chargers and Alexander credited the Trojans' effort on the defensive end for getting them up to speed.
"Things kind of started flowing once they got some easy touches underneath the basket,'' Alexander said. "Defensively we just tried different things against (West) -- zones, halfcourt traps, presses, just to work on a few things.''
Alexander also got the opportunity to play 13 players against West, which she feels will help the Trjojans' depth moving forward.
"It was good for us to see and get all those different people in and get them some touches,'' Alexander said.
Not surprisingly, Topeka High's most experienced players, senior Tae Thomas and junior Kiki Smith, have set the tone for the Trojans and combined for 55 points against West.
"Those guards have been playing ball their whole life, so when we found out about NiJa it was heartbreaking, but we knew we had to move forward because had too much talent to waste this season,'' Alexander said. "We're just excited for the season and want to keep going.''
A look at Tuesday's Shawnee County games:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Elijah Brooks
ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West
Brooks scored a game-high 29 points with five dunks as Topeka West's boys basketball team took a 68-41 Centennial League victory over rival Topeka High last Friday night at West. Brooks is averaging 27.7 points for the 2-1 Chargers.
Brennon Dodge
BRENNON DODGE, Shawnee Heights
A sophomore guard, Dodge scored 29 points to outscore Ottawa by himself as Shawnee Heights improved to 3-0 with a 62-27 non-league road win last Friday. Dodge, who had a 33-point outing in Heights' season-opener, had seven 3-pointers on the night, including four in the first half.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After graduating individual state champions Dasia Anderson and Rebekah Smith off of last year's team, Washburn Rural girls wrestling coach Damon Parker knows that capturing a third straight state team crown will be a tall chore.
But the Junior Blues are off to an impressive start this winter after a big week last week.
And although the subject won't be broached during the season, there's no doubt that winning another title will be on the Junior Blues' minds when February rolls around.
"At our preseason team meeting we talk about winning the state championship and then that topic is off limits until we get to Hartman Arena in Wichita,'' Parker said.
"We never talk about it in the (wrestling) room. It's just always about getting better today and what we can do to prepare for our next opponent, our next tournament.''
After claiming a 62-12 dual win over Chanute in its home opener on Thursday, Washburn Rural went on the road to Iowa and dominated Saturday's 26-school Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic, winning the team championsip by a 191-101 margin over Lewis Central.
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team poses for a team picture after winning the championship in the Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic last Saturday in Iowa. [Twitter}
Senior Jaliah Johnson won the 165-pound title and sophomore Kristen Rezac won at 100 pounds at Council Bluffs, while the Junior Blues placed a total of nine wrestlers in the top four.
Juniors Addison Broxterman (120) and Alexis Fredrickson (132) both posted runner-up finishes in Iowa while Rural got third-place finishes from senior Kendall Reid (114), sophomore Laiken Clark (145) and sophomore Sophia Ross (235) as well as fourths from junior Carmen Alston (138) and sophomore Fatima Escobar (185).
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Nine city wrestlers earned individual boys and girls championships in Saturday's Melvin Douglas Invitational at Highland Park, while Topeka High's girls finished first and Topeka West's boys second in the team standings.
Topeka High's girls got individual championships from Ingrid Cabrera (101 pounds), Alesia Alvarez (155) and Brantaija Loggins (191) on the way to winning the team championship by a 103-70.5 margin over Lansing, while Highland Park finished third. Topeka West finished fifth in the girls team standings, with the Chargers getting the 235-pound championship from Tristyn Johnson.
Topeka West's boys came up just short in its bid for a second straight tournament championship, with Blue Valley West edging the Chargers by a 134-126 margin. Topeka High also challenged for the team title, finishing third with 119 points.
Malachi Kuebler
Dillon Jay
Morgan Dean
West got individual wins from Dillon Jay (106), Malachi Kuebler (126), Mason Vickers (138) and Kyren Padilla (152) while Highland Park got a win from Morgan Dean in the 285-pound weight class.
MELVIN DOUGLAS INVITATIONAL at Highland Park
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The year 2021 was the year Camden Barta would shine.
Seaman’s senior quarterback had to wait in line for his opportunity to be under center for the Vikings, spending 2020 behind Reid Cowan, who would go on to play for Emporia State. That time learning from Cowan grew Barta's IQ for football and expanded his knowledge of the game.
“Cowan was the best mentor anyone could’ve asked for,'' Barta said. "He taught me everything I know behind center. I give him a lot of credit for the success I had on Friday nights this year.''
Seaman's Camden Barta is coming off a big senior season in his first year as the Vikings' starting quarterback. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The success on Friday nights in the 2021 season earned Barta plenty of recognition and awards.
Barta was selected as a Top 22 player in Shawnee County by TopSports.news back in late November. He was also named first-team all-state as a defensive back and an all-state honorable mention quarterback.
“I’m proud to hold the awards because I’ve worked really hard in the off-season,'' said Barta. "I had a lot of people not thinking I could do what I did this year after my junior year. I had doubters. Knowing that I did what I did this year, nobody can take that away from me. I’m happy with the results.''
Barta silenced the critics with his performances in the 2021 campaign -- completing 62 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,224 yards, 23 touchdowns, just eight interceptions and also collecting four rushing touchdowns.
The 6-foot-3 signal-caller is now in the history books, shattering six school records in his first year as a full-time starting quarterback.
Barta now holds the Seaman record for most passing yards in a season (2,224), most touchdown passes in a game (five), most passing TDs in a season (23), most completions in a season (138), best completion percentage in a season (62.2) and longest TD pass.
The Seaman Vikings ended up going 6-4 on the year. When the Vikings won, they did it in blowout fashion. When the Vikings were victorious, they outscored the opposition, 262-32. It was a difficult task to keep up with the arm of Barta while three of the most talented receivers in the area were running routes. The three-headed monster of Brody Gormley, PJ Vargas, and Casen Stallbaumer made Barta’s life a bit easier for him.
“We had a game plan coming into every week to get our receivers the ball as much as possible. I knew how good of athletes they all were and what they could do for us. Vargas has the best hands I’ve ever seen. Stallbaumer can play any position on the field with his athletic versatility. Gormley had the height and speed. I could throw it up to those guys and they could all make explosive plays for us when we needed them the most,” said Barta.
Barta and his teammates made a lot of positive memories this past fall and the games that didn’t end up in the win column were teachable moments for the quarterback.
