- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
PARK CITY -- When Washburn Rural senior wrestler Aidan Boline got the news that his Class 6A 160-pound championship match would be the first final of the day he knew that was his chance to put the Junior Blues in the driver's seat for a second straight 6A state team championship.
Boline, who capped a 34-6 season, did just that, taking a 5-0 decision over Olathe East senior Nick Carlson.
Two matches later Rural senior Austin Fager followed Boline to the mat and dominated his 182-pound title match, pinning Campus senior Aidan Williams in just 1 minute, 13 seconds, and the title belonged to the Junior Blues ... again.
Washburn Rural senior Austin Fager flips Junior Blues coach Josh Hogan to the mat in celebration after winning the 182-pound Class 6A state championship to clinch Rural's second straight state team title. [Photo by Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography]
Washburn Rural senior Aidan Boline won the Class 6A 160-pound state championship Saturday at Hartman Arena, helping the Junior Blues repeat as state team champs. [Photo by Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography]
"As soon I got here coach (Chase) Prester showed me the KSHSAA Twitter that 160 was up first and I couldn't have been more excited,'' Boline said. "I was ready to become a state champ as soon as possible. "I had an odd feeling going to sleep last night that I was going to be the draw. I felt it in my gut and then I get here and it comes true, so I knew that I was just ready do go.''
Washburn Rural started the final round with a slim 4.5-point lead but Boline knew that he and Fager could seal the deal.
"Coach (Damon) Parker is here today and he's the math wiz behind of it so while he's been here he's been counting up points mathematically deciding what we needed and before I went out he told me that I just had to go out there and win and Fager had to go out there and win and we mathematically sealed it,'' Boline said. "I couldn't have asked for a better ending.''
Fager, who finished his season 43-2, agreed.
- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls bowling team punched its ticket to next week's Class 6A state tournament with a third-place finish in Friday's 6A regional at West Ridge Lanes while Rural junior Josh Hammons qualified for the boys state meet as an individual.
Washburn Rural’s girls placed third with a team score of 2,768, finishing behind team champion Olathe Northwest (2,829) and Junction City (2,806).
Sophomore Claire Ireland paced the Rural girls, shooting a three-game series of 539 to finish fifth individually while junior Amaya Buchanan was a pin behind Ireland in sixth with a 538 and senior Kaitlyn Doyal and sophomore Taylin Sakers also placed in the top 15 overall.
Doyal finished 11th with a 508 series while Sakers was 13th with a 495.
Topeka High girls’ finished the day in eighth place with a score of 2,272.
Washburn Rural's Josh Hammons finished fifth individually in Friday's Class 6A bowling regional at West Ridge Lanes, earning a berth in next week's state tournament at Wichita. {File photo]
Out of the 66 boys’ bowlers that competed on Friday, Hammons earned a fifth-place finish with 664 series.
Washburn Rural finished fifth as a team at 3,168, while Junction City won the team championship with a 3,524 total and Lawrence (3,307) and Olathe Northwest (3,289) claimed the other two team berths for state.
Topeka High’s boys finished seventh with a 3,011 total.
CLASS 6A BOWLING REGIONAL
- Details
By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
It’s not always the case that a game between teams that are 17-2 and 2-17 has a lot at stake.
That was the case on Friday night when the second-ranked Class 6A Topeka High Trojans girls team faced Topeka West on Senior Night at High to wrap up the regular season for both teams.
After a slow start, the Trojans used a 47-point effort in the second and third quarters to claim a 72-26 win and sole possession of the 2021-22 Centennial League title.
“Bouncing back after a tough loss (to Bishop Miege) can be crucial, and I think the girls tried to do their best and keep their composure,” said Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander. “I was very pleased with that in the second and third and fourth quarter.”
With the loss, the Chargers fell to 2-18 on the season and 2-14 in league play with the regular season complete.
The win for Topeka High marks the last time the group of seniors will play in The Dungeon as the team moves to 18-2 overall and 15-1 in league play.
Topeka High senior Tae Thomas scored 13 points in the Trojans' 72-26 Senior Night victory over Topeka West Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
“Overall this senior group is something like 87-7 overall for four years, so they have built a legacy here,” Alexander said. “They are great leaders on and off the court, they get it done in the classroom and are going on and doing big things after high school.”
“It meant a lot to play here,” said senior Tae Thomas. “There are a lot of career-defining moments that have happened and life-changing moments that have happened so I am genuinely grateful for everything this program has done for me and all of the people I have met and all of the coaches that I have had.”
Aside from early turnovers, the Chargers played as strong of a first quarter as they have all season, led by junior Azaryah Duncan’s two made 3-pointers. Even with the fast start the Trojans had a balanced offensive attack and capitalized on the turnovers to lead 13-10 after one.
“With it being Senior Night it felt like we definitely needed that reminder at the quarter ending to, ‘Hey get our heads together,’ and get that motivation to finish it off strong,'' Thomas said.
- Details
By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Topeka West and Topeka High boys basketball faced off Friday night as the Trojans honored their class of three departing seniors in the team’s final home game of the season.
On the other side, having already wrapped up a Centennial League title, the Chargers played free in both team’s final game before sub-state action.
Topeka High senior Matt Flenoy scored 33 but it was not enough as the Trojans fell 73-46 to Topeka West, which extended its winning streak to 18 games.
Topeka West junior Xavier Alexander led a balanced Charger attack with 22 points in Friday's 73-46 Centennial League win over Topeka High. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka High senior Matt Flenoy scored a game and career-high 33 points in the Trojans' 73-46 Senior Night loss to Topeka West Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
“Obviously it is tough because it is Senior Night and it’s the last game they will play at Topeka High in their own gym but it’s not the last game of their career yet,” said Topeka High coach Ty Baumgardner. “(They are) good kids and worked hard, but we've still got the post-season.”
With the loss, the Trojans dropped to 4-16 on the year and 4-12 in league play while the Chargers move to 19-1 overall and 15-1 in the league.
After Topeka High quickly went up 4-3 Topeka West responded with a 17-0 run, with all of the points coming from senior Elijah Brooks and juniors Sincere Austin and Xavier Alexander.
“They got great awareness, their basketball IQs are really high,” Bloomquist said. “Obviously Elijah gets a lot of attention, but I've got a lot of pieces that go with him that play well.”
Flenoy scored six first-quarter points to pace the Trojans, though High still trailed 26-13 after one quarter.
Good ball movement from the Chargers continued in the second quarter with another strong offensive performance, led by Brooks and Alexander who had 15 and 11 first-half points, respectively.
“X, Xavier, he is just the quiet assassin,'' Bloomquist said. "You don’t know he is there and he just kills you. He played a great game.”
Topeka High had success offensively inside playing through Flenoy, who had 15 in the first half. Still Topeka West’s lead grew to as many as 22 before it went into halftime with a 44-25 lead.
“We had 11 turnovers in the first half and that led to I guarantee you at least 22 points if not more and we are down 19 at the half. So eliminate the turnovers and … we are not down by as big as we were” Baumgardner said.
- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Solid performances by seniors Ty Henry and Mateo Hyman set the stage for Seaman's boys basketball to cap off a stellar regular season Friday night with a home 70-58 Centennial League win over Emporia.
Seaman has played some the best basketball the Vikings have played all year in February, with somebody different on the roster capable of an explosive game on any night.
“We have had great balance this year,” Seaman coach Craig Cox said. “We have a lot of different guys that can score on any given night in many different ways. I think our versatility will be the key for us in the long run. It would be nice if the way we passed the ball, scored and played tonight would carry over into the postseason.
Hyman led the Vikings in scoring with 20 points Friday night while Henry added 16.
Seaman senior Mateo Hyman scored 20 points to lead the Vikings to their sixth straight victory Friday night, a 70-58 Centennial League win over Emporia. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“We as a team did a great job of getting everyone involved,” Hyman said. “My teammates gave me a lot of different opportunities to shoot the ball from many different places and my shots were going down.”
Seaman’s current six-game winning streak isn’t by accident, with the Vikings relying on team-first basketball.
Emporia was the latest victim of Seaman's hot streak, although the Spartans played Seaman competitively for the entire game.
“We couldn’t ever completely get away from (Emporia),” Cox said. “They deserve credit for how well they played. They made it extremely tough for us to break the game open.”
Emporia’s Parker Leeds had 22 points on the night while River Peters added 19. The Spartans converted 10 three-point shots, giving Seaman uneasiness for the first three quarters.
