- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Recent Hayden product Carter Charvat was right in the middle of the East's 36-25 Kansas Shrine Bowl victory ... literally.
Charvat was pressed into service at center for the East and played the unfamiliar position for all but the last few plays as the East posted its first Shrine victory since 2018 Saturday night at Emporia State's Welch Stadium.
"It was a great experience, I loved it all,'' said Charvat, a Benedictine signee. "I was playing center, which I hadn't done in a while. I was a linebacker, but I guess center, might as well. They just told me first day, 'Center,' and I was like, 'I'll take it, thank you,' and it worked out.
"It was pretty fun to play alongside those best in the state. That was a lot of fun. They're good and they know a lot and they helped me a lot.''
Charvat did his part, performing flawlessly on his snaps in the shotgun formation.
"That's scary because you can't really fire off when you're snapping the ball,'' he said. "It was weird, something to get used to for sure.''
The West took the opening kickoff and went up 3-0 on a 42-yard field goal from Blaise Harper of McPherson at the 10:35 mark of the first quarter but the East scored the next 20 points to take control.
Brigham Young University signee Dylan Dunn (Blue Valley Southwest) got the East on the board with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Adrion Seals (Eudora) at the 5:41 mark of the first quarter and Dunn hit Elijah Hakim (Olathe West) for a 2-point conversion to put the East up 8-3.
Tanner Heckel (Lyndon) scored from a yard out (conversion pass failed) to increase the East's lead to 14-3 with 3:13 left in the first and the East opened the second quarter with Dunn's second TD pass of the night, a 25-yarder to Olathe South's Bryce Noernberg (conversion failed) to give the East a 20-3 halftime advantage.
"The first half we kind of put them in the dirt a little bit and I feel like second half we came out a little sluggish but I feel like our defense really picked it up and our offense got it going for us in the second half,'' said Seaman product Callen Barta, who will play at Kansas State.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
In its 39th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade has announced Seaman's Ryin Miller as the 2023-24 Gatorade Kansas Girls Track & Field Player of the Year.
Miller is the first Gatorade Kansas Girls Track & Field Player of the Year to be chosen from Seaman.
The award, which celebrates the nation’s top high school athletes for excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community, distinguishes Miller as Kansas’ best high school girls track & field athlete.
Miller, who recently completed her sophomore season, won Class 5A titles in the 800 and 1,600-meter runs and finished second in the 3,200 in the state meet at Wichita's Cessna Stadium, leading the Vikings to a fourth-place finish as a team.
Miller ranked among the nation’s top five sophomores nationally in the 1,500 and 3,200 this spring and her personal-best times in the 1500 (4 minutes, 26.58), the 3,200 (10:13.97) and the 800 (2:10.25) all rank in the top three in state history.
“Ryin Miller became the Heartland’s fastest-rising talent over the last 12 months, having made the successful transition from the soccer pitch to the track oval,” said Rich Gonzalez, editor for PrepCalTrack.com. “This spring, she rocketed up the state’s all-time distance lists with head-turning momentum. Also a standout with the school’s basketball and cross-country programs, she built up stamina across the spectrum of sports, which helped make her an exceptional newcomer on the national scene.”
- Details
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremony turned into a family affair for the Stringers and Chipmans Wednesday night at the Washburn University Memorial Union.
Nick Stringer and Kelsey (Chipman) Stringer became just the second husband and wife to be inducted into the hall of fame, joining James Patrick and Nadira Hazim Patrick, inductees in 2012.
Introducing Kelsey was her brother, Bobby Chipman, while her father Bob Chipman, former Washburn men’s basketball coach and 2018 inductee, looked on. Introducing Nick Stringer was his father, former Hayden High School football coach Tom Stringer.
On top of entering the hall of fame together, the Stringers can look forward to celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary when they wake up tomorrow.
“I’m so proud to be from Topeka and part of Shawnee County,” Kelsey said. “The Chipman family and the Stringer family are people who have been in this community for a long time and are associated with athletics. So, to have the opportunity to go into the hall of fame together and to celebrate our community and our families was a special moment for us.”
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman multi-sport standout Taylin Stallbaumer, who helped lead the Vikings to their first Class 5A state volleyball championship, was named the TopSports.news Topeka Shawnee County Fall Female Athlete of the Year during Wednesday's awards banquet at Washburn University.
"Taylin was a three-sport athlete at Seaman, excelling in all of them,'' Seaman coach Tatiana Dowling said. "She is highly competitive and athletic. She makes people around her better, leads by example and is a great teammate.''
Stallbaumer ranks second on Seaman's all-time list in assists (1,394), fourth in aces (134), fifth in kills (663), sixth in digs (873), seventh in hitting percentage (.205) and ninth in blocks (91).
Stallbaumer also helped the Vikings win the 5A state basketball title and helped Seaman reach the state quarterfinals in soccer.
Stallbaumer will play volleyball at Johnson County Community College.
The daughter of Todd and Tonya Stallbaumer, Taylin compiled a 3.5 cumulative grade point average.
Other candidates:
FALL SPORTS: OUTSTANDING FEMALE NOMINEES
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Recent Topeka High graduate McCall Beall was selected as the Topeka Shawnee County Most Inspirational Female Athlete of the Year Wedneday night at Washburn University.
Beall was a team captain for the Topeka High softball team while earning first-team All-Class 6A and All-Centennial League and second-team All-Shawnee County recognition as a senior.
A part of back-to-back state championship softball teams as a freshman and sophomore, Beall was also a tennis standout for the Trojans, qualifying for the Class 6A state tournament in as a junior and senior.
"As much as she has excelled on the field, she also helped to lead the Topeka High student body as the student body president,'' Beall's nomination form stated.
Beall also participated in band and the Topeka High Drumline, Scholars Bowl and numerous academic-based clubs.
The daughter of Thomas Beall and Andrea Palmer, Beall compiled a 4.3 grade point average in high school.
SPRING SPORTS: MOST INSPIRATIONAL FEMALE NOMINEES