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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's hard for Shawnee Heights girls wrestling star Maranda Bell to fathom the fact that her high school career is about to come to an end.
"Yesterday I was just going into high school and then it's already almost over,'' Bell said.
And when that time comes at the conclusion of Wednesday and Thursday's Class 6A-5A state girls tournament at Park City's Hartman Arena, Bell knows it's going to be an emotional time.
"I know I'm going to cry,'' she said. "It's going to be bittersweet.''
Shawnee Heights senior wrestling star Maranda Bell will compete in her final high school state tournament Wednesday and Thursday at Park City's Hartman Arena. [File photo/TSN]
After missing state her sophomore season with a shoulder injury, Bell earned a third-place state finish a year ago.
Now the goal for Bell, No. 2-ranked by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, is to close out her banner prep career with a bang.
"I've made sure I've been working harder than ever to make sure I'm 100 percent ready for state,'' Bell said.
Bell takes a 22-1 record into this week's state tournament and said that lone loss has driven her to improve.
"It sucked to lose, but it's definitely motivation,'' she said.
Shwnee Heights coach Chad Parks also has high hopes for Bell in her final prep event.
"We would love to see Maranda win a title,'' Parks said. "As coaches we know she deserves it. She's battled a lot of injuries in high school, so for her to go out on top would be huge.
"But I 100 percent know that she'll go out and will fight every single match and, at the end of the day, that's all we can ask.''
Bell is one of eight state qualifiers for Shawnee Heights, which won a regional team championship, with 115-pound junior Molly Busenitz also coming off an individual regional title.
"When we get to the state tournament it's show up and wrestle hard,'' Parks said.
Seaman will have seven wrestlers in the 6A-5A state tournament, led by regional champions Taylie Heston and Rylee Murray.
Heston is a 109-pound freshman and Murray a 126-pound senior.
The first round of state competition gets under way at 10 a.m. Wednesday and will continue through the semifinal round.
Competition will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday and will continue through the place matches.
The 4A-1A state tournament will be contested at the Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina,getting under way with first-round matches at 10 a.m.
Rossville sophomore 120-pounder Kendra Hurla, a state champion as a freshman, leads a eight-wrestler Shawnee County contingent into that state meet.
Rossville sophomore Kendra Hurla is a returning state champion and top-ranked in Class 4A-1A at 120 pounds. [Photo by Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography]
Hurla, 35-0 on the season, is top-ranked by the KWCA at 120 pounds.
Hurla was one of three state qualifiers for the Bulldawgs while Silver Lake qualified four wrestlers for state.
Sophomore 101-pounder Elaina Wolff is Hayden's lone qualifier, the first girls state qualifier in school history.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seven Shawnee County basketball teams continue to be ranked in the final 2021-2022 Kansas Basketball Coaches Association state rankings released Tuesday, with Seaman's girls jumping two places in Class 3A after knocking off a pair of state-ranked teams.
Seaman, 13-5 through last week, upset 6A's No. 2-ranked team, Topeka High, and 5A's then-No. 4-ranked Lansing last week and moved from No. 8 to No. 6 in 5A.
Matt Tinsley's Seaman girls basketball team jumped two places to No. 6 in the final KBCA Class 5A rankings. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake's girls continued to be ranked No. 1 in 3A while Topeka High and Washburn Rural held the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the 6A girls rankings behind Olathe North.
Topeka West, which has won 16 straight games, remained No. 2 in the 5A boys rankings while Highland Park slipped two spots to No. 6.
Cair Paravel moved up a spot to No. 7 in the 1A Division I boys rankings.
KANSAS BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION STATE RANKINGS
GIRLS
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By RICK PETERSON 
TopSports.news
Hayden senior basketball player Trent Duffey and Seaman sophomore basketball player Taylin Stallbaumer have been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Athletes of the Week for last week.
Duffey scored 60 points in three Hayden games on the week, including a career-high performance, while Stallbaumer helped lead Seaman to upset victories over a pair of state-ranked teams.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Duffey and Stallbaumer last week:
Hayden senior Trent Duffey is the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Boys Athlete of the Week after scoring a total of 60 points in three games last week, including a career-high 32-point performance. [File photo/TSN]
TRENT DUFFEY, Hayden
Duffey, a 6-foot-2 senior, scored 60 points in three games on the week as the Wildcats won two of the three.
Duffey scored 19 points in Hayden's 58-35 non-league win over Tonganoxie last Monday, had nine points in Tuesday's 51-48 overtime Centennial League loss to No. 2-ranked (Class 5A) Topeka West and scored a career-high 32 points in Friday's 66-57 league win over Topeka High on Senior Night at Hayden.
Seaman sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer is the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Girls Athlete of the Week after helping lead the Vikings to a pair of upset victories over state-ranked teams. [File photo/TSN]
TAYLIN STALLBAUMER, Seaman
A 5-foot-6 sophomore, Stallbaumer turned in a pair of 19-point games as then-No. 8-ranked Vikings (Class 5A) knocked off state-ranked teams Topeka High and Lansing.
Stallbaumer had 19 points with three 3-pointers in Seaman's 50-42 win over previously-unbeaten and No. 2-ranked (6A) Topeka High last Tuesday and turned in another 19-point game and four 3-pointers on Friday in the Vikings' 56-46 non-league win over then-No. 4-ranked (5A) Lansing.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team begins the final week of its regular season with a 5:30 p.m. home game against Northeastern State on Tuesday evening in Lee Arena.
Washburn, 12-13 overall, 10-9 in the MIAA, will be looking to get back in the win column after falling 58-53 in overtime at Northwest Missouri on Saturday while the RiverHawks are 6-20, 4-16 after going 1-1 at home last week. They defeated Newman, 64-57, before dropping their game against Central Oklahoma, 74-46.
The Ichabods posted a 61-50 win against Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla. on Feb. 5.
Washburn leads the all-time series with Norhteastern, 12-6, and has won six of the last seven games.
Senior Hunter Bentley moved into the No. 6 spot on Washburn's career scoring list with a 26-point game at Northwest Missouri last Saturday. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn senior standout Hunter Bentley is eighth in the MIAA in scoring with a 14.6-point scoring average and has scored 10 or more points in eight consecutive games, including four 20-plus-point games during that stretch.
After her 26- point effort at Northwest Missouri, Bentley passed Latisha Yarnell (1984-88) and moved up to No. 6 on Washburn's career scoring list. Bentley currently has 1,567 points in her time as an Ichabod.
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
After a series of weather delays and postponements, Washburn baseball completed its final non-conference series of the year, claiming three out of four games against Northern State University.
The Ichabods now stand at 8-4 on the year with MIAA play picking up later in the week.
Game 1 of the past series began at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan as Falley Field recovered from Thursday's snow. After falling behind 2-1 early on, the series-opening game was all Washburn, as the Ichabods posted a 10-2 win.
“It’s February in Kansas and we’re used to that a little bit,” said Washburn coach Harley Douglas. “I think this was a little bit different though because we worked all day Friday to get the six inches of snow off the ground and then went and played Saturday.”
Senior Rane Pfiefer pitched five innings, allowing only two runs, and Washburn Rural product Dalton Huggins threw three scoreless innings to follow.
Sophomore Connor Scott contributed a home run for the Ichabods as Washburn won three out of four games against Northern State. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/The Washburn Review]
Offensively senior Parker Dunn started his big weekend with three hits and three RBI. Seniors Brett Ingram and Kros Bay went deep along with sophomore Connor Scott.
“Baseball is the same game no matter where you play, that’s the greatest thing about it,” Dunn said. “You just got to be able to grind and this is a team that loves to grind.”
Game 2 was back in Topeka and was the first of a Sunday doubleheader. Dunn picked up an RBI double in the first inning, giving the Ichabods a lead they would not relinquish.
“We preach all of the time that our goal is to lead the conference in doubles and stolen bases or extra bases. So when we do that we are putting a lot of focus on how we score runs rather than how many we are scoring,” Douglas said.
Washburn pitcher Casey Steward helped the Ichabods win three out of four games with Northern State in WU's season-opening series. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/The Washburn Review]
Sophomore Casey Steward made his first career home start and allowed only four baserunners and no runs in a career-high five innings.
