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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
This time, close won't be enough.
After finishing second to Washburn Rural in the Class 6A girls state championship game two seasons ago, Hannah Alexander's Topeka High team rolled to a 25-0 record and a semifinal berth last March before having title shot No. 2 wiped out by COVID-19.
And while the Trojans received a lot of condolences and well-wishes after last year's sudden end to the year, it didn't really help much, so Topeka High is determined to end its "Third Year Is The Charm'' tour with the coveted state championship, which would be High's first girls crown since 1982.
"We're tired of the getting so close and the 'Oh, almost, and you should have and oh, you guys won it virtually,' '' Alexander said. "That doesn't mean anything to these kids, so we definitely want to make sure we come home with the hardware.
"We owe it to this town and to the Trojan family.''
Ja'Neysha Hendricks, who averaged 4.5 assists, will be one of five Topeka High seniors who will close out their high school careers in the Class 6A state tournament. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural product Kendall Michalski and her Bethel College women's basketball teammates will make history Friday night when they step on the court at Wichita's Garvey Center for the Threshers' opening-round game against Vanguard in the NAIA National Championships.
Friday's 8 p.m. contest will mark the first time in the 48-year history of the program that Bethel has advanced to the national tournament, a big milestone in a season of big milestones for Michalski and the Bethel program.
Washburn Rural product Kendall Michalski has set single-game and single-season 3-point records for Bethel, which is headed to the NAIA national tournament for the first time in school history. [Submitted]
Bethel, which will take a 16-9 record into the Vanguard game, was upset in the quarterfinals of the KCAC tournament, but ended up garnering the conference's second national bid behind conference champ and 29-0 Sterling.
"We were told we had a pretty good chance,'' Michalski told TopSports.news in a phone interview. "If Sterling won we were going, so we turned into some pretty big Warrior fans, cheering for Sterling.''
Bethel's trip to nationals is another sign of the dramatic progress the program has made under the fourth-year husband/wife Threshers coaching tandem of head coach Drew Johnson and assistant Nicole (Ohlde) Johnson, the former Kansas State star and WNBA player.
"(Bethel) actually only won four games the season before Drew and Nicole got here and they won a few more (12) Drew and Nicole's first year here and then when I got here my freshman year we went 20-10, which went down as the winningest team in school history,'' Michalski said. "And then just two years later here we are being the first team going to nationals, which is really cool.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Two seasons ago, Topeka High's girls basketball team had its shot at the Trojans' first Class 6A title since 1982 ended by city rival Washburn Rural in the championship game.
A year ago it was COVID-19 that ended High's title hopes, with state tournaments across the state canceled after first-round games due to COVID-19.
On Friday night, a year to the day since the 2020 tournament was canceled, Topeka High will be back at Wichita's Koch Arena to continue its quest for the most cherished prize in high school athletics -- a state title.
NiJaree Canady and the Topeka High Trojans will be shooting for the schools's first girls state title since 1982 this weekend at Wichita. [File photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Down the road at Emporia's White Auditorium, Topeka West's boys will be aiming for only their third championship-game appearance and first state title in school history.
No. 2 seed Topeka High, 22-1 on the season, faces No. 3 Dodge City (21-1) in Friday's 7 p.m. semifinal, with the winner advancing to Saturday's 6 o'clock championship game at Koch to face the winner of the 3 p.m. semifinal between top seed Shawnee Mission Northwest (21-0) and No. 4 Olathe West (15-5).
Topeka West, meanwhile, has to deal with a key injury to junior Elijah Brooks as the second-seeded Chargers, 20-2 on the season, prepare to face No. 3 seed De Soto (19-3) in Friday's 7 o'clock semifinal in Emporia, with the West-De Soto winner advancing to Saturday's 6 o'clock title game to take on the winner of Friday's 3 o'clock semi between No. 1 seed Maize (21-2) and No. 4 Kansas City-Washington (10-4).
Veteran Topeka West coach Rick Bloomquist will try to lead his Chargers to the school's first boys state title this weekend in Emporia. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
And although it won't be easy -- state championships never are -- I see title celebrations for both the Trojans and Chargers in their future.
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TopSports.news
Something had to give in Tuesday night's Class 5A boys state quarterfinal between Hays and Topeka West, with the Indians and Chargers starting the night with a combined 43 straight victories.
And in a game that was tight throughout, it was Rick Bloomquist's Chargers that kept on rolling, overcoming an injury to standout Elijah Brooks to end Hays' 30-game winning streak with a 52-49 win on the Indians' home court.
Rick Bloomquist's Topeka West boys are headed to the Class 5A semifinals after a 52-49 quarterfinal win over previously-unbeaten Hays. [Submitted]
With its 14th straight win Topeka West earned a 7 p.m. semifinal date Friday night with De Soto at Emporia's White Auditorium. The 20-2 Chargers are the No. 2 seed while 19-3 De Soto is the No. 3 seed.
Topeka West lost Brooks, who had 14 points, to an injury early in the final fourth quarter with the game hanging in the balance, but the Chargers, in the state tournament for the first time since 2010, found a way to get the job done.
"When Elijah went down, we could have quit, we could have rolled over,” Bloomquist said. “We could’ve played dead, we could have said, 'Woe is me', but they played harder
“I love that team. I love those boys. I love what they did tonight."
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Topeka High's NiJaree Canady led the scoring against Wichita Heights with 21 points (Photo by Rex Wolf / TSN)
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
By now Topeka High's girls basketball team knows the way to Wichita's Koch Arena, a trip the Trojans will make for a third straight year later this week.
Now the complete focus for Hannah Alexanders team is on bringing home the prize they've coveted since 2019 -- a Class 6A state championship.
Topeka High finished second to city rival Washburn Rural in the '19 championship game and the Trojans were odds on favorites to win the championship a year ago when the tournament was canceled after the first round due to COVID-19.
Now the Trojans have put themselves back in position for a title run after advancing to Friday's state semifinals with an impressive 71-36 state quarterfinal romp past Wichita Heights Tuesday night at High.
"We had a great senior class last year and we have a great senior class this year, so I think the leadership is where it all has started and we want to make sure these girls don't leave empty-handed,'' Alexander said. "They've been been wanting this (a state title) for the last three years.''
