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Former Topeka High coach Pat Denney leads Shawnee Mission North past Topeka West in the Topeka Invitational Tournament
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West's boys basketball team enjoyed a lot of early success this season, and Rick Bloomquist is concerned that his Chargers might have let that success go to their heads.
After opening the 2020-21 season with six straight victories, West has suddenly hit a roadblock, with the Chargers losing in overtime to Highland Park last Friday before falling 60-59 to Shawnee Mission North in Thursday's opening round of the Topeka Invitational Tournament at Topeka High.
"We've got some individual issues that we need to address, that we're going to address,'' Bloomquist said. "We've got changes we need to make because we've gotten fat and sassy and they've got to understand that you can't play with a big head.
"I think we're just a little pig-headed and big-headed.''
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Hayden's Joe Otting gets under the basket against Topeka High's Jalen Smith during Fridays game at the Topeka Invitational Tournament Photo by Rex Wolf TSNBy RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Playing without its top two scorers, seniors Geivonnii Williams and Vacario Triplett, Hayden put up a fight against Class 6A Wichita East, but the Blue Aces outscored the Wildcats 30-14 over the middle two quarters en route to a 52-37 victory in Thursday's first round of the Topeka Invitational Tournament at Topeka High.
Hayden led 5-2 and 11-9 early on and trailed by just a 13-11 margin at the end of the opening quarter, but the Blue Aces used a 16-8 second quarter to open up a 29-19 halftime advantage and then pushed their lead to 43-25 with a 14-6 third quarter.
Sophomore Joe Otting paced Hayden (2-6) with 13 points while sophomore Jake Muller added 7 points for the Wildcats, who dropped their sixth straight game.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
From almost the time she learned how to walk, Erika Lane Yoder was in a gym, tagging along with her mom, longtime Washburn Rural athletic director Penny Lane, and grabbing a basketball whenever she could to practice her skills.
And Lane Yoder, in her second season as an assistant coach for the Washburn University women’s basketball team, realized early on that athletics were going to be a major part of her life, first as a multi-sport athlete and then as a coach.
“I think I knew when I was little, honestly,’’ Lane Yoder said of her coaching aspirations. “It’s really just been something I’ve always liked doing. When I watched basketball on TV, even when I was little, I would draw things up or if I saw something on TV I would write it down on a sticky note and save it, so I think I’ve always really known I’ve wanted to do that.
“And when I came to the college level and just saw the excitement of it and really putting everything towards basketball, I loved that, so it just kind of reassured that post-athlete life.’’
Former Washburn Rural and Washburn standout Erika Lane Yoder is currently an assistant women's basketball coach for the Ichabods. [Photograph by Rex Wolf]
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By ANDREW GILL
TopSports.news
Transitioning from teacher and coach to athletic director at a high school with more than 1,200 students presents a sizeable challenge in and of itself.
Factor in the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenge of leading 22 sports programs becomes that much greater.
In the wake of the craziness brought by the year 2020, Steve Bushnell received a uniform response to the announcement that he was to take over as Seaman High School’s athletic director: 'What a terrible year to become an administrator.' But that’s not how Bushnell sees it.
“The way I look at it is maybe it was a blessing. Maybe I’m in this position because I can handle these challenges and I’m not going to shy away from the leadership we need in order for us to get through these trying times,” Bushnell said.
Steve Bushnell is in his first year as Seaman's athletic director after coaching the Vikings to nine state baseball titles. [Seaman Schools]
Bushnell taught and coached in the Seaman district for 29 years before becoming athletic director after the retirement of longtime Viking A.D. Brad Dietz following the 2019-20 school years. In his 22 seasons as head baseball coach, he won an astonishing nine Class 5A state championships.
After his promotion was announced in early 2020, his senior-loaded squad looked poised to defend their 2019 title and end Bushnell’s coaching career with a second career three-peat.
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Silver Lake had no answer for Rock Creek standout Dawson Zenger in Wednesday's Burlington Invitational boys semifinal, with Zenger scoring a game-high 30 points as the Mustangs rolled to a 59-37 victory over the Eagles.
Silver Lake trailed by just a 12-10 margin at the end of the first quarter, but Rock Creek used an 18-11 second quarter to take a 30-21 halftime lead and then put the Eagles away with a 20-8 third quarter.
