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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden's girls soccer team got off to a slow start in Monday's Class 4A-1A regional opener, but finished fast, advancing to a regional final with a 6-0 romp past Ottawa.
It took the host Wildcats, now 10-7-0, nearly 15 minutes to get on the scorebord and nearly 25 minutes to add another score, but Hayden was in control 3-0 at the half and turned the game into a rout with three second-half goals.
Hayden junior Kate Roeder (right) gains control of the ball in Monday's 6-0 regional soccer win over Ottawa as Cyclone freshman Allie Dillon gives chase. Roeder had a goal and an assist in the win. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Riley Schmidtlein scored the only goal the Wildcats would need at the 25:18 mark of the opening half and sophomore Sloane Sims made the score 2-0 at the 15:06 mark before freshman Jill Lenherr put Hayden in command 3-0 with 8:27 left in the half.
Sophomore Briana Barnett scored a pair of second-half goals for the Wildcats, sandwiched around a score from junior Kate Roeder.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural boys golf coach Jared Goehring knows his Junior Blues will need to go lower at next week's Class 6A state tournament to challenge for a championship.
But the Junior Blues' performance Monday at Topeka Country Club was good enough to produce an impressive performance in its own right, with Rural completing a sweep of city, Centennial League and 6A regional championships.
Led by junior Luke Leonetti's runner-up finish and putting five players in the top seven places individually, Washburn Rural claimed the regional crown by a 322-328 margin over Free State.
Washburn Rural's golf team poses with its regional championship trophy Monday after winning the title by a 322-328 margin over Free State, [Submitted]
Leonetti shot a 78 to finish two strokes behind Free State freshman regional medalist Jack Randall, while Rural senior Tyler Higgins and junior Giles Frederickson tied for third with 81s and juniors Joe Morse and Turner Depperschmidt tied for sixth place with 82s. Senor Cole Kucera rounded out the Junior Blues' lineup with an 85.
"The guys had just enough in the tank today to cross another goal off our list that we set at the beginning of the season -- city champions, league champions and regional champions -- so it was a good enough day to get the job done,'' Goehring said.
"One thing to take away is we had six scores 85 or better. We've just got to some of those at the top a little bit lower. We've got to get some of those in the middle a little bit lower and then the guys towards the bottom of the lineup kind of did their jobs today, but I think all of these guys collectively top to bottom would say that they would love to have at least four to five shots back from their round today.''
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By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Kevin Haskin
Musings at the mid-month:
-- Hey April, what did you give up to trade rain to May?
-- Or was it a three-way deal in which March dealt you unseasonably cold days to be named later?
-- Missed that in the Transactions blurb For Scoreboard.
-- Miss Scoreboard, for that matter.
-- Lance Leipold has been good at saying the right things, though I genuinely applaud what he recently advocated during a Hawk Talk segment.
-- The new Kansas football coach spoke of unpolished gems he recruited to Buffalo.
-- You better if situated there. MAC school, cold weather, NFL city, no tradition …
-- Name-brand chicken wings only go so far, especially when replicated quite well in every college town in America.
-- Leipold mentioned the inspiration football recruits draw from fewer stars attached to their recruiting bios.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
As it was for athletes across the nation, the spring of 2020 was a tough one for Topeka High sisters Zoe and Adisyn Caryl.
The Caryls had been set to play softball together for the first time in their careers for a talented Trojan team before COVID-19 wiped out the entire season.
"It was sad,'' Adisyn Caryl said. "When we found that out, I think we sat on our beds crying for about a week. It was just so upsetting.''
But while the spring of '20 was a nightmare, '21 has been the type of season the Caryls had dreamed about, with senior Zoe and sophomore Adisyn capitalizing on their one season together with monster regular seasons for a Topeka High team that will take a perfect 20-0 record into Tuesday's Class 6A regional tournament at Hummer Sports Park.
"I've always been looking forward to playing with (Zoe),'' said Adisyn, the Trojans' shortstop. "We always talked about it, so once we finally got to do it, and since we have been so successful as a team, it's like, 'Well, this is what we've been waiting for.'
"At least I knew that I still had one year with (Zoe) and I had some teammates that didn't get any (seasons) with their siblings so I appreciated that. When we got through basketball and they finally said we were going to be able to play softball we were so excited and we're just making the most out of it.''
Sisters Adisyn Caryl (left) and Zoe Caryl have helped lead Topeka High's softball team to a 20-0 record this spring. [Submitted]
Zoe, Topeka High's catcher, agreed.
"I would have had two years to play with her but instead I just get the one and I'm lucky that I have this year,'' Zoe said. ''It's better than nothing at all.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Saturday's Class 3A-1A state championship match was a challenge from start to finish for Rossville senior tennis star Alex Sherer.
Of course, challenge is also the best word to sum up Sherer's high school career as a whole.
But after waiting four years just to get a chance to play in a state tournament, Sherer was more than willing to put in a little extra court time, surviving a marathon three-set, two-tiebreaker championship match to take a 6-7 (10-8 tiebreaker), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker) victory over Wichita Collegiate junior Nick Grabon at Wichita's Riverside Tennis Club.
"This was the goal, this was the hope and we got it done,'' Sherer said. "It wasn't easy, but we got there.''
Rossville senior Alex Sherer displays his championship bracket after claiming the Class 3A-1A state singles championship Saturday in Wichita. [Twitter]
