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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2020-21 basketball season was so much fun that Washburn University star point guard Tyler Geiman jumped at the chance to do it all over again.
Geiman, who will be honored Wednesday night as TopSports.news' Washburn Co-Male Athlete of the Year, has already earned his bachelor's degree and had several other options he could have explored.
There were other Division II stars who opted to transfer to the Division I level while Geiman could have also looked into playing professionally, but for Geiman the choice to return to the Ichabods for one last go-around was an easy one.
"I'd say it was pretty much a done deal,'' the 6-foot-1 Geiman said. "I wanted to get my masters so I was like, 'I don't want to be working on that and not still play basketball,' so it worked out really well actually because now I can still do both.''
Washburn star point guard Tyler Geiman will be honored Wednesday night as TopSports.news' Washburn University Co-Male Athlete of the Year. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University All-American pole-vaulter Virgi Scardanzan is already looking forward to the next Olympic Summer Games after a near miss in last weekend's Absolute Italian Championships.
Scardanzan finished a strong second in her country's national meet at Rovereto, Italy to put herself in a spot to represent Italy in the upcoming Tokyo Summer Games, but her second-place jump of 4.3 meters (14 feet, 1.25 inches) fell short of the minimum height of 4.7 meters to be able to compete in the Olympics.
Nevertheless, Scardanzan's performance left her nothing but upbeat looking ahead.
"It's an incredible sensation," Scardanzan said in a Zoom call with Topeka media Monday morning. "I've worked so hard for it this year and behind this year there are many years of dedication, passion and hard working. I want to say that this year has been an incredible year."
Washburn star pole-vaulter Virgi Scardanzan (second from left) is coming off a runner-up finish in the Italian Championships. Scardanzan will be honored as TopSports.news' 2021 WU women's athlete of the year on June 30 in conjunction with the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Before the 2021 college golf season began, Andrew Beckler was ready to walk away from competitive sports at the end of his senior year.
One of the greatest seasons in Washburn University history changed his mind, with the Division II Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year now looking forward to launching his professional golf career later this summer.
"I was pretty dead set on just finding a job after golf,'' Beckler said. "I expected myself to play well, but I won some tournaments and I won a few by a little bit more than I was expecting to, had some really good rounds, and then winning the Jack Nicklaus Award I think was a big confidence boost for me.
"That kind of showed me that I could compete in this game at a professional level, so I'm going to turn pro in August. I'll play a few more amateur events and one more Kansas Amateur and then turn pro.''
Washburn star Andrew Beckler (right) receives the 2021 Division II Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award from the legendary "Golden Bear'' earlier this month. [Submitted]
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Cincinnati Bengals rookie Wyatt Hubert, a former star at Shawnee Heights and Kansas State, greets participants in Friday's Topeka Area Catbackers golf tournament at Lake Shawnee. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
In many ways, Wyatt Hubert's life has changed since he declared for the NFL Draft and was drafted in the seventh round by the Cincinnati Bengals.
But the former Shawnee Heights and Kansas State star still cherishes every chance he gets to return to his Topeka roots.
"I got back a few days ago, last Wednesday actually, and I've been relaxing,'' Hubert said Friday before playing in the Topeka Area Catbackers golf tournament at Lake Shawnee, just a few minutes from where he grew up. "Obviously, I'm still putting in a lot of work and staying in shape and studying my playbook and doing all of that Monday through Friday, but definitely Saturday and Sunday are relaxation days to just enjoy my time home and spend with my family and friends.''
Former Shawnee Heights and Kansas State star and current Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Wyatt Hubert (middle) visits with Washburn Rural golf coach Jared Goehring (left) and one of his former Heights football coaches, Doug Holmes, prior to Friday's Topeka Area Catbackers golf tournament at Lake Shawnee. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
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JEFF JACOBSEN / HEART & SOUL OF KANSAS SPORTS / JUNE 13, 2021
Here is the direct link to the story and photos: https://actionimagesphotography.com/the-jayhawk-open/
Here is the direct link to the Action Images website: https://actionimagesphotography.com/
By JEFF JACOBSEN
actionimagesphotography.com
I get a wonderful feeling when I photograph an event marked by a long heritage and a continual pedigree of champions. I believe the athletes competing in the event feel the same. It is an honor to take part in such an event with the hope of calling yourself a champion.
The Jayhawk Open is one. The tennis tournament might only be a blip on the radar screens of the fast-paced lives of many in the city of Topeka. However, those competing know the very best in the Midwest have made their marks at the Jayhawk.
The Jayhawk established itself in 1939 on the then-clay courts at Hughes Courts set in a quiet neighborhood at 8th & Orleans, east of Gage Park. Only in 1944 due to World War II, the 1951 Topeka Floods and the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown were champions not crowned. A move to the Kossover Tennis Center south of the Veterans Administration Hospital along Gage Blvd in 1980 allowed the Jayhawk to never to miss a beat even as the booms in tennis have ebbed and flowed.
The beauty of the event comes from the roots of tennis that took hold and then drew young players to take up the game. They grew into outstanding high school and college tennis players and even professional players. So, as I walked into Kossover for this year’s events, there sat alums I photographed as children, college players I photographed at KU and so many who now happily give back to the game and tournament’s heritage.
