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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
ALEX BAXTER, Topeka West
Baxter, a senior, was a Class 5A individual state qualifier last fall, tying for 29th with a 36-hole score of 184 (88-96). Baxter was the United Kansas Conference runnerup with an 18-hole score of 81 after finshing third in the UKC meet as a sophomore. She tied for 20th in the regional tournament.
Lauren Borjon
LAUREN BORJON, Hayden
Borjon, a junior, helped Hayden win the Class 4A state title by a 37-stroke margin, finishing 15th individually with a 165 36-hole score (85-80). Borjon tied for first for the team-champion Wildcats in the city tournament with a 76, finishing second in a playoff, tied for seventh in regional competition (88) and shot an 89 in the Centennial League tournament.
Izzy Glotzbach
IZZY GLOTZBACH, Hayden
A junior, Glotzbach shot a team-low 161 at state (79-82) to tie for ninth in Class 4A, helping Hayden post a runaway 37-stroke win in the team standings. Glotzbach finished third in the city tournament (81) to help Hayden win the city team title and tied for ninth at regionals (88). Glotzbach was a first-team All-Shawnee County pick after earning second-team recognition as a freshman.
Natalie Peterson
NATALIE PETERSON, Washburn Rural
A senior, Peterson has received second-team All-Shawnee County recognition the past two seasons. Peterson posted a 27th-place finish in the Class 6A state tournament last fall, finishing with a 36-hole score of 171 (89-82) to help Rural place fourth as a team. Peterson was eighth in the city meet (84), tied for sixth in the Centennial League (82) and tied for 10th at regionals (86).
Reece Randall
REECE RANDALL, Washburn Rural
A senior, Randall earned second-team All-Shawnee County recognition in 2022 and 2023. Randall tied for 25th in the Class 6A state tournament with a 36-hole total of 170 (87-83) for fourth-place Rural. Randall tied for fourth in the Centennial League tournament with an 81, took ninth in the city tournament (85) and tied for 14th place at regionals (88).
MAKENNA STUKE, Seaman
Stuke, a junior, helped Seaman win a Class 5A regional team title with a fifth-place finish (89) and tied for 29th in the 5A state tournament with a 36-hole score of 184 (91-93). Stuke finished third in the United Kansas Conference tournament with an 83 as the Vikings won the championship by 48 strokes. She carded an 87 in the city meet.
Jaycee Zimmerman
JAYCEE ZIMMERMAN, Seaman
Zimmerman, a senior, is a two-time All-Shawnee County second-team pick and shot a 79 to win the United Kansas Conference individual title last fall after finishing second as a sophomore. Zimmerman helped the Vikings post a 48-stroke win in the UKC meet and placed eighth in Class 5A regional competition as Seaman captured the team title.
Taylor Zordel
TAYLOR ZORDEL, Silver Lake
Zordel, a senior, earned her third straight Class 3A-1A state medal while helping Silver Lake win its first state girls golf championship in school history by a 22-stroke margin. Zordel placed fourth at state with a 36-hole score of 163 (83-80) after posting a third-place regional finish (80) for the regional-champion Eagles. Zordel was a first-team All-Shawnee County repeat selection.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After rarely leaving the field as a two-way starter for Topeka High as a senior in the 2021 football season, Tylan Alejos has done a lot of watching the past two years.
Tylan Alejos
The 5-foot-9, 200-pound sophomore running back is hoping to change that this fall in his second season for Washburn University.
"I would say that this is the most prepared I came into a football season and I should be seeing the field a lot this year,'' Alejos said.
Alejos earned All-Shawnee County Top 22 and All-Centennial League first-team honors as a senior at High after rushing for 1,327 yards on 202 carries with 18 total touchdowns, including a 400-yard, eight-touchdown game in a Centennial League victory over Highland Park, and recording 40 tackles (16 solo) with a pass interception.
Former Topeka High star Tylan Alejos (7) is starting his second season at Washburn University after a redshirt season at Kansas. [File photo/TSN]
Alejos opted to walk on at the University of Kansas as a freshman and redshirted the '22 season before transerring to Washburn last fall.
But even though he never got on the field at KU, he believes his time with the Jayhawks was a valuable experience.
"I'd say it was the best situation for me because I got to play against some of the best players in the country at the Power 5 level and saw every day what it takes to get to that next level,'' Alejos said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Shawnee Heights three-sport standout Tyce Brown once had his heart set on being a college baseball player, committing to Division I Xavier before his junior season in high school.
Tyce Brown
But after one college season Brown made the decision to come home to Washburn, first as a dual sport athlete in baseball and football before deciding to concentrate on football.
It's a decision the 6-foot, 185-pound senior wide receiver will never regret.
"It's definitely been a journey,'' Brown said. "I've learned so many things along the way and just thankful to be in the place I am today and to meet the people I've met and just want to keep striving to be better.
"They welcomed me in with open arms -- Coach (Craig) Schurig and Coach (Jeff) Schwinn and Coach Wat (Zach Watkins) -- and I just fell in love with the bond here and the chemistry. I started to struggle a little bit in baseball and I was just happy every time I came out here for practice and just wanted more and more and that's kind of just how I ended up here today.''
Tyce Brown enters his fourth season at Washburn with 61 career receptions for 698 yards and five touchdowns. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Schurig knew of Brown's athletic abilities from his high school days at Shawnee Heights and said he was a perfect fit for the Ichabods.
"I was thinking he'd be a safety, to be honest, but we had depth there and moved him to receiver and he stepped right in and made plays right off the bat,'' Schurig said. "He's got a great feel, great ball awareness, all of those things, is a very good athlete and he's had a really good career.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Tre Richardson is extremely grateful for all the people in his life who have helped him become the athlete and person he is today.
Tre Richardson
And now the former multi-sport Highland Park star, who is beginning his first season with the Washburn University football team, is determined to do whatever he can to help others in the Hi Park and Topeka community.
Richardson announced last week on X (formerly Twitter) that he plans to launch a scholarship program to benefit a pair of seniors (one male and one female) from his alma mater.
"I just wanted to give back to the community after they have given so much to me,'' Richardson said. "Me and my mom (Kawanda) talked about it and thought about making it for Highland Park kids and just helping a little bit.''
Richardson's plans are to begin accepting applications through his LockedIn Mentality Foundation Oct. 1 through Jan. 1, 2025, with the scholarship winners to be announced next April 1.
"It's a start and that's why we're going to start with HP and then we want to expand it to other schools and make it bigger and for everybody to to get a chance to win it,'' Richardson said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former city high school stars Lois Deeter and Aliyah North began their college golf careers at other universities, but coming home to Topeka was pretty much a no-brainer after Washburn University announced its plans to launch a women's progam last winter.
Former Washburn Rural golf star Aliyah North (left) and Seaman product Lois Deeter will be part of Washburn University's first women's golf program this fall. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And the opportunitiy to compete for the home-town Ichabods will become a reality for Deeter, North and fellow city star Raegan Petersen this fall.
Former Seaman star Deeter and Washburn Rural products North and Petersen, who all earned state medals at the high school level, are among seven members of the inaugural Ichabod team, which will open the season at the Central Regional Fall Preview at Adams Point Golf Club in Blue Springs, Mo. in early Sept.
Deeter played her freshman season at Arkansas Tech and North played a season at Fort Hays State while Petersen will be an incoming freshman after graduating from Rural this spring.
Deeter said she started thinking about coming home to Topeka immediately after women's golf at Washburn became a reality.
"I missed home a lot, I came back home a lot and there were lots of face time calls to my mom because I missed her and my sister and the farm animals, so when I saw that Washburn was opening up a women's golf program I was excited for Topeka and I'm excited for Washburn,'' Deeter said.
"I think being more comfortable here in Topeka and comfortable with the courses and the team and the community will help me play a lot better. Alilyah North and I always talked about Washburn opening up a women's golf program and always wanting that to happen and we're just filled with gratitude that that happened.''
North played for Fort Hays State as a freshman in 2022 before making the decision to transfer to Washburn for the 2023-2024 school year after hearing rumors that WU was about to launch its women's program.
"I was waiting for the team to start,'' North said. "I heard the rumor and I definitely didn't want to miss out on the opportunity. It's always been in the back of my mind and Lois and I had talked about it in the past.
"And growing up watching my brother (Alex) play basketball here, Washburn has always held a super special place in my heart so it was always kind of a dream to be able to do what I love here as well.''
The Washburn roster also includes junior Angelina Borg-Malec (Courcheval, France) and sophomores Susana Granados Carrion (Cordoba, Spain), Keira Ronsick (Wichita) and Allie Sullivan (Peoria, Arizona).
"Overall I am really happy with the roster we have came up with for our first year of competition!" Washburn coach Ronnie McHenry said. "We have six of seven players who have college golf experience and two of them have played at the regional and national tournaments. We were also able to bring back and keep the local talent in the area with three players from Topeka and one more from Wichita.
"Our goal will be to enjoy the learning process but to also strive to compete with the best teams in our region this first year. I think this group will mesh well as most are coming from different schools and will find out how great of a place Washburn is!"
Former Tonganoxie state champion and Missouri-St. Louis standout Colby Yates has been named assistant coach for the Washburn men's and women's teams.
Washburn women's player capsules:
