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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When Highland Park football coach Jermaine Monroe was approached with the possibility of renewing the Scots' rivalry with fellow USD 501 school Topeka High this season it was one of the easiest decisions he'll ever make.
"There were four different schools that were possibilities and when it was presented to me at the time and I saw the first name was Topeka High, I said, 'It's got to be that,' '' Monroe said. "I don't even remember who the other three schools were, but it's something that we always have to play each other.
"I do believe the leagues that we're in are fit for us, but we have to always play each other.''
Topeka High coach Jason Filbeck is also excited for the renewal of the rivalry, which will open the 2026 season at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Hummer Sports Park.
"I'm not from here, but I know what it means,'' Filbeck said. "Everywhere I've been there's been a crosstown rival and I think the kids are very excited to play them. Some of them are their friends from middle school because of the way Topeka is built, so the kids are pumped up.''
Highland Park returns a strong nucleus of players from last year's team that went 5-1 on the field, with G'Honi Montgomery and JoJo Kingcannon headlining a 19-member senior class
The Scots return 10 three-year starters and two four-year starters.
G'Honi Montgomery returns for his senior season at Highland Park after earning All-Shawnee County Top 22 honors last season. [File photo/TSN]
A 5-foot-10, 180-pound running back, Montgomery earned All-Shawnee County and All-Meadowlark Conference first-team honors last fall.
Montgomery carried the ball 69 times for 704 yards (10.2 yards per carry) as a junior, caught 10 passes for 128 yards and scored 12 total touchdowns while compiling 1,268 all-purpose yards.
Senior JoJo Kingcannon will take over as Highland Park's starting quarterback this fall after starring in a variety of roles as a junior. [File photo/TSN]
Kingcannon, a 6-foot, 190-pound quarterback/defensive back, played receiver, running back and quarterback as a junior, scoring from all three positions, and will be the Scots' starting quarterback this fall.
Kingcannon received All-Shawnee County honorable mention for the Scots in 2025, catching 10 passes for 338 yards and rushing for 408 yards on 32 attempts.
Seniors Tayseaun Rouser, Tavion Johnson and Shawnee Heights transfer Zyhir Foster will be counted on to anchor Highland Park's offensive line while Jaiden Smith, Ka'Sioun Drew and Lorenzo Sullivan-Sowell are top receivers.
Defensively, senior Rayshon Pollard is a four-year starter in the defensive backfield and is joined by veterans Drew, Montgomery and Kingcannon.
A three-time all-league honoree, Pollard was in on 22 tackles last season with three sacks and two interceptions.
Topeka High's Courtney Sanders, a senior wide receiver, was a second-team All-Centennial League selection for the second straight season and received All-Shawnee County honorable mention last fall for the Trojans.
Senior Courtney Sanders is a top returner for Topeka High, earning second-team All-Centennial League recognition the past two seasons. [File photo/TSN]
A junior running back, Ricardo Dowd was a second-team All-Centennial League selection last season as a sophomore while also receiving All-Shawnee County honorable mention.
Trey Lutz, a senior defensive lineman, received All-Shawnee County honorable mention for the second straight season and also received All-Centennial League honorable mention last season.
Other top returners for Topeka High include seniors Isaac Roman-Chavez, Art Jones and Devin Ponte and juniors Jones Erby and Marion Collins.
Senior Asher Filbeck, the coach's son, and sophomore Kadyn Lucas have been battling it out in preseason for the starting quarterback spot after the graduation of Zane Smith.
FRIDAY'S GAMES
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron did everything he could to get Emma Siron in an Ichabod uniform three seasons ago.
Junior outside hitter Emma Siron was named the Most Valuable Player in last week's Washburn Invitational while making her debut for Washburn. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
That didn't pan out, with Siron going on to star at Central Missouri State, but when the All-MIAA first-team pick entered the transfer portal following the 2025 season, Herron and the Ichabods got another chance at the Sedalia, Mo. native and this time the 5-foot-9 outside hitter ended up in Topeka.
It's a move that has paid immediate dividends for both Washburn and Siron, who has led the No. 6-ranked Ichabods to a perfect 4-0 record while being named the most valuable player in the Washburn Invitational and the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week.
"I recruited her hard out of high school,'' Herron said. "And I'm going to be honest with you, I've only had this happen to me twice in all my 25 years, but when she told me she wasn't coming here I lost sleep because I really thought she was coming here.
"And her parents did, too. Now that it's over with, her parents go, 'Yeah, we did, too. We thought she was coming to you.' We're just fortunate that she's here now because she's a great player and obviously she can take over a match. And the kids love her, she fits in perfect.''
Siron leads the Ichabod offense with 58 kills (4.14 per set) while hitting .307. She has started in three matches and played in all four while serving a team-high seven aces and also recording 37 digs (2.64 per set) and making three blocks.
She has tallied three double-digit kill matches with one double-double. She is 14th in the nation and first in the MIAA with 4.79 points per set while ranking 18th in the nation in kills per set and also leading the conference.
Siron began the process of getting familiar with her Washburn teammates over the summer.
"I came here every Monday in the summer, traveled here every Monday,'' Siron said. "It was a great opportunity to get to know the girls and get the awkwardness out, 'What's your name?' and that kind of stuff. It was helpful.''
Siron said she's now completely comfortable in her new role.
"It feels amazing, it feels like I've got my spark back and the love for volleyball back,'' she said. "The girls have just been great and welcoming. They're already my best friends and I can't wait to grow that relationship even more.''
Siron and the Ichabods head to South Dakota for this week's Sioux Falls Classic, beginning with a 4 p.m. Thursday match against Black Hills State in the first of four matches over the three-day event played between the Sanford Pentagon and the Stewart Center on the campus of the University of Sioux Falls.
The Ichabods will face Upper Iowa at 10 a.m. and Sioux Falls at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking on Augustana 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Augustana and the University of Sioux Falls are the host schools while Upper Iowa, Mary, Black Hills State, Emporia State and Chadron State join Washburn in the eight-school field.
Junior setter Shannon Frakes was named the MIAA Setter of the Week after registering a team-high 162 assists (11.57 per set) in the Washburn Invitational. Frakes has played in all four matches while starting in three. She leads the team in digs with 52 (3.71 per set) while also recording 15 kills, seven blocks and serving four aces.
The Overland Park native had two matches with 40-plus assists and has recorded a team-high three double-doubles. She ranks sixth in the nation and leads the MIAA in assists per set while ranking 13th in the conference in digs per set as well.
Junior Brynne Topolski has played in all four matches while making three starts and is second on the team with 51 kills (3.64 per set) while hitting .298. She has added 33 digs (2.36 per set) along with making 11 blocks.
The Lincoln, Neb. native has recorded double-figure kills in all four matches with one double-double.
Sophomore Brooklyn Morrisey is the only Ichabod to start all four matches and is hitting a team-high .375. She has slashed 37 kills (2.47 per set) and leads the team with 20 blocks (1.33 per set). The Lenexa, Kan. has recorded one double-digit kill match and has five or more blocks in two matches.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University volleyball moved up two spots to No. 6 in this week's AVCA national rankings.
Washburn volleyball climbed to No. 6 in the AVCA national poll after a 4-0 start to the season in the Washburn Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Ichabods went 4-0 in the season-opening Washburn Invitational to improve on their preseason No. 8 spot in the poll.
Washburn received 941 total points in the Week 1 poll.
St. Cloud State holds the top spot with 21 first-place votes, followed by Wayne State with 11 first-place votes.
Concordia-St. Paul drops from No. 1 down to three while still receiving nine first-place nods. Tampa and Ferris State round out the top five, respectively, with each getting three first-place votes.
Around the MIAA Nebraska-Kearney drops to No. 8 in the nation while Missouri Western moves up into a tie for 11th.
Central Oklahoma slots in at No. 15 and Central Missouri enters the rankings in a tie for 25th. Emporia State is also receiving votes in the poll.
Washburn travels on the road for the first time this season to the Sioux Falls Classic, beginning on Thursday against Black Hills State.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 23 nationally-ranked Washburn University women's soccer will face off with Drury in a 7 p.m. non-conference game Wednesday in Yager Stadium.
The Ichabods are 1-0-1 on the season, taking a 4-0 win over Maryville last Thursday and tying Missouri-St. Louis 1-1 on Saturday.
Sophomore Bricelyn Betts (2) scored Washburn's lone goal in Saturday's 1-1 tie with Missouri-St. Louis. [File photo/TSN]
Drury opened the season with a 1-1 tie against Emporia State and losing to Central Missouri, 1-0.
Former Washburn Rural standout Mackinly Rohn scored a pair of goals in last Thursday's 4-0 win over Maryville. [File photo/TSN]
Sophomore Leah Henke scored two goals in Washburn's 4-0 win over Marysville and has 14 in her career. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Mackinly Rohn and sophomore Leah Henke scored two goals apiece in Washburn's win over Maryville while sophomore Bricelyn Betts had the Ichabods' goal in the tie with Missouri-St. Louis.
Rohn eclipsed 80 career shots against Maryville and is one shot away from 40 shots on goal in her career while sophomore Kate Hinck surpassed 70 career shots last Saturday against Missouri-St Louis. Rohn and Hinck are both former Washburn standouts.
Henke surpassed 30 career points and 1,600 career minutes against Maryville while Rilyn Snyder surpassed 2,500 career minutes in that match.
After Wednesday's game Washburn has some time off before traveling to Arkansas for a pair of non-conference road games against Ouachita Baptist on Sept. 11 and Harding on Sept. 13.
The Ichabods open up MIAA play on Sep. 18 on the road at Missouri Southern.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West soccer handled the 100-degree heat and the rust that went with a season-opener Tuesday at Hayden, dominating the second half on the way to an 8-0 non-league win over the Wildcats.
Topeka West senior midfielder Diego Gonzalez-Talavera (9), who had two goals, tries to get past Hayden junior midfielder Isaac Woods in Tuesday's 8-0 Charger win over the Wildcats at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Chargers, who are coming off back-to-back banner seasons, led 2-0 at halftime despite letting numerous scoring opporunities get away and then peppered the net after the break, scoring six goals to end the game by the eight-goal spread rule with 11:15 remaining.
"I'm glad to get that first one out of the way and kind of put into a game what we've been working on and see where we can improve from what we've been working on in practice,'' Topeka West coach Josh Kutter said. "Overall it was a positive.''
Hayden, which was also opening its season, was still in the game at halftime, but West boosted its lead to 3-0 at the 30:25 mark of the second half, starting a run of three goals in less than five minutes, and continued to roll from there.
"It always seems like once one falls then the rest start to come, but I guess that's just something we've got to keep working on, finishing under pressure,'' Kutter said. "I know sometimes it's just knocking the rust off.
"We've got lot of guys that are capable of finishing and scoring and creating great plays.''
Senior midfielder Diego Gonzalez-Talavera and senior defender Kameron Ortiz scored two goals apiece for the Chargers while West also got goals from junior forward Valentin Del Real, senior forward Henry Miller and sophomore forward Yahel Garcia as well as an own goal.
Junior Makaly Martinez and Topeka West opened the 2026 soccer season with an 8-0 win at Hayden Tuesday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Ortiz, Del Real and senior midfielder William Lara were credited with assists while junior Kevin Voelker picked up the shutout in goal as the Chargers limited Hayden to very few offensive opportunities.
TOPEKA WEST 8, HAYDEN 0
Topeka West (1-0) 2 6 -- 8
Hayden (0-1) 0 0 -- 0
Topeka West -- Goals: Diego Gonzalez-Talavera 2, Kameron Ortiz 2, Valentin Del Real, Henry Miller, Yahel Garcia, own goal. Assists: Kameron Ortiz, Valentin Del Real, William Lara. Shutout: Kevin Voelker.
