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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Senior Night was capped with a Salvy Splash, Shawnee Heights style.
The T-Bird baseball team celebrated winning the United Kansas Conference league title and a season sweep of rival Seaman by drenching coach Jason Brown with a Gatorade bucket on the pitcher’s mound.
Shawnee Heights rode a strong pitching performance from Brody Cooper to a 5-0 win over Seaman Tuesday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights rode the pitching of junior Brody Cooper and some scrappy plate appearances to defeat Seaman 5-0 at the Bettis Sports Complex Tuesday. The T-Birds had defeated the Vikings 6-3 in extra innings the previous Friday.
The win lifted Shawnee Heights to a 19-7 season mark. The T-Birds had already locked up the league title prior to first pitch Tuesday, but Brown chose to not reveal that fact until after the game.
“One of our goals at the beginning of the season was to win the UKC,” Brown said. “And I wanted them to not just be happy with it but to go and take it. And that’s what they did tonight.”
The T-Birds scratched out three runs in the second inning, each runner crossing the plate on a base-on-balls. They plated two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth on a ringing single by Carson Garner.
Cooper held Seaman to just a single through the first six innings, recording seven strikeouts in the process. When the Vikings’ Cale Rosenberger led off the seventh with a double, Brown lifted Cooper for reliever Dolton Wyatt. Wyatt protected the 5-0 lead with three straight outs.
“That’s one of the best pitching performances I’ve seen in a long time,” Brown said of Cooper’s effort. “Every pitch he was throwing, he was throwing for strikes. They were competitive. He wasn’t out of the zone. He was allowing them to make contact and then allowing our defense to play behind him. He got a ton of popups and our outfield play was unbelievable.
“He’s a big kid, throws hard, has four or five pitches that he can throw for strikes. I told him at the beginning of the season, ‘Our season’s going to ride on you, man. No pressure. But as you go, we go.’ ”
“Outfield was electric. Couldn’t have done any better,” Cooper said. “Third baseman Jackson Hayes … perfect. It makes my job a lot easier.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly girls swimming and diving honor roll for Topeka high schools throughout the 2025 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY
Washburn Rural 2:01.75
Hayden 2:07.36
Seaman 2:07.38
Topeka High 2:11.23
Shawnee Heights 2:15.41
200-YARD FREESTYLE
Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural 1:56.98
Joslynn Grace, Seaman 2:01.37
Ashtynn Landry, Shawnee Heights 2:06.15
Kaitlyn Aldridge, Shawnee Heights 2:17:02
Kaelyn Gerdel, Hayden 2:21.23
200-YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural 2:10.28
Joslynn Grace, Seaman 2:10.69
Hara Del Castillo, Topeka High 2:31.17
Ashtynn Landry, Shawnee Heights 2:35.31
Kaitlyn Aldridge, Shawnee Heights 2:35.91
Genevieve Miranda, Washburn Rural
50-YARD FREESTYLE
Joslynn Grace, Seaman 26.46
Genevieve Miranda, Washburn Rural 26.46
Ashtynn Landry, Shawnee Heights 26.74
Kaylee Gregg, Hayden 27.67
Clara Sobba, Shawnee Heights 28.08
ONE-METER DIVING
Kaylee Gregg, Hayden 231.60
Rhiannon Good, Washburn Rural 224.05
Maddie Gregg, Hayden 183.05
Giselle Soto, Washburn Rural 163.50
Ella Graber, Hayden 152.35
Joslynn Grace, Seaman
100-YARD BUTTERFLY
Joslynn Grace, Seaman 1:00.12
Genevieve Miranda, Washburn Rural 1:03.09
Kaitlyn Aldridge, Shawnee Heights 1:07.53
Kaya Hamilton, Washburn Rural 1:18.44
Makenna Russell, Topeka West 1:26.77
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Audrey Appuhn
AUDREY APPUHN, Washburn Rural
Appuhn, a junior, captured four gold medals in last Friday's city swimming championships at Capitol Federal Natatorium, helping lead Washburn Rural to its 22nd straight city team title. Appuhn won the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 57.66 seconds and the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.60 and swam on the Junior Blues' winning 200 medley (2:01.75) and 400 free (4:04.31) relays as Rural won the team title by a 526-430 margin over Seaman.
Cale Deutscher
CALE DEUTSCHER, Washburn Rural
A junior, Deutscher teamed with Dylan Willingham to win the doubles championship in last Monday's Centennial League tennis tournament at Junction City and followed that up with a Class 6A regional doubles title Saturday at Wichita, helping the Junior Blues capture the team championships in both tournaments. Deutscher and Willingham won the league title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Hayden's Chase Blaser and Evan George and took the regional title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Derby's Collin Bale and Garrett Haupt.
Cole Fay
COLE FAY, Cair Paravel Latin
Fay, a freshman, captured a Class 3A-1A regional singles championship last Friday at Kossover Tennis Center, helping lead Cair Paravel Latin to the regional team championship with by a 15-13 margin over Kansas City Christian. Fay, who improved to 20-7 on the season, topped Kansas City Christian's Isaac Seitz 6-1, 6-2 in the singles final, qualifying for this weekend's 3A-1A state tournament at Kossover.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Seaman boys finished fourth at the United Kansas Conference golf tournament at Shawnee Country Club Monday, the top finisher among the league’s three Topeka schools.
Pacing the Vikings was junior Jordan Burghart, who shot 77, just one stroke out of first place. Burghart finished in a three-way tie for third, his best finish of the season.
“It was fun today. Tough competition. A lot of good golfers,” Burghart said. “I think I did pretty well aside from one blow-up hole. Other than that, it was pretty good.”
The junior’s 77 was his best round of the season and the third-place finish was his highest finish. He now looks forward to the Class 5A regional meet to be held at Lake Shawnee next Monday.
“I’ve just got to shot what I did today, or in the low 80s, to go to state,” Burghart said. “I’ve got to have my driver. If that’s not going, it’s not going well.”
De Soto claimed the league crown by shooting 318 as a team. Basehor-Linwood finished two strokes back. Seaman finished a shot behind Lansing, which posted a 329.
“This was our best team score of the year, so it’s always nice to shoot your best score going into the end of the year,” said Seaman coach Rick Rineberg. “I’m really proud of the development of the team. I told them before the meet, they’re a really fun group to be around and hopefully we get to play for two more weeks, not just one more week.
“To qualify for state as a team, we just have to play our game and just kind of understand who we are as golfers. We don’t have anybody on the team that is going to out and light it up and shoot six, seven under par. But we have a lot of guys that can grind it out and shoot in the high 70s and low 80s.”
Basehor-Linwood senior Logan Anderson and Lansing senior A.J. Allen finished tied for first with an 18-hole score of 76. They dueled in a playoff hole that saw Anderson par for the win.
Joining Seaman’s Burghart in the top 10 was Topeka West’s Blaze Schultz. The Charger sophomore finished in a four-way tie for seventh was a round of 80.
“I felt pretty good,” said Schultz, whose best round of the season was a 79 at Western Hills, good for second in that meet. “I played good in the back, one over. Front nine was a little rough, but I finished strong.
Schultz reflected on his prospects to qualify for state in light of his finish in the UKC meet.
“I’ve got to shoot low 80s, 85. That’s the goal,” Schultz said about next week’s regional meet. “I’m feeling pretty good (about my development). I can’t wait to keep improving.”
Leading way for Shawnee Heights was junior Ayden Valdivia, who carded an 81, earning a spot on the All-United Kansas Conference Second Team.
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There's a long list of Washburn Rural soccer players who have put together outstanding careers for the Junior Blues.
Washburn Rural senior Kate Hinck, battling Hayden junior goalkeeper Lauren Borjon outside the goal, scored four goals in Monday's 7-0 win to become Rural's career leading scorer. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
As of Monday, Rural senior forward Kate Hinck is arguably at the top of that list.
Hinck scored four goals in Monday's 7-0 Centennial League road win at Hayden, moving past former Junior Blue great Kaira Houser to set Rural's career scoring record.
"It means a lot,'' Hinck said. "I feel like I've pushed myself and just tried to be the best and be the best for the team.''
With her four goals Hinck now has 77 goals, including 23 this season with a maximum of six games still remaining.
"We've had a lot of good players who have come through here, but Kate's a special athlete, not just a soccer player but a three-sport athlete who's been a cornerstone for all those programs (volleyball, basketball, soccer) for the last four years,'' Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel said.
"She came here her freshman year and was a really good athlete. She's turning into a phenomenal soccer player, teammate, etc., so it was great to see her get the record. That's an amazing record to break, so we're pretty excited.''
Hinck, who will play collegiately at Washburn, scored the only goal Rural would need at the 28:04 mark of the first half and added the game's final three goals in a nine-minute span in the second half as the 13-2-0 Junior Blues wrapped up the Centennal League title with a perfect 5-0 mark.
Washburn Rural senior Zahra Friess scored a goal and had two assists in Monday's 7-0 soccer win over Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Sophomore Emery Hall scored a pair of first-half goals as Washburn Rural built a 3-0 halftime advantage and the Junior Blues got a second-half goal from senior Zahra Friess in addition to Hinck's three second-half goals.
