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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Topeka High boys remain on the hunt for win number one of the season. They battled Emporia at Topeka High Tuesday night, but came up short, falling 65-42.
Junior Bryson McComas led Topeka High with 15 points in Tuesday's 65-42 loss to Emporia. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Trojans stuck around, even cutting the Spartans’ lead to just five points early in the third period. But the visitors eventually pulled away, outscoring Topeka High 32-17 in the second half.
The outcome was a disappointment after the Trojans’ arrow was trending up for a couple of weeks.
The Trojans battled valiantly in the Topeka Invitational Tournament, losing two of the three games in overtime. They hung close to Seaman, the eighth-ranked team in Class 5A.
But every time they tried to make a run at Emporia Tuesday, the Spartans responded.
“I think we took a step back today, and I don’t know why,” Topeka High coach Geo Lyons said. “We played some great ball in those three games in the TIT. Our guys really felt like they let three games get away. Then we faced a tough Seaman team and, if you take the second quarter away, we win the other three quarters.
“So, I thought we had a great couple of days of practice coming into this matchup. But for whatever reason we didn’t play to the best of our ability. We ran into a buzz saw in that Emporia team.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Topeka High girls cruised to a 65-29 home Centennial League win over Emporia Tuesday in what will be a tune-up for a rugged stretch of games.
Junior Trish Short scored 10 points to help Topeka High take a 65-29 Centennial League win over Emporia Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Trojans don’t have long to relish the blowout of the Spartans. They hit the road Wednesday for a makeup game at Manhattan, then they face Washburn Rural, the seventh-ranked team in Class 6A class, followed by Hayden, the top-ranked team in 4A.
But for one night, they can enjoy it.
The Trojans ripped off an 18-0 run to open the game, holding the Spartans scoreless for nearly six minutes. Leading Topeka High in scoring was junior Ahsieryrhuajh Rayton with 20 points. Freshman Hailey Caryl added 12 points and junior Trish Short 10.
“We played hard, and we played together,” said Short. “Usually when we blow teams out, we let off the gas a little bit. But today we played hard throughout the whole four quarters. We know that no matter who we play, we have to play to our level. We can’t lower to other people’s level.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When Brenda Holaday accepted the job as Washburn University's softball coach in the summer of 2016 after a Hall of Fame career at Washburn Rural, she had a list of things she wanted to accomplish with the Ichabods, but Holaday had nary a thing on that list about any personal achievements.
Brenda Holaday is two wins away from becoming Washburn University softball's all-time career wins leader. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But along with team success comes individual milestones, and the veteran coach is on a verge of a biggie this weekend.
Holaday is 255-151 after opening her ninth season as the Ichabod head coach with a 3-2 mark last weekend in Youngsville, La. and needs just one win in this weekend's five games in Bentonville, Ark. to pull even with her former Rural star, Lisa Carey, as the all-time WU wins leader at 256 and can take ove the No. 1 spot outright with two wins.
"What I wanted when I came here was to make Washburn a winner and I felt that there was opportunity there, just being close enough to see it from a distance,'' Holaday said. "I felt like there would have to be a lot work done on facilities and a lot of work done on recruiting and building the program and that's been my goal from Day 1.''
After Washburn went 25-30 in Holaday's Ichabods have posted eight straight winning seasons, with four seasons of at least 37 victories and a career-best 45-15 season in 2022.
"It hasn't happened just because of me,'' Holaday said. "I mean there's so many people who have contributed to that success, but in terms of any kind of a legacy or how long I want to coach and how many wins I need to get, it just doesn't cross my mind.''
"I think when you're in a head coaching position there's a thousand other things that you have to take care of before that and I think that's all just a result of surrounding yourself with the right people and having some good things happen. I was fortunate for that to happen out at Washburn Rural after several years, but it didn't start that way, and I didn't do things by myself out there either.''
As is the case in most any profession, Holaday said a major priority for her is to continue to enjoy what she's doing.
"I love it,'' Holaday said. "And to be honest with you I have such a good staff right now that I'm probably enjoying it more than I ever have because I'm able to hand some things off to some other people so that my life is a little more manageable.
"I think I'm enjoying it more now because a lot of things have been put in place with a lot of hard work from a lot of people. I also have a staff and a group of players who buy in to what we're doing, who want to take on more, who want to learn, who want to be great and, man, if you can't enjoy that why are you in this business?''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Anna Becker
ANNA BECKER, Seaman
Becker, a senior guard, was named the Most Valuable Player in last week's Glacier's Edge Tournament at Emporia after helping lead the undefeated and top-ranked (Class 5A) Vikings to the tournament championship. The Drake signee scored 47 points in Seaman's three victories, including 21 points with 4 3-pointers in Saturday's 63-50 win over No. 2 ranked (6A) Derby in the title game.
Jaxon Cowdin
JAXON COWDIN, Topeka High
A senior, Cowdin captured his fourth straight city one-meter diving championship last Thursday at the Capitol Federal Natatiorium while helping the Trojans swimming/diving team post a second place team finish. Cowdin won the the city diving title with a six-dive score of 253.15 and also finished fifth in the 50-yard free and swam on High's second-place 200-yard free relay and third-place 200 medley relay.
KK EMMOT, Shawnee Heights
Emmot, a sophomore, scored a career-high 36 points on Saturday as Shawnee Heights rallied from a 16-point deficit late in the first half to take a 59-54 win over No. 5-ranked (Class 6A) Washburn Rural in the championship game of the Capital City Classic at Topeka West. Emmot 75 points in the T-Birds' three games on the week, scoring 14 in a 54-47 OT win over Blue Valley and 25 points in a 65-32 win over Topeka West.
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
EL DORADO -- The championship game of the 32nd annual Lady Cat Classic was everything and more in a game that matched up 12-0 and Class 4A No. 1 Hayden vs. 11-1 Class 5A No. 5 Maize South.
Hayden poses for a team picture after finishing second in the Lady Cat Classic. [Photo by Justin Burkhardt/TSN]
Hayden senior Amelia Ramsey was named the MVP in the Lady Cat Classic. [Photo by Justin Burkhardt/TSN]
Both teams would trade blows shot for shot before Maize South ended up with a 50-48 win.
Maize South took an 18-17 lead at the end of the first quarter before the Wildcats went on a run of their own in the second quarter and found freshman Hailey Schmidtlein for a layup to go up 31-26 late in the half.
The Mavs' Rylan Chandler would get fouled trying to make a 3-pointer at the buzzer, which would put her at the line where she would make one out of the three charities to let Hayden go into halftime with the 31-27 lead.
The third quarter would be the worst quarter on the season for the Wildcats as they would be outscored 16-3, as they were 0-10 from the field and going 3-6 from the free throw line.
Senior Norma Greco rolled her ankle and Schmidtlein picked up her fourth foul of the game in the third quarter and the Wildcats turned the ball over six times and they would leave the third quarter chasing the Mavs, 43-34 with one timeout left to use in the game for the Wildcats.
At the start of the fourth quarter Greco would check back into the game with her ankle taped up and Schmidtlein would check back in with four fouls and the Wildcats would go on a run, outscoring the Mavs 14-7 in the fourth.
Greco would drain a 3 and a Schmidtlein steal and layup cut the Maize South lead to 50-48 with 15 seconds left in the game. But the Wildcats only had two fouls and still needed three more to force the Mavs to the line.
And that was all it would take for the Mavs to pull off the 50-48 victory.
