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By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musings with seasonal cheer:
• Thoroughly enjoy claims that the Chiefs get all the calls from NFL crews.
• Never mind the number of people who would have to be in on such an elaborate conspiracy.
• I say if you’re a Chiefs fan, accept it. Heck, run with it.
• For whatever reason, a professional sports league based in New York, with an enormous following, decided that the Kansas City market and the dynamics of the Chiefs franchise best suit advertisers, casual fans and the vitality of the NFL.
• That’s National Football League if you’re a broadcaster wanting to sound dramatic.
• I do think the AFC West is far more interesting with Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton as coaches, though both have had run-ins with rules enforcers.
• Pass coverage should be the Chiefs’ primary concern. It rarely thrives, except when KC brings pressure.
• I’ve seen Patrick Mahomes and this offense in enough playoff games to trust them.
• What if the Chiefs rested all starters Wednesday at Pittsburgh? (Borrowing from Jim Mora: “Wednesday?!?!)”
• Using the middle finger to flip Christmas coal at the NFL might be the appropriate message to protest a schedule with three games in 11 days.
• What’s that? Right, the NFL favors the Chiefs.
• Josh Allen is the popular choice for MVP, and the Bills seem to be the trendy choice to win the AFC.
• Still, I like the Chiefs. Their flair for winning narrow outcomes would dazzle the Amazing Kreskin (RIP, by the way), but hey, they win. Repeatedly.
• I like them to host, and beat, the Bills for another Super Bowl berth.
• Hoping Jerome Tang can elaborate on how to schedule nonconference games now that we’ve learned the Wichita State series doesn’t “help” K-State.
• If playing an annual game against an in-state rival is off the table (umm, after losing by 19), then what is suitable?
• Judging by the Wildcats’ record, and dysfunction from Tang’s struggling acquisitions, answers seem to rest with – how do we put it? -- finding dudes.
• But how about developing dudes? You can break in a deck of cards over multiple years rather than longing for a new deck each year.
• Besides, brand-new decks often play stiff.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee County girls high school sports teams and individuals enjoyed another banner year in 2024, with county schools capturing six state team championships in four different sports in five different classifications and posted seven runnerup team finishes, including a pair of local teams that came within a tiebreaker of state crowns
Individually, local athletes combined for five individual/relay titles.
That across-the-board success made it nearly impossible to narrow down TopSports.news' list of the top Shawnee County girls sports stories to just 10, and even harder to decide which accomplishments deserve to be at the top of the list.
In fact, if you polled five different people you could have five different No. 1s. But having said that, here's one person's opinion.
Rossville wrestling star Kendra Hurla capped her prep career with a fourth straight individual title while helping lead the Bulldawgs to the Class 4A-1A team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]
1. FOUR FOR FOUR, PLUS TWO MORE -- Rossville 120-pound girls wrestling star Kendra Hurla capped one of the most dominant high school careers in state history with her fourth straight Class 4A-1A state championship in the 2024 state meet at Hays. But Hurla's four-peat wasn't the only thing the Bulldawgs had to celebrate, with fellow senior Hailey Horton adding the 155-pound championship and as the Bulldawgs won thir first-ever state team crown by a half point, 82.5-82.0 over Oakley.
Molly Spader (with trophy) celebrates with her teammates after helping Washburn Rural win its fourth straight girls wrestling state title in five seasons. [File photo/TSN]
2. UNPARALLELED DOMINANCE -- Damon Parker's Washburn Rural Junior Blues continued to set the standard for all Kansas high school girls wrestling programs in 2024, with Rural winning its fourth team title in the five seasons that girls wrestling has been an official sport in Kansas. After the Junior Blues had their two-year title reign snapped in 2022, finishing second to Dodge City, Rural has bounced back to win the last two Class 6A-5A championships, including a win by a 118-96 margin over Garden City in 2024. Then-junior state runnerup Molly Spader (105 pounds) led the way as six Junior Blues earned state medals.
Silver Lake girls basketball posted a perfect 26-0 record in the 2023-2024 season, winning the Class 3A state title. [File photo/TSN]
3. WIRE TO WIRE -- Traditional state girls basketball power Silver Lake added to its legacy with a dominating 2023-2024 campaign, capping a perfect 26-0 season with a 66-61 win over Hesston in the Class 3A state championship game. Makenzie McDaniel, now a freshman at Emporia State, was named the TopSports.news Shawnee County co-player of the year while fellow 2024 senior McKinley Kruger and then-sophomore Kailyn Hanni joined McDaniel on the all-county Top 10 and five Eagles earned all-county recognition.
Hayden senior Ainzley Zulueta won her third Class 4A state singles title this past fall, helping the Wildcats win the 4A team championship for the second time in three seasons. [File photo/TSN]
4. PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF -- After dominating Class 4A singles as a freshman and sophomore Hayden tennis star Ainzley Zulueta sat out her junior high school season after attending an out-of-state tennis academy. But Zulueta was back on the court this past fall, capturing her third state championship in as many tries while leading Hayden to its second team title in three seasons by a 40-28 margin over McPherson. Zulueta capped an 24-0 undefeated season without dropping a single game in either regional or state competition, posting eight straight 6-0, 6-0 victories. All six members of Hayden's team earned state medals, including a runnerup doubles finish from senior two-time state champ Emily Sheetz and freshman Sophia Wichman.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee County high schools captured a pair of boys state team titles in 2024 while county athletes combined to earn a whopping 16 individual/relay championships, led by three athletes who captured multiple gold medals.
Shawnee Heights' bowling team is No. 1 on TopSports.news' list of the Top 10 boys high school sports stories of 2024 after winning its first-ever Class 5A state boys bowling title while Hayden baseball garnered the No. 2 spot after the Wildcats caught fire in postseason to capture the 3A state crown.
Individually, Shawnee Heights distance ace Jackson Esquibel capped his high school career with his third career state title in two sports while Washburn Rural's Easton Broxterman became a two-time state wrestling champ and Hayden's Finn Dunshee and Jensen Schrickel and Seaman's Aaron Merritt all captured multiple state track and field championships in 2024.
Here's a look at TopSports.news' Top 10 Shawnee County boys prep stories of 2024:
Shawnee Heights' bowling team celebrates its first-ever Class 5A boys state team championship last March in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
1. PERFECT PEAK -- Shawnee Heights' boys bowling team had been knocking at the door all season, posting top-three team finishes in city, league and regional competition. The T-Birds knocked that door down in the Class 5A state tournament in Wichita, capturing the school's first boys state bowling team title by a 3,547-3,519 margin over Kansas City-Turner while Seaman finished third at 3,353 as United Kansas Conference teams swept the top three places. Shawnee Heights won the championship after not having a state qualifier in the 2023 state meet and despite not having a senior on the state team (two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors) as the T-Birds put four bowlers in the top 20. Junior Caden Cochrane finished third individually with a 685 three-game series while freshman Trey Donath was eighth, freshman Evan Jones ninth and sophomore Henry Schattilly 18th.
Hayden's baseball team celebrates its 2024 Class 3A state championship in Manhattan. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN[
2. PERFECT PEAK PART II -- Struggling to reach the .500 mark late in the season, Hayden's baseball team earned a Class 3A state tournament berth as the No. 7 seed and completed its Cinderella run to the state championship with a 5-3 win over top seed Wichita Trinity in Manhattan, finishing the season 18-12. Hayden then-junior pitcher Liam Annand went 6.2 innings pick up the win in the title game while allowing three runs on just four hits before then-sophomore Aiden Roberts closed out the victory with an inning of relief as the Wildcats picked up their first state title since 2015. Then-sophomore Kade Mitchell went two for three with three RBI. Then-junior Cooper Grace keyed the Wildcats' title run, earning first-team All-State honors.
Shawnee Heights 2024 senior Jackson Esquibel (3657) ended his high school distance career with three Class 5A state titles in two sports. [File photo/TSN]
3. DISTANCE KING -- Shawnee Heights 2024 graduate Jackson Esquibel joined an elite group of distance runners when he won Class 5A state titles in back-to-back-to-back seasons. Esquibel ended his junior track season in 2023 with the 5A state championship in the 3,200 meters and followed that up with the 5A individual cross country title in the fall of '23 before capping his high school career with a second straight 3,200 title in the 2024 state meet. Esquibel also finished second in the 1,600 meters in track as a junior and senior before beginning his college career at Kansas State.
Washburn Rural senior Easton Broxterman has already won a pair of Class 6A state wrestling titles and has been a three-time state finalist. [File photo/TSN]
4. STILL ADDING TO HIS LEGACY -- Washburn Rural senior wrestler Easton Broxterman is early in his final high school season for the Junior Blues and with every win continues to cement his legacy as one of the best ever in Kansas. Broxterman advanced to the state championship match as a freshman and followed that up with back-to-back Class 6A titles. The Shawnee County Wrestler of the Year in 2024, Broxterman capped a 49-1 junior season with a 15-0 technical fall in the 132-pound final, ending the match just 27 seconds into the second period after building a 13-0 first-period advantage. Broxterman will wrestle collegiately at Army.
Hayden 2024 grad Finn Dunshee won three gold medals in the '24 Class 3A state track and field championships. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Hayden then-junior Jensen Schrickel was a three-time gold medalist in the 2024 Class 3A state track and field championships. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
5. A GREAT DAY TO BE A WILDCAT -- Hayden's track team didn't quite have enough depth to challenge Holcomb for the Class 3A team championship, with the Longhorns placing in 12 of 18 events on the way to an 80-61 margin over the Wildcats. But no team in 3A could match the Wildcats' quality, with Hayden winning five events, two more than any other team in the field. Hayden 2024 grad Finn Dunshee swept the 100 and 200-meter dashes while then-junior Jensen Schrickel won the long jump and Dunshee and Schrickel teamed with then-juniors Liam Stegman and John Strickland to win 4x400-meter relay.
Seaman 2024 grad Aaron Merritt won a pair of Class 5A state titles in the 2024 track and field championships. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
6. FINISHING WITH A FLOURISH -- Seaman 2024 graduate Aaron Merritt capped his high school track career in grand style, winning the first two Class 5A gold medals of his high school career while also adding a second-place relay finish for the Vikings. Merritt won the 100-meter dash and the 110-meter hurdles and also anchored Seaman's 4x100 relay to a second-place finish. Merritt's winning times in the 110 hurdles (14.48 seconds) and 100 dash (10.32) in the state meet were the fastest in all classes.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The names are well known to anyone who has followed area sports over the past several years, but a long and growing list of athletes who starred at Shawnee County high schools have made a big impact at the college and/or professional level this fall and winter.
Here's a look at just some of the stars who continue to make their fans proud:
Sophomore guard Jack Bachelor has helped Washburn University achieve a 12-0 record and a No. 2 national ranking this season. [File photo/TSN]
JACK BACHELOR, Washburn Rural/Washburn -- The 6-foot-2 sophomore guard has played a major role as the Ichabods are off to a 12-0 start this season while achieving a No. 2 national ranking in NCAA Division II. Bachelor, who has started all 12 games for the Ichabods, is currently averaging 12.7 points with 20 3-pointers while hitting 28 of 33 free throws (84.8 percent). Bachelor is also averaging 4.0 rebounds with a team-high 60 assists and 21 steals.
Former Shawnee Heights and Washburn standout Corey Ballentine has put together a six-year NFL career as a defensive back. [packers.com]
COREY BALLENTINE, Shawnee Heights/Washburn/Green Bay Packers -- A 5-foot-11, 196-pound cornerback, the former Shawnee Heights and Washburn Univerity star has played in 11 games with one start this season for the 11-4 Packers. The sixth-year pro has played in 65 career games with 11 starts for the Giants, Jets, Lions and Packers, recording 100 tackles, including 76 solo stops with two forced fumbles and an interception.
Former Topeka West star Elijah Brooks had a career-high 29 points for Houston Christian earlier this season. [Houston Christian Athletics]
ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West/Houston Christian -- A 6-foot-4 junior guard, the former Mr. Kansas Basketball for Topeka West has appeared in all 13 games with 11 starts for the 4-9 Huskies, averaging 9.9 points and 4.1 rebounds with 25 assists. Brooks, who began his college career at North Dakota, scored a career-high 29 points earlier this season and also had a 21-point game.
Former Washburn Rural star Brooklyn DeLeye was a first-team AVCA All-American, the SEC Player of the Year and a finalist for the AVCA National Player of the Year this fall for Kentucky. [Kentucky Athletics]
BROOKLYN DELEYE, Washburn Rural/Kentucky -- The former three-sport Washburn Rural star, a 6-foot-2 sophomore outside hitter, had a huge 2024 season for Kentucky volleyball, being named the SEC Player of the Year, a first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America selection and one of four finalists for the AVCA National Player of the Year award. DeLeye helped lead the 23-8 Wildcats to their eighth straight conference championship and the fourth round (regional final) of the NCAA Tournament. DeLeye started all 31 matches, leading the Wildcats with 531 kills while also compiling 179 digs and 36 blocks.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Kaden Ballard
KADEN BALLARD, Washburn Rural
Ballard, a 5-foot-11 senior, scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds while connecting on 6 of 9 3-pointers Friday night as Washburn Rural's boys improved to 4-1 with a 71-55 non-league win over Kansas City, Mo.-Barstow in the Junior Blues' home-opener.
Anna Becker
ANNA BECKER, Seaman
A 5-foot-11 senior, Becker reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career with a 20-point performance in last Tuesday's 81-11 United Kansas Conference girls win over Kansas City-Turner and followed that up with 18 points and four 3-pointers in Friday's 53-50 UKC win over De Soto for the 5-0 Vikings.
Pearmella Carter
PEARMELLA CARTER, Highland Park
Carter, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, scored 52 points in two Highland Park wins on back-to-back nights last Thursday and Friday, scoring 30 points in a 76-18 home win over Kansas City-Turner and registering 22 points and 14 rebounds in a 57-39 Meadowlark Conference road win at KC-Wyandotte.
