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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
The United Kansas Conference Cross Country meet took place on a windy and cool Thursday afternoon with local teams Seaman, Shawnee Heights, and Topeka West competing at Pierson Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Seaman junior Ryin Miller won the girls individual title in Thursday's UKC cross country meet, leading the Vikings to the team championship. [File photo/TSN]
Girls Varsity
After finishing in second place behind the De Soto Wildcats last year, the Seaman Vikings flipped the result this year and are the United Kansas Conference champions.
Junior Ryin Miller continued her excellent season by winning the individual title with a time of 17 minutes, 58.96 seconcs. Miller commented on winning the team title and the difficulty of the course, saying, “The main goal today was to have our team win, which we did and I’m proud of that. The course was very hard, so I knew my time wouldn’t be great. I heard my two-mile time and it wasn’t normal. I still feel that I ran well and happy with how I pushed through the hills.”
Coach Rick Brading commented on the race, “The course was rough, but our kids competed well. Ryin ran the course well and everybody right down the line did what they were supposed to do and we got a little extra out of freshman Avery Villines today.”
The Lady Vikings finished with four girls in the top 10. Senior Stella Applehanz finished fourth in 20:56.52, sophomore Brynn Spencer was fifth in 21:54.43 and Villines 10th with a time of 22:58.87.
Topeka West’s only runner, senior Chloe Phelps, placed 14th in a time of 23:25.72. Sophomore Abigal Lewis was the top finisher for Shawnee Heights, in 26th place.
United Kansas Conference All-Conference Awards
First Team: Ryin Miller, Stella Applehanz and Brynn Spencer (Seaman).
Second Team: Avery Villines and Kinley Robinson (Seaman); Chloe Phelps (Topeka West).
Honorable Mention: Hannah Wempe (Seaman).
Final Team Standings: Seaman 33, De Soto 68, Basehor-Linwood 77, Lansing 95, Piper 105, Leavenworth 130.
Seaman : Ryin Miller (17:58.96, 1st); Stella Applehanz (20:56.52, 4th); Brynn Spencer (21:54.43, 5th); Avery Villines (22:58.87, 10th); Kinley Robinson (23:22.18, 13th); Hannah Wempe (23:45.90, 20th); Emma Gonzalez (24:41.12; 30th); Abigail Cooper (25:16.58, 32nd); Kennedy Gatewood (28:07.51, 45th).
Shawnee Heights: Abigail Lewis (24:17.30, 26th); Adelaide Davis (26:38.25, 42nd); Kinsley Mohan (26:53.83, 43rd); Elizabeth Hogan (30:07.10, 48th).
Topeka West: Chloe Phelps (23:25.72, 14th).
Seaman junior Brody Anderson won the boys individual title in Thursday's UKC cross country meet, leading the Vikings to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]
Boys Varsity
In the boys race, junior Brody Anderson of Seaman won the individual title in a time of 16:21.42 and the Vikings finished second as a team behind conference champion De Soto.
Senior Adrian Lehman of Topeka West finished third with a time of 16:52.72 and Shawnee Heights senior Evan Carter rounded out the top five in a time of 17:49.56.
On his fifth win of the season, Anderson shared his thoughts on the race, “It was really difficult and the first mile hill was tough. I had really good guys to race against, which was good. I was able to push through and was able to come home with the conference win.”
Seaman coach Luke Wiens commented on his team’s second place finish, “I really liked the team’s tactics and toughness. We knew that the course would be challenging and we have been a little over-aggressive in races earlier in the season, so we made an effort to pack together. They responded very well and I loved the way they approached the hills in later portions of the course. It was awesome to be right with De Soto, that is a really great program.”
Seaman finished with four in the top 15 -- senior Alex Newell in 13th (18:21.71), senior Corbin Murrow in 14th (18:25.57) and sophomore Conner Bloom in 15th (18:26.92).
Shawnee Heights placed one other runner in the top 15 -- junior Max Esquibel finished in 11th with a time of 18:18.11.
Topeka West had one other runner finish in the top 15 -- sophomore Tony Lloyd finished in ninth with a time of 18:16.83.
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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
After a sluggish start, the Washburn Rural Junior Blues boys soccer team exploded for six unanswered goals in a 6-1 win over Seaman on Thursday night at Seaman High School.
Brodye Kocher-Munoz (8) had two goals and an assist in Thursday's 6-1 Washburn Rural non-league soccer win over Seaman. [File photo/TSN]
The Junior Blues went on the attack from the opening kickoff, with Dylan Willingham just missing the mark on a shot attempt just seconds into the match.
Washburn Rural would get another opportunity a few minutes later, when a change in possession put the host Vikings in a poor defensive position. With Seaman goalkeeper Landon Geis caught several yards outside the six-yard box, the Junior Blues appeared to have an open net, but a Viking defender stopped a shot attempt to put an end to the threat.
Despite the Junior Blues having the momentum, the Vikings were able to move the ball down the field and take the lead in the 24th minute. A shot attempt from senior forward Blake Toyne was initially blocked, but the ball fell to the feet of Kaelon Taylor, whose chip shot went just over Washburn Rural goalkeeper Miles Cook and into the net to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage.
The Seaman lead would only last about eight minutes, when Washburn Rural’s Brodye Kocher-Munoz received a pass from Drew Moore and found the equalizer to put the Junior Blues back in the game.
Washburn Rural took the lead in the 35th minute, when Willingham’s corner kick bounced off the head of a Viking defender and into the net for an own goal, putting the Junior Blues up 2-1.
Washburn Rural would find its third goal in a span of five minutes courtesy of Draden Chooncharoen’s strike in the 37th minute, giving the Junior Blues a 3-1 lead heading into halftime.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Highland Park football had no problem picking up its fifth win of the season, steamrolling a school from Kansas City, Mo. 70-0 in a Thursday night meeting at Hummer Sports Park.
Senior CJ Brown celebrates a touchdown in Highland Park's 70-0 win over KC-East Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park senior Jamon Wilson scored two touchdowns in Thursday's 70-0 non-league win over KC-East. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park enjoyed the blowout win after suffering back-to-back losses to slump to 4-2. The Scots can expect a challenge in their final regular-season contest next Thursday, a meeting with 5-1 KC-Washington in a game with Meadowlark Conference and Class 5A playoff implications.
The visiting KC-East Bears got off on the wrong foot, and it just got worse from there. An errant snap on the first play from scrimmage was recovered by Highland Park lineman Elijah Thomas, who jogged 45 yards for a defensive touchdown.
The Bear offense could do nothing against the Scots. And once Highland Park had possession of the ball, they were rarely tackled. In fact, Highland Park scored on their first four plays from scrimmage before the Bears actually got one of the Scots on the ground. In just five minutes of play, Highland Park had amassed a 36-0 lead.
The officials called for a running clock with 5:39 remaining in the second period.
Scoring offensive touchdowns for the Scots in the first half were:
• Jamon Wilson, on runs of 19 and 53 yards.
• Ricky Crawford, on a 47-yard pass from Dontrail Fox.
Sophomore G'Honi Montgomery scores a TD in Thursday's 70-0 Highland Park win over KC-East. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
• G'Honi Montgomery, on a 91-yard run and a 35-yard pass from Fox, and Fox, on a 20-yard run.
The second half, with a running clock throughout, held more of the same for the visiting Bears.
CJ Brown took a sweep 54 yards on the first play of the third period. Wilson ran 35 yards on the Scots’ next offensive play. And to cap the scoring, Brown returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown.
Thus, the Scots went untackled in the second half en route to piling up the 70-0 final score. In all, the Scots scored eight offensive touchdowns on just 12 plays from scrimmage.
Junior quarterback Dontrail Fox and the Highland Park football team improved to 5-2 with a 70-0 win over KC-East Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“It was a lot of fun,” said Fox, the Scots’ junior quarterback who praised the many options at his disposal. “Whoever I threw to, they scored. Whoever I handed off to, they scored. My offensive line gave me time and kept me from getting hit.”
Expecting a lopsided affair, Monroe experimented with a platoon made up mostly of seniors, and another consisting entirely of players he expects to be back in 2025.
“You saw a bit of what next year is going to look like. And it looked pretty good,” Monroe said. “We got a lot of young guys involved tonight.”
An easy cruise to victory may help Highland Park put behind it two painful losses, at Wichita East and at Atchison, a game that may have sealed the league title for the Phoenix.
“The whole week, we focused on what we can control and how we’re going to respond,” Monroe said. “I told the guys tonight to focus on, at the end of this game, to be better teammates. Just be a great teammate. And tonight, they were supporting each other. They were just flying around having fun.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Senior Night is always special for the athletes being honored.
And Seaman's volleyball team made it an extra special occasion for its six upperclassmen on Thursday at Seaman, with the Vikings taking wins over a pair of Kansas' most storied programs.
Seaman volleyball celebrates a kill from Maegan Mills (23) during the Vikings' Senior Night win over St. James Academy Thursday at Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The defending Class 5A state champs opened their night with a hard-earned three-set 23-25, 25-19, 25-23 win over nine-time 4A and 5A state champion St. James before taking a 25-14, 25-19 win over eight-time 6A state champion Washburn Rural.
Seaman, now 30-2 on the season, could have picked easier opponents for its Senior Night festivities but Viking coach Tatiana Dowling said her team welcomed the challenge.
"I feel really passionate that our girls are the right group and they can take it to whoever they want to as long as they play together and play as a team,'' Dowling said. "I'm really proud of them. I told them, 'Play with a lot of confidence tonight,' and I felt like they did and they believe in each other and in themselves.
"I've got to credit that to our captains and our seniors. They really run this team. They do a great job of making sure that everybody's always on the same page, that we're moving in the right direction and we're focused, so I'm really proud of them for that.''
Seaman will close out their regular season in Saturday's Emporia tournament before beginning defense of their 5A title in postseason and Dowling said matches like Thursday will help the Vikings to continue building momentum.
"I think it's really good to play tough teams at the end of the season because it prepares you for your ultimate goal, which is a state championship,'' Dowling said. "St. James and Washburn Rural are consistently tough teams that do that for you.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
By this point in the 2024 high school tennis season, Seaman singles players Emma Sweeney and Molly Gorman have faced off against each other more than they can probably count.
Seaman sophomore Emma Sweeney is 27-3 and the No. 5 singles seed for Friday and Saturday's Class 5A state tennis tournament at Andover. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman sophomore Molly Gorman is 25-4 on the season and the No. 11 singles seed for the Class 5A state meet Friday and Saturday in Andover. [File photo/TSN]
Sweeney and Gorman play each other most every day in practice and also faced each other in the championship matches of the United Kansas Conference and Class 5A regional tournaments.
Gorman, a junior, and sophomore Sweeney admit that constantly going up against a teammate and close friend can get old, but the Viking standouts would welcome another meeting in this Friday and Saturday's Class 5A state tournament at the Andover District Tennis Complex.
Sweeney, who placed 11th in 5A as a freshman, is the No. 5 state seed with a 27-3 record while Gorman, a two-time state doubles medalist, is the No. 11 seed at 25-4, with two of her losses coming against Sweeney.
"It's hard, especially because me and Molly are such good friends off the court that it's just so hard and upsetting always having to play and go against her,'' Sweeney said.
Gorman agreed.
"At practice yes (it gets old) and I don't like playing her when it comes to meets, but we've got to do it,'' Gorman said.
But both players agree that playing each other also makes them both better.
"She hits the ball super aggressive and she's good on moving me around,'' Sweeney said of Gorman. "It's either way at practice at the end of the day. Me and Molly just are always trying to push each other and make each other better each day.''
Said Gorman: "Even though it gets tiring, it benefits me and it should benefit her I think.''
The good news for both Sweeney and Gorman is that if they face each other this weekend it's likely to be a very good weekend for both of them, with the two players on opposite sides of the bracket and will only play if both players advance to the state final or end up facing off in a place match.
Seaman is coming off United Kansas Conference and regional team championships -- posting perfect team scores in both events -- and will be looking to take home a team trophy (top three) this weekend after qualifying its entire team for state.
Seaman senior Sidney Chinn and junior Peyton Henry won the regional doubles title last Saturday in Bonner Spring while topping sophomore teammates Kaylyn Hiebsch and Camryn Lux in the championship match.
Chinn and Henry are 23-5 on the season and the No. 10 seed for state while Hiebsch and Lux are 22-8 and seeded No. 13.
The 5A state tournament will start at 10 a.m. Friday.
Class 6A at Prairie Village Harmon Park Tennis Complex
Washburn Rural and Topeka High combined for seven state qualifiers for this weekend's Class 6A state meet at Harmon Park.
Washburn Rural seniors Emerie Catlin (left) and Izzy Haggard followed up their city doubles title with Centennial League and regional championships and are the No. 5 seed for the Class 6A state tournament. [File photo
Regional team champion Rural qualified the senior doubles team of Emerie Catlin and Izzy Haggard and senior singles player Carolina Chedzoy and sophomore Julia Katzer for state out of last Thursday's regional tournament at Wichita while Topeka High qualified junior singles player Madeline Deters and the doubles team of junior Ava Ritter and freshman Hailey Caryl.
Catlin and Haggard won the regional doubles title after earlier winning city and Centennial League titles while Chedzoy and Katzer finished second and fifth in singles.
Catlin and Haggard are 21-4 on the year and are the No. 5 state seed while Chedzoy, a returning state medalist, is 17-10 and the No. 9 singles seed while Katzer is 17-10 and the No. 20 seed.
Topeka High's Deters placed third at regionals and is the No. 10 state seed with a 24-6 record while Caryl and Ritter took fifth at reegionals and are the No. 18 doubles seed with a 22-8 record.
The first round of state competition will begin at 10 a.m. Friday.
Class 3A-1A at Wichita Riverside Tennis Complex
Cair Paravel Latin sophomore Madilyn Poole finished second in singles in the Class 3A-1A regional tournament last Saturday at Marysville, becoming the school's first girls state tennis qualifier.
Poole is 19-6 on the season and has been installed as the No. 8 seed for Friday and Saturday's state meet at Wichita's Riverside Tennis Complex.
CITY STATE TENNIS QUALIFIERS
Class 6A
At Harmon Park, Prairie Village
Topeka High -- Singles: Madeline Deters, sr., 24-6. Doubles: Hailey Caryl, fr., and Ava Ritter, jr., 22-8.
Washburn Rural -- Singles: Carolina Chedzoy, sr., 17-10; Julia Katzer, so., 17-10. Doubles: Emerie Catlin, sr., and Izzy Haggard, sr., 21-4.
Class 5A
At Andover District Tennis Complex
Seaman -- Singles: Emma Sweeney, so., 27-3; Molly Gorman, jr., 25-4. Doubles: Peyton Henry, jr., and Sidney Chinn, sr., 23-5; Kaylyn Hiebsch, so., and Camryn Lux, so., 22-8.
Class 4A
At Kossover Tennis Center, Topeka
Hayden -- Singles: Ainzley Zulueta, sr., 20-0; Grace Funk, jr., 8-3. Doubles: Emily Sheetz, sr., and Sophia Wichman, fr., 12-2; Izzy Glotzbach, jr., and Avery O'Bray, jr., 11-7.
Class 3A-1A
At Riverside Tennis Complex, Wichita
Cair Paravel Latin -- Singles: Madilyn Poole, so., 19-6.
