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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Caden Cochrane
CADEN COCHRANE, Shawnee Heights
A junior bowling standout, Cochrane finished third individually in last Friday's Class 5A state bowling tournament at Wichita with a 685 three-game series, leading Shawnee Heights to the first state bowling boys team championship in school history by a 3,547-3,519 margin over Kansas City-Turner. Cochrane rolled games of 235, 233 and 217.
Trey Donath
TREY DONATH, Shawnee Heights
A freshman, Donath placed eighth individually in last Friday's Class 5A state bowling tournament at Wichita with a 667 three-game series, helping Shawnee Heights to the first state bowling boys team championship in school history by a 3,547-3,519 margin over Kansas City-Turner. Donath bowled games of 214, 254 and 199.
Claire Ireland
CLAIRE IRELAND, Washburn Rural
A senior, Ireland earned her second straight individual medal in last Thursday's Class 6A state bowling tournament at Wichita, leading Washburn Rural to a runnerup team finish. Ireland finished 14th in 6A with a 594 series as the Junior Blues posted a team score of 3,092 to finish second to Campus (3,255). Ireland bowled games of 215, 212 and 167.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
My favorite week of the high school sports season is here and for what it's worth -- and it's not much -- here's my take on all 14 of this week's state basketball tournaments across the state.
If I didn't pick your team don't fret because it could bode well for you.
If I did pick the team/teams you root for, I hope it's not a jinx.
By early Saturday eventing we'll know, and win or lose it promises to be a fun week. Enjoy!
CLASS 6A BOYS
Finalists -- Shawnee Mission Northwest (1: 22-0) vs. Wichita Heights (2: 21-1).
Champion -- Wichita Heights. A good rule of thumb is never pick against Joe Auer. The Falcons coach is one of the most respected and successful coaches in Kansas, with six titles in two classes, and his 2023-2024 team (the runnerup in '23) will be hard to beat again this week although the 6A field is crowded with contenders.
Other contenders -- Blue Valley Northwest (3: 20-2) is the defending state champ and a perennial contender. Heights could have to get past Northwest in the semifinals, although the Huskies could get a tough first-round test from Wichita Northwest (6: 17-5), which handed Highland Park its only loss in the finals of the Topeka Invitational.
Senior Zoe Canfield played a big role in Washburn Rural's 2022 state championship and will take aim on another title this week in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
CLASS 6A GIRLS
Finalists -- Blue Valley North (5: 18-4) vs. Wichita Heights (2: 20-2)/Washburn Rural (7: 15-7) first-round winner.
Champion -- Blue Valley North. When in doubt, and 6A is one huge bundle of doubt, go with the defending champs. Blue Valley North is a No. 5 seed, but the Mustangs have proven themselves to be up to challeng in the past, and could again.
Other contenders -- Rule of thumb Part II: never count out Kevin Bordewick. The Hall of Fame coach has led Washburn Rural to back-to-back 6A championship games (title in 2022, runnerup in 2023) and a pair of championships since 2019. The Rural-Wichita Heights first-round game could be the game of the tournament, with Rural beating Heights in the semifinals of the Capital City Classic on late January. Top seed Shawnee Mission South (21-1), Olathe South (4: 18-4) and Derby (3:19-3) are all capable of championship runs.
Highland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson is coming off a 35-point performance in the Scots' sub-state final victory. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting will be shooting for his sixth state basketball championship this week in Emporia. [File photo/TSN]
CLASS 5A BOYS
Finalists -- Piper (4:19-3)/Shawnee Heights (5:19-3) first-round winner vs. Highland Park (2: 21-1).
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
HOYT -- The Hayden Wildcats were hoping to make easy work of Jefferson West in Saturday's Class 3A girls sub-state championship game, but the Tigers had other plans as they would battle with the top-seeded Wildcats and trail just 17-12 after the first quarter.
Hayden's girls basketball team poses for a picture after winning the Class 3A sub-state title on Saturday at Royal Valley. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Hayden's girls celebrate their Class 3A sub-state championship after Saturday's 69-31 win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
But that would be all the Tigers would have for the Wildcats, as Hayden would outscore the Tigers 19-8 in the second quarter to take a 36-20 halftime lead and cruite the rest of the way in a 69-31 rout.
Senior Lauren Sandstrom scored 15 of her game-high 27 points before halftime and the Wildcats would come out of halftime on fire and play stifling defense as they would outscore the Tigers 26-9 in the third and take a 62-29 lead into the fourth stanza, forcing a running clock.
“It means a lot,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "We have seniors that have bought in for four years and a great junior class that have bought in and tonight you saw we have a great sophomore class as well.
"It means a lot that we made state last year (in 4A) and we got our feet wet at state and the girls know what to expect now.”
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
HOYT -- The Hayden Wildcat boys have been through it all this season. They won four of their first five games and then the new year hit and the Wildcats couldn’t win as injuries would hit them left and right and they would lose their next 12 games. Now the Wildcats are hot as they have won four of their last six games at the most crucial time of the season.
Hayden's boys basketball team celebrates Saturday's 71-67 double-overtime victory in the Class 3A sub-state championship game at Royal Valley. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Hayden's boys basketball team poses for a picture after winning the Class 3A sub-state championship at Royal Valley. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
And on Saturday night the Wildcats would show top-seeded Sabetha how far they have progressed, punching their ticket to the Class 3A state tournament with a thrilling 71-67 double-overtime victory over the Bluejays.
The Wildcats would get out to a hot start, going up 17-9 in the first quarter and taking a 30-18 halftime lead.
But Sabetha came storming back to get behind 42-34 at the end of the third quarter and outscoring Hayden 13-5 in the fourth quarter to take a 3-point lead with seconds to go before Hayden senior guard Dom Ridley would hit a 3-pointer to tie things up at 47 and force overtime.
In the first overtime the Bluejays looked like they were going to pull off the victory but the Wildcats would not give up.
Sabetha had a two-point lead with seconds to go and Hayden needing a miracle to stay alive. The Wildcats got just that as another senior, Carter Charvat, would step up and make a huge play with a layup as time expired to force a second overtime.
The second overtime would be all Hayden as junior Jacob Diester would put his teammates on his back, scoring seven of his 13 points in the second OT and help the Wildcats close out the 71-67 win.
“Big players come up at big times,'' Ridley said. "Charvat hits the layup to force the second overtime and it was history after that.”
“Gosh it feels awesome,'' Hayden coach Trey Brown said. "These guys could have quit a long time ago, but we stayed on them and it's a credit to all these guys. They worked hard, never gave up, believed in each other and battled injuries and stuff and their hard work is paying off. I am extremely proud of them.”
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
The Seaman Lady Vikings hosted the Basehor-Linwood Bobcats in their third matchup of the season in Saturday's Class 5A sub-state championship game.
Seaman's girls basketball team poses for a picture after Saturday's 68-33 win over Basehor-Linwood in a Class 5A sub-state final. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Both regular season contests were won handily by the Lady Vikes, 64-42 in early January and 61-30 in mid-February and the outcome of Saturday's contest was very similar to the previous two games, with Seaman winning the game, 68-33, to punch their ticket to the 5A state tournament beginning Thursday at White Auditorium in Emporia.
The Lady Vikes began the game very focused and jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first four minutes, causing the Bobcats to spend a timeout. The Vikings extended their lead to 25-10 by the end of the first quarter. Seaman was a blistering 5-7 from behind the 3-point line in the quarter.
During the first couple of minutes of the second quarter, the Bobcats found an offensive rhythm and the Lady Vikes were only able to add one point to their lead going into halftime, 38-22.
“This was our best offensive showing of the year as far as running our half court offense,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "The girls moved the ball and found a rhythm offensively.”
During the third quarter Seaman shot 7-11 from the field and extended its lead to 57-31 heading into the final quarter. In the first 80 seconds of the fourth quarter the lead grew to above 30 points, causing a running clock for the remainder of the game, which ended with Seaman winning by 35 points.
“There is a lot of talk this time of year about March Madness and ‘survive and advance,’ '' Tinsley said. "I challenged the girls to have a different mindset of ‘thrive and advance’ instead. If you are not aggressive and back on your heels, you are playing not to lose. I want them to play to win and be confident in our goal. This is a special group of kids and there is nothing that compares to the excitement of the state basketball tournament. The girls have earned it and I want them to be loose and enjoy the moment. I’m so happy for them!”
