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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Coming off back-to-back double-digit Centennial League road losses, Washburn Rural girls basketball got back on track in a big way Friday night, going wire to wire at home for a 56-14 league rout over Junction City.
Senior Ella Hirschi scored a game-high 12 points on four 3-pointers in Friday's 56-14 Centennial League win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Now 12-6 overall and 3-3 in the league, Rural completed a regular-season sweep over the Blue Jays, who fell to 2-15 overall and 0-6 in the league. The Junior Blues took a 36-point win (68-32) win at Junction City in their Centennial opener.
"I thought we were a lot better defensively this time,'' Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "I thought everybody that played did a really good job on defense.
"We're trying to work on some things like stopping drives a little bit better. I still think we can box out better (on rebounds). We're not as strong as we need to be and getting a low base and keeping them away and getting on them a little bit faster.''
Washburn Rural led 15-7 at the end of the opening quarter and then put the Blue Jays away with a 16-2 second quarter.
The Junior Blues continued to roll in the third quarter, outscoring Junction City 15-5 to open up a 46-14 lead and force a running clock over the final eight minutes.
Washburn Rural pitched a 10-0 shutout in the fourth quarter to close out the 42-point win.
Washburn Rural freshman Brynn Anderson (15) and senior Josie Carlgren (23) celebrate a big play in Friday's 56-14 Centennial League win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Hallie Walker (10) scored nine points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds in Friday's 56-14 Centennial League win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Senior Ella Hirschi connected on four 3-pointers to score a game-high 12 points for Washburn Rural while freshman Brynn Anderson also cracked double figures with 10 points, senior Hallie Walker finished with nine points and seven rebounds and senior Josie Carlgren and freshman Kamryn Smith chipped in with eight points apiece.
"It was pretty even across the board,'' Bordewick said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman girls bowling standout Leah Crawford and Hayden junior boys wrestling standout Caleb Menke have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.
Here's a brief look at the recent accomplishments of Crawford and Menke.
Leah Crowford, Seaman [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
LEAH CRAWFORD, Seaman
Crawford shot a 661 three-game series last Friday at Gage Bowl to capture the girls individual title in the third annual Topeka Shawnee County bowling championships.
Crawford rolled games of 224, 211 and 226 to take individual honors by 36 pins as Seaman rolled to its third straight city team championship by a 3,293-2,970 margin over Washburn Rural.
As a freshman Crawford placed 12th in the city meet.
Caleb Menke, Hayden
CALEB MENKE, Hayden
Menke, a 175-pounder, recently reached the 100-win milestone in a meet at Royal Valley, a rare accomplishment for an underclassman.
Menke followed that up with the 175-pound championship in last Saturday's Centennial League tournament at Washburn Rural.
Menke posted a 5-0 record on the day, including a 55-second pin and a 15-0 technical fall.
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Seaman boys basketball, ranked No. 6 in Class 5A, has won seven of its last eight games after taking down city rival Topeka High on Thursday night at Seaman, 62-55.
Senior KaeVon Bonner scored a game-high 24 points in Thursday's 62-55 Seaman win over Topeka High. [File photo/TSN]
“I thought our defense was outstanding in the first half to hold them to 19 points,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "They’re a team that’s capable of getting hot and getting on a run. Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough offensively to take advantage of that and build a bigger margin other than the six points … knowing they would respond, and they did. I knew it was going to be a battle and this was a good win for our guys.''
“One thing about this team this year is we have pretty good chemistry,” Viking senior Matthew McConnaughey said after finishing with 10 points.
The Trojans began the game with a 4-2 lead but then Seaman went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead and force a timeout for Topeka with 2:47 left in the first quarter, as the Vikings led 12-5.
It took a while for Topeka High to score its first field goal in the second quarter, scoring just three points on free throws as the Trojans trailed by eight, 16-8. They slowly crept their way back off a couple of 3-pointers from senior Bryson McComas and Elisha Guest, making it a 23-19 game.
But then Seaman senior Kae’Von Bonner converted a floater off the window as time expired for halftime, as the Vikings took a six-point lead, 25-19.
Bonner had a game-high 24 points, with 11 of them coming in the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter, Topeka High would re-take the lead for the first time since 4-2 thanks to a 9-2 run to begin the half, led by McComas, Guest (who had a team-high 19 points) and senior Jalen Aldridge as the Trojans went in front, 28-27.
Both teams would trade buckets but then Seaman built a little cushion off a Griffin Zuniga triple, making it 34-30, and the Vikings led 40-35 heading into the fourth.
The Vikings led by eight at one point, but the Trojans trimmed the deficit to two after Octavian McFadden drilled a three making it 47-45.
Seaman built a six point lead again off a Bonner bucket, but then McComas brought High within three (54-51).
But then Seaman got in the bonus early and made crucial free throws when needed.
Zuniga iced the game off a Trojans turnover with under 20 seconds remaining, putting home a layup as Seaman nabbed its 16th win on the year. Zuniga had 14 points for the Vikings.
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Topeka High girls basketball coach Ron Slaymaker told his players said before the season started that defense had to be a big identity of this team, leading to points in transition and the fastbreak.
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored a game-high 26 points in Thursday's 61-36 Topeka High win at Seaman. [File photo/TSN]
That was the case Thursday night as the Trojans stayed hot, avenging an earlier double-digit loss to Seaman with a 61-36 romp on the Vikings' home floor.
“I’ll tell you what we were hot on and that’s defense,” Slaymaker said. “Our defense created so much of our offense. That’s what we needed to win this game because they (Seaman) are a good team.”
Slaymaker said one big adjustment Topeka High made Thursday was how to break the zone, something they did not do against Seaman the last time these two teams met. And Slaymaker said he faults himself for not having them prepared, but did for Thursday night’s slate.
Topeka High started the game up 8-2 and started the game in a 2-3 zone, giving the Lady Vikings problems finding easy baskets. Seaman junior Jaydin Frickey hit a three to make it an 8-6 game, but that’s the closest Seaman would get the rest of the evening.
After a 7-0 run, Topeka High senior Keimara Marshall finished off a layup in transition, forcing a Seaman timeout at 15-6. Topeka High led 19-6 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, it was no different as junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton used her speed in transition and the fastbreak to get easy baskets off Seaman turnovers, scoring 18 first-half points. She helped the Trojans to a 13-0 run, dating back to the first quarter at 21-6.
“A driving force in this game was Coach Slay said at practice to look up the court and that’s what we did in this game and make that extra pass, looking inside and out and that’s what Slay harps on a lot,” Topeka High sophomore Hailey Caryl said.
Seaman senior Maddie Gragg converted an and-one and knocked down a three to cut the Viking deficit to 24-12 with 6:05 left in the half, but the Trojans just kept scoring after a three from senior Trish Short.
Seaman called another timeout a minute later, down 18, 30-12, and the Lady Trojans took a 20-point lead into halftime, 38-18.
In the second half, the third quarter saw both teams combine for 11 points, but the fourth quarter was nothing but the clinic the Trojans put on in the first two quarters. Topeka High had its biggest lead of 28 in the game thanks to Caryl’s big quarter and continuing to force those turnovers.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
After a year’s absence, the Centennial League boys swimming championship trophy will return to the Washburn Rural trophy case. The Junior Blues took revenge on last year’s champion, Manhattan, in the league meet at the Capitol Federal Natatorium Thursday.
Washburn Rural poses for a team picture after winning the 2026 Centennial League swimming championship Thursday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Manhattan and Washburn Rural have taken turns with the trophy since 2022, and this year was the Junior Blues’ year to take the title, scoring 511 points to Manhattan’s 421.
The Junior Blues demonstrated their depth by winning all three of the meet’s relay races. Washburn Rural and Manhattan also displayed their dominance on the all-league teams. Of the 24 swimmers and divers to receive first- or second-team All-Centennial League recognition, 12 were from Washburn Rural and eight were from Manhattan.
“It means a lot to the boys for (the trophy) to be in our trophy cabinet, for them to be able to walk by every day and see it and know that they earned it back,” Washburn Rural coach Bob Burdick said. “It leaves kind of a hollow spot when it goes away. But Manhattan’s a great competitor. Great team, great coach. So, it makes it special when you earn it.”
Junior Daniel Allen won four gold medals for team-champion Washburn Rural in Thursday's Centennial League swimming meet. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Leading the Junior Blues was junior Daniel Allen, who placed first in two individual events and was part of two first-place relays. Other top scorers included freshman Braeden Montgomery and sophomore Thomas Appuhn, both of whom were part of two winning relays and took home a first and a second in individual events.
Sophomore Thomas Appuhn was part of three victories for team-champion Washburn Rural in Thursday's Centennial League swimming meet. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Freshman Braeden Montgomery helped lead Washburn Rural to the Centennial League swimming title Thursday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“Winning the league trophy feels great,” Appuhn said. “The team is doing really good this year and it was a team effort to get the trophy back. Getting it back was one of the key ambitions this year, so we made sure we had a diverse team that was able to swim all the events that we needed in order to get it.
“We had a developmental season last season, just trying to get more swimmers to practice and swim year round instead of just during the high school season. So this feels great.”
The only Topeka school to take home a medal was Topeka High, whose senior Will Stewart placed third in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle.
