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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Like all bowlers, Shawnee Heights senior Karli Gilliland is always looking for higher scores.
But Gilliland was happy about Monday's girls individual and team championships in Shawnee Heights' Senior Day quadrangular at Gage Bowl and now will focus on trying to build off that performance over the final month of the 2022 season.
Gilliland rolled a three-game series of 554 to win the girls individual title while teammate Samara Colon finished second with a 518 series as the T-Birds won the team title by 119 pins over runner-up Lawrence (1,961-1,842).
Shawnee Heights bowlng coach Scott Mercer talks to his T-Birds earlier this season. Heights won the girls title in Monday's Senior Day quadrangular at Gage Bowl while the boys finished fourth. [File photo/TSN]
Gilliland got off to a slow start Monday, but was pleased with her day overall.
"I think I definitely could have done better my first game -- it was like 155 I think -- but after that I got pretty good so I'm pretty proud,'' Gilliland said.
Now Gilliland wants to continue to improve, with the United Kansas Conference and postseason tournaments coming up in the near future.
"My goal is to make it state,'' Gilliland said. "I just want to improve my game.''
West’s Brooks, Rural’s Johnson tapped as first Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Athletes of the Week
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By RICK PETERSON 
TopSports.news
Topeka West senior boys basketball star Elijah Brooks and Washburn Rural senior wrestling standout Jaliah Johnson have been named the first Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Athletes of the Week honorees.
Brooks had a record-setting week for the 12-1 Chargers while Johnson won an individual title and helped lead the Junior Blues to the team championship in the state’s largest girls high school wrestling tournament.
Here’s a brief looks at the accomplishments of Brooks and Johnson last week:
ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West
A 6-foot-4 senior, Brooks scored a total of 76 points in two victories as the 12-1 Chargers pushed their winning streak to 11 games.
Topeka West senior Eljjah Brooks has been named the first Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Boys Athlete of the Week after scoring 76 points in two Charger wins last week, including a 43-point outing. [File photo/TSN]
Brooks scored 43 points in 67-66 overtime victory over Junction City last Tuesday and followed that up with a 33-point performance in Friday’s 74-58 win over Seaman, with the Chargers, ranked second in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, avenging their only loss of the season.
In Friday night's victory Brooks became Topeka West's career scoring leader, moving past 2000 graduate Luke Dwyer, who scored 1,235 points. Brooks, who has scored 30 or more points in five straight games, has now scored 1,250 points at West.
Washburn Rural senior 155-pound wrestler Jaliah Johnson has been named the first Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Girls Athlete of the Week after winning an individual title and helping lead the Junior Blues to the team title in last Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
JALIAH JOHNSON, Washburn Rural
A senior, Johnson is a two-time state medalist who has helped lead Washburn Rural to back-to-back state team championships.
On Saturday Johnson captured the 155-pound individual championship while leading the Junior Blues to the team title by a 293-175.5 margin over Burlington in a tournament that included 32 schools, approximately 280 competitors, seven state-ranked teams and 46 individually-ranked wrestlers.
Johnson, second-ranked in the Class 6A-5A state rankings by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, won her title with a pin at the 4:13 mark over Olathe Northwest sophomore Chloe Harris in the championship match, improving to 31-1 on the season.
Johnson placed third at 191 pounds in the state tournament as a sophomore and was third at 170 pounds last season before moving down to 155 this winter.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Elijah Brooks
ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West
A 6-foot-4 senior, Brooks had 43 and 33-point games in boys basketball victories over Junction City (67-66 in overtime) and Seaman (74-58) last week as 12-1 Topeka West, ranked second in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, pushed its winning streak to 11 games. In Friday night's Centennial League victory over Seaman Brooks became Topeka West's career scoring leader, moving past 2000 graduate Luke Dwyer, who scored 1,235 points. Brooks, who has scored 30 or more points in five straight games, has now scored 1,250 points at West.
Emma Krueger
EMMA KRUEGER, Washburn Rural
Krueger, a 5-11 senior, was named the most valuable player in the Lady Firebirds Winter Classic at Lawrence Free State after helping lead sixth-ranked Washburn Rural to the tournament championship. Krueger turned in an outstanding defensive effort in Rural's 3-0 week as the Junior Blues posted a 57-30 win over Leavenworth before knocking off No. 3-ranked Derby (54-37) and No. 1 Shawnee Mission East (47-38). Krueger scored 26 points in the tournament, including 10 in the championship game as Rural improved to 12-1 while pushing its winning streak to seven games.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's two-time defending state-champion girls wrestling team officially starts its stretch run in Saturday's Centennial League tournament.
And the Junior Blues probably couldn't have picked a better way to tune up than with an impressive performance in the largest girls wresting tournament in the state, Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational.
With individual champions Alexis Fredrickson and JaliahJohnson leading the way and six Junior Blues posting top-four finishes, Washburn Rural won the team championship by a 293-175.5 margin over Burlington in a tournament that included 32 schools, approximately 280 competitors, seven state-ranked teams, 46 individually-ranked wrestlers and a Rural gym full of fans.
Washburn Rural senior Jaliah Johnson (left) won the 155-pound championship in Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational, helping lead the Junior Blues to the team title. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Alexis Fredrickson stands atop the medal stand after winning the 132-pound title in Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I'm not even claustrophobic, but when everybody came in I was like, 'I feel a bit claustrophobic,' '' Johnson said. "I was just like, 'Dang, there's a lot of people here.' ''
But Frederickson said the atmosphere made for an extremely enjoyable experience.
"Oh my gosh, the energy and just all of the people and everyone on the team being able to wrestle, the combination of it all was insane,'' Fredrickson said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Rossville's girls topped host Jefferson County North 57-41 on Saturday to win the tournament championship in the Jefferson County North Invitational.
Rossville's girls basketball team posed for a team picture after winning the tournament championship in the Jefferson County North Invitational Saturday. [Twitter]
The Bulldawgs jumped out to a 14-8 advantage in the first quarter and took a nine-point (26-17) lead at the half.
Jefferson County North used a 16-15 third quarter to cut the Bulldawgs' lead to 41-33 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Rossville closed with a 16-8 scoring edge over the final eight minutes to take the 16-point victory.
Senior Caylee Douglas led the Bulldawgs with 14 points while sophomore Kinley Porter added 13 points with three 3-pointers and sophomore Kinsey Perine had 12 points with a pair of 3s.
Sophomore Emma Mitchell scored eight points Saturday and was named to the all-tournament team along with Perine.
SPRING HILL GIRLS 55, HAYDEN 47 -- Hayden put itself in position to win the Top Gun Invitational championship on Saturday in Wellsville before foul problems and a strong fourth quarter by Spring Hill foiled the Wildcats' title bid.
