Cair Paravel Lions

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The 2024-2025 sports year was full of near-misses for Shawnee County boys teams, with Hayden bowling the lone team to garner a championship in a school year that included seven top-three state trophy finishes in six sports.

But individually there was plenty to celebrate, most notably for Washburn Rural on the wrestling mat and track as seven Junior Blues combined for all six county titles

Following is a pick by pick look at the TopSports.news Top 10 county boys prep stories of '24-'25:

Washburn Rural 2025 grad Easton Broxterman won his third straight Class 6A state wrestling title in his fourth straight trip to the state finals. [File photo/TSN]

1. DOMINATING FINISH TO DOMINATING CAREER -- Washburn Rural superstar wrestler Easton Broxterman put the capper on one of the top high school careers in Shawnee County history with his third straight Class 6A state championship in his fourth straight trip to the state finals, helping lead the Junior Blues to a third-place team finish in the 6A state tournament in Overland Park. Broxterman, who will wrestle collegiately at Army, finished off a 41-2 senior season with the 145-pound state title.

Hayden captured the school's first-ever state bowling title in 2025. [File photo/TSN]

2. ROLLING TO HISTORY --Hayden garnered the first state bowling championship in school history, winning the Class 4A-1A state event by a 3,666-3,571 margin over Mulvane as four Wildcats earned individual state medals. Trevor Christy rolled a 698 series to finish third individually while John Strickland finished fifth with a 685, Chase Blaser was seventh with a 676 and Reese Renyer placed 16th with a 636.

Washburn Rural 2025 grad Kristjan Marshall won back-to-back Class 6A state wrestling titles in '24 and '25.'[File photo/TSN] 

 Washburn Rural senior to be Landen Kocher-Munoz won his second Class 6A state wrestling titles in '25.'[File photo/TSN]

3. REPEAT FEAT --Washburn Rural wrestling stars Kristjan Marshall and Landen Kocher-Munoz captured the second Class 6A state titles of their careers as the Junior Blues finished third as a team. Marshall, a senior, won his second straight championship, winning the 157-pound crown to finish off a 37-5 season while Kocher-Munoz, a junior, won his second career championship in his third straight state final, winning at 138 pounds to finish 34-3 on the season.

Washburn Rural's Matthew Houser, Liam Morrison, Draden Chooncharoen and Isaiah Terry set the Class 6A state meet record in the 4x400 relay in the 2025 state meet. [File photo/TSN]

4. REPEAT FEAT PART II --Washburn Rural won the Class 6A state title in the 4x400-meter relay for the second straight season in the final event of the state meet at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium as senior Matthew Houser, junior Liam Morrison, junior Draden Chooncharoen and senior Isaiah Terry set a 6A state meet record in a winning time of 3 minutes, 16.23 seconds. Morrison, Chooncharoen and Terry ran on Rural's state-champion relay in both '24 and '25 while Houser won his first state title. 

5. DOUBLING THEIR PLEASURE --In addition to helping Washburn Rural set a Class 6A state meet 4x400 relay record in the 2025 state meet, senior Isaiah Terry and junior Liam Morrison both doubled up with their first career individual state titles. Terry won the 400-meter dash in 47.92 seconds while Morrison won the 300 hurdles in 37.68 seconds. Terry and Morrison also both have a pair of state wins as part of the Junior Blues' 4x400 relay, giving them three career state golds.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

How successful was the 2021-22 sports year for Shawnee County high schools? Good enough that girls and boys individuals/teams deserve their own lists.

First up is TopSports.news' look at the county girls year in review, which will be followed by a look at the boys successes of the past year.

Shawnee County schools claimed three state girls team championships and several others came up just short while 10 county standouts claimed individual titles in four different sports.

While a case can always be made for any number of stories to sit at the top of the list, here's one opinion on the Top 10 Shawnee County girls prep stories of '21-'22: 

 Topeka High celebrates its second straight Class 6A state softball title after last Friday's 2-1 win over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]

1. TROJAN RERUN -- After claiming the school's first Class 6A state softball championship in 2021, Topeka High made it two titles in a row last Friday against a familiar foe, with the Trojans edging past city and Centennial League rival Washburn Rural, 2-1, in the championship game. After leading High to a perfect 25-0 record as a junior, Stanford signee NiJaree Canady came up big again in the pitching circle and at the plate last weekend, leading the Trojans to the title.

Washburn Rural won its second Class 6A state basketball championship since 2019, taking a 40-23 win over Derby in the state final. [Submitted]

2. RURAL RULES --Washburn Rural's girls basketball team celebrated a 6A state championship for the second time since 2019, completing a 23-2 season with a 40-23 romp past Derby in the state final at Wichita State's Koch Arena. And while the basketball crown was the lone title for the Lady Blues in '21-'22, they threatened in sport after sport, finishing second in the state in golf, soccer, wrestling and softball and turning in strong cross country, volleyball and bowling campaigns.

Topeka West junior Kadence Jeffries ended her high school swimming career with a sweep of the Class 5A-1A 200 and 500 freestyle events for the third straight season. [File photo/TSN]

3. CHARGER IN CHARGE --The only thing that stopped Topeka West swimming star Kadence Jeffries during a dominating high school career was COVID-19. After sweeping the 200-yard freestyle and 500 free Class 5A-1A state titles as a freshman, Jeffries had her sophomore season wiped out by the pandemic beore returning to sweep the same two events as both a junior and senior to complete a six for six performance in state individual events. Seaman sophomore Avery Walz joined Jeffries as a 5A-1A state champ this past season, winning the 100-yard breaststroke and earning four state medals overall as the Vikings finished fourth as a team.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural, which captured its first-ever Class 6A girls state championship this spring, put a city-high six players on the 15-member 2025 All-City girls soccer first team.

The All-City team is based on recommendations and voting from city coaches.

Rural is represented on the All-City first team by seniors Destiny Higgs, Kate Hinck, Addyson Kaberline, Zahra Friess and Madison Lemke and junior Dayne Shriver while Junior Blues coach Brian Hensyel was named the city coach of the year

Higgs, Hinck and Kaberline are all first-team repeat picks after helping Washburn Rural post a 19-2 rcord, capped by a 1-0 win over Mill Valley in penalty kicks (4-1). 

Destiny Higgs, Washburn Rural

Kate Hinck, Washburn Rural

Addyson Kaberline, Washburn Rural

Zahra Friess, Washburn Rural

Madison Lemke, Washburn Rural

Dayne Shriver, Washburn Rural

Seaman, which advanced to the 5A state quarterfinals, is represented on the All-City team by seniors Anna Becker and Maegan Mills and junior Ava Golightley, with Becker a repeat pick and Mills receiving honorable mention in 2024.

Anna Becker, Seaman

Ava Golightley, Seaman 

Hayden, which advanced to the 4A-1A championship game before losing in double overtime to Bishop Miege, put junior Carsyn Broxterman and senior Camryn McDonald on the All-City first team, with Broxterman a repeat selection and McDonald moving up to the first team after receiving honorable mention in 2024. 

Carsyn Broxterman, Hayden

Camryn McDonald, Hayden

Shawnee Heights senior Izzy Van Fleet is a repeat first-team selection while T-Bird senior Bayli Benson was voted to the first team after receiving honorable mention a year ago.

Izzy Van Fleet, Shawnee Heights

Bayli Benson, Shawnee Heights

Rounding out the All-City first team are Highland Park sophomore Micah Williams and Topeka High junior Natalie Barnes.

 Micah Williams, Highland Park

 Natalie Barnes, Topeka High

Williams is a two-time All-City pick while Barnes earned All-City recognition for the first time after helping Topeka High reach the 6A quarterfinals.

ALL-CITY GIRLS SOCCER 2025

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural, which captured three Class 6A state championships, including a state-meet record, headlines the 2025 All-Shawnee County boys track and field team.

Isaiah Terry, Washburn Rural

Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural

Matthew Houser, Liam Morrison, Draden Chooncharoen, Isaiah Terry, Washburn Rural

Rural senior Isaiah Terry won the 6A state title in the 400-meter dash in 47.92 seconds and junior Liam Morrison won the 300 hurdles in 37.68 before Morrison and Terry teamed with senior Matthew Houser and junior Draden Chooncharoen for a 6A meet-record time of 3:16.23 in the 4x400 relay.

Peyton Holmes, Seaman

Bryce Cochran, Seaman

Brody Anderson, Seaman

Seaman senior Peyton Holmes was the 5A runnerup in the 100 dash (10.82) while Viking senior Bryce Cochran finished third in the 400 (48.85) and Seaman junior Brody Anderson placed third in the 800 (1:55.52).

Ben Roeder, CPLS/Topeka High

Senior Ben Roeder, who competed for Cair Paravel Latin in postseason after running for Topeka High in the regular season, finished third in the 2A 400 (49.37).

Silver Lake's foursome of seniors Trent Rollenhagen and Evan Scheid and juniors Joel Miller and Braxton Rupp posted a third-place finish in the 3A 4x100 relay (42.57).

Jensen Schrickel, Hayden

Despite missing the state meet after an injury at regionals, Hayden senior multi-time state champion Jensen Schrickel earned All-City honors for the fourth straight season.

In addition to its state champions, Washburn Rural put seniors Braylon Badger, Ben Buesing, Connor Olsen and Chris Quarles, junior Brooks Kehoe and sophomore Christian Hartman-Babb on the All-City team.

Adrian Lehman and Mark Wilkie, Topeka West

Topeka West is represented on the All-City team by senior distance standouts Adrian Lehman and Mark Wilkie, who were both 5A state medalists, while Shawnee Heights senior Liam Benz and Seaman sophomore Jack Esser were also state medalists.

All-Shawnee County picks were based on meeting minimum performance standards as well as coaches' recommendations and postseason performances.

ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY 2025 BOYS TRACK AND FIELD

The 2025 All-Shawnee County boys golf team: From left -- Jack Donovan, Rossville; Higgins Hawks, Washburn Rural; Tadd Armstrong, Washburn Rural; Tagan Monasmith, Washburn Rural; Tagen Rodriguez, Hayden; James Kuta, Hayden. Not pictured: Mateo Garcia, Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

First-team repeat selections Tadd Armstrong of Washburn Rural, Jack Donovan of Rossville and Hayden's James Kuta and Tagen Rodriguez headline the 2025 All-Shawnee County boys golf team. 

Seniors Armstrong and Kuta finished one-two in the city tournament, with Armstrong winning the title in a playoff, while Kuta and Rodriguez, a junior, both posted top-10 finishes in the Class 4A state tournament as Hayden finished second as a team and Donovan was a regional champion as a junior and earned a sixth-place tie in 2A-1A, his second straight state medal

Washburn Rural, which won its 15th straight city team championship, is also represented on the All-Shawnee County team by senior Tagan Monasmith and junior Higgins Hawks while Hayden also put junior Mateo Garcia on the first team.

All-Shawnee County capsules:

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

WICHITA -- Washburn Rural's boys claimed three state championships to highlight championship Saturday for the Shawnee County contingent in the state track and field championships at Wichita State. 

Washburn Rural celebrates after setting the Class 6A state meet record in the 4x400 relay Saturday night in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural's Matthew Houser, Liam Morrison, Draden Chooncharoen and Isaiah Terry set the Class 6A state meet record in the 4x400 relay Saturday night in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Senior Isaiah Terry won the 400-meter dash, followed by junior Liam Morrison's win in the 300 hurdles and wrapping things up with a record-setting performance by senior Matthew Houser, Morrison, junior Draden Choonchareon and Terry in the 4x400-meter relay.

Terry started Rural's late-meet gold medal haul with his win in the 400 in 47.92 seconds.

Washburn Rural senior Isaiah Terry won the Class 6A state title in the 400-meter dash in 47.92. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"It felt great,'' Terry said. "I switched up my stride a little bit and decided to go back to my roots... and felt way better. I actually got off fast this time and the rest was history.

''I'm so ectstatic after last year when I absolutely did horrible and got fifth place, the worst day of my life. Ever since sophomore year when I said I would quit cross country and start running track all year around I've been dreaming of moments like this and it feels good for it to come true.''

Washburn Rural junior Liam Morrison (3779) ran on Rural's record-setting Class 6A 4x400 relay after winning the title in the 300 hurdles Saturday in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Morrison followed with the state championship in the 300 hurdles with a time of 37.68. He also finished sixth earlier in the day in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.52.

“I feel great with the (personal record) in the state championship race,'' Morrison said. "The 110 didn’t go as I wanted, but I definitely knew it would be a great opportunity to show that I deserve to be here. I know what I can do and I’m happy that I was able to go out and do it.”

Houser, Morrison, Chooncharoen and Terry then went out and captured Rural's second straight state championship in the 4x400 in a meet record time of 3:16.23. 

"After our league meet at Junction (City) we saw the time we got and we were like, 'We can definitely do this, we can get this record,' '' Chooncharoen said. "My teammates, we push each other every day. Everyone did their part and it was amazing.''

Houser came on board this season as Rural's leadoff runner, joining returners Morrison, Chooncharoen and Terry from the 2024 state winners.

"We've been training all season since the start so we could try to get this record because that was our mindset all year,'' Houser said. "I've been training all summer and winter with Isaiah so I could get better for this exact reason and I guess it helped out at the end.'' 

Saturday's other county medalists:

• Senior Peyton Holmes of Seaman finished second in the Class 5A 100 meters in a time of 10.82 seconds after placing sixth in Friday's long jump.

Seaman senior Peyton Holmes (3767) finished second in the Class 5A 100 dash Saturday in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

“I was really hoping to get first,'' Holmes said. "Second is good and my goal was to get in the top three. I thought I had it for a little bit, but he (Jack Guthridge) is really tough.”

• Seaman junior Brody Anderson finished third in a tough 5A 800 meters field in a time of 1:55.52.

Seaman junior Brody Anderson (3760) posted a third-place finish in the Class 5A 800 meters Saturday in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Anderson battled on the second lap and held on for the third-place finish.

“I don’t think I could have done it if I hadn’t prepared all week with the help of coach (Luke) Wiens,'' Anderson said. "Every rep this week, I simulated the race situation and it set me up to be where I wanted to be today.”

• Senior Bryce Cochran of Seaman finished third in the 5A 400 meters with a time of 48.85.

Seaman senior Bryce Cochran (3763) finished third in the Class 5A 400 while Shawnee Heights senior Liam Benz (3733) was seventh Saturday in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

“I feel awesome and I got a little emotional after the race seeing that all the hard work pay off,'' Cochran said. "To do what I dreamed of after not even making it to state last year, I’m just appreciative of everyone that’s worked with me in the offseason to get me here. I’m just proud of myself.”

• Senior Adrian Lehman of Topeka West finished fourth in the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:16.70.

Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman (3785) posted a fourth-place finish and set a West school record in Saturday's Class 5A state meet in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Lehman broke the 50-year-old West school record of 4:17.7 set by Bill Myers in 1975.

"(That's) two school records this season, not bad for only his second season of high school track,'' West coach Donnie Palmer said of Lehman.

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

WICHITA - On Day 1 of the KSHSAA State Track Meet at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium, several local boys competed in preliminary races in an attempt to qualify for the finals on Saturday. There were also some field event finals on Friday.

Qualifiers for Saturday’s Finals

Senior Ben Roeder of Cair Paravel qualified fifth in the Class 2A 400 meters with a time of 50.40 seconds.

Senior Evan Scheid of Silver Lake qualified second in the 3A 200 meters in a time of 22.32 seconds.

Silver Lake’s 4x100-meter relay team (Brandon Rupp, Evan Scheid, Joel Miller and Trent Rollenhagen) qualified fourth in 43.46 seconds.

Seaman senior Bryce Cochran qualified fifth in the 5A 400 meters in a time of 49.04 seconds.

Shawnee Heights senior Liam Benz qualified seventh in the 400 meters with a time of 49.86 seconds.

Washburn Rural senior Braylon Badger qualified fifth in the 300 meter hurdles in a time of 40.40 seconds.

Washburn Rural junior Liam Morrison qualified second in the 110 meter hurdles in a time of 14.64 seconds. He also qualified third in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 40.05 seconds.

Washburn Rural senior Isaiah Terry qualified fourth in the 400 meters in a time of 49.32 seconds.

Washburn Rural junior Draden Chooncharoen competes in the Class 6A 4x400 relay prelims Friday night in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural’s 4x400 meter relay team (Matthew Houser, Liam Morrison, Draden Choonchareon, Isaiah Terry) qualified second with a time of 3:22.61.

Medalists from Friday’s Finals

Seaman senior Peyton Holmes finished sixth in the Class 5A long jump Friday in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman senior Peyton Holmes finished sixth in the 5A long jump with a distance of 22 feet, 1 inch.

Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman finished fifth in Friday's Class 5A 3,200 meters at Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman finished fifth in the 6A 3,200 meters with a time of 9:18.60.

Washburn Rural junior Brooks Kehoe finished fifth in Friday's Class 6A 3,200 meters at Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural junior Brooks Kehoe finished fifth in the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:20.97.

The remaining events will be contested beginning Saturday morning at 8:30 with the preliminaries for the 100 meters for girls and boys. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Wamego won its third straight Class 4A team championship Wednesday at Newton's Sand Creek Station.

But it took a strong finish for the Red Raiders to survive a second-day rally from Hayden, with Wamego finishing with a three-stroke victory over the Wildcats (621-624) after starting the day with a seven-stroke advantage.

Hayden senior James Kuta finished fourth in the Class 4A state golf tournament, leading the Wildcats to a second-place team finish. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

"Early in the round, it did not look good,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson told KSHSAA Covered. "We got down pretty big. But the fact that we stormed back and took the lead there on the second nine was fun.

"Credit Wamego. We didn't blow it. They stepped up."

Despite the fact that the Wildcats' title bid came up short, Reynoldson said he was extremely proud of his team.

"What I love about this group is it's hard to get them to go home before dark,'' Reynoldson said. "It's 6 o'clock and I'm heading home and they're still working. They really wanted this and to come up short hurts."

Senior James Kuta led Hayden with a fourth-place individual finish at 152 (77-75) while senior Tagen Rodriguez finished ninth at 156 (81-75). 

Lions finish fourth in Class 2A

Cair Paravel Latin finished fourth as a team in the Class 2A state tournament at the Turkey Creek Golf Course in McPherson.

Cair Paravel junior Caleb Cleverdon for sixth individually at 155 (76-79).

Rossville junior Jack Donovan tied Cleverdon for sixth place at 155 (76-79) Bulldawg senior Jonathan Hart tied for 15th at 162 (78-84) to earn a state medal.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Hayden's boys golf team put itself in position to challenge for a Class 4A state championship after a solid opening round in the state tournament at Newton's Sand Creek Station.

Hayden senior James Kuta shot a 77 in Tuesday's first round of the Class 4A state tournament, tying for fifth individually, while the Wildcats are second as a team entering Wednesday's final round at Newton. [File photo/TSN]

Hayden is in second place in the team standings entering Wednesday's final round at 28-over-par, seven strokes behind Wamego. The Red Raiders and Wildcats went one-two in last week's regional tournament at Wamego.

"We left some strokes out there, but we are excited that we've put ourselves in position to compete for a championship tomorrow,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said in a text.

The Wildcats are seven strokes in front of third-place Bishop Miege after Day 1. The Stags placed third as a team in the Wamego regional. 

Senior James Kuta led Hayden Tuesday with a 5-over-par 77 and is tied for fifth place starting the final 18 holes.

Junior Mateo Garcia and senior Nick Gorman shot 79s to tie for ninth place Tuesday while senior Tagen Rodriguez shot an 81, senior Colin Scott an 83 and junior Austin Bean an 86.

Lions fourth in 2A entering final round

Regional champion Cair Paravel Latin is in fourth place in the Class 2A state tournament after the opening round at the Turkey Creek Golf Course in McPherson, advancing to Wednesday's final round. 

Cair Paravel junior Caleb Cleverdon led the Lions with a 76, tying for sixth in the opening round, while senior Jase Pavlik shot a first-round 81 and freshman Chase Hastert and junior Luke Budden carded 85s. 

Also advancing to Round 2 as individuals are Rossville junior Jack Donovan, a regional champion, and Bulldawg senior Jonathan Hart.

Donovan is tied for sixth place with a 76 while Hart is tied for 11th after a 78.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Four Shawnee County schools earned team berths in four different classes for state golf, which will be contested across the state Tuesday and Wednesday.

Cair Paravel Latin posted an eight-stroke team victory in last Monday's Class 2A golf regional at Horton while Hayden qualified for state with a runnerup finish in the 4A regional at Wamego, Washburn Rural was third in the 6A regional at Topeka Country Club and Seaman placed third in the 5A regional at Lake Shawnee.

This week's state tournaments at a glance:

Washburn Rural golf earned a Class 6A state tournament berth with a third-place finish in last Monday's regional tournament at Topeka Country Club. [Washburn Rural golf]

Class 6A at Winfield

Washburn Rural qualified for the Class 6A state tournament at Winfield with a solid third-place finish in last Monday's regional tournament at Topeka Country Club.

All of the Junior Blues' top four posted top-10 individual medals as Rural carded a team score of 316 to finish behind Manhattan (306) and Free State (313). The Junior Blues earned their state berth by a whopping 41 strokes over fourth-place Gardner-Edgerton.

Senior Tagan Monasmith tied for fourth place with a 77 to lead Rural while senior Tadd Armstrong tied for seventh with a 79 and junior Higgins Hawks and senior Brady Goeden tied for 10th with 80s.

Juniors Michael Wilson (81) and Peyton Goehring (91) rounded out the Junior Blues' lineup, tying for 13th and 23rd, respectively.

SHAWNEE COUNTY QUALIFIERS

At Quail Ridge Golf Course, Winfield

(Tuesday's tee times in parentheses)

Washburn Rural -- Peyton Goehring, jr. (10 a.m, No. 10); Brady Goeden, sr. (10:10 a.m., No. 10); Michael Wilson, jr. (10:20 a.m., No. 10);  Higgins Hawks, jr. (10:30 a.m., No. 10); Tagan Monasmith, sr. (10:40 a.m., No. 10); Tadd Armstrong, sr. (10:50 a.m., No. 10).

Seaman golf earned a team berth for the Class 5A state tournament on a tiebreaker. [Seaman golf] 

Class 5A at Emporia

Seaman earned a team berth for the Class 5A state tournament at Emporia Municipal Golf Course by the narrowest of margins last Monday at Lake Shawnee, topping Basehor-Linwood on a tiebreaker to claim the third and final state berth.

The tie with Basehor-Linwood was broken by the score of the fifth man of each team and Seaman’s Alex Flanagan shot an 88 while the Bobcats’ fifth man recorded a 92.

Leading the Vikings' regional performance was sophomore Evan Michalski with an 82 while senior Bradley Williamson was right behind with an 83.

Joining the Vikings at state will be Shawnee Heights junior Ayden Valdivia, who shot an 81 to qualify as an individual for his second straight state tournament.

SHAWNEE COUNTY QUALIFIERS

At Emporia Municipal Golf Course

(Tuesday's tee times in parentheses)

Seaman -- Jordan Burghart, jr. (10 a.m, No. 10); Nicholas Hill, so. (10:10 a.m., No. 10); Hunter Gerhardt (10:20 a.m., No. 10); Evan Michalski, so. (10:30 a.m., No. 10); Alexander Flanagan, sr. (10:40 a.m., No. 10); Bradley Williamson, sr. (10:50 a.m., No. 10).

Shawnee Heights -- Ayden Valdivia, jr. (9:40 a.m., No. 10).

The 2025 All-City boys tennis team -- Front, from left: Chase Blaser, Hayden; Evan George, Hayden; Ethan Winters, Seaman; Tres Lassiter, Topeka High; Keegan Knudtson, Washburn Rural; Kieffer O'Connor, Washburn Rural; Greyson Jones, Washburn Rural. Back, from left: Drew Fay, Cair Paravel Latin; Cole Fay, Cair Paravel Latin; Eric Buchenau, Cair Paravel Latin; Ben Tryhus, Washburn Rural; Cale Deutscher, Washburn Rural; Dylan Willingham, Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Cair Paravel Latin Class 3A-1A state doubles finalists Eric Buchenau and Drew Fay headline the 2025 All-City boys tennis team, which includes seven state medalists and 12 state qualifiers. 

Buchenau and Fay, both juniors, went 29-2 on the season, with both losses coming against Wichita Collegiate's undefeated state champions, Carter and Maddox Drumright, who took a three-set win over Cair Paravel in the state final.

Hayden seniors Chase Blaser and Evan George placed fourth in 4A doubles while Washburn Rural juniors Cale Deutscher and Dylan Willingham finished seventh in 6A doubles and Cair Paravel freshman Cole Fay was 10th in 3A-1A singles.

All six Washburn Rural players earned All-City spots as the Junior Blues swept city, Centennial League and Class 6A regional team championships before finishing ninth in the 6A state tournament at Junction City.

In addition to Deutscher and Willingham, Rural is also represented on the All-City team by Greyson Jones, Keegan Knudtson, Kieffer O'Connor and Ben Tryhus.

Rounding out the All-City team are junior city No. 1 singles champion and 6A state qualifier Tres Lassiter and Seaman senior 5A state singles qualifier Ethan Winters, who helped lead the Vikings to United Kansas Conference and 5A regional team titles.

All-City tennis capsules:

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Cair Paravel Latin posted an eight-stroke team victory in Monday's Class 2A golf regional at Horton while Rossville junior Jack Donovan ran away with the individual title by 12 strokes.

Cair Paravel Latin golf won Monday's Class 2A Horton regional by eight strokes. [Cair Paravel Athletics]

The Lions placed all of their top four players in the top 12 spots individually en route to a 333-341 win over host Horton while Rossville's Donovan shot a sizzling four-under- par 68 to set a school record.

Cair Paravel's Chase Hastert and Jase Pavlik shot 82s to tie for seventh individually while Caleb Cleverdon placed 10th with an 83 and Luke Budden was 12th with an 86.

Regional champion Jack Donovan (left) and Rossville teammate Jonathan Hart qualified for the Class 2A state tournament as individuals Monday at Horton. [Rossville golf]

Rossville's Jonathan Hart joined teammate Donovan as an individual state qualifier, tying for third place with an 81.

The 2A state tournament will be contested next Tuesday and Wednesday in McPherson.

Hayden golf finished second in Monday's Class 4A regional at Wamego, qualifying for the 4A state tournament. [Hayden golf]

Wildcats punch 4A state ticket with runnerup finish

Hayden golf qualified for next week's Class 4A state tournament in Newton with a second-place finish in Monday's regional tournament at Wamego Country Club.

Tournament host Wamego won the team title by a 300-314 margin over Hayden while Bishop Miege was third at 337.

Hayden senior James Kuta tied for third place individually with a 75 while Mateo Garcia finished eighth with a 79 and Colin Scott and Tagen Rodriguez tied for ninth place with 80s.

Hayden's Austin Bean narrowly missed the top 10, tying for 12th with an 81 while Nick Gorman tied for 19th with an 85.

The 4A state tournament will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday at Sand Creek Station.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Eric Buchenau and Drew Fay used a gritty second-set comeback to give themselves a chance to win Cair Paravel Latin's first-ever state tennis championship Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center.

Cair Paravel juniors Eric Buchenau (left)and Drew Fay posted a runnerup state doubles finish Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But like they had all season, Wichita Collegiate senior Carter Drumright and his sophomore brother, Maddox, found a way to get the job done, dominating the third set to take a 6-2, 6-7 (5-7 tiebreaker), 6-0 victory in the state final.

The three-set victory capped off a perfect 25-0 season for the Drumrights while Buchenau and Fay, both juniors, went 29-2, with both losses coming against Collegiate's top team.

Cair Paravel junior Drew Fay returns a shot in Saturday's Class 3A-1A state doubles final at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"The end didn't finish how we wanted, but I'm proud of how we played,'' Fay said. "We played hard and gave it our all and I don't have any regrets personally.

"We definitely did better this time around. It was 8-2 the first time so I'm proud of how we played today.''

Cair Paravel junior Eric Buchenau (above) teamed with Drew Fay to post a runnerup doubles finish in Class 3A-1A state doubles Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"It didn't end how we wanted it to,'' Buchenau said. "We believed we had a shot and we never stopped believing it.''

A foreign exchange student from Germany, Buchenau was disappointed that he couldn't end his stint in the United States with a storybook finish.

"I had one shot at a state championship and I didn't make it, but of course I'm proud of how we did,'' he said. 

Buchenau and Fay, the No. 3 seed, opened their day with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 2 seeds William Farha and Vihaan Ganganola of Wichita Collegiate in the semis.

Cair Paravel freshman Cole Fay posted a 10th-place state singles finish Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Cair Paravel freshman singles player Cole Fay also earned a state medal in his first state tournament, finishing 10th in singles.

Wichita Trinity senior Alex Hobson took an 8-1 win over Fay in the ninth-place match.

Wichita Collegiate rolled to the team championship by a 58-24 margin over Conway Springs, with Collegiate junior Charlie Gentile and freshman Amir Khisha finishing one-two in singles as Gentile took a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 win over his teammate.  

Cair Paravel tied for fourth place with 19 points. 

Hayden's Blaser and George fourth in 4A semis

Hayden seniors Chase Blaser and Evan George posted a fourth-place Class 4A doubles finish Saturday in Winfield to close out their high school tennis careers.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Cair Paravel Latin juniors Eric Buchenau and Drew Fay had to sweat out a few anxious moments in their Class 3A-1A quarterfinal doubles match Friday at Kossover Tennis Center, but the Lion standouts got the job done, advancing to Saturday's 9 a.m. state semifinal. 

Cair Paravel Latin's Drew Fay (left) and Eric Buchenau advanced to the Class 3A-1A doubles semifinals Friday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Buchenau and Fay, the No. 3 seed, went 2-0 on the day, including a 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal win over Central Plains' Paxton Dody and Peyton Dody to improve to 28-1 on the season and will face No. 2 seeds William Farha and Vihaan Ganganola of Wichita Collegiate in the semis.

After a 6-0, 6-0 romp in their first match of the day, Fay and Buchenau jumped in front 5-2 in the second set of the quarterfinals before Dody and Dody cut their deficit to 5-4.

Central Plains seemed to have some momentum at that point, but the Lions were able to hold serve and close out the win.

"It was definitely frustrating,'' said Buchenau about the close second set, "but even if you play bad you have to find a way to win and we did that.''

Fay agreed.

"It definitely wasn't how we wanted it to go and we struggled for sure, but we were just scrapping out every point and got the win,'' Fay said. 

"We hopefully got the bad bullets out today so we can just play our game tomorrow.''

Cair Paravel freshman singles player Cole Fay advanced to Saturday's Class 3A-1A medal matches with a 3-1 day. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Cair Paravel freshman singles player Cole Fay also advanced to Saturday's medal matches, going 3-1 on the day.

Cole Fay moved on to Saturday with an 8-5 win over Phillipsburg senior Nathan Fischer and can still finish as high as fifth place.

Hayden seniors Chase Blaser (left) and Evan George will compete in a Class 4A doubles semifinal Saturday in Winfield. [File photo/TSN]

Hayden's Blaser and George in 4A semis

Hayden regional doubles champions Chase Blaser and Evan George won both of their Class 4A doubles matches Friday in Winfield to advance to Saturday's 9 a.m. semifinals.

The fourth-seeded Wildcat seniors, now 25-6, advanced to the semifinals with a hard-earned 3-6, 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker), 6-3 win over McPherson.

Blaser and George will face No. 1 seed Asher Deutschendorf and Braiden Liechty of Hesston in the semifinals.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Audrey Appuhn

AUDREY APPUHN, Washburn Rural

Appuhn, a junior, captured four gold medals in last Friday's city swimming championships at Capitol Federal Natatorium, helping lead Washburn Rural to its 22nd straight city team title. Appuhn won the 200-yard freestyle in 1 minute, 57.66 seconds and the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.60 and swam on the Junior Blues' winning 200 medley (2:01.75) and 400 free (4:04.31) relays as Rural won the team title by a 526-430 margin over Seaman.

Cale Deutscher

CALE DEUTSCHER, Washburn Rural

A junior, Deutscher teamed with Dylan Willingham to win the doubles championship in last Monday's Centennial League tennis tournament at Junction City and followed that up with a Class 6A regional doubles title Saturday at Wichita, helping the Junior Blues capture the team championships in both tournaments. Deutscher and Willingham won the league title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Hayden's Chase Blaser and Evan George and took the regional title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Derby's Collin Bale and Garrett Haupt.

Cole Fay

COLE FAY, Cair Paravel Latin

Fay, a freshman, captured a Class 3A-1A regional singles championship last Friday at Kossover Tennis Center, helping lead Cair Paravel Latin to the regional team championship with by a 15-13 margin over Kansas City Christian. Fay, who improved to 20-7 on the season, topped Kansas City Christian's Isaac Seitz 6-1, 6-2 in the singles final, qualifying for this weekend's 3A-1A state tournament at Kossover.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Hayden senior Kaylee Gregg pulled off a rare feat in Friday's Topeka City Girls Swimming Championships at Capitol Federal Natatorium.

Washburn Rural took first in the city meet for the 22nd straight season, with two of their leading swimmers taking two first places each.

Trailing the Junior Blues’ 526 points was Seaman with 430. Topeka High finished in third place with 307.

Hayden senior Kaylee Gregg won a pair of city titles Friday, winning the one-meter diving competition and the 50-meter freestyle. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Gregg accomplished the rare feat of winning the dive competition early in the day, then coming back to win an individual swim event. Gregg won the 50-yard freestyle and was also a part of two second-place relay teams for Hayden.

Gregg said she started swimming and diving as a freshman, having had no previous training. As a swimmer, she participates only on short races. But, in truth, she admitted she doesn’t train for swimming.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a swim practice,” Gregg said. “I just show up and do my best.

“I did gymnastics growing up and now I do cheer, so I had the stamina to be able to get through the 50s and the 100s,” Gregg said. “My dive coach is actually my gymnastics coach growing up. She really helped me. You’re going into water like we go into (gymnastics) pits, so it’s not that different.”

Gregg has qualified for state all four years as a diver and has participated at state on relay teams. She is holding out hope to qualify for the 50 freestyle, with one chance – the Centennial League meet – remaining.

While she didn’t quite eclipse the required time to qualify for state in the 50 freestyle, she received some other great news at the city meet.

“This has been a really cool night for me because I made the KU Cheer team today,” Gregg said. “I found out as soon as I got done with our first relay.”

Seaman senior Joslynn Grace was a double city champion Friday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Having a good day in her own right was Seaman senior Joslynn Grace, who took first in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly. The senior has committed to swim at the University of Nebraska-Kearney after high school. She said she enjoyed participating in the city meet one last time.

“This was really exciting for me because I’m happy with my times,” Grace said. “The city meet is really fun to just watch everybody and see them all do their thing, too.

“Swim is like my second life. I love it so much. To practice and see yourself get better is like therapy for me. I’ve enjoyed it so much.”

Audrey Appuhn captured four gold medals Friday, helping Washburn Rural win the city team championship. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Genevieve Miranda helped lead Washburn Rural to the city swimming team title Friday, posting two individual wins and swimming on two city-champion relays. [File photo/TSN]

Also placing first in two individual events were Washburn Rural’s Audrey Appuhn and Genevieve Miranda, with Appuhn winning the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke and Miranda winning the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Appuhn and Miranda also swam on the Junior Blues' winning 200 medley and 400 freestyle relay.

TEAM SCORES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Cair Paravel Latin had a big day in Friday's Class 3A-1A regional tennis tournament at Kossover Tennis Center, sweeping the singles, doubles and team titles.

Caid Paravel tennis won the team championship in Friday's Class 3A-1A regional by a 15-13 margin over Kansas City Christian. [Cair Paravel Athletics]

Freshman Cole Fay won the singles championship for the Lions and juniors Drew Fay and Eric Buchenau captured the doubles crown as CPLS won the team title by a 15-13 margin over Kansas City Christian.

Cair Paravel freshman Cole Fay won the singles championship in Friday's tennis regional at Kossover Tennis Center. [Cair Paravel Athletics] 

Cole Fay earned a regional title and his first 3A-1A state tournament berth with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Kansas City Christian's Isaac Seitz in the final, improving to 20-7 on the season.

Cair Paravel junior Drew Fay (above) teamed with Eric Buchenau to win the doubles championship in Friday's regional tennis tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [File photo/TSN]

Cair Paravel juniors Drew Fay and Eric Buchenau won the doubles championship in Friday's regional tennis tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [File photo/TSN]

City champions Drew Fay and Eric Buchenau won the regional doubles championship with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Bishop Seabury's Sabastian Borjas and Gabe Rinnert, with the Lion duo improving to 26-1.

Cair Paravel will compete in the 3A-1A state tournament Friday and Saturday at Kossover.

Hayden seniors Chase Blaser (left) and Evan George won a Class 4A regional doubles title Friday at Harmon Park. [File photo/TSN]

Wildcat duo wins 4A regional doubles title 

Hayden seniors Chase Blaser and Evan George, now 23-6 on the season, won the doubles championship in Friday's Class 4A regional tennis tournament at Harmon Park, taking a 7-5, 6-2 decision over Clay Center seniors John Alton and Anthony Davies in the final.

Hayden senior Chase Blaser (above) and doubles partner Evan George will take a 23-6 record into the Class 4A state tournament. [File photo/TSN] 

The Wildcats also qualified senior singles player Palmer Heskett and junior William Luke for the state tournament, with Heskett (11-15) taking a 6-3, 6-4 win over Luke (13-7) in the fifth-place match.

Clay Center won the regional team championship by a 21-19 margin over Bishop Miege, with Hayden third with 13 points.

The 4A state tournament will be played Friday and Saturday in Winfield. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Tadd Armstrong 

TADD ARMSTRONG, Washburn Rural

A senior golf standout, Armstrong captured the individual championship in last Monday's city golf tournament at Topeka Country Club, posting a 27-hole score of 118 and winning his first city title in a playoff over Hayden's James Kuta as Washburn Rural won the team crown by a single stroke (489-490) over the Wildcats.

Eric Buchenau 

ERIC BUCHENAU, Cair Paravel Latin

A junior foreign exchange student from Germany, Buchenau teamed with fellow Cair Paravel junior Drew Fay to win the No. 1 doubles title in last Thursday's city tennis tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. Buchenau and Fay registered a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker) win over Washburn Rural's Cale Deutscher and Dylan Willingham in the city title match, improving to 20-1 on the season.

Drew Fay

DREW FAY, Cair Paravel Latin

Fay, a junior, teamed with fellow Cair Paravel junior Eric Buchenau to win the city title in No. 1 doubles title in last Thursday's city tennis tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. Fay and Buchenau won the city championship with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker) win over Washburn Rural's Cale Deutscher and Dylan Willingham in the city title match.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Not everything went Washburn Rural's way in Thursday's city boys tennis tournament, but advancing to the finals in all four divisions was enough to give the Junior Blues a second straight city team championship at Kossover Tennis Center.

Washburn Rural dropped tight decisions in both the No. 1 singles and doubles championship matches, but the Junior Blues swept both No. 2 titles on the way to a 32-23 margin over runnerup Seaman while Topeka High was a point behind the Vikings in third place.

Greyson Jones won the city championship in No. 2 singles, helping Washburn Rural win its second straight city team title Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Ben Tryhus and Kieffer O'Connor won a city title in No. 2 doubles for team champion Washburn Rural Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Rural got a title from Greyson Jones in No. 2 singles and from Ben Tryhus and Kieffer O'Connor in No. 2 doubles while while Keegan Knudtson was the No. 1 singles runnerup and Cale Deutscher and Dylan Willingham finished second in No. 1 doubles.

"We're a young team, we're still piecing together who's fitting with who and what arrangements work best for the team as opposed to the individual and we've come a long way since the first practice,'' said Michelle Rose, who is in her first season as Rural's coach.

"They're excited, I'm excited for them. I think we've got great opportunities ahead of us and it's going to be fun. We have incredible talent in boys tennis in Topeka.''

Individually, Thursday was a big day for Topeka High junior Tres Lassiter in singles and the Cair Paravel doubles team of juniors Eric Buchenau and Drew Fay.

Topeka High junior Tres Lassiter won the city title in No. 1 singles Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Lassiter, in his first season of high school tennis, won the city championship in No. 1 singles with a 7-6 (8-6 tiebreaker), 6-4 win over Washburn Rural's Knudtson.

"This was one of my goals to win city,'' Lassiter said. "This was a big goal. I'm enjoying my high school season. I have a winning record right now and that's all I wanted this season, was just to have a winning record.

"Every day when I'm at practice my coach (Duane Pomeroy) and my teammates are getting me better and that gives me confidence for these up and coming meets that I'm about to do.''

Cair Paravel's Drew Fay (left) and Eric Buchenau won the city championship in No. 1 doubles Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Cair Paravel's Fay and Buchenau, a foreign exchange student from Germany, captured the No. 1 doubles title with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4 tiebreaker) win over Washburn Rural's Deutscher and Willingham.

Fay had finished second in the city meet and fourth in Class 3A-1A in singles as a sophomore before making the decision to switch to doubles this spring.

"I want to play college tennis and you need to be able to play doubles to play college tennis,'' Fay said. "I wanted to get that experience and I also thought it would be fun and it's been a lot of fun.''

Fay and Buchenau are now 20-1 on the season after Thursday's hard-fought win over Deutscher and Willingham.

"We just wanted to stay level, play hard and whatever happened would happen,'' Fay said. "We didn't want to go out there and play scared and if we didn't play scared we would have been happy with the result. This was our best match of the year, so it gives us a lot of confidence.''

Seaman finished second as a team on the strength of three top-three finishes.

Ethan Winter placed third in No. 1 singles while Camden Dutton was the runnerup in No. 2 singles and the Vikings also finished second in No. 2 doubles.

CITY BOYS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Seaman girls soccer team – led by an assortment of multi-sport athletes – took down a depleted Cair Paravel team 8-0 in a shortened affair at the Bettis Family Sports Complex Tuesday.

After tallying four scores in the first half, the Vikings scored four more in rapid succession following the intermission. With 22:15 remaining in the second half, the mercy rule was invoked, giving Seaman its sixth win of the season.

The Vikings are led by a number of athletes who have experienced great success in other sports. Having placed second in the Class 5A volleyball and basketball tournaments this school year, Seaman knows a thing or two about winning.

Anna Becker (9) and Ryin Miller are part of a large group of multi-sport athletes who are playing a major role for the Seaman soccer team, which shut out Cair Paravel 8-0 Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]tg

Utilizing multi-sport athletes is both a blessing and a curse, Seaman coach Kyle Seevers said.

“They’ve all chosen track, basketball, volleyball, whatever,” said Seevers. “But they still love (soccer) so when they come out here, it’s like every year we wait … as soon as basketball is over, we can have all our players. But they are a lot of fun because they compete at the highest level at everything they do.”

Seevers said he has to be patient with players who have put so much into other sports throughout the school year. By the time they arrive on the soccer field, their skills aren’t sharp, and they are worn down by the intensity of competition.

“Our practice may not always be crisp. But when the whistle blows, they’re going to give it their all,” Seevers said. “I could get upset with it, but then we wouldn’t have some of the best athletes (go out for soccer).”

“It’s kind of preached at our school that we want to have multi-sport athletes and that’s a good thing,” said senior Anna Becker, who is committed to play basketball at Drake University. “We have a lot of athletic girls, and I think at our school we know how to win. So, it helps having that core of a lot of different girls who play different sports.”

Seevers said Seaman banks on significant improvement throughout the course of the soccer season as the players regain their touch and feel for the game. The Vikings advanced to the 5A state quarterfinals last year with many of the same players.

Junior Maya Martin had a pair of assists in Tuesday's 8-0 Seaman soccer win over Cair Paravel. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]  

“I think we had our ups and downs in the first half, but we are looking for a big second half,” Becker said. “We have three big games this week and we’re looking for three wins.”