Hayden High School Wildcats

 By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Silver Lake's Logan Pegram and Washburn Rural's Brad Johnston, who are taking over retiring Kansas coaching legends C.J. Hamilton and Kevin Hedberg, are part of a group of 19 new varsity head coaches who have been announced by Shawnee County high schools for the 2022-2023 school year.

Brad Johnston will take over as Washburn Rural's tennis coach in 2022-2023, replacing Kevin Hedberg who retired after 32 years at the school. [File photo/TSN]

Logan Pegram

Alex Hutchins

Pegram, a former Silver Lake standout, takes over as the Eagles' head football coach for Hamilton, the state's winningest football coach, who retired after 47 years at the school, while Johnston is the new Washburn Rural girls and boys tennis coach, replacing Hedberg, who led the Junior Blues to five state team championships in 32 seasons and coached a total of 43 years at Seaman and Rural.

Joining Johnston as a new head coach for Washburn Rural is former Hays boys basketball coach Alex Hutchins, who is taking over as the Junior Blues' boys basketball coach from Kevin Muff. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Kevin Bordewick, who has led Washburn Rural to seven Class 6A state volleyball championships and nine state titles as a head coach, garnered the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches volleyball list.

Kevin Bordewick has coached Washburn Rural to seven Class 6A state volleyball championships and nine state titles as a head coach overall. [File photo/TSN]

Former Hayden coach Jesica Farmer-Walter led the Wildcats to five state volleyball championships. [Hayden Catholic High School]

Bordewick led the Junior Blues to four straight championships from 2006-2009 and added titles in 2004, 2011 and 2012.

Washburn Rural is 937-220 in 27 seasons under Bordewick, with 23 state tournament appearances. He has a 984-260 career record in 30 seasons.

The veteran coach has also won 6A state basketball titles in 2019 and this past season and Bordewick has been a part of 12 state championships overall, serving as an assistant coach for Rural's three state basketball titles under former coach Bill Annan.

Former Hayden coach Jesica Farmer-Walter earned the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list after leading the Wildcats to five state championships in the Class 4A and 4A-Division II ranks.

Farmer Silver Lake coach Angie Bittner, current Silver Lake coach Sarah Johnson and former Shawnee Heights coach Kerry Kapfer round out the top five on the Best of the Best Top 10 list, with Bittner, Johnson and Kapfer combining for 11 state championships.

Farmer-Walter earned the No. 1 spot in the Reader's Choice poll, receiving more than 850 votes, followed by Johnson and Bordewick in balloting by TSN readers.

A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.

Former Shawnee Heights state champ Laura Curry is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by former Rossville coach Cathy Foote, former Hayden coach Susan Dickerson, former Seaman coach Erica (Cowhick) Book and current Seaman coach Tatiana (Schafer) Dowling to round out the top 10.

Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST VOLLEYBALL COACHES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka West legend Joe Schrag garnered the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches track and field list, adding the track honor after being named No. 1 on the cross country Top 10 earlier in the project.

Joe Schrag

Brad Nicks

Claudia Welch

Mike Nash

Schrag coached Topeka West track and Field teams to Class 4A state team titles in the now defunct Kansas Indoor Championships in 1975 and 1976 and added Class 6A State Outdoor titles in 1983 and 1984.

Over his four decades at West Schrag finished with a total of eight state championships, including four state cross country titles.

Schrag is a member of the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame as well as the Kansas High School Activities Association, Kansas Relays, Topeka Shawnee County and Topeka West halls of fame.

Former Shawnee Heights coach Brad Nicks earned the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list after leading the T-Birds to 5A boys team titles in 2007 and 2015 and the girls team championship in 2009. Nicks' Heights teams finished second in the girls division in 2019 and was the boys runner-up in 2018 before he moved on to Abilene as head football and boys and girls track coach.

Former Seaman coach Claudia Welch, former Shawnee Heights coach Mike Nash and former Washburn Rural coach Jerry Beardslee round out the top five on the Best of the Best Top 10 list, with all three leading teams to multiple state championships.

Nicks earned the No. 1 spot in the Reader's Choice poll, receiving more than 800 votes, followed by former Highland Park and Topeka High coach Beau Caryl and Schrag in balloting by TSN readers.

A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.

Hayden multi-time state champ Rick Strecker is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by former Seaman state champ Bob Camien, multi-time Rossville state champ Jason Broaddus, Caryl and former multi-time state champs Heavy Erwin and Jan Magnuson of Topeka High and Dixie Barb of Highland Park. Erwin, Magnuson and Barb share the No. 10 spot.

Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST TRACK AND FIELD COACHES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka tennis legend Kevin Hedberg, who retired this spring after 43 years of high school coaching, earned the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches tennis list.

Retiring Washburn Rural tennis coach Kevin Hedberg led the Junior Blues to five state team championships and 24 top-three state finishes over a legendary 43-year high school coaching career. [File photo/TSN]

Hayden tennis coach James Sandstrom has led the Wildcat boys to four Class 4A state team titles and 16 top-three state finishes overall in boys and girls tennis. [Submitted]

Corey Wilson

Connie Robertson 

Hedberg coached at Washburn Rural the past 32 seasons after an 11-year stint at Seaman, leading the Junior Blues to a Class 6A girls state title in 1993 and boys state championships in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.

A member of the Topeka Tennis Association Hall of Fame, Hedberg coached singles and doubles champions in both boys and girls tennis while coaching 24 teams (boys and girls combined) to top-three state team finishes. 

Current Hayden boys coach and former Wildcat girls coach James Sandstrom holds down the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list, coaching Hayden to Class 4A boys state championships in 2004, 2005, 2004 and 2019 and 16 teams that have posted top-three finishes in the state tournament, including four state runner-up teams (boys and girls combined).

Former Topeka West coach Corey Wilson, former Hayden coach Connie Robertson and current Topeka West coach Kurt Davids round out the top five on the Best of the Best Top 10.

Sandstrom, Hedberg and Wilson also earned the top three places in the Reader's Choice poll, with Sandstrom claiming the No. 1 spot, followed by Hedberg and Wilson in balloting by TSN readers.

A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.

Former Washburn Rural state championship coach Bob Gladfelter is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by Topeka High state champ John MacDonald, former Topeka High coach Larry Reid, Hayden girls coach Christy Sheetz and former Shawnee Heights coach Mike Bass to round out the Top 10..

Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST TENNIS COACHES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Former Seaman coach Rod Garman, who coached Seaman to the 2018 Class 5A-1A boys state championship, earned the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches swimming and diving list.

Rod Garman

Elaine Pardee

Chet Laney

Jeff Handley

Seaman's championship season capped an impressive three-year climb for Garman's Vikings, who finished eighth in 2016 and fifth in 2017 before winning the 2018 title by 150 points.

Garman continues to be heavily involved in the sport as an administrator for the Kansas State High School Activities Association.   

Former Washburn Rural coach Elaine Pardee, who was the Junior Blues' first swimming coach, holds down the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list, followed by the late Chet Laney, a legendary coach at Topeka High.

Former Washburn Rural and Seaman coach Jeff Handley and former Hayden head coach and current assistant Laura Schmidt round out the top five on the Top 10.

Current Topeka High coach Kenneth Bennett was a decisive winner in the Reader's Choice poll, while Garman and Schmidt finished second and third in balloting by TSN readers.

A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.

Former Topeka High coach Gunner Kelly is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by Topeka West Hall of Famer Ed Poort, Seaman coach Bernie Tuck, Bennett and former Hayden coach Stephanie Stark to round out the Top 10..

Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST SWIMMING COACHES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Former Washburn Rural softball coach Brenda Holaday, who led the Junior Blues to a 351-93 record, 16 Class 6A state tournament berths and seven state championship games before moving on to Washburn University, earned the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches softball list.

Brenda Holaday coached Washburn Rural to multiple Class 6A state softball championships before moving on to a successful career at Washburn University. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

Lee Schmidt

Holaday went over the 500-win mark for career victories in the 2022 season, leading the Ichabods to the MIAA regular-season title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Holaday served as an assistant on Rural's state championship team in 1995 and led the Junior Blues to titles in 2008 and 2014 as well as five second and three third-place state finishes.

All 10 coaches in the TSN Best of the Best Top 10 led teams to state championships, including eight who won multiple state titles.

Lee Schmidt, who led Hayden to three Class 4A state championships, holds down the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list, followed by former Silver Lake coaches Bob Craig and Mark Workman, who led the Eagles to four state titles apiece, and former Shawnee Heights coach Steve Giddens.

Silver Lake, one of the state's most dominant softball programs, put a total of four coaches in the Top 10, with No. 8 Brad Womack winning three championships and No. 9 Dave Boxberger two.

Holaday and Topeka High coach Shane Miles earned the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the Reader's Choice poll, while Seaman state championship coach Jay Monhollon ranked third in balloting by TSN readers.

A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.

Two-time Shawnee Heights state champ Tara Griffith is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by Miles, Womack, Boxberger and Monhollon to round out the Top 10..

Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST SOFTBALL COACHES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural coach Jared Goehring, former Rural coach Jeff Stromgren and former Hayden coach Dan Key, who combined for 12 state championships in girls and boys golf, swept the top three positions on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches golf list.

Current Washburn Rural golf coach Jared Goehring has led the Junior Blues to five state titles and 13 top-three state finishes. [File photo/TSN]

Jeff Stromgren coached Washburn Rural to boys and girls state golf championships before coaching Washburn University men's golf for nine seasons. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

Former Hayden coach Dan Key coached the Wildcats to five state golf titles (four girls, one boys). [Submitted]

Goehring, who has led Washburn Rural to four Class 6A state girls titles as well as a boys championship in Kansas' largest class, earned the No. 1 spot on the Best of the Best list while No. 2 Stromgren led the Junior Blue boys and girls teams to 6A titles before moving on to the college level at Washburn University and Key coached Hayden to four 4A girls titles and one boys crown.

Rounding out the top five are former Shawnee Heights head coach and current Topeka West assistant Lynn Riney and the late Don Williams, who coached Washburn Rural's boys to a 6A championship in 1997..

Stromgren and Goehring, who served as an assistant under Stromgren, earned the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the Reader's Choice poll, garnering more than 2,000 votes, while Key ranked third in balloting by TSN readers.

A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.

Former two-time Hayden state champ Denis Stanley is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by former Topeka West coach Jack Wiley, former Shawnee Heights coach Steve Giddens, former Silver Lake coach Alan Cunningham and former Topeka West coach Frank Walton to round out the Top 10..

Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST GOLF COACHES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Veteran Washburn Rural soccer coach Brian Hensyel, who has not lost to a boys or girls city opponent in more than a decade earned the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches soccer list, edging Hayden legend Klaus Kreutzer who earned the No. 2 spot.

Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel, No. 1 on TSN's Best of the Best soccer list, has not lost to a city opponent in more than a decade while reaching the state championship game nine times. [File photo/TSN]

Veteran Hayden soccer coach Klaus Kreutzer has led the Wildcats to five state titles and eight state championship games. [File photo/TSN]

Hensyel, who has been Washburn Rural's boys coach for 17 seasons and the girls coach for 16 seasons (2020 season was canceled due to COVID), has not dropped a city boys game since his first season in 2005 and he has not lost to a city girls foe since 2011 while winning two state championships and posting seven second-place finishes in Kansas' largest class.

Kreutzer is the all-time city leader with five state team championships, leading the Wildcat girls to state titles in 2012, 2013 and 2015 and the Hayden boys to championships in 2000 and 2012.

Joe Waldron, who led Topeka High to the city's first state soccer championship in 1997, holds down the No. 3 spot on the Best of the Best list while Shawnee Heights state champ Marc Serrano and Topeka West state champ Tim Collins round out the top five.

Kreutzer and former Seaman coach Louis De Leonardo earned the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the Reader's Choice poll, garnering more than 4,200 votes apiece, while Hensyel ranked third in balloting by TSN readers.

A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.

Longtime former Shawnee Heights coach Mike Balint is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list, followed by former Washburn Rural state champion Lionel Suarez, former Topeka High and Shawnee Heights coach Steve Loy, Di Leonardo and current Cair Paravel coach Doug Woolery to round out the Top 10..

Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST SOCCER COACHES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Retiring Silver Lake football coach C.J. Hamilton earned the No. 1 spot on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Shawnee County Coaches list after ending his 47-year high school coaching career as the winningest coach in Kansas history and No. 15 all-time in the nation.

Former Silver Lake coach C.J. Hamilton is the winningest coach in Kansas history and ranked No. 15 nationally with 447 wins. [Submitted photo]

Former Washburn Rural coach Ron Bowen led the Junior Blues to three Class 5A state titles and a 6A runner-up finish during a 23-year stint at the school. [Submitted photo]

Rossville coach Derick Hammes has led the Bulldawgs to five state titles over the past eight seasons. [File photo/TSN]

Hamilton posted a career record of 447-98, leading the Eagles to eight state championships and reaching 18 state championship games.

Hamilton's victory total, titles and championship game appearances are all Kansas records while his 447 wins rank No. 15 all-time nationally.

Washburn Rural legend Ron Bowen, who won 156 games with three Class 5A state titles and a 6A runner-up finish in his 23-year career with the Junior Blues, earned the No. 2 spot on the Best of the Best list, just ahead of Rossville coach Derick Hammes, the most dominant coach in the county over the past decade with five state titles in eight seasons.

Rounding out the top five are Seaman legend Chuck Logan, who recorded seven undefeated seasons in the 1920s and 1930s, and former Hayden coach Tom Stringer, who led the Wildcats to a pair of undefeated 4A state titles.

Hammes earned the No. 1 spot in the Reader's Choice poll, garnering more than 2,000 votes, while former Topeka High coach Walt Alexander and Bowen finished second and third in balloting by TSN readers.

A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.

Current Hayden coach Bill Arnold, who has a state title and three state runner-up finishes, is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list while Topeka High's Buck Weaver, who won 100 games and had three undefeated seasons in the 1920s, '30s and '40s, is No. 7.

Former Topeka High coach Walt Alexander is No. 8 on the Best of the Best list, followed by Topeka West Hall of Famer Frank Walton and former Rossville and current Washburn Rural coach Steve Buhler to round out the top 10.

Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST FOOTBALL COACHES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Former Topeka West coach Joe Schrag, who earned not only state but national acclaim for a legendary career that spanned more than four decades, earned the No. 1 spot on TopSports.news' Top 10 Best of the Best Coaches list for cross country, narrowly edging out former Hayden perennial state contenders Kathy Strecker and Ben Meseke.

Former Topeka West coach Joe Schrag has been honored by five halls of fame for his legendary four-decade career with the Chargers, winning eight state championships in cross country and track. [Submitted]

Former Hayden coach Kathy Strecker led the Wildcat girls to six state titles over three decades before moving on to the college level at Rockhurst. [Hayden High]

Ben Meseke

Bob Camien

Schrag coached West's boys for 41 seasons and the Charger girls for 29, earning induction into the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame as well as four other halls of fame.

Schrag led West to four state championships as well as five second-place finishes and coached West to a total of eight state championships in cross country and track and field.

Strecker and Meseke were a one-two coaching punch for Hayden, with the Wildcat legends leading Hayden to six state championships apiece spanning three decades.

Rounding out the top five are former Seaman coach Bob Camien and current Viking coach Rick Brading, who both led Seaman teams to state titles.

Schrag also earned the No. 1 spot in the Reader's Choice poll, winning by more than 600 votes, while current Washburn Rural coach Matt Swedlund and Strecker finished second and third in balloting by TSN readers.

A five-person panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 150 years of combined experience met to help determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.

Former longtime Washburn Rural coach Scott Shufelberger is No. 6 on the Best of the Best list while his former star runner, Swedlund, is No. 7.

Longtime former Shawnee Heights coach Fred Wiens is No. 8, followed by Bob Karr and Ken Darting, who led Seaman's boys and Silver Lake's girls to state championships in the late 1970s.

Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:

TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST CROSS COUNTRY COACHES