Seaman Vikings
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: Over the coming weeks TopSports.news will take a look at all of the senior finalists for the 2025-2026 Shawnee County High School Sports Awards from the fall, winter and spring seasons, followed by the athletes of the year for all three seasons and the overall outstanding girls and boys athletes of the year.
Lauren Borjon, Hayden
LAUREN BORJON | Hayden
SPORT: Golf
A three-sport athlete, Borjon capped her high school golf career with her fourth straight Class 4A state medal. Borjon tied for 12th with a 36-hole total of 170 (88-82) as the Wildcats finished fourth as a team. A three-time All-Shawnee County pick, Borjon finished second in the city tournament, fifth in the Centennial League and earned second-team 4A All-State recognition. Borjon helped lead the Wildcats to the 4A golf team title as a sophomore and junior and also helped Hayden win the 4A state title in basketball and post an undefeated run to the 4A-1A state crown in soccer as a senior.
Madeline Deters, Topeka High
MADELINE DETERS | Topeka High
SPORT: Tennis
Deters earned her second straight Class 6A state tennis medal last fall in her third state tournament appearance. Deters posted a career-best sixth-place state singles finish as a senior while finishing off a 32-6 record on the season. Deters finished second in No. 1 singles in the city tournament before winning Centennial League and 6A regional singles championships. Deters posted a 3-2 record at state.
Elise Eckert, Seaman
ELISE ECKERT | Seaman
SPORT: Golf
Eckert won her fourth straight Class 5A state golf medal to cap her first season at Seaman, tying for fifth in the state tournament with a 36-hole total of 161 (77-84). Eckert won the city title by eight strokes with a 68 and won the United Kansas Conference individual championship with a 73 before posting a runnerup finish in 5A regional competition. Eckert was a first-team All-State honoree in 5A.
Ella Foster, Hayden
ELLA FOSTER | Hayden
SPORT: Volleyball
Foster, a 5-foot-4 libero, helped lead 33-10 Hayden to a second-place finish in the 2025 Class 4A state volleyball tournament, earning Kansas Volleyball Association All-State Tournament honors. Foster earned first-team All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League recognition and was named to the KVA 4A All-State second team. Foster helped the Wildcats win the 4A state championship in basketball and the 4A-1A state crown in soccer as a senior and was selected to play in the KVA All-Star Match, helping the Red post a 4-1 victory.
Izzy Glotzbach, Hayden
IZZY GLOTZBACH | Hayden
SPORT: Golf
A three-time All-Shawnee County first-team selection, Glotzbach tied for fifth in the 2025 Class 4A state tournament with a 36-hole score of 164 (85-79), finished third in the city tournament and fourth in the Centennial League before tying for second in 4A regional competition. Glotzbach, who earned first-team 4A All-State recognition as a senior, helped lead the Wildcats to 4A state team titles as a sophomore and junior and also helped Hayden win a 4A team title in tennis as a junior.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Twenty Shawnee County softball standouts have received All-State recognition from the Kansas Softball Coaches Association, including nine first-team selections.
Kailyn Hanni, Silver Lake
Riley Mohler, Silver Lake
State champion Silver Lake is represented on the All-Class 3A first team by senior outfielder Kailyn Hanni, junior pitcher Riley Mohler and sophomore infielder Saylor Liggatt.
London Backman, Topeka High
Kenslee Young, Topeka High
Henley Rapp, Washburn Rural
Olivia Koch, Washburn Rural
Topeka High, which finished third in 6A, put sophomore infielder London Backman and junior utility/designated player Kenslee Young on the All-6A first team while Centennial League champ Washburn Rural is represented by senior catcher Henley Rapp and junior outfielder Olivia Koch on the first team.
Aubrey Warren, Seaman
Kenna Perine, Rossville
Seaman senior infielder Aubrey Warren was named to the All-5A first team while Rossville freshman outfielder Kenna Perine was a first-team pick in 2A-1A.
Second-team All-State picks included Topeka High senior Taimane Isaia and juniors Campbell Dawson and Madilyn Poole in 6A, Shawnee Heights senior Cianna Graves, Seaman junior Acey Thompson and sophomore Lydia Dreher in 5A, Silver Lake senior Taylor Swygert and junior Savanah Wende in 3A and Rossville senior Brooke Springer in 2A-1A.
Shawnee Heights senior Addison Cooper and Hayden junior Emberly Connell received all-state honorable mention.
ALL-KANSAS SOFTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION ALL-STATE
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Over the coming weeks The Jones Project and A1 Lock&Key will sponsor TopSports.news' series of stories recognizing the top senior Shawnee County athletes from the recently completed 2025-2026 school year.
TSN will name girls and boys finalists for the fall, winter and spring seasons, followed by the announcement of the girls and boys athletes of the year for all three seasons.
The project will culminate with the announcement of the overall outstanding girls and boys Shawnee County athletes for 2025-2026.
Six Shawnee County girls teams captured state championships in five sports in '25-26, including a Silver Lake sweep of the Class 3A volleyball, basketball and softball crowns, while Hayden won 4A basketball and put together an undefeated 4A-1A run in soccer and Seaman won the 5A bowling championship by a 358-pin margin.
Washburn Rural's boys won Class 6A team titles in cross country, soccer and baseball while Shawnee Heights won its second 5A state bowling championship in three seasons.
Individually, 10 Shawnee County athletes captured individual state titles, including Washburn Rural senior Cody Spangler in 6A boys bowling, Rural senior Landen Kocher-Munoz in 6A boys wrestling, Seaman senior Brody Anderson in 5A boys track and field and Shawnee Heights senior Cianna Graves in 5A girls wrestling.
TSN will also recognize Washburn University female and male athletes of the year for '25-26 after the Ichabods put together a banner season that included a string of NCAA Tournament appearances.
Next up: The top 10 girls fall finalists.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden, which posted a perfect season on the way to the Class 4A-1A girls state championship this spring, dominates the TopSports.news 2026 All-City girls soccer team.
The Wildcats, who wrapped up the state title with a 1-0 win over Rose Hill, put a city-high four players on the first team while sweeping the individual awards.
Three-time Hayden All-City first-team pick Carsyn Broxterman has been named the city player of the year for 2026. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden freshman Emma Slyter has been named the city soccer newcomer of the year after helping the undefeated Wildcats win the Class 4A-1A state title. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden senior Carsyn Broxterman, a three-time first-team selection, was named the city player of the year while freshman Emma Slyter was tapped for the newcomer of the year honor and Wildcat coach Klaus Kreutzer was selected as the coach of the year.
Joining Broxterman and Slyter on the All-City first team are seniors Reese Huscher and Kellyn Specht.
Washburn Rural senior Dayne Shriver earned first-team All-City soccer honors for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural, which posted a third-place state finish in 6A, put senior repeat pick Dayne Shriver on the first team along with senior Allie Schroeder and sophomore Ellie Vogel.
Seaman, which earned a share of the championship in the United Kansas Conference, is represented on the All-City team by seniors Ava Huston and Savannah Nelson and junior Julia Molleker.
Topeka West junior Micah Williams is a three-time All-City soccer first-team pick. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights juniors Nina Bolanos and Brylee Garner both earned first-team berths while Topeka West junior Micah Williams earned her third straight first-team honor in her first season with the Chargers and Cair Paravel Latin senior Kelly Ann Chada rounds out the top team.
ALL-CITY 2026 GIRLS SOCCER
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Twenty city standouts have earned All-State recognition from the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association, including eight first-team picks and two players of the year.
Hayden, which posted an undefeated season on the way to the Class 4A-1A girls state championship, put six players on the All-State first team, including senior forward of the year Carsyn Broxterman and senior midfielder of the year Reese Huscher.
Hayden senior Carsyn Broxterman has been named the Class 4A-1A forward of the year by the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden senior Reese Huscher was named the Class 4A-1A midfielder of the year by the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association. [File photo/TSN]
Wildcat coach Klaus Kreutzer was selected as the 4A-1A coach of the year.
The Wildcats, who wrapped up the state title with a 1-0 win over Rose Hill, also put senior midfielders Grace Funk and Ella Foster on the first team along with senior defender Kellyn Specht and sophomore defender Sawyer Wrench.
Washburn Rural senior forward Allie Schroeder (14) has been named to the All-6A first team after helping lead the Junior Blues to a third-place state finish. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman senior Ava Huston has been named to the All-5A first team by the KHSSCA. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural, which posted a third-place state finish, put senior senior forward Allie Schroeder on the All-6A first team while Seaman senior midfielder Ava Huston was named to the All-5A first team.
Rural senior defenders Dayne Shriver and Emma Wong were named to the All-6A second team along with junior midfielder Emery Hall and sophomore midfielder Ellie Vogel.
Topeka West junior Micah Williams was named to the All-5A second team by the KHSSCA. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka West junior Micah Williams has been named to the All-5A second team along with Seaman senior forward Savannah Nelson and junior forward Julia Molleker.
Cair Paravel Latin senior forward KellyAnn Chada earned second-team All-4A-1A recognition.
Seaman seniors Maya Martin and Parker Ayres received all-state honorable mention in 5A while Cair Paravel seniors Avry Stafford and Hemi Duehring received honorable mention in 4A-1A.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Class 3A state champion Silver Lake put a county-high four players on the 2026 TopSports.news All-Shawnee County softball first team, while Seaman senior Aubrey Warren and Washburn Rural junior Oliva Koch were named the co-players of the year and Rossville freshman Kenna Perine was named the newcomer of the year.
Seaman senior Aubrey Warren has been named the co-Shawnee County softball player of the year. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Olivia Koch has been named the co-Shawnee County softball player of the year for 2026. [File photo/TSN]
Rossville freshman Kenna Perine has been selected as the 2026 Shawnee County softball newcomer of the year. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake, which finished off a 28-4 season with a 4-0 win over Southeast-Saline in the state championship game, is represented on the all-county first team by seniors Kailyn Hanni and Paige Heiman, junior Riley Mohler and sophomore Saylor Liggatt while Eagles coach Nick Hamilton received Shawnee County coach of the year recognition for the third straight season.
Warren was named the United Kansas Conference player of the year for the second straight season while Koch was a repeat pick as the Centennial League player of the year.
London Backman, Topeka High
Topeka High, which finished third in 6A, is represented on the first team by sophomore London Backman and juniors Campbell Dawson and Kenslee Young while 2A quarterfinalist Rossville put seniors Nora Mitchell and Brooke Springer on the first team.
Joining Koch on the first team for Washburn Rural are senior Henley Rapp and junior Justice McBurney while Warren is joined on the first team by Seaman teammate Lydia Dreher.
Shawnee Heights put seniors Addison Cooper and Cianna Graves on the first team while Hayden is represented by junior Emberly Connell and sophomore Blakely Walter.
Backman, Hanni, Warren, Koch and Rapp are all all-county first-team repeat picks.
2026 ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY SOFTBALL
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural senior player of the year Aidan Newbery headlines the TopSports.news 2026 All-Shawnee County baseball team.
Washburn Rural senior catcher Aidan Newbery has been named the Shawnee County Player of the Year after helping lead Rural to the Class 6A state championship. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/TSN]
Newbery, a catcher, helped lead the Junior Blues to the Class 6A state championship last Saturday in Wichita, Rural's first baseball state championship in 74 years.
Newbery, who was also named the Centennial League player of the year, is joined on the all-county first team by senior teammates Austin Ditch and Nate Selm and junior Tyler Edmiston while Washburn Rural coach Jay Mastin was named the coach of the year after the Junior Blues posted a 22-9 record, capped by a 4-3 win over Free State in the 6A title game.
Connor Hanika, Hayden
Kade Mitchell, Hayden
Class 4A runnerup Hayden (21-6) is represented on the first team by seniors Connor Hanika, Kade Mitchell and Aiden Roberts and junior Caleb Menke while 5A runnerup Shawnee Heights (21-10) put seniors Brody Cooper and Cayden Lindsay on the all-county team and T-Bird sophomore Gabe Escobar has been tapped as the county newcomer of the year.
Brody Cooper, Shawnee Heights
Silver Lake, the 3A runnerup at 18-12, put senior Drew Womack on the first team while Rossville (25-5), third in 2A-1A, is represented by the senior trio of Jacoby McDonnell, Canann Mitchell and Cameron Miller and Seaman put juniors Axton Brewer and Beau Jessop on the first team.
Brewer, Ditch, Menke, Miller, Canann Mitchell, Kade Mitchell and Selm are all first-team All-Shawnee County repeat picks while Cooper, Edmiston, Hanika, Roberts and Womack move up from the second team and Lindsay received honorable mention last season.
Axton Brewer, Seaman
Brewer received 5A All-State first-team honors from Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches while Womack was a first-team pick in 3A and Miller and Canann Mitchell earned first-team honors in 2A-1A.
Canann Mitchell, Rossville
Newbery was a second-team pick in 6A, Jessop a second-team selection in 5A, Hanika and Kade Mitchell second team in 4A and McDonnell second team in 2A-1A.
2026 ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY BASEBALL
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
State champions Brody Anderson of Seaman, Christian Hartman-Babb of Washburn Rural and Landen Lewis of Rossville headline the 2026 All-Shawnee County boys track and field team.
Brody Anderson posted a state championship and two runnerup finishes in the Class 5A state track meet. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Christian Hartman-Babb won the Class 6A state 100 meters title and finished second in the 200. [File photo/TSN]
Rossville sophomore Landen Lewis won the 2026 Class 2A-1A state title in the javelin. [Submitted photo]
Anderson, a senior, won the Class 5A 800 meters in a 5A meet-record time of 1 minute, 52.08 seconds after finishing second in the 3,200 (9:05.70) and the 1,600 (4:12.48) earlier in the meet.
Junior Hartman-Babb won the 6A 100-meter dash in 10.59 seconds and finished second on a photo-finish in the 200 (21.40) while sophomore Lewis captured the 2A javelin championship at 181-9.
Anderson finished his season as the Shawnee County leader in the 800, the 1,600 (4:08.2 converted from mile) and 3,200 while Hartman-Babb led the county in the 100 (10.36) and 200 and Lewis had a county-best performance of 202-9 in the javelin.
Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe finished second in the Class 6A 1,600 meters in last week's state meet. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe was the 6A runnerup in the 1,600 (4:22.04) while the Silver Lake foursome of senior Thomas Fisher, junior Owen Rottinghaus, senior Joel Miller and senior Braxton Rupp finished second in the 4x100 relay (43.14) and the Eagles' Rottinghaus, Fisher, Miller and sophomore Jake Workman placed third in the 4x400 relay (3:28.56).
Shawnee Heights senior Jason Slay finished third in the 5A 400 (49.51) and teamed with senior Xavier Fisher and juniors Dallas Owens and Mason Haas to place fourth in 4x400 relay (3:25.32).
Anderson, Hartman-Babb, Kehoe, Miller and Rupp are all first-team All-Shawnee County repeat picks along with Seaman junior high-jump state placer Jack Esser and Washburn Rural seniors Draden Chooncharoen and Liam Morrison.
Chooncharoen and Morrison missed the postseason with injuries, but the two ran on back-to-back 4x400 state-champion relay teams in 2024 and 2025, including a 6A state meet record in '25, while Morrison also won the 300 hurdles in '25.
Washburn Rural senior Liam Morrison won three Class 6A state titles during his high school career. [File photo/TSN]
Also earning spots on the all-county first team were Rural sophomore Zach Hancock, Rossville junior Charles Chance, Cair Paravel senior Lucas Marichal, Hayden junior Kelton Meier, Highland Park senior Termaine Savage and Washburn Rural junior Cohen Thiessen.
Highland Park senior Termaine Savage earned a Class 5A state medal in the 400-meter dash. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Thiessen, Hancock, Marichal and Savage were state medalists while Meier was a state qualifier.
ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY 2026 BOYS TRACK AND FIELD
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee County girls track and filed athletes came up short in their bids for state titles in the 2026 Kansas Track and Field Championships last weekend in Wichita, but the local contingent still had plenty to celebrate, including multiple top-three finishes and 13 total top-eight medal showings in four classes overall.
Washburn Rural senior Morgan Ray finished second in the Class 6A javelin event for the second straight season. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Hayden junior Sofia Harper was the Class 4A runnerup in the 400-meter dash. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Morgan Ray was the state runnerup in the Class 6A javelin at 145 feet, 1 inch, while Hayden junior Sofia Harper finished second in the 4A 400-meter dash while posting a top time of 58.83.
Washburn Rural junior Kailyn Petersen placed fourth in the Class 6A discus for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake junior Ali Gerber was a double medalist in the Class 3A state track meet. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake senior multi-sport star Kailyn Hanni posted a third-place finish in the 3A javelin (129-7) while Washburn Rural junior repeat 6A medalist Kailyn Petersen was fourth in the discus (133-2), Seaman freshman Baylee Ayres was fourth in the 5A high jump (5-foot-2) and Silver Lake junior Ali Gerber finished fourth in the 3A 400 (58.75) while also teaming with Eagle teammates Kinley Weber, Jaylie Whitehead and Karys Deiter to place fifth in the 4x400-meter relay (4:09.64).
Washburn Rural freshman Alyson Hinck (3) earned a pair of Class 6A state medals in her first state track meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural freshman Alyson Hinck posted a fifth-place finish in the 6A 800 (2:18.43) while Shawnee Heights freshman Tanesia Johnson earned medals with sixth-place finishes in both the 5A 100 and 200-meter dashes.
Washburn Rural's Ray and Petersen and senior state medalists Emily Graf and Kenzie Maddox are all all-county repeat picks along with Seaman juniors Kinley Robinson and Brynn Spencer, Topeka High senior Keimara Marshall and Silver Lake's Gerber and Deiter.
Also earning spots on the first team are Hayden junior Alana Mitchell, Silver Lake junior Addy Just and Washburn Rural freshman Clara Dillon, who all earned state medals, along with seniors Jurnee Cole of Highland Park, Jayana Washington of Topeka High and Journey Manhart of Silver Lake.
ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY 2026 GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Twelve Shawnee County baseball players and one coach have received All-State recognition from the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches.
Leading the county contingent are first-team selections Axton Brewer of Seaman in Class 5A, Drew Womack of Silver Lake in 3A and Cameron Miller of Rossville and Canann Mitchell in 2A, while Bulldawg coach Kenny Swart was named the 2A-1A state coach of the year.
Brewer was an All-5A first-team pick as the utility player while Womack was the All-3A first-team first baseman and Miller was an All-2A-1A first-team pitcher.
Womack helped lead Silver Lake to a runnerup finish in 3A while Miller helped Rossville finish third in 2A-1A.
Class 6A state champion Washburn Rural put senior catcher Aidan Newbery on the All-6A second team while Junior Blues junior Tyler Edmiston received All-6A honorable mention.
Seaman junior Beau Jessop was named to the All-5A second team as a middle infielder.
Hayden, the 4A runnerup, put senior pitcher Connor Hanika and senior outfielder Kade Mitchell on the All-4A second team while junior Caleb Menke received honorable mention at third base.
Rossville senior outfielder Jakoby McDonnell was a second-team All-2A-1A pick and junior pitcher Cael Horgan received honorable mention.
Swart was named the 2A-1A coach of the year after leading the Bulldawgs to a 25-5 record and the third-place state finish.
KANSAS ASSOCIATION OF BASEBALL COACHES
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Five city baseball players earned All-United Kansas Conference first-team honors, led by Shawnee Heights senior pitcher of the year Brody Cooper.
Shawnee Heights senior pitcher Brody Cooper has been named the UKC pitcher of the year by conference coaches. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Cooper, a first-team All-UKC repeat pick, helped lead the T-Birds to a runnerup finish in the Class 5A state tournament.
Cooper is joined on the all-conference first team by Heights senior outfielder Cayden Lindsay while Seaman is represented on the first team by junior designated hitter Axton Brewer, junior infielder Beau Jessop and senior utility player Cale Rosenberger.
Brewer is a first-team repeat pick.
Shawnee Heights (21-10) put sophomore utility player Gabe Escobar, senior infielder Cambren Floberg and senior outfielder Michael Lilly on the All-UKC second team while six Heights, Seaman and Topeka West players received honorable mention.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE BASEBALL
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
City schools Seaman and Shawnee Heights combined to put seven players on the 2026 All-United Kansas Conference softball team, led by Seaman senior infielder Aubrey Warren of Seaman, who was named the conference player of the year for the second straight season.
Seaman senior infielder Aubrey Warren has been named the United Kansas Conference player of the year by conference coaches for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman is represented on the first team by Warren, sophomore pitcher Lydia Dreher, junior outfielder Acey Thompson and senior designated player Addison Sibley, while Shawnee Heights is represented on the first team by senior outfielder Addison Cooper, a repeat first-team selection, senior catcher Cianna Graves and senior infielder Jaidyn Euwer.
Seaman put junior infielder Lauren Glasgow, senior outfielder Kinsley Smith, sophomore utility player Easton Beightel and senior designated player Lilly Rumsey on the second team while Topeka West is represented on the second team by sophomore Kendall Munoz.
Topeka West seniors Addaline Hall and Isabelle Kutina and Seaman junior Natalee Simpson received honorable mention.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE SOFTBALL
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Eight city soccer players earned All-United Kansas Conference first-team recognition, led by Seaman co-player of the year Ava Huston, a senior midfielder.
Seaman senior midfielder Ava Huston has been named the UKC co-soccer player of the year after helping lead the Vikings to a share of the conference title. [File photo/TSN]
UKC co-champion Seaman also put senior defender Parker Ayres, senior forward Savannah Nelson and junior forward Julia Molleker on the first team while Viking coach Kyle Seevers was voted UKC coach of the year.
Shawnee Heights is represented on the first team by senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Mertel, junior defender Brylee Garner and junior midfielder Nina Bolanos.
Topeka West junior forward Micah Williams earned first-team honors in her first season in the UKC after transferring from Highland Park.
Five city players were named to the All-UKC second team and two received honorable mention.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE SOCCER
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
GIRLS
100 METERS
Tanesia Johnson, Shawnee Heights 12.27
Ciera Hartz, Topeka High 12.51
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High 12.57
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 12.59
Jurnee Cole, Highland Park 12.63
200 METERS
Tanesia Johnson, Shawnee Heights 25.13
Jurnee Cole, Highland Park 26.04
Sofia Harper, Hayden 26.40
Ciera Hartz, Topeka High 26.48
Jaylie Whitehead, Silver Lake 26.72
Ali Gerber, Silver Lake
400 METERS
Ali Gerber, Silver Lake 58.48
Sofia Harper, Hayden 58.83
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High 59.07
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 60.13
Julia Molleker, Seaman 61.88
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural (3)
800 METERS
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 2:16.83
Kinley Robinson, Seaman 2:20.45
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 2:20.86
Ryin Miller, Seaman 2:23.65
Itzel Woods, Topeka High 2:31.24
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural
1,600 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 5:13.49
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 5:14.04
Brynn Spencer, Seaman 5:15.09
Kenzie Maddox, Washburn Rural 5:17.54
Kinley Robinson, Seaman 5:22.98
3,200 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 11:06.46
Kenzie Maddox, Washburn Rural 11:18.10
Brynn Spencer, Seaman 11:27.63
Reese Beardslee, Washburn Rural 11:34.94
Lily McCoy, Washburn Rural 14:09.97
100-METER HURDLES
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 15.70
Rylee Dick, Rossville 16.44
Marchayla White, Topeka High 17.74
Megan Alderson, Washburn Rural 18.14
Kaylyn Smith, Topeka West 18.23
300-METER HURDLES
Rylee Dick, Rossville 50.00
Marchayla White, Topeka High 51.34
Megan Alderson, Washburn Rural 51.60
Journey Manhart, Silver Lake 53.33
Avery Villines, Seaman 54.18
4x100-METER RELAY
Topeka High 49.60
Silver Lake 49.63
Washburn Rural 50.53
Seaman 51.42
Topeka West 52.33
4x400-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 4:06.84
Silver Lake 4:07.17
Topeka High 4:10.27
Seaman 4:11.72
Topeka West 4:26.38
4x800-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 9:58.99
Topeka High 10:39.23
Seaman 11:17.22
Silver Lake 11:18.38
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
BOYS
100 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 10.36
Malachi Murph, Topeka High 10.91
Braxton Rupp, Silver Lake 10.96
Emmitt Hochstedler, Seaman 10.98
Israel Edmonds, Washburn Rural 11.02
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural
200 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 21.40
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 22.30
Jayden Lindsey, Topeka West 22.34
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 22.59
Jonel Tibbs, Topeka High 22.60
400 METERS
Jason Slay, Shawnee Heights 48.85
Termaine Savage, Highland Park 49.89
Draden Chooncharoen, Washburn Rural 50.25
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 50.68
Thomas Fisher, Silver Lake 51.28
Brody Anderson, Seaman
800 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 1:52.08
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 1:56.64
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 1:56.96
Mason Haas, Shawnee Heights 2:02.62
Everett Un, Washburn Rural 2:03.26
1,600 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 4:08.2 (mile converted to meters)
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 4:20.32
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 4:24.35
Nick Newkirk, Hayden 4:27.18
Duke Graf, Washburn Rural 4:32.87
3,200 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 9:05.70
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 9:23.61
Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural 9:24.34
Jaxson Adams, Washburn Rural 9:42.46
Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural 9:42.94
110-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 14.07
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 15.31
Isiah Pennington, Seaman 15.49
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 15.54
De'sean Lunkins, Topeka High 15.85
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural
300-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 37.61
Isiah Pennington, Seaman 41.72
Jackson Tuckwin, Washburn Rural 42.01
Kellan Parcaro, Seaman 42.03
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 42.09
4x100-METER RELAY
Topeka High 42.20
Washburn Rural 42.77
Highland Park 42.80
Silver Lake 42.95
Seaman 43.03
4x400-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 3:21.82
Shawnee Heights 3:21.91
Silver Lake 3:28.28
Highland Park 3:28.48
Topeka West 3:29.56
4x800-METER RELAY
Seaman 8:16.32
Washburn Rural 8:16.60
Shawnee Heights 8:24.81
Silver Lake 8:35.28
Topeka High 9:09.82
HIGH JUMP
Jack Esser, Seaman 6-4
Bryson Burgos, Silver Lake 6-0
Archer Greene, Seaman 5-10
Creighton Frisby, Washburn Rural 5-8
Sebastian Kingcade, Washburn Rural 5-8
Cody Quy, Seaman 5-8
POLE VAULT
Keygan Breault, Silver Lake 12-0
Sam Bruntz, Silver Lake 11-6
Luke Deering, Washburn Rural 11-6
Sawyer Hermesch, Silver Lake 10-0
Desmond Grindol, Washburn Rural 10-0
LONG JUMP
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 21-2.25
Josh Brown, Seaman 21-0.50
Owen Rottinghaus, Silver Lake 21-0
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 20-8
Lucas Marichal, Topeka High/CPLS 20-7.25
TRIPLE JUMP
Lucas Marichal, Topeka High/CPLS 42-9.25
Cody Quy, Seaman 42-8.50
Bryson Burgos, Silver Lake 42-2.50
Camden Kruger, Silver Lake 41-7.75
Abe Heffley, Seaman 40-5.25
SHOT PUT
Charles Chance, Rossville 50-5
Amir Bass, Shawnee Heights 48-4.25
Sam Scott, Washburn Rural 47-7
Adrian Shuler, Shawnee Heights 46-7
Kelton Meier, Hayden 46-2,50
DISCUS
Zachary Hancock, Washburn Rural 163-4
Myles Fisher, Silver Lake 158-3
Sam Garner, Shawnee Heights 156-4
Adam Humphrey, Topeka High 148-8
Kelton Meier, Hayden 142-10
JAVELIN
Landon Lewis, Rossville 202-9
Kelton Meier, Hayden 196-6
Jackson Haas, Hayden 175-11
Andre Johnson, Rossville 170-5
Dylan Tjachman, Washburn Rural 169-11
The 2026 All-Shawnee County boys golf team: From left -- Evan Michalski, Seaman; Chase Hastert, Topeka High/Cair Paravel Latin; Caleb Cleverdon, Topeka High/Cair Paravel Latin; Peyton Goehring, Washburn Rural; Higgins Hawks, Washburn Rural; Michael Wilson, Washburn Rural; Wyatt Dean, Washburn Rural. Not pictured: Jack Donovan, Rossville. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Eight state qualifiers, including three state medalists and four members of a Washburn Rural team that won its 16th straight city championship, comprise the 2026 All-Shawnee County boys golf team.
Caleb Cleverdon, who competed for Cair Paravel Latin in the postseason and Topeka High in the regular season, finished a county-high second in last week's Class 2A state tournament while Rossville senior Jack Donovan, a three-time all-county first-team selection and four-time state medalist, finished fifth in 2A and CPLS sophomore Chase Hastert placed 17th.
Washburn Rural, which won its 16th straight city team championship, is represented on the All-Shawnee County team by senior repeat pick Higgins Hawks, senior city champion Peyton Goehring, senior Michael Wilson and sophomore Wyatt Dean.
Rounding out the first team is Seaman senior Evan Michalski, a 5A individual qualifier with a tie for sixth place at regionals after tying for fourth in the United Kansas Conference tournament.
All-Shawnee County capsules:
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The 2026 state track and field championships began early on Friday morning in and around Crossland Stadium, formerly known as Cessna Stadium, on the campus of Wichita State University.
The morning session included Class 4A, 5A and 6A competing in preliminaries along with a few finals in the 3,200 meter run and various field events.
The morning began with the finals in the 3,200 meter races in 4A, 5A and 6A. There were also several field events where local athletes competed going on throughout the first session of the day.
Seaman senior Brody Anderson began his three-event state meet bid with a runnerup finish in Friday's Class 5A 3,200-meter run. [File photo/TSN]
The 5A boys race saw Seaman senior Brody Anderson locked in another battle with fellow senior Daniel Enriquez of Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
Enriquez was able to pull away over the last two laps to win the race in a meet-record- breaking time of 8 minutes, 59.18 seconds. Anderson ran a personal best of 9:05.70, only three-10ths of a second off the meet record as well.
Anderson commented on his second-place finish and the outstanding move by Enriquez late in the race.
“I knew the move was coming, especially if I took it out early,'' Anderson said. "I felt really comfortable over the first six laps, then I felt him making his move. Once he passed me, he was full speed, props to him, he’s a great runner.
"It was a great race and better than I could have ever expected -- running a personal best by six seconds in only my sixth 3,200 of my life.”
Anderson is now looking forward to the two races against Enriquez that will take place on Saturday -- the 1.600 and 800 meter races.
Other local results:
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The final day of the 2026 Kansas state track and field championships got underway on Saturday morning with the final track preliminary races as the 100 meters started at 8:30 a.m. on the campus of Wichita State University and due to two lengthy weather-related suspensions, the meet finally concluded around 11 p.m. Saturday night.
The marathon final day of competition produced three local boys state champions, with Washburn Rural junior Christian Hartman-Babb winning the Class 6A 100-meter dash, Seaman senior Brody Anderson winning the 5A 800 and Rossville sophomore Landen Lewis earning the title in the 2A javelin.
Seaman senior Brody Anderson ended his high school career with the Class 5A state 800 meters championship Saturday night in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Anderson capped his outstanding track and cross country career for the Vikings with his first career state title after finishing second to Kapaun Mt. Carmel star Daniel Enriquez in the 3,200 and 1,600 earlier in the weekend.
After finishing finished second in the 3,200 meters Friday morning, Anderson finished second to Enriquez again in the 5A boys 1,600 meters with a time of 4 minutes,12.48 seconds.
Following Saturday's first weather delay, the duo faced one another again in the 800 meters.
In a race where 15 of the 18 runners had qualifying times under two minutes, the competition was going to be at a high level.
Anderson didn’t go immediately to the lead and after the first 400 meters, sitting in fifth place.
“I went into the race trying to play it tactical to see how the field spread out before I made my move, rather than taking the race from the lead like I did in the 3,200 and 1,600 races,'' Anderson said. "After 400 meters, I was trapped against the rail, but I found a gap and took off and never looked back.”
He came all the way back and won the race in a personal best time of 1:52.08, finishing ahead of junior Nathan Webb of Valley Center (1:52.78) and Enriquez (1:52.99).
All three of the runners broke the state meet record in 5A, but it will be Anderson’s name that goes into the record books.
“It feels amazing to wrap up the last race of my high school career with a victory and state title,'' Anderson said. "I’m so grateful for all of my coaches and family that helped me reach this point.”
Washburn Rural junior Christian Hartman-Babb won the Class 6A 100-meter dash and finished second in the 200 Saturday in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Hartman-Babb was the first local state champion with his victory in the 6A boys 100 meters.
He finished the final in a winning time of 10.59 seconds after qualifying early on Saturday morning with a time of 10.63.
Hartman-Babb returned later after the first weather delay for the 6A boys 200 race, where he finished second to senior Nicolas Cabral of Olathe East by only 0.003 seconds (21.397 to 21.400).
The third local state champ was Rossville's Lewis, who won the 2A javelin title with a throw of 181 feet, 9 inches.
His championship throw came on his fourth attempt, which was 18 feet further than any of his other attempts during the competition.
Lewis had a long wait for his title, with the 2A event originally scheduled for Friday evening before being pushed back to Saturday by weather. Then the event was delayed further by Saturday's inclement weather before finally being contested.
Saturday's other Shawnee County medalists:
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2026 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
BOYS
100 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 10.36
Malachi Murph, Topeka High 10.91
Braxton Rupp, Silver Lake 10.96
Emmitt Hochstedler, Seaman 10.98
Israel Edmonds, Washburn Rural 11.02
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural
200 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 21.78
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 22.30
Jayden Lindsey, Topeka West 22.34
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 22.59
Jonel Tibbs, Topeka High 22.60
400 METERS
Jason Slay, Shawnee Heights 48.85
Termaine Savage, Highland Park 49.89
Draden Chooncharoen, Washburn Rural 50.25
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 50.94
Thomas Fisher, Silver Lake 51.28
Brody Anderson, Seaman
800 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 1:53.34
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 1:56.64
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 1:58.65
Mason Haas, Shawnee Heights 2:02.62
Everett Un, Washburn Rural 2:03.26
1,600 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 4:08.2 (mile converted to meters)
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 4:20.32
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 4:24.35
Nick Newkirk, Hayden 4:27.18
Duke Graf, Washburn Rural 4:32.87
3,200 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 9:11.63
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 9:23.61
Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural 9:24.34
Jaxson Adams, Washburn Rural 9:42.46
Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural 9:42.94
110-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 14.07
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 15.31
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 15.54
Isiah Pennington, Seaman 15.53
De'sean Lunkins, Topeka High 15.85
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural
300-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 37.61
Jackson Tuckwin, Washburn Rural 42.01
Kellan Parcaro, Seaman 42.03
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 42.09
Isiah Pennington, Seaman 43.26
4x100-METER RELAY
Topeka High 42.20
Washburn Rural 42.77
Highland Park 42.80
Seaman 43.03
Silver Lake 43.28
4x400-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 3:21.82
Shawnee Heights 3:21.91
Silver Lake 3:28.28
Highland Park 3:28.48
Topeka West 3:29.56
4x800-METER RELAY
Seaman 8:16.32
Washburn Rural 8:16.60
Shawnee Heights 8:24.81
Silver Lake 8:35.28
Topeka High 9:09.82
HIGH JUMP
Jack Esser, Seaman 6-4
Bryson Burgos, Silver Lake 6-0
Archer Greene, Seaman 5-10
Creighton Frisby, Washburn Rural 5-8
Sebastian Kingcade, Washburn Rural 5-8
Cody Quy, Seaman 5-8
POLE VAULT
Keygan Breault, Silver Lake 12-0
Sam Bruntz, Silver Lake 11-6
Luke Deering, Washburn Rural 11-6
Sawyer Hermesch, Silver Lake 10-0
Desmond Grindol, Washburn Rural 10-0
LONG JUMP
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 21-2.25
Josh Brown, Seaman 21-0.50
Owen Rottinghaus, Silver Lake 21-0
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 20-8
Lucas Marichal, Topeka High/CPLS 20-7.25
TRIPLE JUMP
Cody Quy, Seaman 42-8.50
Lucas Marichal, Topeka High/CPLS 42-3.25
Bryson Burgos, Silver Lake 42-2.50
Camden Kruger, Silver Lake 41-7.75
Abe Heffley, Seaman 40-5.25
SHOT PUT
Charles Chance, Rossville 50-5
Amir Bass, Shawnee Heights 48-4.25
Sam Scott, Washburn Rural 47-7
Adrian Shuler, Shawnee Heights 46-7
Kelton Meier, Hayden 46-2,50
DISCUS
Zachary Hancock, Washburn Rural 163-4
Myles Fisher, Silver Lake 158-3
Sam Garner, Shawnee Heights 156-4
Adam Humphrey, Topeka High 148-8
Kelton Meier, Hayden 142-10
JAVELIN
Landon Lewis, Rossville 202-9
Kelton Meier, Hayden 196-6
Jackson Haas, Hayden 175-11
Dylan Tjachman, Washburn Rural 169-11
Andre Johnson, Rossville 170-5
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2026 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
GIRLS
100 METERS
Tanesia Johnson, Shawnee Heights 12.27
Ciera Hartz, Topeka High 12.51
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High 12.57
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 12.59
Jurnee Cole, Highland Park 12.63
200 METERS
Tanesia Johnson, Shawnee Heights 25.41
Jurnee Cole, Highland Park 26.04
Sofia Harper, Hayden 26.40
Ciera Hartz, Topeka High 26.48
Jaylie Whitehead, Silver Lake 26.72
400 METERS
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High 59.07
Ali Gerber, Silver Lake 59.19
Sofia Harper, Hayden 59.44
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 60.13
Julia Molleker, Seaman 61.88
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural (3)
800 METERS
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 2:16.83
Kinley Robinson, Seaman 2:20.45
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 2:20.86
Ryin Miller, Seaman 2:23.65
Itzel Woods, Topeka High 2:31.24
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural
1,600 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 5:13.49
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 5:14.04
Brynn Spencer, Seaman 5:15.09
Kenzie Maddox, Washburn Rural 5:17.54
Kinley Robinson, Seaman 5:22.98
3,200 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 11:06.46
Kenzie Maddox, Washburn Rural 11:18.10
Brynn Spencer, Seaman 11:27.63
Reese Beardslee, Washburn Rural 11:34.94
Lily McCoy, Washburn Rural 14:09.97
100-METER HURDLES
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 15.70
Rylee Dick, Rossville 16.44
Marchayla White, Topeka High 17.74
Megan Alderson, Washburn Rural 18.14
Kaylyn Smith, Topeka West 18.23
300-METER HURDLES
Rylee Dick, Rossville 50.00
Marchayla White, Topeka High 51.34
Megan Alderson, Washburn Rural 51.60
Journey Manhart, Silver Lake 53.33
Avery Villines, Seaman 54.18
4x100-METER RELAY
Topeka High 49.60
Silver Lake 50.29
Washburn Rural 50.53
Seaman 51.42
Topeka West 52.33
4x400-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 4:06.84
Silver Lake 4:07.17
Topeka High 4:10.27
Seaman 4:11.72
Topeka West 4:26.38
4x800-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 9:58.99
Topeka High 10:39.23
Seaman 11:17.22
Silver Lake 11:18.38
9By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sixty-seven individual qualifiers in 83 events are set to represent Shawnee County in Friday and Saturday's state track and field championships in and around Wichita State's Cessna Stadium while county teams are also qualified to compete in 19 total relays.
Big-school 3,200-meter runs as well as field event competition are scheduled to get under way at 7:45 a.m. Friday, followed by preliminaties in Class 6A, 5A, 4A.
Competition will resume on Saturday, with field events at 8 a.m. and running events at 8:30.
Shawnee County athletes to watch:
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural
• Washburn Rural junior Christian Hartman-Babb swept the 100 and 200-meter titles in last Friday's Class 6A regional and ran the leadoff leg on the Junior Blues' winning 4x400-meter relay team.
Hartman-Babb recorded 6A fastest 100 regional time (10.36 seconds) and tied for the fastest time in the 200 (21.83).
Brody Anderson, Seaman
• Seaman senior Brody Anderson finished third in the Class 5A 800 meters last season and is qualified in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 this weekend.
Anderson is likely to go head to head with Kapaun Mt. Carmel star Daniel Enriquez in all three events and is ranked No. 2 based on regional times in the 1,600 (4:15.23), fifth in the 800 (1:55.12) and eighth in the 3,200 (9:29.78).
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural
• Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe helped lead the Junior Blues to the Class 6A state cross country championship last fall and won the 1,600 and 3,200 meters in last Friday's regional meet.
Kehoe is ranked No. 10 in the 1,600 (4:26.88) and No. 12 (9:52.39) in the 3,200 based on regional performances.
Morgan Ray, Washburn Rural
• Washburn Rural senior Morgan Ray placed second in the Class 6A girls javelin a season ago and is expected to challenge for the title again this weekend.
Ray captured the regional championship in her specialty with a throw of 141 feet, 6 inches and is ranked third in 6A based on regional throws.
• Shawnee Heights freshman girls sprinter Tanesia Johnson has been a star since she stepped on Heights' campus and is expected to be a factor in the 100 and 200 this weekend.
Johnson ranks No. 4 in 5A in the 100 (12.34) and 200 (25.41) based on regional times.
• Rossville's Landen Lewis and Hayden's Kelton Meier are expected to contend for state boys javelin titles this weekend.
Lewis is the No. 1 Class 2A thrower in the state at 181-8 based on regional performances while Meier ranks No. 2 in 4A at 190-7.
SHAWNEE COUNTY STATE TRACK AND FIELD QUALIFIERS
BOYS
Class 6A
Topeka High -- Adam Humphrey (discus), De'sean Lunkins (110 hurdles), Malachi Murph (100), 4x100 relay.
Washburn Rural -- Jaxson Adams (3,200), Christian Hartman-Babb (100, 200), Zachary Hancock (discus), Brooks Kehoe (1,600, 3,200), Sam Scott (shot put), Dylan Tajchman (javelin), Cohen Thiessen (800, 1,600), 4x400 relay, 4x800 relay.
Class 5A
Highland Park -- Termaine Savage (400), 4x100 relay.
The 2026 All-City girls swimming and diving team -- Front, from left: Kaelyn Gerdel, Hayden; Riley Strother, Seaman; Hara Del Castillo, Topeka High; Rhiannon Good, Washburn Rural; Kaitlyn Aldridge, Shawnee Heights. Back, from left: Avery Skinner, Topeka High; Megan Strobel, Seaman; Clara Sobba, Shawnee Heights; Sophie Heinen, Washburn Rural; Ava Von Lintel, Wasnburn Rural; Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural senior Rhiannon Good, a two-time Class 6A state diving medalist, and senior 16-time city and Centennial League individual champion Audrey Appuhn headline the 2026 All-City girls swimming and diving team.
Good returned from ACL surgery late in the season to post her second straight top-five finish in the 6A state meet while Appuhn, a multi-time state medalist capped her oustanding career by finishing eight of eight in career individual races in both the city and Centennial League meets.
Rural, which won its 23nd straight city title, put a city-high four swimmers on the All-City first team, which is determined by performances in the city meet.
Washburn Rural put Appuhn, Good and senior repeat picks Sophie Heinen and Ava Von Lintel on the first team while Topeka High senior Hara Del Castillo joins Appuhn as a four-time All-City first-team pick.
Shawnee Heights is represented on the All-City first team by junior repeat picks Kaitlyn Aldridge and Clara Sobba while Seaman is represented by senior Megan Strobel and sophomore Riley Strother after the Vikings finished second as a team in the city meet.
Junior Kaelyn Gerdel, a two-time city and Centennial League champ, represents Hayden on the All-City first team while Topeka High freshman city champ Avery Skinner joins Del Castillo on the first team.
All-City first-team capsules:
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
Topeka West served as the host of a Class 5A track and field regional track and field meet on Friday at Hummer Sports Park, with city schools Seaman and Topeka West both competing.
The top three qualifiers of each event advanced to the 2026 state meet next Friday and Saturday (May 29-30) at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium. The remaining qualifiers will be the six best qualifiers from across the state's four regionals.
Seaman junior Jack Esser began the meet by winning the boys high jump by clearing 6-foot-4.
Topeka West's Jayden Lindsey won a Class 5A regional title in the 200-meter dash Friday at Hummer Sports Park. [File photo/TSN]
The city contingent had one other regional champion, with Topeka West senior Jayden Lindsey winning the boys 200-meter dash in a personal-best time of 22.34,
where seven of the eight runners all finished within the 22-second window.
Seaman junior Brynn Spencer qualified for the Class 5A state meet in both the 1,600 and 3,200. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman junior Brynn Spencer qualified for the state meet in a pair of girls distance events.
In the girls 1,600 meters, Spencer finished third in a personal best of 5:15.09.
“I knew all the times were close going in and I was pretty nervous going through the day, but I was trying to make the most of it,'' Spencer said. "I wanted to get out fast and get a lead on the ones behind me and stick with the ones in front of me. I think I executed pretty well and stayed focused.”
In the 3,200 meter race, Spencer also finished third in a time of 11:28.99.
Her strategy was a little different in the 3,00 race.
“I knew the times were going to be more spread out, so my main goal was to run a fast time and not worry too much about the placement,'' Spencer said. "I knew the two girls in front of me were going to get out and go, so I wanted to make sure I kept a lead over the girl behind me.”
Seaman senior Brody Anderson followed up his three race sweep at the United Kansas Conference with three qualifying times in the boys 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter races.
His first event of the day, the 1,600 meters, he finished second with a time of 4:15.23, just two-hundredths of a second behind winner Daniel Enriquez of Wichita’s Kapaun Mt. Carmel (4:15.21).
“The race was smooth and at the end I wanted to save a bit for the 800 and qualify,” Anderson said.
The 800 meters was a highly contested race, with four runners going under two minutes. Anderson finished in third with a time of 1:55.12.
“The 800 felt super smooth and in the last 100 meters, I let those guys go (the top two finishers) knowing I had eight more laps to run (in the 3,200 meters),” Anderson said.
His final event of the meet was the 3,200 meters, where he also placed third in a time of 9:29.78.
“It was matter of hanging on as I was hurting the last couple of laps after the long day,'' Anderson said. "This was just my second time running in three events in one meet, so I was pleased to qualify in three events next week.''
Anderson will have an advantage next week by not having to run all three events on the same day. The 3,200 will take place on Friday morning with the remaining two events happening on Saturday.
Friday's morning session will have the preliminaries for classes 4A-6A and will begin with the finals of the 3,200 at 7:45 a.m.
The afternoon session will begin at 2:10 with the preliminaries for classes 1A-3A with the final event of the day, the 3,200 meter finals, starting at 7:00 p.m.
Championship Saturday will begin with the preliminaries of the 100 meter dash at 8:30 a.m. and conclude with the 4x400 relays at approximately 7:30 p.m.
Other city qualifiers:
• Seaman freshman Baylee Ayres finished second in the girls high jump with a clearance of 5-2.
CLASS 5A REGIONAL TRACK & FIELD
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Brody Anderson
BRODY ANDERSON, Seaman
A senior track star, Anderson posted a distance triple in Thursday's United Kansas Conference meet at Turner. Anderson won the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 30.93 seconds, the 800 in a personal-record time of 1:53.34 and finished his night wiith a victory in the 3,200 in 9:48.57.
Audrey Appuhn
AUDREY APPUHN, Washburn Rural
Appuhn, a senior, closed out her competitive swimming career with a pair of individual wins in the Centennial League meet Thursday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium, giving her eight career individual league titles in eight attempts. Appuhn won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 19.72 seconds and the 100 backstroke in 1:02.29 while also teaming with Ava Von Lintel, Stella Berry and Sophie Heinen to win the 400 free relay (4:20.55).
Caleb Cleverdon
CALEB CLEVERDON, Cair Paravel Latin
A senior golfer, Cleverdon took a four-stroke individual victory with a 73 in the Flint Hills League tournament, leading the Lions to a 32-stroke victory (338-372) over Lyndon in the team standings. Cleverdon followed that up with a runnerup finish in Monday's Class 2A regional, shooting a 71 to tie for the championship and losing in a playoff. Cleverdon led the Lions to a state berth with a second-place team finish.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2026 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
GIRLS
100 METERS
Tanesia Johnson, Shawnee Heights 12.27
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High 12.57
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 12.59
Jurnee Cole, Highland Park 12.66
Adriana Raub, Washburn Rural 12.75
200 METERS
Tanesia Johnson, Shawnee Heights 25.83
Jurnee Cole, Highland Park 26.04
Ciera Hartz, Topeka High 26.48
Jaylie Whitehead, Silver Lake 26.72
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 26.82
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High
400 METERS
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High 59.07
Ali Gerber, Silver Lake 59.19
Sofia Harper, Hayden 59.44
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 60.13
Julia Molleker, Seaman 61.88
800 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 2:20.86
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 2:21.50
Kinley Robinson, Seaman 2:23.63
Ryin Miller, Seaman 2:23.65
Clara Dillon, Washburn Rural 2:33.45
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural
1,600 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 5:13.49
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 5:14.04
Brynn Spencer, Seaman 5:15.78
Kenzie Maddox, Washburn Rural 5:17.54
Kinley Robinson, Seaman 5:22.98
3,200 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 11:06.46
Kenzie Maddox, Washburn Rural 11:18.36
Brynn Spencer, Seaman 11:27.63
Reese Beardslee, Washburn Rural 11:34.94
Lily McCoy, Washburn Rural 14:09.97
100-METER HURDLES
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 15.70
Rylee Dick, Rossville 16.44
Marchayla White, Topeka High 17.74
Megan Alderson, Washburn Rural 18.14
Kaylyn Smith, Topeka West 18.23
300-METER HURDLES
Rylee Dick, Rossville 50.00
Marchayla White, Topeka High 51.34
Megan Alderson, Washburn Rural 51.60
Journey Manhart, Silver Lake 53.33
Avery Villines, Seaman 54.18
4x100-METER RELAY
Topeka High 49.60
Silver Lake 50.29
Washburn Rural 50.55
Seaman 51.63
Topeka West 52.33
4x400-METER RELAY
Silver Lake 4:09.56
Topeka High 4:10.27
Washburn Rural 4:11.18
Seaman 4:20.94
Topeka West 4:26.38
4x800-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 10:12.53
Topeka High 10:39.23
Seaman 11:17.22
Silver Lake 11:18.38
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2026 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
BOYS
100 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 10.43
Malachi Murph, Topeka High 10.91
Braxton Rupp, Silver Lake 10.96
Emmitt Hochstedler, Seaman 10.98
Israel Edmonds, Washburn Rural 11.02
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural
200 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 21.78
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 22.30
Jayden Lindsey, Topeka West 22.38
Jonel Tibbs, Topeka High 22.60
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 22.65
400 METERS
Jason Slay, Shawnee Heights 49.89
Draden Chooncharoen, Washburn Rural 50.25
Termaine Savage, Highland Park 50.61
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 50.94
Thomas Fisher, Silver Lake 51.28
Brody Anderson, Seaman
800 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 1:53.34
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 1:56.64
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 1:59.79
Mason Haas, Shawnee Heights 2:02.62
Everett Un, Washburn Rural 2:03.26
1,600 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 4:08.2 (mile converted to meters)
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 4:20.32
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 4:24.35
Nick Newkirk, Hayden 4:27.18
Duke Graf, Washburn Rural 4:32.87
3,200 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 9:11.63
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 9:23.61
Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural 9:24.34
Jaxson Adams, Washburn Rural 9:42.46
Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural 9:42.94
110-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 14.07
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 15.31
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 15.54
Isiah Pennington, Seaman 15.71
De'sean Lunkins, Topeka High 15.85
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural
300-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 37.61
Kellan Parcaro, Seaman 42.03
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 42.09
Isiah Pennington, Seaman 43.26
Colin Miller, Silver Lake 43.41
4x100-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 42.77
Topeka High 42.90
Seaman 43.27
Silver Lake 43.28
Topeka High 43.52
4x400-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 3:21.82
Shawnee Heights 3:23.24
Silver Lake 3:28.28
Highland Park 3:28.48
Topeka High 3:33.40
4x800-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 8:21.93
Shawnee Heights 8:33.62
Seaman 8:34.58
Silver Lake 8:57.48
Topeka High 9:09.82
HIGH JUMP
Jack Esser, Seaman 6-4
Bryson Burgos, Silver Lake 6-0
Archer Greene, Seaman 5-10
Creighton Frisby, Washburn Rural 5-8
Sebastian Kingcade, Washburn Rural 5-8
Cody Quy, Seaman 5-8
POLE VAULT
Keygan Breault, Silver Lake 12-0
Sam Bruntz, Silver Lake 11-6
Luke Deering, Washburn Rural 11-6
Sawyer Hermesch, Silver Lake 10-0
Desmond Grindol, Washburn Rural 10-0
LONG JUMP
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 21-2.25
Josh Brown, Seaman 21-0.50
Owen Rottinghaus, Silver Lake 21-0
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 20-8
Lucas Marichal, Topeka High/CPLS 20-7.25
TRIPLE JUMP
Bryson Burgos, Silver Lake 42-2.50
Camden Kruger, Silver Lake 41-7
Lucas Marichal, Topeka High/CPLS 40-11
Abe Heffley, Seaman 40-5.25
De'drian Keeling, Topeka West 40-3.75
SHOT PUT
Amir Bass, Shawnee Heights 47-11
Sam Scott, Washburn Rural 47-7
Kelton Meier, Hayden 46-2,50
Charles Chance, Rossville 46-0
Brogen Brown, Seaman 45-10.75
DISCUS
Zachary Hancock, Washburn Rural 163-4
Sam Garner, Shawnee Heights 156-4
Myles Fisher, Silver Lake 151-3
Adam Humphrey, Topeka High 146-8
Kelton Meier, Hayden 142-10
JAVELIN
Landon Lewis, Rossville 202-9
Kelton Meier, Hayden 196-6
Jackson Haas, Hayden 175-3
Dylan Tjachman, Washburn Rural 167-4
Andre Johnson, Rossville 166-5
The 2026 All-City boys tennis team -- Front, from left: Kieffer O'Connor, Washburn Rural; Greyson Jones, Washburn Rural; Jonah Arnold, Cair Paravel; Zander Rice, Topeka West; Owen Stewart, Seaman; Dayton Schneider, Seaman. Back, from left: Cale Deutscher, Washburn Rural; Dylan Willingham, Washburn Rural; Ben Tryhus, Washburn Rural; Drew Fay, Cair Paravel; Collin McGee, Topeka West; Tres Lassiter, Topeka High. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Twelve state qualifiers, including 10 state medalists in three different classes, comprise the 2026 All-City boys tennis team.
Cair Paravel Latin senior singles player Drew Fay, a four-time Class 3A-1A state qualifier and three-time state medalist, posted a city-high fifth-place state finish while Lion freshman Jonah Arnold finished 12th in singles as Cair Paravel finished fourth as a team.
Four city doubles teams also earned state medals in 6A and 5A.
Washburn Rural's senior doubles teams of Kieffer O'Connor and Ben Tryhus and Cale Deutscher and Kieffer O'Connor finished ninth and 10th, respectively, in 6A while Topeka West sophomore Collin McGee and junior Zander Rice and Seaman seniors Dayton Schneider and Owen Stewart finished ninth and 10th in 5A doubles.
Rounding out the All-City team are Topeka High senior singles player Tres Lassiter and Washburn Rural junior singles player Greyson Jones.
Lassiter was a runnerup in city, Centennial League and 6A regional tournaments before posting a 2-2 record at state while Jones was the city champion in No. 2 singles and went on to qualify for state while helping the Junior Blues capture city, league and regional championships.
All-City tennis capsules:
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman and Shawnee Heights fell short of of earning state team berths in Monday's Class 5A sub-state golf regional at Shawnee Country Club, but the Vikings and T-Birds will still be well-represented in next week's state tournament at Wichita.
Shawnee Heights' Joey Hohman and Andrew Schulte and Seaman's Hunter Gerhardt and Evan Michalski all qualified as individuals for next week's Class 5A state golf tournament at Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman and Shawnee Heights finished fourth and fifth in the team standings, with only the top three teams moving on, but the Vikings qualified Evan Michalski and Hunter Gerhardt for state while the T-Birds qualified Joey Hohman and Andrew Schulte.
"I'm proud of the kids,'' Seaman coach Rick Rineberg said. "We really did a good job battling today. We kind of got off to a weird start with the weather and the thunderstorm and we had a 30-minute delay, but all in all I'm really proud of the kids. I felt like they did a good job of minimizing the big scores and maximizing their opportunities for pars.
"I'm super proud of Evan and Hunter. They've done a great job for us all year. Evan especially has come on super hot lately. He did a great job last week at league and Hunter's been Mr. Consistent all year and he utilized that again today.''
Shawnee Heights coach Jane Yi was also extremely happy with her team's sub-state performance.
"I'm very excited,'' Yi said. "This was a hard field and my team's really young. I did have a senior but overall they're juniors and a sophomore and it's hard to score well when you're young. They just came out of JV last year going into varsity and regionals is very stressful.''
Seaman's Evan Michalski led the city contingent in Monday's Class 5A sub-state at Shawnee Country Club with a 77. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Joey Hohman shot an 81 to pace Shawnee Heights in Monday's Class 5A sub-state at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman's Michalski paced the city contingent with a tie for sixth place (77), while Heights' Hohman shot an 81 and Seaman's Gerhardt and Heights' Schulte both shot 83s.
St. James Academy captured the team championship with a four-person score of 302, while Blue Valley Southwest (303) and St. Thomas Aquinas (318) earned the final two team berths.
Seaman finished fourth at 332 while Shawnee Heights was fifth at 335 and Topeka West finished sixth at 389.
The 5A state tournament will be contested on Tuesday May 26 and Wednesday May 27 at Wichita's Tallgrass Golf Club.
CLASS 5A BOYS GOLF SUB-STATE
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: TopSports.news will compile a weekly girls swimming and diving honor roll for Topeka high schools throughout the 2026 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY
Washburn Rural 2:11.82
Shawnee Heights 2:14.60
Seaman 2:18.07
Hayden 2:25.76
Topeka High 2:41.23
Kaelyn Gerdel, Hayden
200-YARD FREESTYLE
Kaelyn Gerdel, Hayden 2:11.68
Avery Skinner, Topeka High 2:14.96
Ava Von Lintel, Washburn Rural 2:28.77
Megan Strobel, Seaman 2:37.54
Stella Berry, Washburn Rural 2:43.23
Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural
200-YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural 2:19.72
Hara Del Castillo, Topeka High 2:34.07
Kaitlyn Aldridge, Shawnee Heights 2:34.20
Riley Strother, Seaman 2:51.05
Avery Skinner, Seaman 2:51.97
Clara Sobba, Shawnee Heights
50-YARD FREESTYLE
Clara Sobba, Shawnee Heights 26.94
Sophie Heinen, Washburn Rural 27.28
Riley Strother, Seaman 27.61
Hara Del Castillo, Topeka High 27.76
Ava Carlson, Seaman 28.56
Rhiannon Good, Washburn Rural
ONE-METER DIVING
Rhiannan Good, Washburn Rural 239.85 (six dives) 446.40 (11 dives)
Avery Rosenow, Hayden/CPLS 188.55 (six dives) 359.65 (11 dives
Mackenzie Caryl, Topeka High 147.45
Abigail Culbertson, Topeka High 122.50
Madilyn Typer, Seaman 105.40
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Cair Paravel Latin senior Drew Fay wrapped up his outstanding high school career Saturday in Prairie Village with a fifth-place singles finish in Class 3A-1A.
Cair Paravel senior Drew Fay finished fifth in Class 3A-1A singles Saturday, earning his third straight state medal. [File photo/TSN]
A four-time state qualifier, Fay posted his third straight top-five state finish, taking an 8-0 win over Hoisington sophomore Jasper Pawlowski in the fifth-place match.
Fay placed second in 3A-1A state doubles as a junior after finishing fourth in singles as a sophomore.
Cair Paravel freshman Jonah Arnold also earned a state singles medal in his first state tournament with a 12th-place finish, dropping an 8-4 decision to Sterling freshman Lathem Kizzar in the 11th-place match.
Cair Paravel finished fourth in the team standings.
Washburn Rural seniors Ben Tryhus (facing) and Kieffer O'Connor placed ninth in Class 6A doubles Saturday in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural's senior doubles teams of Kieffer O'Connor and Ben Tryhus and Cale Deutscher and Dylan Willingham faced off for the fourth time over the last three tournaments and the second time in the Class 6A state tournament in Saturday's ninth-place match in Wichita, with O'Connor and Tryhus taking an 8-5 win.
Deutscher and Willingham earned state medals for the second straight season, with Saturday's 10th-place showing following a seventh-place showing in the 2025 state tournament.
Rural finished sixth in the 6A team standings.
Topeka West's Collin McGee (left) teamed with Zander Rice to finish ninth in Class 5A doubles Saturday in Andover. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka West's doubles team of sophomore Collin McGee and junior Zander Rice posted a ninth-place doubles finish in 5A, taking a win by default over Seaman seniors Dayton Schneider and Owen Stewart in the ninth-place match.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Ten Topeka high school tennis players in three classes assured themselves of state medals (top12 places) with solid performances in Friday's opening day of state tournaments across the state.
None of the city's 25 state qualifiers got through Friday unbeaten but four city doubles teams punched their tickets to Saturday's place matches while Cair Paravel Latin advanced both singles players, Drew Fay and Jonah Arnold.
Saturday's matches will begin at 9 a.m. across the state.
Seniors Cale Deutscher (left) and Dylan Willingham went 2-1 on the opening day of the Class 6A state tournament to advance to Saturday's place matches. [File photo/TSN]
Class 6A at Wichita Riverside Tennis Complex
Washburn Rural's senior doubles teams of Cale Deutscher and Dylan Willingham and Kieffer O'Connor and Ben Tryhus both advanced to Saturday's matches and can still finish as high as fifth place.
O'Connor and Tryhus (28-7) went 3-1 on the day, with their lone loss to teammates Deutscher and Willingham while regional champions Deutscher and Willingham (29-5) went 1-1 after receiving a first-round bye.
Deutscher and Willingham, the No. 5 seed, placed seventh in the 2025 state tournament.
Topeka High's doubles team of seniors Victor Arriaga and Christian Sink went 0-2 in the tournament while Trojan senior singles player Tres Lassiter went 2-2 Friday, missing the place matches by one win.
Washburn Rural junior singles player Greyson Jones went 0-2 Friday.
Topeka West sophomore Collin McGee and junior doubles partner Zander Rice advanced to the final day of the Class 5A state tournament. [File photo/TSN]
Class 5A Andover Tennis Complex
Topeka West's doubles teams of sophomore Collin McGee and junior Zander Rice and the Seaman doubles team of seniors Dayton Schneider and Owen Stewart both assured themselves of Class 5A state medals Friday at the Andover Tennis Complex.
McGee and Rice (31-11) are the No. 13 seed and went 3-1 on the day while No. 18 seed Schneider and Stewart (25-10) advanced with a 2-1 record and both teams can finish as high as fifth in 5A.
Seaman sophomore singles player Camden Dutton went 2-2 on the day, coming within one win of moving on to Saturday's place matches.
The Seaman doubles team of sophomores Aaron Sampson and Cooper Hopeck and freshman singles player Kenton Myrick both went 0-2 Friday.
Cair Paravel senior Drew Fay has assured himself of a third straight Class 3A-1A state medal. [File photo/TSN]
Class 3A-1A at Prairie Village Harmon Park Tennis Complex
Cair Paravel Latin senior singles player Drew Fay and Lion freshman singles player Jonah Arnold both advanced to the Saturday place matches in the Class 3A-1A state tournament.
Fay (28-3), who finished second in 3A-1A doubles last season, went 2-1 on the day while Arnold (14-6) went 3-1 in his first state tournament.
The Cair Paravel doubles team of senior Joey Thoennes and junior David Toenjes went 0-2.
Class 4A at Topeka Kossover Tennis Center
Hayden's senior doubles team of William Luke and Brock Reynoldson came within a win of advancing to Saturday's Class 4A place matches, going 2-2 on Friday, while the Wildcat doubles team of sophomore Patrick Luke and freshman Miles Allphin and junior singles player Brek Wahlmeier went winless in its two matches.
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Piper swept both team titles in Thursday's United Kansas Conference track and field championships while Seaman senior Brody Anderson swept all three of his individual events to pace the city contingent.
Piper's girls won seven total events while the Pirate boys posted five total wins in windy conditions at Turner.
Seaman senior Brody Anderson swept the 800, 1,600 and 3,200-meter events in Thursday's UKC meet at Turner. [File photo/TSN]
Anderson, who had set a city meet record in the 800 meters in his previous meet, swept the titles in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 in his final United Kansas Conference meet.
In his first race of the day, the 1,600, Anderson ran a comfortable 4 minute, 30.93-second winning time.
“Played it how coach (Luke) Wiens and I drew it up in our heads,'' Anderson said of his game plan. "We came into it to do enough to win, be conservative, let others lead and then finish with the win.”
A near catastrophe occurred in the final 100 meters when Anderson encountered an athlete attempting to cross the track and they made contact.
“Someone walked out in front of me and I hesitated for a second,'' he said. "Do I just run through (them) or bounce off, but we ended up with light contact.”
The second race was the 800 meters where Brody won in a personal-best time of 1:53.34. The 800 was the most competitive of his three UKC races as four runners finished under the two-minute mark in the race.
“I expected this one to have the most competition,'' Anderson said. "I went out really smooth, felt good and closed. Coach Wiens and I had talked about if there was one race to hammer, hammer that one hard.”
Anderson's final victory came in the 3,200 meters in the second-to-last race of the meet. There was a longer break leading into the race, so he took some time for some in-meet nourishment.
“I ate and drank a little bit before the race, so my stomach was a bit heavy at the start of the race. Coach and I decided to sit on the hip of the leader (Basehor-Linwood’s Cole Hubbard) until there was 800 meters to go,'' Anderson said. "I took off and separated with about 600 meters left and felt good enough to seal the deal. I felt like it was a successful night overall.”
Next Friday Seaman and Topeka West will compete in a Class 5A regional at Hummer Sports Park, with the field events getting under way at 1 p.m. and the prelims beginning at 3. Shawnee Heights will travel to De Soto for its regional, with the field events starting at 2:30 and the prelims getting under way at 3:30.
Other local highlights:
Seaman freshman Baylee Ayres won the UKC girls high jump title Thursday at Turner, clearing 5-foot-4. [File photo/TSN]
• Seaman freshman Baylee Ayres won the girls high jump with a clearance of 5-foot-4 while junior Alexis Burns of Shawnee Heights finished second in the girls high jump, also clearing 5-4.
• Shawnee Heights sophomore Jillian Goetz placed second in the girls discus with a throw of 110 feet while Topeka West sophomore Alyssa Babcock finished third in the event with a throw of 107-2.
• Shawnee Heights freshman Tanesia Johnson placed second in the girls 100-meter dash with a personal best 12.27 and finished third in the 200 meters
• Seaman junior Brynn Spencer placed third in the girls 1,600 meters in 5:24.61, then finished second in the 3,200 meters in 11:45.13.
• The Seaman boys 4x100 relay team of Emmitt Hochstedler, Quentin Moravec, Josh Hochard and Josh Brown finished in third place in a time of 43.58 seconds.
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE TRACK AND FIELD
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights, winners of the United Kansas Conference baseball crown, did not like being whipped by league rival Seaman 10-0 on Tuesday at Seaman. The T-Birds were determined to make sure their Senior Night had a different outcome Thursday at Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Pitcher Brody Cooper helped lead Shawnee Heights to an 8-1 UKC win over Seaman Thursday at the Bettis Family Sports Complex. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds fell behind 1-0 in the first inning, but then cruised behind starting pitcher Brody Cooper to an 8-1 victory to close the regular season 17-9. It was a measure of revenge for the T-Birds.
“Tuesday’s (loss) was tough. But I’m proud of them. They came back out,” T-Bird coach Jason Brown said. “They were jacked up from the start. Senior Night and everything, they were ready. After Tuesday, you could see they were upset. I was so proud of them for the way they came out.”
Falling behind in the first inning didn’t worry Brown. Not with Cooper on the mound.
“They just came back and went three, three, two (runs) in the next three innings and showed how good they can be,” Brown said of his team.
After giving up a game-opening single that led to a run, Cooper didn’t allow another hit over his five innings. Even when he allowed a walk and hit a batter in the fifth, he kept his composure. During a mound visit, Cooper and a teammate faced off in a rock, paper, scissors duel.
Was the duel to decide anything of consequence? What pitch to throw, perhaps? A strategic pickoff play?
“No, it was nothing. We were just keeping it light,” Cooper said. “I kind of learned over the years here that thinking about what’s going to happen isn’t going to help me at all.”
Camden Olson, celebrating a triple, also made a big catch in Shawnee Heights' 8-1 UKC win over Seaman Thursday at the Bettis Family Sports Complex. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
What happened was a long blast into centerfield that Camden Olson chased down in a gusting, swirling wind.
“It was real windy,” Cooper said. “I knew it was going to keep going, but with Camden out there, I never have a doubt that the ball’s going to get caught out there.”
Shawnee Heights reliever Gabe Escobar slammed the door on the Vikings in the final two frames.
Brown celebrated the close of the regular season – his second as head coach – by praising his 14 seniors.
“I could tell any new coach when they come in, if they have a class like these guys, not just baseball players, but kids in general … they make you laugh, they make practice fun, and they keep your insanity sane,” Brown said. “I love them. They’re just an awesome group.”
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Cair Paravel Latin senior star Drew Fay plans to close the door on his competitive tennis career after this weekend's Class 3A-1A boys state tournament at Harmon Park in Prairie Village.
Cair Paravel senior Drew Fay is 26-2 and the No. 3 singles seed for this weekend's Class 3A-1A state tennis tournament. [File photo/TSN]
And Fay, a state placer in both singles and doubles in his high school career, just wants to make sure he does everything he can to make the most of his farewell event.
"It's my last tennis tournament ever,'' said Fay, who will attend college at Emporia State. "I'm not playing in college, so if I'm not having fun then I'm missing the whole point.
"So I just want to play my best and have fun while I'm doing it. Then I'll be happy.''
Fay teamed with Eric Buchenau to finish second in 3A-1A doubles last season before switching back to singles this season, winning the city title in No. 1 singles.
"I think I enjoy them (singles and doubles) both a lot,'' Fay said. "They're a lot different, but I think they're both fun. By the time the season started I felt comfortable playing singles again.''
Fay, 26-2, enters this year's state tournament as the No. 3 seed behind Wichita Collegiate sophomores Amir Khicha (19-1) and G. Farha (26-6).
And although Fay acknowledges that Khicha is the tournament favorite, he's setting his sights on reaching a second straight state final.
"I think winning it all would probably take a miracle honestly, but I think getting second would be pretty exciting, so I'd say that's my goal,'' Fay said.
Cair Paravel also qualified freshman singles player Jonah Arnold and the doubles team of senior Joey Thoennes and junior David Toenjes after the Lions captured the team title in last Friday's 3A-1A regional at Kossover Tennis Center.
Arnold finished fourth at regionals and is the No. 14 seed with an 11-5 record while Thoennes and Toenjes also finished fourth in the regional tournament and are the No. 19 seed with a 1-2 record.
The 3A-1A state tournament will start at 10:30 a.m. Friday and continue on Saturday with a 9 a.m. start.
Class 6A at Wichita Riverside Tennis Complex
Washburn Rural completed a sweep of city, Centennial League and Class 6A regional team championships last Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center while qualifying five of six players for Friday and Saturday's state tournament at Wichita's Riverside Tennis Complex.
Washburn Rural seniors Cale Deutscher (left) and Dylan Willingham won a regional doubles title last Saturday to lead the Junior Blues to the team championship. [File photo/TSN]
The Junior Blues went one-two in doubles at regionals, with seniors Cale Deutscher and Dylan Willingham defeating senior teammates Kieffer O'Connor and Ben Tryhus 6-3, 6-1 in the championship match.
Deutscher and Willingham, who placed seventh in 6A doubles last season, are 28-4 this spring and earned the No. 5 state seed while O'Connor and Tryhus are 25-6 and the No. 12 seed.
Junior singles player Greyson Jones posted a fourth-place regional finish, retiring with cramping issues in the third-place match.
Jones will take a 21-11 record into the state tournament and is the No. 20 seed.
Topeka High will also be well-represented in the state tournament, qualifying senior singles player Tres Lassister and the doubles team of seniors Victor Arriaga and Christian Sink.
Lassiter finished second at regional and will be the No. 15 state seed with a 28-9 record.
Arriaga and Sink finished fifth in last Saturday's regional and are 23-14 and the No. 21 seed.
The 5A state tournament will start at 10:30 a.m. Friday and continue on Saturday with a 9 a.m. start.
Class 5A Andover Tennis Complex
For the second straight season Seaman qualified all six players for Friday and Saturday's Class 5A state tournament at the Andover Tennis Complex.
The Vikings are coming off back-to-back team championships in the United Kansas Conference and 5A regional tournaments.
Sophomore Camden Dutton led regional champion Seaman with a runnerup singles finish last Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center. [File photo/TSN]
Sophomore singles player Camden Dutton paced Seaman with a runnerup finish in last Saturday's regional tournament at Kossover while freshman Kenton Myrick finished third.
Dutton, 18-11 on the season, is the No. 13 5A singles seed for state while Myrick, 22-7, is the No. 18 seed.
The Vikings' doubles teams of seniors Dayton Schneider and Owen Stewart and sophomores Aaron Sampson and Cooper Hopeck finished third and fourth, respectively at regionals.
Schneider and Stewart are 22-6 and the No. 18 state doubles seed while Sampson and Hopeck are 23-9 and seeded No. 19.
Topeka West sophomore Collin McGee, a two-time Class 5A state qualifier, teamed with Zander Rice to finish second in doubles at regionals. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka West's doubles team of sophomore Collin McGee and junior Zander Rice followed up its runnerup finish in the UKC meet with a second-place showing at regionals.
McGee and Rice are 28-10 on the season and the No. 13 state seed.
The 5A state meet will get under way at 10:30 a.m. Friday and continue at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Class 4A at Topeka Kossover Tennis Center
Hayden posted a second-place team finish in the McPherson Class 4A regional last Friday while qualifying five of six players for the state tournament, which the Wildcats will host this weekend at the Kossover Tennis Center.
Seniors William Luke and Brock Reynoldson paced Hayden with a runnerup doubles finish at regionals while the Wildcats also qualified the doubles team of sophomore Patrick Luke and freshman Miles Allphin, who finished fifth.
Junior Brek Wahlmeier qualifed for state in singles with a third-place finish.
W. Luke and Reynoldson are now 17-18 on the season and are the No. 14 state seed while P. Luke and Allphin are 20-11 and seeded No. 21.
Wahlmeier will take a 20-15 record into state and is the No. 15 singles seed.
Hayden coach Christine Voegeli has announced that she is stepping down after this weekend's state tournament, ending a long stint as an assistant and head coach in the Hayden program.
The state tournament will get under way at 10:30 a.m. Friday and continue at 9 a.m. Saturday.
TOPEKA STATE TENNIS QUALIFIERS
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Seaman soccer avenged its first loss of the season with an 8-0 home mercy rule win over Leavenworth Tuesday night, moving to 12-1-2 on the year and clinching a share of the United Kansas Conference championship.
Savannah Nelson (4) scored a pair of goals Tuesday as Seaman soccer clinched a share of the UKC title with an 8-0 win over Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
Julia Molleker's two goals helped Seaman soccer improve to 12-1-2 with Tuesday's 8-0 UKC win over Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
“It was good to get back on the pitch,'' Seaman coach Kyle Seevers said. "We got rid of some of the horror from Friday (a 5-3 loss at Hayden) in that second half. We got that all out of our system, worked hard, came out tonight and got the win.
"We've got another big game on Thursday against (Washburn) Rural, which is always fun. Hopefully we build off that and look forward to the postseason. In my mind, I think this team can compete for (Class) 5A state and we’ll see what happens.”
Seaman began the scoring within the first 12 seconds of the match on a goal from senior Ava Golightley and the rout was on.
Five minutes later, senior Savannah Nelson scored deep in the box, beating the goalkeeper. Eight minutes later, senior Maya Martin scored from way beyond the box, over the goalkeeper’s head to make it 3-nil Vikings.
Senior Julia Molleker would convert on a penalty kick off a hand ball from Leavenworth at 17:55. That wasn’t all in the first half, as senior Ava Huston scored at 12:05 and then Molleker scored again off a rebound inside the box with 10:46 left in the half to make it 6-0 going into halftime.
Then in the second half, senior Parker Ayers scored on a free kick from near the logo of the pitch at 35:13 and then the Vikings would mercy rule Leavenworth a minute later as Nelson put the finishing touch on the match with her second goal.
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
The Seaman Vikings played their final home baseball game of the season on Tuesday night against United Kansas Conference rival Shawnee Heights, with Viking senior Cale Rosenberger limiting the T-Birds to just one hit in a 10-0 win.
Shawnee Heights had a promising start to the game with back-to-back errors by Seaman, which put runners at first and third with no outs.
Rosenberger then induced a ground ball double play followed by a groundout to prevent any runs from scoring.
The Vikings responded in the bottom of the first with a leadoff double from junior Beau Jessop, who scored on junior Axton Brewer’s RBI single. The Vikings were able to load the bases with a couple of walks, but were unable to tack on any additional runs.
Rosenberger then shut down Heights in order over the second and third innings while his offense scored seven runs over those same two innings.
Senior Cooper Hayes hit a two-run triple and senior Connor Puvogel had a bases-loaded walk to account for the three runs in the second inning. The third inning saw RBI from Jessop, sophomore Michael Dobbs and another from Puvogel.
The T-Birds' only hit of the night was an infield hit in the top of the fourth inning off the bat of Cayden Lindsay.
Rosenberger was able to set down 10 straight T-Bird hitters over the first four innings and also had four strikeouts.
“Cale set the tone for us and was able to get out of the first inning with the double play,'' Seaman coach Steve Bushnell said. "He was outstanding, with 65 pitches over six innings. He’s been like that over his last five starts for us.”
Following scoreless fourth and fifth innings, Seaman was able to score two runs in the bottom of the sixth to end the game due to being ahead by 10 runs after at least five innings.
Senior Gavin Colley had a fielder’s choice RBI and Hayes ended the contest with an RBI single, making the score 10-0.
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Sophomore Lydia Dreher starred on Seaman’s Senior Night, guiding the Vikings to a United Kansas Conference doubleheader softball sweep of Shawnee Heights Tuesday, bolstering her team’s chances of a high seed come playoff time.
Lydia Dreher (center) celebrates with Aubrey Warren (left) and Kennedi Kitzman (3) celebrate during Seaman's doubleheader UKC softball sweep over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Vikings overcame a slow start to pull away from the T-Birds 14-3 in the first game.
The hosts trailed for most of the second contest, but Dreher came to the rescue late in Seaman's 8-6 win.
In the first inning of the opening game, the T-Birds plated two runs off Dreher without recording a base hit. But Dreher settled down, working around six scattered hits to hold the visitors to just one run the rest of the way.
Dreher’s effort was enough to give the Viking offense time to kick in. Seaman strung together eight hits and plated nine runs in the third inning. The Vikings added three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to trigger the mercy rule.
“It was definitely stressful for a little bit, but me and (catcher) Claire Watkins always make jokes and keep things lighthearted and funny, so it’s always easy for me to get out of my head in those situations and just rely on my teammates,” Dreher said of the opener. “I know they’ll make plays. Once we scored nine, it took the pressure off and made it like we were just playing to have fun.”
Between games, Dreher wiped away a few tears as the Vikings celebrated its six seniors.
“They have been so inviting to me ever since I stepped onto the field as a freshman,” Dreher said. “They’re just so welcoming and such good people and good teammates. They mean a lot to all of us.”
The Vikings fell behind again in the second game, trailing 6-1 in the top of the third frame. Seaman coach Daniel Ruda summoned Dreher to relieve pitcher Easton Beightel. Dreher worked out of a jam in the third, then held the T-Birds to just two harmless hits over the next four innings.
“Easton was doing a good job, but then they started getting on time, so we needed to make a change and (Dreher) kept the scoring to a minimum,” Ruda said. “Lydia had a great day. We know what kind of pitcher she is. She’s been our ace all year and works out of jams, doesn’t ever seem to get rattled.”
Senior Aubrey Warren had two doubles and a triple in Seaman's Senior Night sweep over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Vikings clawed back from the 6-1 deficit, plating four runs in the bottom of the fourth, sparked by a triple by senior Aubrey Warren. They then tied the game 6-6 in the bottom of the fifth inning.
After Warren singled to start the sixth inning, Dreher provided the dramatics. She blasted a drive over the center field fence to put Seaman up 8-6.
“(Dreher) came up to the plate and had the big hit,” Ruda said. “She’s such a strong hitter. You know it’s only a matter of time until she gets ahold of one.”
“This was definitely a good win for us,” Dreher said. “I think we went into it a little bit nervous, but we figured it out and we were really getting hyped in the dugout, and it got to be a lot of fun.”
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2026 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
BOYS
100 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 10.43
Malachi Murph, Topeka High 10.91
Israel Edmonds, Washburn Rural 11.02
Braxton Rupp, Silver Lake 11.04
Courtney Sanders, Topeka High 11.10
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural
200 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 21.78
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 22.30
Jayden Lindsey, Topeka West 22.38
Jonel Tibbs, Topeka High 22.60
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 22.65
400 METERS
Jason Slay, Shawnee Heights 49.89
Draden Chooncharoen, Washburn Rural 50.25
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 50.94
Thomas Fisher, Silver Lake 51.28
Xavier Fisher, Shawnee Heights 51.34
Brody Anderson, Seaman
800 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 1:53.37
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 1:56.64
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 1:59.79
Mason Haas, Shawnee Heights 2:02.62
Everett Un, Washburn Rural 2:03.26
1,600 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 4:08.2 (mile converted to meters)
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 4:20.32
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 4:24.35
Nick Newkirk, Hayden 4:27.18
Duke Graf, Washburn Rural 4:32.87
3,200 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 9:11.63
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 9:23.61
Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural 9:24.34
Jaxson Adams, Washburn Rural 9:42.46
Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural 9:42.94
110-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 14.07
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 15.31
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 15.54
De'sean Lunkins, Topeka High 15.85
Isiah Pennington, Seaman 15.88
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural
300-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 37.61
Kellan Parcaro, Seaman 42.03
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 42.09
Isiah Pennington, Seaman 43.26
Colin Miller, Silver Lake 43.41
4x100-METER RELAY
Topeka High 42.92
Washburn Rural 43.17
Seaman 43.27
Silver Lake 43.28
Topeka High 43.52
4x400-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 3:21.82
Shawnee Heights 3:23.24
Silver Lake 3:28.28
Highland Park 3:28.48
Topeka High 3:33.55
4x800-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 8:21.93
Seaman 8:34.58
Silver Lake 8:57.48
Topeka High 9:09.82
Rossville 9:14.36
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2026 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
GIRLS
100 METERS
Tanesia Johnson, Shawnee Heights 12.36
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High 12.57
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 12.60
Jurnee Cole, Highland Park 12.66
Adriana Raub, Washburn Rural 12.75
200 METERS
Tanesia Johnson, Shawnee Heights 25.83
Jurnee Cole, Highland Park 26.04
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 26.82
Ciera Hartz, Topeka High 26.48
Sofia Harper, Hayden 26.88
400 METERS
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High 59.07
Ali Gerber, Silver Lake 59.19
Sofia Harper, Hayden 59.44
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 60.34
Julia Molleker, Seaman 61.88
800 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 2:20.86
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 2:21.50
Kinley Robinson, Seaman 2:23.63
Ryin Miller, Seaman 2:23.65
Clara Dillon, Washburn Rural 2:33.45
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural
1,600 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 5:13.49
Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural 5:14.04
Brynn Spencer, Seaman 5:15.78
Kenzie Maddox, Washburn Rural 5:17.54
Kinley Robinson, Seaman 5:22.98
3,200 METERS
Emily Graf, Washburn Rural 11:06.46
Kenzie Maddox, Washburn Rural 11:18.36
Brynn Spencer, Seaman 11:27.63
Reese Beardslee, Washburn Rural 11:34.94
Lily McCoy, Washburn Rural 14:09.97
100-METER HURDLES
Karys Deiter, Silver Lake 15.70
Rylee Dick, Rossville 16.77
Marchayla White, Topeka High 17.74
Megan Alderson, Washburn Rural 18.14
Kaylyn Smith, Topeka West 18.23
300-METER HURDLES
Rylee Dick, Rossville 50.00
Marchayla White, Topeka High 51.34
Megan Alderson, Washburn Rural 51.60
Journey Manhart, Silver Lake 53.33
Avery Villines, Seaman 54.18
4x100-METER RELAY
Topeka High 49.60
Silver Lake 50.29
Washburn Rural 51.46
Seaman 51.63
Topeka West 52.33
4x400-METER RELAY
Silver Lake 4:09.56
Topeka High 4:10.27
Washburn Rural 4:11.18
Seaman 4:20.94
Topeka West 4:27.08
4x800-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 10:12.53
Topeka High 10:39.23
Seaman 11:17.22
Silver Lake 11:18.38
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural senior star Audrey Appuhn reached a career milestone in Friday's Topeka girls city swimming/diving championships at the Capitol Federal Natatorium as the Junior Blues stretched their city title streak to 23 straight seasons.
Appuhn was a double individual winner and four-event gold medalist to lead the way as Washburn Rural took the city crown by a 588-468 margin over Seaman.
Washburn Rural's girls swimming team celebrates in the Capitol Federal Natatorium pool Friday after Rural won its 23rd straight city team championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And while the two biggest meets of the year -- Centennial League and Class 6A state -- are next up for Rural, coach Bob Burdick said the city championship will always be one that the Junior Blues circle on the schedule.
"Especially here in Topeka, we're all here in this together and the best part about this meet is not only the meet, the championship, but also that all these girls in the city all know each other, so they all get to compete with each other, cheer each other and it's just an amazing event,'' Burdick said.
Washburn Rural senior Audrey Appuhn won four gold medals in Friday's city meet as the Junior Blues captured their 23rd straight city team championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Competing in her final city meet, Appuhn won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 22.00 seconds and the 100-yard freestyle in 57.28 while teaming with Sophie Heinen, Resego Mackenzie and Kaci Hodgson to win the 200 medley relay (2:13.84) and with Heinen, Ava Von Lintel and Stella Berry to win the 400 free relay (4:20.97).
With her two individual wins Appuhn finished her four-year city career with eight individual victories in as many tries.
"It never really was a goal,'' Appuhn said. "I just realized, 'Oh, it happened.' ''
Appuhn also added seven career relay victories in eight starts to finish her city career with 15 gold medals.
Senior Rhiannon Good won the one-meter diving event with a score of 239.85 to account for Washburn Rural's fifth victory of the day while the Junior Blues posted top-three finishes in 11 of 12 events and had multiple top-three finishes in four events.
Rural began the season with several question marks, but Burdick said he's been very pleased with the Junior Blues' performance this spring.
"They've made the progress we need,'' he said. "We picked up 12 new swimmers this year that had never swam and moved them all along and they all contributed tonight, so that was great.''
Appuhn, Good, Heinen and Von Lintel all earned spots on the All-City first team while Mackenzie, Hodgson and Sophie Reffett were second-teamers.
Other highlights:
Hayden junior Kaelyn Gerdel won a pair of individual titles in Friday's city swimming meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Hayden junior Kaelyn Gerdel joined Appuhn as a double individual city champion, winning the 200-yard freestyle in 2:16.81 and the 100 backstroke in 1:19.12.
Gerdel was a first-team All-City pick while Hayden's Lilly Charvat finished second in the 100 breaststroke (1:21.11) and was a second-team All-City pick.
Shawnee Heights' Kaitlyn Aldridge (left) won the 100-yard butterfly and finished second in the 200 individual medley in Friday's city championships at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Shawnee Heights got victories from Clara Sobba in the 50-yard freestyle (26.94) and Kaitlyn Aldridge in the 100 butterfly (1:10.52) while Aldridge finished second in the 200 individual medley (2:34.61) and Sobba was second in the 100 free (58.49).
Aldridge and Sobba also teamed with Jade Kinsch and Lainey Herrera for a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay (2:14.60).
Aldridge and Sobba were All-City first-team honorees while Kinsch was a second-team pick.
Topeka High senior Hara Del Castillo won the 100-yard backstroke in Friday's city championships at the Capitol Federal Natatorium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Topeka High got city titles from Avery Skinner and Hara Del Castillo, with Skinner winning the 500 freestyle (6:01.47) and Del Castillo winning the 100 backstroke (1:10.55).
Skinner finished second in the 100 back (1:12.70) while Del Castillo was third in the 50 free (27.78) as both Trojans were first-team All-City selections.
• Team runnerup Seaman got a city title from the foursome of Ava Carlson, Gracie Scott, Isabelle Hahn and Riley Strother in the 200 free relay in 1:57.02 while the Vikings posted top-three finishes in five other events.
Seaman's Strother, Carlson, Scott and Megan Strobel finished second in the 400 free relay (4:26.64).
Strobel and Strother were both All-City first-team honorees while Jenna Zimmerman, Manuela Diaz, Marleigh Frazier, Jurnee Jessepe and Tenley Wessel made the second team.
• Cair Paravel Latin's Avery Rosenow finished second in diving to earn a spot on the All-City second team while Topeka West's Makenna Russell was also a second-team selection.
TOPEKA GIRLS CITY SWIMMING/DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman boys tennis continued its late-season run on Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center, with the Vikings capturing their second tournament championship over three days.
Seaman captured a Class 5A regional championship Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center after winning the UKC title two days earlier. [Submitted photo]
After capturing the United Kansas Conference title on Thursday, Seaman won Saturday's Class 5A regional title by a 20-17 margin over Piper, advancing all six of its players to Friday's 5A state tournament at Andover.
"It was a gutsy effort from everybody,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. "They really came to play, so that was fun to watch as a spectator and a coach.
"This is the second year in a row we're going to take all six to state and I think we learned a lot from last year.''
After finishing second in the UKC tournament, sophomore singles player Camden Dutton added a runnerup regional finish to lead the Vikings.
The Vikings also got a third-place singles finish from Kenton Myrick and third and fourth-place doubles finishes from the teams of Owen Stewart and Dayton Schneider and Aaron Sampson and Cooper Hopeck.
Sophomore Camden Dutton led regional champion Seaman with a runnerup singles finish Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Dutton dropped a 6-1, 7-5 decision to Piper's Blake Taylor in the singles final while Myrick, a freshman, earned his first trip to state with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) win over Bonner Springs' Deion Cruse in the third-place match.
Dutton will take an 18-11 into state while Myrick is 22-7.
Seniors Schneider and Stewart (22-6) met teammates Hopeck and Sampson (23-9) in the third-place doubles match for the second straight tournament, with Stewart and Schneider taking a 6-4, 6-1 decision.
Topeka West sophomore Collin McGee earned a second straight state tournament berth with a runnerup regional doubles finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West junior Zander Rice teamed with Collin McGee to post a runnerup doubles finish in Saturday's Class 5A regional. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West got a runnerup doubles finish from Collin McGee and Zander Rice, who dropped a tight 6-4, 6-4 decision to Piper's Johnny Vogel and Baird Greenamyre in the title match after also playing the Pirates' duo in the UKC final.
McGee, a sophomore, earned his second straight 5A state berth and McGee and Rice, a junior, will take a 28-10 record into the state tournament.
CLASS 5A BOYS REGIONAL TENNIS
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Hayden soccer fought back from a 3-1 halftime deficit to remain undefeated with a 5-3 win over Seaman on the Wildcats' Senior Night.
The Wildcats and Vikings were both undefeated entering Friday's match and Hayden was able to move to 14-0-0 while celebrating the 10 seniors on their roster.
Hayden senior Carsyn Broxterman (4), who registered a three-goal hat trick, celebrates Friday's 5-3 Senior Night win over Seaman. [Photo by Vince Lovergine/TSN]
Hayden had allowed just four goals through its first 13 matches with 10 shutouts, but gave up three goals in the first half to the Vikings.
After Sawyer Wrench scored Hayden's lone goal in the half off a Grace Funk corner kick, the Wildcats scored three goals in a span of 9:05 to lead 4-3, two of them coming from senior Carsyn Broxterman.
Broxterman would add the hat trick deep inside the box after Seaman missed a clearing attempt and Broxterman was right there to tap it in with 24:04 left in the match.
“She's just amazing,'' Hayden coach Klaus Kreutzer said of Broxterman. "Her work ethic starts with practice and she does the same thing at practice and she elevates her teammates and when she gets the ball.
"She kind of sets things in motion and then she puts pressure on the other team and sometimes they have to react.''
Freshman Emma Slyter got the assist on Broxterman's first goal and Slyter also scored a goal off a Funk assist to tie the game at 3-3 with 34:17 remaining.
Seaman certainly had its chances on the offensive side to trim the deficit but could not get anything else past senior goalkeeper Lauren Borjon, who played the second half for the Wildcats.
“We started out slowly, we kind of got in a hole and I think we collected our wits at halftime and to give them credit, they came back. I mean we played a good team, but we're a good team, too, I'm surprised.''
A dog fight was the perfect way to describe Friday's match in Kreutzer’s eyes.
“They're kind of our rivals in other sports as well and not having lost a game was a little motivation for us as well,” he said.
Seaman dropped to 11-1-2 on the campaign.
The Vikings will play at home on Tuesday against Leavenworth while Hayden will play at Emporia.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural rode its dominance in the distance events and superior depth to a sweep of the team titles in Friday's Joe Schrag City Championship at Hummer Sports Park.
Rural posted a total of 16 event wins on the night (eight girls, eight boys) and had top-three finishes in 25 events (13 girls,12 boys) en route to a 216-135.5 win over Silver Lake for the Junior Blue girls and a 200-131 victory over the Eagle boys in the team standings.
Washburn Rural track had eight individual wins and 12 top-three finishes en route to the boys city championship Friday at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural track and field had eight individual wins and 12 top-three finishes en route to the boys city championship Friday at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"This is definitely the beginning of postseason and we want to perform well here at the city meet,'' Rural coach Keith Wetzel said. "We like to keep the city trophies in our case and use that to propel us into league and regional and state.
"We put an emphasis on this meet. We want to be the best in the city and we make it a goal that we want to continue to have success at this meet.''
Highlights for the Rural boys included a sweep of all three relays, along with wins in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters and second and third-place finishes in the 800.
Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe won two gold medals and also posted a third-place finish in Friday's city meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Rural senior Brooks Kehoe won the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 26.64 seconds, teamed with Jackson Svaty, Everett Un and Christian Hartman-Babb to win the 4x400 relay (3:23.02) and posted a third-place finish in the 800 (2:00.51).
Hartman-Babb, a junior, won the 100-meter dash in 10.55 seconds before teaming with Paxton Johnson, Caleb Schwartz and Carter Frost to win the 4x100 (43.17) and ending the meet with the 4x400 victory.
Sophomore Henry Laubach won the city title in the 3,200 meters for team-champion Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Sophomore Henry Laubach turned in a dominating win in the 3,200 (9:32.10) while the Junior Blues also got wins from Luke Deering in the pole vault (11 feet, 6 inches), Zachary Hancock in the discus (153-0) and the team of Everett Un, Wesley Meek, Julius Wood-Nichols and Eli Replogle in the 4x800 (8:36.89).
Senior Emily Graf won the 1,600 and 800-meter runs in Friday's city track and field meet as Washburn Rural's girls won the team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
On the girls side, Rural got a pair of individual wins from senior Emily Graf and junior Kailyn Petersen, with Graf winning the 1,600 (5:13.49) and the 800 (2:25.28) and Petersen winning the shot put (34-2) and discus (123-8) titles.
Rural's girls swept the throws and the distance races, with senior Morgan Ray winning the javelin title with a throw of 142-8 and senior Kenzie Maddox winning the 3,200 in 11:26.03.
The Junior Blues also picked up a win in the 4x800 relay (10:32.31) from the foursome of Quinn Nolte, Payton Rice, Morgan Munson and Clara Dillon while Natalie Ferguson finished first in the pole vault (8-0).
"It has been a solid day,'' Wetzel said. "We have some injuries so we've asked some people to step in, to fill in, to step up and we've been fortunate that they've done that for the most part and some young kids, both boys and girls have stepped in and given us a boost.''
Other top performances:
• Silver Lake, the smallest school in the field, turned in solid runnerup team finishes in both the girls and boys divisions.
The Eagle girls picked up three event wins and 11 top-three finishes while the Lake boys won a pair of events and placed top three in 13 of 18 events.
Silver Lake's Ali Gerber crosses the finish line for the win in the girls 4x400-meter relay in Friday's city meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Ali Gerber won the girls triple jump for the second straight season (34-10.25) and teamed with Kinley Weber, Jaiden Wise and Jaylie Whitehead for a win in the 4x400 relay (4:09.56), with Gerber running the anchor leg.
Addy Just notched the third win of the day for the Silver Lake girls in the long jump (16-9.25) while the boys got wins from Joel Miller in the 200 (22.65) and Bryson Burgos in the triple jump (40-7.50).
• Keimari Marshall and Marchayla White were both double individual champions for Topeka High's girls while Marshall also added a relay victory in her final city meet.
Marshall won the 100 (12.57) and 400 (59.07) and also ran on the Trojans' winning 4x100 relay (49.60) along with Kaeanna Copeland, Jayana Washington and Ciera Hartz.
White swept the girls hurdles titles, winning the 100-meter event in 17.74 seconds and the 300s in 51.34.
Seaman freshman Baylee Ayres cleared a personal-record 5-foot-5 to win the girls high jump in Friday's city meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Seaman freshman Baylee Ayres made an impressive city meet debut, winning the girls high jump with a personal-record jump of 5 feet, 5 inches, winning the event by five inches.
Seaman senior Brody Anderson won the city title in the boys 800 meters by six seconds in 1:53.65 Friday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Brody Anderson continued his outstanding senior season for the Seaman boys, winning the 800 by more than six seconds in 1:53.65.
The Vikings also got victories from Kellan Parcaro in the 300 hurdles (43.14) and Jack Esser in the high jump (6-4).
• Other individual winners included Highland Park's Jurnee Cole in the girls 200 (26.32) and Rayshon Pollard in the boys long jump (20-5.25), Shawnee Heights' Jason Slay in the boys 400 (49.89), Heights' Amir Bass in the boys shot put (47-11), Hayden's Kelton Meier in the boys javelin (186-8) and Topeka High's De'sean Lunkins in the boys 110 hurdles (15.85).
JOE SCHRAG CITY CHAMPIONSHIP
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman didn't claim an individual title in Thursday's United Kansas Conference boys tennis championships at Kossover Tennis Center, but the Vikings took home the biggest prize.
Seaman captured the United Kansas Conference boys tennis championship Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Submitted photo]
Seaman advanced all six of its players to the tournament semifinals, including a second-place singles finish from Camden Dutton, en route to earning the team crown by a 67-62 margin over Piper.
In addition to Dutton's runnerup showing, the Vikings got a fourth-place singles finish from Kenton Myrick and third and fourth-place doubles finishes from the teams of Owen Stewart and Dayton Schneider and Aaron Sampson and Cooper Hopeck.
Camden Dutton led UKC team-champion Seaman with a runnerup singles finish Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Dutton advanced to the championship singles match with an 8-3 semifinal win over Basehor-Linwood's Trevor Christenson before dropping an 8-3 decision to Piper's Blake Taylor while Myrick lost in the semifinals to Taylor before dropping an 8-1 decision to Basehor-Linwood's Trevor Christenson in the third-place match.
Schneider and Stewart met teammates Hopeck and Sampson in the third-place doubles match, with Stewart and Schneider taking an 8-4 decision.
Topeka West finished third as a team with 54 points, getting a runnerup doubles finish from Collin McGee and Zander Rice.
Topeka West's Collin McGee (left) and Zander Rice posted a runnerup doubles finish in Thursday's UKC tennis tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [Submitted photo]
McGee and Rice outlasted Seaman's Schneider and Stewart 8-6 in the doubles semifinals before dropping an 8-6 decision to Piper's Johnny Vogel and Baird Greenamyre in the title match.
Topeka West's Collin McGee (left) teamed with Zander Rice to finish second in doubles in Thursday's UKC tennis tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Wyatt Lindencrantz and Jordan Ward led Shawnee Heights with a fifth-place doubles finish.
Seaman, Topeka West and Shawnee Heights will also compete in a Class 5A regional tournament on Saturday at Kossover, vying for state tournament berths.
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE BOYS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
Seaman senior Ryin Miller opened the 2026 track season on April 2 at the Jerry Beardslee Invitational hosted by Washburn Rural High School.
Seaman senior Ryin Miller (1), who has battled an injury since last summer, won the girls 800 meters in last month's Jerry Beardslee Invitational at Washburn Rural. [File photo/TSN]
In her only race of the meet, she was victorious in the 800-meter run in a time of 2 minutes, 23.65 seconds.
However, getting to that point was filled with many peaks and valleys.
The seasons of 2024
The valleys began back in the spring of 2024 when she finished second in the 3,200-meter run to all-state runner Katelyn Rupe from Salina Central. They had faced one another earlier in the season at the 2024 KU Relays where Miller was victorious in the 3,200 race. When they met a month later at the state championships at Wichita State, the tables were turned and Rupe won the race, pulling away over the final 600 meters.
As both runners began the 2024 cross country season, they faced one another again at the Rim Rock Farm High School Classic in late September. Miller was able to win the race in a time of 17:14.10, defeating Rupe by a little over six seconds. Rim Rock Farm was also the host for the state cross country championships in early November and in the rematch, Rupe once again passed Miller in the final 800 meters of the race, winning the state title by almost 17 seconds.
Seaman star Ryin Miller swept the Class 5A 3,200, 1,600 and 800 meters in the 2025 state track meet. [File photo/TSN]
The track season of 2025
The valley of the 2024 state cross country race was the turning point for Miller.
“I think that race was one of the most pivotal and important races of my career,'' Miller said. "Mainly because I didn’t feel ready -- you work so hard for something, train all summer, train all fall, there’s this huge build-up -- yet I wasn’t ready because I did too much at the wrong time. I would work so hard over the summer and I would build my training block to peak in the first three races.”
Her race tactics had been the same since she began running cross country and track in high school -- she would get out front, lay it all out there -- and most of the time, she would come out victorious.
But in the championship race, those tactics didn’t work.
“At the start of the second mile, with all of the hills and then making it to the top of cemetery hill (about 1,000 meters left in race), I was fully empty and my legs were gone,'' Miller said. "I watched her go past me and I couldn’t match it. Not only did she run a smarter race than me, but a smarter season.”
These two losses provided all of the inspiration Miller needed as she prepared for the 2025 track season.
“I trained in a smarter way in order to have my legs when getting to the state track meet. My training remained the same, but I was able to balance the easy workout with the harder workouts.”
Throughout the track season, Miller began to run fewer races at individual meets, which was part of the plan to train smarter for the long haul. She would run either one or two races per meet instead of three or four.
As the season progressed, it became clear that she would attempt to qualify in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 along with the 4x400 relay.
Quite possibly the best race of the regular season for Miller came at the 2025 KU Relays in the 1,600 meter run because it was a race where she changed up her tactics.
Instead of going out and taking the early lead, she stayed even with Elyse Wilmes, a senior at Father Tilton Catholic High School in Columbia, Mo., who now runs at Oklahoma State University. When Wilmes made her move with about 300 meters left in the race, Miller stayed with her, took a brief lead, but fell back behind Wilmes.
Over the final 100 meters, Miller dug deep and won the race in a time of 4:46.03 -- by three-10ths of a second.
“I realized in that race that I was more than a one trick pony -- going out and taking the lead.”
As expected, Miller qualified for the three individual races (800, 1,600, 3,200) along with the 4x400 relay.
At the state meet, the 3,200 race took place on Friday evening, so Miller was able to rest and relax most of the day. But late in the afternoon, the preliminary race for the 4x400 relay took place, which provided a distraction for the 3,200 race.
In the 3,200, Rupe jumped out to a quick lead and Miller realized her tactic had to be different.
“She really took off, but I knew I had to stay patient because she wanted to run my kick out of me,'' Miller said. "It was the most mentally challenging race I’ve ever ran.”
At the start of the fifth lap, Rupe had about a 50-meter lead, but Miller knew she had something left.
“There was so much of the race left, I just needed to go hard over the next 2-4 minutes. The sixth lap was a huge confidence boost because I had cut the lead down to about 30 meters. In the seventh lap, I was getting closer and in the final lap, I was even with her.”
Miller was able to pull away for her first individual Class 5A state title with a time of 10:19.53.
That victory provided momentum going into Saturday’s races. She was victorious in the 1,600 with a time of 4:57.33 and followed that up with her third championship performance in the 800 in a time of 2:11.14. The 4x400 relay team medaled, finishing fourth in a time of 4:03.44.
The three state championships and medaling in all four of her races capped off an impressive two-year stretch as Miller was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 track and field seasons as well as the 2024-2025 cross country season.
The summer of 2025
The entire 2024-2025 school year for Miller was full of recruiting calls and letters. Her campus visits happened during the winter months.
“It was busy and exhausting, but it was so much fun, too,'' she said. "I got to see new places, new programs and compare the programs. Meeting new people was fun and I met people that I could cheer for and follow in their college seasons.”
The recruiting process for her parents, Justin and Tracee, was more complicated than you might think.
“You get to see new places, meet great people who believed in her, but then you realize that you have to say no to so many great people and great schools,” Tracee Miller said. “We would talk together as a family, list the pros and cons, but we knew that we would have to quiet all of the voices and allow Ryin to make the decision.”
“I didn’t want to push one way and then feel bad if it wasn’t right,” Justin Miller said.
Ryin finished her junior track season by running in the Brooks PR and the Nike Outdoor Nationals. She had a great performance at the Nike event, then took a week off. During this time, she was already a part of the Nike National program and then was asked to become part of the Nike Elite program.
She joined the program, which is about supporting the athletes through education, health and making relationships with other athletes.
“I’m super grateful for the experience in the program. We’ve done so many cool things -- we’ve watched worlds, traveled to their big meets and did many things at their headquarters in Eugene, Oregon.”
Making her college decision happened right around her visit to headquarters.
“I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to go, but it was still a big decision and I was scared to make the decision. But I knew where I wanted to go and once I returned home, I told my parents that I wanted to go to Arkansas.”
Miller said the biggest reasons for choosing Arkansas was because of the people on the team and the ones she had met through various visits to other campuses.
After taking the week off at the beginning of the summer, she returned to working out, felt rusty and maybe did too much too soon.
On the fourth of July while running in the pool, she noticed a pain in her knee and felt it the entire day.
During her long run the next day, she immediately felt a shooting pain on the outside of her knee. She stopped for a few seconds and tried to run again, but the pain persisted.
She tried once again that same evening, but the pain was still there.
She was eventually diagnosed with an IT Band injury. Throughout the entire process, she was able to receive help and support from so many people.
Cross country season 2025
Miller took two weeks off, but she became disappointed when there was no progress, which led to another week off. She continued to go to physical therapy and then the cross country season began.
“I was distraught and panicking, wondering if I would be fit by the end of the season. I continued working and correcting muscle imbalances and tightness.”
When the cross country meets started, it became really hard for her to only be able to watch and not compete.
“I never really thought about not being there, showing up and supporting my teammates.”
As the season continued and the approaching championship part of the schedule (league, regionals and state) Seaman coach Rick Brading discussed the possibility of the team winning the league meet, so the decision was made for Ryin to run in that meet.
She finished in third place with a time of 20:36 and she said it was probably the worst race of her life but one she is the most proud.
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
In the penultimate week of the regular season, the Seaman Viking baseball team hosted the Spring Hill Broncos Tuesday in its only game for the week. After jumping out to a 5-1 lead over the first three innings, the Vikings were unable to hold on and lost to the Broncos, 7-5.
Seaman jumped out to a 3-0 advantage after the first inning.
Spring Hill sophomore starting pitcher Will Pepper retired the first two batters in the inning, but Seaman junior designated hitter Axton Brewer reached on a fielding error. After a hit-by-pitch, sophomore Michael Dobbs had an RBI single which was followed by a two-run double by junior Bryson Fehr.
Spring Hill responded in the second inning with a run from a single by junior Cooper Eckert, which scored freshman Riley McEvoy, who had a two-out double.
With a 3-1 lead, the Vikings scored single runs in the bottom of the second and third innings. Senior Cooper Hayes had the RBI in the second inning thanks to a single which scored junior Jack Becker. The run in the third inning came on a fielder’s choice RBI by Becker, scoring Fehr to give the Vikings a 5-1 lead.
The starting pitcher for Seaman, senior Cale Rosenberger, had only given up four hits and one run through the first three frames, but Spring Hill matched their hit total in scoring three runs in the top of the fourth.
Three of the first four Broncos reached base with two singles and a double, who all scored, cutting the Viking lead to 5-4.
The Vikings maintained that lead as Spring Hill came to the plate for their final at-bat in the seventh. Michael Dobbs relieved Rosenberger to begin the seventh inning.
Following a leadoff single by senior Benny Ragan, he advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Dobbs recorded a strikeout, senior Hunter Hall hit a game-tying single up the middle to make it 5-5.
Pepper worked a walk, putting runners at first and second with still only one out. As Dobbs was pitching to senior Max Meade, he balked the Spring Hill base runners to second and third. With the infield drawn in, Dobbs was able to get the second out of the inning with a strikeout.
Bronco senior Jordan Miller was able to put the ball in play with a ground ball and both runs scored on a throwing error, giving Spring Hill a 7-5 lead.
The Vikings were set down in order in the bottom of the seventh by the winning pitcher, freshman Blace Rodina, who gave up one hit along with two strikeouts over the final two innings.
Spring Hill moved to 12-7 on the season with a 7-5 victory. Seaman fell to 11-11 for the year.
Seaman coach Steve Bushnell discussed the tough loss along with the good start by Rosenberger.
“It was a tough way to end it,'' Bushnell said. "I thought we did enough early in the first inning, getting those three runs. Cale was outstanding in giving up four runs over six innings, but there were a couple there in the three-run fourth inning that we could have kept off the board.
“That’s kind of where we’ve been throughout the course of the year. We’ve had some one and two-run games where we haven’t been able to get the hidden outs (not because of errors, plays you don’t make, or things that don’t go your way). Tonight, we struggled with having runners at third with less than two outs and being unable to push the run across.”
In preparation for the final two games of the regular season, Bushnell looked ahead.
“We’re just trying to get back-to-back (victories). It doesn’t get any easier. (Shawnee) Heights is going to be a handful with how they’ve been playing and the arms they have. It will be the last time for our eleven seniors to play here at John Lewis Field, so we would like to defend the home field.
"It’s hard not to get back on the field this week, but we’ll have to wait until next Tuesday with Heights.”
The Vikings will host the T-Birds on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before the T-Birds host the season finale for both schools on Thursday.
SPRING HILL 7, SEAMAN 5
Spring Hill (12-7) 010 300 3 — 7 11 2
Seaman (11-11) 311 000 x — 5 7 2
Pepper, Vanhouten (4), Rodina (6) and Hall. Cale Rosenberger, Dobbs (7) and Sextro. W — Rodina. L — Dobbs. 2B — Spring Hill : McEvoy 2. Seaman: Fehr, Brewer.
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2026 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
BOYS
100 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 10.43
Malachi Murph, Topeka High 10.91
Israel Edmonds, Washburn Rural 11.02
Braxton Rupp, Silver Lake 11.04
Jonel Tibbs, Topeka High 11.15
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural
200 METERS
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 21.78
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 22.30
Jayden Lindsey, Topeka West 22.38
Jonel Tibbs, Topeka High 22.60
Courtney Sanders, Topeka High 22.66
400 METERS
Draden Chooncharoen, Washburn Rural 50.25
Jason Slay, Shawnee Heights 50.71
Joel Miller, Silver Lake 50.94
Xavier Fisher, Shawnee Heights 51.34
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 51.43
Brody Anderson, Seaman
800 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 1:53.37
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 1:56.64
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 1:59.62
Everett Un, Washburn Rural 2:03.26
Mason Haas, Shawnee Heights 2:03.30
1,600 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 4:08.2 (mile converted to meters)
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 4:20.32
Cohen Thiessen, Washburn Rural 4:24.35
Nick Newkirk, Hayden 4:33.03
Duke Graf, Washburn Rural 4:33.71
3,200 METERS
Brody Anderson, Seaman 9:11.63
Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural 9:23.61
Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural 9:24.34
Jaxson Adams, Washburn Rural 9:44.54
Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural 9:57.60
110-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 14.07
Christian Hartman-Babb, Washburn Rural 15.31
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 15.54
Braxton Rupp, Silver Lake 16.10
De'sean Lunkins, Topeka High 16.22
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural
300-METER HURDLES
Liam Morrison, Washburn Rural 37.61
Kellan Parcaro, Seaman 42.03
Rayshon Pollard, Highland Park 42.09
Colin Miller, Silver Lake 43.41
Michael Ruelas, Seaman 43.46
4x100-METER RELAY
Topeka High 42.92
Seaman 43.27
Washburn Rural 43.27
Topeka High 43.52
Silver Lake 43.77
4x400-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 3:21.82
Shawnee Heights 3:24.59
Silver Lake 3:30.04
Seaman 3:35.19
Topeka High 3:35.43
4x800-METER RELAY
Washburn Rural 8:21.93
Seaman 8:34.58
Silver Lake 8:57.48
Topeka High 9:09.82
Topeka West 9:29.28
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: TopSports.news will compile a weekly girls swimming and diving honor roll for Topeka high schools throughout the 2026 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY
Shawnee Heights 2:16.07
Seaman 2:18.07
Washburn Rural 2:18.75
Hayden 2:25.76
Kaelyn Gerdel, Hayden
200-YARD FREESTYLE
Kaelyn Gerdel, Hayden 2:11.68
Avery Skinner, Topeka High 2:25.97
Ava Von Lintel, Washburn Rural 2:31.01
Megan Strobel, Seaman 2:37.54
Stella Berry, Washburn Rural 2:43.23
Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural
200-YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY
Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural 2:23.15
Hara Del Castillo, Topeka High 2:34.07
Kaitlyn Aldridge, Shawnee Heights 2:34.20
Riley Strother, Seaman 2:51.05
Avery Skinner, Seaman 2:51.97
Clara Sobba, Shawnee Heights
50-YARD FREESTYLE
Clara Sobba, Shawnee Heights 27.28
Riley Strother, Seaman 27.61
Hara Del Castillo, Topeka High 27.76
Ava Carlson, Seaman 28.56
Sophie Heinen, Washburn Rural 28.90
Rhiannon Good, Washburn Rural
ONE-METER DIVING
Rhiannan Good, Washburn Rural 196.00
Avery Rosenow, Hayden/CPLS 176.40
Mackenzie Caryl, Topeka High 146.60
Abigail Culbertson, Topeka High 122.50
Madilyn Typer, Seaman 105.40
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Rossville senior Jack Donovan carded a one-over-par 71 to post a four-stroke victory in Monday's Big East League Tournament at Lake Shawnee.
Jack Donovan
Sabetha captured the Big East team championship by a stroke over Jefferson West and Nemaha Central (336-337) while Rossville tied Perry-Lecompton for fourth at 345 and Silver Lake finished sixth at 355.
Silver Lake's Brody Kelley and Noah Streit shot 82s to tie for seventh with three other players.
Austin Dohrman was Rossville's No. 2 player with an 88, tying for 17th.
BIG EAST LEAGUE BOYS GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Seaman boys basketball assistant Josh Gomez felt like it was time to go after his first head coaching job at the high school level.
And after being a finalist for the Vikings' head coaching vacancy that was eventually filled by Joe Smith, the stars lined up to send the 38-year-old Gomez a few miles down Highway 24 as the new head coach at Rossville.
Topekan Josh Gomez has been named head boys basketball coach at Rossville after four season's on Craig Cox's Seaman staff. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Gomez, a Topeka High graduate, takes over the Bulldawg reins from another Trojan product, Brandon McDonnell, who replaces the legendary Ken Darting at Shawnee Heights after leading Rossville to back-to-back Class 2A state tournament berths.
"I interviewed for the Seaman job and Joe got it and Joe's a good friend of mine,'' Gomez told TopSports.news. "He and I actually coached together at the middle school for a couple of years. He left and took the Jeff West job, so I got to have head coaching experience with our senior group that were just graduating this year, and then I moved over to the high school and I have been here the last four years.
"When coach McDonnell took the Shawnee Heights job I knew that I at least wanted to apply and hopefully get an interview for the Rossville job and everything just kind of fell into place from there.''
Rossville graduated a talented senior class off last season's 17-8 team, but Gomez is confident that there are talented players in the Bulldawg program that are ready to step into key roles next winter.
"They graduated seven seniors last year so they're losing a lot, but that just means there's plenty of opportunities and playing time for these younger classmen to come in and show what they can do,'' Gomez said. "All the coaches that I've talked to out there are really high on next year's junior class, so I've heard great things about them.
"I got to go meet the team (Thursday) and we've also got some good freshmen and sophomores, so there's going to be plenty of playing time to go around and the kids are going to have a good time.''
Gomez was part of Craig Cox's final staff at Seaman this past season as the Vikings posted a 23-5 record and finished third in the Class 5A state tournament.
