Seaman Vikings

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Silver Lake senior point guard Kailyn Hanni has been tapped as the TopSports.news 2026 All-Shawnee County girls basketball player of the year after leading the Eagles to their second Class 3A state championship in three seasons.

Silver Lake senior Kailyn Hanni has been named the TopSports.news Shawnee County girls player of the year after leading the Eagles to their second Class 3A state title in three seasons. [File photo/TSN]

A three-time All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick, Hanni helped lead Silver Lake to a 28-1 record and a third straight trip to the 3A state championship game, with the Eagles sandwiching titles in 2024 and this past season around a second-place finish in 2025.

Hanni is one of five repeat picks on the All-Shawnee County Top 10, including four-time honoree Maddie Gragg of Seaman, junior repeat selections KK Emmot of Shawnee Heights and Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton of Topeka High and sophomore repeat pick Hailey Schmidtlein of Hayden.

Schmidtlein helped lead Hayden to the 4A state championship while Emmot helped Shawnee Heights post a fourth-place state finish in 5A and Rayton helped Topeka High advance to the state quarterfinals in 6A.

Also earning All-Shawnee County Top 10 spots are Rossville senior Rylee Dick, Shawnee Heights junior Pearmella Carter, Topeka High sophomore Hailey Caryl, Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter and Washburn Rural freshman Brynn Anderson. 

Anderson was also named the Shawnee County newcomer of the year, while state-champion coaches Kyle Porter of Silver Lake and Carvel Reynoldson of Hayden were named the co-county coaches of the year.

All-Shawnee County capsules:

Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural

BRYNN ANDERSON, Washburn Rural -- Anderson was named an All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick and the Shawnee County newcomer of the year for 2025-2026 after averaging 14.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals and canning 41 3-pointers for the Junior Blues. Anderson was also a first-team all-county selection in volleyball. 

Pearmella Carter, Shawnee Heights

PEARMELLA CARTER, Shawnee Heights -- After starring for two seasons at Highland Park, the 5-foot-9 junior had a big season in her first year at Shawnee Heights, helping the 22-6 T-Birds win their first United Kansas Conference championship and post a fourth-place finish in Class 5A in Heights' first trip to state since 2011. Carter, a second-team all-county pick as a sophomore, averaged 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds for Heights while shooting 56 percent from the field on two-point attempts. 

 Hailey Caryl, Topeka High

HAILEY CARYL, Topeka High -- A 5-foot-10 sophomore, Caryl moves up to the All-Shawnee County Top 10 this season after being a Second 10 pick as a freshman. Caryl averaged 14.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists this past season while shooting 57 percent from the field from two-point range, helping lead the Trojans to a 17-9 record, the Centennial League championship and a quarterfinal berth in the Class 6A state tournament. 

Karys Deiter, Silver Lake

KARYS DEITER, Silver Lake -- Deiter, a 5-foot-6 sophomore, helped Silver Lake post a 28-1 record and win the Class 3A state championship this past season. Deiter moves up to the All-Shawnee County first team this season after being a Second 10 pick as a freshman and also earned first-team All-Big East honors. Deiter was also an all-county pick in volleyball after helping Silver Lake win the 3A state title.   

Rylee Dick, Rossville

RYLEE DICK, Rossville -- Dick, a 5-foot-8 senior, helped lead the Bulldawgs to a Class 2A state tournament berth for the first time in 20 years this past season, averaging 20.6 points on the season. A unanimous All-Big East League selection, Dick finished her high school career with 1,578 points, which ranks No. 2 on Rossville's all-time list. Dick scored 31 points in Rossville's quarterfinal state loss to Ellinwood.  

KK Emmot, Shawnee Heights

KK EMMOT, Shawnee Heights -- Emmot, a 5-foot-8 junior, is a two-time All-Shawnee County Top 10 pick after earning second-team honors as a freshman. Emmot, who helped lead the T-Birds to a 22-6 record, the United Kansas Conference title and a fourth-place Class 5A finish, earned first-team All-United Kansas Conference honors for the second straight season after averaging 16.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 3.0 assists while connecting on 67 3-pointers and shooting 82 percent from the free throw line. 

Maddie Gragg, Seaman   

MADDIE GRAGG, Seaman -- A 5-10 senior, Gragg is an All-Shawnee County Top 10 selection for the fourth straight season. Gragg, also a four-time All-United Kansas Conference first-team pick, averaged 12.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.4 steals while hitting 32 3-pointers. Gragg helped the Vikings win the Class 5A state championship in 2024 and finish second in 2025.

 Kailyn Hanni, Silver Lake

KAILYN HANNI, Silver Lake -- Hanni, a 5-7 senior, was named the Shawnee County player of the year after leading Silver Lake to a 28-1 record and the Class 3A state championship this past season. Hanni also played a major role in the Eagles' 26-0 state championship run in 2024 and a runnerup state finish in 2025. Hanni is a three-time All-Shawnee County Top 10 selection as well as an All-Big East first-team pick.

 Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton, Topeka High

AHSIEYRHUAJH RAYTON, Topeka High --Rayton, a 5-7 junior All-Shawnee County repeat pick, averaged a city-high 23.6 points on the season for the 17-9 Trojans while also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 steals and shooting 52 percent from two-point range and 37 percent on 3-point attempts. Rayton helped the Trojans win the Centennial League championship and advance to the Class 6A state tournament.

Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden 

HAILEY SCHMIDTLEIN, Hayden --Schmidtlein, a 6-0 sophomore, earned first-team All-Shawnee County recognition for the second straight season after helping lead the Wildcats to a 22-6 record and Hayden's first Class 4A state championship since 2004. Schmidtlein averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.7 steals, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocked shots. 

2025 TSN ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY GIRLS BASKETBALL

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Kaitlyn Aldridge, Shawnee Heights

KAITLYN ALDRIDGE, Shawnee Heights

A junior, Aldridge earned All-City first-team honors for the second straight season in 2025, winning the city title in the 500-yard freestyle, placing second in the 100 butterfly and helping Shawnee Heights win the 200 free relay and finish third in the 400 free relay. Aldridge placed fourth in the United Kansas Conference in the 100 fly and fifth in the 500 free and swam on the T-Birds' fourth-place 400 free relay. Aldridge competed in the Class 5A-1A state meet.

Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural

AUDREY APPUHN, Washburn Rural

Appuhn, a senior three-time All-City honoree, placed in multiple events in the Class 6A state meet for the third straight season last spring, taking third in the 100-yard breaststroke and sixth in the 200 freestyle to lead Rural to an 11th-place team finish. Appuhn won four golds in the city meet (200 free, 100 breast, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay) as Rural won its 22nd straight team title and four golds in the Centennial League meet (200 free, 100 breast, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay). Appuhn was a second-team All-State honoree in 6A in 2025.

Hara Del Castillo, Topeka High

HARA DEL CASTILLO, Topeka High

A senior, Del Castillo earned All-City honors for the third straight season in 2025 as the Trojan junior finished second in the city meet in the 100-yard backstroke and third in the 100 freestyle. Del Castillo won Centennial League titles in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke and swam on the Trojans' fourth-place 200 medley relay. Del Castillo competed in the 6A state meet last season.

KAILYN GERDEL, Hayden

Gerdel, a junior was an All-City second-team pick last season after placing third in the city meet in the 200-yard freestyle and swimming on the Wildcats' runnerup 200 medley and 200 free relays. Gerdel finished third in the Centennial League in the 200 freestyle and swam on Hayden's second-place 200 medley and 200 free relays.

Sophie Heinen, Washburn Rural

SOPHIE HEINEN, Washburn Rural

Heinen, a senior, finished second in the 500-yard freestyle in the city meet and also swam on the Junior Blues' winning 200 medley and 400 free relays. Heinen finished second in the Centennial League in the 500 freestyle and swam on Rural's winning 200 medley and 400 free relays. Heinen swam on the Junior Blues' 11th-place 200 medley and 400 free relays at state.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

AUSTIN BEAN, Hayden

A senior, Bean helped Hayden post a runnerup team finish in the Class 4A state tournament last season, earning second-team All-Shawnee County recognition. Bean finished 10th in the 2025 city championships with a 27-hole score of 127 and shot a 78 in the Centennial League tournament. He tied for 12th in 4A regional competition with an 81 as the Wildcats finished second as a team. 

CALEB CLEVERDON, Topeka High/Cair Paravel Latin

Cleverdon, a senior, competed for Topeka High during the regular season before competing for High's co-op partner, Cair Paravel, in postseason. Cleverdon tied for sixth in the Class 2A state tournament with a 36-hole total of 155 (76-79), leading the Lions to a fourth-place team finish. A second-team All-Shawnee County pick, Cleverdon finished 10th in a 2A regional (83) for team champion CPLS. 

Jack Donovan

JACK DONOVAN, Rossville

A senior, Donovan was a first-team All-Shawnee County pick for the second straight season last spring after earning a state medal for the second straight year with a tie for sixth in the Class 2A state event with a 36 hole score of 155 (76-79). Donovan was a 2A regional medalist, shooting a Rossville school-record 68 to win the individual championship by 12 strokes.

Peyton Goehring

PEYTON GOEHRING, Washburn Rural

Goehring is a top senior returner for Washburn Rural, which captured its 15th straight city team championship last season and advanced to the Class 6A state tournament as a team with a third-place team finish. Goehring carded a 27-hole score of 129 in the city tournament, missing the top 10 by two strokes and shot a 78 in the Centennial League tournament and finished 23rd at regionals.

Higgins Hawks

HIGGINS HAWKS, Washburn Rural

Hawks, a senior, earned his first All-Shawnee County first-team honor for the Junior Blues last season. Hawks tied for fifth in the city tournament with a 27-hole score of 124 as Rural won its 15th straight city championship. Hawks shot an 80 at regionals to tie for 10th as the Junior Blues earned a Class 6A team berth with a third-place finish and tied for 36th at state with a 36-hole score of 156 (75-81).

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural three-time Class 6A state champion and four-time finalist Landen Kocher-Munoz headlines the TopSports.news 2026 All-Shawnee County boys wrestling team.

TopSports.news' All-Shawnee County team is based on overall records, postseason results and city coaches' All-City selections.

Landen Kocher-Munoz, Washburn Rural [Photo by Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports]

Kocher-Munoz was named the Shawnee County wrestler of the year after winning the 144-pound championship to wrap up a 39-4 season as Washburn Rural a third-place team finish.

Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural [File photo/TSN]

Kocher-Munoz is one of eight Washburn Rural wrestlers to earn spots on the All-Shawnee County team, including junior 215-pound state champ Jadyn Baum, who went 29-4 on the season. 

Also earning all-county first-team honors for Rural were 106-pound freshman Hayden Broxterman (36-16), 113-pound freshman Andrew Peterson (26-11), 120-pound senior Ryder Harrison (28-7), 138-pound senior Cooper Stivers (34-7), 150-pound junior Brodye Kocher-Munoz (31-8) and sophomore 285-pounder Kaiden Marshall (19-4).

Harrison, Stivers, Brodye Kocher-Munoz, Landen Kocher-Munoz, Baum and Marshall are all first-team repeat picks.

Andrew Peterson, Washburn Rural [File photo/TSN]

Ryder Harrison, Washburn Rural [File photo/TSN]

Peterson, named the Shawnee County newcomer of the year, Harrison and Stivers all advanced to 6A championship matches and posted second-place finishes while Brodye Kocher-Munoz finished third and Broxterman and Marshall fifth in 6A.

Jude Krentz, Hayden [File photo/TSN]

 Paxton Willett, Silver Lake [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]

Hayden senior Jude Krentz (40-4) was the 4A runnerup at 190 pounds and is an all-county first-team repeat pick while Silver Lake senior Paxton Willett (41-11) was the 3A-1A state runnerup at 190 pounds.

 Krentz is joined on the all-county first-team by Wildcat junior 175-pounder Caleb Menke (41-5) while Silver Lake senior 120-pounder Bryce Cormier (33-10) joins Willett on the first team.

Cormier posted a third-place state finish in 3A-1A while Menke finished fourth in 4A.

Seaman put junior 150-pounder Deegan Frazier (38-12), senior 165-pounder Landen Miller (35-14) and junior 285-pounder Henry Reichart (41-14) on the All-Shawnee County first team, with Frazier and Reichart both posting third-place finishes in the 5A state tournament. 

Hayden coach Jacob Torrez was named the Shawnee County coach of the year after also being picked by his city coaching counterparts as the City Coach of the Year.

ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY BOYS WRESTLING

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Class 5A senior state champion Cianna Graves headines the TopSports.news 2026 All-Shawnee County girls wrestling team while third-place teams Heights and Washburn Rural combined for 12 spots on the first team.

Cianna Graves, Shawnee Heights [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

TopSports.news' All-Shawnee County team is based on overall records, postseason results and city coaches' All-City selections.

Graves, the Shawnee County wrestler of the year, is a four-time state medalist and capped her career with the state championship at 155 pounds, finishing off a 35-2 season.

Brinnley Morris, Shawnee Heights [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Olive Jones, Shawnee Heights [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Graves was one of three T-Bird state champions, with freshman Brinnley Morris (21-3) winning the 120-pound title title and sophomore Olive Jones (39-1) taking the 135-pound crown as Shawnee Heights earned the third-place team trophy for the second straight season.

Morris was tapped as the Shawnee County newcomer of the year.

Lacey Middleton, Washburn Rural [File photo/TSN]    

Emme Blanco, Washburn Rural [File photo/TSN] 

Elia Smith, Washburn Rural [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural put a county-high seven wrestlers on the TSN All-Shawnee County first team, led by the senior Class 6A state runnerup trio of 125-pounder Lacey Middleton (39-7), 145-pounder Emme Blanco (40-4) and 170-pounder Elia Smith (35-4), who led the Junior Blues to a third-place team finish for the second straight season in 6A after Rural won back-to-back state titles in 2023 and 2024.

In addition to the three second-place finishers, Rural also put freshman 105-pounder Aliyah Tangpricha, senior 140-pounder Madi Blanco, junior 190-pounder Lily Davis and sophomore 235-pounder Emma Mehl on the first team. 

Tangpricha (30-6) and Madi Blanco (40-5) both placed third in 6A while Davis (37-12) finished sixth and Mehl (25-16) was a state qualifier.

Madi Blanco and Smith are both three-time first-team all-county honorees while Middleton and Emme Blanco are repeat picks.

Shawnee Heights also put senior 145-pounder Olivia Stevens and sophomore 110-pounder Bianca Juarez on the all-county first team.

A multi-time state medalist, Stevens (33-6) finished third at 145 pounds and Juarez (26-14) was a state qualifier. 

Shawnee Heights' Chad Parks was named the county coach of the year after the T-Birds won the United Kansas Conference championship and finished second at regionals before their third-place finish at state.

Makayla Cadet, Highland Park [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/TSN]

Highland Park senior 190-pounder Makayla Cadet (23-3) is a first-team repeat all-county honoree, posting a runnerup 5A state finish this past season after winning the state championship as a junior.

Nora Mitchell, Rossville [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]

Rounding out the all-county first team are Rossville sophomore 105-pounder Nora Mitchell and junior 145-pounder Madelyn Wonnell.

Mitchell (37-12) was the 3A-1A runnerup and and Wonnell (38-6), a two-time state medalist, finished third this past season after finishing fifth as a sophomore.

ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY GIRLS WRESTLING

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Four city players earned spots on the All-United Kansas Conference girls basketball first team, led by senior three-time first-team pick Maddie Gragg of Seaman and Shawnee Heights junior repeat honoree KK Emmot.

Maddie Gragg, Seaman

KK Emmot, Shawnee Heights 

Pearmella Carter, Shawnee Heights

Sydney VanDyke, Topeka West

Also earning All-UKC first-team recognition were Shawnee Heights junior Pearmella Carter and Topeka West junior Sydney VanDyke. Carter was a first-team pick in her first season at Heights after previously being named the Meadowlark Conference player of the year at Highland Park while VanDyke received All-UKC honorable mention as a sophomore.

Bob Wells, Shawnee Heights

Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells was named the UKC coach of the year after leading the T-Birds to the conference championship and a fourth-place finish in Class 5A in his final season before retiring.

Shawnee Heights senior Imani McGlory was a second-team All-UKC pick.

Seaman junior Cara Beaton and Brynn Spencer received all-conference honorable mention along with Shawnee Heights junior Sami Baum and senior Reianna Vega and Topeka West junior Patience Allen.

ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE GIRLS BASKETBALL

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

City players earned four of the seven spots on the All-United Kansas Conference boys basketball first team, led by Seaman UKC player of the year KaeVon Bonner.

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner was named the UKC player of the year while earning all-conference first-team honors for the third straight season. [File photo/TSN]

Bonner, a senior, led the Vikings to a third-place finish in the Class 5A state tournament, earning All-UKC first-team honors for the third straight season.

Malakyah Duncan, Topeka West 

Keimani Paul, Topeka West

Cam Ross, Shawnee Heights

Bonner is joined on the first team by Topeka West seniors Malakyah Duncan and Keimani Paul and Shawnee Heights junior Cam Ross.

Duncan moved up to the first team after earning second-team recognition in 2025 while Paul received honorable mention a year ago.

Duncan and Paul helped lead Topeka West to a fourth-place finish in 5A while Ross helped Heights advance to the 5A state tournament for the third straight season.

Christian Ulsaker, Topeka West

Second-year Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker was picked as the UKC coach of the year after his Chargers won the conference championship on a tiebreaker over Seaman. 

Seaman senior Landon Wiltz, West junior Prince Lassiter and Heights freshman Quincy Dixon earned second-team honors while Viking senior Griffin Zuniga, T-Bird seniors Ja'Veon Alston, JaiMarion Cook and Aiden Scott and West senior Jay'Veon Traylor all earned honorable mention. 

ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE BOYS BASKETBALL

By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

WICHITA -- In what marked the final game of his tenure as Seaman boys basketball coach, Craig Cox saw his team deliver a strong performance Friday, defeating city rival Topeka West 66-50 in the Class 5A third-place game at Koch Arena.

The matchup marked the third meeting of the season between the city and United Kansas Conference foes, but this time Seaman controlled the game early and never fully relinquished its advantage.

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner (33) had 9 points and 10 assists in the Vikings' 66-50 win over Topeka West in Friday's Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Seaman jumped out to a quick start behind senior KaeVon Bonner, who scored four of the Vikings’ first six points to give his team a 6-0 lead.

Topeka West eventually got on the board when junior Prince Lassiter converted a basket, but Seaman quickly responded with a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 13-4.

Chargers guard Keimani Paul knocked down a 3-pointer late in the quarter, but the Vikings answered with four more points to take a 17-8 lead into the second period.

Topeka West found momentum early in the second quarter, opening the period on a 10-1 run to pull within two points. However, Viking senior Landon Wiltz halted the Chargers’ surge with a timely 3-pointer.

Seaman regained control from there, closing the half with a flurry of outside shooting.

The Vikings connected on three 3-pointers down the stretch, including one at the buzzer, to push their lead to 11 heading into halftime.

Seaman senior Landon Wiltz (5), defending Topeka West's Keimani Paul, led all scorers with 23 points in Friday's 66-50 win in the Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Wiltz led all scorers with 11 first-half points and was 3 for 4 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Both teams struggled to find offensive rhythm to start the third quarter, but Topeka West closed the period strong with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to seven.

Cox emphasized patience and ball movement during the break between quarters.

“We had moved the ball again and were just kind of settling for some shots and missing them,” Cox said. “It’s like, make the extra pass and it’ll be fine. I thought we moved the ball a lot better, got it to the middle and played a little bit from the inside out.

"With these guys having confidence, it makes it easy to not panic when a good team like Topeka West makes a run.”

“(Cox0 just told us to finish the game out,” Bonner said. "We just kept letting them back in. It’s the last game of the season, just have fun.”

Seaman responded with its strongest stretch of the game to open the fourth quarter.

After the Chargers scored five quick points to pull within four, the Vikings erupted on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 52-39.

Paul briefly halted the surge with a 3-pointer for Topeka West, but Seaman answered with three consecutive 3-pointers of its own to effectively put the game out of reach.

The Vikings were particularly efficient from long range, shooting 13 of 26 from 3-point range, while Topeka West struggled from deep, converting just 3 of 19 attempts.

Wiltz finished with a game-high 23 points, while Bonner impacted the game in other ways. Though held to nine points, the standout guard recorded 10 assists.

“I know scoring is one of my main things, but if my shot’s not falling, I’ll go out and get my teammates involved,” Bonner said. “Landon was hitting his shots, so I just drove and found him. He did his job of shooting for me.”

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

WICHITA -- Jack Becker’s desperate heave at the buzzer had the right distance. It appeared on line. Had it fallen, it would have given the Seaman Vikings a remarkable upset and a comeback for the ages. But the shot ricocheted high off the rim and fell harmlessly to the floor as the crowd gasped.

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner led the Vikings with 27 points in Thursday's 54-52 loss to two-time defending Class 5A champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

The Vikings gave top-seeded Kapaun Mt. Carmel all it could handle in the Class 5A state semifinals Thursday in Koch Arena, losing 54-52 after trailing by as many as 18 late in the third period. Seaman outscored the defending champion Crusaders 24-12 in a wild fourth-quarter comeback that nearly ended in Cinderella fashion.

Seaman could muster no offense in the first 16 minutes. The Vikings attempted just 15 shot attempts in the first half, but committed 10 turnovers to just one assist, putting Seaman at a 25-15 deficit at the intermission. A 6-2 Viking run to close the third period did little to portend what was to come. The fourth quarter began with Seaman trailing 42-28.

The Vikings’ high-scoring senior KaeVon Bonner provided most of the Vikings’ output for three quarters, but he had to work for every point. He found his groove late in the third period and sparked a 16-4 run that brought the Viking crowd back to life. Gradually the Vikings whittled the lead, helped by poor foul shooting down the stretch by the Crusaders.

When the Crusaders missed two free throws with 21 seconds remaining, Seaman had a chance to tie or win on the final possession. Bonner probed the lane, first left, then right, trying to get off a shot. He forced up a jumper that was stuffed on the right block. He shuffled the ball to Becker for the desperation heave. Seaman coach Craig Cox was not happy with the no-call on Bonner’s drive.

Seaman coach Craig Cox reacts to a call during Thursday's 54-52 loss to two-time defending Class 5A champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

“I get it, officials don’t want to decide games. But when it’s clearly a foul, it’s a very easy call,” Cox said. “You’ve got to blow that whistle. You cannot reward (the defense) in that situation.”

Cox recognized that Kapaun Mt. Carmel wasn’t going to gift Seaman an opportunity to get back in the game. The Vikings would have to force the opening.

“We kept talking about, ‘We need to take it to them,’ ” Cox said. “They make it very difficult with their outstanding defense. That’s why we struggled so much in the first half. And I thought we just got more aggressive and did a better job of rebounding, since the first half was not good at all.”

The Vikings outscored Kapaun Mt. Carmel 30-14 over the final 10 minutes. Bonner scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth -eriod rally. He was followed in the box score by Griffin Zuniga with 13.

“We just showed our character and showed what our kids were made of with that comeback,” Cox said. “There was probably a little bit of embarrassment in the first half with the way that we played and how much we struggled. I was proud of them for showing that they weren’t going to give up and lay down and get steamrolled, which could have happened.

“For our guys, everybody in the arena is saying the same thing about our team, how impressed they were in the second half with the comeback.”

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

WICHITA -- The Seaman boys turned in momentum-changing plays in every period of their 57-46 Class 5A quarterfinal victory over Maize South Tuesday in Wichita.

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner dunks the ball for two of his 24 points in the Vikings' 57-46 Class 5A state tournament win over Maize South Tuesday night in Wichita. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

The fourth-seeded Vikings’ come-from-behind win gives them a shot at top-seeded Kapaun Mt. Carmel on Thursday. The Crusaders are the defending champs in 5A and extended their undefeated 2025-2026 streak to 26 games by knocking off Shawnee Heights Tuesday.

Seaman had to withstand a shaky first half and a hot start by Maize South. The two teams traded punches the entire first half. The Vikings got a shot of adrenaline from a driving two-hand dunk by KaeVon Bonner to close the first quarter. Still, the Mavericks led essentially the entire first half, building a six-point lead with 1:25 before halftime.

The Vikings closed the first half with back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to 22-20. A Bonner 3-pointer with just three seconds left would have sent the Vikings to halftime in the lead, but an official ruled Bonner stepped on the sideline on the catch-and-shoot attempt.

Despite being denied the big shot before the half, the Vikings felt the momentum shifting. Senior Landon Wiltz seized the opportunity. He buried a 3-pointer to open the second half to give the Vikings a 23-22 lead. Two minutes later, he knocked down another to put Seaman up 28-25. The Vikings never trailed again.

“My final comment before we took the floor was we’d been a really good second-half team this year,” said Seaman coach Craig Cox. “We were 0-6 (on 3-pointers) in the first half. The only one we actually made, we stepped out of bounds. So, we were a little bit frustrated. So, for (Wiltz) to step up and make them was very huge momentum-wise.”

“We play defense to offense,” said Bonner. “So, when we get stops and just run down the court, I feel like we’re a good running team, so that starts our momentum. When Landon started (the second half) with those threes, yeah it was a big momentum change for us for sure.”

The Vikings outscored the Mavericks 18-8 in the third period and closed the quarter leading 38-30 on a rim-rocking fast break dunk by Bonner. Cox said the dunks and 3-pointers were not the only highlights.

“You know, those are big momentum plays, but also like Matthew McConnaughey stepping up and taking a charge. That’s a huge momentum play,” Cox said. “We made a lot of big, big plays that allowed us to build that lead.”

Once the Vikings were in the lead, they didn’t surrender to a late run by the Mavericks. The Vikings knocked down 11-12 free throws in the final period, including 8-8 from Bonner, to close out the game.

Facing a variety of defensive looks, Bonner was just 3-6 from the field in the first half for eight points. He focused on breaking down the Maverick defense and distributing the ball. In the second half, he found his scoring touch. The senior finished with 24 points. Wiltz scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime. Griffin Zuniga added 10.

Seaman basketball poses for a picture with its student section after Tuesday's 57-46 Class 5A state tournament win over Maize South. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Seaman's basketball team celebrates with its student session after Tuesday's Class 5A state tournament win over Maize South. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Ken Darting’s retirement plans are on hold, at least for a few more days.

Ken Darting, who has coached three high schools to state tournament berths, including five state champions, will close out its Hall of Fame career in this week's Class 5A state tournament. [File photo/TSN]

After back-to-back trips to the Class 5A state tournament in 2024 and 2025 and the graduation of significant players, you might not have expected Darting's Shawnee Heights T-Birds to be back in the dance this year.

“I know one that wouldn’t have expected that,” Darting said with a laugh after his T-Birds defeated Leavenworth Friday in the sub-state final game. The T-Birds survived graduations, injuries, suspensions and midseason player defections to punch their ticket for another state tournament.

Going to state has become a family tradition for the Dartings. This will be the 15th tournament for a Darting-coached team, spread across stints at Silver Lake, Highland Park and Shawnee Heights. Darting’s high school resume is interrupted by a decade spent coaching at Kansas State and Allen County Community College. But still, trips to state have been an important part of their lives. The Dartings cherish the memories from nine appearances in state title games, five which ended in championships.

This year’s state tournament will hold special significance as it will be Darting’s last. The tournament has been a place for him to reconnect with friends made during his lengthy career.

“Last year at the state tournament, we had just lost, and there’s 17 coaches from all over the state that came to our locker room,” Darting recalled. “I sat there and visited for an hour with them, those 17 different guys that came to talk. And that’s fun. I look forward to getting to do that again this year. You know, usually I want to go hide, to go out that hole and sneak out. But to see those former players and old coaches is a fun deal.”

Had his current T-Birds not qualified for the tournament, Darting said the sendoff given by the Shawnee Heights community was sufficient. But another trip to state will provide a chance to celebrate his retirement with other friends.

“Already this year, I’ve got calls from all over, from coaches that I knew 30 years ago,” Darting said. “And I’m proud of how many opposing coaches have sent me notes or come to see me for my last game. That means you did something.”

Still, Darting isn’t looking at the tournament as a farewell tour, but a business trip.

“You say, ‘Oh, it’s just another game.' But things like that, when you stop and think about it, when you get to this point, you’d like to go out as good as you can go out,” Darting said. “I’m not one that is holding myself hostage to a state championship. But whatever it is that we’re good enough to do, I want to do that.”

The tournament takes on a slightly different look this year. Rather than playing the quarterfinal round at the location of the semifinal and final games, KSHSAA has grouped teams in regional locations based on proximity for the higher-seeded teams, regardless of classification.

Shawnee Heights (17-8) will face top-seeded and two-time defending Class 5A state champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel at Koch Arena in Wichita at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The T-Birds face a tough task in the opening round, but Darting will remain dedicated to this year’s team until the final whistle. His feeling for this current group shows in his eyes.

“I think when they’re that age, yeah, celebrate, go on,” Darting said as he watched the current group celebrate their sub-state championship Friday. “They don’t even know it yet, but they’re gonna see in life, 10, 20 years from now, they’re gonna say, ‘Oh wow, was that fun?’ And when it’s a team that shouldn’t get it done and it gets done, that makes it even more special.”

Darting is invested not just in this current roster of T-Birds but what happens after he’s gone. He spoke passionately about freshmen Quincy Dixon, Fletcher Terrell and Sam Becker, each of whom played a significant role in reaching the tournament.

“I care so much about whoever takes over this job, because these kids deserve it,” Darting said. “There are a lot of good kids on the way up. I wanted to make sure that I left this program better for the next guy than I found it.”

TUESDAY'S OTHER STATE QUARTERFINALS

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Granted, my jury is still out on the state's new quarterfinal format, but this remains my favorite week of the high school sports season, and for what it's worth -- and it's not much -- here's my take on all 14 of this week's state basketball tournaments across the state.

If I didn't pick your team don't fret because it could bode well for you.

If I did pick the team/teams you root for, I hope it's not a jinx.

By Saturday evening we'll know, and win or lose it promises to be a fun week.

CLASS 6A BOYS

Finalists -- Shawnee Mission South (1: 24-1) vs. Mill Valley (2: 22-3).

Champion -- Shawnee Mission South. The Raiders' lone loss on the season was a 69-66 decision to Mill Valley and those two teams could meet again in Saturday's championship game. I give SM South a slight edge in a rematch.

Other contenders -- No. 3 seed Olathe North is 21-4 and is capable of beating any team in the field.

CLASS 6A GIRLS

Finalists -- Wichita Heights (1: 24-0) vs. Shawnee Mission South (2: 21-3).

Champion -- Shawnee Mission South. Wichita Heights has passed each and every test it has faced this season, but I give South a very narrow edge in a championship game matchup.

Kansas coaching legend Ron Slaymaker's Topeka High girls are on a roll entering their Class 6A quarterfinal matchup with Derby. [File photo/TSN]   

Other contenders --The winner of the quarterfinal game between No. 2 seed Derby (22-3) and No. 7 Topeka High (17-8) could mount a title charge. No. 5 seed Olathe South (20-5) has five losses to out-of-state teams and perennial 6A contender Blue Valley North (20-5), the No. 6 seed, also has a shot at the crown.

Senior Malakyah Duncan cuts down the nets after Topeka West's win over Bishop Carroll in a Class 5A sub-state final. [File photo/TSN]

CLASS 5A BOYS

Finalists -- Kapaun Mt. Carmel (1: 25-0) vs. Topeka West (3: 22-3).

Champion -- Kapaun Mt. Carmel. The Crusaders are the two-time defending champion and the team to beat again after running off 25 straight wins this winter, but Topeka West, which lost to KMC in the quarterfinals a year ago, has the firepower to challenge for the title.

Other contenders --The winner of the quarterfinal game between No. 4 seed Maize South (21-4) and No. 5 Seaman (21-4) could definitely make a run at the title as could perennial state contender Piper (18-7), which has split games with Topeka West this season.

CLASS 5A GIRLS

Finalists -- Andover (1: 23-1) vs. Hays (2: 23-1).

Champion -- Hays. The Indians' lone loss came against Class 3A power Silver Lake, the only blemish on a dominating season, while Andover will be looking for its first title under former Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander.

Other contenders -- No. 3 seed Shawnee Heights (21-4) is making its first state appearance since 2011 and has the talent to go all the way as could the winner of the quarterfinal game between No 4 seed Maize South (21-4) and No. 5 St. James Academy (20-5).  

CLASS 4A BOYS

Finalists -- Rock Creek (1: 25-0) vs. McPherson (7: 16-9).

Champion -- Rock Creek. The Mustangs have turned in a dominant season and there's no reason to believe they can't close out a perfect season. 

Other contenders -- No. 2 seed Atchison is also unbeaten in 25 games on the season while No. 5 seed Andale (18-5) is a longshot contender for the crown.

Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein and the Hayden girls are the No. 4 seed for the Class 4A state tournament with a 19-6 record. [File photo/TSN]

CLASS 4A GIRLS

Finalists -- Wellington (1: 22-1) vs. Rock Creek (2: 22-3).

Champion -- Rock Creek. The Mustangs have put together a string of impressive victories this season, including a win over Class 3A contender Silver Lake.

Other contenders --You can never count out perennial state champion Bishop Miege, the No. 6 seed this season at 17-8. The quarterfinal winner between No. 4 seed Hayden (19-6) and No. 5 seed Andale (17-6) could also make a run at the championship.

CLASS 3A BOYS

Finalists -- Wichita Collegiate (1: 24-1) vs. Hesston (2: 24-2).

Champion -- Wichita Collegiate. Collegiate's lone defeat on the season came against two-time defending Class 5A state champ Kapaun Mt. Carmel, which is a perfect 25-0 on the season.

Other contenders -- The quarterfinal winner between No. 4 seed Holcomb (21-5) and No. 5 Silver Lake (20-6) is capable of winning the championship while No. 3 seed Pratt is an impressive 21-3.

Senior Kailyn Hanni and the Silver Lake girls enter the Class 3A state tournament with a 25-1 record after winning the state crown in 2024 and advancing to the championship game last season. [File photo/TSN]

CLASS 3A GIRLS

Finalists -- Halstead (1: 25-0) vs. Silver Lake (2: 25-1).

Champion -- Silver Lake. The Eagles won the championship in 2024 and were the runnerup a year ago. Halstead is a perfect 25-0 on the season, but it's hard to pick against Silver Lake.

Other contenders -- Holcomb, the No. 3 seed at 24-2, is likely to give Silver Lake a tough semifinal test if both teams get past their quarterfinal openers.

CLASS 2A BOYS

Finalists -- Sterling (1: 25-0) vs. Berean Academy (2: 22-2).

Champion -- Sterling. The Black Bears appear to be a good bet to close out a perfect season.

Other contenders -- No. 7 seed Rossville (17-7) has the talent and experience to knock off Berean in the quarterfinals and make a run at the crown. Other contenders include No. 5 seed St. Marys (19-7) and No. 6 St. Marys Colgan (18-7), a traditional state title contender.

CLASS 2A GIRLS

Finalists -- Eureka (4: 22-2) vs. Moundridge (2: 23-2).

Champion -- Moundridge. I give Moundridge a slight edge in a balanced field loaded with contenders.

Other contenders -- No. 8 seed Rossville (15-10) is capable of knocking off top seed and 25-1 Ellinwood in the quarterfinals while No. 3 seed St. Marys Colgan (23-2) and No. 6 Sacred Heart (22-4) are defintely title threats.

By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

The Seaman Vikings are off to the Class 5A state tournament for the first time since they won it all back in 2021-2022, taking down Hays, 52-46.

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner hoists the Class 5A sub-state trophy while celebrating with fans Friday night. [Photo by Vince Lovergine/TSN]

Seaman poses for a team picture after Friday's 52-46 win over Hays. [Photo by Vince Lovergine/TSN]

 The last time these two programs met was that same 2022 season in the sub-state championship and the Vikings would go on to beat De Soto in the state title game.

 Seaman snapped the Indians’ five game win streak and pushed their own win streak to five after Friday's victoryand ended the season with a 12-2 home record.

 “It’s been a group of seniors that I respect the fact of how much they care about each other,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "Every day in practice, they have a good time but they get their work done, they’ll challenge each other but it’s always in a fun way and it’s made it so enjoyable the entire season throughout every practice and these games.

 "To be where we’re at right now is just outstanding.”

 “Our seniors, we’ve played since seventh grade. We’ve had six years of chemistry now so I knew we were going to shock a lot of teams and nobody was going to be ready for our senior chemistry,” said senior KaeVon Bonner, who had a team-high 15 points.

The first quarter was slow moving for both teams. Hays jumped out to a 5-1 lead but Bonner converted an and-one opportunity with 4:30 left in the quarter. Senior Matthew McConnaughy scored four straight points to put Seaman back in front, 8-5.

Each team would trade the lead or tie quite often in the first half. Hays took a 13-10 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Vikings opened on a mini 4-0 run to regain the lead again (14-13), but then Hays went back up three (17-14).

Cox brought in junior Conner Scholes off the bench to hopefully provide a spark and he did just that, knocking down two 3-pointers to put Seaman back up three (20-17).

“He (Conner) hasn’t had a tremendous amount of opportunities, but he still has confidence. He’s not scared of the moment, he’s going to take the shot if it's there and he’s always going to give us 100 percent effort. I’m happy he knocked down a couple of shots and got us going,” Cox said.

“My teammates were telling me to shoot the ball and I hit that first one and they’re just encouraging me to keep shooting,'' Scholes said. "My teammates were doing great passing the ball around and then sharing the rock helped me knock down those threes and bring us back.

“In practice my team counts on me to put in that work because they know I’m off the bench. I should be out there and performing and coming out here on this big stage, it was definitely a nerve racking game for sure. But when I come off the bench, I have to go out there and perform my best and show out.''

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

The semifinal round of the Class 5A sub-state playoffs began Tuesday night as the Seaman Vikings hosted the Valley Center Hornets.

Senior Griffin Zuniga tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 points in Seaman's 73-51 sub-state win over Valley Center. [File photo/TSN]

 Senior KaeVon Bonner tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 points in Seaman's 73-51 sub-state win over Valley Center. [File photo/TSN]

Tuesday's game was a rematch from the semifinals of sub-state last season when the Hornets upset the Vikings 68-61 in overtime. Tuesday's first half may have been a reminder of last year’s contest, but Seaman dominated the second half and won the game, 73-51.

The game began with a personal 5-0 run by Seaman senior Matthew McConnaughey over the first two minutes before Valley Center finally scored with a 3-pointer by junior Evan Chavez. Seaman had a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 12-3.

The teams played even for the remainder of the quarter and senior KaeVon Bonner hit a buzzer beating layup to give the Vikings a 23-15 at the end of one quarter.

As the second quarter began, the Hornets responded with a 9-2 run of their own with three 3-pointers, cutting the Vikings' lead to 25-24. Seaman seniors Bonner and Griffin Zuniga scored baskets to extend the Viking lead to 29-24, but Valley Center battled back to trail by only two at the half, 35-33.

The Hornets stayed close in the first half by hitting 7-14 from the 3-point line.

“When a guy hits a three, you have to adjust. When he hits two threes, you have to make a big adjustment and we weren’t doing that,'' Cox said. "We were sitting back, daring them to shoot and they kept making them.”

Another aspect of the close game at the half was the outcome of last year’s game creeping into the minds of the Vikings.

“We came in with a chip on our shoulder and had to come out with a good mindset and energy,” Zuniga said.

Bonner also referenced last year’s outcome.

“We lost to them in the same exact spot and I had been zero for three in sub-state, but it was nice to get this first win,” Bonner said.

“We came into that game last year with a false sense of security after beating them in the mid-season tournament,'' Cox said. "They played a really good game and beat us, so I reminded our guys about their team this year, how pesky they were and how close they’ve played against tough 6A schools like Wichita Heights and Maize.”

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural earned nine of 11 spots on the 2026 All-City boys swimming and diving team, led by Class 6A state champion Daniel Allen, after the Junior Blues capturned their seventh straight city team championship.

The 2026 All-City boys swimming first team -- Front, from left: Alexander Jeffries, Washburn Rural; Davin Potts, Washburn Rural; Braeden Montgomery, Washburn Rural; Benjamin Allen, Washburn Rural; Andres Morao-Jaspe, Washburn Rural. Back, from left: Kinser Barbosa, Seaman; Daniel Allen, Washburn Rural; Thomas Appuhn, Washburn Rural; Zain Chaudhry, Washburn Rural; Castle Wallace, Washburn Rural; Will Stewart, Topeka High. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The 2026 All-City boys swimming and diving second team -- Front row, from left: Quenten Jessop, Washburn Rural; Henry Sterling, Cair Paravel/Hayden; William Toland, Topeka High; Wyatt Ratteree, Topeka High; Jackson Wills, Topeka High; Owen Gann, Shawnee Heights. Back row, from left: Patrick Luke, Hayden; Joseph Jensen, Washburn Rural; Miller Reid, Hayden; Camp LeDuc, Seaman; Theron Carlson, Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Allen capped his junior season with the state title in the 100-yard butterfly while also placing third in the 100 backstroke and swimming on the Junior Blues' fourth-place 200 medley relay and seventh-place 200 free relay.

Sophomore Thomas Appuhn also earned four medals in the state meet, posting fourth-place finishes in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke and swimming on Rural's fourth-place 200 medley relay and seventh-place 200 free relay.

Junior Andres Morao-Jaspe and sophomore Castle Wallace also earned 6A state medals as Washburn Rural placed sixth as team and are joined on the All-City team by Benjamin Allen, Zain Chaudhry, Alexander Jeffries, Braeden Montgomery and Davin Potts. 

Appuhn, Morao-Jaspe and Wallace are all first-team All-City repeat honorees while D. Allen made the team as a freshman before sitting out his sophomore high school season.

Seaman's Kinser Barbosa and Topeka High's Will Stewart are also repeat first-team All-City selections.

All-City capsules:

By NATHAN SWAFFAR

Topsports.news

PARK CITY -- Saturday had the chance to be special for the Shawnee Heights girls wrestling program. 

With three chances at state titles, multiple prospects for medal finishes and a possible top-three team finish, the only question was if the T-Birds could capitalize on the opportunity. 

In the end, not only was the day nearly perfect, it was historical.

Shawnee Heights senior star Cianna Graves reacts while having her hand raised as the Class 5A 155-pound state champion Saturday in Park City. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN] 

Shawnee Heights senior Cianna Graves accepts the Class 5A third-place team trophy Saturday in Park City. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]

The T-Birds saw senior Cianna Graves, sophomore Olive Jones and freshman Brinnley Morris all capture individual titles en route to a third-place team finish for Shawnee Heights (141.5 points) for the second straight year as Basehor-Linwood (200.5) and Kapaun Mt. Carmel (157) finished first and second, respectively.  

“Three state champions is a record for us,” Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks said. “We’ve had two in the past, we’ve never had three at once, so that was really awesome. Even the girls that didn’t get on the podium, they wrestled really, really well.” 

The three champs in one day was a program-wide record as well, and Graves got the party started. 

A senior, Graves (35-2) finally captured the 155-pound state title that eluded her for three years when she pinned Basehor-Linwood’s Falasteen Shalabi in the second period.

After two state medals as an freshman and sophomore and a third-place finish last year, the triumph brought Graves to tears immediately after the whistle blew. 

“I feel like I put in a lot of hard work and the people who have helped me get there, just getting to see their faces, I hope they know they played a part in it,” Graves said. 

The four-time state medalist led 1-0 after an escape point. However, Graves saw her opportunity when Shalabi chose to be on bottom in the second period.  

“I’ve wrestled her before in neutral, I knew we were going to be moving around and there was going to be a lot of pushing back and forth,” Graves said. “When she chose bottom, that’s my place to be.” 

But the T-Birds’ fun was just getting started. 

Shawnee Heights freshman Brinnley Morris celebrates her 120-pound state title Saturday in Park City. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN] 

Freshman Brinnley Morris (21-3) captured Shawnee Heights’ second title of the day a little while later at 120 pounds.

She physically dominated Salina Central’s Natalia Garcia wire-to-wire, leading 15-4 in the second period before she ended things early with a pin. 

“[Physicality] that’s kind of what we did all year at practice, summer conditioning, just making sure we could keep up the strength and endurance to dominate the whole time,” Morris said.  

And finally, a little bit later with a chance to go three for three in title matches, sophomore Olive Jones (39-1) capped off the day for Shawnee Heights as she captured the 135-pound title with a second-period victory by fall over Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Grace Hare.

Shawnee Heights sophomore Olive Jones gains the upper hand en route to the 135-pound Class 5A state championship Saturday in Park City. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN] 

Jones qualified for state last year, but failed to find the podium. Parks said that lit a fire for her that burned for a year.  

“She said, ‘I’m never going to feel that again. I’m never going to let that happen again,’ ” Parks said. “And she has absolutely worked her tail off. She’s calm, collected all the time and she comes out and attacks.” 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' girls ended a decade long league championship drought Friday at Seaman, with the T-Birds clinching their first United Kansas Conference title with a 54-41 win over the Vikings in a packed house on Seaman's Senior Night.

KK Emmot led Shawnee Heights with a game-high 19 points Friday as the T-Birds wrapped up the UKC title with a 54-41 win at Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Heights improved to 19-4 overall and 15-1 in the UKC with its eighth straight victory, with the T-Birds wrapping up the No. 2 Class 5A East sub-state seed.

"I'm super proud for these girls to get the league and super proud for them to come in tonight and play the way they did because this is an incredible atmosphere and Seaman played their hearts out,'' said veteran Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells, who is retiring after the current season. "They did everything they could to get us down and try to get us where we weren't playing at our best.

"We had some girls that stepped up and did what they needed to do.''

Shawnee Heights led Seaman by only a 14-12 count at the end of the first quarter, but broke the game open with a 21-10 second quarter, opening up a 35-22 halftime advantage.

The T-Birds made that 13-point lead hold up the rest of the way, with Heights and Seaman both scoring 19 points in the second half.

Wells said that Friday's tough game and the atmosphere was good for the T-Birds, resembling what Heights is likely to face in postseason.

"That's what we needed and the girls even commented during the JV boys game that, 'Man, this game's going crazy right now,' '' Wells said. "It was a great atmosphere and I'm just proud that our girls came out and after a slow start, we kind of kicked it into gear a little bit and made some things happen.''

Pearmella Carter scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in Shawnee Heights' 54-41 win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN] 

Junior KK Emmot scored a game-high 19 points to lead three T-Birds in double figures, with junior Pearmella Carter adding 15 points and senior Reianna Vega 14.

Junior Brynn Spencer led Seaman with 13 points in Friday's 54-41 loss to Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Junior Brynn Spencer paced Seaman (10-13, 8-9) with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while junior Cara Beaton added 10 points.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After a painfully slow start, Seaman's boys basketball team took care of business on the court with a 78-53 Senior Night romp past United Kansas Conference and city rival Shawnee Heights Friday night at Seaman.

Seaman senior star KaeVon Bonner scored 38 points Friday night as the Vikings wrapped up a 19-4 regular season with a 78-53 Senior Night win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Seaman coach Craig Cox was honored Friday night for his outstanding coaching career after the Vikings' 78-53 UKC win over city rival Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Then, after that emotional win, the Vikings and the Seaman community made sure that they gave retiring Seaman coach Craig Cox a fitting farewell in the final regular-season game of his outstanding coaching career.

The night got off to an inauspicious beginning for Seaman when Shawnee Heights roared to a 13-point lead and an 11-point advantage at the start of the second stanza.

But Seaman, which improved to 19-4 overall and 14-2 in the UKC, responded in front of a huge home crowd to bury the T-Birds with a 25-3 second quarter, opening up a 40-29 halftime advantage and cruising to the big win.

"I told our guys at the end of the first quarter, I said, 'You know they're running on high and I don't think it's going to stay there. Let's try to change the tempo and see if we can slow down their momentum,' '' Cox said. 

"We went to the zone and they had good looks and fortunately for us they didn't make them and then we rebounded really well in our zone and that turned things around. Then I thought we did a better job in the second quarter on the offensive end.''

Shawnee Heights (15-8, 10-6) was still within 12 points (56-44) at the end of the third quarter before senior KaeVan Bonner and the Vikings turned the game into a rout with a 22-9 scoring edge over the final eight minutes.

Bonner had a huge 38-point night, with 14 field goals, a pair of 3-pointers and an 8 of 9 performance at the free throw line, while fellow senior Griffin Zuniga added 10 points.

Junior Cam Ross led Shawnee Heights with 16 points in Friday's 78-53 UKC loss at Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Freshman Quincy Dixon had 14 points in Friday's 78-53 Shawnee Heights loss at Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Junior Cam Ross led Shawnee Heights with 16 points while freshman Quincy Dixon added 14 points and senior JaiMarion Cook 11 for the T-Birds.

Retiring Seaman basketball coach Craig Cox poses with his five seniors during a post-game recognition ceremony. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

After the game the spotlight turned to Cox, who has turned in an outstanding coaching career at Shawnee Heights, Washburn Rural and now Seaman, leading all three teams to state tournament appearances and coaching Heights to Class 5A state titles in 2000 and 2002 and Seaman to the state crown in 2022. 

Cox also coached Heights to a pair of state baseball championships before turning his attention to basketball.

A post-game video was played featuring messages from a host of Cox's former players, including PGA star and U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland and current Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn, as well as tributes from many of Cox's coaching counterparts, co-workers and family members.

"It was amazing to see so many people contribute to (that video) and the memories that pop into your head as you see each face and hear their comments,'' Cox said. "I'm really overwhelmed by the whole event.''

Cox had made the decision to retire after the current season months ago and said he feels good about the fact that he's stepping away at the right time.

"Bob Chipman (Washburn University coaching legend) made the comment after he retired, he said, 'You'll know when you know,' '' Cox said. "And I just felt like 39 years had been amazing. Being a (physical education) teacher is phenomenal, but now I have an opportunity to go look at some other things.

"I just kind of had that feeling that the timing (was right). This year's been great as far as the regular season. I couldn't even of thought of it going this well and that's even with a couple of ugly ones that we had along the way.''

Cox had kept the news of his retirement under wraps as much as possible over the season, wanting the focus to remain on his team.

"I wanted it to be for these guys,'' Cox said. "It's their senior year and that's why I'm so happy that my wife, with Travis Brown (Seaman athletic director), made the decision to do my part afterwards so they had their Senior Night and the focus was on them.

"They had the phenomenal game and were able to celebrate a big win over a quality team.'' 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman's girls bowling team added a Class 5A regional team title to its city and United Kansas Conference crowns Tuesday at Gage Bowl, with the Vikings taking the regional championship by a 2,958-2,904 margin over Emporia.

Claire LaDuke (facing) celebrates a strike with her Seaman teammates during Tuesday's Class 5A regional at Gage Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Shawnee Heights also earned a berth for next week's state tournament at Wichita, finishing third as a team at 2,831.

Highland Park will also have a competitor in the girls state tournament, with Ra'Lynn Divers qualifying as an individual.

Claire LaDuke led the champion Vikings with a third-place individual finish, shooting a 565 three-game series while Seaman also got a sixth-place individual finish from Paige Snyder, who shot a 555 series.

The Vikings also got a 12th-place individual finish from Laci Cole (521), a 13th showing from Leah Crawford (516) and a 16th from Kayla Duncan (493) while Ava Carlson shot a 448.

Shawnee Heights bowling coach Scott Mercer talks to his girls team during Tuesday's Class 5A regional at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Addison VanMetre shot a 544 series to pace third-place Shawnee Heights with a seventh-place individual finish while the T-Birds' Lauryn Valdivia placed 11th (522), Emma Wederski was 14th (509), Tatum Simpson was 18th (482) and Bailey Liby was 19th (459). Reese Bell rounded out the T-Bird lineup with a 441 series.

Highland Park's Divers shot a 456 series to garner the fifth individual qualifying berth for state.

The city boys 5A contingent will also be well-represented at state, led by Shawnee Heights, which finished second as a team by a 3,417-3,275 margin to United Kansas Conference rival De Soto while Seaman and Highland Park combined for three individual qualifiers.

Evan Jones finished fifth with a 650 series to lead Shawnee Heights to a second-place team finish in Tuesday's Class 5A bowling regional at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Evan Jones shot a 650 series to pace Shawnee Heights with a fifth-place individual finish while the T-Birds also got a seventh-place finish from Braden Evans (637), a ninth from Trey Donath (622), and a 14th-place showing from Henry Schattilly (637). Chevy Stallbaumer added a 581 and Kaden Evans a 523 for Heights.

Seaman's Garrett Shaw shot a 666 series to tie for second and finish third on a tiebreaker in Tuesday's Class 5A regional at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman finished fourth as a team to miss a state team berth by one spot, but the Vikings got a second-place tie (third on a tiebreaker) from Garrett Shaw, who shot a 666 to earn the second individual qualifying berth.

Highland Park earned a pair of individual state berths, with Kayden King shooting a 638 to earn the third individual qualifying spot for staate and Isaac Barnes shooting a 617 to place 10th and earn the fourth individual qualifying berth.      

CLASS 5A REGIONAL BOWLING

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural junior star Daniel Allen captured the Class 6A individual state championship in the 100-yard butterfly and earned four state medals to pace the city contingent in Saturday's state swimming championships Saturday at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatics Center.

Washburn Rural junior Daniel Allen won the 6A title in the 100 butterfly by more than a second and a half and earned four state medals. [File photo/TSN] 

Allen, a multiple Class 6A medalist as a freshman in 2024 before sitting out the '25 high school season, entered the state meet as the No. 1 seed for the 100 fly and delivered a personal-record time of 50.85 seconds in the state final, out-distancing Blue Valley Northwest junior Cameron Hagen, who placed second in 52.37.

Allen posted a third-place state finish in the 100 backstroke in 53.38 and swam on Washburn Rural's fourth-place 200 medley relay (1:40.31) and the Junior Blues' seventh-place 200 free relay (1:30.97).

Washburn Rural sophomore Thomas Appuhn earned four state medals in the 6A state swimming meet, including a pair of fourth-place individual finishes. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural sophomore Thomas Appuhn also earned four state medals for the Junior Blues, who finished sixth as a team with 143.5 points.

Appuhn finished fourth in the 200 individual medley (1:58.89), fourth in the 100 backstroke (54.71) and swam on Rural's 200 medley and 200 free relay teams.

 Junior Andres Morao-Jaspe and sophomore Castle Wallace swam on Rural's 200 medley relay while Wallace and sophomore Quinten Jessop swam on the Junior Blues' 200 free relay.

Morao-Jaspe tied for 10th in the 'B' final of 100 backstroke (56.93) and Wallace placed 12th in the 100 breaststroke 'B' final (1:04.05) while freshman Braeden Montgomery finished 15th in the 500 free 'B' final (5:08.50) and he teamed with senior Joseph Jensen, senior Alexander Jeffries and Morao-Jaspe to finish 12th in the 'B' final of the 400 free relay (3:30.00).

Shawnee Mission East won the 6A team championship with 290.5 points while Blue Valley West was second (270) and Blue Valley North third (218.5).

Seaman junior Kinser Barbosa finished seventh in the Class 5A-1A 100 freestyle Saturday.  [File photo/TSN]

Barbosa earns Class 5A-1A state medal

Seaman junior Kinser Barbosa posted a seventh-place finish Saturday in the 100-yard freestyle (49.56) to lead the city contingent in the Class 5A-1A state meet at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatics Center. 

Barbosa also tied for 11th in the 50 free 'B' final (22.71) and swam on the Vikings' 15th-place 200 free relay and 16th-place 200 medley relay.

Barbosa swam with seniors Theron Carlson, Josh Hochard and Ryan Sloyer on the 200 free relay and with junior Wyatt Glotzbach, Carlson and Hochard on the 200 medley relay.

Andover won the 5A-1A state team championship with 379.5 points while Seaman placed 25th with 23.5 points.    

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural led the way with 12 state qualifiers for the Class 6A state wrestling tournament as all nine Shawnee County teams qualified at least one competitor for state, with 11 individual regional champions.

Leading Rural to a third-place 6A regional team finish were regional champions Landen Kocher-Munoz, a senior 144-pounder, and junior 215-pounder Jadyn Baum.

Silver Lake led the Shawnee County contingent with a county-high five regional champions and a county-best runnerup regional team finish in 3A-1A, with the Eagles getting regional titles from senior 120-pounder Bryce Cormier, senior 138-pounder Garret Holmes, senior 157-pounder Jayden Waterer, senior 190-pounder Paxton Willett and sophomore 285-pounder Carter Spreer.

Shawnee Heights qualified 10 wrestlers for the 5A state tournament, led by freshman 113-pound regional champion Jacob Bonebrake and 150-pound junior champ Brody Brown while Hayden got 4A regional titles from junior 175-pounder Caleb Menke and senior 190-pounder Jude Krentz.  

Here's a look at Saturday's regional tournaments involving Shawnee County high schools:

Washburn Rural senior 144-pounder Landen Kocher-Munoz, a two-time Class 6A state champion and a three-time state finalist, won a regional title Saturday at Wichita North. [File photo/TSN]

Kocher-Munoz, Baum power Rural to third-place regional showing

Regional champions Landen Kocher-Munoz and Jadyn Baum led 12 Class 6A qualifiers for perennial state contender Washburn Rural, which finished third as a team in the 6A West regional at Wichita North.

Kocher-Munoz, a senior two-time state champion and three-time state finalist, won the regional title at 144 pounds to improve to 35-4 on the season.

Kocher-Munoz, a defending state champion, capped his regional title run with a 13-5 major decision over Manhattan senior Cameron Coonrod (42-5).

Baum, a junior 215-pounder, improved to 25-4 on the season with a 16-1 technical fall over Wichita South senior Jayden Kirk (28-5). Baum posted a third-place state finish in 2025 as a sophomore. 

Washburn Rural got runnerup regional finishes from 113-pound freshman Andrew Peterson (23-10), 120-pound senior Ryder Harrison (25-6), 138-pound senior Cooper Stivers (31-6) and junior Brodye Kocher-Munoz (27-7) while Rural senior Brenner Beninga (175) qualified fourth for state, freshman Hayden Broxterman (106), junior Gavin Homeyer (190) and sophomore Kaiden Marshall (285) placed fifth, sophomore Owen Dowell (132) was sixth at regionals and sophomore Caleb Schwartz (165) seventh.

Topeka High will be represented at state by senior 157-pounder Jordan Stiner and junior 175-pounder Landon Snyder, who both posted eighth-place regional finishes.

Maize won the team title in the 6A West Regional with 272.5 points, followed by Manhattan with 251 points and Rural with 223.5 points. Topeka High placed 16th as a team with 29 points.

The 6A state meet will be contested Friday and Saturday at the Advent Health Sports Park in Overland Park.

T-Birds qualify 10 for 5A state meet

Shawnee Heights placed fourth as a team in Saturday's Class 5A East regional at Lansing while qualifying 10 wrestlers for this weekend's state tournament in Park City.

The T-Birds got regional championships from 113-pound freshman Jacob Bonebrake and 150-pound junior Brody Brown.

Bonebrake improved to 17-1 with a 3 minute, 37-second pin over Blue Valley Southwest junior Caden Magdefran (19-8) in the 113-pound regional final while Brown improved to 33-6 with a 5:27 win by fall over De Soto junior Eli Anderson (27-15).

Evan Johnson, a 175-pound senior (32-8) posted a runnerup regional finish while sophomore Mason Moore (126), freshman Markis Owens (157) and junior Jaiden Converse (165) qualified for state with sixth-place regional finishes, junior Dallas Owens (138) and sophomore Carter Kamanda (144) placed seventh and sophomore Reid Niedfeldt (132) and junior Landyn Bafford (285) qualified eighth.

Highland Park will be represented at state by senior 175-pounder Philiciono Rice (14-19) and junior 165-pounder Joshua Hernandez-Torres (15-15), with Rice placing seventh and Hernandez-Torres eighth at regionals.

Basehor-Linwood won the 5A East regional team crown with 266 points while Heights was fourth with 156.5 points and Highland Park 16th with 17 points.

The 5A state tournament will be held Friday and Saturday in Park City.

By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

It’s been tough sledding for Seaman girls basketball as of late, with the Vikings losing five straight and seven of their last eight after dropping a 57-48 United Kansas Conference home decision to Basehor-Linwood Friday night.

“Sometimes it's hard when you keep score to see progress,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "We played them a month ago and they ran us out of the gym and here we are, we played so much better. We see that growth but the scoreboard doesn’t show that when you look at wins and losses.

"We battled, we didn’t lose that game because we didn’t have gas left in the tank, we gave them everything we had. If we get a couple of 50/50 balls or a couple of things bounce our way, it’s a different ball game. They just made a few more plays than we did.''

Senior Maddie Gragg got Seaman on the board first with a triple but Basehor-Linwood was hot from three in the first quarter, taking a 10-7 lead. Junior Cara Beaton helped the Lady Vikes reclaim the lead at 11-10, but that was the last time Seaman would lead in the first half.

Seaman had it tied at 14 until Sarah McKnight drilled a trey in the right corner at the buzzer to take a 17-14 lead into the second quarter.

The Bobcats grew their lead to 21-14, which was trimmed to four off a Brynn Spencer three and got it down to three from another Gragg triple (23-20), but then Basehor-Linwood’s full court press gave Seaman fits.

A last-second layup from Gragg had the Lady Vikes down seven (30-23) heading into halftime. 

“We went from a team that handed teams Christmas presents to taking care of the ball and that gives us a chance,” Tinsley said. “I told the girls after the game, 'I’ve seen this movie before.' We had a team in 2021, kind of the same thing -- struggled a little bit, had to fight a little bit, scratch and claw -- but we got better as the season went on and they call it March Madness for a reason.

"I still believe we haven’t reached our peak yet and we’re going to get there.”

By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Seaman's boys basketball team bounced back from a Tuesday night loss Friday on their home floor, with seniors KaeVon Bonner and Landon Wiltz combining for 41 points in the Vikings' 60-43 United Kansas Conference win over Basehor-Linwood.

“It was really nice to see Landon knock down some shots,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "As soon as he hit the first his confidence just built and it was game on for him. KaeVon did what he does, goes and gets you baskets. I was really pleased with that part and our defense was outstanding in the first half. To give up just 14 points was very solid.''

Fifteen of the Vikings' first 21 points came from 3-pointers as Wiltz had three threes in the first quarter, helping Seaman build a 15-6 advantage and lead 15-8 after the quarter. Wiltz finished with 15 points.

“Finally started to hit them. I’ve struggled a little bit from three the last couple of games, so seeing one go down actually felt pretty good,” Wiltz said.

Then Bonner caught fire, hitting two 3-pointers back-to-back as the Vikings led 21-10, forcing the Bobcats into a timeout.

Bonner then had a beautiful turnaround jumper fall and followed that up with a one-handed slam off a steal later in the quarter.

Seaman had a 15-point lead heading into halftime, 31-14. 

In the third quarter, Bonner helped stretch Seaman’s lead to 20 (37-17) after a slow-moving quarter, but then the Bobcats cut it to 12 (37-25) forcing Cox to call a timeout. Seaman led 41-28 after three.

“When you have a big lead at the half, it’s trying not to give into getting comfortable and relaxed instead of staying focused, making the extra pass, making the better shot,'' Cox said. "We got a little loose with our passing and a little loose with our shot selection, but then they pulled it back together.''

In the fourth, Seaman would not relinquish the lead or let it fall within 10 points.

Senior Griffin Zuniga provided eight points and Bonner scored five straight, increasing the lead back to 18.

The Seaman advantage got to 20 (57-37), tied for its biggest lead of the night, as the Vikings nabbed win number 17.

Wiltz said as the playoffs approach, the Vikings have two things to focus on.

“Value possessions and not turn the ball over. We got to keep our defense up because we’ve been doing pretty well on that,” Wiltz said.

Bonner led all scorers with 26 points. 

SEAMAN 69, BASEHOR-LINWOOD 43

Basehor-Linwood 8 6 14  15 – 43

Seaman              15 16 10 19 – 60

Basehor-Linwood (12-10) – Brown 3 3-4 9, Morrison 4 0-0 8, Elliot 1 0-1 2, Hutchinson 1 0-0 3, Young 5 2-2 14, Nixon 2 0-0 5, Peck 1 0-0 2

Seaman (17-4) – Wiltz 6 0-0 15, McConnaughey 1 1-2 3, Zuniga 3 2-2 8, Brain 1 1-2 3, Scholes 1 0-0 3, Esser 1 0-0 2, Bonner 11 0-0 26

3-point goals – Basehor-Linwood 4 (Young 2, Hutchinson 1, Nixon 1), Seaman 8 (Bonner 4, Wiltz 3, Scholes 1). Total fouls – Basehor-Linwood 6, Seaman 10. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Through the first half of Thursday's non-league game at Seaman, Washburn Rural star Maddie Vickery looked a lot like a player who hadn't played a basketball game in more than six months.

But slowly but surely, the 6-foot-2 junior Kansas State commit started to look more and more like the player local fans have been accustomed to seeing, coming alive in the second half to help Washburn Rural overcome a 19-point deficit in a 50-47 win over the Vikings.

Washburn Rural junior Maddie Vickery (left) made her season debut Thursday at Seaman, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds in a 50-47 win. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Vickery, who suffered a torn ACL late in the summer season, went 0 of 6 from the field in the first half but scored all 11 of her points in the second half, including three 3-pointers, while also grabbing seven rebounds and registering two blocks as the Junior Blues improved to 14-6 overall.

"We talked about that and she's not nervous about the knee, but this was her first game in a long time, so I felt like it was going to take a little while,'' Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "I think if the first one may have gone in maybe not as long, but in the second half she looked really good.

"It was kind of like the old Maddie. She really looked good. She was energetic, she was moving well and her shot looked a lot better the second half. We look up to her and we're excited to have her back.''

Vickery came off the bench for the first time with 5:19 left in the opening quarter and was in and out the rest of the night, playing 19 minutes, 45 seconds.

After her slow shooting start Vickery hit a 3-pointer for her first basket of the night at the 3:23 mark of the third quarter and hit another 3 with 4:17 remaining to put Rural up 43-41 and canned another trey with 2:13 left to break a 45-all deadlock, putting the Junior Blues ahead to stay.

"I wouldn't say it was really nerves because I've put in a lot of work and I've trusted the process,'' Vickery said. "And I know I'm going to be fine because I know God's got me,

"I mean, a little bit of pressure, but other than that I don't think it was really nerves. I haven't played a game in about six and a half months, so it was a little bit different to adjust to. Practice is different than a game. But once I got to the second half... I kind of settled in and got out of my head and stuff like that.''

And once she got her first shot to fall, Vickery knew she was really back.

"It was kind of a big weight off my shoulders that I was putting on myself,'' she said. "I'm glad the shots kept falling. I'm happy that I'm able to do this and that I was blessed to be given this opportunity and all my hard work is paying off.''  

Seaman (9-11) put together a 20-0 run at the end of the first quarter and start of the second stanza to take a 24-5 lead before Rural senior Ella Hirschi hit a 3-pointer with 5:06 left in the half to help stem the tide. 

Seaman was still in front 29-13 at the break, but Washburn Rural responded with a 22-8 third quarter to get within 37-35 at the start of the fourth.

Freshman Kamryn Smith came off the bench to lead Washburn Rural with 12 points on four 3-pointers in Thursday's 50-47 win at Seaman. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Freshman Kamryn Smith hit her fourth 3-pointer of a 12-point night with 4:53 left to give Rural its first lead since an early 5-4 advantage.

"I told her in the first half, 'I'm sorry, I can't play you because you're not playing hard enough and that's the standard that we have,' '' Bordewick said. "And then she woke up and she was playing hard on the defensive end. Yeah, her shot was really helping us tremendously, but it's because she's in the flow, she's engaged and she got after it. That's what we asked her to do and she did a great job.''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights girls basketball protected its share of the United Kansas Conference lead with a 64-51 road win at Basehor-Linwood Tuesday night, the T-Birds' sixth straight win.

Senior KK Emmot (1) scored 21 points Tuesday night as Shawnee Heights improved to 17-4 with a 64-51 UKC win at Basehor-Linwood. [File photo/TSN]

KK Emmot led four T-Birds in double figures with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, as Shawnee Heights improved to 17-4 overall and 13-1 in the conference.

Heights also got 17 points from junior Pearmella Carter, 13 from senior Reianna Vega and 11 points from senior Imani McGlory.

The T-Birds led 15-10 at the end of the opening quarter, 34-25 at the halftime break and 50-35 after three quarters before cruising the rest of the way.

Shawnee Heights will travel to Kansas City-Turner on Friday for a UKC contest.

T-Bird boys take 57-56 thriller over Bobcats

Shawnee Heights boys survived a last-second shot from Basehor-Linwood to take a 57-56 United Kansas Conference road victory over the Bobcats on Tuesday.

With the win the T-Birds improved to 13-7 overall and 9-5 in the UKC and have now won four out of their last five games.

Shawnee Heights will travel to Kansas City-Turner on Friday for a UKC game before hosting Pittsburg on Saturday in a non-league tilt. 

Junior Prince Lassiter led Topeka West with 22 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 78-54 win over De Soto. [File photo/TSN]

West boys roll to 78-54 UKC victory at De Soto

Topeka West improved to 17-3 overall and 12-2 in the United Kansas Conference with a 78-54 Tuesday night road win at at De Soto.

West took control from the opening tipoff, outscoring the Wildcats 27-8 in the first quarter.

The Chargers led 45-27 at the half before opening up a 64-40 margin at the start of the final period.

Junior Prince Lassiter led Topeka West with a game-high 22 points while also grabbing eight rebounds.

Seniors Malakyah Duncan and Gad Munganga added 16 and 14 points, respectively, with both Chargers connecting on four 3-pointers as West hit 10 treys as a team.

Brandon Serna led De Soto (7-12, 4-9) with 11 points.

De Soto tops West girls, 70-41

De Soto's girls romped to a 70-41 United Kansas Conference home victory over Topeka West Tuesday night.

De Soto improved to 10-9 overall and 7-6 in the conference while Topeka West fell to 5-15, 2-12.

Pirates knock off UKC-leading Seaman, 59-50

Piper avenged an earlier United Kansas Conference loss to Seaman Tuesday night, taking a 59-50 home win over the Vikings.

The Vikings suffered only their second UKC loss, dropping to 16-4 overall and 11-2 in the conference.

Piper improved to 14-6 overall and 10-3 in the UKC, winning for the seventh time over its last eight games.

Seaman will be at home Friday to host Basehor-Linwood in a UKC matchup.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural junior Daniel Allen, a multiple event city and Centennial League individual and relay gold medalist. leads the city contingent for the state swimming championships Friday and Saturday at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatics Center.

Washburn Rural junior Daniel Allen is the top Class 6A seed for the 100 butterfly and the No. 2 seed for the 100 backstroke. [File photo/TSN] 

Allen, a multiple Class 6A medalist as a freshman in 2024 before sitting out the '25 high school season, is the No. 1 seed for the 100-yard butterfly (51.39 seconds) and the No. 2 seed in the 100 backstroke (52.82).

City and Centennial League team champion Washburn Rural will be well-represented in the 6A state meet, with sophomore Thomas Appuhn (200 individual medley, 100 backstroke), junior Andres Morao-Jaspe (200 individual medley, 100 backstroke) and freshman Braeden Montgomery (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle) all qualifying in two individual events while sophomore Castle Wallace is qualified in the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Quenten Jessop is qualified in the 50 freestyle and freshman Benjamin Allen is qualified in the 100 butterfly.

Washburn Rural sophomore Thomas Appuhn is the No. 4 seed in Class 6A for the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 backstroke. [File photo/TSN]

Appuhn is the No. 4 seed in the 200-yard individual medley (2:01.27) and the No. 4 seed in the 100 backstroke (55.50).

The Junior Blues are also qualified in the 200 medley relay, 200 free relay and 400 free relay.

Topeka High senior Will Stewart is qualified in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle.

Seaman junior Kinser Barbosa is the No. 5 Class 5A-1A seed in the 100 freestyle and the No. 7 seed in the 50 freestyle. [File photo/TSN]

In 5A-1A Seaman junior Kinser Barbosa is the No. 5 seed in the 100 freestyle (49.23) and the No. 7 seed in the 50 free (22.41).

Hayden sophomore Patrick Luke is an individual qualifier in the 50 free while Seaman is qualified in the 200 medley, 200 free and 400 free relays and Hayden is qualified in the 400 free relay.  

The three-day state meet will get under way with Thursday's diving prelims and semis, with the 5A-1A event at 10 a.m. and 6A at 4:30 p.m., but the city does not have a qualifier in either of those events.

The 5A-1A swimming preliminaries will start at 10 a.m. on Friday, with the 6A prelims following at 4 p.m.

Championship 5A-1A finals will get under way at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the 6A finals at 4 o'clock. 

STATE SWIMMING/DIVING SCHEDULE 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' girls wrestling team turned in a strong performance in Saturday's Class 5A East regional at Bonner Springs, posting a runnerup team finish while advancing all 14 competitors to the state tournament Feb. 27-28 at Park City.

Shawnee Heights sophomore Olive Jones (top) won the 135-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A East regional. [File photo/TSN] 

Shawnee Heights senior Cianna Graves won the 155-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A East regional. [File photo/TSN]

The T-Birds, ranked No. 3 in 5A by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, got individual regional championships from 135-pound sophomore Olive Jones and 155-pound senior Cianna Graves and put four other wrestlers in the finals, finishing second to top-ranked Basehor-Linwood by a 275-212.5 margin.

Jones improved to 35-1 on the season with a 1 minute, 25-second win by pin over Basehor-Linwood sophomore Willow Rademacher (30-10) in the 135 final while Graves improved to 31-2 with a 5-1 decision over Bonner Springs senior Addison Vogel (25-3) at 155.

The T-Birds got second-place finishes from freshman 120-pounder Brinnley Morris (17-3), junior 125-pounder Audrey Hinkly (25-12), senior 145-pounder Olivia Stevens (29-5) and junior 190-pounder Brooklyn Binkley (20-11) while sophomore Bianca Juarez (110 pounds) posted a third-place finish.

Freshmen Makynzie Allen (100) and Stella Engel (235) qualified with fourth-place regional finishes while freshman Raelyn Kelly (130) finished fifth, senior Shelby Watson (170) sixth, sophomores Halle Hill (115) and Evelyn Ruby (140) seventh and freshman Carmarra Smith (105) eighth.

Highland Park senior Makayla Cadet, the defending 5A state champion at 190 pounds, earned a shot to defend her title with a third-place regional finish. Cadet is 20-2 on the season.   

Washburn Rural senior Emme Blanco won the Class 6A West 145-pound regional title Saturday at Wichita South, helping Rural finish third as a team. [File photo/TSN]

 Washburn Rural senior Elia Smith won the 170-pound title in Saturday's Class 6A West regional at Wichita South for the third-place Junior Blues. [File photo/TSN]

Rural regional champs Blanco, Smith lead 13 Junior Blues 6A qualifiers

Washburn Rural seniors Emme Blanco and Elia Smith captured individual regional championships in the Class 6A West regional Saturday at Wichita South, powering the Junior Blues to a third-place team finish with 13 state qualifiers.

Blanco, now 37-3 on the season, won the 145-pound title with a 5:35 pin in the finals over Garden City freshman Aria Cordes while Smith, 32-3, earned a 4-1 decision over Derby senior Chloe Spears (36-6) in the 170-pound regional final.

The Junior Blues got third-place regional finishes from 125-pound senior Lacey Middleton (36-6), 140-pound senior Madi Blanco (35-4) and freshman 155-pounder Raella Ebanez (31-8) while freshman 105-pounder Aliyah Tangpricha (25-5), freshman 135-pounder Alea Estep (21-16), 190-pound junior Lily Davis (33-10) and sophomore Emma Mehl (24-14) placed fourth.

Junior Dixie Day (120) qualified for state with a sixth-place regional finish while freshman Ashlyn Johnson (110) finished seventh and freshman Hadley Rosenbaum (100) and junior Rylee-Jade Ebanez (130) placed eighth.

Topeka High freshman 235-pounder Kya Dawkins qualified for state with a seventh-place regional finish while senior 170-pounder Taniza Huggins advanced with an eighth-place finish.

The 6A state tournament will be contested Feb. 27-28 at the AdventHealth Sports Park in Overland Park.

By RICK PETERSON                                                                                                          

TopSports.news

Seaman girls bowling standout Leah Crawford and Hayden junior boys wrestling standout Caleb Menke have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.

The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.

Here's a brief look at the recent accomplishments of Crawford and Menke.

Leah Crowford, Seaman [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

LEAH CRAWFORD, Seaman

Crawford shot a 661 three-game series last Friday at Gage Bowl to capture the girls individual title in the third annual Topeka Shawnee County bowling championships.

Crawford rolled games of 224, 211 and 226 to take individual honors by 36 pins as Seaman rolled to its third straight city team championship by a 3,293-2,970 margin over Washburn Rural.

As a freshman Crawford placed 12th in the city meet.

Caleb Menke, Hayden

CALEB MENKE, Hayden

Menke, a 175-pounder, recently reached the 100-win milestone in a meet at Royal Valley, a rare accomplishment for an underclassman.

Menke followed that up with the 175-pound championship in last Saturday's Centennial League tournament at Washburn Rural.

Menke posted a 5-0 record on the day, including a 55-second pin and a 15-0 technical fall.

By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Topeka High girls basketball coach Ron Slaymaker told his players said before the season started that defense had to be a big identity of this team, leading to points in transition and the fastbreak.

Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored a game-high 26 points in Thursday's 61-36 Topeka High win at Seaman. [File photo/TSN]

That was the case Thursday night as the Trojans stayed hot, avenging an earlier double-digit loss to Seaman with a 61-36 romp on the Vikings' home floor.

“I’ll tell you what we were hot on and that’s defense,” Slaymaker said. “Our defense created so much of our offense. That’s what we needed to win this game because they (Seaman) are a good team.”

Slaymaker said one big adjustment Topeka High made Thursday was how to break the zone, something they did not do against Seaman the last time these two teams met. And Slaymaker said he faults himself for not having them prepared, but did for Thursday night’s slate.

Topeka High started the game up 8-2 and started the game in a 2-3 zone, giving the Lady Vikings problems finding easy baskets. Seaman junior Jaydin Frickey hit a three to make it an 8-6 game, but that’s the closest Seaman would get the rest of the evening.

After a 7-0 run, Topeka High senior Keimara Marshall finished off a layup in transition, forcing a Seaman timeout at 15-6. Topeka High led 19-6 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, it was no different as junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton used her speed in transition and the fastbreak to get easy baskets off Seaman turnovers, scoring 18 first-half points. She helped the Trojans to a 13-0 run, dating back to the first quarter at 21-6.

“A driving force in this game was Coach Slay said at practice to look up the court and that’s what we did in this game and make that extra pass, looking inside and out and that’s what Slay harps on a lot,” Topeka High sophomore Hailey Caryl said.

Seaman senior Maddie Gragg converted an and-one and knocked down a three to cut the Viking deficit to 24-12 with 6:05 left in the half, but the Trojans just kept scoring after a three from senior Trish Short.

Seaman called another timeout a minute later, down 18, 30-12, and the Lady Trojans took a 20-point lead into halftime, 38-18.

In the second half, the third quarter saw both teams combine for 11 points, but the fourth quarter was nothing but the clinic the Trojans put on in the first two quarters. Topeka High had its biggest lead of 28 in the game thanks to Caryl’s big quarter and continuing to force those turnovers.

By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Seaman boys basketball, ranked No. 6 in Class 5A, has won seven of its last eight games after taking down city rival Topeka High on Thursday night at Seaman, 62-55.

Senior KaeVon Bonner scored a game-high 24 points in Thursday's 62-55 Seaman win over Topeka High. [File photo/TSN]

“I thought our defense was outstanding in the first half to hold them to 19 points,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "They’re a team that’s capable of getting hot and getting on a run. Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough offensively to take advantage of that and build a bigger margin other than the six points … knowing they would respond, and they did. I knew it was going to be a battle and this was a good win for our guys.''

“One thing about this team this year is we have pretty good chemistry,” Viking senior Matthew McConnaughey said after finishing with 10 points.

The Trojans began the game with a 4-2 lead but then Seaman went on an 8-0 run to regain the lead and force a timeout for Topeka with 2:47 left in the first quarter, as the Vikings led 12-5.

It took a while for Topeka High to score its first field goal in the second quarter, scoring just three points on free throws as the Trojans trailed by eight, 16-8. They slowly crept their way back off a couple of 3-pointers from senior Bryson McComas and Elisha Guest, making it a 23-19 game.

But then Seaman senior Kae’Von Bonner converted a floater off the window as time expired for halftime, as the Vikings took a six-point lead, 25-19.

Bonner had a game-high 24 points, with 11 of them coming in the fourth quarter.

In the third quarter, Topeka High would re-take the lead for the first time since 4-2 thanks to a 9-2 run to begin the half, led by McComas, Guest (who had a team-high 19 points) and senior Jalen Aldridge as the Trojans went in front, 28-27.

Both teams would trade buckets but then Seaman built a little cushion off a Griffin Zuniga triple, making it 34-30, and the Vikings led 40-35 heading into the fourth.

The Vikings led by eight at one point, but the Trojans trimmed the deficit to two after Octavian McFadden drilled a three making it 47-45.

Seaman built a six point lead again off a Bonner bucket, but then McComas brought High within three (54-51).

But then Seaman got in the bonus early and made crucial free throws when needed.

Zuniga iced the game off a Trojans turnover with under 20 seconds remaining, putting home a layup as Seaman nabbed its 16th win on the year. Zuniga had 14 points for the Vikings.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Cair Paravel Latin boys basketball completed a wire to wire 10-0 run to the Flint Hills League regular-season championship on Tuesday night, posting a 61-41 home win over Council Grove.

The Lions also won the Flint Hills League midseason tournament.

Lucas Marichal led the way with 17 points as Cair Paravel wrapped up a perfect Flint Hills League record with Tuesday's 61-41 win over Council Grove. [File photo/TSN]

Now 17-2 overall with 14 straight victories, the Lions took control of Tuesday's game with a 25-9 first quarter. 

Cair Paravel led 38-18 at the half and the two teams battled to a 23-23 scoring stalemate over the final two quarters.

Lucas Marichal led Cair Paravel with 17 points while Chase Hastert added 14 points with three 3-pointers and Blaine Durbin had 12 points.

The Lions will host Heritage Christian on Friday.

CPLS girls take 36-31 victory

London Backman led the way with 13 points, including three 3-pointers, as Cair Paravel's girls took a tight 36-31 Flint Hills League decision over Council Grove Tuesday on the Lions' home court.

Cair Paravel led 9-6 at the end of the first quarter and 16-11 at the half before going in front 27-20 through three quarters.

Council Grove held an 11-9 scoring edge over the final eight minutes but Cair Paravel was able to hold on for the win, improving to 9-10 on the season.

Karsyn Hastert added nine points and Avery Rosenow seven points for the Lions.

Rural boys drop 63-54 Centennial League tilt to Manhattan

Washburn Rural dropped its third straight single-digit game on Tuesday, with Manhattan taking a home 63-54 Centennial League decision over the Junior Blues.

Rural fell to 9-8 overall and 2-3 in the league while Manhattan improved to 12-5 overall and 4-1 in the league.

The Junior Blues will be at home Friday to host Junction City in a Centennial League contest.

Manhattan tops Lady Blues, 67-45

Manhattan girls basketball rolled to a 67-45 home Centennial League win over Washburn Rural Tuesday night.

Washburn Rural fell to 11-6 overall and 2-3 in the league.

Scots roll to 26-point Meadowlark Conference win

Highland Park's boys posted their second straight win Tuesday night, taking a 48-22 Meadowlark Conference road decision over Kansas City-Schlagle.

The Scots, now 5-14, have outscored their past two foes by a 116-41 margin.

Highland Park's girls took a 2-0 forfeit win over Schlagle.

Cameron Miller scored 26 points Tuesday in Rossville's 75-43 win over Royal Valley. [File photo/TSN] 

Bulldawg boys continue hot streak

Rossville boys basketball has now won six out of its last seven games after a 75-43 Big East League rout Tuesday night at Royal Valley.

The Bulldawgs, now 11-6 overall and 6-4 in the league, took control with a 45-23 first-half onslaught and used a 25-15 third quarter to force a running clock over the final eight minutes.

Senior Cameron Miller paced Rossville with 26 points while Jack Donovan added 21 points and Jakoby McDonnell 11.

Rossville will be at home Friday to host Abilene.

Senior Rylee Dick scored 24 points to pace Rossville to a 63-37 win over Royal Valley Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]

Dick, Burdiek power Rossville past Royal Valley

Senior Rylee Dick scored 24 points and junior Nora Burdiek 21 points as Rossville's girls took a 63-37 Big East League road win at Royal Valley.

Rossville has now won three straight games, improving to 9-8 on the season and 4-6 in the league.

The Bulldawgs will be at home Friday to host Abilene.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Trailing 37-36 after three periods, the Shawnee Heights girls exploded for a 17-0 run to pull away from guest Seaman 60-42 Tuesday. It was just the T-Birds’ second win over Seaman in the last 13 meetings.

Shawnee Heights junior Pearmella Carter scored 12 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday as the T-Birds pulled away for a 60-42 UKC win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Fueling the decisive run was Shawnee Heights junior Pearmella Carter, who scored 12 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter. Carter hit all six shots she attempted in the crucial final period.

“We made a few slight adjustments on some things we were doing, and it opened some passing lanes and some driving lanes,” said Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells. “And then, all of a sudden, we were feeling a lot better about moving and catching and shooting, getting the ball inside to Pearmella. She did a great job. when she couldn’t muscle it up there, she kicked it out and then we started hitting some threes.

“You know how momentum goes. One person hits them. Then they all started smiling, and they all started hitting.”

The Vikings led by as much as seven points in the second period. The T-Birds clawed back to take the lead briefly in the third period, but Seaman clung to a lead going into the fourth quarter, thanks in large part to seven third-quarter points by Cara Beaton, who led the Vikings with 12.

Junior KK Emmot (1) scored 14 points in Shawnee Heights' 60-42 home UKC win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Seaman has thoroughly dominated the rivalry for the past decade, a fact that made the win all the more enjoyable for the T-Birds.

“It’s huge,” Wells said. “I told the girls we could not take Seaman for granted no matter what their record was. They can really shoot the ball. You let them hit some threes and start feeling good about themselves. It took us a little fortitude to come back and really change things and make the game go a different way.”

Shawnee Heights juniors Pearmella Carter and KK Emmot both reached the 1,000-point milestone for their careers Tuesday at Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Carter’s huge fourth quarter led her past a milestone. Carter and fellow junior KK Emmot both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for their careers Tuesday.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights did everything right to shut down high-scoring Seaman guard KaeVon Bonner for three periods.

Seaman senior star KaeVon Bonner (33) scored 22 points Tuesday as the Vikings took control down the stretch for a 56-47 UKC road win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Vikings’ senior averages about 25 points per game. So when the host T-Birds held Bonner to just four points through 24 minutes of action Tuesday, they had reason to feel good about their 37-34 lead. But a set play out of the break sprung Bonner for an open look from three, and he buried it. It was the spark that started a fire.

Bonner torched Shawnee Heights for 16 points – all of the Vikings’ points – over the next 3:10, and all of a sudden Seaman led 50-40. Seaman held on to win 56-47 to improve to 14-3 on the season.

Seaman coach Craig Cox described the play that started the run.

“One of my assistants, Paul Muzzy, suggested that we go to a set play that gets (KaeVon) a look, and it was a great call and we executed it and he popped off the screen and knocked down the shot,” Cox said. “And then it was no looking back. Just an unbelievable fourth quarter.”

For three periods, Shawnee Heights senior Ja’Veon Alston went toe-to-toe with Bonner, harassing him with on-ball defense and scoring 13 points to Bonner’s four.

“They were doubling (Bonner) some when he was starting to attack,” Cox said. “They were bringing help defense, and (Alston) did a really good job of pressuring him, held him to four points until then. Then he was able to finally get it going and show how he can take over a game and dominate like that.  I’m just really proud of him keeping his composure and coming through when we needed it.”

Bonner hit four straight attempts to start the run. Then, after missing a shot, the senior dropped a long triple, which he followed moments later with a three-point play.

“Once I hit that first three, I knew I was starting to feel it and the energy, the crowd … that first shot started it off,” Bonner said.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Leah Crawford

LEAH CRAWFORD, Seaman

A sophomore bowler, Crawford shot a 661 three-game series to capture the girls individual title in Friday's city championships at Gage Bowl. Crawford rolled games of 224, 211 and 226 to take individual honors by 36 pins as Seaman rolled to its third straight city team championship by a 3,293-2,970 margin over Washburn Rural.

Cianna Graves

CIANNA GRAVES, Shawnee Heights

Graves, a senior girls wrestling star, won the United Kansas Conference championship at 155 pounds while also recording the 100th pin of her career on Saturday at Piper as No. 3-ranked (Class 5A) Shawnee Heights claimed the team championship by a 179.5-163 margin over top-ranked Basehor-Linwood. Now 28-2 on the season, Graves went 3-0 on the day with three pins.

Caleb Menke

CALEB MENKE, Hayden

Menke, a 175-pound junior wrestling standout, reached the 100-win milestone on Thursday at Royal Valley, a rare accomplishment for an underclassmen, and followed that up with the 175-pound championship in Saturday's Centennial League tournament at Washburn Rural, posting a 5-0 record on the day, including a 55-second pin and a 15-0 technical fall.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' girls regained the United Kansas Conference wrestling championship Saturday at Piper, with the Class 5A No. 3-ranked T-Birds topping No. 1 Basehor-Linwood by a 179.5-163 margin.

Shawnee Heights senior Olivia Stevens (left) reached the 100-win milestone in Saturday's UKC wrestling tournament while T-Bird senior Cianna Graves registered her 100th career pin. [Photo courtesy of Shawnee Heights wrestling]

The T-Birds garnered five individual conference titles while posting 10 top-three finishes.

Shawnee Heights got gold-medal performances from freshman 120-pounder Brinnley Morris, junior 125-pounder Audrey Hinkly, sophomore 130-pounder Olive Jones, senior 145-pounder Olivia Stevens and senior 155-pounder Cianna Graves.

Stevens, 27-4 on the season, and Graves, 28-2, both reached career milestones on Saturday, with Graves reaching 100 pins for her career while Stevens notched her 100th career victory.

Shawnee Heights also got runnerup UKC finishes from sophomore Bianca Juarez (110), senior Shelby Watson (170) and junior Brooklyn Binkley (190) while sophomore Halle Hall (115) and freshman Raelyn Kelly (130) placed third.

NOTE: Statistics for city girls basketball teams were compiled by Seaman girls coach Matt Tinsley. The following stats are the second of three statistical reports which will be released during the 2025-2026 season, capped by the season-ending stats. Topeka West statistics were not available.

Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton, Topeka High

SCORING

Name, school                    Gms.  Pts.    Avg

Rayton, Topeka High           13      307     23.6

Schmidtlein, Hayden            13      230     17.7

Emmot, Shawnee Heights    16      275     17.2

Caryl, Topeka High                10      152     15.2

Anderson, Washburn Rural   13       190    14.6

McGlory, Shawnee Heights   15       194    12.9

Gragg, Seaman                      13       163    12.5

Marshall, Topeka High           14       158    11.3

Carter, Shawnee Heights       15        163   10.9

Kincade, Highland Park          13        137   10.5

Beaton, Seaman                     11        114    10.4

Jones, Highland Park              13        134    10.3

Carlgren, Washburn Rural      14        143    10.2

Hirschi, Washburn Rural         14        130      9.3

Backman, CPLS                        13        115     8.8

REBOUNDING

Name, school                    Gms.   Total    Avg.

Caryl, Topeka High                10      116       11.6

Walker, Washburn Rural        14      124         8.9

Gragg, Seaman                      13      105         8.1

Schmidtlein, Hayden              13        92         7.1 

Carter, Shawnee Heights        12        84         7.0

Jones, Highland Park              13        88         6.8

Dreher, Seaman                      13        83         6.4

Vega, Shawnee Heights          13       74          5.7

Gotru, Topeka High                13        72         5.5

Anderson, Washburn Rural     13        71         5.5

Marshall, Topeka High             14       76          5.4 

Watts, Hayden                          13       70         5.4                  

Carlgren, Washburn Rural        14        74         5.3

Barnett, Highland Park             12        60         5.0 

Walter, Hayden                         13        60        4.6

Baum, Shawnee Heights            13       60        4.6

Hailey Caryl, Topeka High

ASSISTS

Name, school                     Gms.   Total    Avg.

Caryl, Topeka High                10          69       6.9

Jones, Highland Park             13          42       3.2

Beaton, Seaman                    11           35      3.2

Gragg, Seaman                      13           41     3.2

Marshall, Topeka High           14           42      4.0

Emmot, Shawnee Heights      13           35      2.7

Baum, Shawnee Heights         13          34      2.6

Foster, Hayden                        13          30      2.3

Cosey, Highland Park              13          30      2.3

Anderson, Washburn Rural     13          29      2.2

Schmidtlein, Hayden               13          28      2.2

Vega, Shawnee Heights           13          28     2.2

Rayton, Topeka High                13          28     2.2

Rutherford, Washburn Rural     13          28     2.2

Watts, Hayden                           13          26     2.0

Kincade, Highland Park             13          26     2.0

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman's girls and Washburn Rural's boys earned bragging rights in Friday's third annual Topeka Shawnee County Bowling Championships at Gage Bowl, with the Vikings winning their third straight girls team championship and Rural repeating as the boys champion.

Seaman girls bowling won its third straight city title Friday at Gage Bowl, putting four bowlers in the top six places individually. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural won its second straight city bowling team title Friday at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Individually, Seaman sophomore Leah Crawford shot a 661 three-game series to win the girls title by 36 pins while Topeka High junior Adrian Meraz Jara shocked the boys field with a 700 to win by 16 pins.

Seaman's girls won the team title by a 3,293-2,970 margin over Washburn Rural, including the four Baker format games, as the Vikings put four bowlers in the top six.

"The girls have really been pretty solid all year,'' Seaman coach Bob Benoit said. "When they get to striking they seem to feed off of each other. I'm really pleased with where they're at. We've just got to clean up the spares.

"Their morale's really good. There's no drama with the girls. It's a real pleasure to coach them.'' 

Washburn Rural junior Megan Glinka and Seaman junior Paige Snyder tied for second with 625 series, with Glinka taking second on a tiebreaker with a 256 high game while Snyder had a high game of 235.

Seaman's Claire LaDuke finished fourth with a 613 series while the Vikings' Ava Carlson finished sixth with a 559 series.

Seaman sophomore Leah Crawford won the city girls individual bowling title Friday at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

Crawford bowled games of 224, 211 and 226 as she broke through for the title in her second city meet.

"Last year at the city meet I placed 12th and it was not my best day,'' Crawford said. "I was very surprised with how I did today.

"Normally when I come to Gage I get very nervous because it's not my favorite place to bowl. So I was pretty impressed with how I did and I was trying to keep my head up the whole entire day.''

Washburn Rural took its second straight boys team title by a 3,517-3,474 margin over Shawnee Heights, including the Baker games, as Matthew Richard led the Junior Blues with a runnerup individual finish with a 684 series.

The Junior Blues also got a seventh-place finish from Jackson Keller (644), a ninth from Andrew Faurot (633) and a 10th-place showing from Cody Spangler (631).

"The titles are nice to have, but we're always looking for improvement each time out as we get closer and closer to the end of the season,'' Washburn Rural coach Jo Ricard said. "We know that there's definitely the potential there for them, and it's a matter of staying focused the whole way through the whole time.

"It's not just only about strikes, but also when that spare piece is there you've got to hit your spares and stay focused on that. And that includes Baker. If you're rolling through the first five frames and we're hot and on, we've got to stay focused. That's something obviously we continue to work on constantly because looking ahead we know how tough our regional is going to look like.'' 

Boys runnerup Shawnee Heights put four bowlers in the top six, with Trey Donath third (683), Chevy Stallbaumer fourth (669), Evan Jones fifth (664) and Henry Schattilly sixth (645). Kelton Meier finished eighth (638) for third-place Hayden.

Topeka High's Adrian Meraz Jara won the city boys bowling title with a 700 series. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

 But the star of the day was Merez Jara, who shattered his previous personal best by about 170 pins with games of 212, 255 and 233.

"I hadn't been close to that at all,'' Merez Jara said. "The closest I got was like 530. I didn't think I was ever going to get this high.''

In fact, Friday was the first time Merez Jara had placed in a meet.

"I have never placed, ever,'' he said. "I'm just shocked because I would have never expected to be up there.'' 

TOPEKA SHAWNEE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' boys and Seaman's girls captured the United Kansas Conference team championships Wednesday at Lansing while Heights' Henry Schattilly and Kaden Evans posted a one-two boys individual finish.

Senior Henry Schattilly shot a 761 series Wednesday to win the UKC individual title for team champion Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]

Seaman won the girls team title by a 3,019-2,907 margin over Shawnee Heights, while the T-Bird boys took top honors by a 3,652-3,534 margin over Lansing.

Schattilly shot a banner 761 three-game series with games of 245, 269 and 247 to take the boys individual title while Evans was second with a 707 series, including a first-game 289. Heights' Chevy Stallbaumer posted a 10th-place finish with 658 series, including a 259. 

Seaman sophomore Leah Crawford finished fourth individually to lead Seaman to the UKC team title. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

Seaman's girls rode its balance to the girls team championship, with Leah Crawford finishing fourth (596), Claire LaDuke fifth (590), Paige Snyder seventh (551) and Ava Carlson 10th (536).

Crawford had a high game of 225.

Reese Bell paced girls runnerup Shawnee Heights with a third-place individual finish (610) while Emma Wederski finishing eighth (542).

Bell had a consistent series with games of 204, 200 and 206 while Wederski had a high game of 209.

Shawnee Heights, Seaman and Topeka West will all compete in a 5A regional tournament next Tuesday at Gage Bowl, with the boys competing at 9 a.m., followed by the girls at 12:30 p.m.

UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE BOWLING

By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

No. 7 ranked (Class 5A) Seaman boys basketball has now won five of its last six games, moving to 13-3 on the year Wednesday night with a 62-51 home victory over Spring Hill.

Senior KaeVon Bonner led a balanced Seaman attack with 16 points in Wednesday's 62-51 home win over Spring Hill. [File photo/TSN]

“I thought defensively we were really good because they have some quality players that are capable of scoring points and we did a really good job on making everything (difficult) for them,” Seaman coach Craig Cox said. “Then in the second half I thought offensively we had a nice rhythm and flow to help us build that lead in the fourth quarter.”

“I thought it was good from everyone,” said senior Cameron Brian, who had 13 points. “Griffin (Zuniga) was really good on the boards, Landon (Wiltz) does what he always does and gets those corner 3s for us which we use on momentum, KaVeon did a great job facilitating the offense and helping find the open guys and that helped with our success.”

The Vikings built a 6-3 lead in the early going which was pushed to 8-3 after a put-back bucket from senior Matthew McConnaughey. Spring Hill hit a triple to bring it to 8-6 but senior Wiltz followed it up with one of his own, making it 11-6 and Seaman took the 13-7 lead into the second quarter.

Brian would help halt a mini-5-0 run from the Broncos with a three as the Vikings led 16-11 and eventually got their biggest lead of the game, 23-15. Spring Hill and Seaman went cold for a little bit and turned the ball over but Seaman took an eight-point lead into the break, 25-17.

The Vikes would build a 12 point lead in the third quarter after a couple of quick buckets, but Spring Hill went on a 12-4 run, cutting its deficit to just four.

But after that Seaman regained control for good. After Bonner and Wiltz scored five points combined, they led by 10, 42-32 heading into the fourth.

“I thought Matthew McConnaughey contributed on the boards, especially in the first half, and Cameron (Brian) picked up in the second half, which was big for us. He’s a linebacker. He’s got a linebacker mentality. He plays strong and we need that. We need him to be strong going to the boards… that definitely helped limit their second-chance opportunities,” Cox said. 

In the fourth stanza, Seaman kept extending its lead. Brian and Wiltz hit one three apiece to put the Vikings up 49-34 and then Wiltz would convert an and-one making it 52-36 with 5:35 remaining in the game.

By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Seaman girls basketball had a chance to beat Spring Hill or at least force overtime in the final seconds Wednesday night at home, but the Broncos held off the Vikings in a low scoring affair, 34-32.

The Vikings started off slow and couldn’t get the ball to roll in their favor and Spring Hill doubled senior Maddie Gragg any time they could. And, the Vikings had a hard time taking care of the ball early in the game.

Missed free throws were a key factor, too, but Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said basketball is a game that always has different swings.

“I told the girls against Topeka High that 95 percent of the game you don’t have the ball in your hand so what can you do during that time to make an impact, doing those little things and for this game, one possession here and there changes that game,” Tinsley said.

Audrey Meder for Spring Hill scored the first six points after knocking down two from distance. Gragg got her team its first points off a free throw, making one of two but then would score the Vikings first bucket with three minutes left in the first quarter.

Gragg scored five of the seven points in the quarter and Seaman trailed Spring Hill, 13-7.

Seaman had a hard time stopping the three from the Broncos as they made them at will. They went up 16-7, forcing Tinsley into a timeout at the 6:11 mark. The lead grew to 21-9 for Spring Hill but Seaman scored four straight which then made the Broncos call a timeout after a Brynn Spencer bucket in transition.

Meder kept up her hot shooting night with another three, making it 24-13 and that’s where the score held at halftime. 

The Vikes started hot in the third quarter on a 9-0 run after Gragg and Cara Beaton both hit triples as Spring Hill would call a timeout in a 24-21 game. It got down to a one point game after a basket from freshman Baylee Ayres.

That’s something Tinsley said, they’ve been a third quarter team but can’t figure it out quite yet.

“That’s been our story this year. We don’t get a rebound here, we have a turnover here, we go on a run that puts us back a couple of points and we’re there at the end,'' Tinsley said. "Our third quarters have been great … we competed tonight more than we did on Tuesday.

"If we see a couple of more shots go in, it’s a different ball game. If we hit a couple of more free throws, it’s a different ball game. I’m just proud of their effort however.''

The Broncos would hit a three right after that to stop the bleeding a little bit and go up four. Spring Hill would head into the fourth quarter up 27-25.

It was a slow moving fourth quarter as both teams missed shots and turned the ball over.

Towards the end, Gragg hit another from downtown, making it 31-30 Spring Hill with 2:35 left in the game but Isla Herman knocked down a three to put the Broncos back up four.

Dreher would get fouled down low, made the bucket but failed to convert the and-one, leaving the Broncos still down two, 34-32.

Seaman had an opportunity to take the lead before the horn sounded but Gragg missed a triple, Beaton saved it from going out of bounds, landed in the hands of Spencer but came up just short to force overtime on a jumper from the second hash mark.

“Everyone is stepping up in their own way,'' Tinsley said. "We’re getting down to crunch time and we’re going to need everyone to be locked in. We’re in a good spot right now and we have to get back on Friday.''

SPRING HILL GIRLS 34, SEAMAN

Spring Hill 13 11 3 7 – 34

Seaman       7 6 12 7 – 32

Spring Hill (10-5) -- Meder 4 0-0 11, McConnell 1 0-0 3, Herrman 2 0-0 6, Herman 5 0-0 12, Harris 1 0-0 2.

Seaman (8-7) – Dreher 1 0-1 2, Spencer 1 0-0 2, Beaton 4 2-2 11, Ayres 2 0-0 4, Gragg 5 1-6 13.

3-point goals -- Spring Hill 8 (Meder 3, Herman 2, Herrman 2, McConnell),  Seaman 3 (Gragg 2, Beaton). Total fouls -- Spring Hill 9, Seaman 9 . Fouled out -- none.

NOTE: Statistics for city boys basketball teams were compiled by Seaman girls coach Matt Tinsley. The following stats are the second of three statistical reports which will be released during the 2025-2026 season, capped by the season-ending stats.

KaeVon Bonner, Seaman

SCORING

Name, school                    Gms.  Pts.  Avg

Bonner, Seaman                     14   345   24.6

Kingcannon, Highland Park    14   274   19.6

Ross, Shawnee Heights           13   249   19.2

Compton, Hayden                   15   239   15.9

Hanika, Hayden                       15   230   15.3

Paul, Topeka West                   14    202   14.4

Rowley, Washburn Rural         10    144   14.4

Duncan, Topeka West              14   196    14.0

McComas, Topeka High           14   196    14.0

Durbin, Cair Paravel                  13   181    13.9   

Lassiter, Topeka West               14   191     13.6

Marichal, Cair Paravel               13   177     13.6

Aldridge, Topeka High              14   172     12.3

Hastert, Cair Paravel                  13   158     12.2

Ballard, Washburn Rural            12   145     12.1

Bryson McComas, Topeka High

REBOUNDING

Name, school                       Gms.   Total    Avg.

McComas, Topeka High           14      111      7.9

Durbin, Cair Paravel                  13      100      7.7

Fay, Cair Paravel                        13        90      6.9

Hanika, Hayden                         15      101      6.7

Hoytal, Washburn Rural             12       74       6.2

Hastert, Cair Paravel                   13       78       6.0

Lassiter, Topeka West                 14       83       5.9

Zuniga, Seaman                          14       76       5.4

Schmidt, Washburn Rural           12        63      5.3

Scott, Shawnee Heights              13        66      5.1

Kidd, Hayden                              15        76       5.1

Paul, Topeka West                       14        64       4.6

Dixon, Shawnee Heights             12        45       4.5

Tourtillott, Hayden                      15        60       4.0

Bonner, Seaman                          14        56       4.0

Chase Hastert, Cair Paravel [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]

ASSISTS

Name, school                       Gms.       Total    Avg.

Hastert, Cair Paravel                   13          75      5.8

Bonner, Seaman                         14          73      5.2

Fay, Cair Paravel                          13          59      4.5

Hoytal, Washburn Rural              12          47      3.9

Guest, Topeka High                     14          52      3.7

Duncan, Topeka West                  14          49      3.5

Traylor, Topeka West                    14          49      3.5

Paul, Topeka West                        14          48      3.4

Mitchell, Hayden                          15           47     3.1

Marichal, Cair Paravel                   13           38     2.9

McComas, Topeka High                14           40     2.9

Cook, Shawnee Heights                13           34     2.6

Scott, Shawnee Heights                13           33     2.5

Nimz, Washburn Rural                  12           30     2.5 

Luarks, Topeka High                     14           34     2.4

Hanika, Hayden                            15           36     2.4

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural senior wrestling star Madi Blanco admitted that she was fighting some butterflies before Saturday's 140-pound championship match in the sixth annual Washburn Women's Invitational.

Washburn Rural senior Madi Blanco reacts after winning the 140-pound title in Saturday's Washburn Women's Invitational with a 37-second pin in the finals. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But it certainly didn't show as Blanco, No. 3-ranked in Class 6A and No. 5 in the All-Class rankings by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, needed just 37 seconds to clench her tournament championship with a win by pin over Gardner-Edgerton sophomore Camila Vasquez, No. 5-ranked in 6A and No. 8 in the All-Class rankings.

"Me and my coach had a conversation about energy and to be grateful for where I am, how much I've gone through to get here and that really helped me and put me in the right mindset to get into that final round,'' Blanco said. "I felt really good.''

Blanco, who placed fourth in 6A at 135 pounds and is a two-time state placer, posted three straight pins on Saturday, with her win in the finals following pins in 1:31 and 2:14.

And Blanco said she continues to gain confidence as the Junior Blues get ready for the biggest three tournaments of the season -- Centennial League, regionals and state.

"The steps I took to get here are what really helped me grow,'' Blanco said. "My coaches, my teammates, they're encouragers and I think that really helps. It's just a process.

"I thank the Lord that I have my parents (Evie and Anthony), that raised me so well. They taught character, mental strength, all of it, so I think that my confidence came from them and my coaches.''

Parker said Blanco has earned all the success she's had for the Junior Blues.

"She is as intentional about everything she does as any kid that I've ever coached, and the fact that she wrestles with gratitude,'' Parker said. "She's just happy for the opportunity to be here and do this and I think that goes a long way in this sport.''

Blanco helped lead perennial state contender Washburn Rural to a runnerup finish to Gardner-Edgerton (273-194) in Saturday's 20-school tournament, with Shawnee Mission South (159.5) third and Clay Center (156.5) fourth.

Washburn Rural was ranked No. 4 in 6A in last week's KWCA rankings, with Gardner-Edgerton No. 2 behind top-ranked Garden City.

Freshman 105-pounder Aliyah Tangpricha (top) posted a runnerup finish for Washburn Rural in Saturday's Washburn Women's Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural 125-pound senior Lacey Middleton (right) finished second Saturday as the host Junior Blues posted a runnerup team finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

In addition to Blanco's title, the Junior Blues got runnerup finishes from 105-pound freshman Aliyah Tangpricha (17-3), 125-pound senior Lacey Middleton (29-4) and 170-pound senior Elia Smith (23-3) while 145-pound senior Emme Blanco (29-3), 190-pound junior Lily Davis (26-7) and 235-pound sophomore Emma Mehl (18-9) all posted third-place finishes.

Seaman finished in the upper half of the field with a ninth-place finish (74 points), with four Vikings finishing in the top six, led by junior fourth-place 170-pound placer Isabel McClintock (19-12).

Washburn Rural will be back at home next Saturday to host the Centennial League girls and boys tournament (9 a.m start). 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After jumping out to an early 17-4 lead in Thursday's final first-round game in the Capital City Classic, Shawnee Heights girls hit a temporary road block, with Lawrence battling all the way back to tie the game at the end of the first quarter and take a four-point lead midway through the second quarter.

Junior star KK Emmot scored 29 points with seven 3-pointers in Shawnee Heights' 74-61 Capital City Classic win over Lawrence. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But after a somewhat stern talking to from veteran T-Bird coach Bob Wells, Shawnee Heights righted its ship en route to a 74-61 victory over the Lions at Topeka High.

"They did (respond),'' Wells said. "It's kind of one of those deals where it is what it is because they're like everybody else in town, fighting the flu and fighting different kinds of stuff and we just had to battle through it.

"And you could tell that sometimes our shots were point-blank misses and I just told them to slow down and be stronger, understand where you're at right now with everything and just be strong and take it up with a little more force and finish, and thank goodness we started doing that.''  

Now 11-3 with 10 straight wins, Shawnee Heights advanced to a 7:30 p.m. semifinal Friday to face Derby, a 65-57 first-round winner over tournament host Topeka High.

T-Bird junior KK Emmot had a big night, scoring a game-high 29 points with seven 3-pointers to key the Shawnee Heights victory.

"After we kind of got pretty much like punched in the mouth, as we would say, we realized we had to step it up and start hitting shots and start playing defense,'' Emmot said. 

"We just had to adjust. That's the game of basketball, adjusting to it.''

Shawnee Heights rallied to take a 37-34 halftime lead and never trailed in the second half even though the 6-6 Lions got within three midway through the third quarter, with the T-Birds opening up a 15-point advantage down the stretch.

Shawnee Heights senior Imani McGlory scored 15 points with three 3-pointers in Thursday's 74-61 win over Lawrence. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Senior Imani McGlory backed Emmot with 15 points, including three 3-pointers, while junior Sami Baum added 11 points and senior Reianna Vega 10.

Junior post Cami Nauholz led Lawrence with 20 points and 14 rebounds while sophomore Macyn Ramsay added 17 points with five treys and senior Jada Baars-Turner scored 13 points.

Lawrence will play a 4:30 p.m. consolation game on Friday against Topeka High, a 65-57 first-round loser to Derby.

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 74, LAWRENCE 61

Lawrence               17 17 15 12  -- 61

Shawnee Heights 17 20 20 17  -- 74

Lawrence (6-6) – Juelsgaard 2-7 0-0 5, Doleman 3-8 0-0 4, Nauholz 7-16 6-6 20, Ramsay 6-8 0-0 17, Baars-Turner 5-8 1-1 13, Barber 0-2 0-0 0, Simmons 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 7-7 61. 

Shawnee Heights (11-3) – Emmot 10-21 2-3 29, McGlory 6-14 0-0 15, Carter 2-10 2-4 7, Baum 5-11 0-0 11, Vega 4-9 1-1 10, Brees 0-0 0-0 0, Hamilton 0-1 0-0 0, Schmidt 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 27-65 7-9 74.

3-point goals – Lawrence 8 (Ramsay 5, Baars-Turner 2, Juelsgaard), Shawnee Heights 13 (Emmot 7, McGlory 3, Carter, Baum, Vega). Total fouls – Lawrence 11, Shawnee Heights 10. Fouled out – Juelsgaard. Technical fouls -- none.

Topeka High junior star Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 37 points and reached the 1,000-point scoring milestone in Thursday's 65-57 loss to Derby. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Rayton scores 37, reaches 1,000-point milestone in Trojan loss

Thursday was a bittersweet night for Topeka High junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton and the Trojans.

Rayton scored 37 points and surpassed the 1,000-point career milestone for Topeka High, but the Trojans were unable to get over the hump against No. 3-ranked (Class 6A) Derby, dropping a 65-57 first-round decision to the Panthers.

"We started off slow, but we fought,'' Rayton said. "We fought our way back in and it might have been a loss, but it was a good loss because we fought our hardest.''

"They were going on runs and we'd come right back, several times,'' Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said. "I was very proud of that because it's very easy to fold your tent and go home.''

Rayton, who scored 33 points in a Tuesday night win over Atchison, surpassed that total with Thursday's 37-point explosion, hitting four 3-pointers among her 14 field goals while hitting five of eight free throws.

Rayton said reaching 1,000 points was a goal she's had since early in her career.

"It was a goal since freshman year, to get my 1,000 points before I'm a senior and I did it my junior year,'' she said.

"She's an athlete, she's got a lot of skills and she's got a great future ahead of her,'' Slaymaker said.

Topeka High sophomore Hailey Caryl scored 13 points in Thursday's 65-57 Capital City Classic first-round loss to Derby. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Freshman Hailey Caryl added 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Topeka High, but no other Trojan had more than three points.

Derby (12-2) rode a balanced attack to Thursday's win, with junior Ahsia Fox scoring 13 points, sophomore Alex Dinsmore 11 points and senior Macayla Askew and junior Maya Harris 10 apiece.

The Panthers never trailed, with just two ties in the opening quarter, and led 18-11 at the end of the first, 29-24 and 46-40 at the start of the final stanza.

Topeka High made numerous runs at the Panthers, getting within a point in the third quarter, but the Trojans were hampered by 20 turnovers on the night.

Topeka High will play a 4:30 p.m. consolation game on Friday against Lawrence, which dropped a 74-61 first-round decision to Shawnee Heights. 

The Trojans beat the Lions 65-47 on Jan. 6.

DERBY 65, TOPEKA HIGH 57

Derby            18 11 17 19  -- 65

Topeka High 11 13 16 17  -- 57

Derby (12-2) – Demel 2-5 2-2 7, Fox 6-16 1-2 13, Dinsmore 5-9 0-0 11, Graham 2-7 1-1 6, Askew 5-11 0-0 10, Watie 0-1 0-0 0, Clingan 0-2 0-0 0, Gutzmer 0-0 0-0 0, Carter 4-6 0-0 8, Harris 3-9 1-2 10. Totals 27-66 6-7 65. 

Topeka High (5-7) – Short 0-1 1-2 1, Marshall 0-6 1-2 1, Rayton 14-27 5-8 37, Caryl 2-5 9-12 13, Gotru 1-2 0-0 2, Triplett 1-1 0-0 3, Whayne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-42 16-24 57.

3-point goals – Derby 11 (Harris 3, Damel, Dinsmore, Graham), Topeka High 5 (Rayton 4, Triplett). Total fouls – Derby 23, Topeka High 14. Fouled out – Short. Technical fouls -- none.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Derby bested Shawnee Heights in every way, shape and form in Friday night's Capital City Classic semifinal at Topeka High, with the Panthers ending the T-Birds' 10-game winning streak with a dominating 80-44 victory.

Junior KK Emmot led Shawnee Heights with 11 points in Friday's 80-44 semifinal loss to Derby in the Capital City Classic. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Now the T-Birds want to flush that disappointing performance as quickly as possible with Shawnee Heights now set to face Garden City in Saturday's 1 p.m. third-place game.

"We've got to let it go and we've got to learn from it,'' Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. "They just came out and they were more physically prepared and more mentally prepared than we were. Kudos to them. They gave it to us every which way they could and there wasn't a lot we could do about it for awhile.''

Wells said the key for the T-Birds now is to make sure they return to the form that has allowed them to post a glossy 11-4 record on the season.

"We can't turn one loss into two and tomorrow's an important game,'' Wells said. "There's a lot of big games coming towards the end of the season in this last month and it starts tomorrow.''

No. 3-ranked (Class 6A) Derby, now 13-2 on the season, ended the first quarter with a commanding 24-8 record and went to the locker room at the half with a 50-20 cushion after a 26-12 second quarter onslaught by the Panthers.

Derby led 68-36 at the end of the third quarter to force a running clock the rest of the way.

Senior Macayla Askew led Derby with a game-high 22 points while senior Karlie Demel had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds and sophomore Sarai Graham also scored 11 points.

Junior KK Emmot led Shawnee Heights with 11 points while junior Pearmella Carter added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Derby will face Wichita Heights, a 57-42 semifinal winner over Garden City, in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. championship game.

DERBY 80, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 44

Shawnee Heights 8 12 16 8  -- 44

Derby                    24 26 18 12  -- 80

Shawnee Heights (11-4) – Emmot 3-11 4-5 11, McGlory 2-6 4-4 9, Carter 5-9 0-0 10, Baum 0-2 1-2 1, Vega 1-6 1-4 3, Brees 0-1 0-0 0, Aubrey Hamilton 0-0 2-2 2, Schmidt 1-2 0-2 3, Allie Hamilton 1-2 0-0 3, Karylye 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 14-41 12-21 44.

Derby (13-2) – Demel 4-6 2-2 11, Fox 3-6 2-3 8, Dinsmore 3-5 0-0 6, Graham 3-9 3-4 11, Askew 9-17 4-4 22, Watie 0-1 0-0 0, Clingan 0-2 0-0 0, Gutzmer 0-2 0-0 0, Brownlee 0-0 1-2 1, Carter 1-4 0-0 2, Harris 4-7 0-0 9, Vanmeter 3-3 0-1 8, Bohaty 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 30-62 14-19 80. 

3-point goals – Shawnee Heights 4 (Emmot, McGlory, Schmidt, Allie Hamilton), Derby 6 (Graham 2, NA 2, Harris, Demel). Total fouls – Derby 22, Shawnee Heights 16. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.

Trojans hold off Lions for 75-72 Capital City Classic win

Topeka High girls basketball posted an 18-point road win over Lawrence on Jan. 6, but Trojan coach Ron Slaymaker fully expected Friday's rematch with the Lions in the Capital City Classic on High's home floor to be much tougher.

And it was, with the Lions leading at some point in each of the first three quarters, but the Trojans survived the test to advance to Saturday's 11:30 a.m. fifth-place game with a 75-72 win.

"They played (Shawnee) Heights yesterday and played them well until late,'' Slaymaker said. "They got beat late and I was like, 'Gosh, those girls are better.' We knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"We tried to make it easy and then we tried to make it hard. I wasn't sure what team was out there, but we found a way.''

Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton led 6-7 Topeka High with 30 points, including five 3-pointers, while senior Keimara Marshall had 17 points and senior Sasha Gotru 12 points.

Junior post player Cami Nauholz registered a double-double for 6-7 Lawrence with 29 points and 15 rebounds while freshman Marley Doleman and sophomore Macyn Ramsay both added 19 points with five 3s apiece.

Topeka High will now face city rival Seaman at 11:30 a.m. in the fifth-place game.

TOPEKA HIGH 75, LAWRENCE 72

Lawrence      20 15 21 16  -- 72

Topeka High 22 18 21 14  -- 75

Lawrence (6-7) -- Juelsgaard 0-7 0-0 0, Doleman 7-9 0-0 19, Barber 2-5 0-2 5, Nauholz 10-24 8-9 29, Ramsay 7-13 0-1 19, Simmons 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 8-12 72 

Topeka High (6-7) – Short 2-5 1-1 5, Marshall 8-14 0-0 17, Rayton 10-21 5-6 30, Caryl 3-5 1-2 7, Gotru 4-6 4-4 12, Triplett 0-1 0-0 0, Whayne 1-2 2-4 4. Totals 28-54 13-17 75.

3-point goals – Lawrence 12 (Doleman 5, Ramsay 5, Nauholz, Barber), Topeka High 6 (Rayton 5, Marshall). Total fouls – Lawrence 14, Topeka High 13. Fouled out – Barber. Technical fouls -- none.

Seaman gets back on track with 30-point win over Scots

Seaman snapped a three-game losing streak Friday in a 62-32 Capital Classic romp past city rival Highland Park.

"It was good to smile again,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "For a number of reasons we needed to win this game. It's been a tough week for us, so it was good to see the girls out having fun and smiling.

"We've just got to stick with what we're doing. We're still growing and the girls are still learning through it. It's going to be like that through this season, but I'm proud of them for coming back today.''

Now 7-5 on the season, Seaman jumped out in from 21-6 by the end of the first quarter and then hit the Scots (4-10) with a 17-3 second quarter to take a commanding 38-9 advantage at the half.

Seaman held a 52-21 lead after three quarters to force a running clock over the final eight minutes.

Junior Brynn Spencer, who was celebrating her birthday, led Seaman with 12 points on four first-quarter 3-pointers.

Spencer was the only double-figure scorer for the Vikings, but all 11 Seaman players who saw action cracked the scoring column.

Senior Koralee Jones scored a game-high 15 points for Highland Park (4-10).

Highland Park will play Lawrence at 10 a.m. Saturday in the seventh-place game of the Capital City Classic while Seaman will play Topeka High in the fifth-place game at 11:30 a.m.

SEAMAN 62, HIGHLAND PARK 32

Highland Park 6 3 12 11 -- 32

Seaman       21 17 14 10  -- 62

Highland Park (4-10) -- Cosey 3-14 0-0 8, Kincade 2-15 0-2 6, Barnett 1-5 1-2 3, Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Atkins 6-12 3-8 15, Cameron 0-1 0-0 0, Inyard 0-3 0-0 0, Jones 6-12 3-8 15. Totals 12-53 4-12 32.  

Seaman (7-5) – Dreher 3-5 0-0 6, Spencer 4-11 0-0 12, Beaton 3-9 0-1 7, Ayres 2-3 0-0 4, Gragg 3-6 0-0 7, Frickey 2-4 1-1 6, Ketron 2-3 0-0 4, Bruns 2-4 0-0 4, Alfen 0-2 0-0 0, Puvogel 4-9 0-0 10, Zurmely 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-49 7-12 48.

3-point goals – Highland Park 4 (Cosey 2, Kincade 2), Seaman 7 (Spencer 4, Gragg, Frickey, Beaton). Total fouls – Highland Park 9, Seaman 11. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.

CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC

Friday's scores

Seaman 62, Highland Park 32

Topeka High 75, Lawrence 72

Wichita Heights 57, Garden City 42

Derby 80, Shawnee Heights 44

Saturday's games

10 a.m. -- Highland Park vs. Lawrence (seventh place) 

11:30 -- Seaman vs. Topeka High (fifth place)

1 p.m. -- Garden City vs. Shawnee Heights (third place)

2:30 -- Wichita Heights vs. Derby (championship)

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural swimming ran its string of Topeka City Boys Championships to seven Thursday, running away with the city meet at Capitol Federal Natatorium.

Washburn Rural boys swimming celebrates in the Capitol Federal Natatorium pool Thursday after winning its seventh straight city team title. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

The Junior Blues were so dominant they claimed all but two of the 11 All-City first-team slots. They racked up 609 points, topping Seaman with 371.

The performance prompted second-year coach Bob Burdick to say that the rebuild from a Class 6A State third-place finish in 2024 is ahead of schedule.

“We lost a lot of seniors (from 2024), and they were really fast seniors. So, we had a rebuild year last year,” Burdick said. “That rebuild went way faster than expected because we got a lot of great swimmers. We’re going to lose 12 seniors this year, but we’re still looking just as solid next year because of all the new freshmen and sophomores coming in as well as the team that will return.

“They’ve got a great attitude and they’ve meshed totally as a team. We don’t have anybody with ego problems or anything like that. So that’s carrying the whole team.”

Daniel Allen won two individual events and swam on two winning relays as Washburn Rural dominated Thursday's city championships. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Braeden Montgomery was a double individual champion Thursday and swam on a winning relay as Washburn Rural won its seventh straight city team title. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN] 

Daniel Allen and Braeden Montgomery led the Junior Blues by taking first in two individual events while Thomas Appuhn, Castle Wallace and Davin Potts each collected one win.

Seaman's Kinser Barbosa won the 50 and 100-yard freestyle in Thursday's city swimming meet. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Kinser Barbosa highlighted the Seaman performance by taking first in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races.

“I was able to push past my limits and break those benchmarks in my individuals and was able to maintain it in both relays too. So, I feel great,” Barbosa said. “This is a special meet where you get to compete with your friends, but also where everyone has that great mindset to push past your limits. Each race is a great race because they all have the same mindset.”

Will Stewart was named to the All-City first team for placing second in two events and for also helping lead Topeka High relay teams to two third-place finishes.

Allen returned to the Junior Blues for his junior year after devoting last season solely to club competition. Burdick knew what he was getting in Allen because, as a freshman, he placed seventh at the state meet in the 500-yard freestyle and also contributed to a relay team that placed third at state.

“Adding Daniel is the anchor for the relays, so we know we’re going to be strong there, but we also have a lot of good swimmers supporting him,” Burdick said. “His attitude is really great for the team. That helps motivate a lot of people and gives us a great role model in the pool.”

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights' bowling team celebrated its Senior Day with a sweep of all four championships in Wednesday's five-school competition at Gage Bowl.

Senior Chevy Stallbaumer captured the boys individual title in Wednesday's five-school Shawnee Heights meet at Gage Bowl with a 688 series as the T-Birds also won the team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Senior Chevy Stallbaumer, who rolled a perfect 300 game last week, followed that up with a 688 three-game series on Wednesday to take boys individual honors by 40 pins as the T-Birds took the team title by 145 pins (2,545-2,400) over United Kansas Conference foe Basehor-Linwood.

Shawnee Heights sophomore Emma Wederski reacts to a strike during her final-game 257 Wednesday at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TopSports.news]

It was also a big day for Shawnee Heights sophomore Emma Wederski, who took top honors in the girls division with a 587 series as the T-Birds took the team championship by 113 pins (2,245-2,132) over Basehor-Linwood.

Stallbaumer's 688 series topped the 676 series he recorded in last Thursday's meet in Lawrence when he rolled his 300, with the T-Bird standout on target from the outset on Wednesday, bowling a 222 in his opening game before following that up with a 209 and finishing with his best game of the day, a 257.

"I felt great today,'' Stallbaumer said. "Everything kind of clicked. I missed a spare my first frame, but I kind of just shrugged it off my shoulder. There's nothing you can do. When you miss a spare you miss a spare and you get back up and you keep on pushing.''

Stallbaumer said his perfect game has just served as motivation for the remainder of the 2026 season.

"It definitely motivated me a lot,'' Stallbaumer said of his 300 game. "That's just going to keep me motivated throughout the whole season.''

Stallbaumer wasn't on the top six when Heights won the Class 5A state title in 2024 but played a major role last season as the T-Birds advanced to state and he feels like the team can contend to be among the state's elite again this season. 

"I feel like we can definitely progress as a team and just see how this season plays out,'' he said. "I feel like we can (contend). There's no doubt in my mind we can.''

Heights' Kaden Evans finished third individually in Wednesday's meet with a 621 series (203-214-204) while Evan Jones also topped the 600 mark with a 611, including a high game of 231.

Wederski began her day with games of 168 and 162 before catching fire in the third game with eight straight strikes out of the gate on the way to a 257.

Wederski said her team and a big crowd at Gage kept her going. 

"My team was hyping me up, along with the crowd and that really helped, and I was pretty proud of myself,'' Wederski said. "No one gets to see what we do in practices. We hype each other up during practices and having a crowd adds to the joy of it.

"Today was packed. I think this was the most packed we've seen it this season so far.''

And now Wederski just wants to build off Wednesday's success as the season goes along.  

"This is my first season on varsity, so it's a whatever happens happens kind of thing and I'm just taking one meet, one day at a time,'' she said.

Shawnee Heights put three bowlers in the girls top five, with Addison VanMetre finishing third with a 577, just one pin out of second and 10 pins behind Wederski, while Reese Bell placed fourth with a 547.

Bell had a high game of 228 while VanMetre had three games between 184 and 204.

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS INVITATIONAL

At Gage Bowl

Girls

Team scores

Shawnee Heights 2,245, Basehor-Linwood 2,132, Lawrence Free State 1,903, Leavenworth 1,752, Lawrence 1,751. 

Individual results

1. Emma Wederski, Shawnee Heights, 587;2. Elly Findley, Basehor-Linwood, 587; 3. Addison VanMetre, Shawnee Heights, 577; 4. Reese Bell, Shawnee Heights, 547;5. Kayleigh Ussery, Basehor-Linwood, 525.

Other Shawnee Heights -- Lauryn Valdivia 510, Tatum Simpson 484, Bailey Liby 434. 

Boys

Team scores

Shawnee Heights 2,545, Basehor-Linwood 2,400, Lawrence 2,386, Lawrence Free State 2,304, Leavenworth 2,196.

Individual results

1. Chevy Stallbaumer, Shawnee Heights, 688; 2. Graesyn Hoss, 648; 3. Kaden Evans, Shawnee Heights, 621; 4. Liyam Southammavong, Lawrence, 617; 5. Thomas Futtrell, Lawrence Free State, 616.

Other Shawnee Heights --Evan Jones 611, Henry Schattilly 586, Trey Donath 531, Nathan Burnett 520.

 Rural girls roll to quadrangular win

Led by individual runnerup Megan Glinka, Washburn Rural's girls took the team championship in Tuesday's Rural quadrangular at West Ridge Lanes.

Glinka, a junior, led the Junior Blues with a 637 series as Rural won the team title by a 2,194-2,068 margin over Centennial League rival Emporia, while Manhattan was third at 2,046 and Junction City fourth at 1,963.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner, one of the state's most prolific scorers, had an off night offensively -- by his lofty standards -- in Tuesday's non-league game at Washburn Rural.

Washburn senior John Hoytal (left) scored a game-high 20 points while Seaman senior Landon Wiltz (5) scored 14 points with four treys in Tuesday's 53-46 Viking win. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

But Bonner, who still led the Vikings with 15 points, got plenty of help from his friends as No. 5-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman used a big third quarter to build a nine-point advantage and held off the Junior Blues for a 53-46 win.

Bonner had a tough shooting night from the field, but hit a pair of 3s, including the game-clincher, and went 7 of 8 from the free throw line.

Viking senior Landon Wiltz hit four first-half 3-pointers and finished with 14 points while senior Griffin Zuniga also scored 14 points with a pair of 3s and senior Cameron Brian chipped in with eight points and a pair of treys.

Brian hit a big 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining after the Junior Blues had clawed within two points and Zuniga nailed a 3 to put Seaman up by a 48-42 margin with about two minutes left before Bonner connected with about 30 seconds remaining to give the 10-2 Vikings a 51-45 cushion

"There were a couple of those shots that some people behind me were like, 'No, no, yeah,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "But Cameron hit a big 3 for us and Griffin hit a big 3 and then Bonner goes to the corner in pretty much the same spot as the other two and those three shots allowed us to escape with the win.''

Tuesday's win was Seaman's second straight victory over a Class 6A school after the then-No. 2 Vikings dropped a disappointing 53-51 decision to Hutchinson in the first round of the McPherson Invitational last Thursday.

"We got a little bit too caught up in the rankings and the headlines and everybody patting you on the back telling you how good you are,'' Cox said. "I knew with the competition (Hutchinson) played that they'd been tested and we weren't going to scare them.

"We gave them too many layups and then they hit a big 3 late. We had a couple of opportunities, but we weren't ready to play and we paid the price for it, which is to (Hutch's) credit because they did what they had to do.''  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights senior Chevy Stallbaumer became the second city boys bowler to roll a perfect 300 game this season in Thursday's De Soto quadrangular at Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence.

Stallbaumer bowled the 300 in his second game after opening with a 203 and he finished off his 676 three-game series with a 173.

Shawnee Heights' Evan Jones finished third individually with a 686 series while Stallbaumer placed fourth and Seaman's Garrette Shaw was fifth with a 647.

Jones bowled games of 203, 246 and 237.

De Soto won the boys team title with a 2,679 total while Heights was second at 2,588, Seaman third at 2,513 and Bonner Springs fourth at 1,981.

Seaman swept the top four places in the girls individual standings, led by sophomore individual champion Leah Crawford with a 655 three-game series, en route to the team title by a 2,531-2,137 margin over Shawnee Heights.

Seaman's Kayla Duncan was second with a 640 series while Paige Snyder was third at 632 and Claire LaDuke fourth with a 591.

Crawford rolled games of 241, 181 and 233 while Duncan had a high game of 255, Snyder a 235 and LaDuke a 229. 

Shawnee Heights' Reese Bell was fifth individually with a 573, including a high game of 247.

Hayden star junior bowler Kelton Meier registered a personal-record 791 series in Wednesday's bowling quadrangular at Gage Center, including a 280 game. [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]

Meier dominates bowling quad with 791 series

Hayden junior Kelton Meier, who bowled a 300 game in his season-opener, continued his blistering start to the 2026 bowling season with a personal-best 791 three game series in Wednesday's Shawnee Heights bowling quadrangular at Gage Center.

Kansas City-Turner's boys finished first as a team with a 2,590 total, followed by Shawnee Heights at 2,454, Hayden at 2,436 and Topeka West at 1,992.

Shawnee Heights' Trey Donath finished third individually with a 645 series while Hayden's Reece Renyer placed fifth with a 617.

Addison Van Metre, Shawnee Heights

Shawnee Heights won the girls team title by 430 pins with a 2,140 team score, led by junior individual champion Addison VanMetre with a 593 series.

Hayden's girls were second at 1,710, Turner third at 1,683 and Topeka West fourth at 1,323.

Shawnee Heights' Emma Wederski finished second individually with a 525 series and the T-Birds got a third-place finish from Reese Bell with a 524 as Heights swept the top three places. Heights' Bailey Liby finished fifth with a 483 series.

Paige Snyder, Seaman

Snyder, Seaman girls post quadrangular wins

Seaman's girls posted a 268-pin win in Wednesday's bowling quadrangular at West Ridge while Viking junior Paige Snyder took top individual honors with a 656 three-game series.

Seaman won the team championship by a 2,417-2,149 margin over Emporia while Washburn Rural was third with a 1,793 total and De Soto fourth at 1,690.

Snyder won the girls individual title by 28 pins over De Soto's Avery Lovegren while Seaman's Leah Crawford was third with a 623.

By Rick Peterson

TopSports.news

Topeka High will host the 2026 Capital City Classic girls basketball tournament Thursday through Saturday, with Highland Park, Seaman and Shawnee Heights joining the Trojans in the event.

Shawnee Heights junior KK Emmot returns for the T-Birds, who captured the Capital City Classic championship in 2025 at Topeka West. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman (6-4 on the season) will open the tournament at 3 p.m. Thursday against Garden City (7-5).

Highland Park (4-7) and No. 2-ranked (Class 6A) Wichita Heights (12-0) are on the same side of the bracket with Seaman and Garden City and will play a first-round game at 4:30 p.m.

The Seaman-Garden City and Highland Park-Wichita Heights winners will play a 6  p.m. semifinal on Friday.

On the other side of the bracket, Topeka High (4-6) will take on No. 3-ranked (6A) Derby (11-2) in a 6 p.m. first-round game while No. 6 (5A) Shawnee Heights (10-3) will face Lawrence (6-5) at 7:30.

The Topeka High-Derby winner will face the Shawnee Heights-Lawrence winner in a 7:30 Friday night semifinal.

The tournament will conclude on Saturday, starting with the seventh-place game at 10 a.m., followed by the fifth-place game at 11:30, the third-place contest at 1 p.m. and the championship tilt at 2:30 p.m. in separate gyms.

CAPITAL CITY CLASSIC

At Topeka High
 
Thursday

3 p.m. -- Seaman vs. Garden City.

4:30 -- Highland Park vs. Wichita Heights.

6 -- Topeka High vs. Derby.

7:30 -- Shawnee Heights vs. Lawrence.

Friday

3 p.m. -- Seaman-Garden City loser vs. Highland Park-Wichita Heights loser.

4:30 -- Topeka High-Derby loser vs. Shawnee Heights-Lawence loser.

6 -- Seaman-Garden City winner vs. Highland Park-Wichita Heights winner.

7:30 -- Topeka High-Derby winner vs. Shawnee Heights-Lawrence winner.

Saturday

10 a.m. -- Seventh place.

11:30 -- Fifth place.

1 p.m. -- Third place.

2:30 -- Championship.

Carvel Reynoldson's Hayden girls basketball team will compete in this week's Lady Cat Classic at El Dorado. [File photo/TSN}

Hayden to compete in El Dorado

Hayden, 10-3 on the season, is the No. 2 seed for the 33rd annual Lady Cat Classic in El Dorado Thursday through Saturday.

Hayden, No. 9-ranked in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, will open its tournament bid at 6 p.m. Thursday against Gardner-Edgerton (3-7).

With a win the Wildcats will advance to a 6 o'clock semifinal on Friday to face the first-round winner between Mill Valley (9-4) and host El Dorado (5-6).

On the other side of the bracket No. 4 (5A) Maize South (11-2) will play a first-round game against Augusta (3-9) while No. 8 (5A) Kapaun Mt. Carmel (8-4) will face Goddard (5-5). Those two winners will play a 7:45 semifinal on Friday.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 1-ranked Washburn University men's basketball posted its 20th straight win to open the season Friday at Lee Arena, posting a 90-78 MIAA decision over Missouri Western.

Senior Sam Ungashick came off the bench to score 17 points for No. 1-ranked Washburn in Friday's 90-78 MIAA win over Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

The Ichabods used efficient shooting, balanced scoring and several timely runs to keep the Griffons at arm's length, improving to 20-0 overall and 10-0 in the conference.

And while Washburn coach Brett Ballard wasn't necessarily pleased with every aspect of Friday's win, he also knew it was solid enough to get the job done.

"We got up 22 there in the first half with about three minutes left and had a chance to kind of slam the door,'' Ballard said. "We didn't finish the half real well, so that was disappointing, and then we just never could never string together enough stops to put this thing away.

"But I've got to remind myself that we're so spoiled with the teams we've had here the last couple of years and how we've won a lot of these games. You crush a team on Wednesday (94-44 over Northwest Missouri) and I think sometimes you assume that's how it's going to go every time, but in this league that's just not the reality. You're going to have to grind through some of these and ultimately that will be good for us.'' 

Washburn weathered an early back-and-forth stretch that featured six ties and one lead change in the opening minutes before exploding offensively.

After Missouri Western (13-8, 5-5) briefly led 3–0, Washburn responded with a surge fueled by transition baskets and inside touches, eventually stretching the margin to as many as 22 points late in the first half.

Washburn turned a 42-30 lead with 5:34 to go in the first half into a 54-32 margin with 2:44 to play in the half after a 12-2 run.

However, Missouri Western closed the half on a 10-2 run, trimming the Washburn advantage back to 14 at 56-42.

The Ichabods shot a scorching 81.5 percent from the field and 75 percent from deep in the opening period, building the lead.

Missouri Western mounted multiple challenges in the second half, trimming the deficit into single digits midway through the period, but every run was answered by the Ichabods.

A sequence of interior buckets and fastbreak finishes helped Washburn stabilize the lead, and a late push pushed the margin back into double figures down the stretch.

The Ichabods finished with 25 fast-break points and 48 points in the paint, consistently beating the Griffons down the floor and attacking the rim.

Washburn placed eight players in the scoring column, with several delivering standout performances. 

Sophomore Dillon Claussen led the way for the Ichabods with 18 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting night while adding six rebounds and four assists.

Senior Sam Ungashick provided a major spark off the bench, knocking down shots in transition and finishing with 17 points in 17 minutes on 7-of-9 shooting from the field while making his first six shots of the game.

Ungashick's top two scoring games of the season have both come against the Griffons as has his Washburn career-high.

"I think it might be a little bit of chance,'' Ungashick said. "But it's always a matchup game and all my guys are always instilling confidence in me and having faith in me to go out there and prove it.

"When you see those first couple go in it helps and when I hit the late stepback 3 (in the first half) that's kind of when I felt it was a good game for me.''