Topeka West Chargers

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman, Shawnee Heights and Topeka West all put a player on the All-United Kansas Conference volleyball first team while Seaman senior Kinsley Smith was named the conference defensive player of the year.

Kinsley Smith, Seaman

Smith also earned a spot on the eight-member All-UKC first team along with Shawnee Heights senior Avery Willey and Topeka West junior Sydney Van Dyke.

Avery Willey, Shawnee Heights

Sydney Van Dyke, Topeka West

Shawnee Heights senior Brooke McCabe was named to the All-UKC second team while Seaman senior Addison Sibley, Shawnee Heights junior Clara Morgan and senior Jaidyn Euwer andTopeka West senior Breonnah Keeling and sophomore Kendall Munoz received honorable mention.

Lansing senior Avery Sands was named the UKC offensive player of the year while De Soto senior Kylie Groves was named the setter of the year and Lansing's Whitney Pakenham was voted coach of the year.   

ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Hayden, which has advanced to the past two Class 3A state championship games, took the first step towards a third straight title shot with a 70-7 rout over Columbus Friday night at Hayden.

Senior Kade Mitchell (25) rushed for 190 yards on just five attempts and scored four touchdowns in Hayden's 70-7 Class 3A playoff win over Columbus Friday night. [File photo/TSN]

Hayden, the No. 1 3A East seed, improved to 9-0 on the season and will host No. 9 Wellsville (6-3), a 50-0 winner over Parsons, next Friday at 7 p.m. 

The Wildcats jumped out to a 42-7 first-quarter cushion over 2-7 Columbus, the No. 16 East seed, and led 63-7 at the half.

Senior Kade Mitchell had a big night for Hayden, rushing for 190 yards unofficially on just five attempts, including touchdown runs of 51, 42 and 75 yards while also hauling in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Wildcat senior quarterback Connor Hanika.

Senior Xander Blassing had 30 and 35-yard interception returns for TDs as six Wildcats scored touchdowns on the night.

HAYDEN 70, COLUMBUS 7

Columbus (2-7) 7 0 0 0 -- 7

Hayden (9-0)   42 21 7 0 -- 70

Hayden -- Mitchell 51 run (Becker kick)

Hayden -- Blasing 30 interception return (Becker kick)

Hayden -- Mitchell 45 pass from Hanika (Becker kick)

Hayden -- McGivern 4 run (Becker kick)

Columbus -- Dohle 96 kickoff return (Gray kick)

Hayden -- Becker 34 pass from Hanika (Becker kick)

Hayden -- Blasing 35 interception return (Becker kick)

Hayden - Mitchell 42 run (Becker kick)

Hayden - Mitchell 75 run (Becker kick)

Hayden - Branson 39 run (Becker kick)

Hayden - Todwong 14 run (Becker kick)

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Columbus: Jayden Rodriguez 3-8, Jett Tanner 7-4, Jayden Dohle 4-3, Braun Stone 5-1, Jonas Stover 1-(minus)-5. Hayden: Kade Mitchell 5-190, Kyden Lichtenhauer 5-84, Mason Branson 1-39, Jairus Todwong 3-28, Jackson McGivern 5-24, Evan Huntley 4-15, Callen Powers 3-8, Alex Lopez 1-5, Conner Hanika 1-4, Mason Becker 1-4, Elijah Torrez 1-1.

PASSING -- Columbus: Jett Turner 7-20-5, 72 yards. Hayden -- Conner Hanika 4-6-0, 98 yards.

RECEIVING -- Columbus: Jonas Stover 3-26, Braun Stone 1-20, Jayden Rodriguez 1-15, Cole Howard 1-8, Lemmie Stone 1-3. Hayden: Kade Mitchell 1-45, Mason Becker 1-34, Mahki Kidd 1-13, Xander Blasing 1-6.

PUNTING -- Columbus: Jonas Stover 4-22.25.

Eagles takes 29-8 win over St. Marys in 2A rematch

Silver Lake stretched its win streak to seven games Friday night, opening Class 2A postseason with a 29-8 home win over St. Marys.

The Eagles, who improved to 7-2 overall, beat the Bears for the second time this fall, taking a 21-6 District 3 win on Sept. 26

Silver Lake, the No. 4 East seed in 2A, advances to the second round of the playoffs to face No. 5 seed Sabetha (8-1), a 48-0 winner over No. 12 Humboldt (3-6).  

Rossville routs Mission Valley 71-0 in 1A playoff opener

Class 1A District 2 champion Rossville, the No. 4 East seed and a state semifinalist last fall, opened its 2025 playoff bid with a 71-0 home win over Mission Valley Friday night.

The Bulldawgs took control of the game with a 21-0 first quarter and scored 35 points in the second quarter to open up a 56-0 halftime lead before adding a pair of scores in the third stanza. 

Senior quarterback Canann Mitchell scored on a 41-yard run and threw for a 30-yard TD to Jack Donovan and a 15-yard TD pass to Cameron Miller.

Donovan opened the scoring with a 55-yard run while Landen Lewis scored on 10 and 40-yard runs, Andre Johnson scored on a 6-yard run and Conner Bush scored on a 2-yard run.

The Bulldawgs also got interception returns for touchdowns from Cale Horak and Dalen Dick while Austin Dohrman kicked nine extra points and Cole Graves scored on a 2-point conversion run.

Rossville advances to host No. 5 seed Jefferson County North (8-1), a 30-14 winner over McLouth, next Friday.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

CLASS 6A

Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural

WICHITA SOUTH (3-5) at WASHBURN RURAL (5-3)

Washburn Rural is the No. 7 Class 6A West seed while Wichita South is No. 10. Washburn Rural, playing without standout senior quarterback John Hoytal, dropped a 43-0 home Centennial League decision to Manhattan last week. Friday's winner will advance to a second-round game to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 2 Wichita Northwest (7-1) and No. 15 Campus (0-8). Game time: 7 p.m. 

TOPEKA HIGH (3-5) at DERBY (5-3)

The Trojans, coming off a 34-12 home non-league loss to Pittsburg, are the No. 11 6A West seed while perennial state contender Derby is the No. 6 seed. The Topeka High-Derby winner will advance to face Friday's winner between No. 3 seed Junction City (6-2) and No. 14 Wichita West (1-7). Game time: 7 p.m.

CLASS 5A

G'Honi Montgomery, Highland Park

DE SOTO (6-2) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (6-2)

At Hummer Sports Park

Coming off a big 42-30 Meadowlark Conference road win over previously-unbeaten Kansas City-Washington, Highland Park is the No. 8 Class 5A East seed while United Kansas Conference stalwart De Soto is seeded No. 9 and coming off a 42-21 UKC home win over Seaman. Highland Park junior G'Honi Montgomery carried the ball 14 times for 292 yards and five touchdowns against Washington and has 633 yards on 55 attempts in five games. Junior JoJo Kingcannon has rushed for 393 yards and four TDs on 26 carries and caught seven passes for 280 yards and three TDs. The Highland Park-De Soto winner will move on to face the winner of Friday's contest between No. 1 seed Basehor-Linwood (8-0) and No. 16 Blue Valley Southwest (0-8). Game time: 6 p.m.

Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (4-4) at ST. JAMES ACADEMY (7-1)

Shawnee Heights is coming off a 29-16 home United Kansas Conference win over Kansas City Turner and is the No. 11 5A East seed for the playoffs while St. James is the No. 6 seed. The T-Bird-Thunder winner will advance to next week's second round of the playoffs to take on the winner of Friday's game between No. 3 seed Spring Hill (7-1) and No. 14 Kansas City-Harmon (1-7). Shawnee Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott has completed 181 of 287 passes for 2,767 yards and 23 TDs while senior AJ Gallegos has 61 catches for 860 yards and seven touchdowns. Dayton Vanderpool is the T-Birds' leading tackler with 75 stops (51 solo), including 5.5 tackles for loss. Game time: 7 p.m.

SEAMAN (3-5) at LIBERAL (6-2)

Seaman, coming off a 42-21 United Kansas Conference road loss at De Soto, is the No. 11 5A West seed while Liberal is No. 6. The winner of Friday's game will advance to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 3 Andover (6-2) and No. 14 seed Salina South (1-7). Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 136 of 231 passes for 2,013 yards and 23 touchdowns while Josh Brown has 38 catches for 611 yards and eight TDs and Coy Barta has 33 catches for 558 yards and nine TDs. Sophomore Quentin Moravec has 830 rushing yards and 11 TDs on 147 attempts. Game time: 6 p.m.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

It's been a rare occasion that Washburn Rural soccer has had to come from behind this fall.

Washburn Rural soccer poses for a team picture after winning a Class 6A regional title Thursday at McElroy Field. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Thursday was one of those occasions, with Wichita East drawing first blood eight minutes into the Class 6A regional final.

But the Junior Blues responded just like Rural coach Brian Hensyel hoped they would, scoring three unanswered goals to advance to next Monday's 6A state quarterfinal with a 3-1 win over the Blue Aces at McElroy Field.

"We haven't been behind much all year,'' Hensyel said. "In fact, until last Thursday at Blue Valley North when we went down 1-0, we'd probably been behind less than 20 minutes all year, so maybe that was a good experience for us, falling behind and having to come back and play a really good game to win that one.

"Wichita East is a good team, we knew that. They'd been on a run and most of their losses were early, so they were hot and we knew it was going to be a tough game.''

No. 7 West seed Wichita East, which finished its season 12-6-0, jumped on top 1-0 at the 32:01 mark of the opening half on a goal from senior David Rodriguez, but Washburn Rural (16-1-1) pulled even less than three minutes later when senior Dylan Willingham found the back of the net off an assist from senior Drew Moore.

Washburn Rural junior Brodye Kocher-Munoz (9) celebrates his go-ahead goal with teammate Drew Moore in Thursday's 3-1 Class 6A regional win over Wichita East. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Washburn Rural senior Dylan Willingham (19) scored a pair of goals in Thursday's 3-1 Class 6A regional win over Wichita East. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

The game was still knotted 1-1 at the half, but junior Brodye Kocher-Munoz put Washburn Rural ahead to stay just 5:01 into the second half and Willingham, Rural's single-season and career scoring leader, added his second goal with 6:15 remaining to account for the final margin.

"They got a nice early goal, I loved our quick response, and then at halftime we said we've just got to get back to the things we do well,'' Hensyel said. "And then two of the guys that have been big for us all year obviously, Dylan and Brodye Kocher-Munoz, were both great with two goals.''

Kocher-Munoz also had an assist on the night as Washburn Rural extended its unbeaten streak to 15 games (14 wins, one tie) while snapping Wichita East's nine-game winning streak. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

It was a cold, rainy and windy night at Hummer Sports Park Tuesday night.

But nothing could rain on Topeka West soccer's parade to a Class 5A regional final as the Chargers rolled to a 6-2 win over Hays, avenging a season-ending loss to the Indians in the 2024 playoffs.

Junior JP Ayella (right) scored a pair of goals Tuesday in Topeka West's 6-2 Class 5A regional win over Hays at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Tuesday was a much different story for West, now 13-2-2 on the season, with senior JP Ayella finding the back of the net just 1 minute, 45 seconds into the game, the beginning of a 3-0 start for the Chargers, who will host Salina South at 6 p.m. Thursday at Hummer.

The Chargers' early offensive explosion -- three goals in the first 6:13 -- was a welcome sight for Topeka West coach Josh Kutter, whose team had been blanked 2-0 in last season's playoff contest and managed just one goal in a 1-0 tournament victory over the Indians early this season.

"That was really big,'' Kutter said. "We know that we're capable of putting the ball in the back of the net and we always know that we want to get off quick, but that confidence, it carries you through a game, so having that confidence and that energy that they had for the entire game was really important.''

"Starting fast helps us advance and gets our hopes up and all, so I was really glad I was able to get that first goal quick,'' Ayella said. "Overnight I was thinking, 'Man, we have to win,' because you're going to feel so bad if you don't win and the season's done like that, so my emotions were high and I was like, 'We've got to win.' ''

Topeka West junior Diego Gonzalez-Talavera (9) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring his first of two goals in the Chargers' 6-2 Class 5A regional win over Hays Tuesday night at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]   

West junior Diego Gonzalez-Talavera made it a 2-0 game at the 36:16 mark of the opening half and just 2:31 later junior D'Ante Smith Dilone scored to put the Chargers in command at 3-0.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

MONDAY'S GAME

CLASS 4A-1A

CIRCLE (5-10-1) vs. CAIR PARAVEL LATIN (9-6-0)

At Bettis Family Sports Complex

Cair Paravel Latin, the No. 5 seed in the Class 4A-1A West bracket with a 9-6-0 record, will open its postseason bid with a 6 p.m. Monday regional game against Circle (5-10-1). With a win Monday the Lions will advance to a Region 4 regional final on Thursday to face the winner of a Monday game between Berean Academy (10-5-1) and El Dorado (3-11-2).

TUESDAY'S GAMES

CLASS 6A

Dylan Willingham, Washburn Rural

WICHITA NORTHWEST (4-11-1) at WASHBURN RURAL (14-1-1)

Perennial state power Washburn Rural is the No. 2 West seed in Class 6A with a 14-1-1 record and will be at home Tuesday for a 6 p.m. regional semifinal at McElroy Field to host No. 15 seed Wichita Northwest (4-11-1). With a win Tuesday the Centennial League champs will advance to a regional final on Thursday to host the winner of Monday's game at Wichita between No. 10 Junction City (8-7-1) and No. 7 Wichita East (11-5-0). 

Billy Lutz, Topeka High

TOPEKA HIGH (9-5-2) at WICHITA NORTH (10-6-0)

Topeka High is the No. 9 Class 6A West seed with a 9-5-2 record and will go on the road Tuesday to face No. 8 seed Wichita North (10-6-0) in its postseason opener. With a win Tuesday, the Trojans will move on to a regional final on Thursday to face the winner of a regional semifinal between top West seed Wichita Southeast (15-1-0) and No. 16 Derby (3-13-0).

CLASS 5A

Camden Granado, Shawnee Heights

BASEHOR-LINWOOD (3-12-1) vs. SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (14-2-0)

At Bettis Family Sports Complex

An outstanding 14-2-0 regular season earned Shawnee Heights the No. 1 East seed for the Class 5A playoffs. The T-Birds will begin postseason with a 6 p.m. regional semifinal on Tuesday against their United Kansas Conference rival, No. 16 Basehor-Linwood (3-12-1). With a win Tuesday the T-Birds will advance to a regional final on Thursday to host the winner of Tuesday's game between No. 8 seed Kansas City-Turner (6-6-4) and No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas (7-8-1) at Turner, also a member of the UKC.

Gage Kindred-Noragon, Topeka West

HAYS (7-8-0) vs. TOPEKA WEST (12-2-2)

At Hummer Sports Park

Topeka West earned the No. 3 Class 5A West seed with a 12-2-2 regular season and will open postseason with a 6 p.m. Tuesday regional semifinal against Hays (7-8-0). With a win Tuesday the Chargers will move on to a Thursday regional final to host the winner of Tuesday's game at Salina between No. 6 seed Salina South (11-5-0) and No. 11 Andover Central (8-7-1).

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

WICHITA -- On a rain soaked Saturday morning, four local teams (Topeka High, Washburn Rural, Seaman, Topeka West) headed to Wichita’s L.W. Clapp Park to run in the Class 5A and 6A regional cross country championships.

In 6A, both the girls and boys teams from Washburn Rural qualified for the state meet and will run next Saturday at Rim Rock Farm north of Lawrence.

Washburn Rural senior Emily Graf finished fifth in Saturday's Class 6A regional at Wichita, leading Rural to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]

The second-place Washburn Rural girls were led by a fifth-place finish from senior Emily Graf, who finished in a time of 20:19.10. Two freshmen teammates also finished in the top ten -- Alyson Hinck in eighth with a time of 20:34.75 and 

Morgan Munson had a ninth place finish in 20:41.04.

The Washburn Rural boys tied Manhattan with 62 points, but Manhattan finished in first due to the tiebreaker of their sixth runner finishing four places ahead of Washburn Rural’s sixth-place runner.

Rural sophomore Duke Graf finished in second place in a time of 17:38.44 and was joined in the top 10 by fellow sophomore Clayton Fink with a time of 17:51.16.

Topeka High sophomore Easton Davis qualified for state individually based on his 14th-place finish in 18:09.80.

In Class 5A, the Seaman girls and boys will send one runner each to the state meet next Saturday.

Seaman junior Brynn Spencer was sixth in Saturday's Class 5A regional at Wichita, earning a state berth. [File photo/TSN]

Junior Brynn Spencer finished in sixth place with a time of 20:06.18 and commented on running in the rainy conditions,

“Knowing that everyone would be running in the same conditions, I wanted to go out and push the pace as much as I could,'' Spencer said. "All the puddles were fun to run through and I’m just really glad with how I did.”

In looking forward to next week’s state meet, Spencer said, “I’m kind of sad that the whole team didn’t qualify and I’ll have to run by myself, but it’s been a great season with all of them. My main goal for next week is to get a better time and place than last year at state. Coach (Rick) Brading wants me to push for the top 10 and into the elite runners group in our school.”

Seaman senior Brody Anderson finished second individually in Saturday's Class 5A cross country regional at Wichita. [File photo/TSN] 

Seaman senior Brody Anderson finished the boys race in 16:55.76, just 0.07 seconds behind regional champion Daniel Enriquez of Kapaun-Mt. Carmel.

Anderson talked about running the rain-soaked course, “It was a fun day to get out and race, but the conditions never produce fast times and that wasn’t the goal today. Coach (Luke) Wiens and I planned all week to go out today and qualify and put up either one or two points for the team.”

He is aware of what will happen next week, “State will be more strategic and I’ll be fighting for the win.”

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Silver Lake topped Council Grove 17-8 Friday night to capture the Class 2A District 3 championship while stretching its win streak to six games.

The Eagles improved to 6-2 overall while wrapping up a perfect 4-0 run to the district title.

Silver Lake has been installed as the No. 4 East seed in 2A and will open its postseason bid with a Friday night home game against No. 13 seed St. Marys (3-5).

The Eagles topped the Bears 21-6 on Sept. 26.

The winner of next Friday's game will advance to the second round of the playoffs to face the winner of the game between No. 5 seed Sabetha (7-1) and No. 12 Humboldt (3-5).  

Rossville caps 8-1 regular season

Rossville wrapped up its Class 1A District 2 championship and a 7-1 regular season with a 49-6 Homecoming win over Wabaunsee Friday night.

The Bulldawgs took control of the game with a 21-0 first quarter, getting a 12-yard touchdown run from Conner Bush, an 8-yard TD from Canann Mitchell and a 49-yard TD pass from Mitchell to Cameron Miller.

Rossville tacked on a 9-yard Mitchell run and a 9-yard Jack Donovan run to take a 35-0 halftime advantage.

Bush scored his second TD of the game on an 18-yard run and Landen Lewis scored on a 4-yard to end Rossville's scoring with 4:02 left in the third quarter.

Wabaunsee scored its lone TD with 6:49 left in the game on a 28-yard pass.

Rossville is the No. 4 East seed and will host No. 13 Mission Valley (4-4) at 7 p.m. next Friday.

The Rossville-Mission Valley winner will advance to take on the winner between No. 5 seed Jefferson County North (7-1) and No. 12 McLouth (3-5). With a win over Mission Valley, the Bulldawgs will host the second-round game.

Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers Friday night as the Wildcats improved to 8-0 with a 42-0 district win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Hayden improves to 8-0 with 42-0 district shutout

Hayden continued to roll Friday night in a 42-0 home win over Jefferson West, with the Wildcats improving to 8-0 overall and a perfect 4-0 in Class 3A District 4.

Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for three touchdowns, hitting three different receivers for TDs, while senior Jude Krentz ran for a pair of TDs and helped spearhead a defense that blanked the Tigers (6-2 overall, 3-1 in the district).

Hayden senior Jude Krentz ran for a pair of touchdowns and helped the Wildcat defense post a shutout in Friday's 42-0 district win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Wildcats are the No. 1 East seed in 3A and will host No. 16 seed Columbus (2-6) next Friday night (7 p.m. start).

With a win over Columbus, Hayden will advance to a second-round playoff game to host the winner of the game between No. 8 seed Parsons (3-5) and No. 9 Wellsville (5-3).

Washburn Rural to open Class 6A playoff bid at hom

Washburn Rural, 5-3 on the season, earned a first-round home Class 6A playoff game as the No. 7 West seed.

Rural, which dropped a 43-0 Centennial League decision to Manhattan in its regular-season finale, will host No. 10 Wichita South (3-5) next Friday.

The winner of the Washburn Rural-Wichita South game will move on to face the winner of the game between No. 2 seed Wichita Northwest (7-1) and No. 15 Campus (0-8).  

Scots earn share of Meadowlark Conference crown, No. 8 5A East seed

Highland Park remained unbeaten on the field Friday night on the way to earning a share of the Meadowlark Conference championship with a 42-30 road win at previously-unbeaten Kansas City-Washington.

The Scots, 6-2 overall, built a big lead over the Wildcats and held on down the stretch for the win over Washingon, 7-1 on the year.

Highland Park was installed as the No. 8 Class 5A East seed and will be at Hummer Sports Park next Friday to host No. 9 East seed De Soto (6-2).

The Hi Park-De Soto winner will advance to second round of postseason to face the winner of next Friday's game between top seed Basehor-Linwood (8-0) and No. 16 Blue Valley Southwest (0-8).

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural will make its traditional trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament next week after a dominating performance in Saturday's sub-state tourney on the Junior Blues' home court.

Washburn Rural earned its ninth straight trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament with a pair of straight-set wins Saturday at Rural. [Washburn Rural Athletics]

Rural, the No. 1 6A West seed, punched its ticket to the state tournament at Salina's Tony's Pizza Event Center with a 25-11, 25-4 semifinal win over No. 16 Wichita West and a 25-11, 25-21 win over No. 8 seed Maize in the championship match.

Now 30-6 on the season, the Junior Blues will be making their ninth straight state tournament appearance and their 27th in 31 seasons under coach Kevin Bordewick, who has led Rural to eight state titles and ranks No. 2 on Kansas' all-time career victory list.

Washburn Rural was ranked No. 5 in the final Kansas Volleyball Association 6A state rankings.

Hayden volleyball poses for a team picture after capturing a Class 4A sub-state title Saturday at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Wildcats survive three-set final to earn return trip to Class 4A state

Hayden, the No. 4 Class 4A East seed, was pushed to three sets by No. 5 seed Eudora but outlasted the Cardinals, 25-23, 24-26, 25-20 Saturday at the Bueltel Activity Center to earn a return trip to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Hayden senior Reese Huscher spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Hayden senior Ella Foster sets the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state tournament at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Hayden reached the championship match with a 25-7, 25-10 semifinal win over No. 13 Labette County while Eudora survived a three set semifinal with No. 12 seed Ottawa, taking a 20-25, 25-10, 25-19 win over the Cyclones.   

Now 29-9 on the season, Hayden finished third in last year's state tournament and was ranked No. 3 in the final KVA state rankings.

Silver Lake volleyball celebrates its Class 3A sub-state title Saturday at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Top-ranked Eagles top Riley County to take 3A sub-state crown

Silver Lake, the No. 1 Class 3A East seed and ranked No. 1 by the KVA for seven straight weeks, fought off Riley County in Saturday's sub-state final on the Eagles' home court to advance to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Silver Lake volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Now 41-1 on the season, Silver Lake dropped the first set to No. 3 sub-state seed Riley County, 25-23, but rallied to take 25-21 and 25-15 wins in the next two sets to garner the title.

Silver Lake took a 25-12, 25-9 semifinal win over No. 4 Perry-Lecompton while Riley County needed three sets to knock off No. 2 Nemaha Central, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18.

Rossville volleyball poses for a team picture after earning a Class 2A state tournament berth Saturday at Rossville. [Rossville volleyball]

Bulldawgs advance to 2A state with back-to-back thrillers

Tournament host and top sub-state seed Rossville was pushed to three sets in both its semifinal and championship matches, but the Bulldawgs survived both sets to advance to next week's Class 2A state tournament in Dodge City.

Rossville volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's Class 2A sub-state tournament at Rossville. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Rossville junior Nora Burdiek spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 2A sub-state tournament at Rossville. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Rossville, ranked No. 7 in the final KVA 2A state rankings, outlasted No. 4 Cair Paravel Latin, 27-25, 19-25, 25-20 in the semifinals before rallying from a first-set loss against No. 2 Maur Hill-Mt. Academy in the sub-state final to take a 22-25, 25-23, 25-12 win.

Maur Hill-Mt. Academy advanced to the final with a 25-16, 27-25 semifinal win over Kansas City Christian. 

The Bulldawgs will take a 28-13 record into the state tournament.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

Connor Hanika, Hayden

JEFFERSON WEST (6-1, 3-0 Class 3A District 4) at HAYDEN (7-0, 3-0 Class 3A District 4)

Hayden and Jefferson West will square off for the Class 3A District 4 title Friday night. The Wildcats are coming off a 48-7 district win at Perry-Lecompton last Friday while Jefferson West took a 54-12 non-district win over Atchison County. Hayden senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 61 times for 586 yards and has scored 14 total touchdowns while senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 61 of 106 passes for 950 yards and 13 TDs. Mahki Kidd has caught 18 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns.

MANHATTAN (5-2, 2-1 Centennial League) at WASHBURN RURAL (5-2, 2-1 Centennial League)

Washburn Rural dropped a 35-20 Centennial League decision at Junction City last Friday after losing standout senior quarterback John Hoytal to an injury in the first half while Manhattan rolled to a 50-0 home league win over Topeka High. Both the Junior Blues and Indians are in line to host a first-round Class 6A West playoff game.

Joseph Kingcannon, Highland Park 

HIGHLAND PARK (5-2, 4-1 Meadowlark) at KC-WASHINGTON (7-0, 5-0 Meadowlark)

Highland Park can earn a share of the Meadowlark Conference championship with a win Friday. Both teams are unbeaten on the field, with Kansas City-Washington coming off a 49-33 Meadowlark win over KC-Schlagle while Highland Park picked up a forfeit win over Kansas City-East, Mo. last Friday. Scot senior quarterback Dontrail Fox has completed 16 of 30 passes for 465 yards and six touchdowns in Hi Park's four on-field games while junior Joseph Kingcannon has gained 380 yards and scored four TDs on just 21 attempts and has caught six passes for 273 yards and three TDs. Junior G'Honi Montgomery has 341 rushing yards and three TDs on 41 carries.

PITTSBURG (3-4) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (3-4)

At Hummer Sports Park

Topeka High will close out its regular season with a non-league game against Pittsburg. The Trojans dropped a 50-0 Centennial League decision at Manhattan last Friday while Pittsburg is coming off a 42-0 win over Chanute. The Trojans and Purple Dragons have one common opponent, with Pittsburg opening its season with a 24-14 victory over Emporia while High took a 13-12 win over the Spartans in its league opener.

Cameron Miller, Rossville

WABAUNSEE (4-3, 3-1 Class 1A District 2) at ROSSVILLE (6-1, 4-0 Class 1A District 2)

Rossville remained unbeaten in the District 2 race with a come-from-behind 36-22 win over Olpe while Wabaunsee has won three straight games, including a 36-21 district win over Mission Valley last Friday. Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 67 of 103 passes for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 566 yards and eight TDs on 73 attempts. Conner Bush has carried the ball 36 times for 435 yards and six TDs while Cameron Miller has 24 catches for 398 yards and six TDs and Jack Donovan has 25 catches for 298 yards and two TDs. 

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The renaissance of Topeka West boys soccer continued Tuesday as the Chargers defeated De Soto for the first time since joining the United Kansas Conference and claimed a 12th victory that should be important for playoff seeding.

Topeka West sophomore Camilo Garcia (17) scored the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 2-1 UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Chargers followed up their breakthrough 13-3-1 season a year ago – their best in over a decade – by beating De Soto 2-1 Tuesday at Hummer Sports Park to improve to 12-2-2.

“I’m very proud of this team for the way they’re coming together and finishing the regular season strong,” Topeka West coach Josh Kutter said. “We played well as a team. We’re playing together with everyone on the same page, moving in the same direction.”

The two schools deadlocked in a scoreless first half but came out firing in the second. Junior Kameron Ortiz tallied the game’s first goal, which he celebrated with a roundoff backflip, six minutes into the second half.

De Soto tried to swing the momentum at 28:46 when Gabe Carillo blasted a long score to tie the game, 1-1. But Topeka West struck back just two minutes later. Charger sophomore Camilo Garcia took a pass in traffic in front of the De Soto goal and snuck a shot past the Wildcats’ goalkeeper. The Chargers held De Soto scoreless the final 26 minutes to preserve the 2-1 lead.

Kutter said he was not concerned when his team lost the lead.

“We know that we can find the goal. We know that we have offensive players that can create and score. Having that is calming,” Kutter said. “We know that right after a goal is the most dangerous time, when emotions are high. So the key is staying calm, staying collected and having confidence.

“I think our boys controlled the game pretty well. They didn’t get nervous. They knew they could get it back.”

Topeka West senior goalkeeper Gage Kindred Noragon helped the Chargers improve to 12-2-2 with Tuesday's 2-1 UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Topeka West senior goalkeeper Gage Kindred-Noragon reflected on the team’s growth since his freshman year, when wins were scarce.

"It’s very emotional to see how far we’ve come,” Kindred-Noragon said. “Ever since freshman year, it’s just gone up from there. I think we can go to state. I see this team as family. Tons of memories have been made here and I think this team can go far.”

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Silver Lake and Rossville's volleyball teams both took their first steps to state tournament berths with Class 3A and 2A regional championships Monday night.

Kylie Hanni and the Silver Lake Eagles will host a Class 3A sub-state volleyball tournament on Saturday. [File photo/TSN]

Nora Burdiek and Rossville volleyball will host a Class 2A sub-state on Saturday. [File photo]

The Eagles and Bulldawgs will now host sub-state tournaments on Saturday, vying for berths in next week's state tournaments at Hutchinson (3A) and Dodge City (2A).

Silver Lake, top-ranked in 3A, rolled to three straight regional wins Monday night on its home court, taking a 25-9, 25-8 win over Council Grove, a 25-16, 25-11 win over Hiawatha and a 25-11, 25-18 win over Pleasant Ridge to wrap up the regional crown.

The Eagles will host 3A sub-state No. 1 at 2 p.m. on Saturday, facing Perry-Lecompton in one semifinal while Nemaha Central will face Riley County in the other semi. The two winners will meet for the sub-state title.

Rossville hosted a 2A regional Monday and the Bulldawgs went a perfect 3-0 with a 25-10, 25-8 win over McLouth, a 25-13, 25-8 victory over Central Heights and a 25-9, 25-14 win over Mission Valley.

The Bulldawgs will host 2A sub-state No. 2 on Saturday, taking on Cair Paravel Latin in a semifinal match while Maur Hill-Mt. Academy will square off against Kansas City Christian in the other semifinal. The two winners will play for the sub-state championship.

Cair Paravel went 2-1 in Monday's 2A regional at Jefferson North, posting a 26-24, 19-25, 26-24 win over Horton and a 25-16, 25-16 win over Atchison County before dropping a 25-16, 25-23 match to Jefferson North.

Washburn Rural, the No. 1 Class 6A West seed, will be aiming for its ninth straight state berth in a Saturday sub-state at Rural. [File photo/TSN]

Class 6A sub-state at Washburn Rural

Perennial state power Washburn Rural will be looking for its 27th Class 6A state tournament berth in Kevin Bordewick's 31st year as head coach and ninth straight when Rural hosts a sub-state tournament (1 p.m. start) on Saturday.

The Junior Blues, the No. 1 West seed at 28-6, will open their sub-state bid with a semifinal match against Wichita West (5-29) while Maize (16-20) will face Wichita East (5-28) in the other semifinal before the two winners face off in the championship match.

The sub-state champion will advance to next week's Class 6A state tournament at the Tony's Pizza Event Center in Salina.

Hailey Schmidtlein and Hayden volleyball will host a Class 4A sub-state tournament on Saturday. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Class 4A sub-state at Hayden

Hayden, third in Class 4A a year ago, will host a sub-state tournament on Saturday (1 p.m. start) in the Bueltel Activity Center, vying for a return trip to state next week at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The Wildcats, 26-9 on the season and the No. 4 East seed, will play Labette County (12-22) in a semifinal match while No. 5 seed Eudora (25-10) will take on Ottawa (12-20) in the other semifinal.

The two semifinal winners will square off in the sub-state championship match.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Rossville scored 22 fourth-quarter points to rally past Olpe 36-22 in a Class 1A District 2 showdown Friday night at Olpe.

Canann Mitchell, Rossville

The Bulldawgs, now 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the district, trailed 16-14 at the end of the third quarter before taking the lead for good on a 34-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Canann Mitchell and a 2-point conversion pass from Mitchell to senior Cameron Miller, giving Rossville a 22-16 lead.

With 4:26 remaining senior Conner Bush returned an Eagle punt 85 yards for a TD (conversion failed) to give the Bulldawgs a 28-16 lead.

Then, after Olpe (5-2, 3-1) scored on a 25-yard pass, Rossville scored its final TD on an 81-yard run from Mitchell with 1:48 left and Mitchell added a 2-point conversion pass to Andre Johnson to account for the final margin.

Rossville and Olpe were tied 14-14 at the half, with the Bulldawgss getting first-half touchdowns on a 71-yard Bush run and a 32-yard run from senior Jack Donovan.

Rossville will close out its regular season at home Friday against Wabaunsee.

Wildcats remain undefeated with 48-7 district rout at Perry-Lecompton

Hayden improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in Class 3A District 4 with Friday's 48-7 road win over Perry-Lecompton (1-6, 0-3).

The Wildcats will be back at home next Friday to host Jefferson West in a showdown for the district title. The Tigers, 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the district, are coming off a 50-12 non-district win over Atchison County.

T-Birds post second straight UKC victory

Shawnee Heights improved to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the United Kansas Conference with a 42-8 road victory at Lansing Friday night.

Shawnee Heights will be at home on Friday to close out its regular season against Kansas City-Turner. 

Lions pick up second win in 54-13 district win

Cair Paravel Latin notched its second victory of the season Friday, taking a 54-13 Class 1A District 2 road win over Maranatha  Academy.

The Lions, now 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the district, will close out their regular season at Yager Stadium Saturday night against Olpe.

Unbeaten Basehor-Linwood rallies past Seaman, 47-40

Basehor-Linwood improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the United Kansas Conference last Friday night at home, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 47-40 conference victory over Seaman.

The game was tied at 7-all after one quarter and Seaman led 17-14 at the half.

Basehor-Linwood led 24-17 at the start of the fourth quarter before both teams scored 23 points over the final 12 minutes.

Seaman junior Cale Ketter completed 24 of 44 passes for 390 yards and five touchdowns, while junior Coy Barta had five catches for 149 yards and three TDs, junior Jack Becker had eight catches for 85 yards, junior Josh Brown had seven grabs for seven catches for 97 yards and a TD and senior Noah Kobuszewski caught three passes for 53 yards and a score.

Viking sophomore Quentin Moravec carried the ball 17 times for 61 yards. 

The Vikings, who fell to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the UKC, will travel to De Soto next Friday to close out their regular season.

Leavenworth rolls past Topeka West 56-6 for sixth straight win

Leavenworth posted its sixth straight victory, improving to 6-1 overall and 6-1 in the United Kansas Conference with a 56-6 win over Topeka West Friday night at Hummer Sports Park.

West, now 1-6 overall and 1-6 in the UKC, will close out its regular season next Friday at Piper.

Trojans fall to Centennial League foe Manhattan

Topeka High fell to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Centennial League with a 50-0 Friday night loss at Manhattan in the Trojans' final league game of the season.

Manhattan improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the league entering a game next Friday at Washburn Rural.

Topeka High will be at Hummer Sports Park next Friday to face Pittsburg in a non-league contest.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

It's probably safe to say that nobody in Monday and Tuesday's Class 5A state tournament field has played more rounds at Emporia Municipal Golf Course than Seaman senior Elise Eckert.

Seaman senior Elise Eckert will be shooting for her fourth straight Class 5A state medal this week in Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

After all, Emporia Municipal was Eckert's home course growing up and through her first three years of high school golf  before her family moved to Topeka prior to this school year after her junior year at Emporia High.

Now Eckert, who was a three-time 5A state medalist for the Spartans, is hoping to use her vast knowledge of the tournament layout to cap her high school career with a run at the state title.

"I'm so glad that state's at Emporia this year,'' Eckert said. "I know where the ins and outs are of the course for sure. But you can't get too comfortable with any course.

"I've played this course a bunch, but you know there's still new spots you haven't seen that you'll find eventually and you've just got to play that day.''   

Eckert followed up her city and United Kansas Conference individual championships with a second-place regional finish last Monday at Shawnee County Club as the Vikings advanced to state as a team with a runnerup finish behind Andover (342-355).

Eckert carded a two-over-par 75 at regionals to finish second behind Regan Dusenbery's two-under 71 while Seaman also got a fourth-place finish from Makenna Stuke (90), a tie for seventh from Kaitlynn Frye (94), a 10th-place finish from Chloe Schmidtlein (96) and a 16th from Molina Quintana (110).

Eckert feels like her game is in pretty good shape entering her final high school state tournament.

"I feel like if I can keep up with what I've been doing right now I think I'll be in pretty good shape for state,'' Eckert said.  

Topeka West senior Berlyn Kolean qualified for state as an individual with a 109 while Shawnee Heights junior Lauryn Valdivia qualified for state as an individual with a 112.

State tournaments at all sites are scheduled to get under way at 9 a.m. on Monday and 10 a.m. on Tuesday after the fields are cut to the top six teams and top individuals.

Junior Kailyn Petersen placed third in last Monday's Class 6A regional to lead Washburn Rural to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]

Class 6A at Hesston

Washburn Rural girls golf will compete in the Class 6A state tournament for the 20th straight season in Jared Goehring's 20 years as head coach, qualifying for the state meet at Hesston Golf Course with a runnerup finish in last Monday's regional tournament at Sim Park Golf Course.

Rural, which has captured four 6A state titles, posted a four-person score of 335 to finish second behind champion Olathe West (328).

Junior Kailyn Petersen led the Junior Blues with a third-place regional finish, shooting a 79, while Taryn Jellison placd fourth with an 83.

The Junior Blues also got a tie for fifth from Lauren Cox (85), an 11th-place finish from Briley Miles (88), a tie for 14th from Peyton Merrick (92) and a 16th-place showing from Ella Taggart (93).

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

Josiah Wilkie, Topeka West

LEAVENWORTH (5-1, 5-1 UKC) vs. TOPEKA WEST (1-5, 1-5 UKC)

At Hummer Sports Park

Topeka West picked up its first win of 2025 last Friday, rallying for a 42-27 United Kansas Conference victory at Kansas City-Turner, while Leavenworth posted its fifth straight win, a 27-14 UKC decision over De Soto.

Dayne Johnson, Silver Lake

OSAGE CITY (6-0, 2-0 Class 2A District 3) at SILVER LAKE (4-2, 2-0 Class 2A District 3)

Osage City and Silver Lake will square off in a game that is likely to decide the Class 2A District 3 championship. Osage City remained unbeaten last week with a 49-14 district win over St. Marys while Silver Lake ran its winning streak to four straight games with a 42-8 district win over Riley County.

John Hoytal, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

WASHBURN RURAL (5-1, 2-0 Centennial League)at JUNCTION CITY (4-2, 2-0 Centennial League)

Washburn Rural will put its three-game winning streak on the line in a game that will give the winner a leg up in the Centennial League race. Washburn Rural is coming off a 38-0 league road win at Emporia while Junction City took a 44-6 league win over Topeka High.

TOPEKA HIGH (3-3, 1-2 Centennial League) at MANHATTAN (4-2, 1-1 Centennial League)

Topeka High is coming off a 44-6 Centennial League loss to Junction City while Manhattan dropped a 40-13 non-league decision to Wichita Northwest last week. The Indians will be looking to keep their Centennial League title hopes alive while the Trojans will be trying to snap a two-game league losing streak.

AJ Gallegos, Shawnee Heights

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (2-4, 2-3 UKC) at LANSING (2-4, 2-3 UKC)

Shawnee Heights posted its biggest win of the season last Friday, riding an outsanding defensive effort to a 20-3 United Kansas Conference road win at city rival Seaman, while Lansing dropped a 44-13 UKC decision to Piper.

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

BONNER SPRINGS -- Wyandotte County Park provided the backdrop for the 2025 United Kansas Conference cross country meet Thursday. The Seaman girls and boys teams were the top local finishers, with the girls finishing fifth and the boys coming in second while the day was also highlighted by the return of senior star Ryin Miller.

Seaman junior Brynn Spencer was the individual runnerup in Thursday's UKC cross country meet. [File photo/TSN]

In the girls race, Seaman junior Brynn Spencer finished in second place with a time of 19:46.90, behind conference champion Elizabeth Arenas of Piper.

“I was very proud of how I ran today, despite running alone most of the race,'' Spencer said. "I knew there were lots of rolling hills on the course, so my goal was to push up the hills and use the downhills to get some energy back.”

Seaman senior Ryin Miller returned from injury to place third in Thursday's UKC meet in Kansas City, Kan. [File photo/TSN]

Miller, the 2024 Class 5A runnerup and a five-time state champ in track, finished third in the race in a time of 20:36, which was her first race of the season due to an injury. Miller talked about dealing with the prolonged injury and the opportunity to race Thursday.

“This season has been very challenging and the hardest thing I’ve ever had to face as an athlete,'' she said. "There are so many highs and lows in sports, but because of the lows we grow, learn and truly are stronger because of it. I’ve been extremely fortunate with injury in playing four sports.

"Today was great to toe the line and give it all for my team considering that I’ve had zero running-related training. I still have lots of work to do to finish getting totally healthy and increasing my mileage and fitness again.”

Spencer and Miller were both recognzied as first-team All-UKC with their respective finishes.

Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his second straight UKC individual cross country title Thursday. [File photo/TSN]

In the boys race, Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his fifth race of the season in a time of 15:38.30.

“The race went great today and I’m excited to get back-to-back conference individual titles,'' Anderson said. "Coach (Luke) Wiens and I had a plan to get out and do enough to win while feeling great. The course ran well, not my favorite, but I can’t choose where I run and have to adapt to each situation I’m put in.”

With the season coming down to the final two weeks, Anderson talked about the regional race next weekend.

“I feel great going into regionals and trust my fitness and the training of Coach Wiens to put myself in a great spot against a stacked regional,” he said. 

With the victory, Anderson was named first team All-UKC while junior teammate Conner Bloom finished 11th in 17:18.50, garnering second-team All-UKC honors.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Junior Emma Sweeney has been a star for the Seaman girls tennis team since she stepped on campus.

Seaman junior Emma Sweeney, the No. 2 seed, will be aiming for her third straight Class 5A singles medal in this weekend's state tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Megan Sweeney roots on big sister Emma Sweeney during last Saturday's Class 5A regional tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

And after earning a Class 5A state medal with an 11th-place singles finish as a freshman and turning in a strong fourth-place showing as a sophomore, Sweeney feels like she's in position to take another big step in Friday and Saturday's state meet at Kossover Tennis Center.

Sweeney has put together a banner 27-1 campaign so far with a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and 5A regional titles and earned the No. 2 seed for this weekend's state event. 

"I'm excited,'' Sweeney said. "I'm nervous, but nerves are good. I've been hitting really good, really loose and just hitting good shots.

"And then from a mental standpoint, I think my head's pretty clear, too.'' 

Seaman is coming off a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and regional team championships and will be aiming for a second straight 5A team trophy after finishing third a year ago.

"I think we're aiming for third or above,'' Sweeney said. "We got it last year so, I think that's what we're looking for this year, and we've all made it (to state), so if we are all able to make it to the second day and place I think we're putting ourself in a good position.''

Two-time regional champ Sweeney led the way last Saturday at Kossover as the Vikings edged St. James Academy for the regional crown.

Seaman senior Molly Gorman is a three-time Class 5A state medalist entering this weekend's state tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Viking senior Molly Gorman finished second to Sweeney at regionals for the second straight season and will be shooting for her fourth straight state medal.

Gorman finished 10th in 5A singles last season after teaming with Katie Krumins to earn state medals in doubles as a freshman and sophomore.

Gorman is 24-6 on the season and has been installed as the eighth seed for state.

Seaman senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux finished third at regionals while Viking juniors Kaylyn Hiebsch and Cadence Speer finished fourth.

Henry and Lux are 25-5 on the season and the No. 6 seed for state while Hiebsch and Speer are 22-8 and seeded No. 13.

The 5A state tournament will start at 10:30 a.m. Friday and continue on Saturday with a 9 a.m. start.

Class 6A at Olathe College Boulevard Activity Center

Washburn Rural and Topeka High finished one-two in the Class 6A regional at Wichita while combining for eight state qualifiers for this weekend's state meet at the College Boulevard Activity Center in Olathe.

Topeka High senior Madeline Deters won a Class 6A regional title last Friday and will be aiming for her second straight state medal this weekend. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural junior Julia Katzer is headed to her second Class 6A state tournament this weekend after advancing in singles last season. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural junior Halle Owen (above) teamed with Julia Katzer to win a Class 6A regional doubles title last Friday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Trojans and Junior Blues swept the regional singles and doubles championships, with Topeka High senior Madeline Deters taking the singles crown and Washburn Rural juniors Julia Katzer and Halle Owen winning the doubles title.

Deters, a three-time state qualifier who placed eighth at state in 2024, is 29-4 this fall and has been installed as the No. 4 seed for state.

Katzer and Owen will take a 25-4 into the state meet and are seeded No. 9. Katzer will be making her second straight state appearance after qualifying in singles a year ago.

Rural also qualified freshman singles player Bridget Hoopes and the doubles team of senior Alizah Alvarez-Chedzoy and sophomore Annie Henderson for state while Topeka High qualified the doubles team of senior Ava Ritter and sophomore Hailey Caryl.

Hoopes (18-5) finished third at regionals and is seeded No. 14 for state while Alvarez-Chedzoy and Henderson (7-2) posted a fifth-place regional finish and are seeded 21st for state.

Caryl and Ritter (24-8) took third at regionals to earn their second straight state berth and are the No. 17 doubles seed.

The first round of state competition will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Class 4A at Prairie Village Harmon Park Tennis Complex

Hayden will enter the Class 4A state tournament as the defending state champion and is coming off a regional team title Saturday at Marysville while qualifying its entire team for state at the Harmon Park Tennis Complex in Prairie Village.

Wildcat senior Avery O'Bray and sophomore Sophia Wichman won the regional doubles championship and will take an 11-5 record into the state meet as the ninth seed. Wichman teamed with then-senior Emily Sheetz to finish second in the 2024 state meet while O'Bray teamed with Izzy Glotzbach to earn an 11th-place medal.

Hayden freshman Lana Hull (20-8) and senior Grace Funk (5-5) posted third and fourth-place singles finishes at regionals and are seeded No. 11 and No. 12 for state.

Funk is a two-time state medalist, including a ninth-place finish in 2024.

Senior Kinsey Bullock and junior Kaelyn Gerdel (4-8) qualified for state with a fifth-place regional finish and are the 21st seed for this weekend's tournament. 

The first round of state competition will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

When Topeka-area soccer teams meet on the pitch, they leave it all on the field. The intense battles leave players bruised and drenched in sweat. They jostle for position and jockey for balls, pushing the boundaries of legal physicality.

But when someone within that soccer community needed help recently, the team loyalties faded instantly.

Topeka High sophomore soccer player Carson Bradney (behind bench), who is battling bone cancer, was on hand to support his team during Wednesday's match against Topeka West. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Rivals from throughout the Capital City are rallying behind Topeka High sophomore Carson Bradney, who in August was diagnosed with bone cancer.

Bradney is described by Trojan coach Derek Snook as one of the fiercest competitors on the field. But his opponents, as well as his teammates, are going all out to encourage him in his fight against osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that typically affects adolescents and young adults.

Topeka High's soccer team wears T-shirts to bring attention to teammate Carson Bradney's cancer fight during warmups Wednesday at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Fundraising tables were set up Wednesday at Hummer Sports Park to raise money to benefit Topeka High sophomore Carson Bradney and his family. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Recent games between Topeka High and Topeka West have turned into fundraisers for the Bradney family, with shirts worn by both teams to draw attention to the cause. Chili and baked items, wrist bands and other items have been sold or raffled to help the Bradneys financially.

Other schools in the community have also gotten into the act. Seaman, which devotes a game every year to benefit cancer victims, raised more than $1,000 for the Bradneys earlier this week.

“It’s been heartwarming and amazing,” said Nicole Lutz, mother of a Topeka High player, who has helped organize fundraising efforts. “These schools who are showing up to help this family are rivalries in some aspects. But the camaraderie and team effort for this cause is amazing and beautiful.”

“It’s a terrible thing that should never happen for someone his age. But our community here in Topeka, our soccer community is amazing,” said Topeka West coach Josh Kutter. “Everyone understands that there’s things more important than sports and that when there’s a student, an athlete, that needs something, everyone’s going to come together and provide that support.”

Topeka High sophomore soccer player Carson Bradney (left), who is battling bone cancer, roots on the Trojans during Wednesday's match against Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

A tall, athletic defender, Bradney started nearly every game as a freshman and earned Centennial League honorable mention. Snook had penciled Bradney into his lineup for this season, but a sore right knee prevented him from being a full participant in summer drills.

“I had a stress fracture in my knee, so I was out for pretty much the whole summer,” Bradney said. “I started to come back the first week of the season. It was rough. I played the first game. Then after that we went to the doctor. And that’s when they found all the tumor and cancer.”

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman girls golf coach Julie McLaughlin was quick to admit that the Vikings didn't have their best day in Monday's Class 5A regional tournament at Shawnee Country Club.

Seaman senior Elise Eckert finished second in Monday's Class 5A regional with a 75, leading the Vikings to a second-place team finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But the city and United Kansas Conference champs played plenty good enough to earn a berth in next week's state tournament at Emporia with a second-place regional team finish.

"I think we've got some work to do,'' McLaughlin said. "I think we're a little bit disappointed in the outcome. Andover played a heck of a game today, they did great.''

Seaman senior Elise Eckert will be aiming for her fourth Class 5A state medal in next week's state tournament at Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Led by senior Elise Eckert's runnerup individual finish with a 75, Seaman posted a four-person score of 355 to finish second behind team champion Andover's 342.

Eckert, the city and UKC medalist, turned in a solid two-over-par round, finishing as the runnerup to Andover's Regan Dusenbery, who carded a two-under-par 71.

"I'm definitely feeling a little better after this, '' said Eckert, a three-time 5A state medalist. "I wasn't playing great this weekend, so I'm really glad that I was able to come out here and play better after working on a lot of stuff this weekend.''

"Elise had a strong round. She was right where we needed her to be,'' McLaughlin said.

Seaman senior Makenna Stuke shot a 90 to finish fourth in Monday's Class 5A regional tournament at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman got a fourth-place tie from Makenna Stuke (90), while Kaitlynn Frye tied for seventh (94), Chloe Schmidtlein was 10th (96) and Molina Quintana placed 16th (110).

"We've got a lot of work to do this week, but we're still fully capable,'' McLaughlin said. "We just did not play up to our ability today.''

Topeka West senior Berlyn Kolean qualified for state as an individual with a 109.

Shawnee Heights finished fourth as a team, with T-Bird junior Lauryn Valdivia qualiying for state as an individual with a 112.

The state tournament will be played Monday and Tuesday at Emporia Municipal Golf Course.

CLASS 5A REGIONAL TOURNAMENT

At Shawnee Country Club 

Team scores 

Andover 342, Seaman 355,Basehor-Linwood 418, Piper 463, Shawnee Heights 489.

1. Regan Dusenbery, Andover, 71; 2. Elise Eckert, Seaman, 75;3. Isabel Hawley, Andover, 87; 4. Makenna Stuke, Seaman, 90;5. Grier Hand, Andover, 90; 6. Aubrey Ziolo, Basehor-Linwood, 93; 7. (tie) Kaitlynn Frye, Seaman,and Maren Nelson, 94; 9. Claire Fitzgerald, Basehor-Linwood, 95; 10. Chloe Schmidtlein, Seaman, 96.

Other Seaman -- 16. Molina Quintana, 110. 

Shawnee Heights – 17. Lauryn Valdivia, 112; 21. Elsie Willmann, 120; 24. (tie) Makenna Bryant, 125; 28. Mia Mattox, 132.

Topeka West – 14. (tie) Berlyn Kolean, 109; 24. (tie) Lily Bowen, 125.

Individual state qualifiers -- Georgia Lightfoot, Piper; Berlyn Kolean, Topeka West; Hadley Heim, Piper; Lauryn Valdivia, Shawnee Heights; Kelsey Shull, Emporia.

Washburn Rural girls golf posted a second-place Class 6A regional finish Monday to earn a state berth. [Washburn Rural golf]

Rural earns Class 6A state berth with runnerup regional showing

Monday was business as usual for Washburn Rural girls golf, with the Junior Blues qualifying for the Class 6A state tournament for the 20th straight season in Jared Goehring's 20 years as head coach.

Rural, which has captured four 6A state titles, posted a four-person score of 335 at Sim Park Golf Course to finish second behind champion Olathe West (328).

Washburn Rural junior Kailyn Petersen placed third in Monday's Class 6A regional at Sim Park. [File photo/TSN]

Kailyn Petersen led the Junior Blues with a third-place finish, shooting a 79, while Taryn Jellison placd fourth with an 83.

The Junior Blues also got a tie for fifth from Lauren Cox (85), an 11th-place finish from Briley Miles (88), a tie for 14th from Peyton Merrick (92) and a 16th-place showing from Ella Taggart (93).

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

For a second consecutive Saturday, Seaman High School hosted a cross country meet in north Topeka.

Washburn Rural senior Emily Graf won the city individual cross country title Saturday, leading the Junior Blues to their seventh straight team title. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his second straight city individual cross country title Saturday. [File photo/TSN]

Last week, it was the Seaman Invitational. This week, the city championships at Shawnee County North Park, with Washburn Rural's girls and boys sweeping the team championships. 

Rural's boys stretched their city meet winning streak to 19 straight seasons while the Junior Blue girls won their seventh straight crown. 

 In the girls race, Washburn Rural senior Emily Graf won the city championship in a time of 19:18.57. It was her first race since the Shufelberger Top City Classic on the third week of September due to an injury.

 “Coming back from a hip injury I’ve had over the past three weeks, it felt great to come out, run and get the win,” Graf said.

Graf was joined by three of her teammates in the top five -- freshman Alyson Hinck (second in 19:38.05), senior Kenzie Maddox (fourth in 19:44.75) and sophomore Reese Beardslee (fifth in 19:57.07). Overall, the Jr. Blues had eleven girls finish in the top 20 to earn city medals.

The only non-Washburn Rural runner to finish in the top five was Seaman junior Brynn Spencer. She was pleased with her third-place finish, where she also finished last week in the Seaman Invitational, but was able to trim almost 25 seconds off her time in the city meet.

“I’m very proud of myself for improving my time from last week and I knew I had a chance to be top three and break up the Washburn Rural girls a little bit,'' Spencer said. "They provide great competition so I wanted to stay up with them throughout the race.”

Spencer was joined by four teammates as medalists -- junior Kinley Robinson (ninth in 21:29.35), junior Hannah Wempe (10th in 21:42.04), junior Jaydin Frickey (16th in 23:23.29) and sophomore Avery Villines (19th in 24:17.54).

Other medalists included Hayden junior Sofia Harper (seventh in 20:34.43), Topeka West freshman Phebe Phelps (12th in 22:34.71), Shawnee Heights freshman Kendall Lewis (15th in 23:04.35) and Topeka senior Breanna Maldonado (20th in 24:28.02). 

In the boys race, Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his fourth race of the season, breaking the course record in a time of 15:00.11.

“I knew after last week, I knew the course was fast. Coach (Luke) Wiens and I were planning to come out, run fast and set a PR,” Anderson said.

Being so close to breaking the fifteen minute barrier was a hope of Anderson.

“I was close to the fourteen mark, I know I’m fit enough to do it, but things happen for a reason.”

Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe finished second in Saturday's city cross country meet, leading the Junior Blues to their 19th straight city team title. [File photo/TSN]

The winning Washburn Rural team had the next four finishers to round out the top five -- senior Brooks Kehoe (second in 16:10.45), sophomore Duke Graf (third in 16:46.96), sophomore Clayton Fink (fourth in 16:52.01) and sophomore Jaxson Adams (fifth in 17:03.47). The Jr. Blues had eight other runners finish in the top twenty as medalists.

Hayden had two runners finish in the top ten -- sophomore Nick Newkirk finished sixth (17:04.74) and senior Connor Baldwin finished seventh (17:06.38).

Shawnee Heights’ senior Max Esquibel finished eighth in a time of 17:07.46.

Seaman had two other medalists -- junior Conner Bloom finished ninth in 17:13.81 and senior Drake Spurlock finished 20th with a time of 17:46.87.

Topeka sophomore Easton Davis finished in 17th in 17:33.64 while junior Ezra Phelps of Topeka West finished 18th with a time of 17:36.33. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Fresh off a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and Class 5A regional team championships, Jamie Robinson's Seaman girls tennis team will now turns its focus on trying to earn a top-three state finish for the second straight season.

Emma Sweeney won the singles title in Saturday's Class 5A regional at Kossover Tennis Center, helping the Vikings win the team championship. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman senior Molly Gorman finished second in singles in Saturday's Class 5A regional at Kossover Tennis Center, helping the Vikings win the team championship. [File photo/TSN]

The Vikings tuned up for state with a team title in Saturday's regional at Kossover Tennis Center and will be back at Kosover Friday and Saturday for the state meet.

Seaman achieved its goal of qualifying all six of its varsity players for state while edging St. James Academy for the team championship, 22-21.

"That is so huge,'' Robinson said of Seaman's qualifying effort. "And that's something you don't want to take for granted is getting your six in. That's huge for team morale, it's huge for people coming back the next year and we've done it for three, four years in a row, so that's exciting.

 "Everybody's rooting for each other and our parent base is happy and proud and it makes the whole program proud when you take six to state. That is not a given, not even with good teams.''   

Viking junior Emma Sweeney and senior Molly Gorman went one-two in singles while the Vikings' doubles teams of senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux and juniors Cadence Speer and Kaylyn Hiebsch placed third and fourth.

Sweeney and Gorman advanced to the regional singles final for the second straight season, with Sweeney taking a 6-0, 6-1 win in the final.

After both Seaman doubles teams dropped semifinal matches to St. James Academy, Henry and Lux took a 6-1, 6-3 win in the third-place match.

Topeka West's senior doubles team of Jordan Felsburg and Taryn Gilbert is also headed to state after finishing fifth Saturday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Piper's Allison Ochs and Aubrey Eidson.

Felsburg and Gilbert are West's first girls state qualifiers since 2021.

Washburn Rural girls tennis poses for a team picture after winning the championship in Friday's Class 5A regional at Wichita. [Submitted photo]

Junior Blues, Trojans finish one-two in 6A regional

Washburn Rural claimed the team title in Friday's Class 6A regional at Wichita's Riverside Tennis Complex by a 15-12 margin over Topeka High while the city schools swept the singles and doubles championships.

Topeka High senior Madeline Deters, the Centennial League champion, won the regional singles title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Junction City's Hannah Micheel while Washburn Rural juniors Julia Katzer and Halle Owen, the city champs, took the regional doubles crown with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Manhattan's Keylee Schartz and Jackie Hsu.

Rural freshman singles player Bridget Hoopes qualified for state with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Derby's 5 2 Ella Boline and the Junior Blues' doubles team of senior Alizah Chedzoy and sophomore Annie Henderson defeated Derby's Katie Brehm and Karlie Demel in the fifth-place match, 6-1, 6-2.

In addition to Deters, Topeka High qualified its doubles team of senior Ava Ritter and sophomore Hailey Caryl, who posted a third-place regional finish with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Wichita East's Charlotte Docking and Jane Docking.

The 6A state tournament will be played at the College Boulevard Activity Center in Olathe.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Two Topeka soccer teams who are pouring it on down the stretch battled to a 1-1 tie Wednesday night at Hummer Sports Park.

Topeka High senior Bruno Nunez (10) celebrates his goal in Wednesday's 1-1 tie with USD 501 rival Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Topeka West junior Diego Gonzalez-Talavera (9) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring the Chargers' lone goal on a PK in a 1-1 tie with Topeka High Wednesday night at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Topeka West hosted Topeka High, hoping to avenge a thrilling 2-1 loss two weeks earlier. But both team’s goalkeepers turned away a barrage of shots to preserve the 1-1 tie through two overtime periods.

Twenty minutes into the first period, Topeka High got on the scoreboard first on a free kick blast by senior Bruno Nuñez.

However, the Trojans didn’t protect that lead for even one minute of game action. When Topeka High was called for a foul near their goal, the Chargers were rewarded with a penalty kick that junior Diego Gonzalez-Talavera hammered past Trojan keeper Billy Lutz.

Each team saw near misses swatted away or gobbled up by the goalkeepers the rest of the night.

“Every year, every game that we see (Topeka High), we know it’s going to be competitive, hard fought. And this game was nothing short,” said Topeka West coach Josh Kutter. “Both teams played all out. Both goalkeepers had to make their amazing saves. As stressful as it is, it’s fun to watch and I’m proud of both sides.”

The Chargers stand at 10-2-2 following the tie with Topeka High, who are now 7-4-2. Trojans coach Derek Snook said his hopes to repeat the 2-1 victory of two weeks ago came up just short.

Topeka High senior goalkeeper Billy Lutz makes a diving save in Wednesday's 1-1 tie with Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

“We had a couple (of shots) that we should have tucked away, no doubt. And maybe they did as well,” Snook said. “I don’t know that they had the essentially point-blank shots that we did. They were shooting from afar. The best game was being played 120 yards apart and both goalkeepers were just on top of it.”

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Defending Class 1A District 2 champion Rossville improved to 3-0 in the district and 5-1 overall with a 49-14 win over Cair Paravel Latin Friday night at Yager Stadium.

Andre Johnson, Rossville

Conner Bush, Rossville

The Bulldawgs jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter advantage and went up by a commanding 34-6 margin at the half before outscoring the Lions 15-8 in the second half as Cair Paravel fell to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the district.

Seniors Conner Bush and Andre Johnson both had a pair of rushing touchdowns on the night, with Bush scoring on 3 and 8-yard runs and Johnson scoring on 2 and 5-yard runs.

Senior quarterback Canann Mitchell threw for a 31-yard touchdown to Cale Horak and completed a 9-yard TD strike to Jack Donovan.

The Bulldawgs also got a 10-yard TD scamper from Landen Lewis while Austin Dohrman kicked three extra points and Donovan added a pair of PATs. Johnson also scored on a two-point conversion in addition to his two TDs. 

With Friday's win Rossville set up a district showdown at Olpe next Friday. The Eagles are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the district.

 Chargers rally to pick up first win

Topeka West used a 30-point fourth quarter to pull out a 42-27 United Kansas Conference road win at Kansas City-Turner Friday night.

Trey Parker, Topeka West

Josiah Wilkie, Topeka West

Turner, 1-5 overall and 0-5 in the UKC, led Topeka West, 1-5, 1-5, by a 7-6 margin at the end of the first quarter and built a 21-12 halftime advantage that also held up through a scoreless third quarter.

But the Chargers played their best football over the final 12 minutes, outscoring the Bears 30-6 to pull out the 15-point victory.

Topeka West has yet to lose to Turner since joining the UKC.

The Chargers will be back at Hummer Sports Park next Friday to host red-hot Leavenworth in a UKC contest.

The Pioneers are 5-1 overall and in the UKC after taking a 27-14 win over De Soto Friday night.

Eagles push win streak to four games

Silver Lake posted its fourth straight victory Friday night, improving to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in Class 2A District 3 with a 42-8 road win at Riley County.

The Eagles rode a strong defensive effort to the decisive win, led by senior Jayden Waterer.

Waterer had 10 tackles on the night, including three of Silver Lake's seven sacks.

Waterer caused two fumbles and had a fumble recovery while senior Dayne Johnson had a pass interception.

Silver Lake will be back at home next Friday to host undefeated Osage City in a district showdown.

The Indians are 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the district after a 49-14 win over St. Marys.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

THURSDAY NIGHT'S GAME

ATCHISON (3-2, 3-1 Meadowlark) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (3-2, 3-1 Meadowlark)

At Hummer Sports Park

JoJo Kingcannon, Highland Park 

Highland Park will play for the first time in three weeks, returning to action after forfeiting back to back games to Kansas City-Harmon and Wichita East. The Scots will be facing an Atchison team that is coming off an 82-44 Meadowlark Conference loss to KC-Washington. Highland Park senior quarterback Dontrail Fox has completed 9 of 20 passes for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns while junior JoJo Kingcannon has caught 5 passes for 200 yards and 2 TDs. Kingcannon leads the Scots with 293 rushing yards and 4 TDs on 13 carries while junior G'Honi Montgomery has 256 yards and 3 TDs on 32 attempts. 

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-4, 1-3 UKC) at SEAMAN (3-2, 3-1 UKC)

Quentin Moravec, Seaman

Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights

Seaman ran its winning streak to three games last Friday with a 48-8 United Kansas Conference romp past Lansing while Shawnee Heights is coming off a 50-48 UKC heartbreaker to De Soto. Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 82 of 125 passes for 1,118 yards and 15 touchdowns while junior Josh Brown has 22 catches for 303 yards and 6 TDs, junior Coy Barta has 18 catches for 223 yards and 4 TDs and senior Noah Kobuszewski has 19 catches for 300 yards and 2 TDs. Viking junior Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 92 times for 644 yards and 11 TDs. Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott passed for more than 600 yards last Friday and has completed 127 of 200 attempts for 1,956 yards and 15 touchdowns while junior AJ Gallegos has 40 catches for 601 yards and 3 TDs, while Dallas Owens has 33 catches for 419 yards and 3 TDs and senior Tyren Parker 22 receptions for 500 yards and 3 scores.

HOLTON (3-2, 1-1 Class 3A District 4) at HAYDEN (5-0, 1-0 Class 3A District 4)

Kade Mitchell, Hayden

Rivals Hayden and Holton square off in a key Class 3A District 4 contest Friday night. Hayden rolled to a 51-0 district win over Hiawatha last week while Holton dropped a 27-17 district decision to Jefferson West. Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 40 of 73 passes for 612 yards and 7 touchdowns while senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 38 times for 399 yards and has scored nine total TDs and senior Jackson McGivern has 250 yards on 28 carries and scored five total touchdowns. Junior Mason Becker is 24 of 24 on extra point attempts while also scoring two TDs and two 2-point conversions.

JUNCTION CITY (3-2, 1-0 Centennial League) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (3-2, 1-1 Centennial)

At Hummer Sports Park

Zane Smith, Topeka High

Both the Blue Jays and Trojans are coming off losses, with Junction City dropping a 34-28 non-league decision to Hays and Topeka falling to Centennial League foe Washburn Rural, 35-6. Topeka High senior quarterback Zane Smith completed 12 of 26 passes for 284 yards against Washburn Rural while also carrying the ball 17 times for 85 yards. Junior Courtney Sanders caught 5 passes for 192 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown reception. Junction City is 1-0 in the Centennial League race after beating Manhattan 28-14 two weeks ago.

ROSSVILLE (4-1, 2-0 Class 1A District 2) vs. CAIR PARAVEL LATIN (1-4, 0-2 Class 1A District 2)

At Yager Stadium

Conner Bush, Rossville

Defending Class 1A District 2 champ Rossville is off and running in the district race again this fall, improving to 2-0 with a 55-6 win over Mission Valley last week. Cair Paravel is coming off a 53-25 district loss to Wabaunsee. Rossville, which advanced to the 1A semifinals a year ago, opened up a commanding 43-6 halftime lead over the Vikings and cruised the rest of the way. Senior quarterback Canann Mitchell passed for two touchdown and ran for a 52-yard TD in the Rossville win while Conner Bush ran for a pair of TDs. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Of course, Seaman girls tennis coach Jamie Robinson wanted to win Tuesday's United Kansas Conference tournament.

But with Class 5A regional competition just four days away, Robinson also wanted the city-champion Vikings to continue to play well while continuing to build momentum for the Vikings' two biggest tournaments of the season.

Seaman junior Emma Sweeney repeated as the UKC singles champion Tuesday as the Vikings won their fourth straight conference team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman senior Molly Gorman finished second in UKC singles Tuesday as the Vikings won their fourth straight conference team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

And Robinson felt like his team did just that, finishing one-two in singles and one-three in doubles on the way to its fourth straight UKC title by a 75-65 margin over De Soto at Kossover Tennis Center.

"You want to continue to build and play well and continue to get better,'' Robinson said. "That's one thing we talk about, is trying to get better every day, and we wanted to build momentum going into regionals and I think we did that.''

Seaman's Peyton Henry (left) and Camryn Lux won the doubles title in Tuesday's UKC tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman junior Emma Sweeney and senior Molly Gorman advanced to the singles final for the second straight season, with Sweeney taking an 8-0 win for her second straight title while Peyton Henry and Camryn Lux took the doubles title with an 8-4 win over De Soto and Kaylyn Hiebsch and Cadence Speer bounced back from a semifinal loss to take an 8-4 win over De Soto in the third-place doubles match.

Topeka West finished fourth as a team, led by a fifth-place doubles finish from seniors Taryn Gilbert and Jordan Felsburg while Shawnee Heights finished eighth.

Seaman, Topeka West, Shawnee Heights and Highland Park will all compete in a Class 5A regional tournament on Saturday at Kossover, vying for state tournament berths.

Seaman won a regional title and posted a third-place finish in 5A last season and Robinson feels like his team is where it needs to be to make another strong postseason run.

"I think we have to be pretty happy where we're at,'' Robinson said. "We have pretty much dominated most of our meets and I think we're peaking at the right time and that's what you want. You want a team to peak right at regionals and go into state with a lot of momentum and that's what I think we're doing.'' 

UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

On a beautiful morning as the calendar flipped to the second month of the cross country season, Seaman High School hosted the Seaman Invitational at Shawnee North Park.

Brody Anderson, Seaman

Brynn Spencer, Seaman

In the varsity girls race, the Washburn Rural, Seaman and Shawnee Heights teams finished in fourth, fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Washburn Rural had two medalists -- freshmen Clara Dillon finished ninth in a time of 21:47.96 and Lily Palmer finished in 19th with a time of 22:23.98.

Topeka West’s lone runner, freshman Phebe Phelps, finished 16th in a time of 22:09.56.

The top local finisher was Seaman junior Brynn Spencer, who finished third in a time of 20:16.43. Fellow Seaman junior Hannah Wempe earned medalist honors by finishing 17th with a time of 22:18.22.

“I didn’t do as well as I had hoped time-wise, but I knew I had a chance to finish in the top three,'' Spencer said. "So my main goal was to push up toward the front and use my home course advantage.”

Looking ahead to next week’s city meet, Spencer talked about getting to run once again on her home course.

“It will help me since I have one race under my belt here and to know where my advantage points,'' she said. "It will also be helpful to know the parts of the course where I’ll need to push myself more.”

In the varsity boys race, Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his third race of the season, finishing in a time of 15:25.07. After dealing with a heat-related issue last week at Rim Rock, Anderson talked about his plan going into Saturday's race.

“It was a good day. I went out slower than normal, which was the plan, but I wanted to progress through the race and that went well. My hope was to stay healthy through the state meet.”

Anderson was also looking to next week and the city meet, one last time to run at his home course.

“I’m confident after today, but there is good competition throughout the city,'' he said. "I’m hoping to get good work in next week.” 

Washburn Rural finished second as a team and had five medalists. Senior Wyatt Shorb finished ninth in a time of 17:32.10, freshman Julius Wood-Nichols finished 12th with a time of 17:35.85, senior Rylan Rake was 14th with a time of 17:39.03, sophomore Brady Meek was 16th in a time of 17:39.30 and senior Wesley Meek finished 20th with a time of 17:51.88.

Seaman finished third overall and had one other medalist, junior Conner Bloom, who finished eighth in a time of 17:25.55.

Shawnee Heights had one medalist, senior Max Esquibel, who finished sixth with a time 17:24.12.

Topeka West also had one medalist, junior Ezra Phelps, who was 15th, finishing with a time of 17:39.27.

Next week all of the Topeka city schools will return to Shawnee North for the city meet beginning at 9 a.m. for the girls race, following by the boys race at 9:45.

SEAMAN INVITATIONAL

Team Scores & Local Results

Girls Varsity

Piper 40, Blue Valley Northwest 50, Lawrence 59, Washburn Rural 99, Seaman 114, Shawnee Heights 145

(Local team finishes)

4. Washburn Rural

9. Clara Dillon 21:47.96; 19. Lily Palmer 22:23.88; 24. Katherine Wolgast 23:17.42; 25. Harper Tenbrink 23:22.64; 26. Rayauna Huey 23:29.51; 32. Lily McCoy 24:20.79; 39. Lacey Middleton 25:44.98

5. Seaman

3. Brynn Spencer 20:16.43; 17. Hannah Wempe 22:18.22; 28. Avery Villines 23:32.88; 34. Jaydin Frickey 24:49.24; 40. Emma Gonzalez 26:02.90

6. Shawnee Heights

22. Hazel Rondash 23:02.36; 27. Kendall Lewis 23:30.71; 33. Arantza Urbina 24:35.07; 37. Adelaide Davis 25:23.73; 38. Piper Geil 25:24.21

Topeka West

16. Phebe Phelps 22:09.56

Topeka

35. Victoria Reynaga 25:10.58; 36. Breanna Maldonado 25:22.32; 41. Lyzet Cortez-Castro 26:43.92; 42. Maricruz MerriWeather 28:51.54

Boys Varsity

Lawrence 39, Washburn Rural 57, Seaman 82,Piper 94, Shawnee Heights 137, Topeka West 149, Topeka 186

(Local team finishes)

2. Washburn Rural

9. Wyatt Shorb 17:32.10; 12. Julius Wood-Nichols 17:35.85; 14. Rylan Rake 17:39.03; 16. Brady Meek 17:39.30; 20. Wesley Meek 17:51.88; 21. Cohen Thiessen 18:00.99; 22. Gauge Dial 18:04.27; 25. Cadin Stratman 18:13.74

3. Seaman

1. Brody Anderson 15:25.07; 8. Conner Bloom 17:25.55; 24. Drake Spurlock 18:07.36; 33. Emmanuel Armstead 18:45.04; 34. Weston Kennedy 18:51.28; 36. Maddox Moore 18:58.53; 38. Abe Heffley 19:00.42; 46. Camden Dutton 19:39.60

5. Shawnee Heights

6. Max Esquibel 17:24.12; 28. Andrew Schulte 18:28.44; 42. Cash Reitcheck 19:16.09; 43. Ronin Wiggs 19:20.05; 47. Deyton Coufal 19:58.92; 49. Carter Vincent 20:26.52

6. Topeka West

15. Ezra Phelps 17:39.27; 27. Cameron Parrett 18:26.29; 40. Rhys Green 19:04.37; 44. Maks Rodriguez 19:33.68; 55. Mason Gore 22:13.52

7. Topeka

35. Oliver Snethen 18:51.89; 37. Will Toland 18:58.54; 51. Nicholas McDonald 20:55.49; 52. Amir El-Jammal 21:01.21; 54. Matthew Hanes 21:26.50; 56. Sam Stanton 22:17.70; 57. Dexter Lonergan 23:32.99; 58. Salis Bechard 24:23.87; 59. Sebastian Homerding 28:56.17

Girls JV (local results)

Seaman

4. Zoey Gooden 25:37.93; 5. Kennedy Gatewood 25:57.54; 12. Bailey Martin 28:35.17 

Shawnee Heights

6. Natalia Venegas 26:14.04; 10. Alyson Moss 27:48.98; 13. Brooklyn Binkley 29:45.57; 18. Eva Austin 31:24.42 

Topeka West

8. Lily Phelps Roper 26:23.67

Boys JV

Washburn Rural 15, Seaman 73,Lawrence 77, Blue Valley Northwest 85, Piper 127, Shawnee Heights 181

1. Washburn Rural

1. Bennett Wells 18:08.81; 2. Trey Recob 18:22.50; 3. Oliver Haberman 18:28.31; 4. Ayden Mooney 18:47.68; 5. Ethan Koci 19:02.92; 6. Jackson Svaty 19:05.13; 9. Kael Harman 19:19.08; 11. Ethan Lake 19:36.03; 12. Marlon Barrios Martinez 19:55.32; 13. Blake Harader 19:56.70; 15. Dylan Ragsdale 20:03.07; 17. Jackson Buesing 20:07.06; 19. Charles Stones 20:19.82; 22. Thomas Reed 20:24.70; 31. Cole Replogle 20:39.04; 32. Eli Replogle 20:42.11; 34. Cedric Geotz 20:49.61; 38. Asher Denman 20:57.08; 39. Alex Jeffries 20:57.78; 42. Ryan Olsen 21:09.22; 43. Korbin Jones 21:26.23; 44. Avery Knappenberger 21:36.75; 46. Antonio Fernkopf 21:37.19; 47. Ryder McClintock 21:40.16; 51. Jacob Eilert 21:59.14; 60. Ethan Lanier 23:07.38; 77. Zachary Inloes 25:09.88; 80. Jason Hall 26:06.97; 81. Grady Wells 26:07.23; 82. Dylan Weigel 26:24.39; 84. Caleb Pearce 26:29.13

2. Seaman

8. Tate Oliva 19:17.75; 18. Trace La Row 20:17.10; 20. Cody Moses 20:19.84; 24. Stephen Miano 20:27.30; 28. Nick Horton 20:35.07; 29. Max Roark 20:36.16; 40. Eli Mott 20:58.20; 48. Wesley Eckert 21:41.45; 55. Levi Rodecap 22:15.64; 56. Josh Horton 22:20.91; 65. Gabe Ferguson 23:06.22; 67. John Holloway 23:45.83; 68. Davis Yarnell 24:02.82; 76. Aaron Haynes 24:56.39

6. Shawnee Heights

57. Jakob Rowland 22:22.91; 58. Xain Brown 22:23.88; 62. Lennox Garretson 22:39.11; 75. Colton Geil 24:43.94; 87. Jackson Osborne 29:45.39

Topeka West

83. Erich Abbo-Mott 26:28.77; 85. Jack Morgan 26:45.44

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Silver Lake football took control in the second half to extend its win streak to three games Friday night with a 47-7 non-league home win over Baldwin.

Kipton Kruger, Silver Lake

Dayne Johnson, Silver Lake

The 3-2 Eagles trailed 7-6 midway through the second quarter before ending the game with 41 unanswered points to turn the game into a rout.

Senior Bryson Burgos scored on a 7-yard run to give Silver Lake a slim 13-7 halftime advantage before the Eagles outscored the 3-2 Bulldogs 20-0 in the third quarter and 14-0 in the fourth.

Junior Owen Rottinghaus began Silver Lake's big second half with an 80-yard kickoff return before freshman quarterback Kipton Kruger and senior receiver Dayne Johnson connected on touchdown passes of 78, 17 and 4 yards.

Sophomore Jake Workman scored Silver Lake's final TD on a 27-yard run.

Now 3-2 overall, the Eagles will return to Class 2A District 4 play next Friday, traveling to Riley County. 

Silver Lake is 1-0 in the district while Riley County is 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the district.

Rossville improves to 2-0 in 1A district play with 55-6 romp

Rossville improved to 2-0 in the Class 1A District 2 race Friday night with a 55-6 home romp past Mission Valley.

The Bulldawgs, now 4-1 overall, took control with a pair of first-quarter touchdowns, from Landen Lewis on an 8-yard run and from Andre Johnson on a 38-yard run, and scored 29 points in the second quarter to build a huge 43-6 halftime advantage over the Vikings (3-2, 1-1).

Canann Mitchell, Rossville

Conner Bush scored a pair of second-quarter TDs on runs of 52 and 25 yards while quarterback Canann Mitchell  completed a 25-yard TD pass to Cameron Miller and a 35-yard scoring strike to Cale Horak.

Mitchell added a 52-yard touchdown run in the third quarter before Ryder Foster finished the Bulldawgs' scoring with a 29-yard pick six.

Mitchell completed 7 of 8 passes for 125 yards and the twoTDs and carried the ball three times for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Bush scored on both of his carries while Johnson carried the ball four times for 55 yards and a TD and Miller had four catcthes for 80 yards and a score.

Rossville will face Cair Paravel Latin Friday night at Washburn's Yager Stadium.

Unbeaten Hayden routs Hiawatha, 51-0

Hayden opened Class 3A District 4 play with a 51-0 road romp past Hiawatha Friday night, improving to 5-0 on the season.

The Wildcats took control with a 22-point opening quarter and led 29-0 at halftime.

Hayden finished off the rout with a 22-point third quarter to build its final margin.

The Wildcats will be at home next Friday to host Holton in a district game. Holton is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the district after a 27-17 Friday night loss to Jefferson West. 

Seaman stretches win streak to three games with 48-8 romp past Lansing

Seaman won its third straight United Kansas Conference game Friday night, rolling to a 48-8 road win at Lansing.

The Vikings are now 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the UKC.

Seaman will be at home Friday to face UKC and city rival Shawnee Heights. 

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

John Hoytal, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

TOPEKA HIGH (3-1, 1-0 Centennial) at WASHBURN RURAL (3-1, 0-0 Centennial)

Both Topeka High and Washburn Rural are coming off victories, with the Trojans opening Centennial League play wih a 13-12 home win over Emporia while the Junior Blues rolled to a 31-7 non-league road win at Blue Valley Northwest. Friday is Rural's Centennial League opener. Junior Blues senior quarterback John Hoytal threw for three touchdowns against Northwest while junior Jadyn Baum caught a touchdown pass and ran for a TD and senior Brody Haas picked off two passes, returning one for a TD. Topeka High's defense came up big in last week's win over Emporia, including stuffing the Spartans' two-point conversion attempt to preserve the Trojans' one-point lead.

Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights [File photo/TSN]

DE SOTO (3-1, 3-1 UKC) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-3, 1-2 UKC)

Both teams are coming off United Kansas Conference losses, with De Soto dropping a 42-38 nailbiter to undefeated Basehor-Linwood while Shawnee Heights fell 43-29 on the road at Leavenworth. Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott has completed 95 of 153 passes for 1,330 yards and 12 touchdowns while senior AJ Gallegos has a team-high 28 catches for 391 yards and a pair of TDs and junior Dallas Owens has 27 receptions for 312 yards and two TDs. Senior David Wakes has 281 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 60 attemps. Senior Dayton Vanderpool leads Heights with 36 tackles, including 23 solo stops.

Jackson McGivern, Hayden [File photo/TSN] 

HAYDEN (4-0, 0-0 Class 3A District 4) at HIAWATHA (1-3, 0-1 Class 3A District 4)

Hayden is coming of a 42-7 home win over Wamego, with the Wildcats avenging one of their two defeats in the 2024 season, while Hiawatha opened Class 3A District 4 play with a 12-7 loss to Jefferson West. Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika hit Jackson McGivern, Xander Blasing and Kade Mitchell for touchdowns and Hanika also ran for a TD in the Wildcats' win. Junior Mason Becker returned a pass interception for a touchdown and also went 6 for 6 on extra-point kicks.

Quentin Moravec, Seaman [File photo/TSN]

SEAMAN (2-2, 2-1 UKC) at LANSING (2-2, 2-1 UKC)

Seaman won its second straight game last Friday, a 56-6 United Kansas Conference win over Kansas City-Turner, while Lansing took a 36-20 conference win over Topeka West. Seaman sophomore running back Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 70 times for 510 yards and nine touchdowns while junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 68 of 102 passes for 892 yards and 11 TDs. Junior Josh Brown has 20 pass receptions for 266 yards and six TDs. Senior Cameron Brian leads the Vikings with 54 tackles, including 28 solo stops and five tackles for loss.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Having led city rival Topeka West 1-0 for more than 60 minutes of game time, the Topeka High soccer team could have been devastated when it allowed the Chargers to tie the score with 9:18 remaining. But the Trojans didn’t wilt. They struck back.

Topeka High freshman Emyr Vargas scored the game's first goal in Thursday's 2-1 win over rival Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Barely a minute after surrendering the lead, Trojan senior Neri Diaz-Mayorga raced downfield with a pass from fellow senior Santiago Ovalle and crossed up the Topeka West goalkeeper to reclaim the advantage.

Topeka High senior goalkeeper Billy Lutz (right) and Topeka West senior Morris Blick battle for the ball in Thursday's 2-1 Trojan win over the Chargers. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Topeka High then played keep away and blasted the ball deep into the Charger end to run out the clock and take a 2-1 win.

Diaz-Mayorga said it was important for the Trojans to respond right away to the Topeka West goal.

“I could see how the defense was looking crumbled,” Diaz-Mayorga said. “So, I just thought we, the attackers, had to step up. We started pressing hard, attacking.

“I saw (the Topeka West defender) coming at me … I took a big touch. I knew I was going to beat the other guy on pace. I saw the short post and I just tapped it by him. It feels amazing. I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

Topeka High coach Derek Snook said while the Charger’s game-tying goal was deflating, it wasn’t surprising. He was proud that his team didn’t surrender all the momentum.

“Those are the most intense, the two or three minutes after the other team, or you score a goal,” Snook said. “It could be a little bit of a letdown. But the mentality of these guys has been fantastic. This year, if we go down or maybe aren’t finishing the way we should, they just keep after it and keep after it.”

Snook said it was key that his team regain the lead quickly.

“If it goes any longer, I think they have the run of play at that point,” Snook said. “They were taking it to us, and we knew they would in the second half. West has a really good team. We were lucky to get out of here (with a win.)”

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Nothing came easy for Topeka West volleyball Wednesday night, but the Chargers showed resiliency and perseverance to go 2-0 and earn top honors in the USD 501 triangular at Topeka High.

After topping Highland Park 25-14, 25-14 in its first match of the night, Topeka West let a lead get away in a 26-24 first-set loss to Topeka High before rebounding to take a 25-14 second-set win over the Trojans and surviving a late High rally to hold on for a 25-20 match-clenching win in the third set.

Topeka West celebrates a point in Wednesday's USD 501 volleyball triangular at Topeka High. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"I do think that my girls are battling and we're doing the things that we need to do,'' West coach Alyx Nash said. "We know what our game is and we know that we have to have a hitting game and they definitely clicked and they came together.

"I'm very proud of the girls and the way they pulled out those last two sets.''

Topeka West junior Sydney VanDyke returns a serve in Wednesday's USD 501 volleyball triangular at Topeka High. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

West junior Sydney Van Dyke was also proud of the way the Chargers performed in crunch time.

"I think there was more fire in us that we couldn't let another 501 beat us in our own city,'' VanDyke said. "And I think we just came together as a team and really had that leadership as a team.''

Topeka High junior Campbell Dawson (20) celebrates a kill with her teammates Wednesday night against Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Now 12-13 on the season, West took a 17-12 first-set lead and led 20-16 and 22-20 before Topeka High rallied to go up 23-22 on a service ace from sophomore Itzel Woods and 24-22 on a kill from junior Campbell Dawson.

West scored two straight points to pull even at 24-24 on a kill from VanDyke but the Trojans answered with the set-winning points, closing out a 26-24 win on a kill from sophomore Sophia Brown.

The Chargers turned the tables on the Trojans in the second set, jumping out to an 18-9 advantage on a VanDyke kill and scored five of the final six points to close out the 11-point win.

Topeka West senior Bre Keeling (11) celebrates with her teammates after scoring the final point in Wednesday's win over USD 501 rival Topeka High. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

West also jumped out to a big lead in the third set, opening up a 22-11 cushion but the Trojans battled back to get within 22-18 and 24-20 before the Chargers closed out the win on a kill from senior Bre Keeling.

Keeling, who has been fighting through a knee injury, came up big at the net for the Chargers.

"She played really well,'' Nash said. "She's battling and her leadership is great. She's talking to the girls, she's communicating, and when we go down she's definitely one that the girls look at, and Sydney as well, that they look at and they help us stay in control of our game.''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The only surprise in Monday's United Kansas Conference girls golf tournament at Shawnee Country Club would have been if Seaman hadn't won.

Seaman's girls golf team won its fourth straight UKC girls golf title by 52 strokes Monday at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

After all, the Vikings were coming off a 14-stroke victory in the city tournament and had won the previous three UKC tourneys by an average of 51.7 strokes.

Suffice it to say that were no surprises Monday, with senior Elise Eckert leading a one-two-three individual finish as Seaman won its fourth straight conference championship in an many years in the league by a whopping 52-stroke margin over De Soto (327-359). 

Seaman senior Elise Eckert shot a 73 to take an eight-stroke individual win in Monday's UKC meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman senior Makenna Stuke finished second with an 81 in Monday's UKC meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

City champion Eckert shot a 73 for an eight-stroke win while senior Makenna Stuke was second with an 81 and junior Kaitlynn Frye third with an 84.

The Vikings also got a tie for fourth from junior Chloe Schmidtlein (89) and an 11th-place finish from senior Molina Quintana (96). 

"I felt like overall we had a good solid day,'' Seaman coach Julie McLaughlin said. "There's always room for improvement. All of them were saying there's things they want to work on, but I like where we're sitting right now.

"All we're focusing on is getting stronger mentally, physically and just being ready for that postseason play when it's here.''

Although she was happy to get the league title, Eckert wasn't particularly pleased with Monday's round.

"I especially struggled a bit with my putting today,'' Eckert said. "Everything else was alright, but putting definitely got me today.''

Seaman has two more regular season tournaments before regionals and state and Eckert, a three-time Class 5A state medalist, wants to continue making strides to get ready for her postseason run.

"I definitely need to work on putting more, but I also need to work on some just basic fundamentals with my swing that I can fix on the course, but l just need to practice more to get everything solid,'' she said.

Shawnee Heights finished fourth as a team, with T-Bird junior Lauryn Valdivia tying for seventh with a 92.

Topeka West's Berlyn Kolean tied for 12th with a 98.

UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT 

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

THURSDAY'S GAMES

Josiah Wilkie, Topeka West

LANSING (1-2, 1-1 UKC) vs. TOPEKA WEST (0-3, 0-3 UKC)

At Hummer Sports Park

Topeka West is coming off a 61-0 United Kansas Conference loss to Seaman while Lansing dropped a 40-15 non-league loss to Tonganoxie last week. Junior running back Damon Webb, senior wide receiver Gad Munganga and sophomore quarterback Josiah Wilkie are top players for Topeka West. Lansing junior quarterback Caden Garcia has completed 28 of 60 passes for 403 yards and 3 TDs while junior running back Jaxon Pollard has rushed for 362 yards and 8 TDs 59 attempts. 

Kellan Roth, Washburn Rural

WASHBURN RURAL (2-1) at BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST (2-1)

Both Washburn Rural and Blue Valley Northwest suffered their first losses of the season last week, with Rural dropping a 60-28 non-league decision to Missouri state champion Platte County and Blue Valley Northwest falling to St. James Academy, 21-7. Northwest junior quarterback Aidan Ihm has completed 46 of 70 passes for 604 yards and 7 touchdowns while senior running back LJ Bowens has carried the ball 40 times for 268 yards and 3 TDs. Senior quarterback John Hoytal and senior wide receiver Kellan Roth are both off to hot starts this fall for Washburn Rural.   

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Kade Mitchell, Hayden

WAMEGO (2-1) at HAYDEN (3-0)

Hayden will get the opportunity to avenge one of its two losses in the 2024 season Friday night against the visiting Red Raiders. Wamego is coming off a 34-8 win over Marysville last Friday while Hayden rolled to a 46-7 road win over Kansas-City Bishop Ward and has now outscored its three opponents by a 123-13 margin. Wamego junior quarterback Logan Fulton has completed 32 of 53 passes for 562 yards and 4 TDs. Seniors Connor Hanika and Kade Mitchell and junior Mason Becker have been key offensive threats for the Wildcats.

Ricardo Dowd, Topeka High

EMPORIA (2-1, 0-0 Centennial) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (2-1, 0-0 Centennial)

At Hummer Sports Park

Both Emporia and Topeka High will be opening Centennial League play Friday night. The Spartans have won their last two games by a 102-6 margin, including a 50-0 non-league romp past Coffeyville last week. The Trojans were shut out 6-0 by Wichita Southeast last Thursday. Topeka High will be looking for a big night from senior quarterback Zane Smith,  while sophomore running back Ricardo Dowd has also been an offensive threat for the Trojans. 

Cale Ketter, Seaman

KANSAS CITY-TURNER (0-3, 0-3 UKC) at SEAMAN (1-2, 1-1 UKC)

Seaman rolled to a 61-0 United Kansas Conference win over Topeka West last Friday while Turner dropped a 56-0 conference decision to Leavenworth. Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 53 of 81 pass attempts for 628 yards and 7 touchdowns, including five against West. Junior running back Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 58 times for 426 yards and 6 TDs while junior Josh Brown has 16 pass receptions for 207 yards and 4 TDs.

 Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-2, 1-1 UKC) at LEAVENWORTH (2-1, 2-1)

Shawnee Heights dropped a 35-22 United Kansas Conference decision to Basehor-Linwood last Friday while Leavenworth rolled to a 56-0 UKC win over KC-Turner. T-Bird senior quarterback Aiden Scott has completed 69 of 116 passes for 921 yards and 9 touchdowns. Senior David Wakes has 217 rushing yards and 3 TDs on 56 attempts while senior AJ Gallegos has caught 19 passes for 234 yards and senior Tyren Parker has 10 catches for 245 yards and 2 touchdows. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman's girls tennis team had put itself in position to win the city championship the previous two seasons, only to fall just short.

Seaman's girls tennis team poses for a picture after winning the city championship Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

And Jamie Robinson's Vikings had to sweat another down-to-the-wire finish again on Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center, but this time Seaman got the job done, earning its first city title since 2015 by a 32-28 margin over Washburn Rural.

"We're happy,'' Robinson said. "This is what our goal was at the beginning of the year, to win city. It kind of got to the point where we didn't want to talk about it. We didn't want to jinx ourselves because we were so pumped up to win city this year. 

"We'd been snakebit in the past and were so close, so it meant a lot to the girls. Look at them, they're excited.''

Seaman junior Emma Sweeney won the city No. 1 singles title Thursday, posting three 8-0 wins on the day. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman senior Molly Gorman won the city No. 2 singles title Thursday for the city champion Vikings. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Viking junior Emma Sweeney rolled to the No. 1 singles title without dropping a game in her three matches on the day, including an 8-0 win over Topeka High's Madeline Deters in the finals, while senior Molly Gorman won her second straght No. 2 singles championship, outlasting Hayden freshman Lena Hull in the title match, 8-7 (7-2 in a tiebreaker).

Seaman also got runnerup doubles finishes from Peyton Henry and Camryn Lux in No. 1 doubles and from Kaylyn Hiebsch and Cadence Speer in the No. 2 bracket.

Sweeney agreed with her coach that the city title meant a lot to the Vikings.

"We talk about it every year,'' Sweeney said. "We're always so close and our coach really wanted it because he'd never won city since he's been coaching. We always talk about it and we were ready.

"It means so much and we're all so excited.''

Washburn Rural put itself in the city title picture with a sweep of the doubles championships.

Washburn Rural's Julia Katzer teamed with Halle Owen to win the city No. 1 doubles title Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural's Halle Owen (left) teamed with Julia Katzer to win the No. 1 doubles city title Thursday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Julia Katzer teamed with Halle Owen to take an 8-3 win over Seaman's Henry and Lux in the No. 1 final while Alizah Chedzoy and Annie Henderson took an 8-3 win over Seaman's Hiebsch and Speer in the No. 2 title match.

Hayden, the 2024 city champion, finished third as a team with 23 points, one point ahead of fourth-place Topeka High, as the Wildcats posted top-four finishes in all four divisions.

CITY GIRLS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman's girls tennis team, third in Class 5A a year ago, continues to build momentum for another late-season run, following up last week's city championship with the team title in Tuesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center.

Led by singles champions Emma Sweeney and Molly Gorman, Seaman won Tuesday's championship by a 51-47 margin over Washburn Rural, with the Vikings and Junior Blues repeating their one-two finish from the city meet.

Seaman junior Emma Sweeney won the No. 1 singles championship in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman senior Molly Gorman won the No. 2 singles championship in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational for team champion Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Sweeney, a junior, won the No. 1 singles title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Olathe West's Lindsay Ruder, avenging a loss to Ruder in the 2024 West tournament, while Gorman, a senior, captured the No. 2 singles championship with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Manhattan's Sally Kastner.

Seaman also got a runnerup doubles finish from Peyton Henry and Camryn Lux in No. 1 doubles and a third-place finish from Kaylyn Hiebsch and Cadence Speer in No. 2 doubles.

"Another good day for the Vikings,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. "The girls are trusting their shots and especially in singles Molly really played well. I feel like she's struggled a little bit and she had to take eight months off (with an injury) and now she's really getting back to form. That last match was the most comfortable I've ever seen her.

"And Emma really had a big match and she wanted this one, so that was fun to see. That tested her, that challenged her. This was good competition and we're battle tested and that's going to help in the UKC and it's going to help in regionals.''

Washburn Rural, which has put together another strong season despite graduating several key players off its 2024 team, swept the doubles titles in Tuesday's tournament.

Washburn Rural coach Michelle Rose talks to Rural No. 1 doubles players Halle Owen and Julia Katzer during Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Rural juniors Julia Katzer and Halle Owen won the No. 1 doubles championship with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Seaman's Henry and Lux. Katzer and Owen also faced Henry and Lux in the city championship match, with Rural taking an 8-3 win.

Washburn Rural junior Julia Katzer returns a shot during the No. 1 doubles final in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural junior Halle Owen returns a shot during the No. 1 doubles final in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Alizah Chedzoy and Annie Henderson followed up their city title in No. 2 doubles with the championship in Tuesday's tournament, with Rural taking a 6-1, 6-3 decision in the finals.

TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL TENNIS

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman girls golf is the three-time defending United Kansas Conference champion and has produced multiple Class 5A state medalists over the years, but entering Monday's City Championships at Western Hills the Vikings had never won a city team title in the 13-year history of the event.

Julie McLaughlin's Vikings made up for lost time on Monday as senior individual champion Elise Eckert powered Seaman to a 14-stroke victory over Hayden (341-355) while 11-time city champ Washburn Rural finished third (361).

Seaman girls golf poses for a team picture Monday at Western Hills after winning its first-ever city team championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"This is pretty special, this is something,'' McLaughlin said of the city title. "I had hoped last year we would make a run for it and we just came out and didn't play very well.

"We've come in second a few times and that was exciting, that was great, but this is something I've wanted to see them do for a long time now.''

Seaman senior Elise Eckert shot a two-under-par 68 to win the city girls golf title by eight strokes Monday at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Eckert, a three-time 5A state medalist at Emporia before transferring to Seaman this fall, shot a sizzling two-under-par 68 to take the city individual title by an eight-stroke margin over Hayden senior Lauren Borjon.

"I felt pretty comfortable all day,'' Eckert said. "I started off my round with a double (bogey), so it was kind of rough, but I feel like I was able to quickly pick it up and get myself back in competition.''

Eckert said McLaughlin pointed out to the Vikngs that Seaman had never won the city meet, which made Monday's title run special.

"My coach went over that in the van before we came here,'' Eckert said. "It feels great to help them out with that. I like that I am able to be a part of this team, and with some good girls, too.''

Eckert said she was able to fit in quickly with her new team this fall.

"It didn't really take long because I knew most of the girls beforehand,'' Eckert said. "I had played with them before and they just really accepted me and it was amazing.''

Makenna Stuke finished fifth with an 89 to help Seaman win its first city team title Monday at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Vikings also got top-10 finishes from Makenna Stuke, fifth with an 89, Chloe Schmidtlein, seventh with a 91, and Kaitlynn Frye, who tied for eighth with a 93.

Hayden senior Lauren Borjon shot a 76 Monday to finish second in the city tournament at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Hayden senior Izzy Glotzbach shot an 82 Monday to finish third in the city tournament at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Borjon's 76 was good enough for her second career runnerup finish in the city meet while her Hayden senior teammate, Izzy Glotzbach, finished third with an 82. Borjon also finished second in 2023, leading the Wildcats to the city team championship.

Senior Lauren Cox finished fourth with an 85 to lead Washburn Rural in Monday's city tournament at Western Hills. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Third-place Washburn Rural was led by senior Lauren Cox, who placed fourth with an 85, while Kailyn Petersen was sixth with a 90 and Briley Miles and Ella Taggart tied for eighth with 93s. 

Seaman also won the championship in the Topeka West Invitational, held in conjunction with the city tournament, by a  five-stroke margin over Baldwin. 

Seaman, Shawnee Heights and Topeka West will compete in next Monday's UKC meet at Shawnee Country Club while Hayden and Washburn Rural will compete in next Monday's Centennial League tournament at Junction City.

TOPEKA CITY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

By RICK PETERSON                                                                                                           

TopSports.news

Topeka West junior soccer standout Diego Gonzalez-Talavera and Hayden sophomore volleyball star Hailey Schmidtlein  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 accomplishments of Gonzalez-Talavera and Schmidtlein over the past week:

Diego Gonzalez-Talavera, Topeka West

DIEGO GONZALEZ-TALAVERA, Topeka West

Gonzalez-Talavera was named the Most Valuable Player in the Salina South Invitational after the Chargers won the tournament championship with three straight wins, capped by a 3-2 victory over tournament host Salina South in last Saturday's championship game.

Gonzalez-Talavera's tournament performance was highlighted by four goals and an assist in an 8-0 first-round West win over Salina Central.

The Topeka West standout added a goal and an assist on Thursday as the Chargers improved to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the United Kansas Conference with a 4-2 home win over Seaman.

Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden

HAILEY SCHMIDTLEIN, Hayden

Schmidtlein played a big role last Saturday as the Wildcats, top-ranked in Class 4A by the Kansas Volleyball Association, won the Baldwin Invitational with five straight wins to improve to a perfect 12-0 on the season.

Schmidtlein registered 40 kills in 11 sets on the day while hitting .377 with 51 digs and five blocks.

"Hailey is an incredible multi-sport athlete,'' Wildcat coach Corrinne McGreevy said. "She is a fierce leader and has great court awareness. I'm really proud of how she is playing and leading this team.''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After graduating several talented senior off last season's 8-3 team and losing returning standout running back Kaden McKinney in the opening game for an extended period with an injury, Seaman football has had to rely on several newcomers to step up this fall.

Junior quarterback Cale Ketter threw for five first-half TDs in Seaman's 61-0 UKC win over Topeka West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Sophomore Quentin Moravec rushed for 196 yards and two TDs in Seaman's 61-0 UKC win over Topeka West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

A couple of those first-year varsity starters, junior quarterback Cale Ketter and sophomore Quentin Moravec, filled that bill in a big way Friday night, leading the way as the Vikings picked up up their first win of the season in a 61-0 United Kansas Conference romp past Topeka West at Hummer Sports Park.

Ketter completed 12 of 15 passes for 278 yards and five first-half touchdown passes while Moravec carried the ball 17 times for 196 yards and a pair of TDs.

Ketter set the stage for the night with his first-half TD barrage as the Vikings opened up a 34-0 first-half cushion.

"I counted up the first two and then I didn't lose track, but I just stopped thinking about it and just played ball after that,'' Ketter said.

Senior tight end Noah Kobuszewski caught a 78-yard TD pass in Seaman's 61-0 UKC win over Topeka West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Ketter, 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, connected with junior Josh Brown for 18 and 32-yard scores and also hit senior Noah Kobuszewski for a 78-yard touchdown, junior Coy Barta for 27 yards and senior Jayden Evans for 39 yards as Seaman got back on track after losses to Piper and Shawnee Mission East to open the season.

"It feels great,'' Ketter said. "We had a rough couple of weeks, but we all know the team and I love these guys to death and we just keep coming back every week and getting better every week. Tonight's a great confidence boost and we've just got to carry it into next week.''

Moravec, 6-foot, 180, scored touchdowns on 39 and 44-yard runs and was just under the 200-yard mark for the night.

"I just want to thank the guys on the line for helping me through all of this,'' Moravec said. "I also want to thank Kaden for building me up to this point and getting me to where I am right now.

"I would not be in this situation without him. He taught me so much over the summer and I just want to thank all the coaches, the O-line, Kaden and everybody. I want to thank this whole organization.''

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

THURSDAY'S GAME

(Kickoff at 7 p.m.)

Zane Smith, Topeka High

WICHITA SOUTHEAST (1-1) at TOPEKA HIGH (2-0)

Topeka High will be playing its second Thursday night game in the first three weeks of the season and will be looking to start the season 3-0 after beginnning the 2024 season 4-0. The Trojans are coming off a 28-20 come-from-behind road win over Wichita Heights while Wichita Southeast lost 33-6 to Bishop Carroll last week. Senior quarterback Zane Smith is off to a hot start this fall for Topeka High while sophomore running back Ricardo Dowd is in the midst of a breakout season.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

(Highland Park-KC Schlagle kickoff at 4 p.m.)

(All other kickoffs at 7 p.m.)

G'Honi Montgomery, Highland Park

KC-SCHLAGLE (1-1, 1-0) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (2-0, 2-0 Meadowlark)

At Hummer Sports Park

The undefeated Scots will play the first game of a city doubleheader at Hummer Sports Park, kicking off at 4 p.m. Highland Park has yet to be tested thus far, rolling to Meadowlark Conference wins over Kansas City-Wyandotte and last week's 44-16 victory over KC-Sumner. Schlagle is coming off a 44-0 win over Wyandotte last week. Scot junior JoJo Kingcannon has rushed for 247 yards on just nine carries while junior G'Honi Montgomery has rushed for 187 yards on 26 carries. Montgomery scored three touchdowns last week, including a pair of kickoff returns for TDs.

SEAMAN (0-2, 0-1) vs. TOPEKA WEST (0-2, 0-2)

At Hummer Sports Park

Seaman and Topeka West will play the second game of Friday's twinbill at Hummer Sports Park, with the Vikings and Chargers both looking for their first victories in the United Kansas Conference contest. Seaman is coming off a 41-21 non-league loss to Shawnee Mission East while Topeka West dropped a 76-35 UKC decision to Shawneee Heights. Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 41 of 66 passes for 348 yards and two TDs while sophomore Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 40 times for 227 yards and four scores. West sophomore quarterback Josiah Wilkie completed 19 of 46 passes for 323 yards and three TDs against Shawnee Heights. Jayden Lindsay accounted for 155 yards receiving while Gad Munganga added 125 yards receiving.

Kellan Roth, Washburn Rural

PLATTE COUNTY, MO. (3-0) at WASHBURN RURAL (2-0)

Washburn Rural is coming off a thrilling 31-30 come-from-behind non-league win over Blue Valley last Friday while Platte County rolled to a 46-7 win over Fort Osage, Mo. The Pirates went 14-0 and captured a Missouri state title in 2024 and have outscored their first three opponents by a 156-37 margin this season. Rural quarterback John Hoytal threw for four TDs last week, including three to senior Kellan Roth. Junior Ryan Austin kicked a 31-yard field goal and the game-winning extra point against Blue Valley. 

Canann Mitchell, Rossville

NEMAHA CENTRAL (2-0, 1-0) at ROSSVILLE (2-0, 2-0)

Rossville pulled out its second straight nail-biting Big East League win last Friday, edging St. Marys, 40-34, while Nemaha Central topped Big East League foe Silver Lake, 42-7. Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 26 of 45 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns and carried the ball 33 times for 219 yards and three TDs. Senior Cameron Miller has caught 11 passes for 152 yards and two TDs.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

With the Topeka City Golf Championships on tap next Monday, four city schools got a tuneup for that event on Tuesday in the Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club.

Washburn Rural senior Lauren Cox shot a personal-record 77 Tuesday to tie for second in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman senior Elise Eckert shot a 77 to tie for second in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural was second as a team with a four-person score of 343, while short-handed Seaman was two strokes back in third at 345, host Hayden was fifth at 355 and Topeka West had a pair of individual competitors.

Washburn Rural will enter the city meet at Western Hills as the defending champion while Hayden captured the title in 2023 to end a decade-long run by the Junior Blues and Seaman could be the pre-tourney favorite after the addition of three-time Class 5A state medalist Elise Eckert this fall.

"It should be a fun day next week for the city championship,'' Washburn Rural coach Jared Goehring said. "It will definitely be a competitive round of golf. Obviously, Seaman's proven that they're kind of the frontrunners this year so far so we'll have our work cut out for us, but with a one-day setting you just never know. Anything can happen.'' 

Rural earned city bragging rights on Tuesday as senior Lauren Cox tied Seaman's Eckert for second place individually with 77s.

Hayden's Izzy Glotzbach and Seaman's Makenna Stuke tied for fourth with 79s while Hayden's Lauren Borjon and Rural's Kailyn Petersen tied for sixth with 81s.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights volleyball has faced an uphill battle in the early stages of the 2025 season while wading through a tough schedule, including a matchup with defending Class 5A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas.

Shawnee Heights volleyball celebrates a point in Tuesday's UKC volleyball sweep at Topeka West. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]

But T-Bird coach Sami Kearney is pleased with the progress her team has made, including Shawnee Heights' first sweep of the season in Tuesday's Topeka West triangular.

Shawnee Heights senior Avery Willey goes up for a kill in Tuesday's UKC volleyball sweep at Topeka West. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]

Now 6-6 on the season, the T-Birds dominated their first two United Kansas Conference matches of the year, rolling to a 25-12, 25-15 win over Seaman and a 25-13, 25-13 victory over Topeka West.

"I feel like we're moving in the right direction,'' Kearney said. "We've just played some tough teams, and I don't think you'll get better as a team if you don't play good teams, so I want that challenge and they accept that challenge and we're just getting better every week it feels like, so I just want to keep moving up with them.

"It's always about records, but at the same time we've got to go play good teams to make it to state, so we might as well get started and see what we need to get to and it's a good goal for us to try to reach.''

Senior Avery Willey, who had a big night Tuesday, agreed with her coach that the T-Birds are improving all the time.

"I think we've played some great teams and the losses are fine because we played great volleyball and we're just going to get better from it,'' Willey said. "Playing bad teams all year is not going to help us get better so I'm glad we get to play those really good teams.''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka West's boys soccer team went 3-0 on the week to claim the championship in the Salina South Invitational.

The Chargers, now 4-0, finished off their title run with a 3-2 win over tournament host Salina South in Saturday's championship game.

Diego Gonzalez-Talavera was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after helping lead Topeka West to the championship in the Salina Invitational. [File photo/TSN]

West got goals from JP Ayella, Valentin Del Real and Morris Blick against Salina South, while Ayella, Makaly Martinez and Giancarlo Valenzuela were credited with assists.

The Chargers scored all three of their goals in the opening half and West held on for the win despite two second-half goals by the Cougars. 

West reached the final with an 8-0 first-round win over Salina Central on Tuesday and a 1-0 win over Hays in Thursday's semifinal. 

Diego Gonzalez-Talavera scored four goals with one assist against Central while Blick had a brace with two goals. Camilo Garcia and D'Ante Smith-Dilone both had a goal and an assist for the Chargers while additional assists were provided by Ayella and Del Real.

Gage Kindred-Noragon was in goal behind Valenzuela Kameron Ortiz, Navi Lopez, Martinez and Neko Juarez for the shutout.

Ortiz scored the game-winning goal against Hays on a corner kick from Del Real. Kindred-Noragon was in goal for a team effort in another shutout.

Gonzalez-Talavera was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament while Del Real and Valenzuela were named to the all-tournament team.

Eckert, Vikings claim titles in Seaman Invitational 

Elise Eckert carded a 74 to win the individual championship by five strokes in Thursday's Seaman Invitational girls golf tournament at Village Greens, leading the Vikings to the team championship by 22 strokes.

Elise Eckert, Seaman   

Eckert was a three-time Class 5A state medalist for Emporia before moving to Topeka for her senior year.

The Vikings won the team title with a four-person score of 328 as Makenna Stuke finished fourth with an 84 and Chloe Schmidtlein and Kaitlynn Frye both shot 85s to tie for fifth place.

Hayden senior Izzy Glotzbach finished second with a 79 while Wildcat senior Lauren Borjon was third with an 81 as Hayden finished third as a team.

Washburn Rural finished second in the team standings, with Lauren Cox tying for fifth individually with an 85 while Kailyn Petersen placed eighth (86), Briley Miles ninth (89) and Peyton Merrick 10th (90).

Hayden's volleyball team poses for a team picture after winning Saturday's Baldwin tournament and improving to 12-0 on the season. [Hayden volleyball]

Hayden volleyball rolls to Baldwin Invitational championship

Top-ranked (Classs 4A) Hayden is 12-0 on the season after capturing the championship in Saturday's Baldwin Invitational. 

Hayden finished third in 4A last season.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Local sports greats Jerad Head, Trey Lewis, Brenda Stolle, Duane Zlatnik and the late Bob Davis were inducted into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame on Monday at Washburn University.

Steven Davis (son of the late Bob Davis), Brenda Stolle, Duane Zlatnik, Jerad Head and Trey Lewis pose for a picture after being inducted into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

A Silver Lake native, Stolle was a standout pitcher for the Emporia State softball team from 1979-81. Stolle led the Hornets to a national championship in 1980 and a second-place finish in 1981.  Her career pitching record was 66-15, and she picked up six saves during her career.

Former Emporia softball national champion and player of the year Brenda Stolle speaks during Monday's Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame induction ceremony. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

During the 1980 championship season, Stolle compiled an 0.33 earned run average.  She received numerous honors, including all-American honors twice, NAIA most valuable player in 1981, and Kansas Female Athlete of the Year from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Brenda Stolle receives her Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame award from Topeka Area Sports Commission executive director Mike Bell. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Stolle was the first female ever inducted into the Emporia State Athletic Hall of Honor in 1988 and was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

"My experience at Emporia State was pretty unique,'' Stolle said. "Some of the things that might surprise you is that every year all of us tried out for the team. There were two weeks and every year all of us tried out and you didn't know for sure if you were on the team or who else was on the team. We all walked on and we were all Kansas girls.

"Before every game we prayed together and we played hard. We worked together as a team and it was about the team and there's something wonderful about working with a group of people where you're working on behalf of the team.''   

Head earned All-Class 4A honors in football, basketball and baseball at Hayden and played basketball and baseball at Washburn University before being signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 2006. 

Former Major Leaguer Jerad Head was inducted into the Topeka Shawnee Sports Hall of Fame Monday at Washburn, where he was a standout in baseball and basketball. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Head was promoted to the majors on August 28, 2011 and played in 10 games as a left fielder and pinch hitter.

Jerad Head receives his Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame award from Topeka Area Sports Commission executive director Mike Bell. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Head also played Minor League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals organizations before ending his playing career in 2013. He was named as manager of the Auburn Doubledays of the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League in 2016 and managed through 2018.

"Thanks to the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame,'' Head said. "I'm very honored and very humbled. I don't think people realize the amount of people that come out of here. Just right now we have a player in the big leagues (Ryan Zeferjahn), we have the SEC volleyball player of the year (Brooklyn DeLeye) and probably the greatest softball player in Topeka history (NiJaree Canady).''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Local sports greats Jerad Head, Trey Lewis, Brenda Stolle, Duane Zlatnik and the late Bob Davis will be inducted into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame on Monday at Washburn University.

The Topeka Area Sports Commission will host the 20th annual Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame induction ceremony from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Washburn's Memorial Union.

Head was a multi-sport star at Hayden and Washburn University before embarking on a long career in professional baseball, including a Major League stint with the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians). 

Lewis was a standout at Washburn Rural and earned NCAA Division II All-America honors as a defensive lineman before being drafted by the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons. 

Stolle, a Silver Lake graduate, was a standout pitcher for the Emporia State softball team from 1979-81.  During that time, she guided the Hornets to a national championship in 1980 and a second-place finish in 1981. 

Zlatnik was a star lineman and three-time state wrestling champion at Rossville before becoming a three-year starter in the offensive line for the University of Kansas.

A Topeka West graduate, Davis carved out a legendary broadcasting career, including long stints for the University of Kansas and the Kansas City Royals.

The 2025 Hall of Fame event will feature a luncheon followed by the official program.

Established in 2006, the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame continues its mission to preserve and honor the legacies of those who have significantly advanced athletics in Shawnee County.

Hall of Fame Class of 2025 capsules:

Jerad Head

JERAD HEAD

Head earned All-Class 4A honors in football, basketball and baseball at Hayden and played basketball and baseball at Washburn University before being signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 2006. 

Head was promoted to the majors on August 28, 2011 and played in 10 games as a left fielder and pinch hitter.

Head also played Minor League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals organizations before ending his playing career in 2013.

He was named as manager of the Auburn Doubledays of the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League in 2016 and managed through 2018.

Trey Lewis

TREY LEWIS

After graduating from Washburn Rural, Lewis played for the Washburn Ichabod football team from 2003-06 as a defensive lineman and became the first Ichabod to be named to the Associated Press Little All-American team since 1963. Lewis was also named to the American Football Coaches Association All-American team after recording 62 tackles as a senior with 36 solo stops, 10 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Lewis finished his career at Washburn with 156 total tackles, including 68 solo stops, 23 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Lewis was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the 6th round as the 185th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.

He played from 2007-11 for the Falcons, appearing in 31 games. 

Brenda Stolle

BRENDA STOLLE

A Silver Lake native, Stolle was a standout pitcher for the Emporia State softball team from 1979-81. Stolle led the Hornets to a national championship in 1980 and a second-place finish in 1981.  Her career pitching record was 66-15, and she picked up six saves during her career.

During the 1980 championship season, Stolle compiled an 0.33 earned run average.  She received numerous honors, including all-American honors twice, NAIA most valuable player in 1981, and Kansas Female Athlete of the Year from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Stolle was the first female ever inducted into the Emporia State Athletic Hall of Honor in 1988 and was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Duane Zlatnik

DUANE ZLATNIK

Zlatnik starred in football and wrestling at Rossville before becoming a three-year starter in the offensive line at Kansas.

Zlatnik was a three-time state wrestling champion for the Bulldawgs and finished his career with a 148-13 record and a school-record 110 pins. He was a two-time All-Stater and Kansas Shrine Bowl pick in football.

Zlatnik was an All-Big 12 honoree for the Jayhawks and made 27 consecutive starts at right and left guard.

He is currently an assistant football and wrestling coach at Washburn Rural.

 Bob Davis

BOB DAVIS (Inducted posthumously)

A Topeka West graduate, Davis passed away on March 20 at the age of 80 after a legendary career in sports broadcasting.

Davis was the "Voice of the Jayhawks" for more than 30 years before retiring in 2016. Davis called eight KU trips to the Final Four, six football bowl games, including the 2008 Orange Bowl, and thousands of regular-season basketball and football games. Davis was also on the call for the 1988 and 2008 men's basketball national championship victories. In 1997 Davis joined the Kansas City Royals, calling games for radio and television for the franchise for 16 years.

 A 48-year veteran of broadcasting in the state of Kansas, Davis was born in Iola and grew up in Topeka, where he graduated from West in 1962. Davis stayed in Topeka to attend Washburn, where he graduated in 1967 with a degree in history.

Davis is a member of numerous Halls of Fame, including the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

It was Homecoming for Topeka West before Thursday's United Kansas Conference football game as the Chargers would host the Lansing Lions on a beautiful fall night at Hummer Sports Park.

West, which was looking for its first win of the season, built a 20-14 halftime advantage, but the Lions scored 22 fourth-quarter points to pull out a 36-20 win. 

Topeka West sophomore quarterback Josiah Wilkie threw for two touchdowns in Thursday's 36-20 loss to Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN] 

Nas Williams-Brown scored on a run and a pass reception for Topeka West in Thursday's 36-20 loss to Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Lions would start the game off with the ball and score with a Jaxon Pollard run.

The Chargers would get the ball and move it down the field through the air with their sophomore quarterback Josiah Wilkie as Wilkie would find fellow sophomore Nas Williams-Brown for a 12-yard touchdown strike.

The Chargers would force the Lions to punt on their next possession and would take advantage and find the end zone on a 48-yard run by Williams-Brown.

The Chargers and Lions would find themselves full of emotions as they would get into a tussle on the West sideline, which would force four Chargers and three Lions to the locker room early.

“Thing’s like that happen, it’s the game, it’s a physical game,'' Topeka West coach Trey Parker said. "Your guys are hitting and bumping bodies, going to the ground. Tempers are going to flare from time to time.

"You have to reset and refocus. And I think for a moment our guys did, but towards the end we started to lose that focus.”

The Chargers would be outscored 28-6 after the tussle, with the Lions scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers would find the end zone right before halftime as standout senior receiver Gad Munganga would haul in a  a 21-yard pass from Wilkie.

Parker on Munganga: “He is a kid that is just learning football, he continues to put in the work, and now we are starting to see the benefits of that. He was just a basketball player and he stepped out on a limb to come play football, and he has became one of our leaders, and he is a really great kid.”

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights outlasted Topeka West in a wild romp Friday at Heights that saw 16 touchdowns and 111 total points scored. The T-Birds picked up their first victory of the season, 76-35 over the Chargers.

Senior quarterback Aiden Scott threw for three touchdowns and ran for two TDs in Shawnee Heights' 76-35 UKC win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Every time Shawnee Heights appeared to gain a commanding lead, the Chargers seemed to hit for a big play that kept the fires burning on both sides. The T-Birds continued to attack, even once reserves were inserted in the lineup. Eight different T-Birds found the end zone in the game.

“The whole sideline was going crazy as some of those guys who don’t get to play got out there,” senior quarterback Aiden Scott said. “Just seeing their faces light up when everyone scores. It’s amazing – our team atmosphere. We’re all for each other.”

David Wakes scored the first two touchdowns of the night in Shawnee Heights' 76-35 UKC win over Topeka West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Shawnee Heights took a 22-0 lead in the first period. But the Chargers took to the air in the second period and made things interesting. Quarterback Josiah Wilkie directed a touchdown drive to cut the T-Bird lead to 22-8. Later in the quarter, Topeka West took advantage of an interception deep in Shawnee Heights territory to convert a second touchdown drive, making the score 28-14.

Shawnee Heights junior Christian Labrador scored two touchdowns, including a 50-yard interception return, in Shawnee Heights' 76-35 UKC win over Topeka West Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Shawnee Heights responded with 20 unanswered points in the final 3:16 of the period to go up 48-14 at the intermission. But even then, the Chargers didn’t fold. Wilkie hit on two long scoring passes to receiver Jayden Lindsay, and Nas Williams-Brown scored on a 72-yard scamper.

Shawnee Heights coach Jason Swift praised the Chargers for their effort, and said there was plenty for his team to like as well.  

“I saw a lot of kids get a chance to play,” Swift said. “We had some injuries coming into tonight. So, a lot of kids were, hey, this is your first night playing Friday night football. And I thought they did well. Did we make some mistakes? Yeah, we did. That’s part of being a kid. On Friday nights, the game goes a lot faster than it does on any other day. But our kids never quit. So, sure, we can improve on some stuff, but, you know, anytime you win a football game, it’s great.”

The T-Birds, who never punted, were only prevented from reaching the end zone on two possessions. Scott threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more.

For the Chargers, Wilkie completed 19 of 46 passes for 323 yards. Lindsay accounted for 155 yards receiving while Gad Munganga added 125 yards receiving.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

FRIDAY'S GAMES

(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)

Shawnee Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott threw for 428 yards and four touchdowns in last Friday's 51-41 loss to Washburn Rural. [File photo/TSN]

Topeka West junior Damon Webb is one of the area's top running backs. [File photo/TSN]

TOPEKA WEST (0-1, 0-1 UKC) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (0-1, 0-0 UKC)

Topeka West opened its season with a home 47-12 United Kansas Conference loss to De Soto while Shawnee Heights dropped a 51-41 home non-league decision to city rival Washburn Rural. Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott completed 30 of 52 passes for 428 yards and four touchdowns against Rural while senior David Wakes carried the ball 21 times for 67 yards, senior Tyren Parker caught seven passes for 172 yards and two TDs and senior AJ Gallegos caught 10 passes for 113 yards. Top players for Topeka West include senior lineman Logan Hunninghake, senior wide receiver Gad Munganga and junior running back Damon Webb.

Junior running back G'Honi Montgomery rushed for 113 yards in Highland Park's 32-6 win at KC-Wyandotte last Friday. [File photo/TSN]

KC-SUMNER (0-1, 0-1 Meadowlark) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (1-0, 1-0 Meadowlark)

At Hummer Sports Park 

Highland Park opened its quest for a fourth straight winning season with a 32-6 Meadowlark Conference road win at Kansas City-Wyandotte while KC-Sumner is coming off a 62-20 Meadowlark loss to KC-Washington. Highland Park junior running back G'Honi Montgomery rushed for 113 yards on 12 carries while junior JoJo Kingcannon had 103 yards on just four attempts and senior quarterback Dontrail Fox threw for a TD. Defensively junior Rayshon Pollard had seven tackles with two sacks.

OSAGE CITY (1-0, 0-0 Flint Hills) vs. CAIR PARAVEL LATIN (1-0, 1-0 Flint Hills)

At Yager Stadium, Washburn University

Cair Paravel rolled to a 60-14 Flint Hills League win over West Franklin in its 2025 opener at Washburn's Yager Stadium while Osage City opened with a 41-13 non-league win over Olpe. The Lions opened up a 20-0 first-quarter lead, led 26-8 at halftime and 52-8 at the start of the fourth quarter. Cair Paravel is one win away from equaling its win total in a 2-7 season last fall in its first season in the 11-man ranks.

SM EAST (1-0) at SEAMAN (0-1)

Seaman dropped a 33-22 United Kansas Conference home decision to Piper in its 2025 season-opener and will go outside league play to host Class 6A Shawnee Mission East Friday night. The Lancers are 1-0 after a 31-28 win over Olathe Northwest. Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter completed 30 of 42 passes for 192 yards against Piper while sophomore Quentin Moravec rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries and junior Josh Brown caught 10 passes for 74 yards.

Junior Jadyn Baum (26) rushed for 84 yards and scored two touchdowns in Washburn Rural's 51-41 season-opening win over Shawnee Heights. [File photo/TSN]

BLUE VALLEY (1-0) at WASHBURN RURAL (1-0) 

Washburn Rural outlasted city rival Shawnee Heights 51-41 at Heights last week while Blue Valley opened with a 28-21 win over Blue Valley Southwest. Rural senior quarterback John Hoytal completed 11 of 20 passes for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns while senior TJ Minikwu was 28 for 77 yards rushing and junior Jadyn Baum picked up a game-high 84 yards on 12 attempts. Minikwu and Baum scored two TDs apiece, while senior Nate Selm also had two TDs, including a 47-yard return of an onsides kick attempt.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Cair Paravel Latin volleyball team took down two Topeka public school teams and then measured itself against the defending Class 2A champion Thursday at the Topeka West quadrangular.

Cair Paravel volleyball celebrates its victory over Topeka West in Thursday's Topeka West volleyball quadrangular. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Cair Paravel junior Karsyn Hastert prepares to spike the ball in Thursday's Topeka West volleyball quadrangular. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Maranatha Christian Academy from Shawnee, winners of the 2A title a year ago, swept through the field Thursday night, never giving up more than 16 points in a game.

Cair Paravel won what wound up being the tightest battle of the evening in their opening match with Topeka West. The Lions edged the Chargers, 25-19, 25-22.

“We’re a young team. We start two freshmen,” Cair Paravel coach Craig Congdon said. “I saw some girls grow in ways that I haven’t seen them play. I saw them compete. And it’s fun playing against local teams. Highland Park has really improved. They’re coming out with a lot more fire than in past years.”

Coach Isaach Johnson talks to his Highland Park volleyball team during Thursday's Topeka West quadrangular. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Highland Park did not win a game, but it received a lot of praise for how competitive the Scots were in each match.

“Having more competitive teams to play against really helps us to be able to outshine the other teams in (the Meadowlark) League, which is our first goal,” said second-year coach Isaach Johnson. “Ultimately, we don’t want Highland Park to just stay at the same level forever. For the last two years, we’ve tried to continue to include more competitive teams (on the schedule). And it’s already shown that, whereas two years ago against a team like Topeka West where Highland Park was losing 25-0, now we’re actually having competitive games. So, this is a great way for us to be prepared against high level of play.”

Topeka West defeated Highland Park in their final match of the evening, sending the Chargers home on a high note.

Topeka West junior Sydney VanDyke serves the ball during Thursday's Topeka West quadrangular. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

“This is always a very fun home quad for us to kick off on,” said Charger coach Alyx Nash. “I’m kind of sad the way we competed tonight. That was definitely not the team that you will usually see in purple and the way we are expecting to play this year. But we had a lot of good competition tonight and saw some good things to build on.”

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

For the first time this season Topeka West's soccer team trailed in a game Thursday night at Hummer Sports Park.

But after falling behind visiting Seaman 2-1 in the opening half, Topeka West scored the final three goals of the night to take a 4-2 United Kansas Conference win over the Vikings.

Junior Diego Gonzalez-Talavera is congratulated by his Topeka West teammates after scoring the final goal in Thursday's 4-2 UKC win over Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Senior JP Ayella had a goal and an assist in Topeka West's 4-2 UKC win over Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"I think they reacted well,'' Topeka West coach Josh Kutter said of his team's comeback. "You could tell the disappointment initially, but once they got over themselves they came back and continued to stay the course and played our game.

"We know they can score.''

Senior Rylan Harris scored Seaman's first goal in Thursday's 4-2 UKC loss to Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] L

Topeka West, now 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the UKC, took a 1-0 lead just 2:57 into the game on an own goal, but Seaman got goals from senior Rylan Harris and senior Cody Quy to go up by a goal with 22:30 left in the first half.

But West tied the game 2:12 later on a goal from senior JP Ayella and took the lead for good at 3-2 on a shot from sophomore Camilo Garcia with 3:42 left in the half.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Rossville volleyball stretched its winning streak to seven matches with a dominating performance in Saturday's Rossville Invitational, with the Bulldawgs posting five straight-set victories to claim the tournament championship.

Rossville volleyball is now 7-0 on the 2025 season after winning its invitational tournament on Saturday with a 5-0 day. [Rossville volleyball]

Rossville, which was ranked No. 10 in the Kansas Volleyball Association Class 2A preseason state rankings, opened its day with a 25-11, 25-21 win over Waverly, followed by a 25-14, 25-23 win over Baldwin, a 25-20, 25-17 victory over Iola and a 25-19, 25-15 win over Iola before winning the tournament title with a 25-19, 25-19 win over Burlington.

Dani Dodge's Bulldawgs got a dominating performance at the net from junior Nora Burdiek, who registered double-digit kills in all five matches.

Burdiek had 11 kills against Waverly, 15 against Baldwin, 14 versus Iola, 12 against Wellsville and 12 kills in the Bulldawgs' final match win over Burlington. 

Burdiek now has 90 kills on the season for the 7-0 Bulldawgs after posting 26 kills in a pair of Big East League wins over Sabetha earlier in the week.

Rossville also got a big day from freshman setter Kenna Perine on Saturday, with Perine contributing 117 assists in her five matches.

Perine registered 27 assists against Waverly, 21 against Baldwin, 24 against Iola, 21 against Wellsville and 24 against Burlington.

Perine had a total of 35 assists in her high school debut on Tuesday against Sabetha and now has 152 assists on the year.

Junior G'Honi Montgomery rushed for 113 yards on 12 carries in Friday's 32-6 Highland Park win at KC-Wyandotte. [File photo/TSN]

Scots roll to 32-6 season-opening win over Bulldawgs

Highland Park football began its quest for a fourth straight winning season Friday night with a 32-6 Meadowlark Conference road win over Kansas City-Wyandotte. 

Scot junior G'Honi Montgomery rushed for 113 yards on just 12 attempts against Wyandotte while junior JoJo Kingcannon had 103 yards on just four carries.

Senior quarterback Dontrail Fox had 22 passing yards and a touchdown for Hi Park.

Defensively, junior Rayshon Pollard led the Scots with seven tackles while also recording a pair of sacks.

Highland Park will be at Hummer Park Friday to host KC-Sumner Academy in a Meadowlark Conference contest (7 p.m. kickoff). 

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)

THURSDAY'S GAME

Jason Filbeck begins his second season at Topeka High Thursday night after leading the Trojans to a 4-5 mark last fall. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

WICHITA WEST vs. TOPEKA HIGH

At Hummer Sports Park

Jason Filbeck begins his second season as Topeka High's head coach after leading the Trojans to a 4-5 record last fall, including four straight wins to open the season. High returns a solid group of returners to build around this season , returning four starters on offense and eight on defense. Senior defensive back Malachi Murph has received All-Centennial League first-team recognition the past two seasons and was an All-Shawnee County Second 22 honoree last fall while quarterback Zane Smith, linebacker Rock Williamson and defensive lineman Trey Lutz received All-Centennial League and All-Shawnee County honorable mention in 2024. Wichita West posted a 2-7 record in 2024, including a 52-19 season-opening loss to Topeka High. The Trojans will be looking to snap a five-game losing streak Thursday night. Two of Topeka High's first three games are Thursday night contests, with the Trojans hosting Wichita Southeast on Sept. 18.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Silver Lake senior Dayne Johnson (11) is a returning All-Shawnee County Top 22 pick. [File photo/TSN]

Rossville senior Conner Bush helped the Bulldawgs advance to the Class 1A semifinals last season. [File photo/TSN]

SILVER LAKE at ROSSVILLE

For the second straight season the Bulldawgs and Eagles will open the 2025 season with one of the state's most storied rivalries. Rossville is coming off an 8-4 record a year ago and advanced to the Class 1A state semifinals while Silver Lake went 7-3. The Eagles took a 33-26 overtime win over the Bulldawgs in last year's opener. Rossville returns TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 pick Conner Bush (senior running back/defensive back) and All-Shawnee County Second 22 honorees Jack Donovan (senior wide receiver/defensive back) and Andre Johnson (senior running back/linebacker) to build around. Silver Lake senior wide receiver/safety Dayne Johnson received TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 honors a year ago after catching 51 passes for 835 yards and nine touchdowns and picking off six passes on defense. Junior lineman Myles Fisher and sophomore lineman Kendrick Vande Velde received all-county honorable mention last season while senior safety Grady Bergmann received All-Big East honorable mention.

 Washburn Rural senior running back TJ Minikwu earned All-Centennial League recognition last fall. [File photo/TSN]

Shawnee Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott passed for more than 3,000 yards last fall. [File photo/TSN]

WASHBURN RURAL at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS

City rivals Washburn Rural and Shawnee Heights will both be looking to bounce back this fall after tough 2024 campaigns. Rural went 3-6 a year ago, including a 42-21 win over Shawnee Heights, while Heights went 2-7. Washburn Rural senior running back TJ Minikwu received first-team All-Centennial League recognition last season while senior quarterback John Hoytal, senior wide receiver Kellan Roth, senior defensive lineman Ayden Crosswhite and senior linebacker Jordy Heim were second-team all-league picks. Senior offensive lineman Jayden Cooper, junior running back Jadyn Baum, junior linebacker Brody Haas and senior linebacker Elijah Gaines received all-league honorable mention and Minikwu, Cooper, Baum, Hoytal, Roth, Crosswhite, Heim, Haas, Gaines, senior Sammy Brumley and senior Dylan Tajchman all received All-Shawnee County honorable mention. Leading the T-Bird returning cast are senior quarterback Aiden Scott and senior wide receiver/defensive back Tyren Parker, who both were TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 picks a year ago. Scott, who was named the county offensive newcomer of the year last fall, completed 190 of 317 passes for 3,102 yards and 32 touchdowns while Parker caught 50 passes for 946 yards with 11 touchdowns and was in on 48 tackles with a pair of interceptions. Scott has committed to Washburn and Parker to Kansas. 

Senior linebacker Jude Krentz led Hayden with 132 tackles last fall, earning All-Shawnee County Top 22 honors. [File photo/TSN]

EUDORA at HAYDEN  

Hayden went 11-2 and finished second in Class 3A for the second straight season last fall while Eudora is coming off a 4-5 season, including a 35-7 season-opening loss to the Wildcats. Headlining the list of Hayden returners are senior running back/defensive back Kade Mitchell and senior fullback/linebacker Jude Krentz, who were both TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 honors last season. Mitchell rushed for 808 yards on 104 carries last fall and scored 26 total touchdowns while Krentz led the Wildcats with 132 tackles (75 solo). Other top senior returners include quarterback Connor Hanika, center/defensive lineman Julian McGivern, running back/linebacker Jackson McGivern, tight end/linebacker Xander Blasing, offensive tackle Jackson Haas, offensive guard Andrew Rohr and linebacker Logan Saenz. 

Topeka West junior Damon Webb is one of the area's top returning running backs. [File photo/TSN]

DE SOTO at TOPEKA WEST

At Hummer Sports Park

Trey Parker begins his third full season as head coach at Topeka West after taking over on an interim basis in 2022. The Chargers will be looking to take a step forward this fall after three straight 1-8 seasons. Topeka West faces a tough task Friday night, with De Soto coming off a 7-2 season last fall. De Soto took a 56-6 season-opening win over West last season. Top returners for Topeka West include senior lineman Logan Hunninghake, senior wide receiver Gad Munganga, junior lineman Dorian Rhoten Jr. and junior running back Damon Webb Jr. Webb carried the ball 17 times for 192 yards and three touchdowns in last fall's 32-20 United Kansas Conference win over Kansas City-Turner. The Chargers also return sophomore quarterback Josiah Wilke, who took over as West's starter the second half of the 2024 season.