By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee County high schools captured three boys state team titles in 2025 while county athletes combined to earn six individual/relay championships.
Washburn Rural soccer is No. 1 on TopSports.news' list of the Top 10 boys high school sports stories of 2025 after winning its fourth Class 6A state title and first since 2012 while Rural cross country and Hayden bowling also won team championships.
Individually, Washburn Rural's Easton Broxterman is No. 2 on the Top 10 after capping his outstanding high school wrestling career with his third straight Class 6A state championship in 2025 in his fourth straight trip to the state finals.
Other highlights included current Junior Blue seniors Draden Chooncharoen and Liam Morrison celebrating state titles in soccer and track while Broxterman's Junior Blue wrestling teammates, current senior Landen Kocher-Munoz and 2025 grad Kristjan Marshall, both claimed their second individual state titles.
Rural 2025 grad Isaiah Terry and Morrison both captured 6A individual titles and teamed with Chooncharoen and '25 grad Matthew Houser to set a state meet record in the 4x400-meter relay, Rural's second straight state crown in that event.
Here's a look at TopSports.news' Top 10 Shawnee County boys prep stories of 2025:
Washburn Rural soccer celebrates its first Class 6A state championship since 2012 after its 3-2 win over Shawnee Mission East in PKs. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]
1. RURAL RULES -- Led by an outstanding senior class, perennial state soccer power Washburn Rural capped a 19-1-1 2025 season with its first Class 6A state championship since 2012, taking a 3-2 win over Shawnee Mission East with a 4-2 edge in penalty kicks. Senior Dylan Willingham ended his high school career with Washburn Rural's single-season and career scoring records.
Washburn Rural wrestling star Easton Broxterman capped his high school career in 2025 with his third straight Class 6A state title and fourth trip to the state finals. [File photo/TSN]
2. MAT MASTER -- Washburn Rural superstar wrestler Easton Broxterman put the capper on one of the top high school careers in Shawnee County history with his third straight Class 6A state championship in his fourth straight trip to the state finals, helping lead the Junior Blues to a third-place team finish in the 6A state tournament in Overland Park. Broxterman, who is wrestling collegiately at Army, finished off a 41-2 senior season with the 145-pound state title.
Washburn Rural cross country celebrates its 2025 Class 6A state championship after winning by a single point over Blue Valley. [Photo courtesy of Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports]
3. STRENGTH IN THE PACK -- Washburn Rural cross country didn't have an individual medalist (top 20) in the 2025 Class 6A state meet at Rim Rock Farm, but the Junior Blues put four runners in the top 28 places to lead the way as Rural captured the team championship by a single point (100-101) over Blue Valley. Rural got a team-high 22nd-place finish from sophomore Henry Laubach while senior Brooks Kehoe was 25th, sophomore Clayton Fink 26th, sophomore Duke Graf 28th, sophomore Jaxson Adams 42nd, senior Wyatt Shorb 52nd and sophomore Brady Meek 84th.
Hayden won its first ever state bowling championship in the 2025 season, winning the Class 4A-1A state crown by a 3,666-3,571 margin over Mulvane. [File photo/TSN]
4. STRIKING GOLD -- Hayden garnered the first state bowling championship in school history, winning the Class 4A-1A state event by a 3,666-3,571 margin over Mulvane as four Wildcats earned individual state medals. Trevor Christy rolled a 698 series to finish third individually while John Strickland finished fifth with a 685, Chase Blaser was seventh with a 676 and Reese Renyer placed 16th with a 636.
Washburn Rural 2025 grad Kristjan Marshall won back-to-back Class 6A state wrestling titles in '24 and '25.'[File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Landen Kocher-Munoz won his second career Class 6A state wrestling title in '25 with his third trip to the state finals. [File photo/TSN]
5. REPEAT FEAT -- Washburn Rural wrestling stars Kristjan Marshall and Landen Kocher-Munoz captured the second Class 6A state titles of their careers in the 2025 state tournament as the Junior Blues finished third as a team. Marshall, a 2025 graduate, won his second straight championship, winning the 157-pound crown to finish off a 37-5 season while then-junior Kocher-Munoz won his second career championship in his third straight state final, winning at 138 pounds to finish 34-3 on the season.
Washburn Rural's Matthew Houser, Liam Morrison, Draden Chooncharoen and Isaiah Terry set the Class 6A state meet record in the 4x400 relay in the 2025 state meet. [File photo/TSN]
6. REPEAT FEAT PART II -- Washburn Rural won the Class 6A state title in the 4x400-meter relay for the second straight season in the final event of the state meet at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium as 2025 grads Matthew Houser and Isaiah Terry and then-juniors Liam Morrison and Draden Chooncharoen set a 6A state meet record in a winning time of 3 minutes, 16.23 seconds. Morrison, Chooncharoen and Terry ran on Rural's state-champion relay in both '24 and '25 while Houser won his first state title.
7. DOUBLING THEIR PLEASURE -- In addition to helping Washburn Rural set a Class 6A state meet 4x400 relay record in the 2025 state meet, 2025 grad Isaiah Terry and then-junior Liam Morrison both doubled up with their first career individual state titles. Terry won the 400-meter dash while Morrison won the 300 hurdles. Terry and Morrison also both have a pair of state wins as part of the Junior Blues' 4x400 relay, giving them three career state golds.
8. DOUBLING THEIR PLEASURE PART II -- After mining gold for the second straight season in the 2025 Class 6A state track meet, current Washburn Rural seniors Draden Chooncharoen and Liam Morrison played major roles in the fall of '25 as the Junior Blues captured their first state soccer championship since 2012. Both Chooncharoen and Morrison ran on Rural's state-champion 4x400-meter relay in '24 and '25 while Morrison added his first individual state title in '25 in the 300-meter hurdles.
9. OH SO CLOSE -- Perennial state football powers Hayden and Rossville came within a win of capturing state championships this past fall. Hayden advanced to the Class 3A state championship game for the third straight season before suffering a 38-6 loss to Andale while five-time state champ Rossville made it to the 1A state final before dropping a 35-34 heartbreaker to Sterling. The Wildcats finished their season 12-1 while Rossville went 11-2.
10. OH SO CLOSE PART II -- Highland Park basketball saw its bid for a Class 5A state title end in heartbreaking fashion, with the Scots dropping a 58-55 overtime decision to Kapaun Mt. Carmel, which captured its second straight 5A title while handing Hi Park its lone loss in a 24-1 season. The Crusaders also ended Highland Park's title hopes in 2024, topping the Scots 67-64 in OT in a semifinal game.
Other close calls in '25 included second-place finishes from Hayden's golf team, a school-record runnerup doubles finish in 3A-1A from then-Cair Paravel juniors Drew Fay and Eric Buchenau and a second-place finish from then-Seaman senior track standout Peyton Holmes in the 5A 100-meter dash.
