Seaman junior Molly Gorman won the Topeka West Invitational title in No. 2 singles

[Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman senior Bradley Williamson attempts to control the ball in UKC soccer win over Shawnee Heights.

[Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Topeka West senior Alex Baxter shot an 87 to win the individual championship in Tuesday's United Kansas Conference tournament.

[Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman sophomore Emma Sweeney captured the singles championship Washburn Rural Invitational tennis tournament

[Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn's defense limited Missouri Western to a single touchdown while picking up its first win of 2024

[Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics[

Rising Stars Intro 002AA

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Ryin Miller G'honi Montgomery

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                                                                             TSN Game of the Week bug

High School Game of the Week

                                                                         Hayden vs. Holton

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

For the record, the No. 1 men's spot on TopSports.news' list of the Top 100 Athletes in Shawnee County history wasn't decided by a coin flip ... but it was briefly considered.

Picking the top spot, and really the entire Top 10, was that tough of a task. 

Topeka High baseball legend Mike Torrez and former Shawnee Heights basketball and golf star Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, had both been selected No. 1 in previous Top 100 projects and were both worthy candidates this time around as were several other nationally and world-renowned local greats.

In the end Torrez, a World Series champion and 20-game winner over an 18-year year Major League career, got the nod by the slightest of margins over Woodland, a two-time state basketball champ for the T-Birds and a four-time winner on the PGA Tour.

Former American League All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner Ken Berry holds down the No. 3 position on the TSN list followed by two-time Olympic wrestler Melvin Douglas and Silver Lake and Kansas State basketball icon Lon Krugeer.

The second five on the Top 10 include PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes, Olympic long-jumper Preston Carrington (Syed Abdul-Mutfi), former NFL veterans and Super Bowl participants Troy Wilson and Tom Dinkel, and two-time state high school and NAIA national basketball champion Tom Meier.

All of the Top 10 honorees are members of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame.

TSN SHAWNEE COUNTY ALL-TIME TOP 100 MEN’S ATHLETES

MikeTorrezTHighHOF 2Topeka sports legend Mike Torrez was a 20-game winner and a World Series champion during an 18-year Major League Baseball career. [File photo/TSN] 

1. MIKE TORREZ, Topeka High

Pitched 18 seasons (1967-84) in the major leagues with a 185-160 record and a 3.96 career earned run average and helped lead the New York Yankees to a world championship in 1977. The Topeka High graduate hurled a complete-game 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 to clinch the World Series title for the Yankees. Torrez also pitched for the Cardinals, Expos, Orioles, A's, Red Sox and Mets. Torrez was a 20-game winner for the Orioles and had seven seasons with 15 or more victories.

GaryWoodlandTop100 1Shawnee Heights graduate Gary Woodland won the 2019 U.S. Open on the PGA Golf Tour after winning two state basketball titles and also starring in golf for the T-Birds. [PGA Tour]

2. GARY WOODLAND, Shawnee Heights

The 2019 U.S. Open champion was a basketball All-Stater and two-time Class 5A state champ at Shawnee Heights and went on to play basketball at Washburn as a freshman before transferring to Kansas and focusing on golf. Woodland has four PGA Tour victories on his resume and also made a President's Cup appearance. 

KenBerryTop100Washburn Rural graduate Ken Berry (16), on the cover of Sports Illustrated with Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle, was an A.L. All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner. [Sports Illustrated] 

3. KEN BERRY, Washburn Rural

Berry was an American League All-Star in 1967 and a two-time Gold Glove-winning outfielder (1970 and 1972) in a Major League career that spanned 14 seasons from 1962 to 1975. Berry played in the Majors for the Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians. In 1972 Berry hit .289 and earned a Gold Glove with no errors, five double plays and 13 assists. Berry played football and baseball at Wichita State.

MelvinDouglasTop100Highland Park grad Melvin Douglas was a state high school wrestling champ, an NCAA champ and a two-time Olympian. [File photo[

4. MELVIN DOUGLAS, Highland Park

Douglas was a three-time state high school wrestling champion for Highland Park (1979, '80 and '81), won a pair of NCAA titles for Oklahoma and made the United States Olympic team in 1996 and 2000. Douglas captured one world title and won seven U.S. Freestyle championships. Douglas compiled a 109-19-4 record at Oklahoma, capping his collegiate career with Big Eight Conference and NCAA 177-pound titles in each of his last two years. 

 LonKrugerTop100Silver Lake multi-sport legend Lon Kruger was a two-time Big 8 Player of the Year for Kansas State before embarking on a highly successful college coaching career. [Kansas State Athletics]

5. LON KRUGER, Silver Lake

Kruger was the two-time Big Eight basketball player of the year for Kansas State and was a three-sport star who was selected in the Major League Baseball (St. Louis Cardinals) and NBA (Atlanta Hawks) drafts. Kruger went on to a Hall of Fame coaching career and is also a member of the Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame.

ChrisBarnesTHighHOFChris Barnes played on a state basketball championship team at Topeka High before starting a PBA Hall of Fame bowling career. [PBA Tour]

6. CHRIS BARNES, Topeka High

A 2018 inductee into the PBA Hall of Fame and a 2023 inductee into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame, Barnes has won 19 PBA Tour titles and three majors. As a sophomore Barnes was a member of Topeka High's state championship basketball team. Barnes earned PBA Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors.

PrestonCarringtonTHighHOFPreston Carrington, now known as Syed Abdul Mutfi, was a basketball and track star at Wichita State before competing in the 1972 Olympics. [Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame]

7. PRESTON CARRINGTON, Topeka High

Now known as Syed Abdul Mutfi, he may be best known for his fifth-place finish in the long jump at the 1972 Olympics but was also a basketball star for Topeka High and Wichita State. A 1967 Topeka High grad, Mutfi is a member of the Topeka Shawnee County, Wichita State and Topeka High halls of fame. 

TroyWilsonTop100Troy Wlson was a multi-sport star for Shawnee Heights and Pittsburg State before playing in the Super Bowl for the San Francisco 49ers. [Fleer Cards]

8. TROY WILSON, Shawnee Heights

Was a champion in football, basketball and track and field at either the high school, college or pro level, including the 1994 Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers. Wilson was a Class 5A state champion in basketball and track at Shawnee Heights and a football All-American at Pittsburg State.

TomDinkelTop100Tom Dinkel starred at Shawnee Heights and Kansas before a long career in the NFL, including a Super Bowl appearance. [Cincinatti Bengals]

9. TOM DINKEL, Shawnee Heights

After starring in football at Shawnee Heights and Kansas, Dinkel played for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals for eight years, including the 1982 Super Bowl. Dinkel earned All-State honors for the T-Birds in 1973 and is a member of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame. 

jl9pp6auTom Meier was a two-time state basketball champ for Hayden and a NAIA National Champion at Washburn. [Washburn Athletics]

10. TOM MEIER, Hayden

Meier was an All-Stater and Mr. Kansas Basketball after helping Hayden win a pair of Class 4A state titles, including the city's first undefeated boys season in 1983. Meier became an NAIA All-American and led Washburn to the national title in 1987 and is a member of the Washburn, Kansas and Topeka Shawnee County Halls of Fame. 

11. FRED SLAUGHTER, Topeka High

12. ELWOOD “BINGO” DEMOSS

13. MICHAEL WILHOITE, Highland Park

14. KYLE WEEMS, Highland Park

15. TEVEN JENKINS, Topeka High

16. COREY BALLENTINE, Shawnee Heights

17. JAMES PATRICK, Highland Park

18. AARON CROW, Washburn Rural

19. STEVE TILFORD, Topeka High

20. WARREN SEITZ, Topeka West

21. RON PARADIS, Washburn Rural

22. DELVY LEWIS, Washburn Rural

23. KYLE McNORTON, Seaman

24. TREY LEWIS, Washburn Rural

25. WILL GEARY, Topeka High

26. WYATT HUBERT, Shawnee Heights

27. DUFF "SIR RICHARD'' COOLEY

28. MARK ELLIOTT, Silver Lake

29. JERAD HEAD, Hayden

30. KY THOMAS, Topeka High

31. TANNER GARDNER, Shawnee Heights

32. TED EVANS, Topeka High

33. JOHN TETUAN, Hayden

34. MARK TURGEON, Hayden

35. DALE CUSHINBERRY, Highland Park

36. DAN DAVIS, Hayden

37. JAHMAL McMURRAY, Highland Park

38. JOHNNY JOHNSON, Seaman

39. DAN CNOSSEN, Shawnee Heights

40. AUSTIN HANSON, Seaman

41. “DODE” LESSER, Seaman

42. ED DELK, Highland Park

43. TONY LEIKER, Silver Lake

44. TOM BUNGER, Washburn Rural

45. MARCEL CARTER, Shawnee Heights

46. CARROLL RAY “DINK” MOTHELL

47. NICK STRINGER, Hayden

48. RYAN ZEFERJAHN, Seaman

49. JUSTIN GLASGOW, Seaman

50. JARED HUSKE, Highland Park

51. JOEL HOFFMAN, Topeka High

52. DAN O’MARA, Hayden

53. GLENN TRAMMEL, Topeka High

54. BOB BENOIT, Topeka West

55. ART GRIGGS, TOPEKA HIGH

56. DUANE "BLACKIE'' MELVIN, Seaman

57. SCOTT LEON, Shawnee Heights

58. BILL McDONALD, Topeka West

59. JIM GOLDEN, Silver Lake

60. JASON STUKE, Seaman

61. LAMAR MADY, Topeka High

62. WILL COKELEY, Washburn Rural

63. LEVI LEE, Topeka High

64. J.P. WRIGHT, Seaman

65. CHUCK NELSON, Topeka High

66. TROY SLUSSER, Topeka High

67. LUKE YARNELL, Washburn Rural

68. KEN “HOOK” JOHNSON, Topeka High

69. MILO MITCHELL, Topeka High

70. JOE DOUGLAS, Topeka High

71. CLARDY VINSON, Topeka High

72. C.B. MCGRATH, Topeka West

73. TOMMY HUNTER, Hayden

74. JOHN GRANTHAM, Topeka High

75. BENNIE SIMECKA, Rossville

76. THERON WILSON, Highland Park

77. DAVID PROCTOR, Topeka High

78. RICK DEHART, Seaman

79. SHANNON KRUGER, Silver Lake

80. TUCKER HORAK, Rossville

81. ANDREW BECKLER, Washburn Rural

82. TAGEN LAMBOTTE, Rossville

83. BISHOP MURRAY, Washburn Rural

84. MICHAEL HOFFER, Shawnee Heights

85. RAPHEAL POSEY, Highland Park

86. ZEKE METZ, Seaman

87. LAMONT AUSTIN, Highland Park

88. CHRIS CARLSON, Seaman

89. SHANE WRIGHT, Hayden

90. DUANE ZLATNIK, Rossville

91. AUSTIN HALSEY, Washburn Rural

92. JACOB MORGAN, Washburn Rural

93. LARRY MILLER, Topeka High

94. TANNER NEWKIRK, Hayden

95. TRE RICHARDSON, Highland Park

96. DESMOND PURNELL, Hayden

97. JORDAN COOPER, Shawnee Heights

98. ROB HAYS, Topeka West

99. BEN CARLSON, Seaman

100. JACK L. BYBEE, Washburn Rural

 

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