By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The latest men's picks in TopSports.news' Shawnee County All-Time Top 100 Athletes (No. 31-40) are a vastly varied group, featuring All-Americans in three different sports as well as the most successful Paralympic athletes in county history.
Shawnee Heights wrestling great Tanner Gardner went on to become Stanford's first three-time NCAA All-American while Hayden two-sport state champ John Tetuan was an All-American pitcher for Wichita State and Highland Park star Dale Cushinberry was a two-time basketball All-American for Emporia State.
Tetuan had a stint as a minor league pitcher while Topeka High product Ted Evans and former Highland Park All-Stater Jahmal McMurray both played professional basketball.
Picks No. 31-40 also include local legends Mark Turgeon and Dan Davis, who helped lead Hayden to undefeated state championships in basketball and football, as well as former Seaman hoops star Johnny Johnson, who put together a Hall of Fame career at Washburn University, and world-renowned Paralympic athletes Dan Cnossen (Shawnee Heights) and Austin Hanson (Seaman).
TSN SHAWNEE COUNTY ALL-TIME TOP 100 MEN’S ATHLETES
A two-time Class 5A undefeated state wrestling champion at Shawnee Heights, Tanner Gardner went on to become Stanford's first three-time All-American. [Stanford Athletics]
31. TANNER GARDNER, Shawnee Heights
The 2003 Shawnee Heights graduate was a two-time undefeated Class 5A state wrestling champion and went on to become Stanford's first three-time wrestling All American. Gardner is a member of the Stanford and Topeka Shawnee County halls of fame and is currently the athletic director at Pepperdine University. Gardner was named to the Pac-12 Conference’s All-Century Team in 2016 after posting a 145-38 career record and setting a single-season record for the most wins with 43 victories as a senior in 2008, the same season which saw him collect a program-best 19 pins and a career-best fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Gardner claimed back-to-back Pac-10 title in 2007 and 2008, becoming just the third to do so in program history, and had multiple 40-win seasons.
Topeka High product Ted Evans was a three-year letterman at Oklahoma before a long professional career in Europe. [Oklahoma Athletics]
32. TED EVANS, Topeka High
A basketball standout for Topeka High, Evans went to Oklahoma where he was a three-year letterman from 1972-74 and was drafted by the Phoenix Suns of the NBA in the ninth round in 1974 before enjoying a long pro career in Europe. Evans helped lead OU to three straight winning seasons, incuding an 18-8 record twice. Evans averaged 8.7 points and 6.0 rebounds at OU, including a career-high 10.2 points and 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore, and shot 51.4 percent from the field and 75.4 percent from the free throw line for his career.
John Tetuan helped pitch Hayden to a state baseball championship and he was also an All-State quarterback for the state-champion Wildcats. [Topeka Capital-Journal]
33. JOHN TETUAN, Hayden
A standout at Hayden in football, basketball and baseball, Tetuan became an All-America pitcher at Wichita State and a Colorado Rockies ninth-round draft pick. Tetuan was an All-State quarterback for Hayden's undefeated Class 4A state championship football team (13-0) in 1998 and also helped the Wildcats win a state baseball title. Tetuan compiled 1,976 total yards (rushing and passing) as a senior and threw for 19 touchdown passes while attempting only 76 passes on the season. Tetuan was drafted by the Rockies in 2002 after a standout career at Wichita State. In his junior season, Tetuan was 10-1 with a 1.72 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 89 innings. He was a first-team All-American and was named Missouri Valley Conference pitcher of the year.
Mark Turgeon helped Hayden win a pair of state basketball titles, including a perfect 25-0 season in 1983, and went on to play in four NCAA tournaments for Kansas. [Topeka Capital-Journal]
34. MARK TURGEON, Hayden
Turgeon was an All-Stater and two-time state basketball champion for Hayden, including a perfect 25-0 record in 1983 and went on to become the first University of Kansas basketball player to play in four NCAA tournaments. Turgeon is a member of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame and will be inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame this fall. Turgeon was a captain on the 1986 squad that won the Big Eight Conference, advanced to the Final Four and finished 35-4. He also was a captain in 1987 as a senior before going on to a long and successful coaching career.
Highland Park product Dale Cushinberry went on to an All-American basketball career at Emporia State and is a member of the ESU and Topeka Shawnee County Halls of Fame. [Emporia State Athletics]
35. DALE CUSHINBERRY, Highland Park
Cushinberry was a basketball star for Highland Park (1965 graduate) and Emporia State, twice earning NAIA All-America honors for the Hornets. Cushinberry set Emporia State’s single-season scoring record at 24.3 points per game and finished his ESU career as the No. 1 career rebounder and No. 2 career scorer. Cushinberry was the first Hornet to amass 1,000 points and 700 rebounds in his career, scoring 1,352 points and grabbing 704 rebounds. Cushinberry is a member of the Emporia State and Topeka Shawnee County halls of fame and the Highland Park Wall of Honor.
Dan Davis helped lead Hayden to a perfect 13-0 record and the Class 4A title in 1998 before playing at Missouri. [Topeka Capital-Journal]
36. DAN DAVIS, Hayden
An All-State running back, Davis rushed for 5,598 career yards and helped lead Hayden to an undefeated Class 4A state football title in 1998 (13-0) before playing defensive end at Missouri. Davis' college career was cut short by injuries. Davis was the city’s leading rusher three straight seasons and he finished his career as the city record-holder for single-game rushing, single-season rushing, career rushing and career total offense. Davis was an All-State pick as a senior after earning second-team All-State and first-team All-4A honors as a junior. Davis rushed for 422 yards on 41 carries and scored six touchdowns in the state semifinals his senior year, a 63-42 win against Pratt.
Jahmal McMurray was a basketball All-Stater for Highland Park and was a standout at South Florida and SMU before playing in the NBA G League. [SMU Athletics]
37. JAHMAL McMURRAY, Highland Park
An All-State pick and 1,000-point career scorer for Highland Park, McMurray went on to score 1,465 career points at South Florida and SMU before playing in the NBA’s G League. McMurray averaged 18.1 points as a senior for SMU, ranking fifth in the All-American Athletic Conference, and also averaging 2.6 assists. McMurray had a career-high 34-point game as a senior and hit seven 3-pointers in a game. Was an All-American Athletic Conference second-team selection his senior season, hitting 101 3-pointers for the Mustangs and scoring 580 points.
38. JOHNNY JOHNSON, Seaman
A 1966 Seaman graduate, Johnson averaged 24.4 points as a senior in basketball and went on to help Washburn University to two NAIA tournament appearances. Johnson played basketball for the Ichabods from 1966-'70 and baseball from '67-'70. He was inducted into the Washburn Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. He earned NAIA all-district basketball honors his senior year and in his four seasons, the Ichabods went 67-35 and won two Central Intercollegiate Conference championships. In '68-'69 he was a part of WU’s first 20-win season (20-10). On the baseball field, Johnson played all four years and was a solid hitter and fielder along with spot pitching duty.
39. DAN CNOSSEN, Shawnee Heights
A Shawnee Heights graduate, the Navy SEAL is a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor honoree who won six medals in the 2018 Winter Paralympics, including a gold, and competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, winning a gold. At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, Cnossen made history by winning gold in the men’s 7.5km sitting biathlon event, becoming the first American male to achieve this feat in either the Olympics or Paralympics. He also secured silver medals in the men's 15km cross country skiing sitting, 12.5 biathlon sitting, 15 km biathlon sitting and 10km cross country classical sitting along with a bonze medal in the 1.1km cross country sprint sitting. In the '22 Winter Olympics, Cnossen won gold in the mixed 4x2.5km relay, alongside three teammates.
Seaman graduate Austin Hanson ranked as one of the U.S.'s top boccia players for more than three decades. [Topeka Capital-Journal]
40. AUSTIN HANSON, Seaman
A 1993 Seaman graduate, Hanson ranked as the No. 1 boccia player in the United States and among the top 20 players in the world over two decades. Hanson ranked as high as eighth in the world in 2010, won national boccia singles championships in 1996, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2015, while taking second in 1998, 1999 and 2007. He also has teamed to win 10 national pairs titles. Hanson competed in the 1996, 2004 and 2012 Paralympic Games — in Atlanta, Greece and London, respectively — finishing as a quarterfinalist in singles both times. He also won a bronze medal in singles and a silver medal in pairs at the 2009 Pan American Games in Montreal.
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
UPCOMING TOP 100 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
July 23 -- Women's No. 21 through 30.
July 24 -- Men's No. 21 through 30.
July 25 -- Women's No. 11 through 20.
July 26 -- Men's No. 11 through 20.
July 27 -- Women's No.10 through 1.
July 28 -- Men's No. 10 through 1.
