By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After engineering an impressive turnaound at Topeka High, Trojan girls basketball coach Hannah Alexander confirmed to TopSports.news Thursday morning that she has accept the head coaching job at Andover High School.
"It's closer to family,'' said Alexander, who has led the Trojans to four straight Class 6A state tournament appearances with a pair of runner-up finishes. "My mom lives in Kingman and then (her husband) Blake's sister lives in Andover, so we will be closer to family and that's the whole reason behind it.''
Topeka High girls basketball coach Hannah Alexander, who has led the Trojans to an 88-8 record over the past four seasons, confirmed Thursday morning that she has accepted a position at Andover High School. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Alexander, who's team is coming off a 20-3 season, said it was an extremely difficult decision to leave Topeka High.
"It was probably one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make,'' said Alexander, a Kingman native. "The girls are great and it's a great place to be. I'm thankful for the time and experience that I've had.
"I've learned a lot from being here and I've met some amazing people -- players, coaches. My coaching staff I've been with for eight years so that's really hard (to leave), too, because we've been through a lot of ups and downs. So it was definitely not an easy decision, but it is for the family and to be closer to family.
"The boys are going to be starting school soon, so getting to a spot that we feel is comfortable for them I think is very important.''
Topeka High is coming off an amazing run over the last four seasons, posting an 88-8 overall record.
The Trojans (22-3) finished as the 6A runner-up to city rival Washburn Rural in 2019 and put together a perfect 23-0 campaign in 2020, advancing to the state semifinals before the state tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
Topeka High finished second to Shawnee Mission Northwest in 2021, posting a 20-3 record, and made it back to state this past season before dropping a 33-32 quarterfinal decision to Blue Valley.
The Trojans graduate standout guard Tae Thomas off this year's team but returns a strong nucleus, including Shawnee County and Centennial League player of the year Kiki Smith, who will be a senior next season.
