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T-Birds girls upbeat despite having five-year UKC title string snapped by Bobcats
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' girls wrestling team entered Saturday's United Kansas Conference Championships looking for a sixth straight UKC team title.
But even though Basehor-Linwood ended the T-Birds' bid by a 209.5-184 margin, Heights coach Chad Parks praised his team's effort and was already looking forward to upcoming regional and state competition.
"We actually wrestled lights out today,'' Parks said. "We didn't lose very many matches at all. Basehor's just tough, we're tough and it's just going to be a battle.''
Shawnee Heights senior Madison Freeland won the 140-pound United Kansas Conference title Saturday at Topeka West. [File photo/TSN]
Junior Cianna Graves improved to 31-2 on the season while winning the 150-pound United Kansas Conference title for Shawnee Heights Saturday. [File photo/TSN]
The T-Birds earned four individual championships and added four runnerup finishes, a third and a fourth but Basehor-Linwood countered with five individual golds, four seconds, two thirds and a fourth.
"When you get a little bigger tournament sometimes it's a little different than a small tournament,'' Parks said. "We've won almost tournament this year and we just keep doing what we do.''
Shawnee Heights got girls individual titles from senior 125-pounder Reece Taylor, senior 130-pounder Isabel Reyes, senior 140-pounder Madison Freeland and junior 150-pounder Cianna Graves while freshman Ava Gutierrez (100), junior Olivia Stevens (145), sophomore Brooklyn Binkley (170) and junior Shelby Watson (190) all posted runnerup conference finishes.
Taylor improved to 30-3 on the season, posting a 1:46 pin in the championship match, while Reyes improved to 32-1 with a 44-second pin over Seaman junior Makenna Stuke.
Freeland won the 140 title with a 1:54 pin to improve to 26-6 while Graves is now 31-2 after a pin in 2:46.
Seaman senior Taylie Heston won the 120-pound title in Saturday's UKC tournament. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman, which was without injured standout Koti Best, finished fourth as a team with 85 points, led by senior 120-pound champion Taylie Heston, while the Vikings also got second-place finishes from senior Natalie Smith (110), freshman Avery Villines (115) and Stuke (130).
Heston (27-6) capped her title run with a 9-0 major decision.
Topeka West finished eighth in the girls standings with 11 points, led by fourth-place sophomore Monica Stewart (235).
On the boys side, Basehord-Linwood won the UKC championship by a 242-171.5 margin over Lansing while Seaman (145.5) finished third.
Seaman senior Samson Tootle won the 175-pound UKC title Saturday, helping lead the Vikings to a third-place team finish. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Senior Samson Tootle won the 175-pound championship to lead the Vikings, one of four Seaman wrestlers to reach the championship round.
Tootle improved to 28-11 on the season with a 10-1 major decision over Lansing's Xavier Harmon.
The Eagles also got runnerup finishes from sophomore Ross Shipley (144), senior Gabe Brannick (165) and senior Deyton Mentzer (215).
"The kids are figuring it out later in the season and we're starting to peak at the right time,'' Seaman coach Tony Pena said. "I'm real young. I've got a lot of first and second-year wrestlers on my varsity right now and they're learning.
"I'm seeing progress every week, which is great.''
Shawnee Heights finished seventh with 52.5 points, led by third-place sophomore Dallas Owens (132).
Topeka West finished ninth (26), getting a fourth-place showing from junior Cortez McCutcheon (285).
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE WRESTLING
Seaman girls, Rural boys take team titles in second annual city bowling championships
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls and Washburn Rural's Logan Glinka earned bragging rights in Friday's Topeka Shawnee County Bowling Championships at Gage Bowl for the second straight season, with the Vikings repeating as the girls team champion and Glinka winning his second straight individual boys title.
Seaman's girls bowling team won its second straight city team title on Friday at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural's boys bowling team won the 2025 city team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman freshman Kayla Duncan and sophomore Paige Snyder went one-two in the girls individual race and Glinka's Rural boys team rounded out the city champions.
Seaman's girls won the team title by a 3,000-2,949 margin over Washburn Rural, including the four Baker format games, as Duncan won the individual championship with a 623 series while 2024 champion Snyder was second with a 607 series.
Washburn Rural, third as a team in 2024, took the boys team title by a 3,505-3,398 margin over Shawnee Heights, including the Baker games.
Glinka led the way for the Junior Blues, riding a first-game 278 to a 734 series and the individual title by a 72-pin margin over teammate Tyler Faurot, who rolled a 662 series.
Glinka's winning total on Friday was five pins better than his winning series of 729 in the 2024 city meet, following up his 278 with 232 and 224 games.
"I had a good look all day,'' Glinka said. "The third game I struggled in the end, but I'm really happy how I bowled. Obviously I wanted to go back to back.''
Glinka was also thrilled that Rural could claim the team crown.
"I was proud of our team,'' he said. "Last year I felt like I did well, but the rest of my team struggled a little bit, but I felt like this year the whole team did great.
"We were really positive, had a lot of energy. I was extremely proud of my team.''
Snyder improved her 2024 winning score of 606 by a pin on Friday, but Duncan stole the show in her first city meet, putting together scores of 203, 235 and 185 to take individual honors and lead the Vikings to the team repeat.
"I think its going pretty well,'' Duncan said about the 2025 season. "We really are good at keeping each other's spirits up, especially if one gets down, and I just think it's just a good team overall.
"We're very happy overall.''
City girls bowling medalists, right to left: Kayla Duncan, Seaman; Paige Snyder, Seaman; Addison VanMetre, Shawnee Heights; Claire LaDuke, Seaman; Claire LaDuke, Seaman; Ashley Lee, Hayden. Not pictured: Ashley Billups, Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights' Addison VanMetre finished third individually with a 570 series, followed by Seaman's Claire LaDuke (569), Rural's Ashley Billups (562) and Hayden's Ashley Lee (554) to round out the top six girls finishers.
City boys bowling medalists, right to left: Logan Glinka, Washburn Rural; Tyler Faurot, Washburn Rural; Henry Schattilly, Shawnee Heights; Donovan Davis, Shawnee Heights; Jackson Keller, Washburn Rural; Dylan Hunt, Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Boys runnerup Shawnee Heights got third and fourth-place finishes from Henry Schattilly (658) and Donovan Davis (657) while Washburn Rural's Jackson Keller finished fifth (650) and Seaman's Dylan Hunt finished sixth (649).
TOPEKA SHAWNEE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
KK Emmot, Andres Morao-Jaspe the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Rising Stars of the Week
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights sophomore girls basketball standout KK Emmot and Washburn Rural sophomore swimming standout Andres Morao-Jaspe 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 2024-2025 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Emmot and Morao-Jaspe over the past week:
Shawnee Heights sophomore KK Emmot has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency female Rising Star of the Week after leading the T-Birds to the championship in the Capital City Classic. [File photo/TSN]
KK EMMOT, Shawnee Heights
Emmot, a sophomore, scored a career-high 36 points last Saturday as Shawnee Heights rallied from a 16-point deficit late in the first half to take a 59-54 win over No. 5-ranked (Class 6A) Washburn Rural in the championship game of the Capital City Classic at Topeka West.
Emmot scored 75 points in the T-Birds' three games on the week, scoring 14 in a 54-47 OT win over Blue Valley and 25 points in a 65-32 win over Topeka West.
Washburn Rural sophomore Andres Morao-Jaspe has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency male Rising Star of the Week after leading the Junior Blues to their sixth straight city swimming championship. [File photo/TSN]
ANDRES MORAO-JASPE, Washburn Rural
A sophomore, Morao-Jaspe won four gold medals in last Thursday's swimming/diving championhips at the Capitol Federal Natatorium as the Junior Blues won their sixth straight city team championship with a 532-418.5 victory over Topeka High.
Morao-Jaspe won the 200-yard individual medley (2:07.6) and the 500 free (5:14.46) and swam on Rural's winning 200 medley (1:48.20) and 400 free (3:39.00) relays.
