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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

The Seaman Vikings are off to the Class 5A state tournament for the first time since they won it all back in 2021-2022, taking down Hays, 52-46.

 

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner hoists the Class 5A sub-state trophy while celebrating with fans Friday night. [Photo by Vince Lovergine/TSN]

Seaman poses for a team picture after Friday's 52-46 win over Hays. [Photo by Vince Lovergine/TSN]

 The last time these two programs met was that same 2022 season in the sub-state championship and the Vikings would go on to beat De Soto in the state title game.

 Seaman snapped the Indians’ five game win streak and pushed their own win streak to five after Friday's victoryand ended the season with a 12-2 home record.

 “It’s been a group of seniors that I respect the fact of how much they care about each other,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "Every day in practice, they have a good time but they get their work done, they’ll challenge each other but it’s always in a fun way and it’s made it so enjoyable the entire season throughout every practice and these games.

 "To be where we’re at right now is just outstanding.”

 “Our seniors, we’ve played since seventh grade. We’ve had six years of chemistry now so I knew we were going to shock a lot of teams and nobody was going to be ready for our senior chemistry,” said senior KaeVon Bonner, who had a team-high 15 points.

 

The first quarter was slow moving for both teams. Hays jumped out to a 5-1 lead but Bonner converted an and-one opportunity with 4:30 left in the quarter. Senior Matthew McConnaughy scored four straight points to put Seaman back in front, 8-5.

Each team would trade the lead or tie quite often in the first half. Hays took a 13-10 lead heading into the second quarter.

 

The Vikings opened on a mini 4-0 run to regain the lead again (14-13), but then Hays went back up three (17-14).

 

Cox brought in junior Conner Scholes off the bench to hopefully provide a spark and he did just that, knocking down two 3-pointers to put Seaman back up three (20-17).

 

“He (Conner) hasn’t had a tremendous amount of opportunities, but he still has confidence. He’s not scared of the moment, he’s going to take the shot if it's there and he’s always going to give us 100 percent effort. I’m happy he knocked down a couple of shots and got us going,” Cox said.

 

“My teammates were telling me to shoot the ball and I hit that first one and they’re just encouraging me to keep shooting,'' Scholes said. "My teammates were doing great passing the ball around and then sharing the rock helped me knock down those threes and bring us back.

“In practice my team counts on me to put in that work because they know I’m off the bench. I should be out there and performing and coming out here on this big stage, it was definitely a nerve racking game for sure. But when I come off the bench, I have to go out there and perform my best and show out.''

Read more …

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

The Class 4A girls sub-state championship game on Friday night was a rematch from last season as the Hayden Wildcats hosted the Baldwin Bulldogs.

 

Hayden girls basketball rolled to a Class 4A state tournament berth with a 51-22 win over Baldwin. [Hayden girls basketball]

Following a competitive first half, the Lady Wildcats punched their ticket to the state quarterfinals with a 51-22 victory.

Hayden overwhelmed the visiting Lady Bulldogs with a 10-0 run over the first four minutes of the game. Following a timeout, Baldwin settled in and was able to cut the lead down to 12-9, but sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein scored to end the quarter with Hayden leading 14-9.

Baldwin took the lead (15-14) at the start of the second quarter, thanks to two 3-pointers by sophomore Logyn Scoby and junior Audrey Searl, respectively.

 

Hayden immediately responded with a 3-pointer of their own by sophomore Blakely Walter, to regain the lead at 17-15. The Lady Wildcats outscored the Lady Bulldogs 9-1 to end the first half and led 26-16.

 

The second half was total domination by Hayden as they outscored Baldwin 25-6, leading to a running clock halfway through the fourth quarter.

 

Coach Carvel Reynoldson was able to give the four seniors -- Ella Foster, Reese Huscher, Lauren Borjon and Kadence Watts a proper send-off as he substituted each one of them separately over the final two minutes of the contest.

 

Hayden was able to force Baldwin into 26 turnovers in the game 

 

Schmidtlein led the Lady Wildcats with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Walter was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 12 points. Watts pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

 

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by sophomore Cami Collum and junior Emerson Nigh, who both scored 5 points apiece.

 

The Hayden Wildcats will advance to play in the state quarterfinals this coming Tuesday, March 10. The pairings and location of their game will be released on Saturday.

HAYDEN 51, BALDWIN 22

Baldwin   9 7 3 3 -- 22

Hayden 14 12 14 11 -- 51

Baldwin (11-14) -- Scoby 1-6 0-0 3, Neufeld 1-6 1-2 3, Collum 0-3 5-8 5, Nigh 2-9 0-0 5, Searl 1-3 0-0 3, Griffith 0-1 0-0 0, Brunker 0-0 0-0 0, Chambers 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 6-29 7-12 22. 

 

Hayden (19-6) -- Walter 5-12 0-2 12, Schmidtlein 10-24 1-4 21, Foster 0-4 0-0 0, Huscher 1-1 0-0 3, Watts 2-3 1-2 3, Wichman 1-1 2-2 4, Mitchell 0-3 0-0 0, Borjon 1-5 0-1 3, Wrench 0-0 0-0 0, Connell 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 21-56 4-11 51.

 

3-point field goals -- Baldwin 3 (Scoby, Nigh, Searl), Hayden 5 (Walter 2, Huscher, Borjon, Connell). Total Fouls -- Baldwin 14, Hayden 18. Fouled out - Connell. Technical fouls -- none. 

Details

Created: 06 March 2026

By RICK PETERSON                                                                                                          

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights freshman state champion wrestler Brinnley Morris and Hayden junior boys bowling standout Reece Renyer 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 2025-2026 school year.

Here's a brief look at the recent accomplishments of Morris and Renyer.

Brinnley Morris, Shawnee Heights 

BRINNLEY MORRIS, Shawnee Heights

Morris capped her freshman wrestling season with the Class 5A 120-pound state championship last Saturday in Park City.

Morris, who finished the season 21-3 dominated Salina Central’s Natalia Garcia wire-to-wire, leading 15-4 in the second period before ending the match with a pin. 

One of three state champions for the T-Birds, Morris helped Shawnee Heights post a third-place team finish for the second straight season.

Reece Renyer, Hayden  

REECE RENYER, Hayden

A junior boys bowler, Renyer rolled his first perfect 300 game in the second game in last Wednesday's Class 4A-1A regional tournament at Gage Bowl.

Renyer finished third individually with a 652 series to help lead the Wildcats to the team championship by a 3,413-3,297 margin over Ottawa.

Renyer followed his regional performance up with a 698 series in Friday's state tournament at Wichita's Bowlero Northrock, posting an eighth-place individual finish.