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West rides defense to 60-46 sub-state win over Bishop Carroll, second straight state berth
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West's boys basketball team is known for its explosive offense, with the Chargers scoring 70 or more points in 15 wins, including three in the 80s.
Senior Malakyah Duncan, who led Topeka West with a game-high 15 points, holds up the Class 5A sub-state trophy after Friday's 60-46 win over Bishop Carroll. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But to a man, the Chargers agreed that defense was the difference in Friday's 60-46 win over Bishop Carroll in a Class 5A sub-state championship game on West's home court.
"Absolutely,'' West coach Christian Ulsaker said. "I thought our defense kind of went up a notch or two, just in terms of the physicality and the tenaciousness we played with on defense.
"That just leads to our offense kind of getting going. You can have off nights shooting it, but your defense has to be there every night.''
Now headed to the 5A state tournament for the second straight season, the 22-3 Chargers trailed 16-8 Bishop Carroll 25-20 at halftime and fell behind 28-22 at the 6:09 mark of the third quarter after a 3-pointer from Carroll senior Brody Kreutzer.
But it was at that point that the Chargers' defense really kicked in, with West ending the third quarter on a 16-0 run to build a 38-28 advantage thanks to the 18-3 quarter.
Topeka West senior Jay'Veon Traylor cuts down the nets after the Chargers' 60-46 Class 5A sub-state win over Bishop Carroll Friday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"We went into the locker room at halftime, knowing we needed to get more intensity and more rebounds,'' West senior Jay'Veon Traylor said. "The intensity got up, we started playing better defense and just won the game.''
Senior Malakyah Duncan agreed.
"We get defensive stops, we get out on the fastbreak and we just went on from there,'' Duncan said. "Our defensive stops really got our energy up.
"Their defense was suffocating, but we just had to figure out a way to put the ball in the hoop and that's what we did in the second half. We just played defense and do what we do and put the ball in the hoop.''
T-Birds earn third straight trip to 5A state tourney with 66-56 win over Pioneers
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights T-Birds punched their ticket for a third straight trip to the Class 5A State Tournament – in coach Ken Darting’s final season – by holding off Leavenworth 66-56 despite playing shorthanded and relying on reserves to carry a heavy load.
Shawnee Heights accepts the Class 5A sub-state trophy after Friday's 66-56 win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
The T-Birds got out to a double-digit lead in a sluggish first half. They then had to old off a Leavenworth surge in a frenetic second half. Having trailed by as many as 18-points, the Pioneers clawed to within seven midway through the fourth period.
But Darting’s veteran guards and a couple of freshmen showed poise under pressure to close out the game.
Senior JaiMarion Cook scored 17 points Friday as Shawnee Heights earned a third straight trip to the Class 5A state tournament with a 66-56 win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Ja'Veon Alston scored 17 points in Friday's 66-56 Shawnee Heights win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
JaiMarion Cook started the game hot, scoring eight points to give the T-Birds a 12-3 lead in the first four minutes. In the fourth quarter, it was Ja’Veon Alston who took over the game. He hit all three of his shots from the field and scored 10 points in the final period. Cook and Alston each scored 17 points to lead Shawnee Heights.
“I just came in and did my thing, tried to calm the team down, stay focused so we could fight through adversity,” Alston said. “As a point guard, I think their role should be to get any shooter open that’s on the court. Find the right person, get them open. A point guard doesn’t really take a lot of shots sometimes, but today, I had to step up for my team. Sometimes as the point guard, you have to take it in your hands.”
The T-Birds got 14 points from freshman Quincy Dixon and 11 from senior Aiden Scott, and freshman Fletcher Terrell helped handle the ball in crunch time.
Reserves Malachi Lee and Jacob Halloran stepped up to play significant minutes in the paint because junior Cam Ross – normally one of the team’s most productive players – was suspended for the game. Darting said the plan is for Ross to rejoin the team for the next upcoming practice and be a full participant at the state tournament.
“You know, it’s a cliché, ‘Next man up.’ But it’s real,” Darting said. “And if you don’t coach the team that way, somebody’s gonna turn a knee or sprain an ankle, or get kicked off (the team), or somebody’s gonna be in foul trouble. So you’ve got to have guys ready. Now, you don’t replace people with the same amount of athletic talent. But we have people that fit in, do the one or two things that they can do and do them consistently, and to me, that’s fun.”
Shawnee Heights makes its third trip to state in the past three years. The T-Birds failed to advance past the opening round in either tournament.
“It feels amazing to go three times, back-to-back-to-back,” Alston said. “I know every game is a challenge. It’s hard to get to the next round. You’ve got to be ready to go first round, take care of business. The crowd is crazy. You’ve got to tune it out, just play your game.”
Meier, Renyer post top-eight finishes as Wildcats place fifth in 4A-1A bowling
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Defending Class 4A-1A state boys bowling champion Hayden didn't get the day it was looking for Friday in the 2026 state tournament at Wichita's Bowlero Northrock, finishing fifth as a team.
Hayden junior Kelton Meier finished sixth in Class 4A-1A bowling with a 717 series, leading the Wildcats to a fifth-place team finish. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Junior Reece Renyer bowled a 698 series for Hayden to finish eighth in Class 4A-1A bowling Friday in Wichita. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
But Wildcat junior standouts Kelton Meier and Reece Renyer wrapped up outstanding seasons with top-eight individual finishes.
Meier finished sixth individually with a 717 three-game series while Renyer was two spots back in eighth with a 698.
Meier opened his day with a 254 game and finished with a 268 after a second-game 195 while Renyer had a consistent day with games of 247, 215 and 236.
The Wildcats also got a 569 series from Ashton Litke, including a 236, while Andrew Lee had a 562, Jason Ahlstedt a 509 and Ben Mayer a 482.
Ottawa won the team championship with a 3,753 total while Hayden finished fifth at 3,297.
Central Christian's Andrew Burchfield won the individual title with a 773 series.
Hayden's girls finished seventh as a team while Jenna Henkensiefken earned an individual medal with an 18th-place finish, rolling a 486 series.
Emily Peterson bowled a 427 series and Izzy Glotzbach a 421 to round out Hayden's top three.
Ottawa won the team title at 2,900, giving the Cyclones a sweep of the team championships while Hayden finished at 2,260.
Buhler's Cheyan Geesling was the individual winner with a 629 series.
