By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Local sports greats Jerad Head, Trey Lewis, Brenda Stolle, Duane Zlatnik and the late Bob Davis were inducted into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame on Monday at Washburn University.
Steven Davis (son of the late Bob Davis), Brenda Stolle, Duane Zlatnik, Jerad Head and Trey Lewis pose for a picture after being inducted into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
A Silver Lake native, Stolle was a standout pitcher for the Emporia State softball team from 1979-81. Stolle led the Hornets to a national championship in 1980 and a second-place finish in 1981. Her career pitching record was 66-15, and she picked up six saves during her career.
Former Emporia softball national champion and player of the year Brenda Stolle speaks during Monday's Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame induction ceremony. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
During the 1980 championship season, Stolle compiled an 0.33 earned run average. She received numerous honors, including all-American honors twice, NAIA most valuable player in 1981, and Kansas Female Athlete of the Year from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Brenda Stolle receives her Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame award from Topeka Area Sports Commission executive director Mike Bell. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Stolle was the first female ever inducted into the Emporia State Athletic Hall of Honor in 1988 and was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
"My experience at Emporia State was pretty unique,'' Stolle said. "Some of the things that might surprise you is that every year all of us tried out for the team. There were two weeks and every year all of us tried out and you didn't know for sure if you were on the team or who else was on the team. We all walked on and we were all Kansas girls.
"Before every game we prayed together and we played hard. We worked together as a team and it was about the team and there's something wonderful about working with a group of people where you're working on behalf of the team.''
Head earned All-Class 4A honors in football, basketball and baseball at Hayden and played basketball and baseball at Washburn University before being signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 2006.
Former Major Leaguer Jerad Head was inducted into the Topeka Shawnee Sports Hall of Fame Monday at Washburn, where he was a standout in baseball and basketball. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Head was promoted to the majors on August 28, 2011 and played in 10 games as a left fielder and pinch hitter.
Jerad Head receives his Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame award from Topeka Area Sports Commission executive director Mike Bell. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Head also played Minor League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals organizations before ending his playing career in 2013. He was named as manager of the Auburn Doubledays of the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League in 2016 and managed through 2018.
"Thanks to the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame,'' Head said. "I'm very honored and very humbled. I don't think people realize the amount of people that come out of here. Just right now we have a player in the big leagues (Ryan Zeferjahn), we have the SEC volleyball player of the year (Brooklyn DeLeye) and probably the greatest softball player in Topeka history (NiJaree Canady).''
Head thanked his family for all their support growing up and throughout his career.
"I couldn't ask for a better support system from my family growing up, so thank you guys,'' he said. "I appreciate it.''
After graduating from Washburn Rural, Lewis played for the Washburn Ichabod football team from 2003-06 as a defensive lineman and became the first Ichabod to be named to the Associated Press Little All-American team since 1963. Lewis was also named to the American Football Coaches Association All-American team after recording 62 tackles as a senior with 36 solo stops, 10 tackles for loss and four sacks.
Former Washburn Rural and Washburn University star Trey Lewis talks about his career during Monday's Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Lewis finished his career at Washburn with 156 total tackles, including 68 solo stops, 23 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.
After his WU career ended, Lewis was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the sixth round as the 185th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played from 2007-11 for the Falcons, appearing in 31 games.
"Thank you so much for honoring me,'' Lewis said. "I just really enjoyed being an athlete and a resident growing up in Shawnee County, so this is probably the biggest honor I've been afforded now.
"When you're in sports and going through it, it's hard to step back and smell the roses and appreciate what you're accomplishing at the time, so this is great.''
Former Washburn Rural and Washburn University star Trey Lewis receives his Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame award from Topeka Area Sports Commission executive director Mike Bell. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Zlatnik starred in football and wrestling at Rossville before becoming a three-year starter in the offensive line at Kansas.
Duane Zlatnik, a football and wrestling star for Rossville before becoming a three-year football starter for Kansas, is the first Bulldawg to be inducted into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Zlatnik was a three-time state wrestling champion for the Bulldawgs and finished his career with a 148-13 record and a school-record 110 pins. He was a two-time All-Stater and Kansas Shrine Bowl pick in football.
Duane Zlatnik is presented his Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame award by Topeka Area Sports Commission executive director Mike Bell. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Zlatnik was an All-Big 12 honoree for the Jayhawks and made 27 consecutive starts at right and left guard.
He is currently an assistant football and wrestling coach at Washburn Rural.
The first person that Zlatnik thanked was his older brother, Joe.
"He kind of lit my fire for sports as a kid,'' Duane said. "We used to go out in front of the grade school when I was five and played one on one tackle football, which usually didn't go very well for me. But in that time I kind of learned some grit and some determination to not give up even when you get beat.''
Zlatnik also thanked Steve Buhler, who was his football coach in high school and is now his boss as head coach at Rural.
"He's been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember, even as a young kid growing up,'' Zlatnik said. "He taught me a lot of lessons through football that have stuck with me since I've grown.''
A Topeka West graduate, Davis passed away on March 20 at the age of 80 after a legendary career in sports broadcasting and was inducted posthumously.
Bob Davis
Davis was the "Voice of the Jayhawks" for more than 30 years before retiring in 2016. Davis called eight KU trips to the Final Four, six football bowl games, including the 2008 Orange Bowl, and thousands of regular-season basketball and football games. Davis was also on the call for the 1988 and 2008 men's basketball national championship victories. In 1997 Davis joined the Kansas City Royals, calling games for radio and television for the franchise for 16 years.
A 48-year veteran of broadcasting in the state of Kansas, Davis was born in Iola and grew up in Topeka, where he graduated from West in 1962. Davis stayed in Topeka to attend Washburn, where he graduated in 1967 with a degree in history. Davis is a member of numerous Halls of Fame, including the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Steven Davis accepts his late father Bob's Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame award from Topeka Area Sports Commission executive direcor Mike Bell Monday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"This is an awesome honor for my dad,'' said Bob's son, Steven Davis, who is also a sports broadcaster. "He would have loved this, he would have loved being here.''
Steven also took time to congratulate the other inductees.
"You guys are the real stars. My dad always loved it when local kids, kids from small towns, Kansas kids, Topeka kids went on and did great things,'' Davis said. "He was really proud.''
