Welcome to Top Sports News

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman senior to be Ryin Miller has been named the Gatorade Kansas Girls Track and Field Player of the Year for the second straight season.

Seaman's Ryin Miller has been named the Gatorade Kansas track and field athlete of the year for the second straight season after winning three Class 5A state titles this past spring. [File photo/TSN]

Miller, a four-sport standout for the Vikings, Miller was earlier named the state’s 2024-25 Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, giving her three state Gatorade honors.

This past track season Miller swept the Class 5A 800 (2:11.14), 1,600 (4:57.33) and 3,200-meter runs (10:19.53) in the state meet at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium, giving her five career state titles.

Following her high school season Miller traveled to Eugene, Ore. for the Nike Outdoor Nationals, where she finished fifth in the championship division of the 3,000 meters (9:28.52) and fourth in the championship division of the mile run (4:42.58).

Miller's outstanding track campaign came on the heels of a banner cross country season last fall, which included the fastest five-kilometer run in Kansas history (16:32.62) and a runnerup finish in the 5A state meet (17:26.36).

Miller has maintained a 4.14 weighted grade point average in the classroom.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Rick Strecker, a member of Hayden Catholic High School's first class of inductees into the school's Hall of Fame in 2021, passed away Saturday morning at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Rick Strecker, who led Hayden to five state titles and served his alma mater in a variety of roles, passed away Saturday after a battle with cancer. [File photo/TSN]

A 1976 Hayden graduate, Strecker served his alma mater as a physics and chemistry teacher, state championship coach, athletic director, principal and the school's president for nearly two decades before moving on to Blue Valley West in 2016.

Strecker, the student council president and athlete of the year as a senior at Hayden, led the Wildcats to three Class 4A  state championships in girls basketball and two in track during his coaching career at the school.

“My time at Hayden will probably, except for my family, be the greatest blessing of my life,’’ Strecker told The Topeka Capital-Journal in 2016 after accepting his position at Blue Valley West. "To get the chance to go back there and coach with people like Jerry Simecka and Ben Meseke and Bobby Taul and work with them, but also to be in the same school where I went to high school and where my dad and mom and my grandparents went to high school has just been wonderful.''

Strecker continued to teach and coach in multiple sports at Blue Valley West, including serving as the Jaguars' head girls basketball coach, until being forced to step away after receiving his cancer diagnosis early in 2025.

Strecker was born on March 7, 1958, in Topeka to William and Theresa (Boos) Strecker.

He was baptized at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and attended St. Matthew’s grade school.

After graduating from Hayden High Strecker earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Benedictine College in 1980 and was also team captain of the basketball team.

He then earned an master's in physics from the Missouri-Kansas City in 1982 and an M.S. in education from the University of Kansas in 1999.

On August 22, 1987 Rick married Kathleen A. Rinella, and together they were blessed with four children.

Rick and Kathy met as teachers at Hayden and taught and coached together for many years. The Streckers lived in Topeka until 2016, when they relocated to Olathe after Kathy accepted a position at Rockhurst University and Rick a position at Blue Valley West.

Rick was recently honored to receive the Greater Kansas City Girls Basketball Lifetime Service Award.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his father in law, Anthony Rinella, grandparents Aloysius and Agnes Strecker, and Clemens and Amelia Boos, and his brother in law, John Whigham.

Rick is survived by his wife of 37 years, Kathy, and their children -- Jordan Strecker, Kristin (Seth) Wiedel, Shannon (Adam) Sova, and Mary Strecker (Grace Maddox). He was a proud grandfather to Nora, Tori, Leah, Matthew Wiede and Anthony Sova.

Strecker is also survived by his siblings -- Carol (Greg) Ingenthron, William (Dee) Strecker, Mark (Kris) Strecker and Scott (Heather) Strecker -- his mother in law, Susan Rinella, and his in-laws, Mike (Jennifer) Rinella, Ann Whigham, Mary (Peter) Lebourveau, Nancy (Chad) LaSala, and Christi (Mark) Douglas. He leaves behind many beloved cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and friends.

The Vigil Prayers will begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, at St. Paul Catholic Church, 21650 W. 115th Terrace, Olathe, followed by visitation from 5:15-8 p.m.

Words of remembrance will begin at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, July 9, at St. Paul Catholic Church followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Wednesday, also at St. Paul.

Inurnment will follow immediately after at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery in Lenexa.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:

• Hayden Catholic High School Foundation: Strecker Family Scholarship.
• St. Paul Catholic Church Capital Campaign.

• Benedictine College (Dr. A. Douglas Brothers Research Endowment).

 • Catholic Community Health Hospice.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The 2024-2025 sports year was full of near-misses for Shawnee County boys teams, with Hayden bowling the lone team to garner a championship in a school year that included seven top-three state trophy finishes in six sports.

But individually there was plenty to celebrate, most notably for Washburn Rural on the wrestling mat and track as seven Junior Blues combined for all six county titles

Following is a pick by pick look at the TopSports.news Top 10 county boys prep stories of '24-'25:

Washburn Rural 2025 grad Easton Broxterman won his third straight Class 6A state wrestling title in his fourth straight trip to the state finals. [File photo/TSN]

1. DOMINATING FINISH TO DOMINATING CAREER -- Washburn Rural superstar wrestler Easton Broxterman put the capper on one of the top high school careers in Shawnee County history with his third straight Class 6A state championship in his fourth straight trip to the state finals, helping lead the Junior Blues to a third-place team finish in the 6A state tournament in Overland Park. Broxterman, who will wrestle collegiately at Army, finished off a 41-2 senior season with the 145-pound state title.

Hayden captured the school's first-ever state bowling title in 2025. [File photo/TSN]

2. ROLLING TO HISTORY -- Hayden garnered the first state bowling championship in school history, winning the Class 4A-1A state event by a 3,666-3,571 margin over Mulvane as four Wildcats earned individual state medals. Trevor Christy rolled a 698 series to finish third individually while John Strickland finished fifth with a 685, Chase Blaser was seventh with a 676 and Reese Renyer placed 16th with a 636.

Washburn Rural 2025 grad Kristjan Marshall won back-to-back Class 6A state wrestling titles in '24 and '25.'[File photo/TSN] 

 Washburn Rural senior to be Landen Kocher-Munoz won his second Class 6A state wrestling titles in '25.'[File photo/TSN]

3. REPEAT FEAT -- Washburn Rural wrestling stars Kristjan Marshall and Landen Kocher-Munoz captured the second Class 6A state titles of their careers as the Junior Blues finished third as a team. Marshall, a senior, won his second straight championship, winning the 157-pound crown to finish off a 37-5 season while Kocher-Munoz, a junior, won his second career championship in his third straight state final, winning at 138 pounds to finish 34-3 on the season.

Washburn Rural's Matthew Houser, Liam Morrison, Draden Chooncharoen and Isaiah Terry set the Class 6A state meet record in the 4x400 relay in the 2025 state meet. [File photo/TSN]

4. REPEAT FEAT PART II -- Washburn Rural won the Class 6A state title in the 4x400-meter relay for the second straight season in the final event of the state meet at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium as senior Matthew Houser, junior Liam Morrison, junior Draden Chooncharoen and senior Isaiah Terry set a 6A state meet record in a winning time of 3 minutes, 16.23 seconds. Morrison, Chooncharoen and Terry ran on Rural's state-champion relay in both '24 and '25 while Houser won his first state title. 

5. DOUBLING THEIR PLEASURE -- In addition to helping Washburn Rural set a Class 6A state meet 4x400 relay record in the 2025 state meet, senior Isaiah Terry and junior Liam Morrison both doubled up with their first career individual state titles. Terry won the 400-meter dash in 47.92 seconds while Morrison won the 300 hurdles in 37.68 seconds. Terry and Morrison also both have a pair of state wins as part of the Junior Blues' 4x400 relay, giving them three career state golds.

Read more …