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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Silver Lake's girls golf team completed its dominant 2023 season in grand style Tuesday, winning its first Class 3A-1A state championship by a whopping 22 strokes at Hesston Golf Course.
Silver Lake's girls golf team poses for a picture after winning the Class 3A-1A state title by 22 strokes Tuesday at Hesston. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]
Silver Lake got second and fourth-place individual finishes from Klara Kleinig and Taylor Zordel on the way to a 701-723 margin over Colby.
"This is our first-ever state title as a program. The program started in 2001,'' Silver Lake coach Kelby Brown told KSHSAA Covered. "We've consistently competed at the state level, but we just haven't gotten to that next level. The last couple years we've been close.
"They have put themselves on the map. This means the world for us and for the school."
Silver Lake's Klara Kleinig finished in a tie for second in the Class 3A-1A state girls golf tournament, finishing with a 36-hole total of 160. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]
Kleinig, a foreign exchange student from Germany, shot back to back 80s to finish tied for the runnerup spot behind Wichita Collegiate's Margaret Ulrich, who won by six strokes at 154 (73-81).
"I've never played (a tournament) like this,'' Kleinig said. "It was just a great experience. I loved seeing the crowd watching on 18 and I love the team spirit and that so many people came to support us."
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden's girls golf team had a very good day in Monday's opening round of the Class 4A state golf tournament at Salina Municipal, opening up a 13-stroke lead over the field.
Hayden's girls golf team poses for a picture with its championship trophy after winning the Class 4A state tournament by 37 strokes Tuesday at Salina. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
And the Wildcats were even better on Tuesday, improving by nine strokes over their Day 1 performance on the way to winning their first state championship since 2018 and their sixth title overall by a whopping 37-stroke margin.
Hayden followed up its first-round team score of 335 with a 326 on Tuesday, winning the team title by a 661-698 margin over Wamego, ending the Red Raiders' two-year title reign and avenging a loss to Wamego in regional competition.
“I thought all year we were the best team (in Class 4A),” Hayden coach Jayson Duncan told KSHSAA Covered. “But thinking doesn’t get you first place. You’ve got to go out and do it.”
Hayden sophomore Izzy Glotzbach led a balanced Wildcat attack in the Class 4A state tournament, tying for ninth place as the Wildcats won the Class 4A team title by. 37 strokes [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Senior Hannah Reynoldson finished 14th individually as Hayden claimed its first 4A state girls golf title since 2018 by a 37-stroke margin Tuesday at Salina. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Hayden out-classed the 4A field with its balance, with the Wildcats putting all of their top four in the top 16 places.
Sophomore Izzy Glotbach tied for ninth place individually at 161 (79-82) while senior Hannah Reynoldson placed 14th at 164 (84-80), sophomore Lauren Borjon 15th at 165 (85-80) and senior Avery Grunert 16th at 171 (87-84).
“We definitely knew it was possible,” Glotzbach said of the team title. “We knew we couldn’t do it last year, but this year we came in with a better mindset and had a good season.”
“It feels really good because we prepared a lot and practiced a lot and got better throughout the season,” Reynoldson said. “All of our girls are really consistent and we just have a really strong team. We were really excited to come back here (to Salina). We took third my sophomore year here (in 2021) and we were thinking we would win it our senior year.”
Addyson Baer carded a 176 (88-88) and Kyleigh Johnson a 189 (96-93) to round out the Wildcat lineup.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team posted an uncharacteristic 11-17 record last season while being stung by six losses of seven or fewer points, including 1 and 2-point defeats.
And while the Ichadods lost several key players off that team, including their No. 2, 3 and 4 scorers, former WU standout Lora Westling is confident her team is poised to make some major steps forward in her second year at the helm of the Ichabods.
Second-year Washburn women's basketball coach Lora Westling is looking for the Ichabods to make significant progress in the 2023-2024 season. [File photo/TSN]
Senior point guard Aubree Dewey (3) led Washburn women's basketball in scoring, assists and steals last season. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn will have to replace the trio of Natalia Figueroa, Macy Doebele and Emma Chapman, who combined for 23.8 points and 11.9 rebounds in 2022-2023, but Aubrey Dewey returns to lead the Ichabods' returning cast, along with fellow seniors Mackenzie Gamble and Lakyn Shieferecke and sophomore standouts Gabi Giovannetti and Yibari Nwidadah.
Doebele and Chapman were classified as seniors last season, while Figueroa, who hails from Madrid, Spain, notified Westling the week before the start of the fall semester that she would not be returning to Washburn after a strong freshman campaign (8.2 points per game, 42 3-pointers).
But Westling said the Ichabods, who began practice on Oct. 6, have taken those personnel losses in stride and have impressive in early preparations for their Nov. 10 season-opener against Southwestern Oklahoma State in Shawnee, Okla.
"We really pride outselves on resiliency as a program and one of our core values is grit and I think if you're around college athletics enough you can never know what the next day is going to bring, good or bad,'' Westling said. "And in this situation, I'm just really excited about our players who have stepped up and some of our young players who are ready to step in and be that next woman up. We really haven't missed a beat.''
Dewey, a 5-foot-7 point guard out of Plainville, led Washburn with a 10.7 scoring average a year ago while also dishing out 110 assists and recording 34 steals.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden and Silver Lake did what they needed to do on Monday to put themselves in contention for state girls golf championships.
Now the Wildcats and Eagles will try to finish off their title quests over Tuesday's final 18 holes.
Hayden sophomore Izzy Glotzbach shot a team-low 78 on Monday at Salina Municipal Golf Course, helping the Wildcats open up a 13-stroke lead in the Class 4A team standings. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Klara Kleinig is second in the Class 3A-1A state tournament entering the final 18 holes, helping Silver Lake open up an eight-stroke lead in the team race. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Hayden will take a commanding 13-stroke margin over two-time defending Class 4A state champion Wemgo into Tuesday's final round at Salina Municipal Golf Course while Silver Lake will start the final day of the 3A-1A state tournament at Hesston with an eight-stroke advantage over Colby.
Three of the five Shawnee County schools that qualified their entire teams for state advanced to Tuesday's final day of competition, along with four individual qualifiers.
Washburn Rural advanced to the final round of the 6A state tournament at Emporia Municipal, earning the sixth and final berth by a stroke over Maize.
Regional champion Seaman missed a Day 2 team berth in Class 5A by two spots and Shawnee Heights was 12th after the first state of state competition, but four city golfers advanced as individual competitors..
Here's a class-by-class look at the state tournaments involving Shawnee County teams:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Jackson Esquibel
JACKSON ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights
Esquibel, a senior cross country star, captured his first United Kansas Conference individual title last Thursday at Shawnee North Community Center after finishing second as a junior. A two-time Class 5A state medalist in cross country and a state champion in track, Esquibel posted a 42-second victory in the conference meet, clocking a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 40 seconds.
Payton Fink
PAYTON FINK, Washburn Rural
A junior cross country standout, Fink posted a 31-second individual victory in Saturday's Centennial League meet at Kanza Park, winning her second straight league individual championship while helping Washburn Rural repeat as the league team champion. Fink, who placed fifth in the Class 6A state meet as a sophomore, clocked a winning five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 33.3 seconds.
Jette Glasenapp
JETTE GLASENAPP, Shawnee Heights
A junior foreign exchange student from Germany, Glasenapp completed her first high school tennis season with a runnerup singles finish in Saturday's Class 5A state meet at Salina, capping a 36-3 season. Glasenapp's state performance followed a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and Class 5A regional championships. Glasenapp led Shawnee Heights to a sixth-place tie (seventh on a tiebreaker) in the 5A team standings as the T-Birds' lone state qualifier.
