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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
City players earned four of the seven spots on the All-United Kansas Conference boys basketball first team, selected by league coaches.
Shawnee Heights senior Brennon Dodge has been named to the All-UKC boys first team after helping lead the T-Birds to a 19-4 record and a Class 5A state tournament berth. [File photo/TSN]
Junior Jaret Sanchez earned All-UKC first-team honors after helping Shawnee Heights reach the Class 5A state tournament. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights, which advanced to the Class 5A state tournament, is represented on the All-UKC first team by senior Brennon Dodge and junior Jaret Sanchez while Seaman put sophomore KaeVon Bonner on the first team and Topeka West is represented by junior Jalen Foy.
Seaman's KaeVon Bonner was the lone sophomore to earn a spot on the All-UKC first team. [File photo/TSN]
Junior Jalen Foy represents Topeka West on the All-UKC boys basketball first team. [File photo/TSN]
Heights junior Deacon Pomeroy and Topeka West sophomore Keimani Paul were named to the All-UKC second team while Seaman senior Holden Finley and Shawnee Heights senior Dylan Sanchez received honorable mention.
De Soto senior David Cobin was named the UKC player of the year after leading the Wildcats to a berth in the 5A state tournament while Piper coach Steve Wallace, whose Pirates finished second in 5A, was named the conference coach of the year.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE BOYS BASKETBALL
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Rossville's Jack Donovan and Silver Lake's Dayne Johnson, who helped their teams post breakout 2023-2024 seasons, have been named to the All-Mid-East League boys basketball team.
Rossville sophomore Jack Donovan has been named to the All-Mid-East League first team after helping lead the Bulldawgs to a 15-7 record. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake sophomore Dayne Johnson has been named to the All-Mid-East League boys basketball first team. [File photo/TSN]
Donovan, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, helped lead Rossville to a 15-7 season this winter while Johnson, a 6-2 sophomore, helped lead Silver Lake to a 14-8 campaign.
Donovan and Johnson are joined on the All-Mid-East first team by Rock Creek's Coley Burgess (6-0 junior) and Brady Schneider (6-3 senior) and St. Marys' Brady Hurla (6-0 junior).
Silver Lake's Elijah Jopez (6-4 senior) and Rossville's Cameron Miller (6-5 sophomore) earned spots on the all-league second team while Rossville's Kameron Badura (6-3 junior) received honorable mention.
ALL-MID-EAST LEAGUE BOYS BASKETBALL
First team
Cole Burgess, 6-0 jr., Rock Creek; Jack Donovan, 5-11 so., Rossville; Brady Hurla, 6-0 jr., St. Marys; Dayne Johnson, 6-2 so., Silver Lake; Brady Schneider, 6-3 sr., Rock Creek.
Second team
Brody Deiter, 5-11 jr., Silver Lake; Ben DeVader, 5-9 so., St. Marys; Eli Harmison, 6-1 jr., Riley County; Elijah Lopez, 6-4 sr., Silver Lake; Cameron Miller, 6-5 so., Rossville
Honorable mention
Kameron Badura, 6-3 jr., Rossville; Zach Frank, 5-10 so., Wabaunsee; Daegan Vinduska, 6-4 sr., Rock Creek.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
HUTCHINSON -- The Hayden girls bounced back from a semifinal defeat at the hands of eventual Class 3A champion Silver Lake to claim third-place honors at the state tournament in Hutchinson Saturday.
Hayden celebrates its third-place finish in the Class 3A state tournament Saturday in Hutchinson. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Hayden poses for a team picture after finishing third in the Class 3A state tournament Saturday in Hutchinson. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
The Wildcats took down back-to-back defending champion Goodland in a low-scoring battle in the third-place game, winning the consolation game, 50-39.
Hayden scuffled to just three points in the first period, but slowed Goodland to just eight in the same period. Then the Wildcats got untracked to score 16 in the second period, grabbing a 19-14 halftime advantage.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Washburn Rural girls made an improbable run from the seventh seed to reach the Class 6A state title game for the third consecutive season.
Washburn Rural poses for a team picture after finishing second in the Class 6A state tournament, the Junior Blues' third straight trip to the championship game. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
But the Junior Blues couldn’t overcome top-seeded Shawnee Mission South, losing 47-37 Saturday afternoon at Wichita State University.
The Raiders entered the game with a 23-1 record and had a plan to take away Washburn Rural’s standout freshman Maddie Vickery.
Vickery scored 24 points in back-to-back games to lead the Junior Blues to the final. There she was faced by two athletic senior posts, both standing over six feet tall, that the Raiders used to bottle her up in the paint and get a hand in her face on the perimeter. Vickery scored 11 points, but they came on 16 shot attempts.
Senior Zoe Canfield led Washburn Rural with 18 points, incuding four 3-pointers, in Saturday's 47-37 loss to SM South in the Class 6A title game. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Freshman Maddie Vickery capped a big state tournament performance for Washburn Rural with 11 points in Saturday's 47-37 loss to SM South in the Class 6A title game. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Senior Zoe Canfield did her best in the second half to keep the Junior Blues in the fight. She hit four long 3-pointers after halftime, but her 18 points weren’t quite enough.
“They were trying to jam Zoe and Maddie, and unfortunately we didn’t get anybody else open to get shots,” Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. “We needed to be more aggressive with the other kids, at least initiating some things. We just didn’t do that well enough.
“We’re a team that depends on those two. Zoe was hitting unbelievable 3s, but we needed more kids to get involved. That’s my fault as a coach. I didn’t coach them that way.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
HUTCHINSON -- A four-year uphill climb ended at the pinnacle for the Silver Lake seniors.
Senior Makenzie McDaniel hoists the championship trophy as she celebrates the Class 3A girls title with her teammates after Saturday's 66-61 win over Hesston. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Silver Lake poses for a team picture after capping a perfect 26-0 season with Saturday's 66-61 win over Hesston in the Class 3A state title game. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
After coming up short three times in their quest for a state championship, the Eagles won the Class 3A girls title by defeating Hesston 66-61 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena Saturday night.
The group of five Silver Lake seniors were part of teams that finished third two years ago and fourth last season. The group had not played in a championship game until Saturday.
It was a brawl.
End-to-end action and physical play kept the outcome in question until the final seconds.
Silver Lake survived a five-point run in the final 30 seconds that pulled the Swathers to within one possession. But the Eagles were the ones holding the trophy when the buzzer sounded.
“The amount of work and dedication that our ladies put into the game of basketball, for these seniors to finish with a state championship is something special,” Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter said. “I’m just glad that we got the mission accomplished.”
“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Silver Lake senior Makenzie McDaniel. “We’ve worked so hard to get to this. Coming short two years in a row really stings, so it was something we put in the backs of our heads to work for every day in practice. This has been our goal since Day 1, so it’s great to have been able to achieve it.”
