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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sunday, August 13, is likely to be a very sad day for area drag racing fans.
NHRA officials and Heartland Motorsports Park jointly announced on Friday that the final event at the Topeka facility will take place on Aug. 11-13 with the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
NHRA legend John Force, a 10-time Topeka winner, will make his final appearance at Heartland Motorsports Park Aug. 11-13 in the wake of Friday's announcement that the upcoming race will be the final NHRA national event at HMP. [File photo/TSN]
Heartland Motorsports Park, formerly Heartland Park Topeka, has hosted NHRA national events since the facility opened in 1989, but the track is likely to be closing its doors due to a long and ongoing tax and land dispute with Shawnee County.
NHRA officials announced Friday that the new Flying H Dragstrip in the Kansas City area will be part of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series national event schedule in 2024.
“We have a rich history at Heartland Motorsports Park and we want to thank Chris Payne and his team for many years supporting NHRA drag racing,” NHRA President Glen Cromwell said in a release. “But as one door closes, another opens and we are looking forward to the great opportunity of racing in the Kansas City area at a brand new facility. Scott Higgs and his team are building a fantastic new track at Flying H Dragstrip and we are excited to have our first event there in 2024 and create a wealth of new memories in the area.”
“We are extremely thankful for our longtime partnership with the NHRA and its racers, as well as all the fans who have visited Heartland Motorsports Park over the years,” Heartland Motorsports Park owner Chris Payne said in Friday's release. “Because of the actions by Shawnee County, unfortunately this will be the last national event at Heartland Motorsports Park. We look forward to completing the 2023 season as well.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
With 22 Shawnee County girls basketball teams earning state championships, including five that posted perfect seasons, the chore of picking the No.1 team in TopSports.news' Best of the Best project was a tough one.
Topeka West's 25-0 1993-1994 Class 6A state championship team was tapped for the No. 1 position on TopSports.news' Best of the Best girls basketball list. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
But after considerable discussion, that honor goes to Mike Goehring's 1993-1994 Topeka West team, which dominated Kansas' largest class on the way to a perfect 25-0 season, capped by a win over Shawnee Mission West in the state final.
A member of the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Chargers were the fourth 6A team to go undefeated, averaging 61.2 points while giving up just 39.7 points a game.
The Chargers, who added a 5A championship in 2000, were led by a senior class that included Angie Bahner, Misty Caryl, Wendy Farthing, April Gosselin, Krista Joy and Sara Sevy.
Shawnee Heights' 1986 23-0 Class 5A state championship team was picked No. 2 on TopSports.news' Best of the Best girls basketball Top 10. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Mark Henry's undefeated 1985-1986 Shawnee Heights team, which went 23-0 to win the 5A state title, was tapped for the No. 2 spot on the Top 10 list, with the T-Birds beating Kansas City-Bishop Ward in the state final.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
You don't achieve the level of success that Washburn University's Justice Akinmoladun has enjoyed in football and track and field without setting the bar high.
Junior defensive tackle Justice Akinmoladun represented Washburn's football team at Tuesday's MIAA Football Media Day in Kansas City, Mo.
And as the 6-foot, 290-pound defensive tackle prepares to start his junior football season, Akinmoladun won't settle for anything less than being the best this fall.
"All-American, first team,'' Akinmoladun said when asked about his goals for the 2023 season. "I want to be first-team everything. I will be the best D-lineman in D-II.in the nation.''
Already an All-American thrower in track and field, Akinmoladun is also one of the top defensive returners for the Ichabod football team, which is coming off a 7-4 season.
Akinmoladun is one of just three returning starters on defense for Washburn, but said he is confident that the Ichabods have the talent to be strong on the defensive side of the ball again this season.
"That's the good thing about having good players last year is we had good players under them, too, who were able to see what they did to be great,'' said Akinmoladun, a native of Grandview, Mo. "We have a lot of good guys coming in who have been working their butt off this whole summer so I'm not worried.
"We're just a young group, but I think we're ready to go.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Ryan Schmidt's 2011 Shawnee Heights team garnered the top spot on TopSports.news' Best of the Best baseball Top 10.
The T-Birds posted a perfect 25-0 record on the season, capped by a come-from-behind 6-4 win over Seaman in an all-city '11 Class 5A championship game.
Shawnee Heights' 2011 baseball team was tapped for the No. 1 spot on TopSports.news' Best of the Best list, posting a perfect 25-0 record and winning the Class 5A state championship. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Seaman's 2010 baseball team captured its third straight Class 5A state championship, posting a 23-2 record. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Seaman's 2008 baseball team won the first of three straight Class 5A state championships, losing just one game on the year. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Steve Bushnell's 2010 and 2008 Seaman teams hold down the No. 2 and No. 3 spots on the Best of the Best Top 10, with the Vikings' '10 team capturing Seaman's third straight 5A title while the '08 team started off the three-peat.
Hayden's 2015 baseball team went 24-1 en route to the Class 4A-I state championship, capped by a 10-0 win over McPherson. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Silver Lake baseball posted an undefeated season in 1970, winning the Class 2A-1A state title. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Bill Arnold's 2015 Hayden team is No. 4 on the Top 10 after posting a 24-1 record and earning the 4A-Division I championship while Silver Lake's undefeated '70 team, including county legend Lon Kruger, rounds out the top five.
Former Major League pitcher Jim Golden played a big role as Silver Lake won a second straight Class B state title in 1954. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Alan Cunningham coached Silver Lake to a third straight Class 3A state baseball championship in 1998. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Silver Lake, which has won 15 state championships, also holds the No. 6 and 7 spots on the Top 10, with former Major League pitcher Jim Golden leading the Eagles to a second straight Class B championship in 1954 and coach Alan Cunningham leading Silver Lake to a third straight 3A title in '98.
Hayden baseball did not allow a run in the 2009 state tournament on the way to the Class 4A state championship. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Craig Cox's 1994 Shawnee Heights baseball team won the school's first Class 5A state championship. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Aaron Becker's 2009 Hayden Wildcats are ranked No. 8 on the Top 10 after going 20-4 and not allowing a run in the 4A state tournament.
Craig Cox's No. 9 Shawnee Heights won the school's first 5A title in '94, while No. 10 Topeka West won its lone 5A title in 2003 under the late Brett Cowdin, who also coached Hayden to a state championships in '97.
Heights' 11 championship team also received the most votes in Reader's Choice balloting, followed by Seaman's '10 team, Hayden's '09 and '15 teams and Heights' '94 team to round out the top five.
Topeka High's '47 team, which won Shawnee County's first state title, earned the No. 6 spot on the Reader's Choice Top 10, followed by Washburn Rural's Class 6A title team in '50, a tie between Silver Lake's '70 and West's '03 team for the eighth spot and Silver Lake's '98 team in 10th.
A panel of current and past sports media professionals with more than 120 years of combined experience helped determine the final Best of the Best Top 10.
Here's a look at the Top 10 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST BASEBALL TEAMS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Kellen Simoncic's outstanding 2022 football season came to an abrupt end in the ninth game of the year at Northeastern State when the Washburn University quarterback went down with a season-ending injury to his right (throwing) shoulder.
Washburn quarterback Kellen Simoncic (left) draws a chuckle from Ichabod coach Craig Schurig during Tuesday's MIAA Media Day while Simoncic talks about his younger brother, Cody, who plays for Northwest Missouri State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"It was kind of a weird game, always playing down there (at Northeastern) is weird,'' Simoncic said. "We were driving and I kind of took off up the middle and tried to run a little bit and a guy hit me on the legs.
"I was always taught to try not to land on the shoulders and kind of roll on your back, but that didn't happen and I landed right on it.''
But after undergoing surgery and going through a lengthy rehabilitation period, the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder is chomping at the bit to return to action for the Ichabods.
"It was probably a couple of months at least to be able to throw,'' said the Smithville, Mo. native, who earned All-MIAA honorable mention a year ago. "We have a great training staff that spent countless hours working with me and I'm very thankful for them.
"But I was able to do spring ball, so that was awesome to get back out there and do 7 on 7.''
In his first season as the Ichabods' starter, Simoncic completed 195 of 312 pass attempts for 2,354 yards and 25 touchdowns while throwing just eight interceptions.
