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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
If things had worked out just a little bit differently, Ty Zentner might have never kicked a football.
But the new Philadelphia Eagle is sure happy he did.
Former Shawnee Heights three-sport standout Ty Zentner, sporting an Eagles hat, celebrated with family and friends in Topeka last Saturday after signing an NFL contract. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Ty Zentner said his phone "is still blowing up'' after signing a free agent contract with the Philadephia Eagles last Saturday. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
"I was already committed to Barton Community College to play soccer right at the end of the summer going into my senior year and Trey Brown and Michael Brooks and Cole Emerson, they were all playing on the football team and those are my best friends,'' Zentner told TopSports.news in a phone interview. "We needed a kicker because the guy the year before was a senior so I went out.
"I really didn't know how it was going to work, but luckily for me Steven Block was there and he's got a lot of kicking experience and has coached a lot of guys so he really taught me the fundamentals. And by the end of the season he had just totally convinced me that I had a better future playing football.''
The rest, as they say, is history.
Zenter went on to become a standout at Butler Community College and Kansas State and launches his NFL career this week with the Eagles after signing a free agent contract last Saturday.
Zentner, an All-State goalkeeper in soccer and a starter for Shawnee Heights' 2017 Class 5A state championship basketball team, was scheduled to fly to Philadelphia on Wednesday to join his new team.
"I'm going out for the mini-camp and I'll be back for about a week and then I head back for what they call rookie development period and that lasts about a month,'' Zentner said.
Zentner, who averaged 44.5 yards per punt and went 11 of 11 on field goals for Kansas State last fall, said it was more than an coincidence that he ended up with the Eagles.
"After the season ended they have all the senior games and the NFL Combine and I didn't get invited to any of that, which really surprised me because I felt like I deserved it, but it is what it is and that stuff's kind of hit or miss,'' said Zentner, who kicked the game-winning field goal in the Big 12 championship game.. "After all of that stuff kind of wrapped up then teams can start to work you out and the Eagles were the very first team to come work me out.
"They came and worked me out and they kept in touch more than any other team throughout the whole process. Like five other teams came to Manhattan and worked me out but I talked to the Eagles twice more than any other team.''
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
SILVER LAKE – Class 3A No. 1-ranked Silver Lake shook off last week's twinbill losses to 4A No. 1-ranked Wamego by sweeping Hayden, 7-2, 10-0, on Tuesday night in a non-league doubleheader.
Silver Lake sophomore Kendra Cook watches her second-game home run in the Eagles' doubleheader sweep over Hayden on Tuesday. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Silver Lake coach Nick Hamilton congratulates senior Chloe LaDuke as she rounds the bases on a Game 2 home run for the Eagles against Hayden. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
It didn't take long for the Eagles to get back on the right track with a pair of convincing wins against 4A Hayden. The bats and defense were nearly perfect against a formidable Wildcat squad.
Silver Lake coach Nick Hamilton still believes the Eagles have room for improvement but was pleased by the way they created momentum for themselves after taking their first losses of the year eight days ago.
"We've got a good schedule with some teams with some good pitchers, so a part of winning these games is finding momentum," Hamilton said. "It took us a bit of time to find that momentum, but once we did, I felt the confidence come back. Our girls just competed."
Silver Lake (14-2) didn't jump out to the fastest of starts in Game 1.
Hayden earned a 2-0 lead against the Eagles through three and a half innings thanks to an RBI double from senior Alyssa Droge and a groundout RBI from Kylie Carswell.
"We had a slow start in the first game, but I thought we finished really well," Silver Lake second baseman McKinley Kruger said. "Avery (Wende) did a great job, and I thought we did a good job of backing her up on defense. Later, we finally got used to Alyssa Droge, who's a really great pitcher.
"We mostly wanted to improve at the plate especially knowing we were going to face a great pitcher today. She has good speed and good spin. So we want to pick out what we want to hit and not be satisfied."
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Hoping to turn their season around, Washburn Rural baseball needed a solid outing from starting pitcher Zach Sharshel Tuesday.
After getting staked to a 4-0 lead, Sharshel withstood a rough fourth inning to give the Junior Blues a 6-4 non-league win over Shawnee Heights at Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Washburn Rural senior Zach Sharshel picked up the pitching win in the Junior Blues' 6-4 road win at Shawnee Heights Tuesday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural's Ty Weber (32) and Kyle Walker celebrate during Tuesday's 6-4 win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural entered the contest with a 4-11 record but hoping to turn things around after some close losses recently, including a one-run loss to Olathe South, the top-ranked team in 6A.
“We needed this win,” said Washburn Rural coach Jay Mastin. “We have something like six one-run losses. So, we’ve been battling. We’ve been in these games. We just haven’t found a way to win those early on.
“We gained a lot of confidence from the Olathe South game and we’re trying to build off that one. We talked about it coming into this game, and I think we did carry it over.”
The Junior Blues broke out of the gate with a four-run first inning, punctuated by a bases-loaded double by Branton DeWeese. The visitors would add single runs in the second and fourth innings to stretch the lead to 6-0.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West's first United Kansas Conference boys tennis tournament performance will be impossible to surpass and hard to equal.
After all, you can't beat perfect.
.Senior Carter Cool won the UKC singles title Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center, helping Topeka West post a perfect score. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Ian Cusick and twin brother Miles won the UKC doubles title Tuesday, helping Topeka West post a perfect score in the league meet. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Miles Cusick teamed with twin brother Ian to win the UKC doubles title Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center, helping Topeka West post a perfect score in its first league meet. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Kurt Davids' Chargers swept the top two places in both singles and doubles Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center on the way to a perfect score of 76, while Shawnee Heights was second with 60 points.
Senior Carter Cool won the UKC singles championship with a 6-3, 6-4 win over junior teammate James Maag while senior twin brothers Ian and Miles Cusick outlasted junior teammates Caden McGee and Caleb Weybrew in the doubles final, 6-2, 7-6 (7-0 in a tiebreaker).
"In 30 years of doing this I don't think that's ever been even within the realm of comprehension to do something like that,'' Davids said. "New league, old league, it doesn't matter.
"This is the third one I've been in and to sweep and have a perfect score is unreal.''
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod softball team had three players honored in five categories on the All-MIAA team announced Tuesday prior to Wednesday's start of the conference tournament at the Envista Softball Complex at Lake Shawnee in Topeka.
Washburn junior Jaycee Ginter has received first-team All-MIAA honors for the third straight season. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Marrit Mead has earned All-MIAA second-team recognition for Washburn at third base. [File photo]
The Ichabods had two MIAA Gold Glove winners as well as a first-team, second-team and honorable mention All-MIAA pick this season.
The Ichabods will open the MIAA tournament at 3 p.m. Wednesday as the No. 5 seed when the Ichabods face No. 4 seed Central Missouri.
Junior pitcher Jayce Ginter, a Shawnee Heights product, earned first-team All-MIAA honors as a pitcher after earning first-team all-MIAA honors as a freshman and sophomore as a pitcher/utility player.
Ginter leads the MIAA in victories with 23 and is second in the league with a 1.68 ERA. Her 244 strikeouts are first in the league as are her games started (28), complete games (20) and innings pitched (203 2/3).
Junior third basemen Marrit Mead was a second-team All-MIAA selection this season. She is third in the MIAA in hitting with a .409 batting average and her 67 hits is second this season. She is a perfect 27 of 27 in stolen base attempts.
Mead is also second in the MIAA in runs scored with 50, seventh in doubles with 14 and seventh in on-base percentage at .478. Mead was a first-team All-MIAA pick her freshman and sophomore seasons as an Ichabod.
