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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden, which advanced to the Class 3A state championship game for the third straight season, and 1A finalist Rossville combined for nine of Top 22 spots on TopSports.news' 2025 All-Shawnee County football team while the Wildcats and Bulldawgs swept offensive and defensive player of the year honors.
Kade Mitchell, Hayden
Canann Mitchell, Rossville
Jude Krentz, Hayden
Hayden senior all-purpose standout Kade Mitchell and Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell were named the co-offensive players of the year for 2025 while Hayden senior Jude Krentz was named the defensive player of the year.
Kade Mitchell carried the ball 106 times for 1,003 yards, caught 23 passes for 471 yards and scored 22 total touchdowns while Canann Mitchell rushed for 1,162 yards and 21 touchdowns on 167 carries and completed 123 of 184 passes for 1,771 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Krentz led the Hayden defense with 120 tackles (61 solo) while recording six tackles for loss and picking off two passes.
Hayden's Bill Arnold and Rossville's Derick Hammes were named the co-coaches of the year while Rossville junior lineman Charlie Chance was tapped as the defensive newcomer of the year and Silver Lake freshman quarterback Kipton Kruger was named the offensive newcomer of the year.
Chance was in on 54 tackles with 14 tackles for loss and three sacks while Kruger completed 178 of 252 passes for 2,158 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Kade Mitchell and Krentz are Top 22 repeat selections, along with Seaman senior Cameron Brian, Rossville senior Conner Bush, Silver Lake senior Dayne Johnson and Shawnee Heights senior Aiden Scott.
Hayden, which posted a 12-1 record this fall, is also represented on the Top 22 by seniors Xander Blasing, Connor Hanika and Julian McGivern and junior Mason Becker while Rossville senior Andre Johnson joins Bush and Canann Mitchell on the Top 22 after the Bulldawgs posted an 11-2 record, with both losses coming against state champions.
Washburn Rural, which posted a 6-4 record, is represented on the Top 22 by seniors Jayden Cooper, Brody Haas and John Hoytal and junior Jadyn Baum.
Senior Noah Kobuszewski joins Brian on the first team for Seaman while senior Jayden Waterer joins Dayne Johnson on the Top 22 for Silver Lake and senior AJ Gallegos joins Scott on the first team for Shawnee Heights.
Meadowlark Conference champion Highland Park put senior Tremaine Savage and junior G'Honi Montgomery on the Top 22 while Topeka High is represented by multi-time All-Centennial League selection Malachi Murph
All 10 Shawnee County high schools have representatives on either the Top 22, Second 22 or honorable mention list. Five county teams posted six or more wins this fall and four teams posted at least one win in the playoffs.
TopSports.news selected the 2025 All-Shawnee County team after receiving input from county head coaches.
All-Shawnee County Top 22 capsules:
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
DESOTO -- Washburn Rural's faced tournament host De Soto in Wednesday's semifinal of the De Soto Hardwood Classic, taking a 41-28 win in a defensive struggle to advance to Saturday's the championship game.
The game began with both teams struggling to put the ball in the basket as Washburn Rural shot 2 of 10 from the field while De Soto was 2 of 9. At the end of the first quarter, the Junior Blues led, 8-6.
The struggles continued in the second quarter as both teams combined to make only three shots over the eight-minute period. The defense of De Soto forced nine turnovers in the half with a mixture of a three-quarter court trapping press and a stingy man-to-man defense in the halfcourt.
But Washburn Rural’s defense was just as stout, forcing a total of 15 turnovers, holding the Wildcats to 3-13 from the field and maintaining a two point lead at halftime, 13-11. A statistical anomaly occurred for the host school as De Soto’s only made baskets in the first half were from behind the 3-point line and they only attempted one shot from inside the line.
The proverbial lid came off the basket in the third quarter as both teams exploded for double-digits in points. With just under three minutes left in the third quarter, De Soto took its first lead of the game, 20-18, on a 3-point play by junior Katie Bush.
After Rural tied the game at 20, De Soto’s freshman point guard, Maddie Leis, hit a 3-pointer, giving the Wildcats a 23-20 lead. Not to be outdone, Rural freshman forward Brynn Anderson knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner, sending the contest to the fourth quarter tied at 23.
The final quarter was dominated by the Junior Blues as they built an eight-point lead thanks to five straight points by senior Ella Hirschi. The Junior Blues made 8 of 13 shots from the field over the last eight minutes and advanced to the championship game on Saturday.
Washburn Rural was led by Anderson’s 11 points and five steals. Senior Hallie Walker had 8 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Hirschi scored seven points along with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and two steals.
De Soto was led by Leis, who scored 14 points with four 3-pointers.
Washburn Rural advanced to the championship game to face the Liberty, Mo. Blue Jays at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Liberty advanced with a 60-50 win over Shawnee Mission Northwest.
WASHBURN RURAL 41, DE SOTO 28
Washburn Rural 8 5 10 18 — 41
DeSoto 6 5 12 5 — 28
Washburn Rural 41 (2-0) -- Rutherford 2-5 0-0 5, Hirschi 3-8 0-0 7, Walker 3-4 2-4 8, Anderson 4-15 2-2 11, Carlgren 2-4 1-2 5, Hinck 0-0, 0-0 0, Petersen 2-4 0-0 5. Totals 16-40 5-8 41.
DeSoto 28 (2-1) -- C. Leis 0-1 2-2 2, O’Brien 1-4 0-0 3, Cinotto 1-4 0-0 3, M. Leis 5-15 0-0 14, Chappel 0-3 0-0 0, Green 1-2 0-0 3, Stepp 0-0 0-0 0, Carpenter 0-0 0-0 0, Major 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Bush 1-3 1-1 3, Gulley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 9-34 3-3 28.
3-point field goals -- Washburn Rural 4 (Rutherford, Hirschi, Anderson, Petersen), DeSoto 7 (M. Leis 4, O’Brien, Cinotto, Green). Total fouls -- Washburn Rural 14, DeSoto 15. Fouled out -- none. Technical Fouls -- none.
Trojan girls fall to Huskies, 56-35
Topeka High played its second game in the De Soto Hardwood Classic Wednesday against Blue Valley Northwest Huskies, with the Trojans dropping a 56-35 decision.
For the second consecutive game, the Trojans struggled in the first quarter and trailed 13-4. The deficit remained at nine, 22-13, going to the halftime break.
The Huskies pulled away in the second half for the 21-point win.
Topeka High will play in the seventh-place game on Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. against Shawnee Mission East, which lost to Olathe Northwest, 44-37.
BV NORTHWEST 56, TOPEKA HIGH 35
Topeka High 4 9 8 14 — 35
BV Northwest 13 9 16 18 — 56
Topeka High 35 (0-3) -- Short 0-1 2-2 2, Triplett 0-1 0-0 0, Marshall 0-12 2-2 2, Rayton 9-17 0-0 19, Gotru 4-7 1-2 9, Conley 0-0 0-0 0, Whayne 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 14-42 5-6 35.
Blue Valley Northwest 56 (1-2) -- K. Becker 4-11 0-0 11, Edwards 6-11 2-2 16, R. Becker 5-11 0-0 12, Numrich 2-2 0-0 5, Cozart 4-9 1-3 9, Eils 0-0 0-0 0, Dahl 0-1 0-0 0, Domazet 0-3 1-2 1, Norton 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 21-50 6-9 56.
3-point field goals -- Topeka High 2 (Rayton, Martin), BV Northwest 8 (K. Becker 3, Edwards 2, R. Becker 2, Numrich). Total Fouls -- Topeka High 10, BV Northwest 12. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Before the 2025 season ever started, Washburn University soccer coach Davy Phillips knew his Ichabods had the potential to field a good team this fall.
Washburn soccer celebrated after last Saturday's 3-2 Elite Eight road win over Missouri-St. Louis. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
"From the very beginning we talked as a team that the purpose and the goal of the team was to maximize our potential,'' Phillips said. "And I think the potential in this group has always been there, it was just working to maximinze that.''
And early in the conference season, the Ichabods discovered they could be really, really good.
"Out of conference play you're kind of still figuring out the groove of the team, and the strengths and the weaknesses of each individual player, but by the time conference started and we tied (Central Oklahoma) and beat (Central Missouri), we were on a roll,'' said senior midfielder Belle Kennedy, the MIAA defensive player of the year and a third-team All-American. There was nothing stopping us once we found our chemistry.''
Washburn freshman Leah Henke, the conference freshman of the year, agreed.
"Coming out first game (of conference) we tied UCO and I think we played really, really good that game,'' Henke said. "And then we beat UCM off of (Mackinly Rohn's) goal very late in the game and it was like, 'Wow, we've got something really special here. We've got everything we need to go far.' ''
And now Washburn, which is in the NCAA Division II Final Four for the second time in three seasons, is just two wins away from being the best.
"We just keep getting better and better and I think we can go all the way,'' Henke said. "I've felt it from the beginning of the tournament. I think we've just got to play our game, stick to our game model and do what we do best.''
"The cool thing about is the group is I still feel like we're growing,'' Phillips said.
Now 14-3-6 on the season, No. 1 seed Washburn will take on No. 4 seed Franklin Pierce in a 4 p.m. (Central time) national semifinal Thursday in Colorado Springs.
Washburn advanced to the Final Four with a 3-2 road win over Missouri-St. Louis last Saturday in the Elite Eight.
Henke scored the game-winning goal against the Tritons, recording her 12th goal of the season to moved her into fourth place in program history for goals in a single season.
"I didn't really expect all of this to happen, but I'm thankful for it,'' Henke said.
Washburn soccer displayed its NCAA Final Four sign after last Saturday's 3-2 win over Missouri-St. Louis. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Shaye Taylor and Aubrey Tanksley scored Washburn's first two goals against UMSL while Ichabod freshman goalkeeper Lili Everley came up with five saves and now has 64 saves on the year with a save percentage of 82 percent.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Seaman Vikings' all-senior starting lineup scored all 71 of the team’s points Tuesday in a battle with Lansing that was closer than the 14-point margin would indicate.
Senior Landon Wiltz scored 23 points to lead Seaman in Tuesday's 71-57 UKC home win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Vikings followed up an opening-night win over Piper by downing the Lions 71-57 at Seaman. The home team led from start to finish, but saw its margin cut to three points at the end of the third period. Still leading by just five with 2:39 remaining, the Vikings put the pedal down, outscoring the winless Lions 12-3 the rest of the way.
“I told the guys after the game what I was impressed with was our defensive adjustments,” said Seaman coach Craig Cox. “Once they got into a flow and figured out what was working for them, we were able to play some better help-defense and take away some of those post-entries and make it a little bit tougher on them down the stretch.”
The Vikings struggled to contain Lansing junior Deacon Manthe, a 6-foot-7 forward who drove to find open jumpers and sliced on the baseline to get to the rim. Manthe hit six of seven shots in the first half, but was held scoreless in the third period before hitting three shots to fire the Lansing comeback.
“He’s going to rise up and shoot it over the top of you, and he’s got such a soft touch, he’s a tough kid to guard,” Cox said. “He definitely makes them better at every position.”
Seaman didn’t need senior KaeVon Bonner to repeat his 37-point outburst against Piper. The Vikings got 23 points from Landon Wiltz and 15 from Griffin Zuniga. Carter Brian scored all seven of his points in the first period. And Matthew McConnaughey hit five of six free throws for all of his points.
Senior KaeVon Bonner scored 21 points and dished out 10 assists in Seaman's 71-57 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
That kind of output from the starters takes pressure off Bonner, who dished out 10 assists to go with his 21 points.
“I think that as we progress, that will become more of what we try to develop, not putting it entirely in (KaeVon’s) hands,” Cox said.
Lansing held Seaman scoreless for the final four minutes of the second period, cutting a 14-point deficit to five. But Wiltz received a pass from Bonner and buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to send Seaman to the locker room with an eight-point lead.
“It was a little closer at the end of the second quarter and then I feel like that three at the end really changed that, gave us momentum,” Wiltz said. “When (KaeVon) drives, you’ve always got to be ready because he’s not looking at you half the time (when he passes to you) so you’ve got to be ready and ready to shoot it down.”
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The new-era Seaman girls recorded their first win Tuesday, blasting visitor Lansing 65-18 in a home United Kansas Conference contest.
Freshman Baylee Ayres led Seaman with 14 points in Tuesday's 65-18 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Vikings, who are replacing four starters and a ton of production from last year’s state runnerup, rebounded from a tough loss in the season opener against Piper last Tuesday.
“It’s good to get the smiles again,” Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. “I told the girls, ‘Show me that you learned from the first game. Show me that you learned from the practices we had after that.' And I thought the girls did that tonight. I saw a lot of growth just in those few practices we had and that game.”
The Vikings’ rebuilding effort took a step forward with a big second half. Shots started falling and newcomers got in the groove. Junior Brynn Spencer and freshman Kallie Zurmely combined to knock down five of six attempts from beyond the arc after halftime.
But it was another freshman, Baylee Ayres, who led the Vikings in scoring with 14 after not even playing in the first period. After recording four points in the loss to Piper, Ayers connected on five of seven field goal attempts and four of six free throws against Lansing.
“It’s not a surprise,” Tinsley said of Ayers. “We see her effort in practice. She gave us a nice lift. She brings a lot of energy, she’s athletic, and she plays that to her strengths. She’ll continue to get better with confidence.”
The Vikings were hoping to get right against an opponent who had been blown out in its first two outings. But the Lions hung around for more than 13 minutes before it got away. After Seaman ran out to a 13-2 lead, Lansing fought back. By scoring nine points early in the second quarter, Lansing cut the Seaman lead to 17-13. That point total eclipsed the Lions’ average of 10 points from their first two losses.
Seaman responded to the threat by running off 13 unanswered points to extend its halftime lead to 30-13.
Nine different Vikings scored, with four players tallying at least nine points. But it was the defense that produced the rout. Seaman swarmed the Lions, allowing the visitors just one field goal in the second half. In fact, Lansing was permitted just 20 field goal attempts in the contest, of which they hit just six.
Senior Maddie Gragg (32) scored 12 points for Seaman in Tuesday's 65-18 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
For senior Maddie Gragg, a key contributor to back-to-back tournament runs, getting the win helped ease the pain of the rocky start.
“It was rough from the beginning,” Gragg said of the ongoing transition. “I think the first game, everybody was just really nervous. But I think this game was definitely better for us because it’s a lower level (of competition) and everyone got to step up to the plate and score and contribute to it.”
