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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Defending state champions Hayden and Silver Lake earned a shot to defend their titles with regional championships on Monday.
The Wildcats tied tournament host McPherson for the team title in the Class 4A regional at Turkey Creek and won on a tiebreaker while Silver Lake posted a 38-stroke win over Jefferson West in the 3A-1A regional at Osage City.
Hayden posted a four-person score of 326 at McPherson, with all of the Wildcats' top four earning top-10 finishes.
Senior Addyson Baer finished fifth individually with a 79 as Hayden won Monday's Class 4A regional at McPherson on a fifth-player tiebreaker. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden junior Lauren Borjon finished seventh in Monday's Class 4A regional tournament at McPherson, helping the Wildcats win the team title on a tiebreaker. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Addyson Baer shot a 79 to pace Hayden with a fifth-place individual finish while junior Lauren Borjon was seventh with an 81, junior Izzy Glotzbach eighth with an 82 and sophomore Brooke Johnson ninth with an 84.
The Wildcats also got a 19th-place finish from senior Nora Allphin (95) and a 39th-place finish from junior Kellyn Specht (120) as Hayden punched its ticket to next Monday and Tuesday's 4A state championships at Hesston Golf Course.
Silver Lake senior Taylor Zordel won the individual championship in Monday's Class 3A-1A regional at Osage City, leading the Eagles to the team title. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake dominated the 3A-1A regional at Osage City, posting a four-person score of 356 as senior Taylor Zordel led a one-two-three individual finish for the Eagles.
Zordel carded an 81 for a one-stroke victory over junior teammate Kailyn Hanni (82) while senior Hope Thornton finished third (92).
The Eagles also got a tie for 11th place from sophomore Savannah Wende (101), a tie for 13th from senior Makenna Miller (102) and a 23-place finish from Alyssa Streit (109).
Rossville had a pair of individual state qualifiers, with senior Brinley Pottorf placing 15th (104) and senior Jaymee Woodward tying for 21st (108).
The 3A-1A state tournament will be played next Monday and Tuesday at Emporia Municipal Golf Course.
CLASS 4A REGIONAL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls golf team put all of its top four in the top five individual places in Monday's Class 5A regional tournament at Cypress Ridge, winning the team championship by a 19-stroke margin while advancing to next Monday and Tuesday's 5A state tournament at Salina Municipal Golf Course.
"The main goal was accomplished, we won,'' Seaman coach Julie McLaughlin said. "We've still got things to work on. We've got a week left and we're going to work hard this week.''
Seaman junior Makenna Stuke posted a runnerup finish in Monday's Class 5A regional golf tournament, helping the Vikings win the team title by a 19-stroke margin. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Jaycee Zimmerman posted a third-place individual finish for the regional-champion Vikings on Monday at Cypress Ridge. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman junior Makenna Stuke finished second individually with an 89, a stroke behind De Soto sophomore McKenzie Laster, while senior Jaycee Zimmerman was third (93), sophomore Kaitlynn Frye fourth (95) and sophomore Chloe Schmidtlein fifth (97) as the Vikings won the team title by a 375-394 margin over De Soto.
"I'm really proud of our sophomores, they played well today,'' McLaughlin said. "It was a great day for them and we have four in the top five, so you can't argue with that.''
The Vikings also got a tie for 12th place from junior Molina Quintana and senior Anna McLaughlin, who carded 108s.
Stuke went to her final hole with a shot at the individual title and was pleased with her day.
"I felt good,'' Stuke said. "I was really confident going into today. It was pretty smooth sailing.''
Topeka West and Shawnee Heights both qualified a pair of individuals for state.
Topeka West senior Alex Baxter qualified for her second straight Class 5A state berth Monday at Cypress Ridge, tying for seventh place. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
West senior Alex Baxter and Shawnee Heights senior Lyla Blair led the local individual qualifiers with a tie for seventh place (101), while Heights sophomore Lauryn Valdivia tied for 12th (108) and West junior Berlyn Kolean advanced with a 19th-place finish (119).
Julie McLaughlin said the goal for next week will be for Seaman to be one of the top six 5A teams to advance to Tuesday's final day of the state event.
"If we can put it all together, we can do it,'' McLaughlin said. "I firmly believe that we can get four really good scores out of these girls. We've just got to dial in and stay focused. That will be what we're working on this week.''
"I think we're starting to get better as a team together and I think we have a chance as a team to make it to Day 2,'' Stuke said.
CLASS 5A REGIONAL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls golf team is set to make its familiar trip to the Class 6A state tournament after a solid second-place finish in Monday's Class 6A regional at Cypress Ridge.
Washburn Rural's girls golf team poses for a picture after finishing second in Monday's Class 6A regional at Cypress Ridge. [Washburn Rural golf]
The Junior Blues shot a four-person score of 329 at regionals as Washburn Rural combined with regional champ Manhattan (315) to earn the first 11 individual places.
Seniors Natalie Peterson (77) and Reece Randall (78) finished third and fourth to pace Washburn Rural while junior Lauren Cox placed eighth (85) and sophomore Kailyn Petersen finished 10th (89).
"Our top two did their job today,'' Washburn Rural coach Jared Goehring said. "I'm sure they'd like to have a couple of those shots back, but for sure those top two with Natalie and Reece led us going into today and I think they're going to continue to lead us going into the state tournament.''
Washburn Rural senior Natalie Peterson shot a 77 on Monday to place third individually in the Class 6A regional tournament at Cypress Ridge. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Reece Randall shot a 78 on Monday to finish fourth in the Class 6A regional tournament at Cypress Ridge. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Both Peterson and Randall were pleased overall with their day's work at regionals.
"I felt pretty good,'' Peterson said. "My chipping and putting were going really well. I was pretty steady all day with just a few bad holes.''
"It felt good,'' Randall said of her round. "I'd never broke 80 here before and it's my home course, so it was really exciting to shoot 78.''
Senior Colbey Stead finished 11th with a 96 for the Junior Blues while junior Ella Taggart tied for 17th with a 109.
Manhattan sophomore Maddie Myers shot a 74 to earn medalist honors on Monday while Indian junior Kat Ball was a stroke behind with a 76.
The Indians also got a tie for fifth from junior Wrenn Burton and senior Kaitlyn Lagabed with 83s to round out their top four.
The Class 6A state tournament will be played next Monday and Tuesday at Hutchinson's Carey Park.
The top six teams after Monday's opening round will advance to Tuesday's final 18 holes and Goehring feels like the Junior Blues can put themselves in a position to make it to the final day.
"Today was a step in the right direction,'' Goehring said. "We didn't have our best stuff at Stagg Hill last week but this week I thought we responded very well on a golf course that we know very well and are familiar with, so we're very excited and we can't wait to see where we stack up and hope that we can qualify for Day 2 at the state tournament.''
"We want to put up a solid team score both days that gets us to the second day and leaves us being competitive,'' Randall said.
CLASS 6A REGIONAL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Brody Anderson
BRODY ANDERSON, Seaman
Anderson, a junior cross country standout, captured his first city boys individual championship in Saturday's city meet at Kanza Park, clocking a winning five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 36 seconds. Anderson's win followed up a second-place city finish in his first season of high school cross country in 2023.
Tayson Horak
TAYSON HORAK, Rossville
A senior quarterback, Horak had a hand in five touchdowns Friday night as Rossville evened its record at 3-3 and improved to 3-0 in Class 1A District 2 play with a 71-24 home victory over Cair Paravel Latin. Horak scored on an 80-yard kickoff return, a 47-yard punt return, a 42-yard run, a 30-yard pass to Mahki Jackson and a 47-yard pass to Jack Donovan.
Ryin Miller
RYIN MILLER, Seaman
Miller, a junior girls cross country star, won her second staight individual city championship on Saturday at Kanza Park, clocking a five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 08.3 seconds. Miller remained undefeated on the 2024 season with her sixth straight victory. Miller won Saturday's city title by a margin of 1 minute, 13 seconds.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Twelve new members were added to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Sunday evening before a crowd of about 350 at the Hotel Topeka City Center in Topeka.
Former Hayden great Mark Turgeon was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Sunday night in his home town of Topeka. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Former Fort Hays State star Annette Wiles, currently the director of Hummer Sports Park, was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday night. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
The 2024 class of inductees to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame took the stage to discuss their careers, their connections to Kansas, and the people who helped them succeed.
Two-time Olympian Melvin Lister (left) visits with 1964 Olympic champion Billy Mills during Sunday's Kansas Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Billy Mills welcomed the crowd to the Maner Conference Center after watching highlights of his thrilling run for the gold medal in the 10,000 meters at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
“They continue to elect a selection of high achievers to the hall of fame,” Mills said. “You’re the best of the best, and I’ve been inspired by your magnificent performances. Your stories, your passion and your dedication will inspire generation after generation of youth of the Sunflower State and beyond.”
Topeka received high marks for its performance as the host of the ceremony.
“In order to tell our story, we have to have some support and the financial support of sponsors to step forward,” said Richard Konzem, Executive Director of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. “Topeka was remarkable about that, particularly Capitol Federal and Noller Auto Group, who served as our title sponsors.”
Named the new executive director of the hall of fame just a few weeks earlier, Konzem said he was pleased with the turnout and the ceremony.
“I’m elated,” Konzem said. “I thought there was a great amount of excitement in the room, and nothing brought that to the front more than the 13 people who had been previous inductees who showed up tonight to honor this class. That, to me, was the single biggest highlight of the evening.”
Topeka connections bookended the evening.
Annette Wiles, director of Hummer Sports Park, was the first inductee, honored for her playing and coaching career that included leading Fort Hays State University to the national title in 1991.
Hayden High School took center stage at the end of the evening when Mark Turgeon was introduced. On hand to celebrate his induction were members of the Hayden basketball teams that claimed back-to-back state titles in 1982 and 1983 as well as other members of the Hayden community.
“This is extra special,” Turgeon said. “I’ve been driving around town with my four kids, telling them all the things that happened while I was growing up. Topeka was really good to me. It was a great place to grow up.”
