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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The gauntlet that is the United Kansas Conference forced the Topeka West girls into another matchup against a Top 10 team Friday. The Piper girls, ranked fifth in the 5A class by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, came to Topeka and earned a 66-20 win over the Chargers.
Junior Imani McGlory puts up a shot in Friday's 66-20 UKC loss to Piper. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Sydney VanDyke tied for team-high honors with 5 points in Friday's 66-20 UKC loss to state-ranked Piper. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The tempo and athleticism of the Pirates overwhelmed Topeka West out of the gate. The Chargers were held scoreless until Imani McGlory dropped in a 3-pointer at the first period buzzer. But by that time, Piper had already reeled off 20 points to start the contest.
“Their speed just got us,” Topeka West coach Angie Ketterman said. “They are very good. Very quick. They are probably one of the best teams, that could very well be playing for a state title. They have that.”
The Pirates’ Faith McCallop put up 21 points while her sister Grace added 13.
The Chargers were led in scoring by McGlory and Sydney VanDyke, who each tallied five points.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Even though Washburn Rural's boys entered Friday's home game as the Centennial League leader against a Topeka High team that was still looking for its first win, Junior Blues coach Alex Hutchins, whose team was coming off a 22-point non-league loss, had concerns.
Junior Simon Rowley scored a game-high 21 points Friday night as Washburn Rural improved to 10-4 with a 79-41 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
But the Junior Blues quickly put their coach's worries at ease, scoring the first seven points of the night and building a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter on the way to a 79-41 rout over the Trojans.
"We had the winter crowning ceremony and the pep rally and kind of a spirit week and you kind of combine that with the taste that we had in our mouths Tuesday (after a 70-48 loss to Blue Valley), there was some concern coming in, but we really just thought it was going to come down to defense and guarding,'' Hutchins said.
"We felt like if we let them be comfortable offensively and just traded baskets all night that's when they could get pretty dangerous, so I thought our guys did a pretty good job on the defensive end of kind of holding them down and taking control.''
Rural, now 10-4 overall and 4-0 in the league, opened up a 21-10 first-quarter advantage after leading by as many as 13 points and never looked back.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls basketball ended last week with a disappointing loss to Shawnee Heights in the championship game of the Capital City Classic, with the Junior Blues letting a 16-point lead get away.
Sophomore Maddie Vickery led Washburn Rural with 22 points in Friday's 65-44 Centennial League win over Topeka High. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
But, fortunately for the seventh-ranked (Class 6A) Junior Blues, they had three opportunities this week to wipe that bad taste out of their mouths and took full advantage, posting three double-digit wins, capped by a 65-44 Centennial League romp past No. 10-ranked Topeka High Friday at Rural.
"I thought it was (good) for us,'' Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said of the busy week, "because I thought every game we saw a little bit of improvement, culminating in tonight because T-High's really good.
"I thought defensively we were more locked in on what we should do, especially in the first half, and offensively I know everything looks better when you're hitting shots, but we were moving, we were more in a rhythm and even when we were shooting from outside it was comfortable, we weren't forcing anything. Everything was just a little more fluid.''
Washburn Rural, now 10-4 overall and 3-1 in the league, was never seriously threatened after scoring the first 16 points of the night and leading 23-2 before ending the first quarter with a 23-6 advantage.
The Junior Blues continued to pour it on the Trojans in the second quarter, using a 26-15 scoring edge to take a commanding 49-21 advantage to the locker room at the half.
Rural increased its lead to as many as 35 in the third stanza and finished the quarter with a 63-32 lead to force a running clock throughout the fourth quarter.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls and Washburn Rural's Logan Glinka earned bragging rights in Friday's Topeka Shawnee County Bowling Championships at Gage Bowl for the second straight season, with the Vikings repeating as the girls team champion and Glinka winning his second straight individual boys title.
Seaman's girls bowling team won its second straight city team title on Friday at Gage Bowl. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural's boys bowling team won the 2025 city team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman freshman Kayla Duncan and sophomore Paige Snyder went one-two in the girls individual race and Glinka's Rural boys team rounded out the city champions.
Seaman's girls won the team title by a 3,000-2,949 margin over Washburn Rural, including the four Baker format games, as Duncan won the individual championship with a 623 series while 2024 champion Snyder was second with a 607 series.
Washburn Rural, third as a team in 2024, took the boys team title by a 3,505-3,398 margin over Shawnee Heights, including the Baker games.
Glinka led the way for the Junior Blues, riding a first-game 278 to a 734 series and the individual title by a 72-pin margin over teammate Tyler Faurot, who rolled a 662 series.
Glinka's winning total on Friday was five pins better than his winning series of 729 in the 2024 city meet, following up his 278 with 232 and 224 games.
"I had a good look all day,'' Glinka said. "The third game I struggled in the end, but I'm really happy how I bowled. Obviously I wanted to go back to back.''
Glinka was also thrilled that Rural could claim the team crown.
"I was proud of our team,'' he said. "Last year I felt like I did well, but the rest of my team struggled a little bit, but I felt like this year the whole team did great.
"We were really positive, had a lot of energy. I was extremely proud of my team.''
Snyder improved her 2024 winning score of 606 by a pin on Friday, but Duncan stole the show in her first city meet, putting together scores of 203, 235 and 185 to take individual honors and lead the Vikings to the team repeat.
"I think its going pretty well,'' Duncan said about the 2025 season. "We really are good at keeping each other's spirits up, especially if one gets down, and I just think it's just a good team overall.
"We're very happy overall.''
City girls bowling medalists, right to left: Kayla Duncan, Seaman; Paige Snyder, Seaman; Addison VanMetre, Shawnee Heights; Claire LaDuke, Seaman; Claire LaDuke, Seaman; Ashley Lee, Hayden. Not pictured: Ashley Billups, Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights' Addison VanMetre finished third individually with a 570 series, followed by Seaman's Claire LaDuke (569), Rural's Ashley Billups (562) and Hayden's Ashley Lee (554) to round out the top six girls finishers.
City boys bowling medalists, right to left: Logan Glinka, Washburn Rural; Tyler Faurot, Washburn Rural; Henry Schattilly, Shawnee Heights; Donovan Davis, Shawnee Heights; Jackson Keller, Washburn Rural; Dylan Hunt, Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Boys runnerup Shawnee Heights got third and fourth-place finishes from Henry Schattilly (658) and Donovan Davis (657) while Washburn Rural's Jackson Keller finished fifth (650) and Seaman's Dylan Hunt finished sixth (649).
TOPEKA SHAWNEE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights sophomore girls basketball standout KK Emmot and Washburn Rural sophomore swimming standout Andres Morao-Jaspe have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2024-2025 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Emmot and Morao-Jaspe over the past week:
Shawnee Heights sophomore KK Emmot has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency female Rising Star of the Week after leading the T-Birds to the championship in the Capital City Classic. [File photo/TSN]
KK EMMOT, Shawnee Heights
Emmot, a sophomore, scored a career-high 36 points last Saturday as Shawnee Heights rallied from a 16-point deficit late in the first half to take a 59-54 win over No. 5-ranked (Class 6A) Washburn Rural in the championship game of the Capital City Classic at Topeka West.
Emmot scored 75 points in the T-Birds' three games on the week, scoring 14 in a 54-47 OT win over Blue Valley and 25 points in a 65-32 win over Topeka West.
Washburn Rural sophomore Andres Morao-Jaspe has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency male Rising Star of the Week after leading the Junior Blues to their sixth straight city swimming championship. [File photo/TSN]
ANDRES MORAO-JASPE, Washburn Rural
A sophomore, Morao-Jaspe won four gold medals in last Thursday's swimming/diving championhips at the Capitol Federal Natatorium as the Junior Blues won their sixth straight city team championship with a 532-418.5 victory over Topeka High.
Morao-Jaspe won the 200-yard individual medley (2:07.6) and the 500 free (5:14.46) and swam on Rural's winning 200 medley (1:48.20) and 400 free (3:39.00) relays.
