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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
If things go as Highland Park plans, Thursday's opening game of the Topeka Invitational Tournament may be the only time the Scots play a mid-afternoon game until at least Class 5A state tournament time.
But the sunshine round didn't seem to bother top-ranked Highland Park, which rolled to a semifinal berth with a 67-36 first-round win over Shawnee Mission North at Topeka West.
Highland Park senior standout Bo Aldridge slams home a dunk in the Scots' 67-36 win over Shawnee Mission North in Thursday's first round of the Topeka Invitational Tournament at Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park senior Quentin Adams comes up with a steal in Thursday's 67-36 first-round Topeka Invitational Tournament win over Shawnee Mission North. Adams had nine points in the win. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN
"Obviously coming out first game and getting a win, that's the most important thing and you want to play a certain kind of way as well, too,'' Highland Park coach Mike Williams said. "So you get a 30-point win at 3:15, an odd time to play at, I can't complain much about it.
"We got the first game out of the way and hopefully we can keep it rolling going into the weekend.''
With Thursday's win Highland Park advanced to the 8:30 p.m.semifinal on Friday to face Wichita Southeast, a 76-75 overtime winner over Hayden.
Highland Park, which improved to 7-0, scored the first six points of the game and never trailed against the Bison, who fell to 1-8 on the season.
The Scots built a 15-5 first-quarter advantage and took a commanding 35-20 lead at the half and a 55-26 cushion at the end of the third quarter before forcing a running clock when Highland Park went up 57-26 early in the fourth stanza on a bucket from senior Aydren Drew-Gregory.
Highland Park 6-foot-5 senior standout Bo Aldridge scored 11 points in the first quarter on the way to a game-high 22-point game and also grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural sophomore wrestler Madison Davison and Topeka West junior bowler Dason Tidwell 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 2022-2023 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Davison and Tidwell last week:
Madison Davison
MADISON DAVISON, Washburn Rural
Davison entered last week's Newton Tournament of Champions with a sub.-500 record and was the No. 16 (bottom) seed in the 145-pound weight class.
In the first round Davison pulled off a major upset, pinning the No. 1 seed from Garden City.
Davison then went on to pin the No. 2 and No. 4- seeded wrestlers, going 4-0 on the day with four first-period pins to win the 145-pound title and help lead Washburn Rual to the team championship by a 220-166 margin over Garden City.
Dason Tidwell
DASON TIDWELL, Topeka West
Tidwell played fourth individually in last week's 19-school Free State Invitational at Royal Crest Lanes in Lawrence, bowling a 697 series.
The highlight of the tournament for Tidwell was a 299 game in the second game of his individual series. Tidwell also bowled games of 213 and 185 and helped West advance to the semifinals of match play.
Tidwell bowled a 562 series in Tuesday's Topeka High quadrangular and had a 595 series in Wednesday's Topeka West quadrangular.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's been quite a while since Washburn Rural stars Emmerson Cope and Brooklyn DeLeye made their college choices.
On Thursday morning at Rural, Cope and DeLeye made those choices official, signing their national letters of intent.
Washburn Rural softball star Emmerson Cope speaks to family and friends Thursday at Rural before signing her national letter of intent with Nebraska. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural multi-sport star Brooklyn DeLeye addresses a large crowd at Washburn Rural Thursday morning before signing her volleyball letter of intent with Kentucky. [File photo/TSN]
Cope signed to play softball at Nebraska while DeLeye signed a volleyball letter with Kentucky.
Cope made her commitment to Nebraska in July and said that the Huskers made her choice an easy one.
"I love the coaching staff,'' Cope said. "As soon as I stepped on campus they made me feel like family. They're another role model for me. Their academics are awesome. It's the Big 10 Conference, you can't get any better, the facilities are great and they really care for their athletes. I know that I'm not just going to become a better softball player but become a better person as well.''
DeLeye made her oral commitment to Kentucky in the summer between her sophomore and junior seasons at Rural and said it was nice to make it official with Thursday's signing.
"It's just a really cool place and kind of far from home but I'm excited for the new start,'' DeLeye said. "(The recruiting process) was a stressful time for me and when I went there for their camp and to visit I just kind of knew it was the place for me and there was really no other question, just get it done with and move on to the next step.''
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
It wasn't the day Topeka West bowling coach Alyx Nash expected, but Nash was pleased with the overall outcome of the Chargers' performance in its home quadrangular at West Ridge Lanes on Wednesday afternoon.
The Topeka West boys' took a runner-up finish with a 2,290 team score, while the girls also finished in second place with a 1,842 score.
In the three-game series, Topeka West couldn't overcome Emporia, which took first-place finishes in both the boys and girls divisions.
"I don't believe we showed our full performance as a team," Nash said. "I'm super proud of some girls that stepped up for Megan Wood, who's been dealing with an injury. We are really used to the pins that Megan brings to the team. We had to decide whether Megan should keep performing or for her to rest her body tonight. Taking her off didn't help the girls' team score. Every single one of them had their moments tonight.
"On the boys' side, I'm proud of the bowlers. They did what they were supposed to do and stepped up in the lanes and really took care of business. Individually, we had Dason (Tidwell) last week at the Free State Invitational bowl a 299, which is always super exciting to see for the team. The team chemistry that we have brought this year has stood out to me."
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
On Tuesday night, the Seaman and Shawnee Heights boys and girls wrestling teams split a dual meet at Seaman.
The Shawnee Heights girls' pulled away with a convincing 60-24 win, while the Seaman boys' won on a victory in the last match, 40-39.
Seaman senior 285-pounder Jaxson Thomas (left) battles with Shawnee Heights junior Rykan Carver in the 285-pound match Tuesday at Seaman. Thomas won with a pin to give the Vikings a 40-39 win over the T-Birds. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
The Seaman and Shawnee Heights girls wrestling teams congratulate each other after Heights' 60-24 victory at Seaman. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Shawnee Heights girls impressed
Even though Shawnee Heights scored 36 points off of Seaman forfeits, the Thunderbirds wrestled terrifically.
Shawnee Heights got wins from 100-pound Connie Burns, 130-pound Isabel Reyes, 135-pound Emily Ward and 140-pound Madison Freeland. Six other Thunderbird wins came from the Viking forfeits.
The most eye-opening victory of the night for the Thunderbirds was 130-pound Isabel Reyes pinning 130-pound No. 2-ranked Koti Best in 33 seconds. That was a memorable defeat that Shawnee Heights won't forget anytime soon.
"We knew there were going to be some big-time matchups for the girls, and there were," Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks said. "Some matches went our way, and some didn't. Overall, having our full team helped us out tonight. Izzy Reyes got a big upset on paper. Izzy is always going to wrestle hard. Koti Best is really good. They will see each other again, but it was fun to see. Izzy really stood out today.''
