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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Jack Bachelor
JACK BACHELOR, Washburn Rural
A 6-foot-2 senior Bachelor scored a total of 36 points and went 18 of 19 at the free throw line on the week as Washburn Rural opened 2023 with a pair of Centennial League victories. Bachelor scored 21 points and hit 10 of 11 free throws in a 64-58 win over Junction City on Tuesday and scored 15 points and went eight of eight at the free throw line in the fourth quarter on Friday in a 46-36 victory at Hayden.
Malachi Berg
MALACHI BERG, Topeka West
Berg, a 6-3 senior, scored 18 points, including the game-winning free throw with 1.6 seconds remaining, as No. 7-ranked (Class 5A) Topeka West rallied for a 51-50 United Kansas Conference road victory over No. 6-ranked De Soto. Berg also had seven rebounds, three assists and four steals as 6-1 Topeka West moved into a tie for the UKC lead with its sixth straight victory.
Koti Best
KOTI BEST, Seaman
A sophomore 130-pound wrestler, Best was named the outstanding wrestler in last Friday's Lady Vikes Dual Tournament at Seaman. Best went 5-0 in the tournament, posting four wins by fall, including three first-period pins before picking up a win by forfeit in her final match of the day. Best helped lead Seaman to a third-place team finish with wins over Lawrence, Shawnee Mission Northwest and Lansing.
Kaeden Bonner
KAEDEN BONNER, Seaman
Bonner, a 6-3 senior, scored 25 points and went five of five from the free throw line last Thursday night as Seaman returned from the holiday break with a 60-45 home United Kansas Conference victory over Leavenworth. Bonner helped Seaman, the defending Class 5A state champion, snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 2-3 on the season.
Makenzie McDaniel
MAKENZIE McDANIEL, Silver Lake
McDaniel, a 6-1 junior, scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds last Tuesday as No. 2-ranked (Class 3A) handed No. 9-ranked Rossville its first loss of the season in the Eagles' 63-50 Mid-East League road victory. Silver Lake added a 59-30 league win over Rock Creek on Friday to improve to 6-0 on the season as McDaniel contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Saint Mildren
SAINT MILDREN, Rossville
A 6-4 sophomore, Mildren scored a game-high 17 points last Tuesday as Rossville topped rival Silver Lake 50-43 in a home Mid-East League victory. Mildren helped the Bulldawgs push their winning streak to three straight games with a 52-33 league win over Riley County Friday night as Rossville improved to 3-4 on the season.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Frank Walton, a coaching fixture in Topeka high school football for more than two decades, passed away early Sunday morning at the age of 81 after a long battle with lung cancer.
Frank Walton, who had a highly-successful 16-year run as Topeka West's football coach and later coached at Topeka High, passed away early Sunday morning after a battle with cancer. [Facebook photo]
Visitation will be 10 a.m. Friday, January 20, at Topeka Bible Church, 1101 SW Mulvane St in Topeka.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Walton will be privately inurned in Rochester Cemetery.
Walton took over a struggling Topeka West football program and led the Chargers to 12 winning seasons in a 16-year run from 1977-1992, posting an 89-56 record and posting at least six wins 10 times.
After stepping down at Topeka West, Walton later returned to coach at Topeka High from 1994-1999. Walton also had a stint as an assistant coach under his son, Chris, at Cair Paravel Latin when that school was getting its football program off the ground.
Walton, who also served as Topeka West's golf coach, was inducted into the Topeka West Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.
Walton grew up in Beaver Falls, Pa. as part of a famous football family.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University men's basketball rallied from a 20-point deficit to get within four points in the second half Saturday against Lincoln.
But Ichabod coach Brett Ballard was in no mood to celebrate a moral victory after Washburn's 72-67 MIAA loss to the Blue Tigers Saturday at Lee Arena.
Washburn's Levi Braun celebrates after being fouled on a 3-point shot that led to a 4-point play early in the Ichabods' 72-67 loss to Lincoln Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Tyler Nelson (14) celebrates a basket during a Washburn rally in Saturday's 72-67 loss to Lincoln at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"They lose their best player and to me, that's fool's gold,'' Ballard said of the WU comeback. "We play hard when you're down 20 and that's what immature teams do, you wait that long.
"I guess some programs, coaches would be happy with that, but we just can't put ourselves in that position. It's just unbelievable. No poise, no toughess tonight and they dominated us in every way, shape and form.''
Washburn, which fell to 5-8 overall and 2-5 in the MIAA), trailed 43-29 at half after a 6-0 run by the Ichabods and WU later used a 14-2 run to cut Lincoln's lead to four (56-52) with 10"43 remaining.
The Ichabods would go scoreless over the next 5:01, however, as Lincoln (8-4, 4-4) stretched its lead back to eight at 62-54 with 4:58 remaining.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn freshmen Gabi Artis, Natalia Figueroa and Yibari Nwidadah combined 44 points as the Ichabod women led from start to finish in a 73-59 MIAA win over Lincoln on Saturday afternoon at Lee Arena.
Washburn freshman Gabi Artis had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in the Ichabods' 73-59 MIAA win over Lincoln on Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Artis made six of 10 shots from the field to score a career-high 16 points while adding a team-best seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. Figueroa also had a career-best 16 points and made four of seven attempts from 3-point range while Nwidadah totaled a career-high 12 points and five rebounds in just 15 minutes of play.
"I'm just really proud of them,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said. "They started well and I thought on both ends of the floor they had much better focus. We've got good players, we know we do, and when they work hard and they're focused and they have intention then we see the outcome that we did today so it was a good day for our freshmen.''
Saturday was especially sweet for Artis, who bounced back with a vengeance after going 0 of 11 from the field in Thursday's 67-53 loss to No. 7-ranked Central Missouri.
Artis, the former Bishop Miege standout, got off to a hot start against the Blue Tigers, which she said really helped her confidence.
"It was very important,'' Artis said. "I felt like I knew what was wrong so today I decided to try something new and drive in and see it go in the bucket and then try and shoot it again.
"(Coach) told me to forget about (Thursday) and we're on to the next game. We had a great practice (Friday) so I just repped it out in practice and got more shots up and tried different things.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West tightened an already tight United Kansas Conference boys basketball race on Friday night, with the Chargers rallying for a 51-50 road win at De Soto, handing the Wildcats their first league loss.
Topeka West, which improved to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the UKC, trailed De Soto (6-2. 4-1) 44-36 at the start of the fourth quarter but fought back for the victory, getting the game-winning free throw from senior Malachi Berg with 1.6 seconds remaining.
Topeka West senior Sincere Austin helped lead the Chargers to their sixth straight win Friday night, a 51-50 UKC decision at De Soto. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Sincere Austin led the Chargers to their sixth straight victory with 21 points.
West and De Soto were tied at 26-26 at the half.
With Friday's win Topeka West is now part of a three-way tie for the league lead in the loss column with De Soto and Piper while Shawnee Heights and Basehor-Linwood are a game back.
DE SOTO GIRLS 58, TOPEKA WEST 38 -- Topeka West, which picked up its first win of the season in its final game before the holiday break, played state-ranked De Soto tough through three quarters before the Wildcats put the game away with a 19-7 fourth quarter.
De Soto, 6-2 overall, 4-1 in the United Kansas Conference, led 13-10 at the end of the first quarter and by just two points at the half (22-20) before opening up a 39-31 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
With Friday's loss Topeka West fell to 1-6, 1-5.
Shawnee Heights senior Emari Doby lead the T-Birds with 15 points in Friday's UKC win at Lansing. [File photo/TSN]
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS 49, LANSING 23 -- Shawnee Heights continued its hot streak in Friday night's United Kansas Conference road win at Lansing, with the T-Birds improving to 5-1 overall and in the UKC with their fifth straight victory.
Senior Emari Doby led the T-Birds with 15 points while senior Taylor Rottinghaus added 13 points.
Shawnee Heights has not lost since a four-point decision against De Soto in its season-opener and the T-Birds are tied for second with De Soto in the UKC race, a game behind undefeated Seaman.
