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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
He's still just 17 years old, but Cordell Dimick is the grizzled veteran for the Washburn Rural boys swimming team.
"I'm the only senior, so pretty much,'' Dimick said after helping the Junior Blues win a tight three-team race for the team title in Wednesday's Hayden Invitational at the Capitol Federal Natatorium.
Washburn Rural senior Cordell Dimick was a double individual champion in Wednesday's Hayden Invitational, helping the Junior Blues win the team title by two points. [Photo by Rex Wolf/T
Washburn Rural's Cordell Dimick (left) and Hayden's Ryan Johnson exchange congratulations after finishing one-three in the 200-yard individual medley in Wednesday's Hayden Invitational. {Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
As the elder statesman, Dimick has taken on a leadership role for Rural, which is the reigning city and Centennial League champion.
"It kind of sucks that there's no other seniors to share that with, but it's kind of fun because it's like everyone looks up to you so it hypes you up a bit,'' Dimick said.
"It's always good to be there for the other teammates, cheering them on, and even if they don't do good in the race, just to help get them ready for the next one.''
With no plans to swim in college, Dimick's focus is on making the most of his final season of competitive swimming.
Dimick is off to a quick start in that regard, including a big day in Wednesday's Hayden meet.
"I've been doing club swimming as well so I was building up for it, but I've been feeling a lot better for high school swimming, so it's been good,'' Dimick said.
On Wednesday Dimick won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 13.52 seconds and the 100 breastroke in 1:04.86 and teamed with Brogan Meier, Will Powell and Luke Lemke to win the meet-opening 200 medley relay by eight seconds in 1:46.43.
"This the first time i've qualified for state in the breaststroke so I'm really excited about that,'' Dimick said, "and I dropped a second in the IM and a second in the 100 breast.''
Meier, a junior, was a part of four wins on the day as the Junior Blues won the team championship in the nine-school meet by a 330-328 margin over Piper and McPherson, who tied for second place.
Washburn Rural's Brogan Meier won two individual events and was part of two winning relays in Wednesday's Hayden Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Meier won by just under 12 seconds in the 200 freestyle (1:52.40), won the 100 backstroke (56.32) and also swam on the winning 200 medley relay and the 400 free relay (3:36.27), teaming with Elijah Leenerts, Lemke and Powell to clinch the team title.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After tough season-opening road losses at Basehor-Linwood last Friday, Shawnee Heights' girls and boys basketball teams bounced back with a home United Kansas Conference sweep over Piper Tuesday night.
The Heights girls took a 54-32 win over the Pirates before the T-Bird boys took a 61-46 win over Piper.
Shawnee Heights senior Taylor Rottinghaus scored a career-high 18 points in Tuesday night's 54-32 UKC win over Piper. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Taylor Rottinghaus paced the Shawnee Heights girls with a career-high 18 points while senior Emari Doby was right behind with 16 points for the T-Birds in the 22-point rout..
Shawnee Heights' boys jumped out to a 14-8 first-quarter lead and led 30-19 at the half and 47-32 at the start of the fourth quarter.
Q Stovall and Deacon Pomeroy paced the T-Birds with 12 points apiece while Jaret Sanchez added 11 points and Brennon Dodge nine.
Shawnee Heights' girls and boys will be on the road Friday night at Topeka West for the first United Kansas Conference matchups between the two longtime city rivals.
The girls game is scheduled for a 5:45 p.m. tipoff, followed by the boys game at approximately 7:15.
Topeka High senior Kiki Smith (right) had 22 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 48-30 win over Blue Valley Northwest. [File photo/TSN]
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 48, BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST 30 -- Brittney Redmond's Topeka High girls picked up their second straight double-digit win in Tuesday's opening round of the De Soto Hardwood Classic, rolling to a 48-30 victory over Blue Valley Northwest.
Senior standout Kiki Smith had a double-double for the Trojans with 22 points and 10 rebounds while junior Ayana Leesman had a career-high 19 points while hitting 5 of 6 shots from the field and 5 of 5 free throws.
Topeka High led 12-9 at the end of the first quarter and used a 10-3 second quarter to open up a 22-12 halftime advantage. The Trojans outscored Northwest 26-18 to win going away.
Topeka High will face Olathe Northwest in a 6:30 p.m. semifinal Thursday night in De Soto.
ST. JAMES ACADEMY BOYS 67, WASHBURN RURAL 62 -- Washburn Rural took state-ranked St. James Academy down to the wire in the Junior Blues' debut under new coach Alex Hutchins, but the Thunder held on for the 67-62 victory in the first round of the Championship Showdown at Shawnee Mission East.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Highland Park's girls' basketball team's impressive first quarter in its 2022-2023 home opener couldn't hold up against Bonner Springs' as the Braves flashed for the next three quarters and left Topeka with the 53-36 victory Tuesday night.
Amelia Ramsey led Highland Park with 16 points in the Scots' 53-36 season-opening loss to Bonner Springs. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Highland Park came out red-hot to start its season off. The 3-point shots were falling, the Scots were driving to the paint, the transition offense was stellar and Highland Park looked like it was on a mission to take a victory in its home opener.
Highland Park's hot start became cold as the scoring would become increasingly more sparse as the game went on. However, the Lady Braves gained a giant momentum swing in the second quarter, and every aspect of Bonner Springs' game improved.
"We did want to come out with the win, but we will take this as a learning experience," Highland Park coach Robert Brown said. "We had a couple of girls go down with an injury, which hurts us. It's a long season, and we have plenty of time and opportunities to bounce back.
"We are going to watch the film, and we will be able to grow once we see what we need to do better. We need to do better in transition, get the ball to Amelia Ramsey more and learn our roles better."
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Three Highland Park players had double-digit scoring nights and the Scots’ complete team play allowed them to cruise to an 82-62 season-opening victory over Bonner Springs Tuesday night at Hi Park.
Even though No. 3-ranked Highland Park earned a 20-point victory, they weren’t delighted with how the night went.
Highland Park senior Bo Aldridge led the way with 19 points in the Scots' 82-62 season-opening win over Bonner Springs. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
While the team was grinning from ear to ear with a win, the happiness immediately turned into focus when they went to the locker room after its victory. The Scots’ are locked in on achieving their goals by picturing the state championship trophy in their arms.
While a 2022 state tournament loss halted the Scots’ state championship hopes and aspirations last year, this squad has created a significant target on their backs.
“That’s a space we are trying to understand and navigate,” Highland Park coach Mike Williams said. “It’s tough for guys who haven’t necessarily been the hunted to understand what it’s like to fully have that target on your back as we do now. As a team, we are learning what it’s like to be the hunted.
"We have to bring it every single day. Opponents look forward to those matchups against us. Teams will want to take our high ranking away and take us off. It doesn’t matter who we play, we are Highland Park, and I expect teams to give us their best shot.”
It will be expected that Highland Park will get everyone’s best shot for the entirety of the 2022-2023 campaign. It was no different for the Scots’ in their home opener on Tuesday night against a Bonner Springs team which came in undefeated.
“Winning varsity games at the 5A level is hard,” Williams said. “We were able to come out with a 20-point victory on opening night, and we haven’t done that in five years, so that feels good. Our program is moving in the right direction, and I am glad we see that right in front of us.”
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By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
A team can only get its first win of the season once, and for first-year coach Geo Lyons and the Topeka High boys basketball team, it couldn’t have come at a better time, with the Trojans getting Lions his first win at his alma mater with a 61-48 win over St. Mary’s Academy Tuesday night.
Topeka High boys basketball coach Geo Lyons talks to his team during Tuesday's 61-48 non-league win over St. Mary's Academy. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
The win for the Trojans came after a 75-73 double-overtime loss to Valley Center on Saturday, which Lyons was glad the players had a chance to put behind them quickly.
“It feels great man,” Lyons said. “We have had a rough 72 hours with what happened to us on Saturday. It was great to get back and playing so soon to get a little bit of normalcy for these kids but this one means a lot and it means, even more, coming off of what Saturday was.”
In 2021-22 Topeka High started 0-4 before finishing the year 4-17, this season they enter the win column the second week of play, improving to 1-2.
After trailing early on it was junior Isaiah Lyons who stabilized the Trojans, knocking down two 3-pointers late in the first quarter to help High take a 14-11 lead.
T-High was held scoreless on offense in the first five minutes of the second quarter, but a full-court defense kept the Crusaders in check for the most part. Lyons and sophomore Jayden Norman combined to score all seven points in the quarter, good for a 21-20 lead at the break.
St. Mary’s scored two quick baskets out of halftime to lead 24-23, but the rest of the quarter would belong to the home team as Topeka High’s defense forced turnovers and provided easy baskets, helping the Trojans go on a 20-2 run after that point to lead by as many as 16.
