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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Good things come to those who wait. High jumper Erik Kynard, a 2024 inductee to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, can attest to this truth.
Erik Kynard
Kynard earned a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. With another year of eligibility at Kansas State, he returned to Kansas to claim his second consecutive NCAA outdoor championship.
Upon graduation, he remained at Kansas State as a volunteer coach and launched into a professional career, aiming at the 2016 Olympics, still in pursuit of gold.
The 2012 Olympics were a closed chapter of his life.
Kynard finished sixth at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro, then failed to make the Olympic team for the 2021 games in Tokyo. His days as a competitor winding down, Kynard transitioned to coaching and administration with USA Track and Field.
But an unexpected chance to return to the spotlight came in 2021. In November of that year, the International Olympic Committee announced Kynard’s silver medal would be upgraded to gold after the winner of the 2012 high jump competition was disqualified.
Former Kansas State star Erik Kynard received his gold medal for the 2012 Olympics earlier this summer after a 12-year wait. [Kansas Sports Hall of Fame]
Twelve years after the London games, Kynard was invited to Paris to accept the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Games.
“It feels great for it to be over,” Kynard said of the long wait. “I think I’m better because of the way it happened. I don’t lament over that loss.”
In the same year that he finally received his gold medal, Kynard will be enshrined in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. The 2024 class of inductees includes seven individuals who have ties to Olympic competition, including a paralympic medalist and the only American to be named a head track and field starter for two Olympic Games, in addition to Kynard, the lone gold medalist.
“It’s great to receive this honor, particularly in the way they chose to put special emphasis on the Olympics with this being an Olympic year,” Kynard said.” I definitely hold this in the same regard as other awards I’ve received. Especially anything that bears the moniker ‘Hall of Fame.’ ”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn volleyball will finish its first homestand of the season with the Turnpike Tussle on Tuesday against Emporia State in Lee Arena, with first serve set for 6 p.m.
Washburn volleyball will close out its three-game homestand with a Tuesday night MIAA match against Emporia State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods are 11-3 on the year and 2-2 in the MIAA after winning their first two home matches last week.
Last weekend Washburn began the current homestand with a 3Se-1 win over Pittsburg State and a sweep over Newman.
Senior Jalyn Stevenson is the team leader with 153 kills (2.94 per set) while hititng .229 across 14 starts. She is also second on the squad in digs with 157 and in aces with 13.
Stevenson is 10th in the MIAA in kills and 16th in kills per set while ranking 20th in total digs. The senior has five double-doubles on the year and nine matches with 10-plus kills.
She ranks 21st in program history with 1,144 career kills. She needs five more to crack the top 20. She is also 14th on the program charts in aces and 22nd in digs. She needs 59 digs to reach the top 20 in that category as well.
Junior Alex Dvorak is third on the team with 110 kills while hitting .389. She has started all 14 matches and also leads the team with 68 total blocks. Dvorak is 29th in the nation and fourth in the MIAA in hitting percentage and she is 20th in the nation and second among MIAA players in blocks per set. She has hit over .300 in 11 of 14 matches.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden, the smallest school in the Centennial League, played giant killer on Monday in Junction City, claiming the league championship by a 36-33 margin over Washburn Rural.
Hayden girls tennis took a bite out of another team championship on Monday in Junction City, following up its city title with the Centennial League championship. [Submitted photo]
Senior Ainzley Zulueta keyed the city-champion Wildcats' championship run with the singles title while Hayden also got a runnerup doubles finish from senior Emily Sheetz and freshman Sophia Wichman and a fifth-place finish from junior Grace Funk.
Senior Ainzley Zulueta, a two-time Class 4A state champion, led Hayden to the Centennial League team title on Monday at Junction City. [File photo/TSN]
Zulueta went a perfect 3-0 on the day, including a 6-1, 6-0 win over Topeka High junior Madeline Deters in the championship match.
Washburn Rural seniors Emerie Catlin (left) and Izzy Haggard followed up their city doubles title with the Centennial League championship on Monday in Junction City. [File photo/TSN]
Team runnerup Washburn Rural was led by the senior doubles team of Emerie Catlin and Izzy Haggard, who topped Hayden's Sheetz and Wichman in the doubles final, 6-2, 6-4.
In addition to Deters' runnerup singles finish, Topeka High got a third-place doubles finish from junior Ava Ritter and freshman Hailey Caryl, who took a 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 win over Manhattan in the third-place match. Topeka High finished fifth as a team.
Washburn Rural also got a fifth-place doubles finish from Alizah Chedzoy and Haiden McPike.
Hayden, Washburn Rural and Topeka High will all compete in regional tournaments later this week, vying for state tournament berths.
Topeka High and Washburn Rural will compete in a Class 6A regional on Thursday at Wichita's Riverside Tennis Complex while Hayden will host a 4A regional at Kossover Tennis Complex on Saturday.
CENTENNIAL LEAGUE
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman girls tennis coach Jamie Robinson wanted to use Monday's United Kansas Conference meet to build momentum for Class 5A regional competition later this week.
Seaman's girls tennis team poses for a team picture after winning its third straight United Kansas Conference championship Monday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And the Vikings did just that, posting a perfect team score to win their third straight UKC title.
"That certainly helped our confidence going into regionals,'' Robinson said. "We take a lot of pride in winning the conference and we came up just short with the city so this helps and now we're looking forward to regionals and getting all of our top six to state.''
Seaman finished one-two in both singles and doubles to win the championship by a lopsided 74-52 margin over runnerup De Soto.
Sophomore Emma Sweeney won the singles championship in Monday's United Kansas Conference meet, helping Seaman win its third straight conference title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman junior Molly Gorman was the singles runnerup in Monday's United Kansas Conference tournament for the team-champion Vikings. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Sophomore Emma Sweeney took an 8-3 victory over junior Molly Gorman in the singles final while senior Sidney Chinn and sophomore Peyton Henry rallied from a 4-1 deficit to top Viking teammates Camryn Lux and Katlyn Hiebsch for the doubles championship.
Seaman senior Sidney Chinn (left) and sophomore Peyton Henry won the doubles title in Monday's United Kansas Conference tennis meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman's Camryn Lux (right) and Katlyn Hiebsch finished second in doubles in Monday's United Kansas Conference meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West finished fifth as a team while Shawnee Heights finished seventh while getting a fourth-place doubles finish from Izzy Van Fleet and Mackenzie Mertel in their first tournament as doubles partners.
Seaman will compete in a Saturday 5A regional at Bonner Springs while Topeka West and Shawnee Heights will compete in a Friday 5A regional at Harmon Park in Overland Park.
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Receiving awards is nothing new for Annette Wiles, who was a national champion and player of year, carved out a successfull coaching career at three different universities and is a member of multiple Halls of Fame.
Annette Wiles
But despite that impressive resume, Wiles was still caught off guard earlier in the summer after learning that she had been selected as a member of the 2024 induction class for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
"This one was the most humbling experience that brought me to nothing but tears,'' said Wiles, who will be inducted on Sunday, Oct. 13, in the Sunflower Ballroom of the Hotel Topeka City Center. "There was nothing but joy and I was just blown away with such emotion and happiness for my family and my community.''
Now the director of Hummer Sports Park, Wiles was a star at Sylvan Grove High School (1987 graduate) before leading Fort Hays State to the 1991 NAIA National Championship with a 34-2 record. Wiles was a two-time All-America selection for the Tigers and named the Most Valuable Player of the 1991 NAIA National Tournament.
Annette Wiles, a member of the 2024 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame induction class, led Fort Hays State to the 1991 NAIA national championship. [Kansas Sports Hall of Fame]
Wiles averaged 20.4 points per game during her career and set multiple school records, earning induction into the Fort Hays State and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Halls of Fame.
Kansas Sports Hall of Fame 2024 inductee Annette Wiles, put together a successful coaching career at Bethany, Fort Hays State and Minnesota-Duluth. [Kansas Sports Hall of Fame]
Wiles went on to enjoyed a long career as a head coach, posting a career mark of 409-227 while coaching seven years at Bethany College, eight years at Fort Hays State and seven years at Minnesota-Duluth. She led three teams at Fort Hays State and Minnesota-Duluth to NCAA Tournament appearances and led Bethany College to four NAIA national tournament appearances.
After getting the word of her Kansas Sports Hall of Fame selection, Wiles immediately got on the phone to thank many of the people who helped her attain that prestigious honor.
"The first people I immediately thought of were my mom and dad,'' Wiles said. "As they're both still alive and well, I made phone calls to them to thank them for giving me birth and giving me the opportunity of life. Then I called my siblings, my brother and sister, and then I started calling my coaches. I called my high school coach, coach Mike Weatherman at Sylvan Grove, and then of course I called John Klein, my coach at Fort Hays State University.
"Then I just started reaching out to former teammates at Fort Hays and knowing that these are the accolades and awards that you stand on the shoulders of hundreds to accomplish.''
After retiring from coaching Wiles had a stint as Topeka High's athletic director before taking over as the director at Hummer, which she said has been a perfect fit.
"This feels like everything came together to be the district athletic director and the director of Hummer Sports Park,'' she said. "To be a director of such a beautiful 24-acre facility for Topeka Public Schools is just a tremendous and great honor. It's one I cherish daily and it's one that I am just grateful for. I love serving the students and the coaches and for me, this is where all of those graduate school classes and getting a degree in athletic administration and all of those years of being a head coach and being a former player and also being an assistant athletic director at the college level all fit together to make sense of this beautiful place and beauiul space.
"I have the most amazing staff and just incredible people that work with me and around me here within Hummer and Topeka Public Schools.''
And working at Hummer gives Wiles the opportunity to continue to be involved in sports on a day-to-day basis.
"I said, 'The best part of working at Hummer is every day's a game day,' '' Wiles said. "I used to just absolutely love game days and the best part is I never have to go home as a losing coach.''
Wiles will be joined in the class of 2024 by 11 other individuals, including former Hayden basketball star Mark Turgeon, who went on to play at Kansas before embarking on a long coaching career.
This year’s class brings the total number of inductees to 340, with the first class in 1961 including such legends as Dr. James Naismith, Mike Ahearn, Glenn Cunningham, Walter Johnson and Jess Willard.
A 5 p.m. reception on Sunday will be followed by the 6 p.m. induction ceremony in the Sunflower Ballroom of the Hotel Topeka City Center, 1717 Southwest Topeka Blvd.
Tickets for the reception and induction ceremony are $100 and available at www.kshof.org.
Class of 2024 capsules:
