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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Class 3A state champion Rossville and 6A runnerup Washburn Rural headline the 2023 TopSports.news All-Shawnee County softball team.
Washburn Rural senior Emmerson Cope has been named the Shawnee County softball player of the year after leading the Junior Blues to a second straight runnerup finish in Class 6A. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural freshman Reagan Chapman has been named the Shawnee County newcomer of the year after helping Rural post a runnerup finish in the Class 6A state softball tournamennt. [File photo/TSN]
Rossville softball coach John Nitsch has been named the Shawnee County softball coach of the year after leading the Bulldawgs to their first state title since 2000. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Emmerson Cope was named the Shawnee County player of the year after leading the Junior Blues to a 21-4 record and a second straight berth in the 6A championship game while Rural freshman Reagan Chapman was named the county newcomer of the year.
Rossville coach John Nitsch was named the county coach of the year after his Bulldawgs posted a 20-4 record en route to their first state title since 2000.
Cope, a Nebraska signee, and Chapman are joined on the all-county first team by senior Piper Titsworth.
Senior Brinley Dyche picked up all three pitching victories for Rossville in the Class 3A state tournament as the Bulldawgs captured their first state title since 2000. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Rossville also has three players on the first team -- senior Brinley Dyche and juniors Kinsey Perine and Emma Mitchell.
Shawnee Heights, which finished third in the 5A state tournament, is represented on the first team by sophomore Grace Proctor and junior Ally Millard-Adams while the T-Birds' United Kansas Conference rival, Seaman, is represented by senior Aspen Burghart and sophomore Kaelyn O'Rourke.
Silver Lake, which was top-ranked in Class 3A for most of the 2023 season, put junior Avery Wende and sophomores Kendra Cook and Taylor Zordel on the all-county first team.
Topeka High senior shortstop Adisyn Caryl, an Illinois signee, is a repeat pick on the All-Shawnee County softball team. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden senior Alyssa Droge has been named to the All-Shawnee County softball first team. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka High seniors Alesia Alvarez and Adisyn Caryl are both first-team repeat picks while Hayden senior Alyssa Droge also earned a first-team spot.
2023 ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY SOFTBALL
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TopSports.news
Shawnee County high schools have submitted their nominations for senior athletes for the 18th annual Topeka Shawnee County High School Sports Awards, which will be presented on June 28 along with the induction of the 2023 Hall of Fame class.
Washburn Rural graduate and Kentucky signee Brooklyn DeLeye is a nominee for the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards after leading the Junior Blues to the Class 6A state volleyball title as a senior. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden graduate and Notre Dame signee Joe Otting (left) has been nominated for the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards. [File photo/TSN]
Recent Highland Park graduate Tre Richardson was a three-time state track and field champion for the Scots, including two state titles as a senior. [File photo/TSN]
Rossville senior Brinley Dyche is a candidate for the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards after helping lead the Bulldawgs to the Class 3A state softball title this spring. [File photo/TSN]
TopSports.news, in conjunction with the University of Kansas Health Systems St Francis Campus, A-1 Lock and Key and Washburn University, will host the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies at the Washburn University Memorial Union.
TopSports.news will present awards to the top female and male athletes in the fall, winter and spring seasons, as well as overall female and male athletes of the year and the most inspirational female and male. A complete list of nominees is listed below.
To be eligible, an athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.0. Athletes were nominated by their schools' athletic directors and coaches.
In addition to the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards, Grant Bruner and Jaycee Ginter will be honored as Washburn University Athletes of the Year and Chris Barnes, Kevin Bordewick, Crystal Kemp and Rick Peterson will be inducted as the 2023 Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame class.
A committee of local media members will select the 2023 high school winners, including the selection of overall female and male athletes of the year.
General admission tickets for the Topeka Shawnee County sports awards banquet are $30 per person and include dinner.
Ticket information is available at topsports.news.
TOPEKA SHAWNEE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS AWARDS NOMINEES
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Shawnee Mission Northwest state tennis champ Nam Pham, now a standout at Ilinois State, is home for the summer and took advantage of that closeness in proximity to compete in the Jayhawk Open at Kossover Tennis Center.
Nam Pham reacts to his match-winning point in Saturday's Jayhawk Open singles final. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Former Class 6A state champ Nam Pham took a three-set win in the Jayhawk Open men's open singles final. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I'm staying at home so it's close, no hotel, and Ive been here plenty of times for high school events,'' Pham said. "Last year I went to work in another state but this time I came back. I think the director sent my mom an email and she was like, 'Hey, there's this tournament here and it's close to home.' I was, 'Alright, let's sign up, let's do this.' I listen to mom.''
Pham, the top seed, made the short trip pay off with the men's open singles championship Sunday, taking a hard-earned 6-7 (4-7 tiebreaker), 6-1, 6-2 win over William Woods standout Zinovii Nahimiak, the No. 4 seed, in the tournament final.
"My opponent played an incredible match,'' Pham said. "He was rocking me back and forth during the whole first set, but something I kept telling myself that my coach has told me, 'Just one more ball, lets see what happens.' Anything can happen during any point and you just have to keep going for every ball until the match is over so I just kept that in my head.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural multi-sport star Brooklyn DeLeye put the bow on her high school career in Saturday night's Kansas Volleyball Association All-Star Match, picking up one last victory and one more award before heading off to Kentucky.
Brooklyn DeLeye returns a serve during Saturday's KVA All-Star match at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Recent Washburn Rural grad Brooklyn DeLeye (left) celebrates with her Red teammates during Saturday's KVA All-Star Match at Lee Arena. Deleye helped the Red take a 3-2 win. [Photo by Rick Petersson/TSN]
DeLeye, who will leave for Kentucky on Wednesday, led the Red team to a 3-2 match win over the Blue at Lee Arena and was named the winner of the Joan Lundstrom Wells Award of Excellence, named for the legendary former Lawrence coach, after the match.
DeLeye, a prep volleyball All-American who also starred for the Junior Blues in basketball and soccer, said she relished the opportunity to represent Washburn Rural one more time in Saturday's all-star match.
"Ending my career here, I've been coming to these (since) I was little watching it and just playing in it is so surreal,'' DeLeye said. "It really meant a lot that I could represent our program like that.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee County girls track and field athletes came up short of winning a state championship in the 2023 state meet at Wichita, but it was still a noteworthy weekend for the local contingent.
Seaman senior Bethany Druse (1715) was a triple state medalist in Class 5A, including a second-place finish in the 800 and a third in the 4x400 relay. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Ta'Mijha Nichols looks up at the Cessna Stadium scoreboard after finishing second in the Class 5A girls 100 for the second straight season. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Ala'Jah Brooks (1741) finished a very close second in last weekend's Class 5A 400 meters and also finished fourth in the 200. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Hayden junior Natalie Hillebert (left) exchanges congratulations with Andale's Maddie Schrandt after last Saturday's Class 4A girls 400-meter dash in Wichita. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
County athletes finished second in four events while 19 of 24 members of the All-Shwnee County first team went home with state medals in four different classes.
Seaman senior star Bethany Druse was the state runnerup in the Class 5A 800 meters and was a medalist in three events while Shawnee Heights senior Ta'Mijha Nichols and Topeka West senior Ala'Jah Brooks also posted second-place finishes in 5A and Hayden junior Natalie Hillebert was a state runnerup in 4A.
Druse finished second in the 5A 800 in 2 minutes, 17.29 seconds and also helped Seaman post a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay (4:06.07) and a sixth in the 4x800 relay (9:57.46).
Heights' Nichols was the runnerup in the 5A 100-meter dash for the second straight season (12.17) while West's Brooks finished second in the 5A 400 (57.77) and Hayden's Hillebert placed second in the 4A 400 (58.83). Brooks added a fourth-place finish in the 200 (25.66).
Seaman sophomore Jaida Stallbaumer finished fifth in the 5A 100-meter high hurdles (16.04) and teamed with sophomore Ryin Miller, junior Taylin Stallbaumer and Druse for the third-place finish in the 4x400 relay while senior Leah Spurlock and sophomore Taylie Heston teamed with Druse and Miller for the sixth-place showing in the 4x800 relay.
Washburn Rural sophomores Payton Fink, Rylee Ismert and Brooklyn Nolte teamed with senior Madeline Carter for a fifth-place finish in the 4x800 relay (9:52.27).
Topeka West senior Makinsey Jones finished sixth in the 5A high jump (5-0) while Shawnee Heights senior Taylor Rottinghaus took seventh in the 5A 400 (61.65).
Silver Lake junior Ava Rottinghaus placed sixth in the 3A girls javelin (126 feet, 2 inches) and ran on the Eagles' fourth-place 4x400 relay (4:11.98) while Eagle junior Kaibryn Kruger placed sixth in the triple jump (34-10).
Rossville senior Amelia Foster was also a double 3A medalist, finishing sixth in the 800 (2:24.53) and eighth in the 400 (61.37).
Hayden sophomore Rae North earned an eighth-place medal in the 4A 400 meters.
All-Shawnee County selections were picked on the basis of meeting minimum standards established by local coaches as well as coaches' recommendations and performances in postseason competition.
ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY GIRLS TRACK
