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By DR. KARISSA NIEHOFF, Chief Executive Officer of the National Federation of State High School Associations
and BILL FAFLICK, Executive Director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association
There’s an unfortunate trend continuing in Kansas and across the nation that must be stopped: the bad behavior of coaches, parents and fans at high school athletic events.
We’ve all seen it: the yelling, harassing, berating, disrespecting and even physically assaulting high school referees, umpires and other officials during and after games. And oftentimes, the harassment continues on social media. Perhaps you’ve witnessed it firsthand or even been one of those offenders yourself.
Not only is this behavior unacceptable and embarrassing, but it’s also having serious consequences on the future of high school sports.
That’s because another unfortunate trend is sweeping the nation: a critical shortage of high school officials in every state. The #1 reason? You guessed it: Coaches, parents and fans mistreating officials.
National surveys of officials report alarming statistics:
55% of officials say verbal abuse from coaches, parents and fans is the No. 1 reason they quit.
59% don't feel respected.
57% think sportsmanship is getting worse.
84% feel officials are treated unfairly by spectators.
46% have felt unsafe or feared for their safety due to spectator, coach, adminnistrator or player behavior.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High junior football player Isaiah Kincade and Hayden sophomore tennis standout Ainzley Zulueta have been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Rising Stars of the Week for last 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 Kincade and Zulueta last week:
![Topeka High junior Isaiah Kincade rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown and caught eight passes for 84 yardss as the Trojans picked up their first win last Friday, a 34-21 Centennial League win over Emporia. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]](/images/aa-images/IsaiahKincade.jpg)
Topeka High junior Isaiah Kincade rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown and caught eight passes for 84 yards as the Trojans picked up their first win last Friday, a 34-21 Centennial League Homecoming victory over Emporia. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
ISAIAH KINCADE, Topeka High
Kincade, a 6-foot, 190-pound junior, helped lead Topeka High to a 34-21 Centennial League win over Emporia last Friday at Hummer Sports Park, the 1-3 Trojans' first win of the season.
Kincade carried the ball 15 times for 104 yards, including a victory-clinching 61-yard touchdown run, and he caught eight passes for 84 yards.
Hayden sophomore state tennis champion Ainzley Zulueta won her second straight city singles title last Friday, helping lead the Wildcats to the city team championship by a 26-25 margin over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
AINZLEY ZULUETA, Hayden
Zulueta, the defending Class 4A state singles champion, won her second straight city singles title last Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center, improving to 19-1 on the season and leading the Wildcats to the city team championship by a 26-25 margin over Seaman.
Zulueta took a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the championship match over Seaman senior Lauren Sweeney, a 2021 5A state champion in doubles.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's golf team turned in a solid performance in Monday's Centennial League tournament at Village Greens Golf Course, with five Junior Blues shooting in the 80s.
But it wasn't enough to top Emporia, which rode a one-two-three individual finish by the Eckert sisters to win its first-ever Centennial team championship by a 332-340 margin over the Junior Blues.
Washburn Rural senior Avery Scott, launching her tee shot on a par-3 hole Monday at Village Greens, finished fourth in the Centennial League tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Raegan Petersen slips an approach shot past a tree Monday at Village Greens in the Centennial League tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"You've got to tip your hat, they played great golf today,'' Washburn Rural coach Jared Goehring said of Emporia. "That' spretty solid, 78, 79, 82 at the top of their lineup. I'm proud of our girls, we just didn't have enough today.''
Emporia senior Avary Eckert shot a 78 to win her second straight league individual title while her twin sister Olivia finished second with a 79 and freshman Elise Eckert was third with an 82.
"Everybody did what they needed to do,'' Emporia coach Rick Eckert said. "Avary and Olivia played very consistently. We played the back nine first and they were nervous and had a hard time getting their rhythm going but they eventually got it established and they both played really well on the front, which was their back nine.
"And Elise was just consistent all day. She made some really huge putts and I can't be more proud of her as a freshman coming in and doing that. She really did a nice job.''
Senior Avery Scott finished fourth individually with an 83 to lead Washburn Rural while Junior Blue senior Mallory Nelson placed fifth with an 84.
Rural junior Raegan Petersen (86) tied for sixth and finished eighth in a scorecard playoff while sophomore Natalie Peterson (87) tied for ninth and finished 10th in a scorecard playoff to round out the Junior Blues' top four.
The Junior Blues have two more regular-season meets to get ready for postseason.
"We just want to shore things up and ideally we want to be playing our best golf in October,'' Goehring said. "We'll keep plugging away and keep working on fixing our mistakes because a lot of it is around the greens that we can shore up and get ready for postseason.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West senior cross country star Lenny Njoroge continued his red-hot start to the 2022 season on Saturday, recording his third individual victory of the year in the Rim Rock Classic,
Topeka West senior cross country star Lenny Njoroge won the individual title in the boys Crimson division in Saturday's Rim Rock Classic, north of Lawrence. [Submitted photo]
Njoroge bested a field of 270 runners to win the title in the Crimson division, winning by over 14 seconds in a time of 16 minutes, 00.10 seconds.
David Flaig of Regis Jesuit placed second in 16:14.60.
Njoroge has inished first or second in all four of his starts this fall.
Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel (right) and T-Bird senior Kory Sutton finished sixth and eighth in the Rim Rock Classic Crimson division on Saturday. [Submitted photo]
Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel and senior Kory Sutton finished sixth and eighth in the Crimson division, with Esquibel clocking a time of 16:37.30 and Sutton 16:39.00.
Washburn Rural finished second as a team in the girls Gold division, just eight points behind Blue Springs South, Mo. (144-152).
Payton Fink
Washburn Rural sophomore Payton Fink placed seventh among 152 runners in 19:06.20 to pace the Junior Blues.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Allen Baughman
ALLEN BAUGHMAN, Shawnee Heights
Baughman, a junior running back, carried the ball 29 times for 284 yards and three touchdowns in Shawnee Heights' 27-0 United Kansas Conference victory over Basehor-Linwood Friday night at Wetter Field. On the season Baughman has 781 rushing yards and 10 TDs for the 3-1 T-Birds.
Lois Deeter
LOIS DEETER, Seaman
A senior, Deeter won her second straight individual title in last Monday's city girls golf tournament at Western Hills Golf Course, shooting an 81 and carding a birdie on the first sudden playoff berth to take the victory over Washburn Rural's Raegan Petersen. A two-time top-five Class 5A state medalist, Deeter led Seaman to a second-place team finish behind Rural.
Lenny Njoroge
LENNY NJOROGE, Topeka West
The Topeka West senior cross country star posted his third individual victory in four races on the season in Saturday's Rim Clock Classic, clocking a five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 00.10 seconds to win the Crimson division title by 14 seconds. Njoroge now has three wins and a runner-up finish this fall.
