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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls soccer team advanced to the Class 6A state championship game for the fourth time in school history, taking a 3-2 semiinal decision over Olathe Northwest on Friday at the College Boulevard Activity Center.
The Junior Blues, who improved to 17-2-1, got goals from Belle Kennedy, Reagan Allen and Hunter McWilliams while Kennedy also picked up an assist.
Washburn Rural will play for the state championship at 2 p.m. Saturday against four-time defending 6A champion Blue Valley West (15-3-1), a 5-1 win over Manhattan.
Manhattan (15-4-1) will face Olathe Northwest (14-5-1) in the third-place game at 12 p.m.
Cair Paravel Latin celebrates its goal in Friday's 2-1 Class 4A-1A semifinal loss to Buhler on Friday at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Cair Paravel freshman Zahra Lewis attempts a shot in Friday's Class 4A-1A state soccer semifinal against Buhler. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
LIONS TO PLAY FOR THIRD
Cair Paravel Latin, making the first final four appearance in school history, dropped a tough 2-1 semifinal decision to Buhler in Friday's Class 4A-1A state tournament at Hummer Sports Park.
The Lions, 15-4-0, will now play play McPherson (15-4-1) in the 12 p.m. third-place game Saturday.
Buhler (12-7-1) will play state power Bishop Miege (14-5-1) for the 4A-1A championship at 2 p.m.
Bishop Miege advance with a 2-1 semifinal win over McPherson, taking a 5-3 decision in penalty kicks.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Tanner Newkirk didn't have to wait long to run his first race in the 2022 Class 4A state track meet, with the Hayden senior star stepping on the track for the 3,200 meters at Cessna Stadium at about 8 a.m. Friday morning.
But then again Newkirk had been waiting for that race for a long, long time.
Tanner Newkirk became only the fifth runner in Kansas history to eclipse the nine-minute mark in Friday's Class 5A Class 4A 3,200 meters, winning in 8:58.88. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden senior Tanner Newkirk on top of the awards stand after winning the 4A 3,200 meters Friday morning at Cessna Stadium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After running at state and earning a pair of medals as a freshman, Newkirk missed his sophomore track season due to COVID-19 and missed his junior state meet with an injury.
The Kansas signee made up lost time in a big way, winning by nearly 35 seconds in 8 minutes, 58.88 seconds while shattering the previous 4A state meet record by nearly 27 seconds and running the fifth-fastest 3,200 time in Kansas history by becoming only the fith runner all-time to break nine minutes in the race.
"In my mind I've been racing this race a thousand times before I even stepped up there so it was really good just to be out there,'' Newkirk said. "I couldn't sleep the past couple of days. It's really caused a lot of anxiety so it was really good to finally start the meet and start off on a really, really amazing note.''
With Friday's win Newkirk captured his first state track championship to go with the 4A cross country title he won as a junior.
Newkirk ran with last fall's 4A cross country champ, Sawyer Schmidt of Augusta, for the early portion of the race before steadily increasing his lead over the next several laps and running alone at the end. Schmidt was second in 9:33.14, while Buhler's Hayden Keller was third in 9:40.23.
"I just wanted to make it hurt quick and see who could hold on,'' he said.
And although there may be no such thing as a perfect race, Newkirk doesn't think Friday's race could have gone any better than it did.
"I don't think so,'' Newkirk said. "That was excactly what I needed to do. That was a really good race and I think I ran it almost perfectly.''
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Emmerson Cope’s no-hitter led the Washburn Rural to a 10-0 victory over Blue Valley in Thursday's Class 6A state quarterfinal softball game.
Everything was clicking for Washburn Rural on Thursday at the Shawnee Mission District Softball Complex. The defense was nearly perfect and the offense took care of its business in just five innings of work.
Junior Emmerson Cope pitched a no-hitter with eight strikeouts as Washburn Rural opened the Class 6A state tournament with a 10-0 win. [File photo/TSN]
“We came out and made a statement,” Washburn Rural coach Liz Stover said. “Our girls have been working to get to this tournament the entire season. I’m proud of the way they came out and showed everyone what kind of team we are. It was an important win for us and we are shifting our focus to tomorrow’s game.”
Cope cruised through Blue Valley’s lineup on Thursday morning. Cope fanned eight Tiger batters, didn’t allow a hit, didn’t give up any free passes and boosted the Junior Blues' momentum in the quest for a state title.
Cope worked her way through several full counts and high-pressure scenarios by throwing devastating strikeout pitches and letting her defense take care of business.
“I just needed to keep my composure today,” Cope said. “Blue Valley came out right away really energetic and hyped. I knew I just needed to settle down and let the defense do the work. Last year we didn’t make it past quarterfinals, so today I needed to do my best to make sure that we weren’t going home today.”
At one point in the contest, Cope was trying to pitch her way out of a full count against Blue Valley's first baseman Ava Bloyd. In the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Washburn Rural catcher Ryanne Rapp called a crucial timeout. Rapp’s intelligent timeout and Cope’s arm sat down Bloyd and that would set the tone for the remainder of the day.
“Emmerson (Cope) is always impressive,” Stover said. “For someone like her to go out there and step up the way she did, it means the world to this team. Her performances over the year and today make it easier for our offense to relax at the plate. We can relax because we know we have stellar pitching behind us.”
Washburn Rural had a pair of four-run innings that provided serious insurance for its defense. Cope, Campbell Bagshaw and Mikaila Herring each plated two runs. Baylee Dial, Kaci Bath and Emily Louderback each brought in a run as well
“I was really proud of how well our team hit today,” Bagshaw said. “We are well aware that we are facing the best pitchers in the state this week and we need to play our best. To come out and hit like we did today gave us confidence for the rest of this week.”
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
SHAWNEE MISSION – Nija Canady’s 14-strikeout performance boosted Topeka High passed Olathe North 6-0 in a Class 6A softball state quarterfinal on Thursday.
Topeka High wasn’t complete offensively until the midpoint of the contest at the Shawnee Mission District Softball Complex. It took the offense a while to click, but the defense was able to hold a previously red hot Olathe North team.
Topeka High senior NiJaree Canady pitched the Trojans to a 6-0 Class 6A state tournament win on Thursday, striking out 14 batters. [File photo/TSN]
Leading the Trojans' defensive pack was Canady. Canady pitched a complete-game shutout in Thursday night’s blistering cold game. Canady pitched seven innings, allowing three hits, not giving up any free passes and fanning 14 Eagle batters.
“I want to thank my team for today,” Canady said. “When you can get six runs as quickly as the offense did today, it helps me out a lot as a pitcher. I pitched with a lot of confidence. Even if I had a bad pitch or a bad inning, I knew my teammates were going to be there to back me up. We don’t play tomorrow if my teammates didn’t show up the way they did today. I’m excited to get back out there tomorrow with everyone.”
At one point of the shutout, Canady struck out seven batters in a row. Olathe North appeared to grow frustrated with each Canady strikeout.
“(Nija) was dominant today,” Topeka High coach Shane Miles said. “She hadn’t pitched in two weeks before today’s game. To come out and pitch the way she did today was a blessing. She will be ready to go tomorrow to pitch for us, too.”
Topeka High’s battery duo of Canady and Alesia Alvarez has been a noticeably good connection all season long. Alvarez was able to help guide Canady to her shutout and has been an integral part of High’s rotational success in the 2022 campaign.
“I think we pretty much have a flawless defense,” Alvarez said. “We had one error in the first inning, but we were able to bounce back from that relatively quickly. There was a lot of pressure put on us to win this game. I feel like we are sometimes tense at the beginning of our games, but once we settle in our defense and offense are amazing. I’m happy to get back out there with Nija and the team tomorrow.”
As Alvarez stated, the bats were tense at the beginning of the state quarterfinal contest. It took four innings for Topeka High to plate in runs and even get a hit.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Topeka High was able to gain some momentum from the bats of Alvarez and McCall Beall. Alvarez and Beall were able to bring two runners home and Topeka High looked terrific from that point on.
In the next inning, High lit up the scoreboard in dramatic fashion.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- No. 7 seed Shawnee Heights got an outstanding pitching performance from senior Trevor Schattilly and put together multiple scoring chances at the plate in Thursday's Class 5A state baseball tournament at Eck Stadium.
But Ryan Schmidt's T-Birds were unable to get the big hits that could have turned the tide against second seed Bishop Carroll, with the Eagles taking a 2-0 first-round win.
Shawnee Heights senior Trevor Schattilly threw a no-hitter in Thursday's 2-0 Class 5A state tournament loss to Bishop Carroll. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Shawnee Heights sophomore Jacob Malcom slides into second base in Thursday's 2-0 Class 5A state tournament loss to Bishop Carroll. [Photo by Selena Favela/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Christian Gomez tries to turn a double play in Thursday's 2-0 Class 5A state tournament loss to Bishop Carroll. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Schattilly, Heights' ace, limited Bishop Carroll to just two hits while striking out four hitters, but the Eagles punched what proved to be the game-winning run on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the second and added an insurance run in the fifth when sophomore Austin Selenke tripled and scored on senior Ryan Pacha's run-scoring sacrifice fly.
Shawnee Heights, which finished the season 13-10, reached James Brennan for three hits over the first six innings while stranding eight baserunners and putting runners second and third in the third and loading the bases in the fourth, but the T-Birds were unable to get a run home. Junior Reed Hanneberg came on and pitched the seventh for Carroll to pick up the save.
"We had several times where we just couldn't get that clutch hiit and timely hitting was a problem for us today,'' Schmidt said. "Pitching-wise Trevor battled like he did all year long and did a wonderful job of keeping us close and we just couldn't get that one hit.''
Although Shawnee Heights suffered a disappointing loss to end his season Schmidt said he was proud of the way the T-Birds played late in the season, earning the United Kansas Conference title and advancing to state.
"I'm really happy for these guys,'' Schmidt said. "Where we started the beginning of the year and where we got to showed great improvement for them and a couple of them get to go on and have a shot to continue their career.''
Bishop Carroll, which improved to 19-4, advanced to Friay's 1:15 p.m. state semifinal to face the winner of the first-round game between Eisenhower and Valley Center.
The 11 p.m. semifinal will match St. Thomas Aquinas and Blue Valley Southwest.
The third-place game will be played at 3:30 p.m. Friday followed by the championship game at 5:45 p.m.
BISHOP CARROLL 2, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 0
Shawnee Heights 000 000 0 -- 0 3 1
Bishop Carroll 010 010 x -- 2 2 2
Schattilly and Parrish. Brennan, Hanneberg (7) and Girrens. W -- Brennan. L -- Schattilly. 3B -- Bishop Carroll: Selenke.
