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Details: Created: 02 May 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

TopSports.news will honor All-America volleyball player Faith Rottinghaus and All-America football player James Letcher Jr. as Washburn University's outstanding female and male athletes for 2021-2022 at the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on June 22 at Washburn's Memorial Union.

Shawnee Heights product Rottinghaus, who led the nation in digs, helped the Ichabods reach the NCAA Division II national championship match while Letcher earned five All-America awards last fall after leading Washburn to a 9-3 record and a berth in the NCAA Division II football playoffs.

Former Shawnee Heights multi-sport standout Faith Rottinghaus will be honored by TSN as Washburn's outstanding female athlete for the 2021-2022 school year on June 22 at the Topeka Shawnee County sports awards banquet. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn All-American receiver/returner James Letcher Jr. will be honored on June 22 as WU's male outstanding athlete for 2021-2022. [Photo by Phil Anderson/Special to TSN]

TopSports.news will honor outstanding Washburn athletes for the second time in conjunction with the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

In 2021 Andrew Beckler and Tyler Geiman were named Washburn co-outstanding male athletes and Virgi Scardanzan was honored as female athlete of the year.

Washburn Athlete of the Year capsules:

JAMES LETCHER JR.

Letcher earned five All-America awards after a monster 2021 season for the Ichabods, who posted a 9-3 record and advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Letcher earned first-team All-America honors on the Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America squad, the Associated Press and the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association. All-American teams and was a second-team D2Football.com Elite 100 selection and a second-team pick on the American Football Coaches Association team. Letcher has received six All-America awards overall, earning honorable mention on the Football Gazette All-American team in 2019.

Last fall, Letcher led the team with 68 receptions, 927 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 starts. Letcher also rushed 19 times for 106 yards. He had a single-game high 10 receptions for 132 yards against Emporia State and earned All-MIAA first-team recognition as a wide receiver and a returner and was named the MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year after taking 24 kickoffs for 685 yards and two touchdowns.

Letcher has appeared in 37 games overall, compiling 148 receptions for 1,916 yards and 19 touchdowns while averaging 12.9 yards per catch. Letcher has scored three kickoff-return touchdowns, the most in program history and has averaged 27.2 yards per kickoff return, which is second all-time at Washburn for a career.

A Piper High School graduate, Letcher starred in football for the Pirates and also played basketball and ran track. As a senior Letcher earned all-league football recognition at running back, defensive back and kickoff returner. Letcher earned All-State recognition at running back and defensive back as a senior, recording 10 interceptions and rushing for 1,562 yards and scoring 27 touchdowns. Letcher was also a standout for the East in the Kansas Shrine Bowl.

FAITH ROTTINGHAUS

A Shawnee Heights graduate, Rottinghaus helped lead the Ichabods to a second-place finish in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Championships, leading the nation with 833 total digs and earning second-team All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association and the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association.

Rottinghaus earned All-MIAA first-team honors for the third straight season and earned the NCAA Elite 90 Award, becoming the first Washburn student-athlete and MIAA volleyball player to receive the prestigious academic honor. She was named the College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-American Volleyball Team Member of the Year and received her third consecutive Academic All-America first-team honor.

Rottinghaus was voted to the all-tournament team in all five tournaments Washburn competed in and played in all 127 sets for the Ichabods. Rottinghaus became Washburn's all-time digs leader in the regular-season finale against Northwest Missouri. Rottinghaus scooped up 51 digs in a 3-1 victory at then-ranked No. 7 Central Missouri, tying Washburn's single-match record and setting the program record for most digs in a four set match. She had 24 matches with 20 or more digs and successfully received 394 service attempts, committing just eight errors for a .980 reception percentage. Rottinghaus led the team with 33 service aces and tallied 88 assists. A kinesiology major, Rottinghaus was named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and also received MIAA Scholar Athlete and MIAA Academic Excellence honors, closing out her career with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

A rour-year letter-winner in volleyball, basketball and softball at Shawnee Heights, Rottinghaus helped lead the T-Birds to three Class 5A volleyball tournament berths, including the 2016 state championship her senior year. Rottinghaus was a two-time All-State first-team selection as an outfielder in softball, helping the T-Birds win the school's state softball title in 2017.

Details: Created: 01 May 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

TopSports.News, in conjunction with the University of Kansas Health System St Francis Campus, A-1 Lock and Key and Washburn University, will host the 17th annual Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards/Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 22, 2022 at Washburn's Memorial Union.

For the second straight year TopSports.news will serve as host for the sports awards/Hall of Fame banquet, a longstanding tradition for the Topeka and Shawnee County sports community.

The ceremony will highlight Shawnee County high school senior student-athletes’ achievements throughout the 2021-2022 school year along with the induction of the 2022 Topeka Shawnee
County Hall of Fame Class.

Schools have been asked to submit nominees with a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average for both female and male candidates for the fall, winter and spring seasons as well as nominees for most inspirational athlete. Over-all outstanding male and female athletes for 2021-2022 will also be named.

Also recognized will be an outstanding female and male athlete from Washburn University.

The three-member 2022 Hall of Fame class and the '22 Washburn University Athletes of the Year will be announced on TopSports.news on Monday morning.

The high school nominees for the 10 Shawnee County high schools will be announced in June after the conclusion of the spring sports season. A committee of local media members will select the 2022 winners, including the selection of overall female and male athletes of the year.

This year TopSports.news will also introduce a new award, along with the Topeka Officials Association, spotlighting the dedication and contribution of these men and women that are integral to high school athletics.

The June 22 event kicks off in the Memorial Union with a Hall of Fame reception at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. and the presentation of awards.

Each nominee will receive a complimentary ticket. Tickets are $26 per person, prior to June 18, 2022, and are required for admission. Tickets include dinner.

For more information or to purchase tickets go to www.TopSports.news or call 785-633-8448

The 2021 Hall of Fame class included former NFL linebacker and current Chargers assistant coach Michael Wilhoite, former Missouri State and longtime professional basketball player Kyle Weems and Kyle McNorton, a former Kansas star linebacker and NFL player for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Wilhoite and Weems are Highland Park graduates and McNorton a Seaman grad.

Silver Lake graduate Ellington Hogle receives her award as 2021 Shawnee County girls athlete of the year last June from 2021 Hall of Fame inductee Michael Wilhoite. [File photo/TSN]

Former Hayden football standout Desmond Purnell is interviewed by Bruce Steinbrock after being named the 2021 Shawnee County male athlete of the year last June. [File photo/TSN]

Silver Lake's Ellington Hogle and Hayden's Desmond Purnell were named outstanding female and male athletes in 2021.

Hogle is now playing softball at Washburn while Purnell is playing football at Kansas State.

Details: Created: 01 May 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

NOTE: Top.Sports.news plans to compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2022 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Coaches should designate whether times were fully automatic (FAT) or hand-timed. FAT times for individual sprints are considered .024 of a second faster than hand times. TopSports.news will rank the Top 5 in each event.

BOYS

100 METERS

Smith, Shawnee Heights 9.8 (10.27)

January, Shawnee Heights 10.5

Reed, Highland Park 10.5

Richardson, Highland Park 10.5

Peoples, Topeka High 10.6

Shawnee Heights junior Jeremiah Smith is the Shawnee County leader in the 100-meter dash, the 200 (FAT), 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]