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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2022 high school tennis season didn't get off to the start Ian and Miles Cusick envisioned and the Topeka West junior doubles stars will take responsibility for that.
"I think it was almost possibly over-confidence,'' Miles Cusick said about the slow start. "We were going into it and we were like, 'OK, let's just play, we don't really have to do a ton,' and we learned the hard way that we can't do that.''
But after taking some early losses, the Cusick twins have recaptured the form that made them one of the state's top doubles teams a year ago, including an impressive performance in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center.
Topeka West's Ian Cusick makes a return in Tuesday's doubles final in the Topeka West Invitational as twin brother Miles looks on. The Cusicks won the doubles title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West tennis coach Kurt Davids talks to Charger doubles players Miles Cusick (middle) and Ian Cusick during Tuesday's doubles final in the Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I feel like our energy has improved a lot and just our teamwork,'' Miles said. "Those are the biggest things that have improved.''
The Cusicks went undefeated on the day Tuesday to win the doubles championship, capped by an 8-7 (7-4 tiebreaker) victory over Salina Central's Phelps and Phelps to avenge an earlier 9-3 loss to the Mustang duo.
"Losing to them early in the season, that was almost a revenge kind of thing or us,'' Ian Cusick said. "We really wanted to come back and beat them and we got a break and we caught fire.''
"I was really, really happy with the way we played,'' Miles agreed. "They're a really good opponent, so to win that match means a lot, especially for seeding for state and stuff like that. It's really impactful.''
And although it took awhile, Ian Cusick said he feels like he and his brother are where they need to be heading into the biggest meets of the year.
The city championships are next week, followed by Centennial League, Class 5A regional and state tournaments.
"At the beginning of the year our shots weren't as good and we weren't really together, but especially this match was a really good match for us going forward,'' Ian said. "The teamwork was great, the energy was great, everything was great.''
Washburn Rural senior Mason Thieu (see related story on TopSports.news) claimed the singles championship with an 8-3 win over Kansas City Christian's Caleb Bartels in the championship match, leading the Junior Blues to the team title by an 86-76 margin over Topeka West and Kansas City Christian.
In addition to Thieu's title, Rural got a third-place singles finish from Mason Casebeer while Nick Luetje and Kyler Knudtson finished third in doubles.
James Maag posted a fourth-place singles finish for Topeka West while Carter Cool and Gavin Chavez finished sixth in doubles.
Shawnee Heights finished fourth as a team with 52 points, led by Jaden Rodriguez's fifth-place singles finish while Hayden finished sixth as a team, with Michael Sandstrom and Gus Glotzbach taking fifth in doubles.
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL
Team scores
Washburn Rural 86, Topeka West 76, Kansas City Christian 76, Shawnee Heights 52, Lawrence 39, Hayden 38, Salina Central 37, Salina South 31, Blue Valley West 30.
Individual results
Singles
Championship -- Thieu, Washburn Rural, def. Bartels, Kansas City Christian, 8-3.
Third place -- Casebeer, Washburn Rural, def. Maag, Topeka West, 8-5.
Fifth place -- Rodriguez, Shawnee Heights, def. Gariss, Kansas City Christian, 8-2.
Doubles
Championship -- I. Cusick/M. Cusick, Topeka West, def. Phelps/Phelp, Salina Central, 8-7 (7-4).
Third place -- Luetje/Knudtson, Washburn Rural, def. VanderArk/Newman, Kansas City Christian, 8-3.
Fifth place -- Sandstrom/Glotzbach, Hayden, def. Chavez/Cool, Topeka West, 8-5.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There's no doubt that Washburn Rural senior tennis star Mason Thieu has the ability to play college tennis.
But after devoting most of his life to the sport, including a stint at a Florida tennis academy, he decided that probably wasn't for him.
Now he's content to play tennis simply for the love of the sport and is enjoying it as much -- maybe more -- than he ever has.
Washburn Rural's senior singles star Mason Thieu is undefeated on the 2022 season, including the championship in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Mason Thieu serves the ball in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. Thieu won the singles championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Thieu was an immediate standout for Kevin Hedberg's Junior Blues as a freshman in 2019, earning a Class 6A state medal with a ninth-place state singles finish.
But after losing his sophomore season to COVID-19, Thieu eventually made the decision to to attend the Celsius Tennis Academy in Sarasota, Fla. with the hopes of improving his game and garnering interest from Division I schools.
That approach paid off to a point, but also resulted in a revision of Thieu's priorities.
"I thought it went pretty good,'' Thieu said. "I trained a lot more than I did in Kansas so I got a lot better down there and I kind of grew up more as a person, too, because I was my own for a good amount of time. I did end up getting all the contact from colleges I was wanting but I was just playing so much and I honestly was a little burnt out before I even went down there.
"When I went down there it kind of helped because I was just so focused on playing it was cool, but then I came back here (last May) and I couldn't find the love of the sport as much as I used to.''
But once Thieu took a step back from the sport and decided -- at least for now -- against pursuing a college career, he ended up regaining that love.
"I'm feeling good now,'' said Thieu, who is still undefeated on the season after claiming the singles championship in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center with an 8-3 win over Kansas City Christian's Caleb Bartels. "When I came back (to Topeka) I was still planning to play college, but then a few months into school I just didn't feel that that's what I wanted to do anymore.
"I'm enjoying it a lot more because I have so many good teammates that I'm really good friends with outside of tennis and I've been playing some of the best tennis I've played since I came back from Florida because I have no fear. I used to play really nervous but now I know it's my last season and I'm just trying to have a good time so I just play loose.''
Thieu said Hedberg, one of the most successful coaches in state history, has helped in that regard.
"He does a really good job of leading me in the direction of where I should go with the match but he doesn't control me to tell me what I have to specifically do,'' Thieu said. "He gives me control of what I need to do but helps guide me.''
Thieu also appreciates Hedberg's laid back coaching style.
Theiu fell behind 3-2 early against Bartels but neither Thieu or Hedberg showed any signs of panic and Thieu won six straight games to close out the win.
"In the really intense part of the match we were laughing and stuff because I missed such a bad ball,'' Thieu said. "It was kind of fun. I'm having a great time.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Silver Lake senior pitcher Daigan Kruger threw his first career no-hitter Monday night in a 6-0 Mid-East League first-game win over Riley County.
Daigan Kruger
The Eagles added an 8-5 victory in the second game to complete the sweep.
Kruger went seven innings with five strikeouts while issuing two walks in the Game 1 win and also went 2 for 4 at the plate with a run scored.
Matt Barnes went 2 for 3 with a home run and three runs batted in for the Eagles in the opener while Luke Womack was 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBI and Kaden Walker was 1 of 3 with an RBI and a run scored.
Eli Barnes picked up the pitching win in the second game, throwing a complete game while allowing nine hits and three earned runs. Barnes stuck out three batters.
Walker went 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBI while E. Barnes was 2 for 4 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored, Kruger 2 for 3 with a run scored and Womack 1 for 4 with an RBI.
With the sweep the Eagles improved to 7-3 overall and 6-2 in the Mid-East League.
Lions' Clark signs with McPherson College
Cair Paravel Latin senior basketball standout Zach Clark signed a college letter of intent with McPherson College on Monday.
Cair Paravel Latin senior Zach Clark, flanked by his parents Devon and Amy Clark, signed a basketball letter of intent with McPherson College on Monday. [Photo by Jan Pabitzky/Special to TSN]
Clark, a 6-foot-4 guard, earned second-team TopSports.news All-Shawnee County honors this past season and was also a first-team All-Kaw Valley League pick.
Clark helped lead the Lions to a 14-5 record.
Hayden improves to 7-0-1 with 4-1 win over Blue Jays
Senior Macy Smith scored two goals to lead the way as Hayden posted a 4-1 Centennial League girls soccer victory at Junction City Monday night.
Macy Smith
Junior Jenessa Broxterman and sophomore Jill Lenherr also scored goals for the Wildcats, now 7-0-1 on the season.
Senior Kate Roeder and junior Elaina Wolff were credited with assists.
HAYDEN 4, JUNCTION CITY 1
Hayden 2 2 -- 4
Junction City 1 0 -- 1
Hayden -- Goals: Smith 2, Broxterman, Lenherr. Assists: Roeder, Wolff.
Keys powers Cair Paravel to 7-0 soccer win
Sophomore Katherine Keys scored three goals and also recorded an assist as Cair Paravel Latin improved to 7-3-0 on the season with a 7-0 girls soccer romp past Kansas City Christian Monday.
Katherine Keys
Junior Sage Schwartz added two goals and two assists for the Lions, who also got goals from freshmen Zahra Lewis and Alexis Gonzalez.
Lewis was also credited with two assists while Sawyer Schwartz had an assist and picked up the shutout in goal for Cair Paravel.
CAIR PARAVEL LATIN 7, KANSAS CITY CHRISTIAN 0
Cair Paravel 5 2 -- 7
KC Christian 0 0 -- 0
Cair Paravel -- Goals: Keys 3, Sage Schwartz 2, Lewis, Gonzalez. Assists: Sage Schwartz 2, Lewis 2, Keys, Sawyer Schwartz. Shutout: Sawyer Schwartz.
Seaman golf runner-up in Hays tournament
Seaman's golf team finished second as a team in Monday's Bob Blazer/Hays Invitational on Monday while three city golfers posted top-five finishes.
Viking senior Gavin Wilhelm finished fourth individually with a 78 while Seaman's Tim Biggs and Topeka West's Myles Alonzo tied for fifth with 80s.
Garden City won the team championship by a 312-334 margin over Seaman, with the Buffaloes placing three players in the top seven individually, led by individual medalist Theo Juhl (67).
BOB BLAZER/HAYS INVITATIONAL
Team scores
Garden City 312, Seaman 334, Salina Sacred Heart 340, Dodge City 351, Hays 368, Salina South 371, Liberal 390, Junction City 398, Great Bend 405.
Individual results
1. Juhl, Garden City, 67; 2. Scheck, Dodge City, 76; 3. Koskal, Garden City, 77; 4. Gavin Wilhelm, Seaman, 78; 5. (tie) Tim Biggs, Seaman, and Myles Alonzo, Topeka West, 80; 7. Shook, Garden City, 82; 8. (tie) Elmore, Salina Sacred Heart, and Maddox Xaysongkham, Salina South, 83; 10. Robinson, Dodge City, 84.
- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Seaman and De Soto's soccer teams turned in terrific defensive efforts on Monday night at Seaman, battling to a 1-1 draw.
Offensively, it was a fairly quiet night for both schools.
Seaman’s Brooklyn Yingling kicked in a goal with 35:11 in the first half for the Vikings' only goal of the night.
“I thought our team was lucky to hold on long enough for the tie,” Seaman coach Tim Nussbaum said. “We didn’t play nearly as well as we are capable of and I hope we are able to bring more intensity into the next game.”
Seaman's Carstyn Anderson (right) defends De Soto's Isabelle Jones in Monday's 1-1 soccer tie at Seaman. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Seaman's Kinley Wilhelm (left) throws the ball in for the Vikings Monday night against De Soto. The Vikings and Wildcats battled to a 1-1 tie. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Nussbaum emphasized the word intensity during the breaks between the overtime periods.
“We need to bring more intensity into the next game,” Nussbaum said. “We had three players bring it tonight, but we need more. We need all 18 of our girls to bring the same energy our leaders had into the next game. If we can do that, we will win more.
“Short-term memory, tomorrow we will play better.”
Freshman goalkeeper Maegan Mills was one of those leaders mentioned by Nussbaum.
Mills was a brick wall and prevented a high-flying De Soto offense from causing some serious damage.
“She’s been terrific for us all season,” Nussbaum said. “She pushes everyone to be better. The battle for our goalkeepers has been intense, but she has been amazing for us. She makes the team better.”
While Mills had a remarkable night, De Soto was able to kick in one goal that looked nearly impossible to convert.
Gracie Smith tied the game 1-1 on a crossed kick that hit the back post to knock the ball in. Smith’s goal took place with 24:00 to go in the second half.
Seaman and De Soto’s defense was superb after that. Notably, Taylin Stallbaumer and Carstyn Anderson were able to kick out the ball multiple times when De Soto was near the goal.
In overtime, the ball only got into De Soto’s goal territory a total of three times. De Soto’s hounding defense made it difficult for Seaman to beat them to the goal.
Seaman’s defense was just as tough and physical. Physical defense from Anna Becker and Kinley Wilhelm forced De Soto to take a lot of uncomfortable shots.
In the end, Seaman and De Soto wouldn’t be able to break the tie.
Seaman will hit the road Tuesday as the Vikings look for a Centennial League victory against Emporia.
SEAMAN 1, DE SOTO 1
Seaman 1 0 0 0 – 1
De Soto 0 1 0 0 – 1
Seaman – Goal: Yingling. De Soto – Goal: Smith.
WasRelated Stories and Videos
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The celebration may be a lot more low key, but the Kansas Jayhawks aren't the only ones in the Sunflower State basking in the glow of a recent national championship.
Washburn Rural senior debaters Jiyoon Park and Zach Willingham recently made some history of their own, winning the National Debate Coaches Association national championship on April 11.
"We're the first fully public and Kansas school to win this one, which was good,'' said Park.
Washburn Rural senior tennis players Zach Willingham (left) and Jiyoon Park are returning All-Shawnee County tennis picks and are also coming off a national debate championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural seniors Jiyoon Park (left) and Zach Willingham recently won the National Debate Coaches Association national title. [Twitter/Washburn Rural debate]
Park and Willingham, who previously won a state championship, still have two other national debate tournaments coming up, but before that the Rural duo will turn its attention back to its other love, playing No. 2 doubles for Kevin Hedberg's Junior Blues' tennis team.
