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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There's been a lof tough calls for the No. 1 spot in TopSports.news' Best of the Best Shawnee County Top 25 lists.
Men's golf wasn't one of those.
Shawnee Heights product Gary Woodland all but assured himself of the top spot when he made it on the PGA Tour back in 2007 and the four-time Tour winner cemented that position when he won the 2019 United States Open.
Gary Woodland [PGA Tour]
Coming off a tie for seventh last week, the former basketball All-Stater and two-time Class 5A state champ for the T-Birds, is currently 45th on the PGA Tour's all-time career money list with more than $29 million in career earnings.
But while the 37-year-old Woodland is the unquestioned headliner, the TSN Top 25 list is loaded with other county stars who have carved out their own niche in the game.
Andrew Beckler [Washburn Athletics]
Justice Valdivia
Former Washburn Rural state champ Andrew Beckler, who received the 2021 Jack Nicklaus Award as the NCAA Division II Player of the Year holds down the No. 2 spot on the Top 25 local legends Frank Rose and Bill McDonald sit in the next two spots, followed by former Rural two-time state champion Parker Beal and multi-sport Silver Lake product Mark Elliott.
Three-time Washburn University All-American Matt Ewald and local stars Ben Moser, Bill Mosimann and Gary Lucas round out the top 10.
Former Hayden state star Justice Valdivia, a state individual and team champ and multi-time All-MIAA honoree topped Woodland for the Readers Choice award, with former Rossville state champ and four-time state medalist Garrett Donovan earning the third spot in reader votes.
Here's a look at the Top 25 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 25 BEST OF THE BEST MEN'S GOLFERS
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NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria will compete in the Menards NHRA Nationals Friday through Sunday at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photo courtesy of Rebilas Photography]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When NHRA Funny Car veteran Alexis DeJoria stepped away from the sport at the end of the 2017 season, the five-time race winner knew it was something she needed to do.
But that two-year break also proved to the 43-year-old driver of the Bandero ROKiT Toyota Camry just how important racing is to her.
"Taking that time off was imperative to just like balance my life out,'' DeJoria told TopSports.news. "I had so much going on and then my daughter (Bella) was turning 15 and I couldn't parent by proxy. I needed to be there with her and teach her how to drive and do all those great things and being on the road so much takes its toll on a marriage and that was really difficult as well, so I was lucky enough to be able to take that time away and kind of just take a look at everything and take time to clarify everything that was really important to me.''
One of those important things was drag racing, with the former U.S. Nationals champion teaming with NHRA veterans Del Worsham and Nicky Boninfante to launch a new team in 2020.
Alexis DeJoria [Photo courtesy of Rebilas Photography]
"Taking that time away really did make me appreciate everything that I've accomplished in NHRA and everything that I want to accomplish,'' DeJoria said. "Sometimes you take a break and then when you come back to something, it's that much more better. I don't know even how to say it. There's no words, it's just like this was obviously what I was supposed to do in every way, shape or form and taking that time away really made that clear.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's probably a good bet to say that local stars Abby Glynn and Rachel Stous haven't reached their peak in women's golf, with their careers seemingly still on the upswing.
But Washburn Rural product Glynn and Topeka High's Stous have already accomplished enough to earn the top two spots on the TopSports.news Shawnee County Best of the Best Top 25.
Glynn edged Stous for the No. 1 spot after earning three Class 6A state medals and helping Rural capture three Class 6A state team championships and a runner-up finish during her prep career before going on to become a standout at Kansas and winning the Missouri Amateur title in 2020.
Abby Glynn [KU Athletics]
Rachel Stous [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Stous, meanwhile, was a four-time 6A state medalist for the Trojans and has established herself as one of the state's top amateurs, including a win in the Kansas Amateur earlier this summer.
Former four-time 4A state medalist and two-time state champ Brooke LaRue (Hayden) earned the No. 3 spot on the Top 25 while former state champs Lauren Falley (Hayden), Megan Lucas (Washburn Rural), Adin Stromgren (Washburn Rural) and Caroline Setter (Hayden) took the next four spots.
Glynn and Stous also finished one-two in the Readers Choice balloting, with Lucas, now playing at Wichita State, third in reader votes.
Here's a look at the Top 25 and Readers Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 25 BEST OF THE BEST WOMEN'S GOLFERS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University Athletic Department has announced its six-member 2021 Hall of Fame class, which will be enshrined on Oct. 9 in a morning ceremony prior to the Ichabods' MIAA football game against Fort Hays State.
The Hall of Fame class of six accumulated nine All-America awards earned during their combined 29 years competing for Washburn teams.
The induction class Kate Hampson, Matt Cahill, Joe Hastings, Zach Watkins, Sam Sissom and Logan Stutz will join the 149 former student-athletes, coaches and administrators who have been honored for their contributions to Washburn Athletics.
The six former Washburn greats will also be recognized at halftime of the Oct. 9 football game against the Tigers.
Washburn Hall of Fame capsules:
Matt Cahill – Football – 1979-82
Matt Cahill finished his career as WU's all-time leader in total tackles and assisted tackles on the Ichabod charts. In 1982 his 120 total tackles were the highest single-season tally in school history and his 69 assisted tackles were second that same season. He had a career-high 16 tackles against Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 13, 1982. As a sophomore in 1980, he was fifth on the team in tackles with 65 total stops adding a fumble recovery. His junior season he recorded 64 tackles which was the second-highest total on the team, leading to his outstanding senior campaign.
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NHRA Top Fuel driver Justin Ashley, the 2020 Rookie of the Year, will compete in the Menards NHRA Nationals Friday through Sunday at Heartland Motorsports Park. [Photos by Ron Lewis Photography]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Justin Ashley's most recent race in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series was a good news/scary news scenario for the second-year Top Fuel driver.
The 2020 NHRA Rookie of the Year advanced to his second career final in the NHRA Winternationals nearly two weeks ago, but an extremely hot day in Pomona, Calif. took a toll on the 26-year-old Ashley, who had to be pulled from his SmartSanitizer Top Fuel dragster powered by Strutmasters.com before the final run after suffering symptoms of severe heat exhaustion.
Ashley is back in tip-top condition as he prepares to compete in this weekend's Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park and looks back at the scary situation in Pomona as a learning experience.
Justin Ashley
"I was feeling fine the next morning,'' Ashley told TopSports.news. "I definitely had to sleep on it and it and obviously it was kind of a crazy situation, one that I'll definitely be able to learn from. But by the time it was all said and done I just had to sleep on it and wake up the next morning and at that point I just felt so much better. And then the following day, almost two days later, I felt like I was finally back to full strength.''
