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JEFF JACOBSEN / HEART & SOUL OF KANSAS SPORTS / JUNE 13, 2021
Here is the direct link to the story and photos: https://actionimagesphotography.com/the-jayhawk-open/
Here is the direct link to the Action Images website: https://actionimagesphotography.com/
By JEFF JACOBSEN
actionimagesphotography.com
I get a wonderful feeling when I photograph an event marked by a long heritage and a continual pedigree of champions. I believe the athletes competing in the event feel the same. It is an honor to take part in such an event with the hope of calling yourself a champion.
The Jayhawk Open is one. The tennis tournament might only be a blip on the radar screens of the fast-paced lives of many in the city of Topeka. However, those competing know the very best in the Midwest have made their marks at the Jayhawk.
The Jayhawk established itself in 1939 on the then-clay courts at Hughes Courts set in a quiet neighborhood at 8th & Orleans, east of Gage Park. Only in 1944 due to World War II, the 1951 Topeka Floods and the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown were champions not crowned. A move to the Kossover Tennis Center south of the Veterans Administration Hospital along Gage Blvd in 1980 allowed the Jayhawk to never to miss a beat even as the booms in tennis have ebbed and flowed.
The beauty of the event comes from the roots of tennis that took hold and then drew young players to take up the game. They grew into outstanding high school and college tennis players and even professional players. So, as I walked into Kossover for this year’s events, there sat alums I photographed as children, college players I photographed at KU and so many who now happily give back to the game and tournament’s heritage.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Legendary Silver Lake football coach C.J. Hamilton, who just completed his 46th year with the Eagles, has been selected to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Coach Bill Snyder Family/Sunflower Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
C.J. Hamilton
Andale football coach Dylan Schmidt will also be honored by the Snyder/Sunflower Chapter of the NFF, receiving the Don Fambrough Coach of the Year award for the 2020-21 academic year.
“Coach Schmidt and Coach Hamilton are most deserving of this recognition,” chapter president Gerry McGuire said. “They are well respected by their peers and they produce winners on and off the field. We congratulate them on their success.”
Hamilton’s 46-year tenure at Silver Lake began in 1973, and after spending the 1977-78 seasons at Washburn University as the defensive backs coach, he returned to coach the Eagles in 1979.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Needless to say, Bo Reeves and his Rossville teammates were over the moon with excitement after capping a perfect 13-0 football season with the Class 2A state championship last fall.
Some seven months later that excitement hasn't really waned. In fact, Reeves may appreciate that achievement more now than he did back in November.
"Lookng back at it now, it actually feels real,'' Reeves said. "We got our rings, we see it in the books and it seems a lot more real than it did back then because then it was such a surreal thing.
"It was about the best we could have asked for. It was a great year, it was fun.''
Former Rossville star receiver Bo Reeves (10) will play for the East in Saturday's Kansas Shrine Bowl at Hutchinson. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University golf star Andrew Beckler was named TopNews.Sports' Washburn University Co-Male Athlete of the Year after earning the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year for Division II. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics}
ANDREW BECKLER
CO-MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
The Ichabod senior golf star was named the 2021 Division II Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year to cap his outstanding college career with the highest individual honor in college golf. Prior to Beckler, Washburn had never had a finalist for the Nicklaus Award, nor had there ever been a golfer from the MIAA or the NCAA Division II Central Region to win it.
Beckler, a Washburn Rural graduate, was earlier named the 2021 MIAA Player of the Year after turning in a record season for the Ichabods this spring as he claimed five individual titles in 10 competitions and placed in the top three at the other five events. He lost to just seven total golfers the entire season. At the NCAA Golf National Championships, Beckler recorded the highest individual finish in program history as he tied for second place out of 84 total golfers.
Andrew Beckler
Beckler, a former Class 6A individual and team champion for Washburn Rural, finished his career with Washburn's best scoring average with a 72.00 in 67 rounds played and he holds the best season scoring average (70.4). Beckler joined the team in 2018 after beginning his college career at Kansas State and was named to the all-MIAA team twice and received the conference Men's Golf Athlete of the Week award three times this past season.
Off the course, Beckler excelled in the classroom as he earned a place on the MIAA Academic Roll three times and was an MIAA Scholar Athlete twice.
Tyler Geiman, a third-team NCAA Division II All-American for the Washburn men's basketball team, will be honored as WU's co-men's athlete of the year Wednesday in conjunction with the Topeka Shawnee County sports awards banquet. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
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MOST INSPIRATIONAL: OUTSTANDING FEMALE NOMINEES
JahnAsia Anderson
JAHNASIA ANDERSON | Seaman
PARENT: Kellum Ireland
SPORT: Basketball and track and field | GPA: 4.11
Anderson went out for track and field for the first time as a senior and became a Class 5A state champion in the shot put. "JahnAsia's work ethic is second to none.'' Seaman girls track coach Rick Brading said. "On most days she was the last one to come in from practice. For JahnAsia to win a state championship after being slowed by (an) elbow injury is just amazing.'' Anderson was also a four-year member of a Seaman basketball team that qualified for three straight state tournaments. "Although undersized as a post player, she wasn't afraid to bang around and do the dirty work,'' Viking baksetball coach Matt Tinsley said.
JaNeysha Hendricks
JANEYSHA HENDRICKS | Topeka High
PARENTS: Antwaun and Nicole Jones
SPORT: Basketball | GPA: 3.4
The Trojans' point guard, Hendricks helped Topeka High post a pair of second-place finishes in the Class 6A basketball tournament as well as a semifinal berth in 2020 before the state tournament was canceled. "She is a true leader on and off the floor,'' Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander said. "She leads by example and is an amazing floor leader. Her stats are usually overlooked, but this girl makes everyone around her better. She has a knack for making passes that do not look like they should be there or be open.'' Hendricks, who averaged 4.5 assists her senior season, plans to attend Tabor College and play basketball for the Bluejays.
