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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Centennial League champion Washburn Rural dominates the All-Centennial League boys golf team, led by junior player of the year Luke Leonetti.
Washburn Rural junior golf standout Luke Leonetti has been named the Centennial League player of the year after winning city and league individual titles. [File photo/TSN]
Leonetti, the city and Centennial League individual champion and a regional runner-up, is joined on the all-league first team by junior teammates Joe Morse and Turner Depperschmidt after Rural swept city, league and regional team titles before finishing sixth in the Class 6A state tournament.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Centennial League champion and Class 6A state tournament qualifier Washburn Rural and 5A state qualifier Seaman landed four players apiece on the All-Centennial League baseball team, selected by league coaches.
Washburn Rural, 17-6 on the season, is represented on the first team by senior pitcher Cooper Carlgren, junior infielder Brock Howard, senior catcher Brady Patterson and senior utility pick Hunter Vondemkamp while 19-4 Seaman put senior pitcher Kevin Mannell, junior infielder Dagen Brewer and senior outfielders Cole Askew and Kolden Howerton on the all-league team.
Seaman senior Cole Askew outfielder has been named the Centennial League player of the year after helping lead the Vikings to a 19-4 season and a berth in the Class 5A state tournament. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Askew was named the Centennial League player of the year while Washburn Rural's Jay Mastin was selected as the league coach of the year.
Topeka High, which put together a breakthrough 15-7 season in 2021, is represented by junior infielder Max Colombo.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Very few teams in any sport look forward to playing third-place games and Washburn Rural's girls soccer team was no exception Saturday at Hummer Sports Park.
But after absorbing a lopsided 6-0 semifinal loss on Friday to perennial Class 6A power Blue Valley West, Brian Hensyel's Junior Blues had something to prove Saturday against Centennial League rival Manhattan.
"There was just a lot of disappointment last night, and not that we lost to Blue Valley West,'' Hensyel said. "They're a phenomenal program and losing to them in the final four, everybody's done that in the last few years. It was just the way in which we lost.
"I think the thing that hurt us the most was we had so many fans here yesterday. It was a big day for Topeka girls soccer, a chance for us to prove that players in this town can play just like anybody across the state, and so many people came out to support us and we just laid an egg. It was our worst performance of the year.''
Fortunately for the Junior Blues, they got the opportunity to wipe the sour taste out of their mouths 17 hours later and took advantage in a 3-1 win over the Indians.
Mackinly Rohn (left) scores Washburn Rural's first goal in Saturday's 3-1 win over Manhattan in the Class 6A third-place game at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"What we told them before the game was we were playing our rivals, so that should be enough for energy, but let's show everybody that yesterday was kind of a fluke and today we wanted to show them who we were all season, which was a team that was very strong defensively, found ways to generate goals and was one of the top teams in the state,'' Hensyel said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Friday's Class 3A boys 200-meter dash final was so close that almost everybody in Cessna Stadium immediately turned their eyes to the scoreboard to find out who won the hotly-contested race, including Rossville senior Woodrow Rezac.
And after a few seconds, Rezac got the news that he was hoping for, being declared the state champion by .01 of a second over Perry-Lecompton's Hunter Hess with a winning time of 22.15 seconds.
"I really knew it was a close race and out of the corner of my eye, to be honest I thought he had me," said Rezac, who had finished a close second in the 100 earlier in the day. "I looked back on the scoreboard and it was a good feeling to see my name first. The hard work and dedication pay off when you see your name next to No. 1."
Rossville's Woodrow Rezac (3249) and Silver Lake's Brogan Renfro walk off the Cessna Stadium track after Friday's Class 3A 200-meter dash. Rezac won the 200 title in 22.15 while Renfro placed fourth. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Perry-Lecompton's Hess also had to glance at the scoreboard to get the final resul.
"Coming down (to the finish), I knew it was going to be tough to catch up to him," Hess said. "I thought I had him, but he's really fast and he deserved it. No harm done."
Rossville senior Woodrow Rezac battles for the Class 3A 200-meter dash title Friday at Cessna Stadium. Rezac won by .01 of a second in 22.15 seconds. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Silver Lake junior Brogan Renfro, who won four 3A state medals on the day, was also in the title hunt in the 200, finishing fourth.
"Right before the race, we looked at each other and said, 'We're bringing that state title back to (Highway) 24,' '' Rezac said. "After the race, (Renfro) said, 'Now you gave me something to beat.' ''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
With junior NiJaree Canady setting the tone with a dominating three-game pitching performance, Topeka High completed a perfect 25-0 season with the school's first-ever state softball championship Friday at the Shawnee Mission District Stadium, rolling to a 7-1 victory over Olathe North.
Canady recorded 16 strikeouts against North (18-7) in her third straight complete-game performance in the pitching circle while the Trojans also got their offense cranked up en route to completing a title quest that got its impetus with a first-round state-tournament loss in 2019.
Topeka High junior NiJaree Canady helped lead the Trojans to a perfect 25-0 season and High's first-ever state softball title, capped by Friday's 7-1 win over Olathe North in the championship game. [File photo/TSN]
Canady ended her two-hitter against the Eagles with her 16th strikeout of the game and her 48th strikeout of the state tournament, setting off a wild, and long-awaited, championship celebration.
