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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
How good was Topeka West in Friday's Class 5A boys tennis regional at Kossover Tennis Center? The Chargers coudn't have done any better.
Kurt Davids' team swept the top two sports in both singles and doubles to qualify all six players for next weekend's state tournament at Maize South while taking the regional team championship by a 26-13 margin over runner-up Shawnee Heights.
Sophomore Carter Cool, now 24-12 on the season, took the singles championship with a 6-2, 6-3 win over West freshman teammate James Maag (16-6), while sophomore twin brothers Ian and Miles Cusick won the doubles title with a 6-2, 6-1 win over junior Gavin Chavez and freshman Caden McGee. The Cusicks improved to 29-6 while Chavez and McGee are 12-10.
Topeka West sophomore Carter Cool won the 5A regional singles title Friday at Kossover Tennis Center, helping the Chargers win the team championship. [Submitted]
"We anticipated the top seeds in singles and doubles and the second seed in singles, but we knew the No. 2 singles would have a tough match in the semi and the No. 2 doubles was going to have a tough road the whole way,'' Topeka West coach Kurt Davids said. "To end up in the finals against each other was very nice.
"No 2 doubles and 2 singles really rose to the occasion. Not to take anything away from the rest of the fielf, but when Carter and the twins were challenged the most was in the finals by their teammates.''
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The following op-ed column was written by Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, and Bill Faflick, executive director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association. The column deals with two vital issues facing high school athletics.
By KARISSA NIEHOFF and BILL FAFLICK
Executive Director of the NFS/Executive Director KSHSAA
Bill Faflick
Karissa Niehoff
After months of working with state government, education and health leaders, schools in all 50 states have been given the go-ahead to resume high school sports at some level of competition. Schools in the District of Columbia were the last to receive the green light on April 1. This is great news and signals that a return to normalcy may be on the horizon by the time schools begin sports and activities this fall.
Unfortunately, there is an ever-increasing issue that could put a kink in the return-to-play plans in Kansas and across the country – a shortage of officials, as in referees and umpires, that borders on catastrophic in some sports and in some parts of the nation.
The shortage of officials in high school – and middle school – sports has been a growing concern for several years; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has moved the issue to heightened levels.
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Former Shawnee Heights javelin standout Alyssa Conway has developed into one of NCAA Division II's top hammer throwers for Emporia State track and field. [Photo courtesy of Stephen Coleman]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It’s probably safe to say that most high school athletes in Kansas have no idea what the hammer is or how to throw it.
But that’s understandable. In fact, it hasn’t been that long ago that Emporia State track and field standout Alyssa Conway, a Shawnee Heights product, was in the same position.
“I was so confused when I came here and coach asked me if I wanted to try out the hammer,’’ said Conway, primarily a javelin thrower in high school. “I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ I had no idea what I was getting myself into and that was probably for the better.
From that humble beginning, Conway has become the most prolific hammer thrower in ESU history, breaking the 23-year-old school record held by another Topekan, Washburn Rural’s Laura Mayo, at the Drake Relays two weeks ago.
Shawnee Heights graduate is the new Emporia State record-holder in the women's hammer throw. [Photo courtesy of Stephen Coleman]
Last week Conway was named the MIAA Field Athlete of the Week after winning in the Alex Francis Classic at Fort Hays State, her second win in three weeks after finishing second in the prestigious Drake event.
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Former Washburn Rural standout pitcher Dalton Huggins picked up his third save of the season in Washburn's 12-9 win at Northwest Missouri on Thursday. [File photo/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's baseball team snapped a tie score with three runs in the eighth inning and held on for a 12- 9 series-opening win Thursday at Northwest Missouri.
The Ichabods will close out their regular season with a Friday doubleheader, starting at 12 p.m.
Taking advantage of two Bearcat errors in the top of the first, Washburn (17-20 overall, 16-15 in the MIAA) took a 2-0 lead on Peter Shearer's two-out, two-run single.
The Bearcats (13-24, 11-20) cut Washburn's lead to 2-1 in half in the bottom of the first, but Washburn went up 3-1 in the third when Xavier De Leon singled home Shawnee Heights product Cole Emerson.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University put freshmen Jaycee Ginter and Marrit Mead and junior Ashton Friend on the All-MIAA softball first team, selected by conference coaches, while Mead was also named the MIAA freshman of the year.
Washburn third baseman Marrit Mead, a Santa Fe Trail product, earned a spot on the All-MIAA softball first team and was named the conference freshman of the year. [File photo/TSN]
Ichabod freshman Jaycee Ginter, a former Shawnee Heights star, was named to the All-MIAA softball first team. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn junor Ashton Friend was one of three Ichabods named to the All-MIAA softball first team. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Mead, a Santa Fe Trail product, hit a team-high 471 over the regular season and also leads the Ichabods in hits (71), runs scored (45) and stolen bases (22), while Shawnee Heights product Ginter has a pitching record of 13-4 with a 3.09 earned run average, 30 RBI and six home runs and Friend leads Washburn and the MIAA with 11 homers and 46 RBI.
Ichabod junior Bri Francis and freshman Hadley Kerschen received honorable mention.
