- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After earning first-team All-American football honors last season at Hutchinson Community College and spending a short time at Division I Toledo, former Highland Park multi-sport star Tre Richardson decided that home is where his heart is.
Former Highland Park star and Hutchinson All-American Tre Richardson is transferring to Washburn to be a dual sport athlete in football and track and field. [File photo/TSN]
A two-time Class 5A state champion last spring at Highland Park, Tre Richardson plans to run track and play football at Washburn. [File photo/TSN]
Richardson, the 2023 Topeka Shawnee County Male Athlete of the Year, told TopSports.news Sunday night that he is transferring to Washburn where he will be a dual sport athlete in football and track and field for the Ichabods.
"What made me decide was the connection and care that the coaches showed on both sides,'' Richardson said. "In football they showed me how they were going to use me and I liked it and then track, I wanted to get back into track and the fact that they were excited for me to do both and not interfere with each other made me see that they really wanted me there.''
Richardson said the opportunity to be able to play in front of his friends and family was also a big drawing card to Washburn.
"I felt like it would be nice to play in front of a crowd that I know and knows me since high school,'' he said. "I've seen how the community helps Washburn and shows love and comes to the games and supports everybody and that's what I want around me and my son.
"I want him around a caring community and I feel like that's Washburn.''
- Details
The 2024 All-City girls swimming and diving team -- Front, from left: Tauren Walz, Seaman; Genevieve Miranda, Washburn Rural; Hara Del Castillo, Topeka High; Joslynn Grace, Seaman; Ashtynn Landry, Shawnee Heights; Rhiannon Good, Washburn Rural; Jella Belgardt, Washburn Rural. Back, from left: Kaitlyn Aldridge, Shawnee Heights; Avery Walz, Seaman; Presley Green, Hayden; Audrey Appuhn, Washburn Rural; Maddie O'Brien, Washburn Rural; Molly Didde, Washburn Rural; Kaylee Gregg, Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Six state placers, led by second-place finishers Avery Walz, Tauren Walz and Joslynn Grace of Seaman, headline the 2024 All-City girls swimming and diving team.
Avery Walz posted four top-five finishes in last weekend's Class 5A-1A state meet, including a runnerup finish in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100 freestyle and she also teamed with junior Joslynn Grace and senior Tauren Walz to post a runnerup finish in the 200 medley relay and a fifth-place finish in the 200 free relay.
Washburn Rural freshman Audrey Appuhn posted top-six finishes in a pair of 6A individual events, while Hayden junior Kaylee Gregg finished fifth in the 5A-1A state meet in one-meter diving and Washburn Rural sophomore Rhiannon Good placed seventh in the 6A diving event.
City and Centennial League champion Washburn Rural, which won its 21st straight city title, put a city-high six swimmers/divers on the All-City first team, which is determined by performances in the city meet, while Seaman, which finished third in the 5A-1A team standings, has three first-teamers..
Washburn Rural put Appuhn, Good, Jella Belgardt, Molly Didde, Genevieve Miranda and Madeline O'Brien on the first team while Seaman is represented by the Walz twins and Grace after the Vikings posted a top-five 5A-1Ateam finish for the fourth straight season.
Hayden's Gregg and Presley Green and Shawnee Heights' Kaitlyn Aldridge and Ashtynn Landry also earned first-team recognition and Topeka High's Hara Del Castillo is a first-team repeat honoree.
All-City first-team capsules:
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls swimming team fell just short of winning an event in Saturday's Class 5A-1A state championship at the Shawnee Mission District Aquatic Center, but three runnerup finishes and six trips to the finals paved the way for a strong third-place team finish for the Vikings.
Seaman senior Avery Walz closed out a banner high school career with a pair of second-place finishes and four medals overall in Saturday's Class 5A-1A state meet. [File photo/TSN]
Senior star Avery Walz finished second in both the 200-yard individual medley (2 minutes, 9.40 seconds) and the 100 freestyle (53.17) and she also teamed with junior Joslynn Grace and seniors Tauren Walz and Avery Samuelson to post a runnerup finish in the 200 medley relay (1:56.90) and a fifth-place finish in the 200 free relay (1:44.47).
Seaman senior Tauren Walz earned four Class 5A-1A top-eight finishes on Saturday, helping the Vikings post a third-place team finish. [File photo/TSN]
eaman junior Joslynn Grace placed in four events in the Class 5A-1A state events, helping the Vikings finish third in 5A-1A as a team. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman also got a fourth-place finish from Tauren Walz in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.95) and an eighth in the 100 butterfly (59.97) while Grace finished fifth in the 100 breaststroke (1:09.12) and eighth in the 200 individual medley (2:15.23).
It all added up to 147 points, with the Vikings third behind team champion Blue Valley Southwest (253) and Andover (198).
Saturday was Seaman's fourth straight top-five state team finish.
Washburn Rural sophomore Audrey Appuhn was a double Class 6A state medalist for the second straight season on Saturday. [File photo/TSN]
Appuhn earns pair of state medals in 6A
For the second straight season Washburn Rural sophomore standout Audrey Appuhn captured a pair of individual state medals in the 6A state championships.
Appuhn finished fifth in the 200 individual medley (2:12.72) and sixth in the 500 freestyle (5:17.70) to lead Rural to a 13th-place team finish with 73 points.
Sophomore Rhiannon Good posted a seventh-place finish in the one-meter diving event (359.40).
Appuhn, Genevieve Miranda, Jella Belgardt and Molly Didde won the 'B' final (ninth place) in the 200 medley relay (1:59.01) while Miranda, a junior, finished 11th in the 'B' final in the 50 freestyle (25.84).
Hayden sophomore Kaylee Gregg finished fifth in the Class 5A-1A state meet in the one-meter diving event Saturday, her second straight top-10 state finish. [File photo/TSN]
Gregg posts fifth-place finish in 5A-1A diving
Hayden junior Kaylee Gregg posted a fifth-place finish in the 5A-1A one-meter diving event, advancing to the finals for the second straight season.
Kaylee Gregg posted a score of 364.80 while her younger sister Maddie, a freshman, finished 11th with a score of 280.95.
Kaylee Gregg had finished 10th as a sophomore in the 2023 state meet.
Emporia sophomore Allisyn Weiss captured the state title with a winning score of 451.20.
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Hayden's boys won five events and qualified for the Class 3A state meet in nine events on the way to claiming the team title in Thursday's 3A track and field regional at St. Marys.
Hayden senior Finn Dunshee (second from left) won the 100 and 200-meter dashes in the Class 3A regional at St. Marys. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden junior Jensen Schrickel won the 400 and finished second in the long jump in the 3A regional at St. Marys. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Senior Finn Dunshee swept the 100 and 200-meter dashes while junior Jensen Schrickel won the 400 and the Wildcats added wins in the 4x100 and 4x400 relay as Hayden won the team title by an 80-58 margin over Nemaha Central.
Dunshee clocked a time of 10.69 seconds in the 100 and went 21.64 in the 200 while Schrickel won the 400 in 50.16 and finished second in the long jump at 21 feet, 9 inches.
The Wildcats, in their first season in 3A, also swept the 4x100 (42.49) and 4x400 (3:28.90) titles.
Junior Liam Stegman finished third in the 400 (51.34) and senior Carter Charvat placed fourth in the javelin (165-5) while Hayden also qualified for state with a third-place finish in the 4x800 relay (8:28.03).
Silver Lake's boys qualified for state in seven events, led by junior Evan Scheid, who placed second in the 200 (22.67) and third in the 100 (11.21)
Silver Lake senior Blake Redmond qualified for state with a third-place finish in the long jump (20-8) while senior Eli Ferguson placed fourth in the 800 (1:59.50) and junior Jared Johnson finished fourth in the high jump (5-10).
The Eagles also finished second in the 4x100 relay (43.11) and third 4x400 relay (3:29.61).
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Before she ever stepped on the track for Friday's Class 5A track and field regional, it had already been a good week for Viking sophomore star Ryin Miller, who had helped Seaman's soccer team reach the state quarterfinals with a pair of wins, including a 4-1 win at Basehor-Linwood on Thursday that avenged a 1-0 loss nine days earlier.
Seaman sophomore star Ryin Miller posted three individual wins in Friday's Class 5A regional meet and also helped the Vikings qualify for state in the 4x400 relay. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"It was a good game for us,'' said Miller, who had a goal and two assists in the win. "I think it boosted our confidence. Obviously we have tough competition next game playing Blue Valley Southwest. They're pretty solid but I think Thursday was our best game overall.
"We played more as a team and it definitely showed.''
And the week got even better on Friday as Miller scorched her home track for three individual victories and qualified for a fourth state event in a relay in her tuneup for next week's state meet at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium.
Competing in four events for the first time in her career, the game plan for Miller was to try to save some energy throughout the night, but Miller still posted elite times in all three of her individual events.
Miller opened her night with a 21-second win in the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 55.24 seconds and she followed that up with a three-second-plus victory in the 800 in 2:12.99 and a 20-second win in the 3,200 in 10:57.40 before teaming with Taylie Heston, Jaida Stallbaumer and Ally Steiner to help the Vikings qualify for state in the 4x400 relay with a third-place finish in 4:04.44.
"I was actually a little sore, a little beat up in the beginning,'' Miller said. "After the mile I was like, 'Oh shoot,' because the mile hurt quite a bit so then I just decided I was going to race to qualify and not to PR (personal records).
"In the two mile I wanted to go, but I was like, 'Just get through this, state's what matters.' ''
Seaman's girls, who finished third as a team, qualified for next Friday and Saturday's state meet in a total of 10 events, with Stallbaumer qualifying in three events. Stallbaumer placed second in the 100 hurdles (16.42 seconds) and third in the 300 hurdles (49.30) before running on the 4x400 relay.
Seaman sophomore Ryin Miller leads the 3,200 in Friday's regional meet while Viking freshman Brynn Spencer qualified for state with a fourth-place finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Maggie Leismester was the runnerup in the javelin (130-9) while Rylee Hoffer was fourth in the discus (110-11), freshman Brynn Spencer was fourth in the 3,200 (11:52.14), Steiner added a fourth-place finish in the 100 dash (13.05) and the Vikings finished fourth in the 4x800 relay (10:15.97).
Other top performances Friday:
Seaman senior Aaron Merritt wins the 100-meter dash in Friday's Class 5A regional meet on the way to qualifying for state in four events. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Seaman boys hurdler/sprinter Aaron Merritt lost by a matter of inches in the 110-meter hurdles final but the Vikings' senior star was still all smiles after a regional performance that saw him qualify for state in four events.
Merritt (14.17) was edged by Piper senior Jayden Henry (14.15) in the 110s but came back to win the 100 dash (10.79) and helped the Vikings qualify in the 4x100 relay with a third-place finish (42.55) along with a fourth-place finish in the 4x400 relay (3:27.02).
Merritt teamed with Peyton Holmes, Bryce Cochran and Jacob Anderson in the 4x100 relay and with Cochran, Michael Hurla and Brody Anderson in the 4x400.
"I'm very happy with today,'' Merritt said. "I had a big PR in the hurdles and even though I didn't get him we were super close and we've been going back and forth all year. We don't know what's going to happen at state and I'm really excited to run with him again.
"I was not worried about the 100. I entered the meet first in the state and I'm determined to get a first-place medal at state.''
Holmes, a junior, also posted a win in the long jump with a career-best effort of 23 feet, 4.50 inches while Tad McGee finished third in the high jump (6-2), Hurla was third in the 300 hurdles (41.46) and Kaden Whitehurst was fourth in the triple jump (41-8.75) as the Vikings finished fourth as a team.
Shawnee Heights senior Jackson Esquibel won the 3,200 meters in Friday's Class 5A regional and also finished third in the 1,600. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Shawnee Heights senior distance star Jackson Esquibel's valliant effort to help the T-Birds get to state in the 4x800 relay came up just short, but Esquibel came back to qualify in both the 1,600 and 3,200 for the final meet of his outstanding prep career next Friday and Saturday in Wichita.
Esquibel came from behind to finish third in a loaded 1,600 field in a time of 4:27.49 and then posted a win in the 3,200 in 9:36.34.
"It was fun,'' Esquibel said about his regional performance. "I always just trust that God has a plan for me and I've felt like I've put so much pressure on myself the previous three years that my senior year I'm just having confidence and having fun.
"I'm just glad I got through today and I'm looking forward to next weekend.''
Esquibel's win gave him the opportunity to defend his 3,200 state title next Friday morning.
"I have confidence in my 3,200,'' Esquibel said. "I feel like I've gotten a lot stronger with the speed stuff and last cross country season (a 5A state title) gave me a lot more confidence going into this season.''
Shawnee Heights, which finished fifth as a team, also got wins in the throws from Alex Dawkins in the discus with a throw of 184 feet, 8 inches and from Alex Dittman in the javelin (165-1) while Rykan Carver made it to state in the shot put with a fourth-place finish in the shot put (50-4).
Payton Berry-Briggs finished second in the 200 dash (22.25) to advance to state in that event.
CLASS 5A TRACK AND FIELD REGIONAL
