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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden junior track and field multi-event state champ Jensen Schrickel and Highland Park freshman soccer standout Micah Williams have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2023-2024 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Schrickel and Williams over the past week:
Hayden junior Jensen Schrickel is the boys Rising Star of the Week after a big performance in last week's Leitel Legacy track meet at Free State. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
JENSEN SCHRICKEL, Hayden
Schrickel won the boys 400-meter dash in last Friday's Leitel Legacy Invitational track and field meet at Lawrence Free State, clocking a personal-record time of 49.24 seconds.
Schrickel also ran on the Wildcats' third-place 4x400 relay (3:25.90) and finished fourth in the long jump (20 feet, 2.5 inches).
An All-Shawnee County selection in track and field and football, Schrickel was a part of Hayden's Class 4A state championship 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams last spring after winning the state long jump title in 2022 as a freshman.
Highland Park freshman Micah Williams is the girls Rising Star of the Week after scoring six goals in two soccer games on the week, including four goals in a 6-2 Hi Park win. [Submitted photo]
MICAH WILLIAMS, Highland Park
Williams continued her outstanding freshman soccer season for Highland Park with six goals in two games on the week.
Williams scored four goals and added as assist on Tuesday as the Scots posted a 6-2 win over Meadowlark Conference foe Kansas City-Washington.
The Scot standout added two goals on Thursday in Highland Park's 5-2 conference loss to KC-Wyandotte, giving her 21 goals on the season for 4-6 Hi Park.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn baseball hosts No. 21-ranked Central Oklahoma for three games this weekend, beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. and concluding with the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday for Senior Day.
Junior Payton McHarg leads Washburn with a .359 batting average and is tied for the national lead with 18 home runs. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods are coming off a 6-1 loss to Rockhurst on the road on Wednesday in a non-league contest.
Washburn is now 23-17 overall and 17-10 inside the MIAA, including a 13-5 record at Falley Field. The Bronchos enter the weekend with a 32-10 record on the year and an 18-9 record in the MIAA.
Before the game on Sunday all 12 members of the Washburn baseball senior class will be recognized on the field. The group playing in their last series at Falley Field includes Teagan Tamiya, Trey Adams, Cal Watkins, Cole Warner, Jake Schroeder, Shane Morrow, Cale Savage, Otto Jones, Seger Holman, Ike Brook, Jayden Payne and Charlie Kiefer.
Through 40 games Washburn is scoring 9.23 runs per game while allowing 7.55.
At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .322 with a .419 on-base percentage and are slugging .579 as a team. Washburn has 77 home runs and has drawn 202 walks.
Washburn's pitching staff has an earned run average of 7.32 this season in 341.2 innings pitched. The Ichabods have struck out 287 batters while allowing 380 hits and issuing 216 walks.
The Ichabods have a .968 fielding percentage with 46 errors on the year and have turned 33 double plays.
WU is second in the nation in home runs with an average of 1.93 per game and 77 blasts on the year.
The Ichabods are tied for sixth in the nation and second in the conference in doubles with 103.
Junior Payton McHarg has started and played in all 40 games for the Ichabods hitting .359 and a team-high 18 home runs and 50 RBI.
McHarg has scored 51 runs and 56 total hits and is tied for the national lead in home runs.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Topeka Area Football Coaches Association along with Rebound Sports Performance will host the annual Junior Day Combine on May 7 at Shawnee Heights for next year's seniors interested in playing football at the collegiate level.
The combine, scheduled for 4 to 5:30 p.m., will be an opportunity for area high school athletes to get exposure in front of college coaches.
There will be representatives from NCAA Division II, NAIA and junior college programs in Kansas and the Midwest area at the combine and prospect information and combine results will be available to every college that recruits the Topeka area.
Players need to bring running shoes, cleats and water.
Shawnee Heights will host its annual Junior Football Combine on May 7 at Heights for area athletes in the Class of 2025 who plan to play college football. [File photo]
The cost for attending the combine is $10 and can be paid the day of the combine (cash, Venmo or check to TAFCA) .
If you are planning to attend the combine, please scan the completed registration form and email the information to Shawnee Heights football coach Jason Swift at
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By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musings around the mid-month:
• Sending this column later than usual, but it’s only once Rick Peterson turns 70.
• Celebrating that milestone in Las Vegas last week left me woozy.
• Maybe it was Rick Jr.’s foray on the Strip with pretend law ladies. I won’t divulge pictures, though they exist.
• Good to catch up with what is becoming America’s sports mecca, especially with the widespread legalization of sports wagering.
• Only fitting, I suppose, that the NHRA drag races were in Vegas the same time we were, considering how often all three of us covered the event at now-shuttered Heartland Park.
• Attended a AAA game hosted by the Las Vegas Aviators …courtesy of Topeka’s own Allen Leiker, sports editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
• As you might expect, the Aviators are a flawed ballclub considering they're an affiliate of the Oakland A’s.
• After they suffered another defeat, a team usher said, “Come on back, folks. We’ll win one sometime.”
• For anyone who frequents Vegas, we all live by the same principle.
• Not sure why there’s any angst over Caitlin Clark, her achievements and her transition into the WNBA.
• She’s a transcendent figure in a sport that longs for growth and acceptance.
• Clark paved that path, yet many (including some past greats) seem eager to disrespect her.
• Sure, she’ll have to adjust to pro ball, same as anyone. But I think she’s got the tools, the skills and the charisma to boost her stardom.
• I am sure she can scorch WNBA opponents, too, by connecting from center-court logos.
• And for once, the WNBA is getting a rookie everyone knows and many follow. Clark elevated the college game. To do so at the pro level would be even more remarkable.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden's boys golf team put five players in the top eight spots individually on the way to a dominating 24-stroke team victory in Wednesday's Santa Fe Trail Invitational at Lamont Hills.
Hayden's boys golf team posted a 24-stroke victory in Wednesday's Santa Fe Trail Invitational at Lamont Hills. [Hayden golf]
Junior Nick Gorman finished third individually with a 73 while senior Jacob Padilla placed fourth with a 76, juniors James Kuta and Colin Scott tied for fifth with 77s and junior Tagen Rodriguez tied for eighth place with an 82.
Sophomore Austin Bean rounded out the Wildcats' lineup with a 94.
Hayden finished with a four-person team score of 303, while Council Grove was second with a 327 total and tournament host Santa Fe Trail third at 330.
Silver Lake finished sixth as a team at 363, led by sophomore Grady Bergmann, who tied for 11th place with an 85.
Council Grove's Drew Buchman and Santa Fe Trail's Lane Workman tied for first place individually with 71s.
SANTA FE TRAIL INVITATIONAL
