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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Seaman's Aaron Merritt opted not to go out for football last fall for the first time in his high school career, putting all his dedication into getting ready for his senior track and field campaign.
Seaman standout Aaron Merritt opened his senior track season with three individual wins in Thursday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman Aaron Merritt clears a hurdle en route to a win in the 110-meter highs in Thursday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
That decision paid immediate dividends Thursday, with Merritt turning in three impressive individual wins and helping the Vikings notch a school record in a relay in the season-opening Topeka West Invitational at Hummer Sports Park.
"I quit football with the intention that all my energy would go towards track,'' Merritt said. "I joined the Topeka Blazers and ran for them all summer and I ran a couple of indoor meets over the winter and did pretty well in both of them.''
But Thursday's West meet was Merritt's first real test and he passed with flying colors.
"I've been anticipating this meet since I decided to quit football,'' Merritt said. "This outdoor season's going to be my season.''
Merritt opened his day with a win in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.90 seconds and he came right back to win the 100 dash in 10.77 and later in the meet he added a victory in the 200 in 22.08.
In the only event he didn't win, Merritt teamed with Jacob Anderson, Bryce Cochran and Tad McGee to set a Seaman school record in the 4x100 relay with a second-place finish in 43.23.
"I was hoping for some greatness but today blew my mind,'' Merritt said. "I thought I did awesome today.''
Now Merritt just wants to build on his great start over the rest of the 2024 season.
"From last year my progressions have gone way up and I absolutely have more in the tank if I progressed this much in the offseason,'' Merritt said.
Other meet highlights:
Seaman's Brody Anderson won the boys 800 meters title in the Topeka West Invitational for the second straight season Thursday at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman's Michael Hurla won the boys 300 hurdles title Thursday in the Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Seaman sophomore Brody Anderson won the boys 800 for the second straight season, clocking a time of 2:01.23 to win by more than three seconds, while the Vikings, who finished second in the team standings to Manhattan, also got an individual win from Michael Hurla in the 300-meter hurdles (42.11).
Topeka High freshman Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton (4) prepares to take the baton from teammate Jayana Washington (right) as the Trojans post a win in the 4x100 relay in Thursday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Topeka High freshman Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton made her high school debut with a pair of gold medals.
Rayton won the girls triple jump with a best of 34 feet, 4 inches and also teamed with Latrice Hysten, Keimara Marshall and Jayana Washington to win the 4x100 reay in 52.78 seconds, with Rayton running the anchor leg.
Rayton also posted a third-place finish in the long jump with a best of 16-2.
Marshall finished second in the 100-meter dash (13.21) and the 200 (27.37).
Topeka High's Malachi Murph finished second in the boys 100 (11.18) and 200 (23.05) while the Trojans' Jaxon Cowdin was the runnerup in the 110 hurdles (16.21) and the 300 hurdles (43.28).
• Highland Park's Majesty Grace recorded the Scots' lone win on the day, taking a victory in the girls 100-meter hurdles by nearly a second in 18.68. Seaman's Jaida Stallbaumer made it a sweep of the girls hurdles races with a win in the 300 lows by more than two seconds in 50.62.
• Seaman's girls took wins in two of the three relays, with Taylie Heston, Brynn Spencer, Kinley Robinson and Savannah Sampson winning the 4x800 relay in 10:44.41 and Heston, Stallbaumer, Ally Steiner and Ryin Miller winning the 4x400 event by nearly nine seconds in 4:20.94.
• Seaman's Maggie Lesmeister won the girls javelin event by more than two feet, recording a top throw of 107 feet, 11 inches.
• Manhattan won the boys team championship by a 229-130 margin over Seaman while the Indians won the girls title by a 207-148 margin over Emporia.
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' Ryan Schmidt has accomplished about everything a coach can accomplish in his 25-year run as the T-Birds' head baseball coach.
Now the Heights veteran just wants to add a few more highlights before bringing his long tenure to an end later this spring.
Ryan Schmidt will end his 25-year run as Shawnee Heights' baseball coach at the conclusion of the 2024 season. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The 54-year-old Schmidt, who has coached the T-Birds to a pair of Class 5A state championships as Heights' head coach while also having a hand in two other state titles as an assistant under Craig Cox, will retire as a coach and teacher at the end of the current school year.
"It's time to maybe turn it over to younger guys to come up and bring their energy,'' said Schmidt, who has coached multiple players who went on to play professional baseball.
"We still have a lot of energy as a coaching staff and I love our coaches, but I just kind of made up my mind that after 25 years as a head coach and 31 years at Shawnee Heights and 31 years in the baseball program it just felt right.''
Schmidt said the thing he'll miss the most is the relationships he's built with his players and assistant coaches, including longtime assistant Derek Pomeroy.
"I've always let our coaches coach and I couldn't do it without coach Pom,'' Schmidt said. "His knowledge is incredible and every relationship is what I'll miss, but especially with the coaches.''
Ryan Schmidt (left) has been part of four Class 5A state baseball championships at Shawnee Heights, two as a head coach and two as an assistant. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The goal now is to end the '24 season with one more trip to the 5A state tournament at Wichita State's Eck Stadium.
"Absolutely, that's our main goal,'' Schmidt said. "That's what we want. We want that this year for these guys.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Rick Bloomquist is as passionate about coaching basketball, and coaching at Topeka West, as he ever has been in a successful high school career that has spanned more than four decades and produced 576 victories.
Veteran Topeka West basketball coach Rick Bloomquist is stepping away from coaching to watch his sons play high school basketball. [File photo/TSN]
But Bloomquist knows that it's time for him, at least for the foreseeable future, to apply that passion towards supporting his sons' fledgling careers in the sport he so dearly loves.
Cohen Bloomquist recently completed his freshman season at Emporia High while his younger brother, Kaelon, will be a freshman for the Spartans next season and Rick Bloomquist wants to be on hand for every minute.
To that end, the 69-year-old Bloomquist confirmed to TopSports.news that he is stepping away from coaching at Topeka West, although he plans to continue teaching at the school. Bloomquist informed his West players of his decision on Thursday morning.
"One hundred percent of this whole deal is being a dad, I need to be a dad,'' Bloomquist told TSN. "I took this job 12 years ago, so you're talking about Cohen being 4 and Kaelon being 3 and they've sacrificed that (basketball) season, not of me being a father but being a dad and being around as much. They had no problem with it, nobody had a problem with it, but now it's their turn.
"I didn't know how long I was going to be at Topeka West. I didn't have any idea, but every year it got better and every year I got happier and every year everything meshed together. Their mother, Kendra, supported it very well and the boys actually have been proud that their dad was the coach at Topeka West and they wore that badge every day it seemed like, so this whole decision is 100 percent based on being a dad and watching them through their high school years. I owe that to them, I owe that to me, to both of us, because I've missed out on that part of their sports activities.
"I haven't missed out on their football or their track or their baseball or anything else they wanted to do, but basketball's a long season and now that they're both getting up there and getting a chance to play at the high school level I don't want to miss out on that.''
Before taking over a moribund Topeka West program in the 2012-2013 season Bloomquist previously coached for 21 years at Emporia, where he led the Spartans to six state tournament appearances and a runner-up state finish in 1995, and coached nine seasons at Kingman.
But it was at Topeka West where Bloomquist rejuvenated his career after being out of the game for two seasons.
Bloomquist notched his 500th career win in West's win over Olathe Northwest in January, 2020, and he has led the Chargers to five straight winning seasons, including a berth in the Class 5A state championship game in 2021.
Rick Bloomquist has posted 576 victories as a high school coach, taking Emporia and Topeka West to the state finals. [File photo/TSN]
And even though he knows in his heart that he's making the right decision, Bloomquist said that it is still really hard to step away from coaching.
"It pulls on me bad, it pulls on me hard,'' Bloomquist said. "I really love coaching in (USD) 501. My personality fits 501's philosophy of coaching. There's a good fit here and I realize that. There's some places my personality wouldn't fit, but 90 percent of my time here the parents, the administrators have been just great.
"There's just so many happy memories and positive things whether it be coaching or teaching, the whole gamut. The Topeka West atmosphere, I love it here.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's baseball team didn't get the win it was looking for in Tuesday's season-opener, with Gardner-Edgerton taking a 3-2 nailbiter over the Junior Blues at Rural.
But Rural coach Jay Mastin, whose team entered the 2024 campaign with numerous holes to fill, particularly in its pitching staff, saw a lot of positives that he hopes the Junior Blues can build on moving forward.
Senior Braden Hauschel pitched five solid innings for Washburn Rural in Tuesday's 3-2 season-opening loss to Gardner-Edgerton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior catcher Connor Wells tags out Gardner-Edgerton's Gracen Crowder at home in Tuesday's 3-0 Trailblazer win over the Junior Blues. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural played error-free baseball and got solid pitching performances from seniors Braden Hauschel and Braden Ailslieger but managed only three hits against three Trailblazer pitchers and was unable to fully take advantage of the scoring opportunities it was afforded through five hit batters and four walks.
"From last year's pitching staff we return one player who threw one inning so we're pretty much brand new on the mound and had to fill a few spots on the field and in the batting order, too,'' Mastin said. "I was really impressed with Braden Hauschel on the mound today. He was injured all last year and to see him out there and give us five innings and keep us in the game I was really proud of his effort today and then Ailslieger came in and pitched a couple of good innings of relief to give us a shot there at the end.
"At the plate we got some runners on base but we couldn't do much with them and couldn't move them over and the four double play balls that we hit into was a big factor.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Brody Anderson, Seaman
BRODY ANDERSON, Seaman
A sophomore distance standout, Anderson received All-Shawnee County honorable mention in track last spring and was a first-team all-county pick in cross country in the fall. Anderson set the fastest five-kilometer time in Seaman cross country history at the city meet, clocking a time of 15 minutes, 50 seconds, and Anderson finished third at regionals to lead the Vikings to a state team berth. Anderson opened his track season with a win in the 800 meters in the Topeka West Invitational (2:01.23).
Alesecio Batson, Topeka West
ALESECIO BATSON, Topeka West
A junior, Batson is the returning Class 5A state champion in the triple jump, winning the title with a leap of 48 feet, 4.25 inches. An All-Shawnee County first-team pick, Batson was the county leader in the event with a season-best jump of 48-11. Batson is easing back into competition this spring after suffering a leg injury over the summer but finished third in the 400-meter dash (53.64) in the season-opening Topeka West Invitational.
TRISTAN BERG, Seaman
Berg is a standout senior long-jumper for the Vikings and earned All-Shawnee County honorable mention last season. Berg finished his 2023 eason tied for fourth in Shawnee County with a top jump of 21 feet, 5 inches.
BRYCE COCHRAN, Seaman
A junior, Cochran earned All-Shawnee County first-team recognition last season after a solid season for the Vikings in the sprints and jumps. Cochran ranked third in the county last season in the 200-meter dash (22.34) and fifth in the triple jump (41-10). Cochran opened the 2024 season in Thursday's Topeka West Invitational, finishing fourth in the 200 (23.41) and running on Seaman's second-place 4x100 and 4x400 relays, with the 4x100 setting a school record.
ALEX DITTMAN, Shawnee Heights
A senior, Dittman was a first-team All-Shawnee County selection in 2023 after finishing fifth in the 5A javelin (165 feet, 9 inches). Dittman had a season-best of 175-1, which ranked No. 2 in the county. Dittman opened his season at Friday's Free State Early Bird Invitational with a runnerup finish in the javelin at 157-9.
Finn Dunshee, Hayden
FINN DUNSHEE, Hayden
A returning All-Shawnee County first-teamer, Dunshee, a senior, won the 4A 100-meter dash (10.84) last spring and also ran on the Wildcats' winning 4x100 (42.65) and 4x400 relays while helping Hayden set the 4A meet record in the 4x400 relay (3:20.99). Dunshee was also an all-county Top 22 selection in football after helping the Wildcats advance to the 3A state championship game.
Jackson Esquibel, Shawnee Heights
JACKSON ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights
A senior Kansas State signee, Esquibel won the 5A 3,200-meter run in 9 minutes, 18.67 seconds in the 2023 state track meet and added a runnerup finish in the 1,600 (4:15.26). A multi-time All-Shawnee County pick, Esquibel added the 5A cross country championship this past fall. Esquibel opened his senior track campaign with a sweep of the 1,600 meters (4:36.23) and 3,200 (9:44.51) in Friday's Free State Early Bird Invitational.
