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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Shawnee Heights' boys bowling team had been knocking at the door all season, posting top-three team finishes in city, league and regional competition.
Shawnee Heights junior Donovan Davis exchanges a high five with T-Bird coach Scott Mercer as Heghts celebrates its Class 5A team championship Friday in Wichita. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Shawnee Heights' boys bowling team poses for a picture after winning its first-ever Class 5A state team title. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
The T-Birds knocked that door down in Friday's Class 5A state tournament at Bowlero-Northrock, capturing the school's first boys state bowling team title by a 3,547-3,519 margin over Kansas City-Turner while Seaman finished third at 3,353 as United Kansas Conference team swept the top three places.
"They turned it up a notch today, that's all I can tell you,'' Shawnee Heights coach Scott Mercer said of his team. "They turned it up a notch, and then some.''
Shawnee Heights won the championship after not having a state qualifier in the 2023 state meet and despite not having a senior on the state team (two freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors) as the T-Birds put four bowlers in the top 20.
Junior Caden Cochrane led Shawnee Heights with a third-place individual finish Thursday, leading the T-Birds to the Class 5A team title. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Junior Caden Cochrane finished third individually with a 685 series while freshman Trey Donath was eighth (667), freshman Evan Jones ninth (665) and sophomore Henry Schattilly 18th (637).
"We just had to stay focused and just concentrate on what we were doing and got the job done,'' Cochrane said. "We were making good shots and picking up our spares.''
Rounding out the T-Bird lineup were junior Donovan Davis with a 591 series and sophomore Kaden Evans with a 510.
Shawnee Heights led at the start of the Baker games and fell behind Turner before coming on strong to close out the title.
Mercer said that despite their youth the T-Birds did a great job of keeping their composure on Friday.
"Last year they kind of clammed up a little bit at regionals,'' said Mercer, who claimed his first state title as a coach. "I prepped them this year, I said, 'It's just another day, just another event.' Then we got to state and I'm like, 'Oh boy, what's going to happen?'
"We had long talks last night and a couple days before and basically said, 'It's just another day and we've got some business that we've got to finish and let's go get it.' ''
Shawnee Heights had finished second to Seaman in the city championships and third in the UKC meet behind Seaman and Piper, but Friday was the T-Birds' day.
"I'm not going to lie, we've always said that, 'When's our day coming? And it's here today,'' Mercer said.
"It's an amazing day,'' Donath said. "We worked as a team and we did all the team things we could do together, we communicated together and we just got a win for today.''
Senior Riley Parkhurst finished 11th individually in Class 5A, leading Seaman to a third-place team trophy. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Seaman finished third as a team in the Class 5A state bowling tournament. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Seaman senior Riley Parkhurst paced the Vikings with an 11th-place individual finish (662) while the Vikings also got a 597 series from junior Alexander Prescott, a 587 from junior Dominic Figueroa, a 573 from sophomod Carsen Wood 573, a 560 from freshman Dylan Hunt and a 471 from freshman Landon Huxman.
Topeka West senior Dason Tidwell, competing as an individual, finished 20th with a 633 to earn a state medal while Highland Park sophomore Cristian Reyes rolled a 569 series.
Viking girls third in 5A, city bowlers earn four state medals
Seaman's rallied to finish third as a team in Friday's Class 5A girls state meet while the Vikings and Topeka West combined for four individual state medals.
Seaman's girls bowling team poses for a picture with its Class 5A third-place team trophy Friday in Wichita. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Seaman finished with a team score of 2,864 to finish third behind Great Bend (2,996) and Eisenhower (2,881), led by state medalists Kayla Mize and Paige Snyder.
Mize, a senior, finished 14th with a three-game series of 563 while Snyder, a freshman, placed 19th with a 542 series.
Topeka West senior Megan Wood placed sixth in Class 5A in Friday's state tournament at Wichita. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Topeka West senior Brenna Rutschmann finished seventh in Class 5A girls bowling Friday at Wichita. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Topeka West seniors Megan Wood and Brenna Rutschmann, who both qualified for state as individuals, were the highest finishing city bowlers in 5A, with Wood bowling a 584 series to finish sixth and Rutschmann bowling a 580 series to finish seventh.
In addition to Mize and and Snyder, Seaman got a 533 series from senior Cheyenne Turkin, a 484 from sophomore Claire LaDuke, a 483 from senior JaeLinn Thetford and a 452 from freshman Ava Carlson.
Shawnee Heights sophomore Reese Bell, who also qualified as an individual, bowled a 476 series.
CLASS 5A STATE BOWLING TOURNAMENT
At Bowlero-Northrock
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn men's basketball will wrap up the regular season on Saturday in Lee Arena, hosting rival Emporia State at 3 p.m.
Junior Andrew Orr averages a team-best 13.6 points for 18-9 Washburn basketball. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn (18-9 overall, 14-7 MIAA) won its final regular season road game of the year on Wednesday, taking a 77-72 win at Missouri Southern. The Hornets (18-11, 11-10) fell 79-76 at Pittsburg State, snapping their four-game winning streak.
The Ichabods, who have already clinched a spot in the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, Mo., are in a tie for third in the MIAA standings with Pittsburg State (15-7). Northwest Missouri (19-2) and Fort Hays State (16-5) lead the league standings with one game to play. Rogers State is alone in fifth at 13-8. Missouri Southern is 11-10 tied with Central Oklahoma and Emporia State.
If the Ichabods and Gorillas remain tied for third, the Ichabods would have the tiebreaker by virtue of a head-to-head win on Jan. 20 in Lee Arena.
The MIAA Championship Tournament will be held next week in historic Municipal Auditorium.
Junior Andrew Orr leads the team in scoring with a 13.6 average. Orr is shooting 54 percent from the field, hitting 148 of 273 attempts. Orr also moved into 47th on Washburn's all-time scoring chart with 854 career points.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Efficient offense and rugged defense powered Hayden's boys to a 69-51 win over Perry-Lecompton Thursday at Royal Valley and into the sub-state final.
Senior Dom Ridley paced Hayden with 18 points in Thursday's 69-51 sub-state win over Perry-Lecompton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Wildcats will face Sabetha at 5 p.m. Saturday at Royal Valley with a Class 3A state tournament berth on the line. Sabetha improved to 19-3 by defeating Hiawatha Thursday by a score of 48-41.
Hayden shot a blistering 61 percent from the field Thursday, including eight 3-pointers against the Kaws. The Wildcats used a big first quarter to build a lead and never let up
“The guys just competed tonight,” said Hayden coach Trey Brown. “It’s something we’ve talked about all year, just putting together 32 minutes. In the first quarter we got up early, and in the second and third they kind of punched us in the mouth. But we handled it well and made a run there in the fourth.”
The Wildcats came out on fire, scoring 24 points in the first quarter to just 12 for Perry-Lecompton.
Freshman Mason Becker scored 15 points with four 3-pointers in Thursday's 69-51 Hayden sub-state win over Perry-Lecompton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden freshman Mason Becker connected on all three of his attempts from behind the arc in the first period to provide nine points. Dom Ridley added seven in the opening period.
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Obviously, the ultimate goal for Washburn Rural's girls bowling team was to win the state championship in Thursday's Class 6A state meet at Bowlero-Northrock.
Washburn Rural's girls bowling team poses for a picture after finishing second in Thursday's Class 6A state tournament at Bowlero-Northrock. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
But Jo Ricard and her Junior Blues know that finishing second to perennial state power Campus was no small feat.
Campus captured its seventh state title over the past nine seasons, with runnerup finishes in the other two years, by a 3,255-3,092 margin over Washburn Rural, which out-distanced Olathe Northwest by 102 pins for the runnerup spot.
"It is still a great accomplishment,'' Ricard said. "That's the first team we've gotten second with since Steve (Peoples) and I started in on the girls side of the program, so we gave it a run for our money. The first two games we were right there, right in it, and then the third game we dropped off and put ourselves in a little bit of a hole and then it wasn't quite what we had been bowling with the Baker.''
"We're going home with something, which is better than nothing,' said Rural senior Claire Ireland, who led the Junior Blues with a 14th-place individual finish. "I think our three 10-pin games we felt more confident about and then Baker was a little iffy.
"Campus just bowled better than us all-around.''
Washburn Rural senior Claire Ireland reacts after bowling a strike on the final ball of her high school career in Thursday's Class 6A state tournament. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural's Gabby Martinez receives a hug from fellow senior Claire Ireland at the conclusion of Thursday's Class 6A state bowling tournament. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Ireland bowled a 594 series to earn her second straight 6A state medal while sophomore Camrynn Ahrens shot a 557, junior Ashley Billups a 557, senior Gabby Martinez a 552, freshman Megan Glinka a 535 and junior Elizabeth Poling a 509 series.
"I will take that happily,'' Ireland said about earning another state medal.
Wichita Northwest Kalee Stockstill captured the individual championship with a 705 three-game series while Wichita East junior Bella Lumbreras was second with a 663 series and Garden City junior Kyleigh Whitehurst third with a 662.
Campus put three bowlers in the top 20, led by fourth-place Allie Gentry with a 657.
CLASS 6A STATE BOWLING TOURNAMENT
At Bowlero-Northrock
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Sophomore Cody Spangler would have loved to have had his Washburn Rural bowling teammates alongside him for Thursday's Class 6A state bowling tournament at Bowlero-Northrock.
Washburn Rural sophomore Cody Spangler bowled a 702 series Thursday to post a sixth-place individual finish in the Class 6A state tournament. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
But as the lone Junior Blues state qualifier, Spangler did what he could to make the program proud, bowling a 702 three-game series to earn the sixth-place individual medal.
"At first I was nervous, but I was talking to friends and I just locked in I guess and I started bowling really well and I just kept hitting my mark,'' Spangler said. "I was really proud of myself.
"I didn't know I was going to bowl this well at state considering last year I bowled a 188 average (on the season). To average 234 at state, that's a 46-pin jump, which is just crazy.''
Washburn Rural sophomore Cody Spangler bowled three games between 225 and 248 Thursday to post a sixth-place individual finish in the Class 6A state tournament. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Spangler rolled games of 225, 248 and 229 to finish just four pins out of the top five.
"This definitely inspired me to work a lot harder in bowling,'' Spangler said. "I don't know if I'm going to bowl as well as I did this year because it was just a great year all over. I had a 300 game and this (state finish) will be kind of hard to beat. I'm going to try though.''
Topeka High senior Thomas Patterson bowled a 642 series on Thursday in Wichita, narrowly missing a Class 6A state medal. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Thomas Patterson, a Topeka High senior, bowled 232 and 218 games in Thursday's Class 6A state tournament at Bowlero-Northrock. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Topeka High senior Thomas Patterson also competed at state as an individual, bowling a 642 series, which was just eight pins away from a state medal.
Patterson started his day with a 232 game, followed by a 192 and a 218 in his final game.
CLASS 6A STATE BOWLING TOURNAMENT
At Bowlero-Northrock
