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NOTE: Statistics for city girls basketball teams were compiled by Seaman girls coach Matt Tinsley. The following stats are the first of three statistical reports which will be released during the 2023-2024 season, capped by the season-ending stats.
Highland Park junior Amelia Ramsey is the city leader in scoring and rebounding entering 2024. [File photo/TSN]
SCORING
Name, school Gms. Pts. Avg
Ramsey, Highland Park 3 66 22.0
Meier, Hayden 5 80 16.0
Vickery, Washburn Rural 5 75 15.0
Canfield, Washburn Rural 2 29 14.5
McGlory, Topeka West 6 86 14.3
Becker, Seaman 5 68 13.6
Emmot, Shawnee Heights 5 67 13.4
Rayton, Topeka High 5 66 13.2
Broils, Highland Park 3 38 12.7
T. Stallbaumer, Seaman 5 62 12.4
Carter, Highland Park 3 33 11.0
Gragg, Seaman 5 53 10.6
Fulton, Hayden 5 53 10.6
Greco, Hayden 5 46 9.2
Vega, Shawnee Heights 5 44 8.8
REBOUNDING
Name, school Gms. Total Avg.
Ramsey, Highland Park 3 45 15.0
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee County high schools captured a pair of boys state team titles in 2023 while county athletes combined to earn a whopping 13 individual championships, led by six athletes who captured multiple gold medals.
Topeka West is No. 1 on TopSports.news' list of the Top 10 boys high school sports stories of 2023 after two-time state doubles champs Ian and Miles Cusick led the Chargers to the Class 5A state tennis title while Washburn Rural bowling is right behind West after turning in one of the top performances in state tournament history en route to the 6A boys team championship.
Individually, Shawnee Heights distance ace Jackson Esquibel won state titles in two sports in 2023 while former Highland Park star Tre Richardson and Hayden's Jake Muller, Finn Dunshee, Jensen Schrickel and Liam Stegman all captured multiple state championships.
Here's a look at TopSports.news' Top 10 Shawnee County boys prep stories of 2023:
Topeka West twin brothers Ian and Miles Cusick exchange a hug after winning their second straight Class 5A doubles title in 2023. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka West's tennis poses for a team picture after winning the school's first Class 5A boys state tennis team title in May. [Submitted photo]
1. TWIN TITLES -- After leading Topeka West tennis to a second-place team finish with their first Class 5A state doubles championship in 2022 twin brothers Ian and Miles Cusick and Kurt Davids' Chargers completed their title quests in 2023. The Cusicks capped their bid for a repeat with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Arkansas City's Oakley and Dawson O'Donnell in the state final while all six West players earned state medals as the Chargers won the school's first boys state team crown by a 34-28 margin over Blue Valley Southwest. West senior Carter Cool added a seventh-place state singles finish while then-juniors Caden McGee and Caleb Weybrew finished ninth in doubles and then-junor James Maag placed 11th in singles.
Washburn Rural's boys bowling team won the 2023 Class 6A state championship by 135 pins. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
2. STRIKING GOLD -- A year after failing to qualify for state as a team in 2022, Jo Ricard's Junior Blues turned in a performance for the ages in the 2023 state meet, winning the Class 6A state team championship by a whopping 135 pins over Olathe Northwest (3,711-3,576). Senior Josh Hammons paced Rural with a fourth-place individual finish (725) while then-sophomore Logan Glinka finished seventh (696) and senior Walker Thompson 11th (671).
As a senior Highland Park's Tre Richardson posted four top-four finishes with a pair of Class 5A state titles in the state track meet, scoring 33 total points. [File photo/TSN]
3. TRE-RIFIC -- After helping Highland Park's football team snap an eight-year losing skid with a breakout 6-3 season to end 2022, Scot star Tre Richardson helped lead the Scots to a 24-1 record and a third-place Class 5A state finish in basketball. But Richardson saved his best for last, winning a pair of gold medals in the long jump and 100-meter dash and posting four top-four finishes in the 5A state track meet. Richardson scored 33 points to outscore 32 other 5A schools by himself.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The names are probably already well known to anyone who has followed local sports over the past several years, but a long and growing list of athletes who starred at Topeka/Shawnee County schools have made a big impact at the college and/or professional level this fall and winter.
Here's a look at just some of the stars who continue to make their fans proud:
Jack Bachelor
JACK BACHELOR, Washburn Rural -- Bachelor only moved a few miles after a standout prep basketball career at Washburn Rural, but the 6-foot-2 guard has made an immediate impact for Washburn in his freshman season. Bachelor is currently averaging 11 points for the 7-4 Ichabods while shooting 53 percent from the field (44 of 83) and 53.1 percent from 3-point range (17 of 32) in 23.3 minutes per game. Bachelor, coming off a career-high 24-point game in his second career start, is the Ichabods' third-leading scorer and is tied for the team lead with 34 assists and tied for second on the team with six blocked shots.
Corey Ballentine
COREY BALLENTINE, Shawnee Heights/Washburn/Green Bay Packers -- A 5-foot-11, 196-pound cornerback, the former Shawnee Heights and Washburn star has played in 12 games with five starts this season for the 7-8 Packers, recording 38 tackles (24 solo). Ballentine recorded a career-high 10 tackles in a 27-19 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The fifth-year pro has played in 52 career games for the Giants, Jets, Lions and Packers, recording 89 tackles, including 66 solo stops.
Elijah Brooks
ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West/North Dakota -- A 6-foot-4 sophomore guard, a former Mr. Kansas Basketball for Topeka West, has helped the Fighting Hawks open the season 8-5, averaging 5.1 points and 3.3 rebounds while playing an average of 20.9 minutes in 12 games. Brooks is shooting 66.7 percent on his field goal attempts on the year, going 24 of 36. Brooks had a season-high of 12 points against New Orleans. As a freshman Brooks averaged 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds with a career-high of 17 points against Seattle.
Brooklyn DeLeye
BROOKLYN DELEYE, Washburn Rural/Kentucky -- The former three-sport Washburn Rural star, a 6-foot-2 outside hitter, made a big splash for the Kentucky volleyball team as a true freshman, being named the SEC Freshman of the Year and earning All-SEC first-team honors after helping lead the Wildcats to their seventh straight conference championship. DeLeye played in all 29 matches with 26 starts for Kentucky, leading the 21-8 Wildcats with 391 kills while also compiling 184 digs and 23 blocks.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural junior Easton Broxterman and Topeka West sophomore Imani McGlory 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 Broxterman and McGlory over the past week:
Washburn Rural junior Easton Broxterman has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency boys Rising Star of the week after winning the 132-pound title in the KC Stampede. [File photo/TSN]
EASTON BROXTERMAN, Washburn Rural
A junior returning Class 6A state champion, Broxterman emerged from a field of 58 wrestlers as the 132-pound champion in the Kansas City Stampede last Saturday at Bartle Hall in Kansas City, Mo.
Broxterman, who improved to 18-1 on the season, captured the championship with a 5-0 decision over Miller Sipes of Staley, Mo.
Broxterman is a two-time 6A state finalist, finishing as a runnerup as a freshman before last season's title.
Topeka West sophomore Imani McGlory has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency girls Rising Star of the week after helping lead West to three straight wins last week. [File photo/TSN]
IMANI McGLORY, Topeka West
A 5-foot-6 sophomore, McGlory helped lead Topeka West girls basketball to three wins in four nights last week, with the Chargers evening their record at 3-3.
McGlory scored 15 points with three 3-pointers in West's 54-34 United Kansas Conference win over Lansing last Tuesday and had 16 points with two 3s in Thursday's 54-35 win over Junction City and helped the Chargers close out the week with a 57-22 UKC win at Kansas City-Turner on Friday.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Seaman community will celebrate the life of Viking coaching legend Bob Camien at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, at the Sunrise Optimist Club, 720 NW 50th Street in Topeka.
The longtime Seaman cross country and track and field coach passed away on Sept. 3 at the age of 76 after a long illness.
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Camien was living in Naples, Fla. with his wife, Julie, at the time of his death.
Camien came to Seaman as a shop teacher and coach in the 1979-1980 school year,
Before starting his long career at Seaman, Camien, a native New Yorker, was an elite track athlete for Emporia State University.
Camien ran distance under ESU Hall of Famer Fran Welch in college after running for another ESU Hall of Famer, Jim Fraley, in high school in New York.
Camien led Seaman to an impressive run of Centennial League championships as well as a Class 6A girls cross country title in 1984 and the Class 5A state track and field title in 2006.
Seaman's annual track and field meet, one of the biggest regular-season meets in Kansas, is named the Bob Camien/Claudia Welch Invitational in honor of Camien and former girls track coach Welch.
