Topeka West Chargers

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Already a three-time Class 5A state singles medalist, including a runnerup finish a year ago, Seaman senior star Emma Sweeney will be looking to close out her outstanding prep career with a state title in Friday and Saturday's state tournament at the Andover District Tennis Complex.

Seaman senior tennis star Emma Sweeney enters this weekend's Class 5A state tournament at Andover as the No. 1 singles seed with a perfect 28-0 record. [File photo/TSN]

Sweeney has put together a banner 28-0 campaign so far with a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and 5A regional titles for the second straight season and earned the No. 1 seed for this weekend's state event.

"Obviously I'm nervous, but I'm just trying to switch my focus onto the right things and just focusing on the things I control, my ground strokes, my intensity, my footwork, my attitude and just go out there and give it my all,'' Sweeney said.

Sweeney said it seems like only yesterday that she was getting ready for her first state meet.

"It literally flies by every single year and with it being my last year with my teammates I just want to have fun and just leave it all out there,'' she said.  

As a team Seaman is coming off its fifth straight United Kansas Conference title as well as a regional team championships and will be aiming for a third straight 5A team trophy after finishing third in 2024 and second a year ago.

Seaman seniors Cadence Speer and Camryn Lux won a Class 5A regional doubles title last Saturday for the team-champion Vikings. [File photo/TSN] 

Three-time regional champ Sweeney and the regional championship doubles team of seniors Camryn Lux and Cadence Speer led the way last Saturday at Kossover as the Vikings topped St. James Academy for the regional crown.

Seaman also got third-place finishes from junior Lilli Wiens in singles and from sophomores Brenna Prokop and Kallie Zurmely in doubles.

Lux and Speer are 28-4 on the season and the No. 3 seed for state while Prokop and Zurmely are 22-7 and seeded seventh. Wiens is the No. 15 singles seed with a 22-12 record.

Not only will Seaman's three seniors be closing out their prep careers this weekend, but it will also be the final tournament for Viking coach Jamie Robinson, who is retiring from coaching after a highly-successful run at the school.

"He's been great,'' Sweeney said. "He just works with every single girl and what they need specifically as a player and he also just knows how to coach you and how to adjust for each girl.

"He just has really helped us grow and help us love the sport.''

Topeka West will be represented at state by the senior doubles team of Mariana Bernard and Kailyn Bidwell, who are 12-16 on the season and the No. 19 state seed after qualifying with a sixth-place regional finish.

The 5A state tournament will start at 9 a.m. Friday and continue on Saturday with a 9 a.m. start.

Class 6A at Wichita Riverside Tennis Complex

Washburn Rural enters Friday and Saturday's state meet at Wichita with a ton of momentum after sweeping city, Centennial League and Class 6A regional team championships.

Washburn Rural senior doubles players Julia Katzer and Halle Owen enter the state tournament with a 28-4 record after sweeping city, Centenial League and regional titles. [File photo/TSN]

Junior Blue seniors Julia Katzer and Halle Owen won Friday's regional doubles title after winning city and league titles and are 28-4 on the season, earning the No. 5 state seed.

Rural's doubles team of junior Annie Henderson and freshman Kinley Ladd (22-6) finished second to teammates Katzer and Owen at regionals and are the No. 7 doubles seed while sophomore singles player Bridget Hoopes (17-10) was the singles runnerup at regionals and is the No. 9 state seed.

Freshman Karmyn Faul (27-6) posted a third-place singles finish in the regional meet and is seeded 15th for state.

The first round of state competition will begin at 9 a.m. both Friday and Saturday.

Class 4A at Kossover Tennis Center

Hayden finished third in Class 4A last season after winning the state championship in 2024 and the Wildcats are coming off a regional team title Saturday at Chanute while qualifying their entire team for state at the Kossover Tennis Center.

Hayden juniors Sophia Wichman and Hailey Caryl are coming off a Class 4A regional doubles title for the team-champion Wildcats. [File photo/TSN]

Wildcat juniors Hailey Caryl and Sophia Wichman won the regional doubles championship and will take an 17-4 record into the state meet as the fourth seed.

Hayden sophomore Lana Hull, 20-4, is the No. 7 singles seed while sophomore Ava Scheer (5-4) is the No. 20 singles seed and the doubles team of senior Kaelyn Gerdel and sophomore Elliott Gould (14-10) is the 21st seed for this weekend's tournament.

Hull was the regional runnerup while Scheer finished fifth in singles and Gerdel and Gould placed fifth in doubles.  

The first round of state competition will begin at 8:50 a.m. Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

THURSDAY'S GAME

(Kickoff at 7 p.m.)

MANHATTAN (4-2, 2-0 Centennial) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (1-5, 0-2 Centennial)

At Hummer Sports Park

Manhattan has won four straight games since an 0-2 start to the season while Topeka High is fighting a five-game losing streak. The Indians are coming off a 51-6 Centennial League win over Emporia while Topeka High dropped a 41-12 league decision to Junction City. Manhattan junior quarterback Mclain Aslin has completed 30 of 56 passes for 362 yards and six touchdowns and carried the ball 81 times for 576 yards and seven TDs. Senior Joseph Mortensen has carried the ball 32 times for 343 yards and six TDs.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural

JUNCTION CITY (2-4, 2-1 Centennial) at WASHBURN RURAL (3-3, 2-0 Centennial )

Junction City is coming off a 41-12 Centennial League victory over Topeka High last Friday while Washburn Rural dropped a 14-7 decision at Millard West, Neb. Senior Jadyn Baum is one of the state's premier running backs for the Junior Blues.

Nas Williams-Brown, Topeka West

BASEHOR-LINWOOD (4-2, 4-2 UKC) vs. TOPEKA WEST (1-5, 1-5 UKC)

At Hummer Sports Park

Basehor-Linwood posted a 42-20 United Kansas Conference decision over Lansing while Topeka West dropped a 57-0 UKC decision to Spring Hill. Junior Nas Williams-Brown is a top player for the Chargers.

DE SOTO (6-0, 6-0 UKC) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-5, 1-5 UKC)

Shawnee Heights, which is in the midst of a five-game losing streak, dropped a 59-28 United Kansas Conference decision to undefeated Spring Hill last Friday while De Soto remained unbeaten with a 45-6 UKC win over Turner. Shawnee Heights senior quarterback Kolby Kutscher has completed 82 of 142 passes for 1,269 yards and 14 touchdowns while sophomore Fletcher Terrell has caught 35 passes for 757 yards and 11 touchdowns. T-Bird senior Trone Purvis has carried the ball 107 times for 562 yards and eight touchdowns.

CHASE COUNTY (4-2, 2-1 8-Man I District 3) vs. CAIR PARAVEL LATIN (4-2, 2-1 8-Man I District 3)

At Seaman

Cair Paravel is coming off a tough 54-50 district road loss at Lyndon while Chase County blanked district foe Northern Heights, 46-0. Cair Paravel senior Cole Haubold has carried the ball 53 times for 596 yards and 14 touchdowns and leads the Lions with 58 tackles (39 solo) with 11 tackles for loss. Junior quarterback Chase Hastert has completed 25 of 49 passes for 512 yards and nine touchdowns and carried the ball 46 times for 411 yards and four TDs.

Jairus Todwong, Hayden

HAYDEN (2-4, 2-0 3A District 3) at SANTA FE TRAIL (4-2, 1-1 3A District 3)

Hayden posted its second straight Class 3A District 3 win last Friday, a 42-13 romp past Perry-Lecompton, while Santa Fe Trail is coming off a 48-6 district loss to Baldwin. Sophomore Jairus Todwong leads Hayden with 494 yards and four touchdowns on 55 carries while senior Mason Becker has carried the ball 32 times for 279 yards and four rushing TDs. Junior quarterback Ryker Tetuan has completed 49 of 100 passes for 435 yards and senior Logan Power has caught 24 passes for 258 yards.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame inducted Jessica Mainz, C.B. McGrath, Mit Winter and Sam Winter into the local shrine Wednesday at the Cyrus Hotel.

Sam Winter, Mit Winter, Jessica Mainz and C.B. McGrath were inducted into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame Wednesday night at the Cyrus Hotel. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Presented by the Topeka Area Sports Commission and sponsored by the Bill Kennedy Driving School, the four local greats were inducted as the class of 2026.

Mainz is a former Shawnee Heights and Washburn University multi-sport star while McGrath was a multi-sport star at Topeka West and basketball guard at the University of Kansas before embarking on a long college coaching career.

"Thinking about all the athletes who have gone through this community, it's a great honor,'' said Mainz, who is also a member of the Washburn Hall of Fame and MIAA Hall of Fame. "There's some huge names in there and just to be with them is really cool.'' 

"I had great teammates all the way and played on some really good teams,'' McGrath said of his career, which included 13 varsity letters in four sports at Topeka West followed by four seasons with Kansas basketball.

Mit and Sam Winter became the first brothers inducted into the Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame, with Mit and Sam both starring in basketball for Rural before going on to become standouts at William and Mary and Harvard, respectively.

"It's very cool that Sam and I are both being inducted to the Shawnee County Hall of Fame at the same time,'' Mit Winter said. "It makes it a little more special to get to do it together.''

Sam Winter agreed.

"He was my older brother so he kind of set the tone for me and was always like a role model for me, so to celebrate him any chance I get is a good thing,'' he said. 

The Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame honors past area athletes, coaches and contributors who have made a lasting mark on the Topeka community through sports.

 The 2026 inductees into the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame pose for a picture with past inductees who were in attendance Wednesday at the Cyrus Hotal.

The annual recognition provides an opportunity to celebrate the people whose accomplishments have helped shape the community’s sports tradition.

Hall of Fame capsules:

JESSICA MAINZ -- A multi-sport star at Shawnee Heights, Mainz went on to earn All-America honors and two MIAA Most Valuable Player awards in soccer at Washburn University, scoring 47 career goals, and also earned two MIAA Defensive Player of the Year awards in basketball and became the first woman in conference history to receive MVP honors in two different sports. Mainz is a member of the Washburn and MIAA halls of fame.

C.B. McGRATH -- McGrath earned 13 varsity letters in four sports at Topeka West and was named Kansas Basketball Player of the Year in 1994. He played point guard at the University of Kansas under Roy Williams before joining Williams’ coaching staff. At North Carolina, he served as an assistant coach on the 2005, 2009, and 2017 NCAA national championship teams and later became head coach at UNC Wilmington.

MIT WINTER -- Winter earned All-State and first-team All-Centennial League basketball recognition at Washburn Rural before becoming a four-year basketball letterman at William and Mary. His collegiate highlights included a 36-point performance against James Madison, with a perfect 17-for-17 performance at the free throw line, and the university’s President’s Award for Leadership, Sportsmanship, and Citizenship.

SAM WINTER -- Winter earned All-State, first-team All-City and All-Centennial League basketball honors at Washburn Rural before continuing his career at Harvard University. He led the Ivy League in rebounding in 2003 and went on to play professional basketball in Switzerland.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Topeka West recorded a contentious 4-2 win over Shawnee Heights Monday at Bettis Sports Complex – a victory with significant historical and league title implications.

Topeka West celebrates one of two goals from junior Makaly Martinez (11, white jersey) in Monday's 4-2 soccer win over UKC and city rival Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Chargers gained a leg up in the four-team race for the United Kansas Conference crown by improving to 11-1 overall, 5-1-0 in the league. The T-Birds dropped to 5-1-1 in the race that also includes De Soto and Piper.

“We’ve been looking forward to this one all year,” Topeka West coach Josh Kutter said. “Everyone played their hearts out on both sides. It was fun and stressful to watch.”

Junior Makaly Martinez put the Chargers up 20 minutes into the game by converting a long pass from junior Collin McGee.

After Shawnee Heights tied the game just before half, Martinez put the Chargers up again, scoring on a penalty kick 10 minutes into the second half.

“We kept working hard, playing as a team,” Martinez said of putting his team ahead twice. “We didn’t get in our heads. We just kept pushing to keep us in the game.”

Topeka West junior Valentin Del Real (10) scored two goals in Monday's 4-2 UKC soccer win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Just three minutes later, junior Valentin Del Real gave the Chargers an insurance goal off an assist by senior Henry Miller. After Shawnee Heights scored to make the count 3-2, Del Real scored again, this time on a long breakaway. It was the fourth goal scored in just a nine-minute span.

“I’m really proud of the mental toughness of the kids,” Kutter said. “One thing we know we can do, we have the players and the ability to score goals and either equalize or break away.

“(Martinez and Del Real) are players that have always had that ability to take off and make great plays happen.”

“We’ve been playing together for a long time, since we were little, so we have good chemistry,” Martinez said. “We communicate well, we play good around each other, and that creates a lot of chances.”

During the flurry of second-half goals, tempers escalated. A number or yellow cards and a red card were dealt, and several long stoppages were required to sort things out.

“It’s that in-town rivalry that everyone gets up for. You could tell through the game – high emotions,” Kutter said. “These guys have been talking about this for well before the game and then for a little bit after the game, they’re gonna talk about it. It’s just good fun. It’s those in-town friends that they’ve played competitively with. It’s just a lot of pride.”

Topeka West had not defeated Shawnee Heights in years. That was not surprising in the past. But the high-quality Charger teams of the past two years were frustrated by not getting over the hump against the T-Birds. The streak finally ended Monday.

“This means a lot because we’ve been losing to that team since my freshman year,” said the junior Martinez. “So, beating them this year, scoring goals, it feels great. This is a great rivalry game, and it means a lot to us.”

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman's girls tennis team followed up its fifth straight United Kansas Conference championship with another dominating performance in Saturday's Class 5A regional tournament at Kossover Tennis Center, sweeping the singles, doubles and team titles while qualifying its entire team for state.

Seaman girls tennis poses for a team picture after winning a Class 5A regional Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center and qualifying its entire team for state. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Undefeated Viking senior star Emma Sweeney earned the regional singles crown  and seniors Camryn Lux and Cadence Speer took the doubles title while junior Lilly Wiens finished third in singles and sophomores Brenna Prokop and Kallie Zurmely placed third in doubles as Seaman won the team championship by a 24-19 margin over St. James Academy.

"A great day,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. "I'm very pleased. Today was close. We knew St. James was going to be very good in doubles and our work was cut out for us and we got the win, a close win, and then we got the close win over them for third place as well, so that was fun and pretty exciting.

"I was proud of the work ethic by the girls throughout the whole tournament.''

Seaman senior singles star Emma Sweeney improved to 28-0 on the season en route to a Class 5A regional title Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Seaman seniors Cadence Speer and Camryn Lux won a Class 5A regional doubles title on Saturday for the team-champion Vikings. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Sweeney, the 5A runnerup as a junior, improved to 28-0 this fall with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Piper's Ann McPherson in the singles final while Lux and Speer (28-4) took a 6-2, 7-5 win over St. James' Avery Neuer and Grace Davis in the doubles title match.

Wiens (22-12) bounced back from a semifinal loss to Sweeney to take a 6-0, 6-2 win over St. James' Kiersten Koenings in the third-place singles match while Prokop and Zurmely (22-7) finished third in doubles with a 7-6, 4-1 (retired) win over St. James' Molly McGinnis and Leah Twellman.

Topeka West seniors Kailyn Bidwell (left) and Mariana Bernard qualified for the Class 5A state tournament with a sixth-place regional doubles finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Topeka West's senior doubles team of Mariana Bernard and Kailyn Bidwell earned a state berth with a sixth-place regional finish.

Basehor-Linwood's Helen Habjan and Aliya Von Donge took a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) win over Bernard and Bidwell in the fifth-place match.

The 5A state tournament will be contested at Andover Friday and Saturday.

CLASS 5A GIRLS TENNIS REGIONAL

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Rossville, last season's Class 1A state runnerup, opened Distict 2 play Friday night with a 49-0 home romp past Wabaunsee.

Junior quarterback Landen Lewis ran for four touchdowns and threw for a TD as the Bulldawgs improved to 4-2 on the season.

Lewis ran for 17, 2, 9 and 9-yard TDs and hit Cale Horak for a 23-yard score while Cael Horgan opened Rossville's scoring with  for a 1-yard TD and Gavin Sumner scored the final TD on a 1-yard plunge.

Austin Dohrman kicked five extra points and the Bulldawgs got a 2-point conversion on a pass from Cole Graves to Michael Cooney.

Rossville led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and 28-0 at the half before adding 21 points in the second half to complete the shutout.

The Bulldawgs will travel to Mission Valley on Friday to face the 1-5 Vikings, who are coming off a 48-6 district loss to St. Marys

Eagles remain unbeaten with 89-0 district rout

Silver Lake continued its dominant 2026 season Friday night, improved to 6-0 Friday with a 89-0 home Class 2A District 3 rout over Maranatha Academy.

The Eagles will travel to Holton Friday night for a Big East League game.

Holton is 1-5 after a 43-0 loss to Nemaha Central.

Lions drop 54-50 district thriller to Tigers

Cair Paravel Latin gave host Lyndon a battle down to the wire Friday, falling 54-50 in an Eight-Man I District 3 game.

The Lions, now 4-2, will host Chase County in a district matchup Friday at Seaman.

Chase County is coming off a 46-0 district victory over Northern Heights.

Vikings stretch winning streak to four games

Seaman posted its fourth straight United Kansas Conference victory Friday night, rolling to a 55-0 road rout over Leavenworth.

The Vikings, 4-2 overall and in the UKC, will face a tough test Friday, going on the road to face 6-0 Spring Hill.

The Broncos are coming off of a 57-0 win over Topeka West.

Scots get back on track with 26-6 road win

Highland Park picked up its second victory of the season Friday night, posting a 26-6 Meadowlark Conference win at Kansas City-Harmon.

Now 2-4 on the year, Highland Park will be back at Hummer Sports Park on Saturday to host KC-Schlagle in a 12 p.m. Meadowlark game.

The Stallions are 2-4 on the season after a 30-26 loss to Atchison. 

T-Birds fall 59-28 at Piper

Shawnee Heights fell to 1-5 overall and in the United Kansas Conference Friday night, dropping a 59-28 decision at Piper.

The T-Birds will be back at home Friday, hosting 6-0 De Soto in a conference matchup.

The Wildcats are coming off a 45-6 UKC win over Turner.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural's cross country team turned in a dominating performance in Saturday's city championships at Shawnee Heights, sweeping the top three individual places in both the girls and boys events while rolling to the team titles.

Sophomore Alyson Hinck (right) captured her first city girls cross country title for team-champion Washburn Rural on Saturday at Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural junior Duke Graf reacts as he crosses the finish line to win the city boys cross country title Saturday at Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"I'm happy with it for sure,'' Rural coach Matt Swedlund said. "City is a good start to championship racing. You kind of get in the mindset and this is when you start talking about trophies and wanting to be our best in October, so this is a nice start to that process.''

Rural sophomore Alyson Hinck won the girls title in a five-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 32.7 seconds while junior Duke Graf took control early in the boys race on the way to a win in 16:42.6.

Rural sophomore Morgan Munson (19:35.8) and junior Reese Beardslee (19:47.3) finished second and third behind Hinck in the girls race, while freshman Kenadee Booher (21:14.7) was fifth and freshman Avery Kennedy (21:32.3) sixth to round out the Junior Blues' top five as Rural captured the team title by a 17-40 margin over Seaman.

Hinck earned her first city individual girls title after finishing second as a freshman. She ran with the top four runners for much of the race before pulling away down the stretch to win by 3.1 seconds over teammate Munson.

"I just wanted to stick with the people in front and not to go out too hard,'' said Hinck, also a state medalist in the 800 meters in track as a freshman. "I definitely locate where I need to start to kick.''

Hinck said a highlight of the day was Rural's one-two-three finish.

"That's so much fun,'' she said. "I'm so happy to run with my teammates and finish with them. It was a blast.''

Juniors Jaxson Adams (16:57.2) and Clayton Fink (17:05.8) posted second and third-place finishes behind Graf for the Junior Blues in the boys race while sophomore Julius Wood-Nichols (17:15.4) finished fifth and senior Bennett Wells (17:19.5) sixth to complete the top five scoring runners for Washburn Rural, which won the title by a 17-59 margin over Seaman.

Graf, who had finished third in the city meet as a sophomore before helping Rural win the Class 6A title, took the lead early in Saturday's race and ended up winning by nearly 15 seconds.

"I kind of had the mentality of either come with me or don't,'' Graf said of his strategy. "It seemed to work pretty well. I went out pretty hard the first mile and got a good gap and kind of just held.

"I fell off a little bit towards the end, but overall, first place, I'm pretty happy with it.'' 

Seaman's girls got a fourth-place individual finish from senior Brynn Spencer (20:07.8) while senior Kinley Robinson (21:46.9) placed seventh, freshman Brinley Cochran (21:57.2) eighth, freshman Morgan Ranson (22:22.6) 10th and senior Hannah Wempe (22:59.5) 11th.

Freshman Charlotte Richards (23:12.1) led third-place Shawnee Heights with a 12th-place finish while junior Emily Womack (23:14.2) paced fourth-place Topeka High with a 13th-place finish. 

Sophomore Trindon Jones (17:10.7) paced the runnerup Seaman boys with a fourth-place finish while sophomore Weston Kennedy (17:23.6) finished seventh.

Hayden junior Nick Newkirk (17:43.3) finished 10th. 

Washburn Rural, Topeka High and Hayden will compete in the Centennial League meet next Saturday at Kanza Park while Seaman, Shawnee Heights and Topeka West will run in the United Kansas Conference meet at De Soto on Thursday and Highland Park will compete in the Meadowlark Conference meet at Atchison on Thursday.  

CITY CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

FRIDAY'S GAMES

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

Mason Becker, Hayden

PERRY-LECOMPTON (3-2, 1-1 3A District 3) at HAYDEN (1-4, 1-0 3A District 3)

Hayden picked up its first win of the season last Friday, opening Class 3A District 3 play with a 32-21 home win over Baldwin. Perry-Lecompton picked up a district win by forfeit over KC-Bishop Ward last Friday. Hayden senior Mason Becker scored 19 of the Wildcats 31 points against Baldwin and has rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns on 27 attempts on the season. Sophomore Jairus Todwong leads the Wildcats with 493 yards and four touchdowns on 54 carries. Junior quarterback Ryker Tetuan, who missed the Baldwin game with an injury, has completed 42 of 91 pass attempts for 376 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Landon Power has 18 catches for 174 yards.

Nas Williams-Brown, Topeka West

SPRING HILL (5-0, 5-0 UKC) at TOPEKA WEST (1-4, 1-4 UKC)

Topeka West dropped a 50-8 United Kansas Conference road decision at Leavenworth last Friday and faces another tough test this week against undefeated Spring Hill. Spring Hill stayed unbeaten last Friday with a 76-35 UKC win over Shawnee Heights. West junior Nas Williams-Brown has established himself as one of the top offensive threats in the conference. 

WABAUNSEE (2-3, 0-0 1A District 2) at ROSSVILLE (3-2, 0-0 1A District 2)

Rossville is coming off a big 47-20 Big East League win at Royal Valley last Friday and opens Class 1A District 2 play this week. Bulldawg junior Landen Lewis had a hand in six touchdowns against Royal Valley, running for four TDs and passing for a pair of scores. Lewis has completed 65 of 93 passes on the season for 831 yards and nine touchdowns and has carried the ball 84 times for 572 yards and 12 TDs. Cael Horgan has 21 catches for 296 yards and a TD while Cale Horak has 13 catches for 255 yards and three TDs and Dalen Dick has 17 catches for 177 yards and two TDs. Wabaunsee is coming off an 18-14 loss to Jackson Heights.

CAIR PARAVEL (4-1, 1-0 8-Man I District 3) at LYNDON (2-2, 1-0 8-Man I District 3)

Cair Paravel Latin is off to a quick start in its return to the Eight-Man ranks, improving to 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in Eight-Man I District 3 with last week's 54-6 romp past Pleasanton. Lyndon is coming off a 56-14 rout over Northern Heights. Cair Paravel senior Cole Haubold has rushed for 453 yards and 11 touchdowns on 38 attempts while junior quarterback Chase Hastert has completed 18 of 32 passes for 353 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 318 yards and four TDs on 36 attempts. Haubold has been in on 42 tackles (25 solo) with eight tackles for loss.

JoJo Kingcannon, Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK (1-4, 1-2 Meadowlark) at KC-HARMON (3-2, 1-1 Meadowlark)

Highland Park returns to Meadowlark Conference play Friday night and will be looking to bounce back after dropping a 52-0 non-league decision to Blue Valley Southwest last week. The Scots are led by senior quarterback JoJo Kingcannon, who has been forced to shoulder must of the offensive load after the loss of Shawnee County Top 22 running back G'Honi Montgomery in the second game of the season.

Cale Ketter, Seaman

SEAMAN (3-2, 3-2 UKC) at LEAVENWORTH (3-2, 3-2 UKC)

Seaman stretched its winning streak to three games last Friday with a 62-0 home United Kansas Conference romp past KC-Turner. Leavenworth is also coming off a win, taking a 50-8 UKC decision over Topeka West. Seaman senior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 94 of 146 passes for 1,546 yards and 18 touchdowns while senior Coy Barta has 34 receptions for 747 yards and seven TDs. Junior Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 68 times for 521 yards and five TDs. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Senior star Emma Sweeney and the Seaman girls tennis team have bigger goals ahead.

Seaman girls tennis poses for a team picture after winning its fifth straight UKC team title Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Submitted photo]

But the Vikings got what they hope is a strong postseason run off to a banner start Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center, with Sweeney earning her third straight United Kansas Conference singles championship while Seaman earned its fifth straight conference team title in as many tries.

Seaman senior Emma Sweeney won her third straight UKC singles title Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center, losing just one game in five matches on the day. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman's Cadence Speer (left) and Camryn Lux won the doubles championship Tuesday as the Vikings won their fifth straight UKC team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Sweeney dropped just one game in five matches on the day, capped by an 8-0 win over Piper's Ann McPherson in the final while the Vikings' teams of Cadence Speer and Camryn Lux and Brenna Prokop and Kallie Zurmely finished one-two in doubles and Seaman got a third-place singles finish from Lilly Wiens en route to winning the team title by a 95-81 margin over Spring Hill.

"It's one of those goals that we're always trying to get, along with city and regionals and then, obviously, this year state after getting second last year,'' Sweeney said. "Every year we've been in the league we've won it, so we just want to keep the winning streak going.''

Seaman coach Jamie Robinson agreed.

"We look at it as a tremendous acomplishment,'' Robinson said. "We wanted to defend the title and we knew Spring Hill could be a threat, especially in doubles, and our doubles came through big time and we also got a third-place finish in singles, so that was fun.

"Wow, it was just a great day and this is a big lifting point going into regionals.''   

Sweeney, a three-time Class 5A state medalist and last year's singles runnerup, entered Tuesday's UKC meet as the clearcut singles favorite and said she just wanted to keep building momenum heading into regional and state competition.

"I just wanted to play really loose and have confidence going into regionals,'' Sweeney said. "I just wanted to play my game and not let anything get in my head and just stay loose mentally and physically.''

Shawnee Heights finished fifth as a team Tuesday while Topeka West placed eighth.

Seaman, Heights and West will all compete in Saturday's regional meet at Kossover (9 a.m. start), with competitors vying for berths in next week's 5A state meet at Andover.

UKC tennis competitors and coaches showed their support for Becky Kazmaier, wife of Basehor-Linwood coach Ryan Kazmaier, in her cancer fight with identical T-Shirts prior to the start of Tuesday's conference meet at Kossover Tennis Center. [Submitted photo]  

UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE GIRLS TENNIS

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Individual champion Brynn Spencer led Seaman to the team title in Saturday's Seaman Invitational at Shawnee North Community Center.

Spencer, a senior, clocked a winning five-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 44.37 seconds to win by more than 39 seconds while the Vikings also got a third-place finish from senior Kinley Robinson (20:39.91) and a fifth from freshman Morgan Ranson (20:47.86) en route to the team title by a 38-45 margin over Piper.

Senior Brynn Spencer captured the girls individual title to lead Seaman to the team championship in Saturday's Seaman Invitational cross country meet at Shawnee North. [File photo/TSN]

Freshman Brinley Cochran finished 15th (21:44.01) and senior Hannah Wempe 20th (22:33.86) to round out Seaman's top five scoring runners.

A split team from Washburn Rural finished fifth with 130 points while Topeka High finished sixth (167) and Shawnee Heights seventh (174).

Sophomore Clara Dillon paced Rural with an 18th-place finish (21:54.28) while junior Emma Womack placed 25th (23:11.43) to lead Topeka High and freshman Claudia Memmet finished 33rd (23:41.07) to lead Shawnee Heights.

Blue Valley Northwest won the boys team title with 23 points while Seaman's boys finished fourth as a team with 94 points as sophomore Trindon Jones led the Vikings with a ninth-place finish in 16:57.52.

A split team for Washburn Rural finished fifth (99 points), with freshman Mariner Svaty placing 16th (17:34.44) and junior Gauge Dial finishing 18th (17:37.42).

Shawnee Heights finished seventh as a team (199 points) and Topeka High eighth (213) while Topeka West had four individual runners.

Senior Andrew Schulte led Shawnee Heights with a 22nd-place finish (17:47.53) while Topeka High junior Oliver Snethen placed a team-high 28th (18:01.35) for the Trojans and senior Ezra Phelps led Topeka West with a 35th-place finish (18:11.02).

The city championships will be contested next Saturday at Shawnee Heights (9 a.m. start).

SEAMAN INVITATIONAL

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Junior quarterback Landen Lewis ran for four touchdowns and threw for a pair of scores in Friday's 47-20 non-league road romp past Royal Valley.

Landen Lewis, Rossville

Lewis ran for 1, 5, 35 and 20-yard TDs and hit Dalen Dick for a 17-yard score and Cale Horak for a 57-yard TD.

The 3-2 Bulldawgs also got 16-yard touchdown pass from Cole Graves to Kelton Lacock while Julian Goj kicked five extra points.

The Rossville defense limited Royal Valley (3-2) to six points until the Panthers scored 14 points over the final 3:42 of the game.

Rossville led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter and scored 27 points in the second quarter to take a commanding 34-0 halftime advantage.

The Bulldawgs led 40-6 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Eagles remain unbeaten with 77-6 district rout

Silver Lake improved to 5-0 Friday with a 77-6 home Class 2A District 3 win over 0-5 West Franklin.

The Eagles put the game away with a 42-point first quarter and tacked on 23 points in the second quarter to take a 65-0 halftime lead.

After a scoreless third quarter Silver Lake scored its final 12 points in the final period while West Franklin scored its only points.

Silver Lake will travel to Maranatha Academy next Friday to face a Maranatha team that is coming off a 64-0 loss to Osage City.

Lions improve to 4-1 with 54-6 district romp

Cair Paravel Latin improved to 4-1 on the season Friday night with a 54-6 Eight-Man I District 3 win over Pleasanton at Veritas Christian School in Lawrence.

The Lions will travel to Lyndon next Friday for a district matchup with the 2-2 Tigers. Lyndon is coming off a 56-14 district victory over Northern Heights.

Vikings stretch winning streak to three games

Seaman posted its third straight United Kansas Conference victory Friday night, taking a 62-0 home decision over Turner in a game that was halted early after a serious injury.

The Vikings improved to 3-2 overall and in the UKC, while Turner fell to 0-5.

Seaman will travel to Leavenworth next Friday to face the 3-2 Pioneers, who are coming off of a 50-8 win over Topeka West. 

T-Birds fall to unbeaten Broncos

Spring Hill improved to 5-0 on the season with a 76-35 United Kansas Conference victory at Shawnee Heights Friday night.

Spring Hill led 29-7 at the end of the opening quarter and took a 49-19 advantage to the locker room at halftime.

The scorefest continued in the second half, with the Broncos outscoring the T-Birds by a 27-16 margin.

The 1-4 T-Birds will travel to Piper next Friday, with the Pirates coming off a 24-8 UKC loss to Basehor-Linwood.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural (26) 

EMPORIA (2-2, 0-1 Centennial) at WASHBURN RURAL (2-2, 1-0 Centennial)

Washburn Rural opened Centennial League play with a 34-7 win over city rival Topeka High at Hummer Sports Park last Friday while Emporia dropped a 32-6 Centennial League game against Junction City. Washburn Rural senior star running back Jadyn Baum carried the ball 34 times for 180 yards and three touchdowns against the Trojans. Emporia sophomore quarterback Cael Claibourn has completed eight of 18 passes for 234 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 289 yards and five TDs on 26 attempts. Spartan senior Ben Collins has 414 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 75 attempts.

Jairus Todwong, Hayden

BALDWIN (3-1, 1-0 3A District 3) at HAYDEN (0-4, 0-0 3A District 3)

Hayden, which has advanced to the Class 3A state championship game three straight seasons, will open Class 3A District 3 competition Friday night. The Wildcats are coming off a 49-28 loss to St. Mary's South Side, Mo. last Friday while Baldwin opened district play with a 28-0 shutout victory over Perry-Lecompton. Hayden sophomore Jairus Todwong carried the ball 18 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns against St. Mary's while senior Logan Power had seven catches for 88 yards. Bulldawg senior quarterback Bryis Alford has completed 28 of 48 passes for 439 yards and four touchdowns and carried the ball 40 times for 345 yards and eight TDs.

Cale Ketter, Seaman

TURNER (0-4, 0-4) at SEAMAN (2-2, 2-2)

Seaman has won two straight games since an 0-2 start, including a 41-17 United Kansas Conference victory over Lansing last Friday, while Turner is still looking for its first win of the season after a 56-7 non-league loss to Leavenworth. Seaman senior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 80 of 130 passes for 1,322 yards and 12 touchdowns while senior Coy Barta has caught 30 passes for 685 yards and five TDs. Junior running back Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 59 times for 418 yards and four TDs. Bryson Fehr has 50 tackles for the Vikings (30 solo), with six tackles for loss.

BV SOUTHWEST (0-4) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (1-3)

At Hummer Sports Park

Highland Park dropped a 12-6 Meadowlark Conference nailbiter on the road to Kansas City-Sumner Academy last Friday while Blue Valley Southwest remained winless with a 41-28 loss to traditional state power Bishop Miege. Senior JoJo Kingcannon has been the go-to guy for Highland Park, which lost senior star G'Honi Montgomery to a season-ending injury in the second game of the season. Blue Valley Southwest junior quarterback Michael Dunn has completed 64 of 129 passes for 824 yards.

Trone Purvis, Shawnee Heights 

SPRING HILL (4-0, 4-0 UKC) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-3, 1-3 UKC)

Shawnee Heights will be looking to bounce back from a 58-40 United Kansas Conference road loss to Topeka West while Spring Hill remained unbeaten with a 24-0 conference win over Basehor-Linwood. T-Bird senior quarterback Kolby Kutscher has completed 46 of 85 passes for 760 yards and eight touchdowns while sophomore Fletcher Terrell has caught 17 passes for 366 yards and six TDs. Senior Trone Purvis has carried the ball 74 times for 413 yards and five touchdowns. 

CAIR PARAVEL LATIN (3-1, 0-0 8-Man-I District 3) vs. PLEASANTON (2-2, 1-0 8-Man-I District 3)

At Veritas Christian, Lawrence

Cair Paravel surpassed is 2025 win total with a 54-8 romp past Rural Vista last Friday and will host Pleasanton in a Eight-Man Division I District 3 contest at Veritas Christian School in Lawrence. Pleasanton is coming off a 38-36 win over Northern Heights. Cair Paravel senior Cole Haubold has carried the ball 21 times for 331 yards and seven touchdowns while leading the Lions with 32 tackles (20 solo) and seven tackles for loss. Junior quarterback Chase Hastert has completed seven of 18 passes for 215 yards and four TDs and has 234 rushing yards and four TDs on 24 carries. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame will induct four local greats on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Cyrus Hotel in downtown Topeka.

Former Shawnee Heights and Washburn University multi-sport star Jessica Mainz will be one of four 2026 Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame inductees on Oct. 14. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

Powered by the Topeka Area Sports Commission and sponsored by the Bill Kennedy Driving School, the event will induct Jessica Mainz, C.B. McGrath, Mit Winter and Sam Winter as the Class of 2026.

Mainz is a former Shawnee Heights and Washburn University multi-sport star while McGrath was a multi-sport star at Topeka West and basketball guard at the University of Kansas before embarking on a long coaching career.

Mit and Sam Winter, both Washburn Rural graduates, will be the first brothers inducted into the local shrine. Mit and Sam both starred in basketball for Rural before going to to become standouts at William and Mary and Harvard, respectively.   

The formal induction ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. in the Cyrus Hotel ballroom and conclude at 6:30. The evening will connect the newest class with those already enshrined and celebrate the athletic legacy of Topeka and Shawnee County.

The Topeka Shawnee County Hall of Fame honors past area athletes, coaches and contributors who have made a lasting mark on the Topeka community through sports.

The annual recognition preserves their stories and provides an opportunity to celebrate the people whose accomplishments have helped shape the community’s sports tradition.

Hall of Fame capsules:

JESSICA MAINZ -- A multi-sport star at Shawnee Heights, Mainz went on to earn All-America honors and two MIAA Most Valuable Player awards in soccer at Washburn University, scoring 47 career goals, and also earned two MIAA Defensive Player of the Year awards in basketball and became the first woman in conference history to receive MVP honors in two different sports. Mainz is a member of the Washburn and MIAA halls of fame.

C.B. McGRATH -- McGrath earned 13 varsity letters in four sports at Topeka West and was named Kansas Basketball Player of the Year in 1994. He played point guard at the University of Kansas under Roy Williams before joining Williams’ coaching staff. At North Carolina, he served as an assistant coach on the 2005, 2009, and 2017 NCAA national championship teams and later became head coach at UNC Wilmington.

MIT WINTER -- Winter earned All-State and first-team All-Centennial League basketball recognition at Washburn Rural before becoming a four-year basketball letterman at William and Mary. His collegiate highlights included a 36-point performance against James Madison, with a perfect 17-for-17 performance at the free throw line, and the university’s President’s Award for Leadership, Sportsmanship, and Citizenship.

SAM WINTER -- Winter earned All-State, first-team All-City and All-Centennial League basketball honors at Washburn Rural before continuing his career at Harvard University. He led the Ivy League in rebounding in 2003 and went on to play professional basketball in Switzerland.

For event information contact Mike Bell at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka West's volleyball team bounced back from a pair of United Kansas Conference losses a night earlier to sweep Wednesday's USD 501 triangular at Highland Park, with the Chargers taking straight-set wins over the Scots and Topeka High.

West topped Highland Park 25-20, 25-18 in its first match of the night before taking a 25-15, 25-18 win over Topeka High while improving to 10-15 of the season and taking top honors in the 501 triangular for the second straight season.

Topeka West senior Sydney VanDyke spikes the ball in Wednesday's USD 501 volleyball triangular at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

West senior star Sydney VanDyke said the Chargers get even more fired up than usual when they get the opportunity to face their district rivals. 

"I think so,'' VanDyke said. "It's a lot more competitive and we try our hardest against both teams to win. We all want to beat each other.''

Topeka West celebrates a point in Wednesday's USD 501 volleyball triangular at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

And VanDyke was proud of how the Chargers bounced back from Tuesday's losses.

"I thought we played great,'' VanDyke said. "We definitely improved since yesterday and we came together more as a team today.

"I think we'll take these matches into next week and the following weeks to improve ourselves over the rest of the season.''

West coach Alyx Nash agreed with VanDyke that the 501 triangular is one the Chargers circle on their schedule.

"One thousand percent,'' Nash said. "And it's always tough coming in here because you've got a triangle of rivals and two good coaches on the other side of the net no matter if its Highland Park or Topeka High and the girls obviously have friendships so they're trying to rival each other and battle each other through the net.

"It's always a fun meet, but we always know we've got to prepare for it because at any point in time it can be anybody's game.''

Hi Park battled the Chargers to a five-point first-set loss before getting five kills and an ace from VanDyke in the second-set win.

West trailed Topeka High 2-0 and 3-2 early in the first set before rallying for 8-3 and 10-4 leads and rolling the rest of the way.

The Chargers never trailed in the second set after building 4-0 and 6-1 leads out of the gate.

Topeka High senior Campbell Dawson (20) goes up for a kill in Wednesday's USD 501 volleyball triangular at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Bridget Bargmann's Topeka High team bounced back from the West loss to take a 25-11, 25-18 win over Highland Park as senior Campbell Dawson was a force at the net for the Trojans.

Topeka High improved to 5-12 with the win while Isaach Johnson's Scots dipped to 10-13.

Match results

Topeka West def. Highland Park, 25-20, 25-18; Topeka West def. Topeka High, 25-15, 25-18; Topeka High def. Highland Park, 25-11, 25-18.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman freshman volleyball standout Kamryn Carlson and Topeka West junior football star Nas Williams-Brown have been selected as the Brandon Aldridge State Farm Insurance Agency Rising Stars of the Week.

The Brandon Aldridge Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the 2026-2027 school year.

Here's a brief look at last week's accomplishments of Carlson and Williams-Brown.

Kamryn Carlson, Seaman 

KAMRYN CARLSON, Seaman

A 6-foot-1 outside/rightside hitter, Carlson has already established herself as one of the city's top players in just a few matches of her high school career.

Carlson helped lead young Vikings, who have just one senior on their varsity roster, to a fourth-place finish in Saturday's Seaman Invitational, which included multiple state-ranked teams.

Carlson was named to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of the tournament.

Nas Williams-Brown, Topeka West 

NAS WILLIAMS-BROWN, Topeka West

The running back turned in a monster game last Thursday night, rushing for 317 yards and five touchdowns on 18 carries, powering Topeka West to a 58-40 United Kansas Conference win over Shawnee Heights.

A returning All-United Kansas Conference selection, Williams-Brown scored on runs of 2, 7, 50, 62 and 94 yards and also caught five passes for 39 yards against the T-Birds.

Williams led the Chargers to their first win over Shawnee Heights since 2005.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Seaman tennis star Emma Sweeney continued her outstanding senior season Tuesday at Kossover Tennis Center, claiming the No. 1 singles championship in the 11-school Topeka West Invitational.

Senior Emma Sweeney won the No. 1 singles title in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational, leading the Vikings to a second-place team finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The two-time city champion, who took an 8-1 win over Junction City's Hannah Micheel in Tuesday's championship match, led the Vikings to a second-place team finish behind Blue Valley West (53-51).

Seaman's Cadence Speer (left) and Camryn Lux posted a runnerup finish in No. 1 doubles in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman's Lilli Wiens finished second in No. 2 singles in Tuesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

In addition to Sweeney's title, Seaman got second-place finishes from Lilli Wiens in No. 1 singles, Camryn Lux and Cadence Speer in No. 1 doubles and Prokop and Kallie Zurmely in No. 2 doubles.

Wiens dropped an 8-2 decision to Blue Valley West's Angie Wang in the No. 2 singles final while BV West took an 8-2 win over Lux and Speer in the No. 1 doubles final and took an 8-5 win over Prokop and Zurmely in the No. 1 doubles title match. 

A split team from Washburn Rural finished seventh as a team while Shawnee Heights finished ninth and Topeka West 11th.

The Centennial League tournament will be held at Kossover on Monday while the United Kansas Conference meet will be contested on Tuesday at Kossover. 

TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL GIRLS TENNIS

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Julia Katzer

JULIA KATZER, Washburn Rural

A senior, Katzer teamed with Halle Owen to win a second straight city tennis championship in No. 1 doubles last Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center, leading the Junior Blues to the team title by a 32-28 margin over Seaman. Katzer and Owen earned the championship with an 8-3 win over Hayden juniors Hailey Caryl and Sophia Wichman in the final.

Halle Owen

HALLE OWEN, Washburn Rural

Owen, a senior, teamed with Julia Katzer to win a second straight city tennis championship in No. 1 doubles last Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center, leading Washburn Rural to the team title by a 32-28 margin over Seaman. Owen and Katzer earned the championship with an 8-3 win over Hayden juniors Hailey Caryl and Sophia Wichman in the final.

 Chloe Schmidtlein

CHLOE SCHMIDTLEIN, Seaman

Schmidtlein, a senior, captured her first individual championship in last Monday's city girls golf tournament at Cypress Ridge, shooting a 78 to take medalist honors by a whopping nine strokes. Schmidtlein is a returning Class 5A state medalist, tying for 19th as a junior. 

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Topeka West soccer team kept pace at the top of the state standings by taking care of business against city foe Highland Park Monday.

The Chargers improved to 8-1 on the season with a 9-1 blasting of the Scots at Hummer Sports Park.

Junior Makaly Martinez (11) registered a three-goal hat trick in Topeka West's 9-1 win over Highland Park Monday at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Topeka West junior Makaly Martinez broke the ice just two minutes in with a shot past the Highland Park keeper. Martinez paced the onslaught with a three-goal hat trick.

Junior Valentin Del Real scored a pair of goals in Topeka West's 9-1 romp past Highland Park Monday at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Fellow junior Valentin Del Real notched two more goals for Topeka West. In all, six Chargers found the back of the net.

Topeka West trails only Kapaun Mt. Carmel in the Class 5A West Regional standings.

Junior Camilo Garcia was one of six players that scored a goal in Topeka West's 9-1 win over Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Junior center midfielder Camilo Garcia said the chemistry of this Topeka West team has helped it become one of the best in Class 5A.

“Some of us have been playing together since we were younger, so there’s a lot of chemistry, and then you add in new players to keep building,” Garcia said. “It feels great working as a team, moving the ball, creating chances, and then you have to just put it in the back of the net like we did tonight.”

Junior Jose Rivera Carrillo (5) is congratulated by Highland Park junior teammate Ronaldo Mijares after scoring on a penalty kick in Monday's 9-1 loss to Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The only score permitted by the Chargers on Monday came as a result of a penalty kick. Junior Jose Rivera Carrillo crossed up the Topeka West keeper on the short shot for the Scots’ lone tally.

Topeka West coach Josh Kutter took advantage of the lopsided score to give experience to reserves.

“It’s really good as you get to this middle to latter part of the season and guys are starting to get banged up, you need players ready to go off the bench who can keep a high level of play,” Kutter said.

“Having some of those guys get experience at the game level, not just practicing with the varsity but playing that varsity game, that builds confidence in them so that we’re ready with that sub when needed.”

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Topeka West football recorded a historic win Thursday night at Hummer Sports Park with a 58-40 romp over city rival Shawnee Heights.

Nas Williams-Brown rushed for 317 yards and five touchdowns in Topeka West's 58-40 UKC win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The win was the Chargers’ first over Shawnee Heights since 2005. It was also Topeka West’s first win over a United Kansas Conference opponent other than Turner since the Chargers joined the league in 2022.

The Chargers got the historic win behind a backup quarterback and the dazzling play of junior ball carrier Nas Williams-Brown.

A wild fourth period saw both teams score 20 points, but the home team made enough stops on defense to keep the T-Birds at arm’s length all night.

“We finally put the bad things away and did what we were supposed to do, and you see the result. We’re a good team when we do what we’re supposed to do,” said Trey Parker, whose first game as interim head coach of the Chargers back in 2022 was a 49-6 loss to the T-Birds. “It's a great feeling after you have that monkey on your back for so long. We were up 20 in the fourth and I’m still like, ‘No we got to finish. We’ve got to stay focused.’

"But we’re so happy. We put in the work, and we did what we were supposed to do. We came out and executed and it just happened.”

The recipe looked pretty simple for Parker and the Chargers: just give the ball to Williams-Brown and good things will happen. The junior rushed for 317 yards on 18 carries, with scoring runs of 94, 62 and 50 yards as well as touchdowns of seven and two yards. He also caught five passes for 39 yards.

“That kid works hard,” Parker said of Williams-Brown. “He’s a great kid in the classroom. And he’s a great athlete. I mean, he makes fast guys look slow.”

“I just felt good. Everything was coming together. The O-line play and everything… we just did our thing,” said Williams-Brown, who admitted it was sometimes hard for the Chargers to keep putting in the effort without victories to show for it. “We pushed through. You can get past any roadblock if you just do the work.”

Topeka West sophomore quarterback Eli Hernandez passed for 203 yards and three TDs in his first varsity start, a 58-40 win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Chargers had to go with sophomore quarterback Eli Hernandez in place of starter Josiah Wilkie, who had completed 33 of 63 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns in the Chargers’ first three games.

With Wilkie sidelined by injury, Hernandez stepped in and completed 14 of 26 passes for 203 yards and three scores without throwing an interception.

Parker said the team believed in Hernandez and didn’t change its offense after Wilkie went down.

“It’s a good situation to be in. Josiah Wilkie’s our guy, but Elijah’s been chomping at the bit to get his opportunity,” Parker said. “He’s been doing well on our JV team. This whole week, he’s been locked in. He’s been focused and he came in and executed what we saw on film.

“I think sometimes people tend to over-think things and try to adjust, but (Hernandez has) been running our system all year, all summer. He knows everything that Wilkie does. He was able to step in because he’s put in the work, put in the time, and we had confidence in him.”

Shawnee Heights senior Trone Purvis rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns in Thursday's 58-40 loss to Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Shawnee Heights fell to 1-3. The T-Birds leaned heavily on senior running back Trone Purvis to generate any offense. He carried 29 times for 156 yards and four second-half touchdowns.

TOPEKA WEST 58, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 40

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After a two-year absence, Washburn Rural re-claimed the Topeka city girls tennis team championship Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center.

Washburn Rural poses for a team picture after winning the city girls tennis championship by a 32-28 margin over Seaman Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Two-time city No. 1 doubles champs Julia Katzer and Halle Owen led the way as the Junior Blues won three of four divisions on the way to a 32-28 victory over 2025 champion Seaman while 2024 champ Hayden finished third with 24 points.

Washburn Rural seniors Halle Owen (left) and Julia Katzer won their second straight city title in No. 1 doubles Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Katzer and Owen, both seniors, earned their repeat city title with an 8-3 win over Hayden juniors Hailey Caryl and Sophia Wichman and said their biggest thrill of the day was helping the Junior Blues win the team championship.

"We didn't win as a team last year, so I just really wanted to come through with that win so we could help the team out,'' Katzer said.

"It was a goal going in,'' Owen said of the team title. "I know we have a lot of strong players and we have a lot of strong underclassmen coming up, so I think that with a lot of the hard work that we've put in it's been good and it's paying off to win as a team.''

Washburn Rural also got city titles in No. 2 singles from Karmyn Faul and in No. 2 doubles from Annie Henderson and Kinley Ladd.

Faul topped Cair Paravel Latin's Mia Poole 8-6 in the No. 2 singles final while Henderson and Ladd took an 8-4 win over Seaman in the No. 2 doubles title match.

"The girls stayed patient, they remembered to play their game and stayed focused, and when you have a lead keep that gas pedal down and don't let up because these girls at these other schools are relentless and they're not going to stop,'' Washburn Rural coach Michelle Rose said.

Seaman senior Emma Sweeney won her second straight city title in No. 1 singles Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center, remaining undefeated on the season. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Undefeated Seaman senior star Emma Sweeney won her second straight No. 1 singles championship to pace the runnerup Vikings, taking an 8-0 win over Cair Paravel's Madelyn Poole in the final.

Sweeney, the Class 5A singles runnerup as a junior, lost just one game on the day after receiving a first-round bye, improving to 13-0 on the season.

"I think I've been playing pretty loose so far and that's always the goal, just to play better each day,'' Sweeney said. "I think I can always do better and work harder but so far I think I've been putting my all into each match and not taking anyone easy and just playing loose. That's the whole point.

"We've been working really hard as a team and we talk every single day about how we're going to put it all out there this year. Getting second in singles and as a team last year it was a big hurt, but we're coming back and we're all just ready to leave it out there.''

TOPEKA CITY GIRLS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

THURSDAY'S GAME

Fletcher Terrell, Shawnee Heights [File photo/TSN]

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-2, 1-2) vs. TOPEKA WEST (0-3, 0-3)

At Hummer Sports Park

Shawnee Heights is coming off a 62-7 United Kansas Conference road loss at Seaman last Friday while Topeka West dropped a 42-14 UKC decision at Lansing. Shawnee Heights senior quarterback Kolby Kutscher has completed 39 of 68 passes for 673 yards and six touchdowns while sophomore Fletcher Terrell has caught 15 passes for 537 yards and five TDs. Senior Trone Purvis has carried the ball 45 times for 229 yards and two TDs. Junior Malachi Lee leads the T-Birds with 27 tackles (20 solo). Topeka West junior quarterback Josiah Wilkie has completed 33 of 63 passes for 372 yards and two TDs. Junior Nas Williams-Brown has rushed for 269 yards and two TDs on 25 carries while senior Micah Emerson has 11 catches for 197 yards and three TDs. Sophomore Payson Skelton leads the Chargers with 22 tackles.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/TSN]

TOPEKA HIGH (1-2, 0-0) vs. WASHBURN RURAL (1-2, 0-0)

At Hummer Sports Park

The Trojans and Junior Blues will square off Friday in the Centennial League opener for both schools. Both the Trojans and Junior Blues will be looking to bounce back from losses, with Topeka High dropping a 46-19 road decision at Wichita Southeast and Washburn Rural falling at home to undefeated Wichita Bishop Carroll, 34-23. The Junior Blues were within five points in the fourth quarter despite losing both of their senior quarterbacks, Gavin Vantuyl and Gabriel Taylor,  to injuries. Rural star senior running back Jadyn Baum finished the night with 208 rushing yards and 74 and 70-yard TDs on 23 carries. Senior Courtney Sanders is a top player for Topeka High.

ST. MARY'S SOUTH SIDE, Mo. (2-2) at HAYDEN (0-3)

After three straight games on the road, Hayden wil play its home-opener against its second straight out-of-state opponent. At halftime Hayden will officially re-name its stadium Tom Stringer Family Stadium in honor of the Wildcats' legendary football coach, who passed away in 2025. Hayden is coming off a 57-12 loss at Missouri power St. Pius X, 4-0 on the season. South Side, located in St. Louis, is coming off a 42-7 loss to undefeated Jackson, Mo. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

There were times in Tuesday night's Topeka West United Kansas Conference volleyball triangular when Seaman looked like one of the best teams in Class 5A.

Seaman volleyball celebrates Tuesday's victory over city and UKC rival Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Of course, there were also times when Tatiana Dowling's Vikings looked like an extremely young team that only has one senior, Acey Thompson, on their roster.

But after dropping a tough three-set nailbiter to Spring Hill, which took a 25-23, 21-25, 25-23 victory, Seaman bounced back to sweep Topeka West, 25-11, 25-22.

And while the Vikings continue to fight inconsistency at times, Dowling continues to see steady progress and is excited about the future.

"We talk a lot about trying to be consistent and control what we can control and limit our errors, and you saw us go a little up and down with that tonight,'' Dowling said. "Our girls work really hard, they have really great attitudes, they're extremely coachable and they're great kids and they can play at a really high level.

"So as soon as it all clicks at the same time consistently, they will be unstoppable.''

Seaman freshman standout Kamryn Carlson (13) delivers a kill against Spring Hill in Tuesday's UKC volleyball triangular at Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman led for much of the first set against Spring Hill, including a kill from 6-foot-1 freshman standout Kamryn Carlson to go up 4-1 early on.

The Vikings went on to take a 19-15 advantage before the Broncos ran off five straight points to go in front, 20-19.

There were ties at 20, 21 and 23 before Spring Hill scored the final two points of the set.

Seaman built a 14-8 advantage in the second set but Spring Hill came back to forge a tie at 19 before the Vikings forced a third set with a 6-2 edge to close out the four-point win as Carlson continued to dominate things at the net.

Spring Hill never trailed in the third set after opening 7-2, 9-3 and 20-12 leads but the Vikings fought back to get as close as 24-23 before the Broncos scored the match-winning point.

Seaman sophomore Alivia Dowty sets the ball during Tuesday's UKC volleyball triangular at Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

After a somewhat slow start in the first set against West, Seaman took control in the middle portion of the set and closed out the 25-11 win with a 9-2 finishing spurt.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Defending Class 6A boys state cross country champion Washburn Rural is off and running again, including a team title in Saturday's Shufelberger Top City Classic at Rural.

Junior Clayton Fink (510) posted a fifth-place individual finish to lead Washburn Rural to the boys team title in Saturday's Shufelberger Top City Classic. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural sophomore Alyson Hinck turned in a fourth-place girls individual finish in Saturday's Shufelberger Top City Classic as Rural finished third as a team. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Junior Blues put three runners in the top nine spots on the way to a decisive 50-77 victory over Blue Valley Northwest while Rural's girls also turned in a banner day, with three runners placing in the top eight individually en route to a third-place team finish behind Shawnee Mission East and Mill Valley.

"Both the boys and girls teams ran great,'' Rural coach Matt Swedlund said. "It's always fun to host and show off our beautiful home course.''

Saturday's meet is named in honor of former longtime Washburn Rural coach Scott Shufelberger, who Swedlund ran for in high school.

Junior Clayton Fink paced Rural's boys in Saturday's meet with a fifth-place individual finish among 99 runners in a five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 29.50 seconds.

Junior Duke Graf (511) placed seventh in Saturday's Shufelberger Top City Classic for the team-champion Washburn Rural boys. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Rural, which captured the 2025 6A team championship by a single point, also got a seventh-place finish from Duke Graf (16:48.40) and a ninth-place showing from junior Jaxson Adams (16:53.30) while sophomore Julius Wood-Nichols placed 13th (17:04.90) and senior Cohen Thiessen 16th (17:13.90) to round out the Junior Blues' top five.

"The boys ran solid and are progressing nicely,'' Swedlund said.

Seaman finished ninth as a team with 186 points, led by sophomore Trindon Jones, who placed 14th (17:09.00).

Shawnee Heights got a 29th-place finish from sophomore Miles Hadley (17:40.40) on the way to an 11th-place team finish while Topeka West finished 12th as a team, getting a team-high 66th-place finish from senior Ezra Phelps (18:40.10).

Washburn Rural junior Reese Beardslee (547) finished sixth in Saturday's Shufelberger Top City Classic. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]  

Sophomore Alyson Hinck led Washburn Rural's girls with a fourth-place individual finish among 85 competitors in 19:26.40 while junior Reese Beardslee was two spots back in sixth place (19:31.20) and sophomore Morgan Munson finished eighth (19:41.80).

Sophomore Quinn Nolte finished 29th (21:05.10) and freshman Kenadee Booher 34th (21:21.30) to round out Rural's scoring runners as Rural finished with 81 points to finish third behind SM East (58) and Mill Valley (68).

Seaman senior Brynn Spencer (496) finished ninth in Saturday's Shufelberger Top City Classic. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman senior Brynn Spencer, a returning 5A state medalist, placed ninth (19:43.00) for the seventh-place Vikings. 

SHUFELBERGER TOP CITY CLASSIC

GIRLS

Team scores

Shawnee Mission East 58, Mill Valley 68, Washburn Rural 81, Olathe North 101, Olathe West 105, Gardner-Edgerton 177, Seaman 185, Olathe South 197, Blue Valley Northwest 206, Junction City 225.

Individual results

1. Charlotte Hardy, SM East, 18:11.80; 2. Audrey Howard, Mill Valley, 18:22.10; 3. Lyla Speicher, SM East, 18:52.20; 4. Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural, 19:26.40; 5. Hailey Hanna, Mill Valley, 19:30.20; 6. Reese Beardslee, Washburn Rural, 19:31.20; 7. Molly DeGregorio, Olathe West, 19:34.90; 8. Morgan Munson, Washburn Rural, 19:41.80; 9. Brynn Spencer, sr., Seaman, 19:43.00; 10. Karsyn Hitchcock, Olathe North, 19:43.60.

Other Washburn Rural -- 29. Quinn Nolte, 21:05.10; 34. Kenadee Booher, 21:21.30; 47. Avery Kennedy, 22:35.20; 69. Clara Dillon, 23:38.30;  

Other Seaman -- 33. Morgan Ranson, 21:18.90; 40. Kinley Robinson, 21:56.10; 48. Brinley Cochran, 22:39.90; 64. Hannah Wempe, 23:27.30; 78. Jaydin Frickey, Seaman, 24:44.70; 80. Avery Villines, 25:07.20.

Shawnee Heights -- 79. Claudia Memmet, 24:51.40; 84. Hazel Rondash, 25:51.20; 85. Piper Geil, 28:05.60.

BOYS

Team scores

Washburn Rural 50, Blue Valley Northwest 77, Shawnee Mission East 84, Mill Valley 113, Olathe West 156, Gardner-Edgerton 158, Olathe South 163, Shawnee Mission West 172, Seaman 186, Junction City 214, Shawnee Heights 302, Topeka West 338.

Individual results

1. Jacob D'souza, Blue Valley Northwest, 15:35.20; 2. Graham Anderson,  Mill Valley, 15:58.20; 3. Kallan Horveath, SM West, 16:14.60; 4. Anthony Testa, Junction City, 16:15.90; 5. Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural, 16:29.50; 6. George Clifford, SM East, 16:30.30; 7. Duke Graf, Washburn Rural, 16:48.40; 8. Andrew Kennedy, Blue Valley Northwest, 16:51.40; 9. Jaxson Adams, Washburn Rural, 16:53.30; 10. Asher Yager, Mill Valley, 16:54.50.

Other Washburn Rural -- 13. Julius Wood-Nichols, 17:04.90; 16. Cohen Thiessen, 17:13.90; 24. Bennett Wells, 17:33.50 

Seaman -- 14. Trindon Jones, 17:09.00; 31. Conner Bloom, 17:41.50; 41. Emmanuel Armstead, 17:53.70; 57. Maddox Moore,  18:15.80; 62. Tate Oliva, 18:33.10; 74. Camden Dutton, 19:06.30; 78. Cody Miller, 19:10.80; 82. Nick Horton, 19:24.80; 97. Weston Kennedy, 21:14.00.

Shawnee Heights -- 29. Miles Hadley, 17:40.40; 67. Andrew Schulte, 18:41.50; 83. Deyton Coufal, 19:29.00; 95. Carter Vincent, 20:49.30; 99. Marcus Folger, 21:19.20.

Hayden -- 32. Nick Newkirk, 17:42.50. 

Topeka West -- 66. Ezra Phelps, 18:40.10; 85. Westin Soto, 19:31.80; 89. Cameron Parrett, 19:43.20; 91. Rhys Green, 19:49.00; 94. Elijah Hernandez, 20:30.40; 98. Mason Gore, 21:15.70. 

Gerber, Kraus pace Eagles at Hiawatha

Silver Lake senior girls standout Alessandra Gerber placed eighth individually among 64 runners in Thursday's Hiawatha Invitational, leading the Eagles to a sixth-place team finish.

Gerber clocked a five-kilometer time of 22:25.89 while Silver Lake also got a top-20 finish from freshman JessiLyn Mohler (23:59.35).

Silver Lake junior Cason Kraus placed 10th individually in the boys race (19:32.70), leading the Eagles to a runnerup team finish behind Nemaha Central (29-85).

The Eagles also got a 16th-place finish from senior Lane Ray (20:03.52) and a 19th-place showing from freshman Dayton Uhl (20:08.36).

Dawg trio posts top-20 finishes at Wabaunsee meet

Rossville seniors Payton Shaddux and Madelyn Wonnell and freshman Raiden Pollock posted top-20 individual finishes in Saturday's Jason McKinney Memorial meet, hosted by Wabaunsee.

Shaddux (25:08.79) placed 12th and Wonnell 14th (25:21.90) in the girls race while Pollock (21:40.92) finished 17th in the boys race as Rossville finished fifth as a team.

Trojans' Davis top 10 at Baldwin

Topeka High junior Easton Davis placed ninth among 66 runners in Saturday's Baldwin Invitational.

Davis clocked a time of 17:56.53 to lead the Trojans to a sixth-place team finish.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Silver Lake continued its red-hot start to the 2026 season Friday night, improving to 3-0 with a 55-21 home Big East League romp past previously-unbeaten Jefferson West.

Silver Lake sophomore quarterback Kipton Kruger (8) threw for 364 yards and five TDs in Friday's 55-21 romp past Jefferson West. [File photo/TSN]

Jeff West, now 2-1, led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, but the rest of the night belonged to Silver Lake, which outscored the Tigers 48-7 over the final three quarters.

Silver Lake outscored Jeff West 14-0 in the second quarter to take a 21-14 halftime advantage and then broke the game open with two unanswered TDs in the third quarter and outscored the Tigers 20-7 in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Kipton Kruger completed 22 of 34 passes for 364 yards and five touchdowns for Silver Lake, which improved to 3-0 in the Big East League race.

Eagle senior Owen Rottinghaus had seven catches for 121 yards and three TDs.

Senior JoJo Kingcannon (3) rushed for 345 yards Friday night, leading Highland Park to a 50-34 Meadowlark Conference win over Atchison. [File photo/TSN]

Kingcannon powers Scots to first win

Senior quarterback JoJo Kingcannon rushed for 345 yards on 29 carries Friday night, leading Highland Park to a 50-34 Meadowlark Conference victory over Atchison as the Scots improved to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Kingcannon also passed for 31 yards while Highland Park got 146 rushing yards on 13 carries from Rashon Pollard.

Highland Park will travel to Kansas City-Sumner Academy for a Meadowlark matchup next Friday.

Dawgs fall to Falcons in 20-15 thriller

Rossville took a 15-14 lead over Big East League foe Riley County with 7:05 remaining in Friday's home game before the Falcons scored the game-winning touchdown with 4:09 left to take the 20-15 win.

After a scoreless first quarter Riley County took a 7-0 lead with 7:58 left before halftime.

The Bulldawgs cut their halftime deficit to 7-3 on a 27-yard Julian Goj field goal with 1:14 left before the break.

The score remained that way until the two teams combined for 25 points in the fourth quarter.

Rossville took a brief 9-7 advantage with 10:03 remaining on a 13-yard run from senior Cael Horgan (kick failed), but Riley County answered 1:21 later on a 35-yard run to go up 14-9.

The Bulldawgs took the 15-14 lead on a 49-yard pass from junior Landen Lewis to Horgan (2-point conversion failed), before Riley County scored the game-winning TD.

Rossville, now 1-2, will be back at home Friday to host 2-1 Reno County Home School, which is coming off a 35-34 win over Hugoton.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

FRIDAY'S GAMES

Kolby Kutscher, Shawnee Heights

Cale Ketter, Seaman

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-1, 1-1 UKC) at SEAMAN (0-2, 0-2 UKC)

Shawnee Heights is coming off a heartbreaking 37-29 overtime United Kansas Conference loss to Leavenworth while Seaman dropped a 55-20 UKC decision to Basehor-Linwood, the 2025 Class 5A runnerup. Shawnee Heights senior quarterback Kolby Kutscher has completed 27 of 43 passes for 533 yards and six touchdowns, while sophomore Fletcher Terrell has 11 catches for 284 yards and five TDs. Senior Trone Purvis has carried the ball 27 times for 177 yards and two TDs while freshman Zayis Barksdale has rushed for 151 yards and two TDs on 11 carries. Seaman senior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 42 of 73 passes for 665 yards and seven touchdowns while senior Coy Barta has 15 catches for 306 yards and two TDs. Viking junior Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 33 times for 187 yards and a TD. 

JoJo Kingcannon, Highland Park

ATCHISON (1-1, 1-0 Meadowlark) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (0-2, 0-1 Meadowlark)

At Hummer Sports Park

Highland Park dropped a 56-0 Meadowlark Conference decision to KC-Washington last Friday while Atchison is coming off a 34-24 conference win over KC-Wyandotte. Highland Park, which won the Meadowlark championship in 2025, is looking for its first win this fall after dropping a 33-6 non-league decision to USD 501 rival Topeka High in its season opener. Scot senior quarterback JoJo Kingcannon has rushed for 157 yards on 35 carries and has completed 7 of 21 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.

 Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural

BISHOP CARROLL (2-0) at WASHBURN RURAL (1-1)

Washburn Rural picked up a 21-7 non-league home win over Olathe South last Friday while Wichita Bishop Carroll improved to 2-0 with a 49-16 win over Wichita Southeast. Senior Amir Jones set up Rural's first touchdown against Olathe South when he picked off a pass and returned it to the 2-yard-line and the Junior Blues also scored a defensive touchdown when senior Tyler Tangye recovered a fumble in the end zone. Senior running back Jadyn Baum finished with 124 rushing yards and 2 and 32-yard TDs on 22 attempts to pace Rural's offense. Carroll senior quarterback Jonah Mull has completed 18 of 22 passes for 186 yards and a TD and rushed for 142 yards and four TDs on 19 attempts while senior Cooper Herrman has 24 carries for 180 yards and a TD.

Kipton Kruger, Silver Lake

JEFFERSON COUNTY WEST (2-0, 1-0 Big East) at SILVER LAKE (2-0, 2-0 Big East)

Silver Lake improved to 2-0 with a 42-27 Big East League win over Rossville in the annual War on 24 while Jeff West stayed unbeaten with a 27-0 non-league shutout over Centralia. Silver Lake sophomore quarterback Kipton Kruger has completed 33 of 53 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns while junior running back Dominic Monhollon has carried the ball 36 times for 281 yards and five TDs. Tiger sophomore quarterback Brixton Schwinn has completed 25 of 38 passes for 421 yards and six TDs while senior Brody Schwinn has nine receptions for 204 yards and three TDs.

Landen Lewis, Rossville 

RILEY COUNTY (1-1, 1-1 Big East) at ROSSVILLE (1-1, 1-1 Big East)

Rossville is coming off a 42-27 road Big East League loss to rival Silver Lake last Friday while Riley County picked up its first victory, a 21-0 league decision over St. Marys. Rossville junior quarterback Landen Lewis has completed 30 of 43 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 301 yards and six TDs on 40 carries. Senior Cael Horgan has caught 12 passes for 162 yards and a TD. Riley County senior quarterback Kadrick Woodard has rushed for 273 yards and three TDs on 42 attempts.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka High's boys cross country team edged USD 501 rival Topeka West in a tiebreaker to win West's Joe Schrag Invitational Saturday at Kanza Park.

Both the Trojans and Chargers finished the meet with 65 team points, but Topeka High took the title by virtue of a higher finish by its sixth runner (28-36).

Junior Easton Davis paced High with a fifth-place individual finish in a five-kilometer time of 18 minutes, 42.17 seconds while the Trojans also got an eighth-place showing from junior Oliver Snethen (18:58.41), a 16th from junior Amir Eljammel (20:16.07), a 17th from Nicholas McDonald (20:18.76) and a 19th from senior William Toland (20:51.08).

Topeka West was led by senior Ezra Phelps' ninth-place finish (19:02.67), while sophomore Cameron Parrett finished 11th (19:24.98), sophomore Maks Rodriguez 13th (19:48.40), junior Rhys Green 14th (20:01.18) and sophomore Elijah Hernandez 18th (20:43.80).

Shawnee Heights sophomore Miles Hadley finished second individually in 18:12.62 to lead the T-Birds to a fourth-place team finish.

Heights also got a seventh-place finish from Andrew Schulte (18:51.28), and a 12th from junior Deyton Coufal (19:46.78).

Shawnee Heights' girls finished second as a team behind Lansing (25-55) as sophomore Hazel Rondash paced the T-Birds with a 10th-place finish (25:31.35).

Heights freshman Claudia Memmet finished 11th (26:00.89), sophomore Kendall Lewis 12th (26:17.09) and freshman Charlotte Richards 15th (26:34.07).

Topeka High junior Emma Womack was the top city girls finisher in eighth place (24:53.37) while High senior Victoria Reynaga was 13th (26:19.32).

Rural, Seaman compete in loaded Olathe Twilight 

Washburn Rural competed in the meet's premier Blue division in Saturday's Olathe Twilight at the Olathe District Activities Center, with junior Clayton Fink and sophomore Alyson Hinck pacing the Junior Blues.

Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural [File photo/TSN]

Fink finished 17th among 167 runners in 16:02.21 in the boys race while Hinck placed 28th among 173 competitors in the girls race (19:15.80).

Rural junior Duke Graf added a 22nd-place finish (16:13.70) and junior Jaxson Adams a 36th-place showing (16:26.70) in the boys race.

Junior Reese Beardslee finished 34th for the Rural girls (19:28.40) while sophomore Morgan Munson placed 43rd (19:53.00).

Seaman senior Brynn Spencer finished 37th in 19:31.40).

Seaman's boys competed in the Red division, with sophomore Trindon Jones placing eighth individually out of 124 runners (16:45.20), sophomore Weston Kennedy 14th (17:11.20), senior Conner Bloom 27th (17:32.60), junior Maddox Moore 45th (17:55.90) and sophomore Tate Oliva 48th (17:57.90).

Ali Gerber, Silver Lake [Submitted photo/Silver Lake cross country]

Gerber paces Eagles at Wamego

Silver Lake senior Ali Gerber finished 18th among 142 runners in the Class 3A-1A division of the Wamego Invitational in a time of 22:18.37 as the Eagles finished ninth among 18 teams.

Eagle freshman JessiLyn Mohler placed 36th (23:55.57) while Rossville senior Madilyn Wonnell finished 40th (24:18.26).

Junior Cason Kraus placed 25th among 185 runners in the 3A-1A boys race (19:33.11) while senior Lane Ray was 30th (19:41.71) as the Eagles finished seventh as a team among 17 schools.

Hayden junior Nick Newkirk competed in the 4A boys division, turning in a 22nd-place finish among 233 runners in 18:02.14.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka High had to fight through a considerable amount of frustration in Monday's Highland Park volleyball triangular, but the Trojans ended the night on a high note, picking up their first win of the 2026 season.

Topeka High celebrates a service ace from senior volleyball standout Campbell Dawson (20) during Monday's triangular at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

High dropped a 25-19, 25-10 decision to Centennial League rival Junction City in its first match before bouncing back to take a 25-23, 25-15 win over USD 501 rival Highland Park.

"I'm proud of them, they finally bounced back,'' Topeka High coach Bridget Bargmann said. "We're young. We only have a couple of returners, so other than that, we have an all new team.

"It's a brand new group of girls, so there's growing pains, but that's part of coaching. There's bright spots and then there's not so bright spots, positives and not so positives.'' 

Topeka High junior Sophia Brown (3) celebrates a service ace Tuesday at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Trojans, now 1-6, got things off to a rousing start, getting a couple of early service aces from junior Sophia Brown and a kill from sophomore Simone Holloway to open up an 8-1 lead, but Junction City quickly turned the tables en route to the six-point first-set win.

The Blue Jays then went wire to wire for the sweep in the second set after opening up an 8-0 advantage and scoring the final four points to close out the 25-10 win and cap a 2-0 night.

Highland Park, which dropped a 25-11, 25-15 to Junction City in its opening match, took the first set against Topeka High down to the wire and led as late as 23-22 after strong serving from senior Evelyn Cortez before the Trojans scored the final three points, including two aces from junior Masyn Chard.

Topeka High junior Alaina Ramirez sets the ball during Tuesday's volleyball triangular at Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Trojans never trailed in the second set, opening up a 9-4 lead on a Holloway kill and going up 17-9 after a pair of service aces from junior Aliana Ramirez and a kill from Brown.

Topeka High senior Campbell Dawson goes up for a spike in Monday's win over Highland Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Topeka High went on to close out the 10-point win while getting a dominating hitting performance from senior Campbell Dawson.

Match results

Junction City def. Highland Park, 25-11, 25-15; Junction City def. Topeka High, 25-19, 25-10; Topeka High def. Highland Park, 25-23, 25-15.

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

Seaman hosted United Kansas Conference foe Basehor-Linwood in its home opener Friday night, and after keeping the game close throughout most of the first half, the Bobcats pulled away in the second half for a dominant 55-20 victory.

Seaman junior Quentin Moravec rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown in Friday's 55-20 UKC loss to Basehor-Linwood. [File photo/TSN]

Basehor-Linwood, ranked No. 5 this week in the Class 5A KFBCA poll, received the opening kickoff and scored a touchdown on an eight-play drive as senior running back Peter Rodriguez bulldozed his way into the end zone on a 13 yard run, giving the Bobcats a 7-0 lead.

Seaman’s first possession was promising as the Vikings were able to move the ball down the field.

Junior running back Quentin Moravec broke loose on a 54-yard run, taking the ball inside the 5-yard-line, but there was a penalty on the play for a block in the back. The drive stalled and eventually the Vikings turned the ball over on downs, giving the Bobcats the ball near midfield.

Basehor-Linwood took advantage of the good field position and senior place kicker Colin Zimbleman kicked a 26-yard field goal to give the Bobcats a 10-0 lead late in the first quarter.

The Vikings continued to drive the ball down the field on the Bobcats and finally were able to put points on the board as Moravec scored on a 37-yard run down the sideline, cutting the Basehor lead to 10-7.

However, Basehor-Linwood responded with a five minute drive that culminated in the second touchdown of the night for Rodriguez, giving the Bobcats a 17-7 lead.

Seaman had a time consuming drive of its own and was able to get inside the Bobcat 10-yard-line with under 15 seconds left in the first half.

On the ensuing first-down play, senior quarterback Cale Ketter attempted a pass to the end zone, but Bobcat senior Lex Stanion stepped in front of the pass, intercepted it and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the half.

Zimbleman’s extra point was good and Basehor-Linwood took a commanding 24-7 lead into halftime.

The second half began with Seaman scoring a touchdown in the first 90 seconds on a 51-yard pass from Ketter to fellow senior wide receiver Josh Brown. Junior place kicker Oscar Serrano made the extra point, cutting the Bobcat lead to 24-14.

Basehor-Linwood continued to move the ball with relative ease, but the drive stalled and the Bobcats had to settle for another field goal. Zimbleman connected on a 38-yard field goal, making the score 27-14.

Following an interception by Ketter, the Bobcats scored another touchdown, as Rodriguez punched it in from a yard out, extending the lead to 34-14.

Rodriguez capped off his tremendous night with his fourth touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, giving the Bobcats a 41-14 lead. The Bobcat running back, who started due to an injury to original starter Gavin Mitchell, finished the night with 35 carries for 262 yards.

Seaman concluded their scoring on a weaving, 45-yard touchdown catch by senior wide receiver Jack Becker from Ketter, making the score 41-20 with eight minutes remaining in the game.

Basehor-Linwood finished the scoring with a touchdown run from junior running back Thomas Schubert and a 91-yard interception return by junior defensive back Clay Weber, giving the Bobcats the 55-20 victory.

Seaman (0-2, 0-2) was led by Moravec with 112 yards rushing and a touchdown while Ketter threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns.

The Vikings will host Shawnee Heights (1-1, 1-1), who were defeated by Leavenworth 37-29 in overtime, next Friday at 7:00.

BASEHOR-LINWOOD 55, SEAMAN 20

Basehor-Linwood (2-0, 2-0) 10 14 10 21 - 55

Seaman (0-2, 0-2)                   0 7 7 6 - 20

Basehor-Linwood -- Rodriguez 13 run (Zimbleman kick)

Basehor-Linwood -- Zimbleman 26 yard FG

Seaman -- Moravec 37 run (Zimbleman kick)

Basehor-Linwood -- Rodriguez 2 run (Zimbleman kick)

Basehor-Linwood -- Stanion 100 interception return (Zimbleman kick)

Seaman -- Brown 51 pass from Ketter (Serrano kick)

Basehor-Linwood -- Zimbelman 38 yard FG

Basehor-Linwood -- Rodriguez 1 run (Zimbleman kick)

Basehor-Linwood -- Rodriguez 3 run (Zimbleman kick)

Seaman -- Becker 45 pass from Ketter (kick failed)

Basehor-Linwood -- Schubert 1 run (Zimbleman kick)

Basehor-Linwood -- Seber 91 interception return (Zimbleman kick)

Individual statistics

Rushing -- Basehor-Linwood: Rodriguez 35-262, Schubert 7-31, Parr 2-20, Richmond 5-15, Forshey 2-0. Seaman: Moravec 17-112, Piper 6-49, Ketter 1-12.

Passing -- Basehor-Linwood: Forshey 5-9-0, 39 yards; Richmond 2-3-0, 36. Seaman: Ketter 15-29-4, 206.

Receiving -- Basehor-Linwood: Duckworth 2-37, Parr 3-34, Essary 2-4. Seaman: Becker 5-79, Brown 3-75, Barta 4-39, Stallbaumer 1-16, Moravec 2-(minus)-3.

Punting -- Seaman: Cheney 2-44.5, Dunback 1-65.0.

Cair Paravel improves to 2-0 with 60-14 romp

Cair Paravel Latin improved to 2-0 Friday night with a 60-14 victory over 0-2 Stanton County at Yager Stadium, with the Lions equaling their win total from last season.

The Lions have now out-scored their opposition 106-14 over their first two games while giving new head coach Randall Bond wins in his first two games.

Cair Paravel will travel to Troy next Friday.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Cair Paravel Latin volleyball gets very few opportunities to square off against any of its fellow Topeka schools.

And when the Lions got that chance Thursday night they took full advantage, sweeping Topeka West and Highland Park at West.

Cair Paravel Latin volleyball celebrates its 33-31 first-set victory over Topeka West, the start of a sweep over West and Highland Park Thursday night at West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Lions, now 3-3 on the season, opened their night with a 33-31, 25-23 win over triangular host Topeka West before completing the sweep with a 25-9, 25-17 win over Highland Park.

Cair Paravel coach Craig Congdon said the Lions get fired up for the rare chance to face a city rival.

"This is the only night on the season we do,'' Congdon said. "Our league is all small schools that are all 35 (minutes) to an hour around Topeka, so this is the only time all season we get to play any of the city teams. We've been in this T-West tri and quad for years and it's fun, so we love getting to play T-West and Hi Park.

"It's a chance to stay in town to have fans and friends who usually don't get to travel. It's really neat.''

Cair Paravel junior standout London Backman agreed. 

"Both excitement and nerves come in, but I think excitement always overrules it whenever we play,'' Backman said. "Honestly, it was really amazing. I could not have done it without any of the other girls. They really have the energy and they bring it every single day.

"We have all our seniors that are always doing something to encourage one another and we also couldn't have done it without God. He always gives us the strength to push through each and every set, especially the one that we went to like 33.''

Cair Paravel volleyball celebrates a service ace during Thursday's Topeka West triangular. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The first set of the CPLS-West match was a marathon, with numerous ties and lead changes. Both the Lions and Chargers had multiple match points before Cair Paravel scored the final three points to take the 33-31 win.

Cair Paravel jumped out to 15-5 and 19-9 leads in the second set but Topeka West battled back to take 20-19 and 21-20 leads before the Lions rallied to close out the match with a 25-23 victory.

"That Topeka West match was one of the craziest I've ever coached,'' Congdon said. "For the first set to go 33-31 and for it to be tight for both teams to have multiple game-point chances and the other team to just fight back that was incredible.

"Then in the second set we were dominating them and then the middle of the game they dominated us and they were up, 21-20. I thought there's no way our girls come back from being so far up and then down, but it shows the heart and courage our girls have.''  

The Lions dominated their first set against Highland Park, jumping out to a 21-8 and allowing just one point the rest of the set on the way to the 16-point win.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

THURSDAY'S GAME

Courtney Sanders, Topeka High [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

DODGE CITY (1-0) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (1-0)

At Hummer Sports Park

Senior Courtney Sanders scored three touchdowns to lead Topeka High to a 33-6 season-opening victory over USD 501 rival Highland Park last Thursday. Sanders scored his first touchdown on an 18-yard past from senior quarterback Asher Filbeck, scored on a 40-yard run and returned a punt 94 yards for a touchdown to give the Trojans their 26-0 halftime advantage. Filbeck, making his first career start at quarterback, finished the night with a game-high 128 rushing yards on just seven attempts while his lone pass completion went for the TD to Sanders. Dodge City opened its season with a 42-20 win over Wichita West. The Red Demons are coached by former Seaman coach Glenn O'Neil.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

ROSSVILLE (1-0, 1-0 BIG EAST) at SILVER LAKE (1-0, 1-0 Big East)

Rossville opened its season with a 35-14 home Big East League win over Perry-Lecompton while Silver Lake shut out St. Marys 27-0 in a league game at St. Marys. Junior Landen Lewis, who was making his first start at quarterback for the Bulldawgs, carried the ball 21 times for 167 yards and all five Rossville touchdowns while also completing 13 of 17 passes for 159 yards. Junior Cale Horak led the Bulldawgs with seven tackles. Silver Lake sophomore quarterback Kipton Kruger completed 14 of 29 passes for 165 yards and a TD while junior Dom Monhollon carried the ball 10 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns and caught two passes for 67 yards and a TD. Senior Myles Fisher led the Eagles with 17 tackles.

JoJo Kingcannon, Highland Park [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

KC-WASHINGTON (1-0, 1-0 Meadowlark) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (0-1, 0-0 Meadowlark)

At Hummer Sports Park

Highland Park is coming off a 33-6 non-league loss to USD 501 rival Topeka High last Thursday while Knsas City-Washington rolled to a 48-0 Meadowlark Conference victory over KC-Schlagle. Highland Park scored its lone touchdown on a 27-yard touchdown pass from senior JoJo Kingcannon to senior G'Honi Montgomery. Kingcannon rushed for 64 yards on 12 carries and he passed for 62 yards and the TD. Washington opened up a 38-0 halftime advantage over the Stallions and cruised the rest of the way. Wildcat junior quarterback Benito Morrell completed 12 of 24 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns while senior Alvin Riley rushed for 103 yards and a TD on eight carries. Highland Park will be beginning defense of its Meadowlark Conference championship.

OLATHE SOUTH (0-1) at WASHBURN RURAL (0-1)

Washburn Rural will be playing its home opener at Bowen-Glaze Stadium Friday night after dropping a 58-13 road decision to 2025 Class 4A state champion Wichita Kapaun Mt. Carmel, which is moving back up to 5A this fall. Olathe South will also be looking for its first victory after the Falcons dropped a 27-0 Sunflower League decision to Olathe Northwest in its opener. 

Cale Ketter, Seaman [File photo/TSN]

BASEHOR-LINWOOD (1-0, 1-0 UKC) at SEAMAN (0-1, 0-1 UKC) 

Seaman dropped a 48-34 United Kansas Conference road decision at De Soto last Friday while Basehor-Linwood took a 59-35 UKC win over Leavenworth. Seaman senior quarterback Cale Ketter completed 27 of 43 passes for 456 yards and five touchdowns while Coy Barta caught 11 passes for 267 yards and two TDs, Josh Brown had five catches for 57 yards and two TDs and Jack Becker had five grabs for 56 yards and a TD. Seniors Bryson Fehr and Bishup Liggett were in on 13 tackles for the Vikings. Basehor-Linwood junior quarterback Dane Forshey completed 7 of 7 passes for 141 yards and four touchdwns against Leavenworth while junior Gavin Mitchell carried the ball seven times for 143 yards and a touchdown. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Defending Class 6A boys state champion Washburn Rural opened its 2026 cross country season with the team title in Saturday's Manhattan Invitational at Warner Park.

The Junior Blues edged host Manhattan by a 56-67 margin for the team title, while Lawrence finished third in the 11-school meet with 91 points.

Junior Duke Graf paced Washburn Rural with a second-place individual finish behind senior champion Anthony Testa of Junction City, clocking a five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 01.2 seconds. Testa won in 16:51.9.

Sophomore Julius Wood-Nichols posted an eighth-place finish in the field of 81 runners for the Junior Blues in 17:21.1 while Rural got a 12th-place showing from junior Jaxson Adams (17:34.1), a 13th from junior Clayton Fink (17:36.3) and a 22nd from senior Cohen Thiessen (18:07.2) to round out the Junior Blues' top five.

Hayden junior Nick Newkirk placed 20th in 18:00.3 while junior Oliver Snethen paced Topeka High with a 27th-place finish (18:24.5) and senior Ezra Phelps led Topeka West with a 38th-place showing (18:50.8).

Washburn Rural's girls finished second as a team to Manhattan by a 28-54 margin, with Free State third with 63 points.

Manhattan senior Gabrielle Converse (19:03.3) and sophomore Zara Koehn (19:48.3) posted a one-two finish for the Indians in the field of 49 runners while Washburn Rural sophomore Alyson Hinck finished fourth in 20:18.6.

Rural junior Reese Beardslee finished sixth (20:26.5) while sophomore Morgan Munson placed ninth (20:48.4) to earn individual medals. 

Seaman senior Brynn Spencer finished fourth in the season-opening Bobcat Invitational at Wyandotte County Park. [File photo/TSN]     

Nine Vikings earn medals in season-opener

Seaman's boys posted a second-place team finish in Thursday's season-opening Bobcat Invitational at Wyandotte County Park, edging meet host and United Kansas Conference rival Basehor-Linwood by a single point (70-71) while Blue Valley Southwest won the team title with 32 points.

Sophomore Trindon Jones paced six Seaman individual medalists with an eighth-place finish, posting a five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 36.78 seconds.

The Vikings also got a 10th-place finish from sophomore Weston Kennedy (17:54.78), a 12th from senior Conner Bloom (18:00.36), a 19th from junior Emmanuel Armstead (18:20.22), a 21st from sophomore Tate Oliva (18:26.12) and a 25th-place showing from junior Maddox Moore (18:43.10).

Shawnee Heights' boys finished ninth in the team standings as sophomore Miles Hadley earned an individual medal with an 11th-place finish (17:59.40).

Seaman girls finished tied for third with Eudora with 79 points, finishing fourth on a tiebreaker.

Blue Valley Southwest won the team title with 18 points while Piper was second, just three points ahead of Eudora and Seaman.                         

Senior Brynn Spencer, a returning Class 5A state medalist, paced Seaman with a fourth-place individual finish (20:47.09) while freshmen Brinley Cochran and Morgan Ransom also earned individual medals.

Cochran finished 12th (22:07.17) and Ransom placed 18th (22:34.81).

Silver Lake senior Ali Gerber opened her 2026 season with a third-place finish in Saturday's Silver Lake Invitational at Kanza Park. [Submitted photo]

Gerber third in Silver Lake Invitational

Silver Lake senior Ali Gerber posted a third-place individual finish in Saturday's Silver Lake Invitational at Kanza Park, leading the Eagle girls to a second-place team finish.

Gerber clocked a five-kilometer time of 22 minutes, 55.01 seconds to finish third behind Osage City freshmen Elizabeth Vehige (20:52.47) and Eliana Lowery (22:38.87). 

Osage City won the team title by a 51-84 margin over Silver Lake.

The Eagles also got a 14th-place finish from freshman Jessilyn Mohler (24:24.29), a 23rd from sophomore Pearl Eisenbarth (26:09.59), a 26th from sophomore Adrianna Gerber (27:53.54) and a 31st from sophomore Lena Jahr (28:29.15). 

Rossville seniors post top-seven finishes

Rossville seniors Payton Shaddox and Madilyn Wonnell finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in Thursday's Mission Valley Invitational girls cross country meet at Mission Valley.

Shaddox was sixth in a five-kilometer time of 25 minutes, 52.76 seconds while Wonnell was right behind in seventh place in 25:53.17.

Sophomore Keegan Pollock paced the Rossville boys with a 34th-place finish in 25:42.31.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka West did a lot of good things in Friday night's season-opener against Piper, including scoring plays of 80, 81 and 42 yards.

But in the end, a slow start and a monster night from Piper senior Roman Byers Jr. were too much for the Chargers to overcome as the Pirates took a 56-18 United Kansas Conference victory at Hummer Sports Park.

Topeka West junior Nas Williams-Brown (left) scored on 80 and 42-yard runs in Friday's 56-18 UKC loss to Piper while junior quarterback Josiah Wilkie passed for an 81-yard touchdown. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Chargers got the night off to a tough start, with Piper recovering an onsides kick on the opening kickoff at the West 49-yard-line and Byers scoring the first of his six touchdowns on the very next play.

Then, after West stopped Piper's two-point conversion try, a minor skirmish broke out and Charger senior tight end-defensive end Prince Lassiter was ejected, although West insisted that video evidence showed that Lassiter did nothing wrong.

Piper went on to go in front 27-6 midway through the second quarter and the Chargers got no closer than 15 the rest of the way.

"I think it comes down to preparation,'' Topeka West coach Trey Parker said. "I think we had a false sense of reality. We thought we were prepared to come into the game and we just felt like the other team was going to lay down for us, and they didn't.

"They came out fighting and I think we were just under-prepared. I'll take the blame for that moving forward. We won't let this happen again. We will be prepared moving forward.''

West could never really find a way to stop Byers Jr., who scored four first-half touchdowns, added two touchdowns in the second half and added a pair of two-point conversions while rushing for 205 yards on 21 attempts.

Byers, a South Dakota commit, scored on runs of 49, 24, 6, 3 and 5 yards and also caught a 3-yard TD pass from junior quarterback Leeum Healy.

"From what I know about him and what I hear about him, he works hard and he's a great talent,'' Parker said of Byers. "He shows up day-in and day-out and he produces on the field. There's not many kids like him and kudos to him and his coaching staff for putting him in position to be successful.''     

West also flashed its offensive firepower, with junior Nas Williams-Brown scoring on 80 and 42-yard runs and finishing with 171 rushing yards on 11 carries.

Topeka West senior Damon Webb Jr. rushed for 80 yards on 10 carries in Friday's 56-28 UKC loss to Piper. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Junior quarterback Josiah Wilkie hit senior Micah Emerson for an 81-yard TD pass while senior running back Damon Webb Jr. carried the ball 10 times for 80 yards.

Topeka West will travel to De Soto next Friday for a UKC contest. 

PIPER 56, TOPEKA WEST 18

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

When Highland Park football coach Jermaine Monroe was approached with the possibility of renewing the Scots' rivalry with fellow USD 501 school Topeka High this season it was one of the easiest decisions he'll ever make.

"There were four different schools that were possibilities and when it was presented to me at the time and I saw the first name was Topeka High, I said, 'It's got to be that,' '' Monroe said. "I don't even remember who the other three schools were, but it's something that we always have to play each other.

"I do believe the leagues that we're in are fit for us, but we have to always play each other.''

Topeka High coach Jason Filbeck is also excited for the renewal of the rivalry, which will open the 2026 season at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Hummer Sports Park.

"I'm not from here, but I know what it means,'' Filbeck said. "Everywhere I've been there's been a crosstown rival and I think the kids are very excited to play them. Some of them are their friends from middle school because of the way Topeka is built, so the kids are pumped up.''

Highland Park returns a strong nucleus of players from last year's team that went 5-1 on the field, with G'Honi Montgomery and JoJo Kingcannon headlining a 19-member senior class

The Scots return 10 three-year starters and two four-year starters.

G'Honi Montgomery returns for his senior season at Highland Park after earning All-Shawnee County Top 22 honors last season. [File photo/TSN]

A 5-foot-10, 180-pound running back, Montgomery earned All-Shawnee County and All-Meadowlark Conference first-team honors last fall.

Montgomery carried the ball 69 times for 704 yards (10.2 yards per carry) as a junior, caught 10 passes for 128 yards and scored 12 total touchdowns while compiling 1,268 all-purpose yards.

Senior JoJo Kingcannon will take over as Highland Park's starting quarterback this fall after starring in a variety of roles as a junior. [File photo/TSN]

Kingcannon, a 6-foot, 190-pound quarterback/defensive back, played receiver, running back and quarterback as a junior, scoring from all three positions, and will be the Scots' starting quarterback this fall.

Kingcannon received All-Shawnee County honorable mention for the Scots in 2025, catching 10 passes for 338 yards and rushing for 408 yards on 32 attempts.

Seniors Tayseaun Rouser, Tavion Johnson and Shawnee Heights transfer Zyhir Foster will be counted on to anchor Highland Park's offensive line while Jaiden Smith, Ka'Sioun Drew and Lorenzo Sullivan-Sowell are top receivers.

Defensively, senior Rayshon Pollard is a four-year starter in the defensive backfield and is joined by veterans Drew, Montgomery and Kingcannon.

A three-time all-league honoree, Pollard was in on 22 tackles last season with three sacks and two interceptions.

Topeka High's Courtney Sanders, a senior wide receiver, was a second-team All-Centennial League selection for the second straight season and received All-Shawnee County honorable mention last fall for the Trojans. 

Senior Courtney Sanders is a top returner for Topeka High, earning second-team All-Centennial League recognition the past two seasons. [File photo/TSN]

A junior running back, Ricardo Dowd was a second-team All-Centennial League selection last season as a sophomore while also receiving All-Shawnee County honorable mention. 

Trey Lutz, a senior defensive lineman, received All-Shawnee County honorable mention for the second straight season and also received All-Centennial League honorable mention last season.

Other top returners for Topeka High include seniors Isaac Roman-Chavez, Art Jones and Devin Ponte and juniors Jones Erby and Marion Collins.

Senior Asher Filbeck, the coach's son, and sophomore Kadyn Lucas have been battling it out in preseason for the starting quarterback spot after the graduation of Zane Smith.

FRIDAY'S GAMES

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka West soccer handled the 100-degree heat and the rust that went with a season-opener Tuesday at Hayden, dominating the second half on the way to an 8-0 non-league win over the Wildcats.

Topeka West senior midfielder Diego Gonzalez-Talavera (9), who had two goals, tries to get past Hayden junior midfielder Isaac Woods in Tuesday's 8-0 Charger win over the Wildcats at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Chargers, who are coming off back-to-back banner seasons, led 2-0 at halftime despite letting numerous scoring opporunities get away and then peppered the net after the break, scoring six goals to end the game by the eight-goal spread rule with 11:15 remaining.

"I'm glad to get that first one out of the way and kind of put into a game what we've been working on and see where we can improve from what we've been working on in practice,'' Topeka West coach Josh Kutter said. "Overall it was a positive.''

Hayden, which was also opening its season, was still in the game at halftime, but West boosted its lead to 3-0 at the 30:25 mark of the second half, starting a run of three goals in less than five minutes, and continued to roll from there.

"It always seems like once one falls then the rest start to come, but I guess that's just something we've got to keep working on, finishing under pressure,'' Kutter said. "I know sometimes it's just knocking the rust off.

"We've got lot of guys that are capable of finishing and scoring and creating great plays.''

Senior midfielder Diego Gonzalez-Talavera and senior defender Kameron Ortiz scored two goals apiece for the Chargers while West also got goals from junior forward Valentin Del Real, senior forward Henry Miller and sophomore forward Yahel Garcia as well as an own goal.

Junior Makaly Martinez and Topeka West opened the 2026 soccer season with an 8-0 win at Hayden Tuesday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Ortiz, Del Real and senior midfielder William Lara were credited with assists while junior Kevin Voelker picked up the shutout in goal as the Chargers limited Hayden to very few offensive opportunities.

TOPEKA WEST 8, HAYDEN 0

Topeka West (1-0) 2 6 -- 8

Hayden (0-1)          0 0 -- 0

Topeka West -- Goals: Diego Gonzalez-Talavera 2, Kameron Ortiz 2, Valentin Del Real, Henry Miller, Yahel Garcia, own goal. Assists: Kameron Ortiz, Valentin Del Real, William Lara. Shutout: Kevin Voelker.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Editor's note:TopSports.news will post preview stories for all 10 Shawnee County high school football programs over the coming days, leading into the opening games of the 2026 season on Sept. 3 and 4.

                                -----------------------------------------

Former Washburn University football standout Trey Parker was well aware of the magnitude of the task he faced when he was thrust into the position of interim coach at Topeka West for the final three games of the 2022 season and took over as the Chargers' head coach in 2023.

Trey Parker begins his fourth full season as Topeka West's football coach in 2026 and is confident the Chargers are ready to take a step forward this fall. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

After all, Parker was taking over a Charger program that hasn't produced a winning season since 2004.

But as Parker enters his fourth full season at West, he is extremely proud of the progress the Chargers have made.

And with this year's Charger team building around a nucleus of players who have been with Parker since he took over as head coach, he believes his team is ready to take another step forward this fall after four straight 1-8 campaigns.

"It's just like anything else you do,'' Parker said. "You have a job that you work at every single day for four years, you get a lot more comfortable in your setting and your surroundings and all of that. The kids are more comfortable with me, I'm more comfortable with them.

"They love our coaching staff, we love them, so everything's just going well.''

Parker knows that wins will still be hard to come by in the tough United Kansas Conference, but the West coach feels like the Chargers have continued to make steady progress over the past several seasons and are ready to compete this fall. 

"Everyone wants the wins over the losses, but we knew from Day 1 that was going to be a small growth,'' Parker said. "Every day we look for something different and if we accomplish that, then that's a win for us.

"We've stacked a lot of good days, so we're feeling like now, 'Hey, we can really compete in this tough league.' There's some other leagues that if we were in we feel like we'd do really well, but we want to play the best of the best to get our kids a chance to go to college.

"We feel like every day's been better, every single day, and we're hoping that will eventually turn into some wins.''

Nas Williams-Brown (11) is a top returner for Topeka West after earning first-team All-UKC and second-team All-Shawnee County honors last season. [File photo/TSN]

A 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior running back/linebacker, Nas Williams-Brown was a first-team All-United Kansas Conference honoree last fall as an all-purpose player and was a second-team All-Shawnee County pick.

Williams-Brown rushed for 647 yards on 66 attempts and scored six touchdowns.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

A memorial service for former Topeka West multi-sport standout and Central Missouri State national baseball champion Lane Allen "Boomer'' Berry has been set for Sept. 19 at 4 p.m., following a 2 p.m. visitation at Topeka Bible Church, 1101 Mulvane, Topeka, Ks.

Lane Allen "Boomer'' Berry

Berry, the son of Ken and Aleda Berry, was born Dec. 5, 1980, and passed away Aug. 16, 2026 at the age of 45 years old.

Boomer played tennis, soccer and baseball at Topeka West and received all-league, all-state and USA All-America baseball honors.

At Central Missouri State Berry played in the Division II College World Series four years, with the team winning the national championship his senior year.

Berry played minor league baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization as well as Independent Baseball for several seasons, taught at Free State High School and coached high school age baseball teams and gave private hitting instruction.

He is survived by his daughter, Raimey, parents Ken and Aleda Berry, brothers Brett Berry and Rick Berry, sister Alyson (Berry) Clark and many beloved family members and friends.

Complete obituary:

Layne Allen "Boomer'' Berry

Dec. 5, 1980-Aug. 16, 2026

Paola, Kansas

Layne Allen "Boomer'' Berry was born December 5, 1980, to Ken and Aleda Berry and passed away August 16, 2026.

He left for Spring Training in his car seat at 3 months old and so began his life of baseball. His early years were spent playing multiple sports and pouring love into his pets: Fat Albert his hamster, BunBuns the rabbit and Rosie the cocker spaniel. That love later continued to his 3 Bostons -- Rupert, Arya and Starkey.

Boomer attended West Avondale Elementary until mid-February when it was time for Spring Training, followed by the baseball season. So he and his sister attended 3 schools each year. He loved adventure, made friends easily and enjoyed new challenges.

Boomer's high school years were filled with sports and "The Firm," a tight group of friends who adhered to good times and lasting friendships. Boomer was the epitome of a loyal friend, but always happy to beat anyone in a ping pong game. He played tennis, soccer and baseball at Topeka West High School and was named to All-League and All-State baseball teams as well as the USA All-American baseball team. At Central Missouri State he played in the College World Series (Division II) 4 years, with the team winning the Championship his senior year. He graduated with a BS in Education. And left with a heart full of baseball friends and a million memories.

Boomer played minor league baseball with the White Sox for several years, a highlight being his Spring Training game with the Major League team where he went 3-for-3, scored 2 runs, drove in a run and stole 2 bases; and was named Player of The Game. Then after 3 seasons of playing Independent Baseball, Boomer taught at Free State High School in Lawrence and coached high school age baseball teams. He worked in special education where he and Andrea (Tomasino) Berry connected through their shared passion for helping students with special needs.

He and Andrea were married in 2014, moved to Pensacola for their work, and later relocated to Lawrence, KS and then Overland Park. Their daughter, Raimey, was born in 2017, bringing great joy to the family. Boomer was a devoted dad and Raimey was his absolute world. They loved hiking, exploring nature, swimming, playing games and riding roller coasters at Worlds of Fun. They also cherished quieter moments and creating things together. Raimey's favorite memories are his snuggles and big squeeze hugs.

Boomer had a variety of interests: quoting TV and movies, weaving song lyrics into conversations, music of all genres, singing karaoke and rescuing creatures in need. Nature brought him deep peace, and he became a deep thinker, seeking to understand the world around him. Although their marriage eventually ended, Boomer and Andrea remained close friends and devoted parents to Raimey. They continued to support and care for one another.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The Jones Project’s executive director, Damon Parker, a two-time state wrestling champion as an athlete and a five-time state champ as a coach, is always looking for new mountains to climb.

So after Parker and the Advisors Excel/The Jones Project team completed the equivalent of a climb to the top of Mount Everest over 36 hours last weekend in Steamboat Springs, Colo., they have already turned the page to the next big project: the launching of The Jones Project’s Leadership Academy, a free eight-week program open to students selected from each of the 10 Shawnee County high schools.

The Jones Project, named in honor of the late Josh Jones, a native Topekan who served as a vice-president at Advisors Excel before passing away in March of 2021, provides free mental health programming to secondary students, providing assistance to students who are struggling while emphasizing the importance of specific mental health interventions already in place at schools.

In its first four years The Jones Project has reached more than 115,000 students from 267 different stages. In 2023 TJP created an endowment for The Jones Family Scholarship, which has since provided scholarships to six  Kansas high school graduates who are studying to become mental health professionals.  

The 29029 climb in Steamboat, Colorado kicked off Year 5.

"It's an event where you start at the base of a mountain and you climb it to the summit and then you ride a gondola back down to the bottom and then you do that over and over and over again,'' Parker said. "This year at Steamboat we had to climb 14 times in 36 hours. If you do that then you've reached the vertical gain of Mount Everest.

"The Jones Project and Advisors Excel has had a team that's worked together on this and done it as a fundraiser every year. This is one of the two big fundraisers that keeps The Jones Project afloat. This year we've really made a push on it so that we can use this campaign to fund The Leadership Academy.''

Parker, who has coached the Rural girls to four state titles and coached the Junior Blues to the 2021 boys championship, has served as the executive director of The Jones Project since its inception after being approached by Advisors Excel co-owner Cody Foster.

"He and I had met several times and when he presented the vision he had for The Jones Project to me, I saw it as an opportunity to still work with young people but to do it on a much larger scale and to be able to help kids that were falling through the cracks.  Many of them were in a truly under-served population,'' Parker said. "And it was like, 'How do you say no to the opportunity to do something like that?' 

"I loved teaching, it was wonderful, and I'm still in education, I just have a bigger classroom now. Every year TJP has evolved and we've become more effective with what we've done. It took awhile to find out where those needs were and exactly what kids needed. It started off with just a mental health and suicide prevention talk, but now we do talks on bullying prevention, student leadership, culture building, you name it.  We’ve talked to athletic teams in the locker room before competitions, strength and conditioning programs, and summer STUCO camps.  Wherever there is a school or student organization that needs a speaker, we can help fill that gap.”  

Parker said the Leadership Academy represents another major step forward.

"If we can take a couple of students from each high school in the Shawnee County area and we can give them real, actionable leadership skills, that is going to instantly impact the organization of which they are a part.  Whether it's the basketball team, the debate team, or the marching band is inconsequential.  We’re helping them improve their building culture because now we're taking those kids and we're teaching them how to bring up those younger kids,'' Parker said.

"And when the younger kids are learning from those older kids they realize, 'This is how you do it, this is how you treat people,’ and then they carry that forward with them throughout their remaining time in high school.”

The Leadership Academy is now taking applications and will begin meeting in mid-September.  

"I'll be reaching out to basically every coaching and A.D. contact in my rolodex saying, 'Hey, we're doing this thing and it's definitely something that you want your kids to be involved in,' '' Parker said.     

"We're going to start taking applications now and then the first week in September is when we're going to announce who is accepted into the program. And then we're going to get it kicked off. We will absolutely be up and rolling with students by mid-September, so they’ll want to get in their applications as soon as possible.  This is the start of something HUGE here in Shawnee County.''

Students can use the website www.TopekaLeadershipAcademy.org to apply.

For more information email Coach Parker at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

EDITOR'S NOTE: TopSports.news' list of the top Shawnee County football players to watch in 2026, based on performances in the 2025 season, will be updated as needed after practice begins on Aug. 17 and more information is received from county coaches.

RYAN AUSTIN, Washburn Rural

A 6-foot-2, 170-pound senior, Austin was named the All-Centennial League first-team place-kicker last season for the 6-4 Junior Blues. Austin also received All-Shawnee County honorable mention as a junior.

Coy Barta, Seaman [File photo/TSN]

COY BARTA, Seaman

A senior wide receiver, Barta earned second-team TopSports.News All-Shawnee County and second-team All-United Kansas Conference recognition last season for the 3-6 Vikings. Barta caught 38 passes for 642 yards and 10 touchdowns as a junior.

Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

JADYN BAUM, Washburn Rural

A senior running back, Baum helped lead Washburn Rural to a 6-4 record and the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs last fall, earning TSN All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League first-team recognition after carrying the ball 139 times for 1,262 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 9.1 yards per attempt. Baum also won a 6A state wrestling championship at 215 pounds.

Mason Becker, Hayden [File photo/TSN]

MASON BECKER, Hayden

A first-team TSN All-Shawnee County pick, Becker, a 6-foot, 160-pound senior, was a perfect 100 percent on extra-point kicks last season, was two of two on field goals, carried the ball 32 times for 438 yards, caught 13 passes for 224 yards, had nine kickoff returns for 121 yards, scored nine touchdowns and was in on 30 tackles with five pass interceptions for the 12-1 Wildcats, the Class 3A runnerup. Becker is also a basketball and baseball standout for the Wildcats.

Josh Brown, Seaman [File photo/TSN]

JOSH BROWN, Seaman

Brown, a junior wide receiver, was a second-team All-Shawnee County selection for the 3-6 Vikings last season. Brown caught 40 passes for 627 yards and eight touchdowns over the 2025 season. 

STEVEN CANTRELL, Washburn Rural

A senior defensive end, Cantrell is a top returner for Washburn Rural after earning first-team All-Centennial League recognition as a junior for the 6-4 Junior Blues. Cantrell also received All-Shawnee County honorable mention.

CHARLIE CHANCE, Rossville

A senior offensive/defensive lineman, Chance was named the Shawnee County defensive newcomer of the year last season for the Bulldawgs, who posted an 11-2 record and finished second in Class 1A. Chance was in on 54 tackles with 14 tackles for loss and three sacks, earning second-team all-county and All-Big East honors. 

CADE DANIELSON, Washburn Rural

Danielson, a senior outside linebacker, will be counted on to be a team leader for the Junior Blues this fall after helping Washburn Rural post a 6-4 record and reach the second round of the Class 6A playoffs in 2025.

Ricardo Dowd, Topeka High [File photo/TSN]

RICARDO DOWD, Topeka High

Dowd, a junior running back, was a second-team All-Centennial League selection last season for the 3-6 Trojans as a sophomore while also receiving All-Shawnee County honorable mention. 

MYLES FISHER, Silver Lake

A senior offensive/defensive lineman, Fisher received second-team All-Shawnee County honors and All-Big East League honorable mention last season after helping Silver Lake post a 7-3 record. Fisher was in on 73 tackles for the Eagles.

Chase Hastert, Cair Paravel [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]

CHASE HASTERT, Cair Paravel Latin

Hastert, a junior quarterback/linebacker/defensive back, is a top returner for Cair Paravel after taking over as the Lions' starting quarterback last fall. The Lions, coming off a 2-6 season, return to the Eight-Man ranks this fall after playing 11-man the past two seasons. Hastert is also a basketball and golf standout for the Lions, earning first-team All-County honors in golf.

COLE HAUBAULD, Cair Paravel Latin

Haubauld, a senior running back/linebacker, earned All-Shawnee County honorable mention as well as All-Flint Hills League recognition as an offensive guard and linebacker last season for the 2-6 Lions and is expected to play running back on offense for CPLS this fall. Cair Paravel returns to Eight-Man Division I competition this season.

CALE HORAK, Rossville

Horak, a junior, received All-Shawnee County honorable mention last season as Rossville posted an 11-2 record and finished second in Class 1A. Horak caught 15 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore while also registering 21 tackles (16 solo).  

CAEL HORGAN, Rossville

A senior, Horgan earned All-Shawnee County honorable mention last season as Rossville posted an 11-2 record and finished second in Class 1A. Horgan caught seven passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore while also registering 37 tackles (21 solo) with three interceptions.   

EVAN HUNTLEY, Hayden

A 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior fullback/inside linebacker, is a top returner on both sides of the ball for a Hayden team that posted a 12-1 record and finished second in Class 3A for the third straight season last fall.

ALEX HUSTON, Seaman

A senior linebacker, Huston received All-Shawnee County honorable mention last season for the 3-6 Vikings. Huston was in on 106 tackles as a junior, including 61 solo stops.

AMIR JONES, Washburn Rural

Jones, a senior linebacker, received All-Shawnee County honorable mention last season after helping Washburn Rural post a 6-4 record and advance to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

Cale Ketter, Seaman [File photo/TSN[ 

CALE KETTER, Seaman

Ketter, a senior quarterback, was a second-team All-Shawnee County selection last season for the 3-6 Vikings. Ketter completed 136 of 231 pass attempts for 2,013 yards and 23 touchdowns in eight games.

JoJo Kingcannon, Highland Park [File photo/TSN]

JOJO KINGCANNON, Highland Park

A 6-foot, 190-pound senior quarterback/defensive back, Kingcannon played receiver, running back and quarterback as a junior, scoring from all three positions. Kingcannon received All-Shawnee County honorable mention for the Scots, who went 5-1 on the field, catching 10 passes for 338 yards and rushing for 408 yards on 32 attempts. Kingcannon earned second-team all-county recognition in basketball.

Kipton Kruger, Silver Lake [File photo/TSN] 

KIPTON KRUGER, Silver Lake

A 5-foot-11, 165-pound sophomore quarterback, Kruger was named the Shawnee County offensive newcomer of the year last fall after completing 178 of 252 passes for 2,158 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Eagles. Kruger was a second-team All-Shawnee County pick and received All-Big East honorable mention. Kruger is also a basketball and baseball standout for the Eagles.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

EDITOR'S NOTE: TopSports.news' list of the top city boys soccer players to watch in 2026, based on performances in the 2025 season, will be updated as needed after practice begins on Aug. 17 and more information is received from county coaches.  

CARLOS ACOSTA-MARTINEZ, Topeka High

Acosta-Martinez, a senior midfielder, is a top returner for the Trojans after earning first-team All-City and All-Centennial League recognition last season as Topeka High posted a 9-6-2 record.

ALAN ARTEAGA, Shawnee Heights

A senior goalkeeper, Arteaga was a first-team All-United Kansas Conference selection last fall for the 15-3-0 T-Birds while also receiving All-City honorable mention.

Judah Congdon, Cair Paravel Latin [Photo by Jan Pabitzky/Special to TSN]

JUDAH CONGDON, Cair Paravel Latin

A senior forward/midfielder, Congdon received All-City honorable mention last season after registering 14 goals and 24 assists for the 11-7-0 Lions, who advanced to the Class 4A-1A state quarterfinals.  

Valentin Del Real, Topeka West [File photo/TSN]

VALENTIN DEL REAL, Topeka West

Del Real, a junior midfielder, is a two-time All-City first-team honoree while also earning All-United Kansas Conference first-team recognition for the Chargers, who went 13-3-2 on the season.

BRAYAN DIAZ, Shawnee Heights

Diaz is expected to be a key contributor for the T-Birds this fall after missing the entire 2025 campaign with an injury. 

MYLES DIDDE, Washburn Rural

A senior midfielder, Didde scored the game-tying goal in last season's Class 6A state championship game before the 19-1-1 Junior Blues went on to win the state title in penalty kicks. Didde will serve as a Rural team captain this fall. 

Diego Gonzalez-Talavera, Topeka West [File photo/TSN]

DIEGO GONZALES-TALAVERA, Topeka West

A senior forward, Gonzales-Talavera is a two-time All-City and All-United Kansas Conference first-team honoree for Topeka West, which is coming off of a 13-3-2 record.

Mason Haas, Shawnee Heights [File photo/TSN]

MASON HAAS, Shawnee Heights

Haas, a senior midfielder, earned first-team All-City and All-United Kansas Conference recognition for the second straight season in 2025 for the T-Birds, 15-3-0 last season.

KALEB HOLMES, Seaman

A senior defender, Holmes is a key returner for the Vikings, 8-9-0 in 2025, after receiving All-City honorable mention as a junior.

Brodye Kocher-Munoz, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

BRODYE KOCHER-MUNOZ, Washburn Rural

Kocher-Munoz, a senior forward, helped lead Junior Blues to a 19-1-1 record and the Class 6A state championship last fall. A team captain, Kocher-Munoz was a first-team All-City and All-Centennial League honoree as a junior. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

EDITOR'S NOTE: TopSports.news' list of the top Shawnee County volleyball players to watch in 2026, based on performances in the 2025 season and coach recommendations, will be updated as needed after practice begins on Aug. 17 and more information is received from county coaches. 

Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

BRYNN ANDERSON, Washburn Rural

Anderson, a 5-foot-11 sophomore hitter, was a first-team TopSports.news All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League selection and named the county and league newcomer of the year last season after helping lead the Junior Blues to the Centennial League championship and a ninth straight Class 6A state tournament berth. Anderson registered 397 kills on the season along with 20 block kills, 96.3 percent serving with 29 aces and 229 digs. Anderson was also a first-team all-county pick in basketball and a state qualifier in track and field.

Nora Burdiek, Rossville [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]   

NORA BURDIEK, Rossville

A senior hitter, Burdiek is a two-time TSN All-Shawnee County first-team selection after being named the county newcomer of the year and earning second-team honors as a freshman. Burdiek has registered 1,373 total kills in her career with 936 digs. Burdiek was a first-team All-Big East selection as a junior after helping lead the Bulldawgs to a Class 2A state berth and earning All-State Tournament and All-2A first-team recognition from the Kansas Volleyball Association. Burdiek is also a basketball and softball standout, helping Rossville advance to the state tournament in both of those sports.

Campbell Dawson, Topeka High [File photo/TSN]

CAMPBELL DAWSON, Topeka High

Dawson, a senior, earned second-team All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League honors last fall in her third season as a varsity player. Dawson also earned second-team All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League recognition as a sophomore. Dawson was a first-team TSN All-Shawnee County and second-team Class 6A All-State selection this past spring in softball after helping lead the Trojans to a third-place state finish.

Karys Deiter, Silver Lake [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]  

KARYS DEITER, Silver Lake

Deiter, a junior hitter, helped lead the Eagles to the Class 3A state championship with a 46-1 record, including a 37-match winning streak to end the 2025 season. A first-team TSN All-Shawnee County pick and second-team 3A All-State honoree, Deiter finished the year with 313 kills, a 34.7 kill percentage, 18 blocks and 253 digs. Deiter also earned All-Shawnee County first-team honors in basketball and track and field after helping lead Silver Lake to the 3A state championship in basketball and earning a 3A state medal in track.

Kylie Hanni, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

KYLIE HANNI, Silver Lake

A senior setter, Hanni was named the TopSports.news Shawnee County Player of the Year last season after helping lead Silver Lake to the Class 3A state championship with a 46-1 record, including 37 straight wins to end the season. Hanni was named to the 3A All-State Tournament team and All-3A first team by the Kansas Volleyball Association and was also a first-team All-Big East League pick after registering 1,181 assists, with 45 kills, 22 blocks, a 91.7 serving percentage with 33 aces and 174 digs. Hanni also helped the Eagles win 3A state titles in basketball and softball.

ADY HENRY, Rossville

Henry, a senior libero, helped Rossville reach the Class 2A state tournament last season while earning second-team TSN All-Shawnee County and third-team All-Big East League recognition. 

HADLEY KILGORE, Washburn Rural

Kilgore is expected to be a key contributor for the Junior Blues at middle hitter this fall in her first season at the varsity level. Kilgore joins a Washburn Rural team that won the 2025 Centennial League championship and advanced to the Class 6A state tournament for the ninth straight season.

Clara Morgan, Shawnee Heights [Submitted photo]   

CLARA MORGAN, Shawnee Heights

A senior setter, Morgan was a second-team TSN All-Shawnee County selection last season while also receiving All-United Kansas Conference honorable mention. Morgan surpassed the 1,000 assist mark for her career last season.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Over the coming weeks The Jones Project and A1 Lock&Key will sponsor TopSports.news' series of stories recognizing the top senior Shawnee County athletes from the recently completed 2025-2026 school year.

TSN will name girls and boys finalists for the fall, winter and spring seasons, followed by the announcement of the girls and boys athletes of the year for all three seasons.

The project will culminate with the announcement of the overall outstanding girls and boys Shawnee County athletes for 2025-2026.

Six Shawnee County girls teams captured state championships in five sports in '25-26, including a Silver Lake sweep of the Class 3A volleyball, basketball and softball crowns, while Hayden won 4A basketball and put together an undefeated 4A-1A run in soccer and Seaman won the 5A bowling championship by a 358-pin margin. 

Washburn Rural's boys won Class 6A team titles in cross country, soccer and baseball while Shawnee Heights won its second 5A state bowling championship in three seasons.

Individually, 10 Shawnee County athletes captured individual state titles, including Washburn Rural senior Cody Spangler in 6A boys bowling, Rural senior Landen Kocher-Munoz in 6A boys wrestling, Seaman senior Brody Anderson in 5A boys track and field and Shawnee Heights senior Cianna Graves in 5A girls wrestling. 

TSN will also recognize Washburn University female and male athletes of the year for '25-26 after the Ichabods put together a banner season that included a string of NCAA Tournament appearances. 

Next up: The top 10 girls fall finalists. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Hayden, which posted a perfect season on the way to the Class 4A-1A girls state championship this spring, dominates the TopSports.news 2026 All-City girls soccer team.

The Wildcats, who wrapped up the state title with a 1-0 win over Rose Hill, put a city-high four players on the first team while sweeping the individual awards.

Three-time Hayden All-City first-team pick Carsyn Broxterman has been named the city player of the year for 2026. [File photo/TSN]

Hayden freshman Emma Slyter has been named the city soccer newcomer of the year after helping the undefeated Wildcats win the Class 4A-1A state title. [File photo/TSN]

Hayden senior Carsyn Broxterman, a three-time first-team selection, was named the city player of the year while freshman Emma Slyter was tapped for the newcomer of the year honor and Wildcat coach Klaus Kreutzer was selected as the coach of the year.

Joining Broxterman and Slyter on the All-City first team are seniors Reese Huscher and Kellyn Specht.

Washburn Rural senior Dayne Shriver earned first-team All-City soccer honors for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural, which posted a third-place state finish in 6A, put senior repeat pick Dayne Shriver on the first team along with senior Allie Schroeder and sophomore Ellie Vogel.

 Seaman, which earned a share of the championship in the United Kansas Conference, is represented on the All-City team by seniors Ava Huston and Savannah Nelson and junior Julia Molleker.

Topeka West junior Micah Williams is a three-time All-City soccer first-team pick. [File photo/TSN]

Shawnee Heights juniors Nina Bolanos and Brylee Garner both earned first-team berths while Topeka West junior Micah Williams earned her third straight first-team honor in her first season with the Chargers and Cair Paravel Latin senior Kelly Ann Chada rounds out the top team.

ALL-CITY 2026 GIRLS SOCCER

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Twenty city standouts have earned All-State recognition from the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association, including eight first-team picks and two players of the year.

Hayden, which posted an undefeated season on the way to the Class 4A-1A girls state championship, put six players on the All-State first team, including senior forward of the year Carsyn Broxterman and senior midfielder of the year Reese Huscher.

Hayden senior Carsyn Broxterman has been named the Class 4A-1A forward of the year by the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association. [File photo/TSN]

Hayden senior Reese Huscher was named the Class 4A-1A midfielder of the year by the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association. [File photo/TSN]

Wildcat coach Klaus Kreutzer was selected as the 4A-1A coach of the year. 

The Wildcats, who wrapped up the state title with a 1-0 win over Rose Hill, also put senior midfielders Grace Funk and Ella Foster on the first team along with senior defender Kellyn Specht and sophomore defender Sawyer Wrench.

 Washburn Rural senior forward Allie Schroeder (14) has been named to the All-6A first team after helping lead the Junior Blues to a third-place state finish. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman senior Ava Huston has been named to the All-5A first team by the KHSSCA. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural, which posted a third-place state finish, put senior senior forward Allie Schroeder on the All-6A first team while Seaman senior midfielder Ava Huston was named to the All-5A first team.

Rural senior defenders Dayne Shriver and Emma Wong were named to the All-6A second team along with junior midfielder Emery Hall and sophomore midfielder Ellie Vogel.

Topeka West junior Micah Williams was named to the All-5A second team by the KHSSCA. [File photo/TSN]

Topeka West junior Micah Williams has been named to the All-5A second team along with Seaman senior forward Savannah Nelson and junior forward Julia Molleker.

Cair Paravel Latin senior forward KellyAnn Chada earned second-team All-4A-1A recognition.

Seaman seniors Maya Martin and Parker Ayres received all-state honorable mention in 5A while Cair Paravel seniors Avry Stafford and Hemi Duehring received honorable mention in 4A-1A. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Class 3A state champion Silver Lake put a county-high four players on the 2026 TopSports.news All-Shawnee County softball first team, while Seaman senior Aubrey Warren and Washburn Rural junior Oliva Koch were named the co-players of the year and Rossville freshman Kenna Perine was named the newcomer of the year.

Seaman senior Aubrey Warren has been named the co-Shawnee County softball player of the year. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural junior Olivia Koch has been named the co-Shawnee County softball player of the year for 2026. [File photo/TSN]

 Rossville freshman Kenna Perine has been selected as the 2026 Shawnee County softball newcomer of the year. [File photo/TSN]

Silver Lake, which finished off a 28-4 season with a 4-0 win over Southeast-Saline in the state championship game, is represented on the all-county first team by seniors Kailyn Hanni and Paige Heiman, junior Riley Mohler and sophomore Saylor Liggatt while Eagles coach Nick Hamilton received Shawnee County coach of the year recognition for the third straight season.

Warren was named the United Kansas Conference player of the year for the second straight season while Koch was a repeat pick as the Centennial League player of the year.

London Backman, Topeka High 

Topeka High, which finished third in 6A, is represented on the first team by sophomore London Backman and juniors Campbell Dawson and Kenslee Young while 2A quarterfinalist Rossville put senior Brooke Springer and sophomore Nora Mitchell on the first team.

Joining Koch on the first team for Washburn Rural are senior Henley Rapp and junior Justice McBurney while Warren is joined on the first team by Seaman teammate Lydia Dreher.

Shawnee Heights put seniors Addison Cooper and Cianna Graves on the first team while Hayden is represented by junior Emberly Connell and sophomore Blakely Walter.

Backman, Hanni, Warren, Koch and Rapp are all all-county first-team repeat picks.   

2026 ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY SOFTBALL

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural senior player of the year Aidan Newbery headlines the TopSports.news 2026 All-Shawnee County baseball team.

Washburn Rural senior catcher Aidan Newbery has been named the Shawnee County Player of the Year after helping lead Rural to the Class 6A state championship. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/TSN]

Newbery, a catcher, helped lead the Junior Blues to the Class 6A state championship last Saturday in Wichita, Rural's first baseball state championship in 74 years.  

Newbery, who was also named the Centennial League player of the year, is joined on the all-county first team by senior teammates Austin Ditch and Nate Selm and junior Tyler Edmiston while Washburn Rural coach Jay Mastin was named the coach of the year after the Junior Blues posted a 22-9 record, capped by a 4-3 win over Free State in the 6A title game.

Connor Hanika, Hayden

Kade Mitchell, Hayden

Class 4A runnerup Hayden (21-6) is represented on the first team by seniors Connor Hanika, Kade Mitchell and Aiden Roberts and junior Caleb Menke while 5A runnerup Shawnee Heights (21-10) put seniors Brody Cooper and Cayden Lindsay on the all-county team and T-Bird sophomore Gabe Escobar has been tapped as the county newcomer of the year.

Brody Cooper, Shawnee Heights

Silver Lake, the 3A runnerup at 18-12, put senior Drew Womack on the first team while Rossville (25-5), third in 2A-1A, is represented by the senior trio of Jacoby McDonnell, Canann Mitchell and Cameron Miller and Seaman put juniors Axton Brewer and Beau Jessop on the first team.

Brewer, Ditch, Menke, Miller, Canann Mitchell, Kade Mitchell and Selm are all first-team All-Shawnee County repeat picks while Cooper, Edmiston, Hanika, Roberts and Womack move up from the second team and Lindsay received honorable mention last season.

Axton Brewer, Seaman 

Brewer received 5A All-State first-team honors from Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches while Womack was a first-team pick in 3A and Miller and Canann Mitchell earned first-team honors in 2A-1A.

Canann Mitchell, Rossville

Newbery was a second-team pick in 6A, Jessop a second-team selection in 5A, Hanika and Kade Mitchell second team in 4A and McDonnell second team in 2A-1A.

 2026 ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY BASEBALL

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

State champions Brody Anderson of Seaman, Christian Hartman-Babb of Washburn Rural and Landen Lewis of Rossville headline the 2026 All-Shawnee County boys track and field team.

Brody Anderson posted a state championship and two runnerup finishes in the Class 5A state track meet. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural junior Christian Hartman-Babb won the Class 6A state 100 meters title and finished second in the 200. [File photo/TSN] 

Rossville sophomore Landen Lewis won the 2026 Class 2A-1A state title in the javelin. [Submitted photo]

Anderson, a senior, won the Class 5A 800 meters in a 5A meet-record time of 1 minute, 52.08 seconds after finishing second in the 3,200 (9:05.70) and the 1,600 (4:12.48) earlier in the meet.

Junior Hartman-Babb won the 6A 100-meter dash in 10.59 seconds and finished second on a photo-finish in the 200 (21.40) while sophomore Lewis captured the 2A javelin championship at 181-9.

Anderson finished his season as the Shawnee County leader in the 800, the 1,600 (4:08.2 converted from mile) and 3,200 while Hartman-Babb led the county in the 100 (10.36) and 200 and Lewis had a county-best performance of 202-9 in the javelin.

Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe finished second in the Class 6A 1,600 meters in last week's state meet. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe was the 6A runnerup in the 1,600 (4:22.04) while the Silver Lake foursome of senior Thomas Fisher, junior Owen Rottinghaus, senior Joel Miller and senior Braxton Rupp finished second in the 4x100 relay (43.14) and the Eagles' Rottinghaus, Fisher, Miller and sophomore Jake Workman placed third in the 4x400 relay (3:28.56).

Shawnee Heights senior Jason Slay finished third in the 5A 400 (49.51) and teamed with senior Xavier Fisher and juniors Dallas Owens and Mason Haas to place fourth in 4x400 relay (3:25.32).

Anderson, Hartman-Babb, Kehoe, Miller and Rupp are all first-team All-Shawnee County repeat picks along with Seaman junior high-jump state placer Jack Esser and Washburn Rural seniors Draden Chooncharoen and Liam Morrison.   

Chooncharoen and Morrison missed the postseason with injuries, but the two ran on back-to-back 4x400 state-champion relay teams in 2024 and 2025, including a 6A state meet record in '25, while Morrison also won the 300 hurdles in '25. 

Washburn Rural senior Liam Morrison won three Class 6A state titles during his high school career. [File photo/TSN]

Also earning spots on the all-county first team were Rural sophomore Zach Hancock, Rossville junior Charles Chance, Cair Paravel senior Lucas Marichal, Hayden junior Kelton Meier, Highland Park senior Termaine Savage and Washburn Rural junior Cohen Thiessen.

Highland Park senior Termaine Savage earned a Class 5A state medal in the 400-meter dash. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Thiessen, Hancock, Marichal and Savage were state medalists while Meier was a state qualifier.

ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY 2026 BOYS TRACK AND FIELD

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee County girls track and filed athletes came up short in their bids for state titles in the 2026 Kansas Track and Field Championships last weekend in Wichita, but the local contingent still had plenty to celebrate, including multiple top-three finishes and 13 total top-eight medal showings in four classes overall.

Washburn Rural senior Morgan Ray finished second in the Class 6A javelin event for the second straight season. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

Hayden junior Sofia Harper was the Class 4A runnerup in the 400-meter dash. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural senior Morgan Ray was the state runnerup in the Class 6A javelin at 145 feet, 1 inch, while Hayden junior Sofia Harper finished second in the 4A 400-meter dash while posting a top time of 58.83.

Washburn Rural junior Kailyn Petersen placed fourth in the Class 6A discus for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]

Silver Lake junior Ali Gerber was a double medalist in the Class 3A state track meet. [File photo/TSN]

Silver Lake senior multi-sport star Kailyn Hanni posted a third-place finish in the 3A javelin (129-7) while Washburn Rural junior repeat 6A medalist Kailyn Petersen was fourth in the discus (133-2), Seaman freshman Baylee Ayres was fourth in the 5A high jump (5-foot-2) and Silver Lake junior Ali Gerber finished fourth in the 3A 400 (58.75) while also teaming with Eagle teammates Kinley Weber, Jaylie Whitehead and Karys Deiter to place fifth in the 4x400-meter relay (4:09.64).

Washburn Rural freshman Alyson Hinck (3) earned a pair of Class 6A state medals in her first state track meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural freshman Alyson Hinck posted a fifth-place finish in the 6A 800 (2:18.43) while Shawnee Heights freshman Tanesia Johnson earned medals with sixth-place finishes in both the 5A 100 and 200-meter dashes. 

Washburn Rural's Ray and Petersen and senior state medalists Emily Graf and Kenzie Maddox are all all-county repeat picks along with Seaman juniors Kinley Robinson and Brynn Spencer, Topeka High senior Keimara Marshall and Silver Lake's Gerber and Deiter.

Also earning spots on the first team are Hayden junior Alana Mitchell, Silver Lake junior Addy Just and Washburn Rural freshman Clara Dillon, who all earned state medals, along with seniors Jurnee Cole of Highland Park, Jayana Washington of Topeka High and Journey Manhart of Silver Lake. 

ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY 2026 GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Five city baseball players earned All-United Kansas Conference first-team honors, led by Shawnee Heights senior pitcher of the year Brody Cooper.

Shawnee Heights senior pitcher Brody Cooper has been named the UKC pitcher of the year by conference coaches. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Cooper, a first-team All-UKC repeat pick, helped lead the T-Birds to a runnerup finish in the Class 5A state tournament.

Cooper is joined on the all-conference first team by Heights senior outfielder Cayden Lindsay while Seaman is represented on the first team by junior designated hitter Axton Brewer, junior infielder Beau Jessop and senior utility player Cale Rosenberger.

Brewer is a first-team repeat pick.

Shawnee Heights (21-10) put sophomore utility player Gabe Escobar, senior infielder Cambren Floberg and senior outfielder Michael Lilly on the All-UKC second team while six Heights, Seaman and Topeka West players received honorable mention.

ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE BASEBALL

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

City schools Seaman and Shawnee Heights combined to put seven players on the 2026 All-United Kansas Conference softball team, led by Seaman senior infielder Aubrey Warren of Seaman, who was named the conference player of the year for the second straight season.

Seaman senior infielder Aubrey Warren has been named the United Kansas Conference player of the year by conference coaches for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman is represented on the first team by Warren, sophomore pitcher Lydia Dreher, junior outfielder Acey Thompson and senior designated player Addison Sibley, while Shawnee Heights is represented on the first team by senior outfielder Addison Cooper, a repeat first-team selection, senior catcher Cianna Graves and senior infielder Jaidyn Euwer. 

Seaman put junior infielder Lauren Glasgow, senior outfielder Kinsley Smith, sophomore utility player Easton Beightel and senior designated player Lilly Rumsey on the second team while Topeka West is represented on the second team by sophomore Kendall Munoz.  

Topeka West seniors Addaline Hall and Isabelle Kutina and Seaman junior Natalee Simpson received honorable mention.

ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE SOFTBALL

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Eight city soccer players earned All-United Kansas Conference first-team recognition, led by Seaman co-player of the year Ava Huston, a senior midfielder.

Seaman senior midfielder Ava Huston has been named the UKC co-soccer player of the year after helping lead the Vikings to a share of the conference title. [File photo/TSN]

UKC co-champion Seaman also put senior defender Parker Ayres, senior forward Savannah Nelson and junior forward Julia Molleker on the first team while Viking coach Kyle Seevers was voted UKC coach of the year.

Shawnee Heights is represented on the first team by senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Mertel, junior defender Brylee Garner and junior midfielder Nina Bolanos.

Topeka West junior forward Micah Williams earned first-team honors in her first season in the UKC after transferring from Highland Park.

Five city players were named to the All-UKC second team and two received honorable mention.  

ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE SOCCER