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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural junior star Daniel Allen captured the Class 6A individual state championship in the 100-yard butterfly and earned four state medals to pace the city contingent in Saturday's state swimming championships Saturday at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatics Center.
Washburn Rural junior Daniel Allen won the 6A title in the 100 butterfly by more than a second and a half and earned four state medals. [File photo/TSN]
Allen, a multiple Class 6A medalist as a freshman in 2024 before sitting out the '25 high school season, entered the state meet as the No. 1 seed for the 100 fly and delivered a personal-record time of 50.85 seconds in the state final, out-distancing Blue Valley Northwest junior Cameron Hagen, who placed second in 52.37.
Allen posted a third-place state finish in the 100 backstroke in 53.38 and swam on Washburn Rural's fourth-place 200 medley relay (1:40.31) and the Junior Blues' seventh-place 200 free relay (1:30.97).
Washburn Rural sophomore Thomas Appuhn earned four state medals in the 6A state swimming meet, including a pair of fourth-place individual finishes. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural sophomore Thomas Appuhn also earned four state medals for the Junior Blues, who finished sixth as a team with 143.5 points.
Appuhn finished fourth in the 200 individual medley (1:58.89), fourth in the 100 backstroke (54.71) and swam on Rural's 200 medley and 200 free relay teams.
Junior Andres Morao-Jaspe and sophomore Castle Wallace swam on Rural's 200 medley relay while Wallace and sophomore Quinten Jessop swam on the Junior Blues' 200 free relay.
Morao-Jaspe tied for 10th in the 'B' final of 100 backstroke (56.93) and Wallace placed 12th in the 100 breaststroke 'B' final (1:04.05) while freshman Braeden Montgomery finished 15th in the 500 free 'B' final (5:08.50) and he teamed with senior Joseph Jensen, senior Alexander Jeffries and Morao-Jaspe to finish 12th in the 'B' final of the 400 free relay (3:30.00).
Shawnee Mission East won the 6A team championship with 290.5 points while Blue Valley West was second (270) and Blue Valley North third (218.5).
Seaman junior Kinser Barbosa finished seventh in the Class 5A-1A 100 freestyle Saturday. [File photo/TSN]
Barbosa earns Class 5A-1A state medal
Seaman junior Kinser Barbosa posted a seventh-place finish Saturday in the 100-yard freestyle (49.56) to lead the city contingent in the Class 5A-1A state meet at the Shawnee Mission School District Aquatics Center.
Barbosa also tied for 11th in the 50 free 'B' final (22.71) and swam on the Vikings' 15th-place 200 free relay and 16th-place 200 medley relay.
Barbosa swam with seniors Theron Carlson, Josh Hochard and Ryan Sloyer on the 200 free relay and with junior Wyatt Glotzbach, Carlson and Hochard on the 200 medley relay.
Andover won the 5A-1A state team championship with 379.5 points while Seaman placed 25th with 23.5 points.
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights boys basketball extended their winning streak to four games Saturday afternoon with a dominant 80-33 victory over Pittsburg in coach Ken Darting’s final regular-season home game.
Junior Cam Ross led Shawnee Heights with a game-high 21 points in Saturday's 80-33 win over Pittsburg. [File photo/TSN]
The T-Birds came out firing, opening the contest on a 9-0 run.
Senior Ja’Veon Alston scored four of those early points, setting the tone on both ends of the floor.
Pittsburg finally got on the board with a 3-pointer two minutes into the first quarter, but Cam Ross and Alston answered immediately to push the Heights lead to 13-3.
Alston’s defensive intensity created multiple turnovers, leading to easy scoring opportunities. He added his eighth point of the quarter as the T-Birds stretched the advantage to 15.
The Thunderbirds closed the first quarter on a 10-4 run, with Ross scoring five of those points, to take a commanding 30-9 lead.
Ross finished with a game-high 21 points, 15 of which came in the first half.
“I have to credit our defense mainly that allowed me to get to the basket and score,” Ross said. “My point guard, Javion, plays really good defense. He was able to force turnovers and find me slashing to the basket, and just having each other’s back on defense and offense.”
Darting emphasized the team’s defensive identity.
“We're defensive oriented, and we don't have a lot of offensive talent, but if we play the game right and we take the shots we can make, then we're good, because the defense is consistent,” Darting said. “We knew nothing about Pittsburg, so we came in with a mindset of going to get them and figure things out. I thought we did exactly what we needed to do going into playoffs.”
Senior Jaimarion Cook sparked a huge second-quarter surge.
The T Birds went on a 17-0 run midway through the period that carried to halftime, with Cook scoring 10 of his 18 points during the stretch.
Heights entered the locker room with a 51-18 advantage. The second half brought more of the same.
The T-Birds outscored the Dragons 23-7 in the third quarter, highlighted by a 21-0 run.
Sophomore Malachi Lee scored all eight of his points during that burst, including six straight, as the lead ballooned to 74-25, triggering a running clock in the fourth quarter.
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Highland Park hosted Kansas City-Sumner on Friday night for a Meadowlark Conference rematch of a 73-52 Scots loss to the Sabres earlier this season.
JoJo Kingannon led three Highland Park players in double figures with a game-high 21 points in Friday's 69-56 home win over KC-Sumner. [File photo/TSN]
And the Scots got their revenge in resounding fashion, rolling to a 69-56 Senior Night win.
Highland Park honored three seniors before tipoff and then made sure the outcome would be different this time.
Sophomore Davion Anderson opened the scoring for the Scots, but Sumner answered quickly. Senior Jaxon Davis attacked the rim, converted an and-one opportunity, and gave the Sabres an early 3-2 lead.
Junior JoJo Kingcannon responded by driving to the basket to reclaim the advantage. Davis continued to pressure the defense, knocking down two free throws to briefly put Sumner back on top, but senior Treonte Mitchell sparked the Scots with a 7-0 run midway through the first quarter, pushing Highland Park ahead 11-5.
Sumner countered with a 5-0 run of its own to cut the deficit to one, 11-10. Both teams closed the quarter strong, with the Scots holding a slim 15-14 lead after one.
Highland Park seized control in the second quarter. Mitchell scored inside to extend the lead to 19-14, then buried a 3-pointer to make it 24-17. The Scots followed with a 7-0 run that broke the game open at 31-19.
Mitchell scored nine of his 13 points in the quarter, helping Highland Park outscore Sumner 26-11 and take a commanding 41-25 lead into halftime.
“It feels really good,'' Mitchell said. "My teammates trusted me, and it was very important to us to get this win on Senior Night.''
Highland Park coach Nate Wallace praised his senior’s resilience and leadership.
“Treonte is one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever had,'' Wallace said. "He’s really buying into his role. This is the second game in a row where he’s scored 15 or 13. When he produces like that, we’re a tough team. He missed his sophomore and junior years for unfortunate reasons, so to see him show up and stay bought in all year has been huge for us.”
Wallace also credited the team’s energy and ball movement in the decisive quarter.
“The second quarter was huge. It gave us the lead and comfort,” Wallace said. “We had several guys check in and contribute. It was an all-around team effort. I loved the ball movement. We’ve been working on shooting and conditioning, so to see shots fall wasn’t a surprise. The way they moved the ball was the most impressive part.”
Kingcannon caught fire to open the third quarter, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 21 points and a 47-28 lead.
Sumner battled back in the period, trimming the deficit to 55-43 by the end of the third.
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Senior Night at Highland Park Friday belonged to Koralee Jones.
Senior Koralee Jones scored 30 points in Friday's 62-11 Highland Park Senior Night win over Kansas City-Sumner. [File photo/TSN]
With three seniors playing their final home game against Meadowlark Conference foe Kansas City-Sumner and the Lady Scots riding a three-game losing streak, the message was clear.
“This is my final home game and we are going to win,” Jones, known as CoCo, said before tipoff.
Highland Park took control early against the Sabres and went on to post a 62-11 victory as Jones poured in 30 points.
KC-Sumner struck first, but that would be its only early highlight as Highland Park responded with a dominant 22-5 run to close the first quarter, sparked by Jones’ 11 points.
Feeding off the energy in the gym, the senior guard set the tone on both ends of the floor.
“It being Senior Night, I had a lot of family coming out tonight,” said Jones. “With it being the last home game of the season, I wanted to play my hardest for everybody.''
The second quarter was even more lopsided.
Highland Park’s defense completely overwhelmed Sumner, holding the Sabres scoreless in the period.
The Lady Scots combined relentless pressure with disciplined play, never allowing KC Sumner to find a rhythm.
“It was big, just the girls responding,” said Highland Park coach Rob Brown. “We had a couple rough ones coming into this game. We’ve been on the other end of that situation. But it’s about coming in locked in and not getting loosey-goosey and playing bad basketball.
"I commend them for coming out, especially in the second quarter, and playing defense the right way without fouling.”
Meanwhile, Jones kept attacking. She poured in 13 more points in the second quarter alone, giving her 24 by halftime and pushing the Scots to a commanding 47-5 lead at the break.
“CoCo, I’ve been saying the whole year — she’s an athlete,” Brown said. “When she’s going in for those layups, you think she’s about to dunk that thing. She’s just an athlete. I’m happy to be able to coach her. I wish I had her longer. Three years went by fast with her.”
The Lady Scots maintained control in the second half, outscoring Sumner 10-4 in the third quarter to trigger a running clock in the fourth. Highland Park added a 5-2 edge in the final period to secure the 51-point victory.
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Seaman's boys basketball team bounced back from a Tuesday night loss Friday on their home floor, with seniors KaeVon Bonner and Landon Wiltz combining for 41 points in the Vikings' 60-43 United Kansas Conference win over Basehor-Linwood.
“It was really nice to see Landon knock down some shots,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "As soon as he hit the first his confidence just built and it was game on for him. KaeVon did what he does, goes and gets you baskets. I was really pleased with that part and our defense was outstanding in the first half. To give up just 14 points was very solid.''
Fifteen of the Vikings' first 21 points came from 3-pointers as Wiltz had three threes in the first quarter, helping Seaman build a 15-6 advantage and lead 15-8 after the quarter. Wiltz finished with 15 points.
“Finally started to hit them. I’ve struggled a little bit from three the last couple of games, so seeing one go down actually felt pretty good,” Wiltz said.
Then Bonner caught fire, hitting two 3-pointers back-to-back as the Vikings led 21-10, forcing the Bobcats into a timeout.
Bonner then had a beautiful turnaround jumper fall and followed that up with a one-handed slam off a steal later in the quarter.
Seaman had a 15-point lead heading into halftime, 31-14.
In the third quarter, Bonner helped stretch Seaman’s lead to 20 (37-17) after a slow-moving quarter, but then the Bobcats cut it to 12 (37-25) forcing Cox to call a timeout. Seaman led 41-28 after three.
“When you have a big lead at the half, it’s trying not to give into getting comfortable and relaxed instead of staying focused, making the extra pass, making the better shot,'' Cox said. "We got a little loose with our passing and a little loose with our shot selection, but then they pulled it back together.''
In the fourth, Seaman would not relinquish the lead or let it fall within 10 points.
Senior Griffin Zuniga provided eight points and Bonner scored five straight, increasing the lead back to 18.
The Seaman advantage got to 20 (57-37), tied for its biggest lead of the night, as the Vikings nabbed win number 17.
Wiltz said as the playoffs approach, the Vikings have two things to focus on.
“Value possessions and not turn the ball over. We got to keep our defense up because we’ve been doing pretty well on that,” Wiltz said.
Bonner led all scorers with 26 points.
SEAMAN 69, BASEHOR-LINWOOD 43
Basehor-Linwood 8 6 14 15 – 43
Seaman 15 16 10 19 – 60
Basehor-Linwood (12-10) – Brown 3 3-4 9, Morrison 4 0-0 8, Elliot 1 0-1 2, Hutchinson 1 0-0 3, Young 5 2-2 14, Nixon 2 0-0 5, Peck 1 0-0 2
Seaman (17-4) – Wiltz 6 0-0 15, McConnaughey 1 1-2 3, Zuniga 3 2-2 8, Brain 1 1-2 3, Scholes 1 0-0 3, Esser 1 0-0 2, Bonner 11 0-0 26
3-point goals – Basehor-Linwood 4 (Young 2, Hutchinson 1, Nixon 1), Seaman 8 (Bonner 4, Wiltz 3, Scholes 1). Total fouls – Basehor-Linwood 6, Seaman 10. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
