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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The battle for the Centennial League individual boys golf title went down to a sudden death playoff Monday at Lake Shawnee, but no matter how the playoff came out it was going to be a victory for Washburn Rural.
Washburn Rural sophomore Tagan Monasmith shot a 74 Monday and won the Centennial League title in a sudden death playoff. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Bryan Tyrell shot a 74 and finished second in a sudden death playoff, helping the Junior Blues win the Centennial League title by a 21-stroke margin. [Photo by Trevo
Washburn Rural's golf team poses for a team picture after winning the Centennial League title by 21 strokes Monday at Lake Shawnee. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
It was that kind of day for the Junior Blues.
Washburn Rural regained the league championship after a brief one year's absence by a dominating 21-stroke margin over 2022 champ Manhattan and added a 14 stroke win over St. James Academy in the Midwest Varsity Classic.
Individually, Rural sophomore Tagan Monasmith and senior teammate Bryan Tyrell both shot 74s to force a playoff for the championship in both events, which Monasmith won on the first extra hole, but both players agreed that the fact that it was an all-Rural showown made it a little easier to accept the outcome no matter which way it went.
"I didn't really think about it too much,'' Monasmith said. "I knew either way, that's my boy, so win or lose it was definitely going to be a good day.''
Tyrell agreed.
"It's fun to compete and especially when it's your teammate, it's fun,'' Tyrell said.
Rural senior Andrew Burdett was just a stroke behind his teammates at 75 to tie for third in the Centennial League while senior Tyler Baumchen shot a 76 to finish fifth and junior Hayden Glynn tied for sixth with a 79.
Monday was the first time that Jared Goehring's Junior Blues were able to beat Manhattan this spring, which was an added bonus for Rural.
"Finally,'' Monasmith said. "Coach was pretty happy about that one.''
"We had a lot of pretty good scores throughout the year but we just couldn't put four scores together,'' Tyrell said. "But today we showed we could put four scores together and we beat them.''
Goehring said that Monday's performance was a big momentum boost for the Junior Blues.
"Crunch time is here and postseason golf is about a week away and we feel like we're playing some of our better golf of the season,'' Goehring said. "It was a team goal for us to break 300 and we accomplished that today (at 299) and that's good momentum moving forward.''
Hayden sophomore Tagen Rodriguez earned the 11th-place medal with an 83 while Topeka High junior Rich Helmbold tied for 12th (84), Hayden senior Noah Haverkamp tied for 14th (85) and Topeka High senior Luis Muniz Rodriguez tied for 16th (86).
CENTENNIAL LEAGUE
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By VINCE FRYE, Chairman
Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame Selection Committee
The selection committee for the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame has selected local sports greats Chris Barnes, Kevin Bordewick and Crystal Kemp along with longtime local sportswriter Rick Peterson as the Class of 2023 for induction into the local shrine on June 28.
Chris Barnes was a state basketball champion at Topeka High before embarking on a Hall of Fame career in the Professional Bowlers Association. [Wikipedia photo]
Kevin Bordewick has coached Washburn Rural to eight Class 6A state volleyball championships and two state girls basketball titles as a head coach. [File photo/TSN]
Rick Peterson is in his fifth decade as a sportswriter, covering high school sports throughout his career. [The Topeka Capital-Journal]
Crystal Kemp was an All-State basketball player and state discus champion at Topeka High and an All-Big 12 basketball pick at Kansas. [Submitted photo]
TopSports.news, in partnership with University of Kansas Health Systems St Francis Campus, A-1 Lock and Key and Washburn University, will host the induction and Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards ceremonies at the Washburn University Memorial Union.
A 1988 Topeka High graduate, Barnes was a member of the Trojans' 1986 Class 6A state championship boys basketball team and went on to become an All-American bowler at Wichita State before embarking on a Hall of Fame career in the Professional Bowlers Association, which continues today.
Bordewick has carved out a legendary coaching career at Washburn Rural, leading the Junior Blues to 10 Class 6A state championships in volleyball (eight) and girls basketball (two). Bordewick surpassed the 1,000 win mark in volleyball last fall on the way to the 2022 state title.
A 2002 Topeka High graduate, Kemp was an All-State pick in basketball and a state champion in track and field for the Trojans before going on to an outstanding four-year career at the University of Kansas, where she earned first-team All-Big 12 recognition as a senior.
Peterson is in his 44th year as a sportswriter, covering primarily high school sports throughout his career. Peterson spent 31 years as a sportswriter for the Topeka Capital-Journal before retiring in 2020 and is currently a contributing writer for TopSports.news.
Shawnee County's top senior high school student-athletes will be also be honored on June 28th.
Shawnee County high schools Cair Paravel Latin, Hayden, Highland Park, Rossville, Seaman, Shawnee Heights, Silver Lake, Topeka High, Topeka West and Washburn Rural have been asked to nominate one female and male candidate with a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average as outstanding student-athlete nominees for the fall, winter and spring seasons. County high schools have also been asked to nominate a female and male candidate for most inspirational athlete.
A committee of local media members will select the 2023 winners, including the selection of overall female and male athletes of the year.
Hayden's Tanner Newkirk and Topeka High's NiJaree Canady were named the overall athletes of the year in 2022.
The nominees for this year's high school awards will be announced in early June after the conclusion of the spring high school season.
Hall of Fame Class of 2023 capsules:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2023 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
GIRLS
100 METERS
Ta'Mijha Nichols of Shawnee Heights is the Shawnee County leader in the girls 100-meter dash. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Nichols, Shawnee Heights 12.19
Marshall, Topeka High 12.92
Torres-Hill, Topeka High 13.07
Steiner, Seaman 13.11
Ross, Silver Lake 13.23
200 METERS
Brooks, Topeka West 25.76
Nichols, Shawnee Heights 25.88
Hillebert, Hayden 26.53
Marshall, Topeka High 26.83
Fredrickson, Washburn Rural 26.91
400 METERS
Hillebert, Hayden 58.65
Brooks, Topeka West 58.98
Fredrickson, Washburn Rural 60.01
Miller, Seaman 61.85
Rottinghaus, Shawnee Heights 61.91
Returning senior state champion Bethany Druse of Seaman is the Shawnee County leader in the girls 800. [File photo/TSN]
800 METERS
Druse, Seaman 2:16.51
Foster, Rossville 2:27.33
Fink, Washburn Rural 2:27.51
Carter, Washburn Rural 2:28.30
Ismert, Washburn Rural 2:28.92
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
NOTE: Top.Sports.news will compile a weekly track and field honor roll for Shawnee County high schools throughout the 2023 season. Coaches are asked to email updated times and marks or any corrections to Rick Peterson at
BOYS
100 METERS
Hayden's Finn Dunshee (right) and Topeka High's V'Ante Peoples rank one-two in Shawnee County in the boys 100-meter dash. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Dunshee, Hayden 10.76
Peoples, Topeka High 10.96
Merritt, Seaman 10.99
Rollenhagen, Silver Lake 11.08
Heim, Washburn Rural 11.10
200 METERS
Cochran, Seaman 22.34
Peoples, Topeka High 22.53
Murph, Topeka High 22.64
Berry-Briggs, Shawnee Heights 22.71
Rollenhagen, Silver Lake 22.79
Hayden sophomore Jensen Schrickel is the Shawnee County leader in the 400-meter dash. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
400 METERS
Schrickel, Hayden 50.52
Roeder, Topeka High 51.60
Terry, Washburn Rural 52.02
Benz, Shawnee Heights 52.51
Thompson, Washburn Rural 52.70
800 METERS
Moore, Seaman 2:00.12
Anderson, Seaman 2:02.49
Esquibel, Shawnee Heights 2:05.09
Dial, Washburn Rural 2:05.41
Stuke, Seaman 2:05.80
Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge (left) and Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel are the Shawnee County leaders in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
1,600 METERS
Njoroge, Topeka West 4:17.71
Esquibel, Shawnee Heights 4:23.37
Dial, Washburn Rural 4:33.13
Johnson, Washburn Rural 4:33.46
Jowers, Seaman 4:43.66
3,200 METERS
Njoroge, Topeka West 9:20.08
Esquibel, Shawnee Heights 9:25.23
Johnson, Washburn Rural 9:51.59
Dial, Washburn Rural 9:51.97
Jowers, Seaman 10:05.32
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
TopSports.news will honor All-America football player Grant Bruner and All-America softball player Jaycee Ginter as Washburn University's outstanding male and female athletes for 2022-2023 at the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on June 28 at Washburn's Memorial Union.
Grant Bruner earned a pair of first-team NCAA D-II All-America awards as a senior for Washburn after leading the nation in tackles. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn junior Jaycee Ginter, a Shawnee Heights product, was a first-team All-American last season and has won 23 games this season. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Bruner, a native of Gretna, Neb., capped his Ichabod career with a monster season for 7-4 WU last fall, leading the nation in tackles and earning Associated Press Division II and Conference Commissioners Association first-team All-America honors.
Shawnee Heights product Ginter, a junior, was a first-team Division II All-American and the MIAA Player of the Year in 2022 and ended the 2023 regular season on Saturday with a 23-8 pitching record and 1.69 earned run average for the 36-14 Ichabods.
TopSports.news will honor outstanding Washburn athletes for the third time in conjunction with the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
In 2022 Faith Rottinghaus and James Letcher Jr. were named Washburn outstanding female and male athletes of the year.
Washburn Athlete of the Year capsules:
