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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
More times than not over the last several years, the Centennial League softball title race has come down to the early-season doubleheader between Washburn Rural and Topeka High.
And while Washburn Rural coach Joy Marie Galliart would rather play the showdown against High later in the season than in the Junior Blues' Centennial League openers, Friday's 11-1, 7-3 wins at Hummer Sports Park gave Rural an early leg up in its quest for another league crown.
Washburn Rural softball celebrates after closing out a Centennial League sweep over Topeka High Friday night at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I actually talked to (Washburn Rural athletic director Charlie Nimz) about trying to get this later in the year and it just wouldn't work from their end,'' Galliart said. "I'm not a fan of playing league games the first week you start playing, just because you're not sure of where you're going to be.
"But when you come out and you're able to get two wins it does give you a lot of confidence and a little bit of momentum rolling into the rest of your season.'
Washburn Rural, now 4-0 overall, jumped out in front 3-0 in the top of the first in the opener and added a run in the third, two in the fourth and and five in the top of the fifth en route to a five-inning win via the 10-run rule.
Senior Reagan Chapman pitched a five-inning four-hitter in Washburn Rural's 11-1 first-game win over Topeka High Friday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Reagan Chapman pitched a complete-game four-hitter for the Junior Blues while senior catcher Henley Rapp and sophomore Emma Duran both tripled and Duran also had a double.
Junior Campbell Dawson drove in the Trojans' lone run in the opener with a fourth-inning double.
The nightcap was tied 1-1 after the first inning and stayed that way through three innings before the Junior Blues scored a pair of runs in the top of the fourth and three in the fifth to go up 6-1.
Topeka High (2-2) got back in the hunt with a pair of runs in the sixth, but Rural added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on a run-scoring single from sophomore Adda Boleski and Junior Blue junior pitcher Oliva Koch ended the game with a one-two-three seventh.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Hayden girls soccer team intends to make another run at a state title, a prize that was denied them in double overtime a season ago. The Wildcats took the first step in that long journey Friday by defeating Topeka foe Cair Paravel Latin 8-0 at the Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Senior Carsyn Broxterman (4) scored five goals in Hayden's 8-0 season-opening soccer win over Cair Paravel. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden fell to Bishop Miege 2-1 on a golden goal corner kick in the second overtime of the Class 4-1A state championship last June. The returners carried the pain of that defeat with them for nine months, anxious to take another crack at it.
They got that chance Friday and made the most of it. The Wildcats won the right to begin the game with the powerful north wind at their backs on a coin flip. Senior Carsyn Broxterman wasted no time, tallying three goals in the first nine minutes of the contest.
Senior Reese Huscher (14) scored two goals in Friday's 8-0 season-opening Hayden soccer win over Cair Paravel. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Fellow senior Reese Huscher joined the act with two goals in the next nine minutes. Then sophomore Sawyer Wrench put one in the net and the Wildcats led 6-0 at the half.
“Working all through last year, (the championship) was our goal,” Broxterman said. “And then not getting exactly what we wanted but knowing we can get there really kind of helped push us this year to work harder and push ourselves farther than we ever thought we could.
“I think this was a really good start. It was nice seeing all of us work really hard out there and really push ourselves. I think we’re all really excited for the season.”
To make sure no one thought the wind was the reason Hayden dominated the first half, Broxterman knocked home two more goals in less than five minutes of the second half to end the game on a mercy rule with 36:34 still showing on the clock.
Playing with a big lead allowed Hayden coach Klaus Kreutzer to rotate players off the bench and see what they could do.
“We brought up two extra players and they got the opportunity to play. I think that’s worthwhile for them. I think it will motivate them in practice a little bit,” Kreutzer said. “I think offensively we looked for other players. I think we took care of opportunities when we had them and I think we finished well. I liked the effort. I liked the enthusiasm.”
Cair Paravel started the season shorthanded due to several starters missing school for an educational trip. The Lions had the misfortunate timing of starting the season with Bishop Miege – the defending state champs – and Hayden – the state runners up – in the same week. The Lions will try to build off those experiences now that they have their entire complement of players.
Kreutzer, meanwhile, had to deal with absences during the first few weeks as well. The Wildcat basketball team claimed the Class 4A state title less than two weeks ago.
“We haven’t had much in the way of practice since we had six starters who were still playing basketball,” the coach said. “The first week of soccer practice was over state. Then it’s spring break. And then we play (soccer). But it is what it is, and I think everybody else is in the same boat.
“But having said that, I think their work ethic has been pretty good. I like what I’ve seen.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
City schools swept All-Centennial League girls basketball individual honors, led by Topeka High junior player of the year Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton.
Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton, Topeka High
Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural
Washburn Rural freshman Brynn Anderson was picked by league coaches as the Centennial League's top newcomer and also earned first-team recognition while Hayden's Carvel Reynoldson was tapped as the league coach of the year after leading the Wildcats to the Class 4A state championship.
Rayton, who helped Topeka High win the Centennial League championship, is joined on the all-league first team by sophomore teammate Hailey Caryl while Hayden is represented by sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein.
Manhattan's Kat Ball and Delaney Larson round out the all-league first team.
Topeka High senior Keimara Marshall, Hayden sophomore Blakely Walter and Washburn Rural seniors Ella Hirschi and Josie Carlgren were all named to the All-Centennial second team while Hayden senior Ella Foster and Washburn Rural senior Hallie Walker received honorable mention.
ALL-CENTENNIAL LEAGUE GIRLS BASKETBALL
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Baseball, more than any other American sport, connects the modern to the past. The 2026 Rossville baseball team began adding another chapter to the 100-plus year story of baseball in the town’s iconic Joe Campbell Field Thursday.
Rossville baseball opened its 2026 season in the newly renovated Joe Campbell Field. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Neither game of the doubleheader with Jefferson West went particularly well. The Bulldawgs, several of whom were competing at the state basketball tournament just two weeks earlier, scuffled on the mound and failed to produce much offense. Rossville dropped the twinbill by scores of 10-2 and 10-1.
Thursday’s games were the first in the newly renovated facility. At over 100 years old, the grandstand was in dire need of repair. Thanks to the generosity of fans of the stadium and the high school Bulldawgs – one donor in particular – significant recent improvements preserved the historic features of the ballpark.
“I noticed that the old grandstand was getting in disrepair, and I told the city council that we needed to start getting ready because we were going to either have to put a bunch of money in it or tear it down and put up a modern one, because at some point it was going to become a safety hazard,” said Rossville mayor Jim Meyer. “I put band-aids on it over the years, but it was going to need something more significant.”
The city owns the ballpark and leases it to the school as well as other users. The restoration effort was sparked by a Facebook post by the Rossville Community Foundation which asked if the community would prefer to renovate the facility or build something new.
“The overwhelming support was to restore the existing structure and try to do it in a historically pertinent way,” said Myron Leinwetter, vice president of the foundation. “The city, like most small communities, does not have extra funds lying around for big projects like this. So, the community foundation decided that since donations can come to us, we volunteered to start a designated fund for the baseball stadium, and all of the donations came into that.”
The original all-wood structure was a result of an $8,000 bond issue passed in 1922 to purchase land and develop a ballpark on eight acres purchased by the City of Rossville. At the time, baseball was an integral part of nearly every American town and a quality ballpark was naturally a part of the original plan, which included 400 trees, a bandstand and shelter, a tourist campground, children’s playground and picnic area. The field was first utilized on June 8, 1924.
Perhaps the most famous game played at the stadium was a meeting between local players and the touring Kansas City Monarchs on August 3, 1925. The legendary Negro League club was on its way to a Negro World Series crown and included Topekan Dink Mothell. While the Monarchs won, the score was a respectable 4-1.
The field boasts the only historic all-wood grandstand in Kansas one of just a few historic wooden grandstands remaining in the U.S. It served as the setting for scenes in the 2016 film Town Teams: Bigger than Baseball.
Fixing up the old ballpark was not going to be cheap.
“The whole thing is made out of wood. So, the main support beam structures were literally rotting away,” Leinwetter said. “Another thing that was big was the actual seating. It was built in 1924, so it was definitely not ADA accessible. It wasn’t even particularly spectator friendly. We wanted to change some of that so it would be a lot safer for people to get in and out of the grandstands.”
The final cost of the project exceeded the initial projection of about $100,000. While the Rossville Community Foundation worked hard to raise funds for the project, it wouldn’t have been possible without a sizeable donation and technical support from Bruce and Theresa McPherson, operators of McPherson Contractors, Inc.
“Bruce’s dad was actually the mayor of Rossville when the city bought all the ground for the baseball diamond and the surrounding park,” Meyer said. “When he heard about the project, he wanted to see to it that it was remodeled rather than torn down, and that it was done well. They did a really good job. It’s been there for over 100 years, and it’s going to last another 100.”
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Seaman softball opened its 2026 season with two convincing run-rule United Kansas Conference wins over city rival Topeka West Thursday at Hummer Sports Complex.
From start to finish Thursday the Vikings came out swinging early and often, taking the first game 14-1 and the nightcap 16-1 in three innings.
Seaman began the first game up 2-0 and the Vikings started a rally with no outs in the top of the second.
Senior Addison Sibley had a run-scoring single, senior Kinsley Smith had a two RBI triple and then the Vikings would score another run on a fielder’s choice from junior Acey Thompson, with the Vikings leading 6-0 after two.
Seaman would score another four runs in the top of the third, thanks to a two RBI double from junior Natalee Simpson, followed by an RBI double by senior Claire Watkins. Seaman led 10-0 at that point.
Topeka West couldn’t get much going against sophomore Kynnedi Kitzman in the circle. The Chargers did get runners at second and third, but Kitzman got out of the jam. Kitzman finished with six strikeouts on 88 pitches.
The Chargers would get on the board after a bases loaded walk to senior Samantha Stegman, but that would be it for Topeka West.
In the top of the fifth Seaman would score four more runs on five hits, ending the game by way of the mercy rule.
“I knew we brought back a lot of a lot of kids in the lineup from last year’s team and so I kind of knew what we could do, but you always have those first-game jitters and what are we going to be like and how are we going to fit together and are we where we need to be in the lineup,'' Seaman coach Daniel Ruda said.
"Tonight hopefully answered some questions but it was the best I could ask for, for a start to the season.''
In game two the Vikings put up six runs in the first inning. Seaman got five walks, two hit-by-pitches and a two-RBI triple from Kitzman that started the scoring and the rout was on.
Seaman scored seven more runs in the second inning on a variety of hits, including a sac fly, leading 13-0.
The Vikings combining for 29 runs and allowed just one run in eight combined innings.
