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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
JURNEE COLE, Highland Park
Cole, a senior, was one of the city's top sprinters last spring, ranking second in the 100-meter dash (12.75 seconds) and fifth in the 200 (26.68). An All-Shawnee County honorable mention pick in 2025, Cole opened her 2026 season in last Friday's Topeka High Invitational with second-place finishes in the 100 (12.72) and 200 (27.34) and a third in the 400 (66.88).
KARYS DEITER, Silver Lake
A sophomore state champion in volleyball and basketball for the Eagles, Deiter received All-Shawnee County first-team recognition last season after posting an eighth-place finish in the Class 3A state meet in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.74 seconds. Deiter ranked No. 3 in Shawnee County in the 100 dash and the 100 hurdles. Deiter also helped lead Silver Lake to the Class 3A volleyball title last fall and the state basketball championship this past season.
RYLEE DICK, Rossville
Dick, a senior, was an All-Shawnee County first-team selection last season after finishing eighth in Class 2A in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.77 seconds. Dick ranked fourth in Shawnee County in the 100 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles. Dick was also a first-team all-county pick in basketball.
ALI GERBER, Silver Lake
A junior, Gerber, earned All-Shawnee County first-team honors in track last spring and was an all-county pick in cross country last fall. Gerber teamed with Ellen Doty, Jaylie Whitehead and Ella Bolan to finish sixth in the Class 3A 4x400-meter relay last spring in track and placed 35th in state cross country last fall. Gerber was a member of Silver Lake's 3A state championship 4x400 relay team in the 2024 state meet (4:06.64).
EMILY GRAF, Washburn Rural
An All-Shawnee County selection in both cross country and track, Graf teamed with then-seniors Rylee Ismert, Brooklyn Nolte and Payton Fink finished second in the Class 6A 4x800 relay (9:29.84) in the 2025 state track meet. A three-time first-team All-Shawnee County pick in cross country, Graf garnered the individual city title last fall before finishing eighth in the Centennial League, fifth in a 6A regional meet and 30th at state.
SOFIA HARPER, Hayden
Harper, a junior, is a three-time first-team All-Shawnee County pick in cross country and received all-county honorable in track last spring. Harper posted a seventh-place individual finish in the city cross country championships last fall, placed 16th in the Centennial League meet and 12th in Class 4A regional competition and was 44th at state. Harper opened her 2026 track season in Friday's Topeka High Inivitational with wins in the 200-meter dash (27.00) and 400 (62.39).
ALYSON HINCK, Washburn Rural
The Washburn Rural freshman was the individual runnerup in the city cross country meet for the team-champion Junior Blues and placed sixth in the Centennial League, eighth in Class 6A regional competition and a team-high 25th in the state meet.
KENZIE MADDOX, Washburn Rural
Maddox, a senior, is a two-time first-team All-Shawnee County pick in cross country and was an all-county first-team honoree in track last spring. Maddox finished fourth last fall in the city cross country meet before placing 14th in the Centennial League, 16th in a Class 6A regional and 49th in the 6A state meet.
Keimara Marshall, Topeka High
KEIMARA MARSHALL, Topeka High
A senior, Marshall has established herself as one of the area's top sprinters, earning first-team All-Shawnee County honors and sweeping the 100 and 200-meter dashes in the 2025 Joe Schrag City Championships. A former Class 6A state medalist, Marshall helped lead the Trojans to 6A state quarterfinals in basketball.
Ryin Miller, Seaman
RYIN MILLER, Seaman
Miller, who has been recovering from an injury that limited her to just one cross country meet last fall, has won five Class 5A state track titles over the past two seasons, sweeping the 3,200 meters in 10 minutes, 19.53 seconds, the 1,600 meters in 4:57.33 and the 800 in 2:11.14 in the 2025 state meet and adding a fourth state medal when she anchored the Vikings' 4x400 relay to a fourth-place finish (4:03.44). Miller made her 2026 debut Thursday with a win in the 800 at Washburn Rural.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When I first covered Gary Woodland back in 1998, it sometimes seemed like success came easy for the Shawnee Heights multi-sport star.
I saw Woodland lead the T-Birds to Class 5A state basketball championships in 2000 and 2002 while he also captured three city boys golf titles.
Woodland also turned in an impressive basketball season for Washburn before opting to concentrate on golf and prior to high school Woodland was also a baseball star, which his father, Dan, told me might have been Gary's best sport.
Of course, it wasn't easy then -- with Woodland's success a combination of talent and an incredible work ethic and support system -- and it certainly isn't easy now, with Woodland batting through brain surgery and an ongoing battle with post-traumatic stress disorder that would have ended the careers of most athletes long ago.
But Woodland proved in Sunday's Houston Open that he still has what it takes to win, coming through with an emotional five-stroke victory -- his fifth tour win and first since his three-stroke 2019 U.S. Open triumph.
It was a victory for the ages, and should provide inspiration for those inside and out of sports in a time that good news seems to be increasingly harder to come by.
The 41-year-old Woodland's emotions bubbled over after he sank his final putt and especially when he engaged in a long, tearful hug with Gabby, his wife and mother of the couple's three children.
“We play an individual sport out here, but I wasn’t alone today,” Woodland told NBC after his win at 21-under-par. “I got a lot of people behind me, my team, my family and this golf world.
"Anybody that’s struggling with something, I hope they see me and don’t give up. Just keep fighting.”
Woodland received his brain tumor diagnosis in May of 2023 and underwent brain surgery later in the year to remove part of the tumor.
And just recently Woodland went public to discuss his battle with PTSD, which is related to his brain surgery. Woodland received the PGA Tour Courage Award last month.
Sunday's victory moved Woodland to No. 51 in the world, his highest ranking in five years, and punched his ticket to the upcoming Masters.
“Today was a good day, but I’m going to keep fighting,” Woodland told NBC after setting the tournament scoring record. “I’ve got a big fight ahead of me, and I’m going to keep going. But I’m proud of myself right now.”
The rest of the world, and particularly his hometown of Topeka, should be proud, too.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
DRAYDEN ACCOSTA, Topeka High
A senior, Accosta earned second-team TopSports.news All-Shawnee County recognition for the second straight season and was named to the All-Centennial League second team as a utility player.
Isaac Ansley, Washburn Rural
ISAAC ANSLEY, Washburn Rural
A senior pitcher, Ansley earned first-team TSN All-Shawnee County recognition last season and was a second-team All-Centennial League pick after helping lead Washburn Rural to a 15-12 record and a Class 6A state tournament berth.
Mason Becker, Hayden
MASON BECKER, Hayden
Becker, a junior, earned second-team TSN All-Shawnee County and Centennial League recognition last season after helping the Wildcat post a 23-1 record.
Axton Brewer, Seaman
AXTON BREWER, Seaman
A junior, Brewer was a TSN All-Shawnee County first-team pick, earned All-United Kansas Conference first-team recognition as a pitcher and designated hitter and was a Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches All-Class 5A first-team honoree at designated hitter and a second-team pitcher.
BRADY DEUTSCH, Hayden
Deutsch, a senior catcher, was a second-team All-Centennial League pick for the league-champion Wildcats, who went 23-1 last season. Deutsch receive All-Shawnee County honorable mention.
Austin Ditch, Washburn Rural
AUSTIN DITCH, Washburn Rural
A senior infielder, Ditch was a first-team TSN All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League pick last spring after helping Washburn Rural post a 15-12 record and advance to the Class 6A state tournament.
TYLER EDMISTON, Washburn Rural
Edmiston, a junior pitcher, was a second-team All-Centennial League and All-Shawnee County selection last season for the 15-12 Junior Blues, who earned a berth in the Class 6A state tournament.
Cambren Floberg, Shawnee Heights
CAMBREN FLOBERG, Shawnee Heights
Floberg, a senior, was named the United Kansas Conference pitcher of the year last season after helping the 21-8 T-Birds advance to the Class 5A state tournament. Floberg received second-team All-Class 5A honors from the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches.
CAEL HORGAN, Rossville
A junior, Horgan was a first-team All-Big East pick last spring after helping Rossville advance to the Class 2A-1A state tournament in 2025.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Brody Anderson
BRODY ANDERSON, Seaman
Anderson, a returning Class 5A state medalist, opened his senior track season with a pair of dominating individual wins in Friday's Topeka High Invitational at Hummer Sports Park. Anderson posted a 24-second win in the boys 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 23.82 seconds and posted a 36-second win in the 3,200 in 9:27.73.
Brynn Anderson
BRYNN ANDERSON, Washburn Rural
A freshman multi-sport standout for the Junior Blues, the 6-foot Anderson was voted by Centennial League girls basketball coaches as the league newcomer of the year and a first-team all-league pick. Anderson averaged 14.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals while hitting 41 3-pointers.
Carsyn Broxterman
CARSYN BROXTERMAN, Hayden
Broxterman, a senior soccer standout for Hayden, scored five goals and had an assist in Friday's season-opening 8-0 road victory over Cair Paravel Latin at the Bettis Family Sports Complex. As a junior Broxterman helped lead the Wildcats to a second-place finish in the Class 4A-1A state tournament.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball coach Harley Douglas was less than pleased after his Ichabods let a late lead get away in Saturday's home 9-8 MIAA loss to Northeastern State and he told his team that in no uncertain terms in a long postgame talk.
Former Seaman standout Maclane Finley is congratulated by his teammates after throwing a scoreless inning in Sunday's 11-2 Washburn win over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And the Ichabods, who committed five errors in Saturday's loss, apparently took Douglas' message to heart, responding with one of their best overall performances of the season on Sunday, rolling to an 11-2 win to take the series over the RiverHawks.
"We kind of had a little bit of a come to Jesus meeting with what happened (Saturday),'' Douglas said. (Northeastern) did a good job and came out and took advantage of our mistakes, but we have to put more into it with what we're trying to do. And I think yesterday put that all into perspective and we told them, 'You need to take a step back and realize what you're doing this for.'
"I think a lot of them did some thinking and realized it was time for us to kind of start trying to focus on each other instead of just ourselves. Anytime you can get a series win in this conference is huge. It's huge for us because it's the first time in a very long time we've put together a complete game. We hit, we pitched, we played defense and it explained to them just how good we can be if we just pay attention to what we're doing and pay attention to details.''
The Ichabods took control with five runs over the first two innings, got solid pitching performances from former Seaman standout Maclane Finley and Blake Priest and played error-free baseball en route to the decisive win.
Washburn, 12-19 overall, 9-10 MIAA, struck first on offense, with Trenton Barry leading off with a walk and scoring on a two-out double into right by Brandt Beeby in the bottom of the first.
After Beeby stole third he came home on the throw down to second on a stolen base by Jack Borgmann to put Washburn up 2-0.
Eli Dean (2) is greeted by his Washburn teammates after scoring a run in Sunday's 11-2 MIAA romp past Northeastern State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
In the second inning Eli Dean led off with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly from Barry.
Ian Luce followed with a triple that scored Owen Laessig to make a it 4-0 game and Levi Risenhoover capped off the three-run inning with a double.
After a pair of scoreless innings by Washburn starter Finley, the RiverHawks (11-21, 6-14) got on the board in the third, with a pair of hits scoring a run with no outs.
Northeastern State loaded the bases but Finley was able to escape the jam with a strikeout.
The Ichabods got the run back in the third, with Dean stroking a leadoff single and scoring on a two-out single from Laessig to give Washburn a 6-1 advantage.
The score stayed that way until the sixth inning when Northeastern State scratched out a run on three hits.
In the home half of the sixth Washburn loaded the bases with one out, scoring one run on a double play groundout to go up 7-2.
Priest took over on the mound in the seventh inning and tossed a scoreless frame.
In its next at bat Washburn loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk with one out before Luce singled up the middle to score two runs.
The Ichabods continued to add on to its lead in the eighth as Easton Wasinger and Borgmann slashed singles and Kolby Wheeler followed with a single that scored both runners to make it an 11-2 game.
