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Created: 16 September 2025

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Shawnee Heights volleyball has faced an uphill battle in the early stages of the 2025 season while wading through a tough schedule, including a matchup with defending Class 5A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas.

Shawnee Heights volleyball celebrates a point in Tuesday's UKC volleyball sweep at Topeka West. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]

But T-Bird coach Sami Kearney is pleased with the progress her team has made, including Shawnee Heights' first sweep of the season in Tuesday's Topeka West triangular.

Shawnee Heights senior Avery Willey goes up for a kill in Tuesday's UKC volleyball sweep at Topeka West. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]

Now 6-6 on the season, the T-Birds dominated their first two United Kansas Conference matches of the year, rolling to a 25-12, 25-15 win over Seaman and a 25-13, 25-13 victory over Topeka West.

"I feel like we're moving in the right direction,'' Kearney said. "We've just played some tough teams, and I don't think you'll get better as a team if you don't play good teams, so I want that challenge and they accept that challenge and we're just getting better every week it feels like, so I just want to keep moving up with them.

"It's always about records, but at the same time we've got to go play good teams to make it to state, so we might as well get started and see what we need to get to and it's a good goal for us to try to reach.''

Senior Avery Willey, who had a big night Tuesday, agreed with her coach that the T-Birds are improving all the time.

"I think we've played some great teams and the losses are fine because we played great volleyball and we're just going to get better from it,'' Willey said. "Playing bad teams all year is not going to help us get better so I'm glad we get to play those really good teams.''

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Created: 16 September 2025

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

With the Topeka City Golf Championships on tap next Monday, four city schools got a tuneup for that event on Tuesday in the Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club.

Washburn Rural senior Lauren Cox shot a personal-record 77 Tuesday to tie for second in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Seaman senior Elise Eckert shot a 77 to tie for second in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn Rural was second as a team with a four-person score of 343, while short-handed Seaman was two strokes back in third at 345, host Hayden was fifth at 355 and Topeka West had a pair of individual competitors.

Washburn Rural will enter the city meet at Western Hills as the defending champion while Hayden captured the title in 2023 to end a decade-long run by the Junior Blues and Seaman could be the pre-tourney favorite after the addition of three-time Class 5A state medalist Elise Eckert this fall.

"It should be a fun day next week for the city championship,'' Washburn Rural coach Jared Goehring said. "It will definitely be a competitive round of golf. Obviously, Seaman's proven that they're kind of the frontrunners this year so far so we'll have our work cut out for us, but with a one-day setting you just never know. Anything can happen.'' 

Rural earned city bragging rights on Tuesday as senior Lauren Cox tied Seaman's Eckert for second place individually with 77s.

Hayden's Izzy Glotzbach and Seaman's Makenna Stuke tied for fourth with 79s while Hayden's Lauren Borjon and Rural's Kailyn Petersen tied for sixth with 81s.

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Created: 15 September 2025

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Brody Anderson

BRODY ANDERSON, Seaman

A senior, Anderson won his second straight boys individual championship of the season in Saturday's Olathe Twilight cross country meet that drew 50 schools from five states. A Class 5A state medalist in cross country and track, Anderson clocked a winning five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 11.40 seconds.

Austin Broadie, Washburn University 

AUSTIN BROADIE, Washburn University

A 6-foot senior outside hitter, Broadie was named the Most Valuable Player in the Washburn Invitational after helping lead No. 12-ranked Washburn volleyball to a perfect 4-0 record on the weekend with four three-set sweeps. Broadie registered 43 kills in the tournament, including 17 kills with a .607 hitting percentage against William Jewell.

Elise Eckert, Seaman

ELISE ECKERT, Saaman

A senior golf standout, Eckert shot a 74 last Thursday to win the individual title by five strokes in the Seaman Invitational at Village Greens Golf Course as the Vikings captured the team championship by 22 strokes. Eckert was a three-time Class 5A state medalist for Emporia before transferring to Seaman for her senior year.

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Created: 15 September 2025

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka West's boys soccer team went 3-0 on the week to claim the championship in the Salina South Invitational.

The Chargers, now 4-0, finished off their title run with a 3-2 win over tournament host Salina South in Saturday's championship game.

Diego Gonzalez-Talavera was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after helping lead Topeka West to the championship in the Salina Invitational. [File photo/TSN]

West got goals from JP Ayella, Valentin Del Real and Morris Blick against Salina South, while Ayella, Makaly Martinez and Giancarlo Valenzuela were credited with assists.

The Chargers scored all three of their goals in the opening half and West held on for the win despite two second-half goals by the Cougars. 

West reached the final with an 8-0 first-round win over Salina Central on Tuesday and a 1-0 win over Hays in Thursday's semifinal. 

Diego Gonzalez-Talavera scored four goals with one assist against Central while Blick had a brace with two goals. Camilo Garcia and D'Ante Smith-Dilone both had a goal and an assist for the Chargers while additional assists were provided by Ayella and Del Real.

Gage Kindred-Noragon was in goal behind Valenzuela Kameron Ortiz, Navi Lopez, Martinez and Neko Juarez for the shutout.

Ortiz scored the game-winning goal against Hays on a corner kick from Del Real. Kindred-Noragon was in goal for a team effort in another shutout.

Gonzalez-Talavera was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament while Del Real and Valenzuela were named to the all-tournament team.

Eckert, Vikings claim titles in Seaman Invitational 

Elise Eckert carded a 74 to win the individual championship by five strokes in Thursday's Seaman Invitational girls golf tournament at Village Greens, leading the Vikings to the team championship by 22 strokes.

Elise Eckert, Seaman   

Eckert was a three-time Class 5A state medalist for Emporia before moving to Topeka for her senior year.

The Vikings won the team title with a four-person score of 328 as Makenna Stuke finished fourth with an 84 and Chloe Schmidtlein and Kaitlynn Frye both shot 85s to tie for fifth place.

Hayden senior Izzy Glotzbach finished second with a 79 while Wildcat senior Lauren Borjon was third with an 81 as Hayden finished third as a team.

Washburn Rural finished second in the team standings, with Lauren Cox tying for fifth individually with an 85 while Kailyn Petersen placed eighth (86), Briley Miles ninth (89) and Peyton Merrick 10th (90).

Hayden's volleyball team poses for a team picture after winning Saturday's Baldwin tournament and improving to 12-0 on the season. [Hayden volleyball]

Hayden volleyball rolls to Baldwin Invitational championship

Top-ranked (Classs 4A) Hayden is 12-0 on the season after capturing the championship in Saturday's Baldwin Invitational. 

Hayden finished third in 4A last season.

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