Hayden High School Wildcats

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Jack Bachelor 

JACK BACHELOR, Washburn University

A junior guard, Bachelor scored 23 points on 7 of 13 shooting with three 3-pointers and 6 of 6 free throws in an 95-63 win over Minnesota State-Moorhead and had 14 points with five assists and three 3s in an 88-57 in over Winona State as No. 2-ranked Washburn went 2-0 in the Central Regional Challenge at Pittsburg to improve to 4-0 on the season.

Mason Becker 

MASON BECKER, Hayden

Becker, a junior, scored a 71-yard touchdown on a pass reception from Connor Hanika, rushed for 78 yards on 9 carries, went 5 of 5 on extra-point attempts to improve his season PAT streak to 61 and averaged 44.5 yards on two punts as Hayden improved to 11-0 with an 43-29 home Class 3A state quarterfinal win over Jefferson West.

 Autumn Gibbs

AUTUMN GIBBS, Washburn University 

A junior volleyball player, Gibbs came up big in Friday's 3-1 home MIAA win over Central Oklahoma. After Washburn, now No. 7-ranked, dropped a 25-23 first-set decision, Gibbs jump-started her team with six straight service points, including three aces, at the end of the second set to give WU a 25-22 win before it closed out the match with 25-19 and 25-16 wins. Washburn took a 3-0 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith the following day to earn a share of the MIAA regular-season championship.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Twelve Shawnee County volleyball standouts have earned All-State recognition from the Kansas Volleyball Asssociation, led by six first-team selections. 

Class 3A state champion Silver Lake put 5-foot-3 junior setter Kylie Hanni, 5-5 junior libero Jaylie Whitehead and 5-8 senior outside hitter Jaiden Wise on the Class 3A All-State first team while Sarah Johnson was named the 3A coach of the year after leading the Eagles to a 46-1 record and 37 straight wins to end the season.

Kylie Hanni, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Jaylie Whitehead, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Jaiden Wise [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]

Sarah Johnson, Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Silver Lake 5-5 sophomore outside hitter Karys Deiter was named to the 3A second team while 5-10 senior middle hitter Paige Heiman received honorable mention.

Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]

Blakely Walter, Hayden [File photo/TSN]

Hayden, which placed second at state in 4A after finishing third in 2024, is represented on the 4A All-State first team by 5-11 sophomore rightside hitter/middle blocker Hailey Schmidtlein and 5-9 sophomore setter Blakely Walter.

Senior 5-4 libero Ella Foster and 6-0 junior outside hitter Mallory Tanking were named to the all-state second team while 5-6 sophomore outside hitter Sophia Wichman received honorable mention.

Nora Burdiek, Rossville [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Rossville 5-10 junior outside hitter Nora Burdiek earned first-team 2A All-State honors after helping lead the Bulldawgs to a state tournament berth.

Washburn Rural 5-11 freshman outside hitter Brynn Anderson was named to the All-6A second team after helping lead the Junior Blues to a ninth straight state tournament berth this fall.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Having been blown out in the first meeting with Hayden, Jefferson West gave the Wildcats a fight in the Class 3A quarterfinal matchup Friday at Hayden. The Tigers closed to within seven points in the fourth period before ultimately falling, 43-29.

Hayden hoists the trophy after Friday's 43-29 Class 3A quarterfinal playoff win over Jefferson West Friday at Hayden. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika ran for a touchdown and threw for two TDs in Friday's 43-29 Class 3A quarterfinal win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Wildcats blasted Jefferson West 42-0 in the final week of the regular season. But the Tigers followed that loss with two playoff victories to set up a rematch. The Tigers were more physical and more efficient in the second meeting, a spirited contest marred by numerous personal fouls and some bickering both during and after the game.

Leading by just seven points with 9:39 left, the Wildcats rose to the challenge, scoring twice in the final six minutes to hold Jefferson West at bay.

“That’s a good team right there,” Hayden junior Mason Becker said of the Tigers. “Last time we played them, we beat them by a little bit. But they fight hard all the way to the end. They have great coaching and great players.”

Hayden caught the Tigers with a quick strike to open the contest. On just the second play from scrimmage, Hayden quarterback Connor Hanika uncorked a bomb to Becker that resulted in a 71-yard score.

Hayden senior Jude Krentz ran for a pair of touchdowns in Friday's 42-29 Class 3A quarterfinal win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

At the close of the first period, Hanika beat the defense on a nine-yard race to the right pilon to give Hayden its second touchdown. Jude Krentz added the Wildcats’ third score early in the second period, and a rout similar to the one that occurred in late October appeared imminent.

But when Hayden turned the ball over on downs midway through the second period, life was breathed into the Tigers, who appeared on the ropes trailing 22-0.

Jefferson West freshman quarterback Brixton Schwinn, unable to get the passing game going in the first meeting, suddenly found his rhythm. A pass to Crayton Holman went for 41 yards, moving the visitors into Hayden territory for the first time on the night. Four plays later, Schwinn hit Holman for the Tigers’ first score in six periods played against Hayden this season.

The Tigers got another break when Hayden senior back Kade Mitchell came out of the locker room for the second half with his right knee tightly wrapped and packed with ice. The senior has accounted for over 1,400 yards from scrimmage and 21 touchdowns on the season, but he would make no more contributions in this suddenly competitive battle.

Shifting to running back on certain sets and producing a spark on the ground was Becker, who typically lines up on the perimeter.

“Kade went out and someone had to step up,” Becker said. “We all had to step up. I came in and was just going to give my all for the dude next to me.”

Senior Xander Blasing had a big night on both sides of the ball in Friday's 43-29 Hayden Class 3A playoff win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Quickly after the break, Hayden added another score on a 30-yard pass from Hanika to a leaping Xander Blasing. The 29-8 lead looked safe.

But Schwinn and the Tigers benefitted from a couple of Hayden penalties to get into the red zone again. The freshman quarterback connected with his junior brother, Brody Schwinn, combining for their 18th touchdown pass of the season.

Then early in the fourth period, the Tigers capitalized on a turnover deep in Hayden territory for another score, this time a short run by the younger Schwinn. Hayden’s lead was cut to 29-22 with 9:39 remaining.

“They throw the ball all over the place,” Hayden coach Bill Arnold said of Jefferson West. “They spread you out. They get a little bit of a mismatch here and there, but I thought our kids played well.”

Hayden responded with a drive that culminated with a 16-yard scoring run by Krentz. Next, Hayden’s Logan Power picked off a Schwinn pass to set up a 3-yard touchdown by Jackson McGivern and finally Hayden could rest easy. A late touchdown by Jefferson West only narrowed the final score to 43-29.

“I felt like we played pretty good,” Arnold said. “We had to make some adjustments when Kade didn’t come back out in the second half. I thought our kids played hard. We made some mistakes. (Jefferson West) made some good plays as well. But in the end, it’s survive and advance.”

Hayden will host yet another playoff game next Friday, this time against 11-0 Santa Fe Trail, which held off Holton 28-26.

Becker produced an impressively versatile stat line on the night. In addition to the 71-yard scoring reception, he added 78 yards rushing on nine carries. He booted each of his kickoffs out of the end zone, converted all five extra point kicks he attempted, and his two punts averaged 44.5 yards.

Jefferson West’s freshman quarterback Schwinn threw for 292 yards and also rushed for 61 yards. His brother, Brody, caught eight passes for 114 yards.

The Tigers completed their season with an 8-3 record, one of the best in the school’s recent history.

HAYDEN 43, JEFFERSON WEST 29

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

CLASS 3A

JEFFERSON WEST (8-2) at HAYDEN (10-0)

Connor Hanika, Hayden

Kade Mitchell, Hayden

Hayden, the No. 1 East seed in Class 3A, has outscored its first two playoff opponents by a huge 112-7 margin, including a 42-0 romp past Wellsville last Friday night. Friday's state quarterfinal game is a rematch of the Week 8 Hayden-Jefferson West district matchup, with the Wildcats taking a 42-0 win over the Tigers in that game. Jefferson West advanced to Friday's game with a 49-14 win over Prairie View. Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 88 of 146 passes for 1,422 yards and 20 touchdowns with just one interception while senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 89 times for 900 yards, caught 19 passes for 410 yards and has scored 21 total TDs. Wildcat senior Jackson McGivern has carried the ball 55 times for 378 yards and scored nine TDs while recording 65 tackles (41) on defense with seven tackles for loss. Senior Jude Krentz leads Hayden with 89 tackles (47 solo) and six tackles for loss while rushing for 317 yards on 49 attempts. Senior Xander Blasing has 66 stops (48 solo) and seven tackles for loss and has caught 18 passes for 230 yards while senior Makhi Kidd has caught a team-high 26 passes for 277 yards. Jefferson West freshman quarterback Brixton Schwinn has completed 150 of 255 passes for 2,101 yards and 29 touchdowns while senior Crayton Holmes has 55 receptions for 689 yards and eight TDs and junior Brody Schwinn has 47 catches for 883 yards and 17 TDs. The winner of Friday's game will move on to a 3A sub-state game to face the winner of Friday's game between Holton (6-4) and Santa Fe Trail (10-0). Game time: 7 p.m.

Xander Blasing, Hayden

Jackson McGivern, Hayden

CLASS 1A

ROSSVILLE (9-1) at PITTSBURG-ST. MARY'S COLGAN (10-0)

Canann Mitchell, Rossville

Cameron Miller, Rossville

Rossville, the No. 4 Class 1A East seed, is coming off a 53-18 home win over Jefferson County North last Friday while Pittsburg Colgan remained undefeated at 10-0 with a 56-0 win over Troy. Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 87 of 127 passes for 1,311 yards and 16 touchdowns with just one interception and has rushed for 821 yards and 15 TDs on 101 attempts. Senior Cameron Miller has 30 catches for 502 yards and eight TDs while senior Jack Donovan has 34 grabs for 426 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Conner Bush has rushed for 656 yards and 10 TDs on 61 carries while senior Andre Johnson leads the Bulldawgs with 85 tackles. Junior Charlie Chance has registered 40 stops, including 12.5 tackles for loss. Colgan has yet to give up a point in postseason, outscoring its opponents by a 119-0 margin. The winner of Friday's game will advance to the state semifinals to face the winner of Friday's game between Riverside (8-2) and Jackson Heights (10-0). Game time: 6 p.m.

Jack Donovan, Rossville

Andre Johnson, Rossville

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Miles Cook 

MILES COOK, Washburn Rural

The Junior Blues' senior goalkeeper came up huge on Saturday night at the Stryker Complex in Wichita, with Cook coming up with two saves in penalty kicks as Rural outscored Shawnee Mission East 4-2 in PKs to take a 3-2 win over the Lancers and earn its first Class 6A state soccer championship since 2012. 

Connor Hanika

CONNOR HANIKA, Hayden

Hanika, a senior quarterback, completed 10 of 13 passes for 211 yards, including 62 and 63-yard touchdown passes to Kade Mitchell Friday night as 10-0 Hayden advanced to the Class 3A quarterfinals with a 42-0 home romp past Wellsville in a regional final.

 Leah Henke  

LEAH HENKE, Washburn University

Henke, a former Bishop Carroll star, was named the MIAA Soccer Freshman of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors after the Washburn University forward scored a team-high nine goals for the Ichabods in an 11-2-5 regular season, including an 8-0-4 conference record.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Class 3A state champion Silver Lake, 4A runnerup Hayden and state qualifiers Washburn Rural in 6A and Rossville in 2A combined to put 12 players on the TopSports.news 2025 All-Shawnee County volleyball first team.

Shawnee County Player of the Year Kylie Hanni, Silver Lake [File photo/TSN]

Shawnee County Coach of the Year Sarah Johnson, Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Shawnee County Newcomer of the Year Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Silver Lake, which went 46-1 and ended its season on a 37-match winning streak, is represented on the all-county  team by senior Jaiden Wise, juniors Kylie Hanni and Jaylie Whitehead and sophomore Karys Deiter, with Hanni named the county player of the year and Eagles coach Sarah Johnson tapped as the coach of the year.  

Hayden, which placed second at state after finishing third in 2024, is represented on the first team by sophomore repeat picks Hailey Schmidtlein and Blakely Walter along with senior Ella Foster, a multi-time all-county selection.

Washburn Rural is represented on the all-county first team by seniors Karsyn Horyna and Stella Kelly and freshman Brynn Anderson, who was named the Shawnee County newcomer of the year after the Junior Blues won the Centennial League championship and advanced to the 6A state tournament for the ninth straight season.

Horyna is a first-team All-Shawnee County repeat pick while Kelly was a second-team pick as a junior.

Rossville junior Nora Burdiek is a first-team all-county repeat pick and is joined on the first team by freshman Kenna Perine.

Rounding out the first team are Cair Paravel Latin senior Karsyn Hastert, Topeka West junior Sydney Van Dyke and Shawnee Heights senior Avery Willey.

All-Shawnee County first-team capsules:

   The 2025 All-Shawnee County boys cross country team: Front row, from left -- Clayton Fink, Washburn Rural; Jaxson Adams, Washburn Rural; Henry Laubach, Washburn Rural; Nick Newkirk, Hayden; Connor Baldwin, Hayden. Back row, from left -- coach Matt Swedlund, Washburn Rural; Brooks Kehoe, Washburn Rural; Duke Graf, Washburn Rural; Max Esquibel, Shawnee Heights; Brody Anderson, Seaman; Conner Bloom, Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

 By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Class 6A state champion Washburn Rural put five runners, including three repeaters on the 2025 boys All-Shawnee County cross country team. 

Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe is a three-time all-county first-teamer while sophomores Clayton Fink and Henry Laubach are also repeat first-teamers after helping the Junior Blues win the state team title by a single point (100-101) over Blue Valley.

Rural sophomores Jaxson Adams and Duke Graf are first-time All-Shawnee County honorees.

Washburn Rural coach Matt Swedlund was named the county boys coach of the year, sweeping the county girls and boys coach of the year awards.  

Seaman two-time city and United Kansas Conference individual champion Brody Anderson is a three-time all-county pick while Hayden senior Connor Baldwin and Shawnee Heights senior Max Esquibel are two-time picks.

Seaman junior Conner Bloom and Hayden sophomore Nick Newkirk round out the first team, selected by local coaches.   

All-Shawnee County boys capsules:

The 2025 All-Shawnee County girls cross country team: Front row, from left -- Reese Beardslee, Washburn Rural; Emily Graf, Washburn Rural; Clara Dillon, Washburn Rural; Alyson Hinck, Washburn Rural; Sofia Harper, Hayden. Back row, from left -- coach Matt Swedlund, Washburn Rural; Kenzie Maddox, Washburn Rural; Morgan Munson, Washburn Rural; Brynn Spencer, Seaman; Ryin Miller, Seaman. Not pictured: Ali Gerber, Silver Lake. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Five first-team repeat selections headline the 10-member 2025 All-Shawnee County girls cross country team.

Leading the way are four-time all-county pick Ryin Miller of Seaman and three-time selections Emily Graf of Washburn Rural, Sofia Harper of Hayden and Brynn Spencer of Seaman along with repeat honoree Kenzie Maddox of Washburn Rural.

Spencer, a junior, finished a county-best 16th in the Class 5A state meet.

Earning first-team all-county honors for the first time are Silver Lake junior Ali Gerber, Washburn Rural sophomore Reese Beardslee and Junior Blue freshmen Clara Dillon, Alyson Hinck and Morgan Munson.  

Washburn Rural coach Matt Swedlund was named the girls Shawnee County coach of the year after his Junior Blues captured the city team championship and were the only county girls school to qualify for state as a team.

All-Shawnee County girls capsules:

REESE BEARDSLEE, Washburn Rural -- Beardslee, a sophomore, earned her first All-Shawnee County first-team honor after placing fifth individually in the city meet for the team-champion Junior Blues, 11th in the Centennial League, 17th in Class 6A regional competition and 50th at state. Beardslee had a five-kilometer personal-best of 19 minutes, 57 seconds. 

CLARA DILLON, Washburn Rural --A freshman, Dillon posted an eighth-place finish in the city meet for the team-champion Junior Blues before finishing 18th in the Centennial League meet, 21st in Class 6A regional competition and 62nd in the state meet. Dillon had a five-kilometer personal-best of 21 minutes, 43 seconds.

Ali Gerber, Silver Lake [Submitted photo/Silver Lake cross country]

ALI GERBER, Silver Lake --Gerber, a junior, earned All-Shawnee County first-team honors for the first time after receiving honorable mention as a sophomore. Gerber placed sixth in a Class 3A regional meet to earn an individual berth for last Saturday's state meet at Rim Rock Farm and placed 35th at state with a five-kilometer time of 21 minutes, 21.43 seconds. 

EMILY GRAF, Washburn Rural --A three-time first-team All-Shawnee County pick, Graf garnered the individual championship in the city meet for the team-champion Junior Blues before finishing eighth in the Centennial League, fifth in a Class 6A regional meet and 30th at state. Graf clocked a season-best five-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 10 seconds. 

SOFIA HARPER, Hayden --Harper, a junior, is a first-team All-Shawnee County pick for the third straight season. Harper posted a seventh-place individual finish in the city championships, placed 16th in the Centennial League meet and 12th in Class 4A regional competition to earn a state berth. Harper was 44th at state and had a season-best five-kilometer time of 20 minutes, 22 seconds.

ALYSON HINCK, Washburn Rural -- The Washburn Rural freshman was the individual runnerup in the city 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. Hinck posted a season-best five-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 37 seconds.  

KENZIE MADDOX, Washburn Rural -- Maddox, a senior, is a first-team All-Shawnee County repeater after receiving honorable mention as a sophomore. Maddox finished fourth this fall in the city meet before placing 14th in the Centennial League, 16th in a Class 6A regional and 49th in the 6A state meet. Maddox has a personal-best time of 18 minutes, 47 seconds.

RYIN MILLER, Seaman -- A three-time Class 5A state medalist and four-time All-Shawnee County first-team pick, Miller only competed in one meet as a senior due to injury, but finished third in the United Kansas Conference behind two all-staters despite no training since July 3rd. Miller finished second in Class 5A as a junior after a third-place finish as a sophomore. Miller, who has won five state titles in track, has a personal-best five-kilometer time of 16minutes, 32 seconds.

MORGAN MUNSON, Washburn Rural -- A freshman, Munson placed sixth in the city meet for team-champion Washburn Rural before placing 10th in the Centennial League meet, ninth in Class 6A regional competition and 51st in the state championships. Munson had a season-best five-kilometer time of 20 minutes, 10 seconds. 

BRYNN SPENCER, Seaman -- A three-time All-Shawnee County first-team selection, the Seaman junior finished third in the city meet, second in the United Kansas Conference, sixth in Class 5A regional competition and 16th at state for her second straight state medal. Spencer clocked a five-kilometer season-best of 19 minutes, 26 seconds.

ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Hayden's Kade Mitchell fumbled on his first carry of Friday's home Class 3A regional playoff game against Wellsville.

But that would be the only negative of the night for the 5-foot-9, 180-pound senior star, who powered the 10-0 Wildcats to a 42-0 win over the Eagles with four touchdowns and more than 100 yards rushing and receiving.

Hayden senior Kade Mitchell scored four touchdowns on the night -- two rushing and two receiving -- as the Wildcats advanced to the Class 3A quarterfinals with a 42-0 win over Wellsville. [File photo/TSN]

"You just have to stay level-headed,'' Mitchell said of the fumble. "I knew my guys have got me, they're going to back me up. I trusted them all night and it's all thanks to them. They picked me up right away and I love these guys.''

Hayden led 21-0 at the half, with Mitchell scoring all three touchdowns for the Wildcats.

After the two teams traded turnovers on their first two possessions, Mitchell capped an 8-play, 80-yard drive with a 36-yard TD run (Mason Becker kick) with 3:37 left in the opening quarter after the Wildcats got an interception from junior Logan Power.

After Wellsville had a TD wiped out by a holding penalty on its ensuing possession, Becker came up with Hayden's second interception of the game, ending the Eagles' scoring threat.

Six plays later Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika found a wide-open Mitchell for a 62-yard TD (Becker kick) at the 7:45 mark of the second quarter.

"I was a little free and Connor threw a great ball and I just had to walk in,'' Mitchell said. "It was a great night, it was fun.''

Then, after a Wellsville punt Hanika and Mitchell hooked up again, this time for a 63-yard score (Becker kick) with 2:01 left before halftime.

Wellsville (6-4) drove into the red zone twice in the opening half but came up empty both times.

Senior Jackson McGivern scored from 4 yards out (Becker kick) to put Hayden up 28-0 midway through the third quarter and senior Jude Krentz scored on a 9-yard scamper 28 seconds into the fourth stanza (Becker kick).

Mitchell then put the capper on his big night with a 68-yard run (Becker kick) to account for the final margin.

Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns Friday night as the Wildcats improved to 10-0 with a 42-0 Class 3A playoff win over Wellsville. [File photo/TSN]

Mitchell rushed for 131 yards on just seven carries and caught three passes for 149 yards while Hanika completed 10 of 13 passes for 211 yards and the two TDs to Mitchell.

Krentz added 72 rushing yards on seven totes.

"Wellsville's a good team,'' Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. "They came out and they played hard. I think we had a situation where maybe some of our formations messed them up a little bit and we got some good mismatches out there.

"I was pleased with our kids' effort. I thought Jackson McGivern played a heck of a game on defense and played really well. It was a team effort. We're not going to be bigger than anybody up front, but we do play hard and that's what I like about this group.'' 

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

CLASS 6A

Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural

WASHBURN RURAL (6-3) at WICHITA NORTHWEST (8-1)

Washburn Rural, the No. 7 Class 6A West seed, advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 37-0 home win over No. 10 Wichita South last Friday while No. 2 seed Wichita Northwest routed No. 15 Campus, 57-14. Rural junior running back Jadyn Baum went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season in the Junior Blues' win over Wichita South while scoring three touchdowns. Northwest senior quarterback Jaylen Mason has completed 98 of 148 passes for 1,487 yards and 17 touchdowns while senior Augie Fast has carried the ball 103 times for 1,119 yards and 21 TDs. The winner of Friday's game will advance to the 6A quarterfinals to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 6 seed Derby (6-3) and No. 3 Junction City (7-2). Derby beat Topeka High 49-0 last week while Junction City rolled to a 55-7 win over Wichita West. Game time: 7 p.m. 

CLASS 3A

Xander Blasing, Hayden

WELLSVILLE (6-3) at HAYDEN (9-0)

Hayden, the No. 1 East seed in Class 3A, opened postseason with a 70-7 home win over No. 16 Columbus last Friday while No. 9 Wellsville shut out No. 8 Parsons, 50-0. Wildcat senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 79 of 133 passes for 1,218 yards and 18 touchdowns while senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 78 times for 764 yards and has scored 17 total TDs. Senior Jude Krentz leads Hayden with 76 tackles (43 solo) and six tackles for loss while Xander Blasing has 59 stops (43 solo) and seven tackles for loss. Wellsville junior quarterback Pete Dorsey has completed 47 of 89 passes for 886 yards and 10 touchdowns while junior Armond Graves has 938 rushing yards and 16 TDs on 118 carries. The winner of Friday's game will move on to the 3A quarterfinals to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 5 East seed Jefferson West (7-2) at No. 4 seed Prairie View (8-1). Jeff West opened postseason with a 45-6 win over Anderson County while Prairie View rolled to a 48-6 win over Burlington. Game time: 7 p.m.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news 

Jadyn Baum

JADYN BAUM, Washburn Rural

A junior running back, Baum sailed over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season Friday night, picking up 182 yards and scoring three touchdowns on 15 carries as 6-3 Washburn Rural advanced to the second round of the Class 6A football playoffs with a 37-0 win over Wichita South at Bowen-Glaze Stadium. Baum scored TDs on 8, 8 and 46 yards against the Titans.

Dillon Claussen

DILLON CLAUSSEN, Washburn University

A 6-foot-8 sophomore, Claussen registered a pair of double-doubles as the No. 2-ranked Washburn men's basketball team opened the season with a pair of wins in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. The Omaha, Neb. native scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in Saturday's 101-53 win over Augusta (Ga.) and had 23 points and 12 rebounds in Sunday's 89-77 win over No. 3-ranked Dallas Baptist.

Henry Laubach

HENRY LAUBACH, Washburn Rural

A sophomore, Laubach led a balanced Washburn Rural cross country team with a 22nd-place individual finish in a five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 40.66 seconds Saturday at Rim Rock Farm as the Junior Blues captured the Class 6A team championship by a single point, 100-101 over Blue Valley.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Eight Shawnee County standouts from Class 3A state champion Silver Lake, 4A runnerup Hayden and 2A participant Rossville have earned All-State Tournament recognition from the Kansas Volleyball Association.

Kylie Hanni, Silver Lake [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]

Jaylie Whitehead, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner /Special to TSN]

Jaiden Wise, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Silver Lake, which completed a 46-1 season with the 10th state volleyball championship in school history Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena, is represented on the All-3A state tourney team by 5-foot-3 junior setter Kylie Hanni, 5-5 junior libero Jaylie Whitehead and 5-8 senior outside hitter Jaiden Wise.

Ella Foster, Hayden [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered] 

Mallory Tanking, Hayden [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]

Blakely Walter, Hayden [File photo/TSN]

Hayden, 33-10 after a three-set loss to Andale in the championship match at Hutchinson, is represented on the All-4A state tournament team by 5-4 senior libero Ella Foster, 5-11 sophomore rightside hitter/middle blocker Hailey Schmidtlein, 6-0 junior outside/rightside hitter Mallory Tanking and 5-9 sophomore setter Blakely Walter.

Schmidtlein and Walter earned all-state tournament honors for the second straight season.

Nora Burdiek, Rossville [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]]

Rossville 5-11 junior outside hitter Nora Burdiek was named to the 2A all-state tournament team after leading the Bulldawgs to a 1-2 record in pool play at Dodge City.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Hayden, which has advanced to the past two Class 3A state championship games, took the first step towards a third straight title shot with a 70-7 rout over Columbus Friday night at Hayden.

Senior Kade Mitchell (25) rushed for 190 yards on just five attempts and scored four touchdowns in Hayden's 70-7 Class 3A playoff win over Columbus Friday night. [File photo/TSN]

Hayden, the No. 1 3A East seed, improved to 9-0 on the season and will host No. 9 Wellsville (6-3), a 50-0 winner over Parsons, next Friday at 7 p.m. 

The Wildcats jumped out to a 42-7 first-quarter cushion over 2-7 Columbus, the No. 16 East seed, and led 63-7 at the half.

Senior Kade Mitchell had a big night for Hayden, rushing for 190 yards unofficially on just five attempts, including touchdown runs of 51, 42 and 75 yards while also hauling in a 45-yard touchdown pass from Wildcat senior quarterback Connor Hanika.

Senior Xander Blassing had 30 and 35-yard interception returns for TDs as six Wildcats scored touchdowns on the night.

HAYDEN 70, COLUMBUS 7

Columbus (2-7) 7 0 0 0 -- 7

Hayden (9-0)   42 21 7 0 -- 70

Hayden -- Mitchell 51 run (Becker kick)

Hayden -- Blasing 30 interception return (Becker kick)

Hayden -- Mitchell 45 pass from Hanika (Becker kick)

Hayden -- McGivern 4 run (Becker kick)

Columbus -- Dohle 96 kickoff return (Gray kick)

Hayden -- Becker 34 pass from Hanika (Becker kick)

Hayden -- Blasing 35 interception return (Becker kick)

Hayden - Mitchell 42 run (Becker kick)

Hayden - Mitchell 75 run (Becker kick)

Hayden - Branson 39 run (Becker kick)

Hayden - Todwong 14 run (Becker kick)

Individual statistics

RUSHING -- Columbus: Jayden Rodriguez 3-8, Jett Tanner 7-4, Jayden Dohle 4-3, Braun Stone 5-1, Jonas Stover 1-(minus)-5. Hayden: Kade Mitchell 5-190, Kyden Lichtenhauer 5-84, Mason Branson 1-39, Jairus Todwong 3-28, Jackson McGivern 5-24, Evan Huntley 4-15, Callen Powers 3-8, Alex Lopez 1-5, Conner Hanika 1-4, Mason Becker 1-4, Elijah Torrez 1-1.

PASSING -- Columbus: Jett Turner 7-20-5, 72 yards. Hayden -- Conner Hanika 4-6-0, 98 yards.

RECEIVING -- Columbus: Jonas Stover 3-26, Braun Stone 1-20, Jayden Rodriguez 1-15, Cole Howard 1-8, Lemmie Stone 1-3. Hayden: Kade Mitchell 1-45, Mason Becker 1-34, Mahki Kidd 1-13, Xander Blasing 1-6.

PUNTING -- Columbus: Jonas Stover 4-22.25.

Eagles takes 29-8 win over St. Marys in 2A rematch

Silver Lake stretched its win streak to seven games Friday night, opening Class 2A postseason with a 29-8 home win over St. Marys.

The Eagles, who improved to 7-2 overall, beat the Bears for the second time this fall, taking a 21-6 District 3 win on Sept. 26

Silver Lake, the No. 4 East seed in 2A, advances to the second round of the playoffs to face No. 5 seed Sabetha (8-1), a 48-0 winner over No. 12 Humboldt (3-6).  

Rossville routs Mission Valley 71-0 in 1A playoff opener

Class 1A District 2 champion Rossville, the No. 4 East seed and a state semifinalist last fall, opened its 2025 playoff bid with a 71-0 home win over Mission Valley Friday night.

The Bulldawgs took control of the game with a 21-0 first quarter and scored 35 points in the second quarter to open up a 56-0 halftime lead before adding a pair of scores in the third stanza. 

Senior quarterback Canann Mitchell scored on a 41-yard run and threw for a 30-yard TD to Jack Donovan and a 15-yard TD pass to Cameron Miller.

Donovan opened the scoring with a 55-yard run while Landen Lewis scored on 10 and 40-yard runs, Andre Johnson scored on a 6-yard run and Conner Bush scored on a 2-yard run.

The Bulldawgs also got interception returns for touchdowns from Cale Horak and Dalen Dick while Austin Dohrman kicked nine extra points and Cole Graves scored on a 2-point conversion run.

Rossville advances to host No. 5 seed Jefferson County North (8-1), a 30-14 winner over McLouth, next Friday.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural cross country coach Matt Swedlund knew going into Saturday's state cross country meet at Rim Rock that the battle for the Class 6A boys team championship would be close.

Washburn Rural's cross country team celebrates with coach Matt Swedlund Saturday at Rim Rock Farm after learning the Junior Blues had won the Class 6A state championship. [Photo by Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports]

Washburn Rural's cross country team stands on the victory stand Saturday at Rim Rock Farm after winning the Class 6A state cross country title. [Photo by Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports]

It couldn't have been any closer. 

Washburn Rural, top-ranked in the 6A coaches rankings, didn't have an individual medalist (top 20) on Saturday, but the Junior Blues put four runners in the top 28 places to lead the way as Rural captured the team championship by a single point (100-101) over Blue Valley.

Swedlund said at mid-week that he expected a tight race for the title.

"Basically the top five in the rankings are all just points from each other,'' Swedlund told TopSports.news. "There are several teams that have an opportunity (to win the team crown), so you've got to take it.

"We're not taking anything for granted and if you want to end up on the podium (top three teams) you're going to have to run well. We've been fortunate to have some good teams that were in the conversation and when you put yourself in the conversation there is no reason not to make your goal the absolute top. You want to be the best, you want to win, so that's what you shoot for.''

The Junior Blues, who had tied Manhattan at regionals and finished second on a tiebreaker, rode a pack finish on Saturday to its second title under Swedlund, a Washburn Rural alum.

Sophomore Henry Laubach (1598) leads a strong pack finish from Class 6A state champion Washburn Rural Saturday at Rim Rock Farm. [Photo by Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports]

Rural, which finished sixth as a team in the 2024 state meet, got a team-high 22nd-place finish from sophomore Henry Laubach in a five-kilometer time of 16:40.66 while senior Brooks Kehoe was just three spots back in 25th (16:42.83), sophomore Clayton Fink was right behind Kehoe in 26th (16:46.46) and sophomore Duke Graf was 28th (16:47.78).

Sophomore Jaxson Adams rounded out Rural's top five with a 42nd-place finish (17:01.90) while senior Wyatt Shorb was 52nd (17:11.27) and sophomore Brady Meek 84th (17:48.44). 

Olathe West was just 10 points behind Blue Valley in third (110) while Maize (147) and Free State (150) rounded out the top five in the team standings.

Blue Valley Northwest's Jacob D'souza won the individual title in 15:42.50.

Washburn Rural's girls finished seventh as a team with 173 points, led by freshman Alyson Hinck in a time of 19:54.78.

Senior Emily Graf finished 30th (19:58.44), followed by senior Kenzie Maddox in 49th (20:27.71), sophomore Reese Beardslee in 50th (20:29.81), freshman Morgan Munson in 51st (20:33.80), freshman Clara Dixon in 62nd (21:00.06) and freshman Lilly Palmer in 90th (23:18.64).

Manhattan won the girls team championship with 61 points. 

Topeka High sophomore Easton Davis competed in the 6A boys race as an individual, placing 80th (17:42.79)'

Vikings' Spencer posts 16th-place 5A finish

Seaman junior Brynn Spencer earned her second straight Class 5A state medal Saturday at Rim Rock Farm, placing 16th in 19:26.82.

 Seaman junior Brynn Spencer (1575) earned her second straight Class 5A state medal with a 16th-place finish Saturday at Rim Rock Farm. [Photo by Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports]

Spencer, competing as an individual, placed 18th at state as a sophomore.

Seaman senior Brody Anderson placed 33rd in the boys race (16:51.27) while Shawnee Heights senior Max Esquibel finished 50th (17:24.63).

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

HUTCHINSON --After rolling to the Pool II championship on Friday and advancing to the Class 4A championship match with a dominating semifinal performance, No. 6 seed Hayden's bid for a sixth state volleyball championship came up just short Saturday afternoon, with top seed Andale taking a 25-12, 25-27, 25-22 win over the Wildcats at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

After receiving its second-place Class 4A state medals, Hayden volleyball watches champion Andale receive its medals Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]

Hayden (33-10) never led in the first game as Andale (36-1) jumped out to 8-2, 15-6 and 19-8 leads on the way to the decisive win.

The Wildcats bounced back in the second set and led 17-8 and 19-10 but Andale came all the way back to take a 25-24 lead before big kills from Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein got Hayden over the hump.

Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein puts away a kill in Saturday's Class 5A state championship match against Andale. [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered] 

Hayden junior Mallory Tanking spikes the ball in Saturday's Class 4A championship match against Andale at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]

The third set was tied 13 times before Andale got the upper hand after the final tie at 19-19.

"The first game, we kind of just got in our way, and that's part of volleyball,'' Hayden coach Corrinne McGreevy said. "Sometimes it's a trickle down effect and you start making errors and you just can't stop. And we could not stop.

"But we bounced back. They had short-term memory. They moved on and they let it go. The last one could have been a 50-50 game. It could have gone either way. Those were two incredible teams. What a great state championship match. That was awesome.''

Hayden's nail-biter in the title match came after the Wildcats rolled to a 25-18, 25-8 win over Paola in the semifinals.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural cross country coach Matt Swedlund knows that there are multiple teams capable of challenging for the Class 6A boys state team championship Saturday at Rim Rock Farm, north of Lawrence.

Veteran senior Brooks Kehoe, the Centennial League champion, will lead top-ranked Washburn Rural into Saturday's Class 6A state cross country meet at Rim Rock Farm. [File photo/TSN]

But Rural, top-ranked in the 6A coaches rankings, is one of those teams, and Swedlund is excited to see what Saturday holds for his young Junior Blues, who have five sophomores in their state lineup.

"Basically the top five in the rankings are all just points from each other,'' Swedlund said. "There are several teams that have an opportunity (to win the team crown), so you've got to take it.

"We're not taking anything for granted and if you want to end up on the podium (top three teams) you're going to have to run well. We've been fortunate to have some good teams that were in the conversation and when you put yourself in the conversation there is no reason not to make your goal the absolute top. You want to be the best, you want to win, so that's what you shoot for.'' 

Washburn Rural tied Manhattan for last Saturday's regional title at Wichita's Clapp Park, with the Indians taking the team crown on a tiebreaker (highest finishing sixth runner).

Sophomores Duke Graf, Clayton Fink and Henry Laubach finished second, seventh and 12th to lead the Junior Blues while senior Centennial League champion Brooks Kehoe finished 19th and sophomore Jaxson Adams 22nd to round out Rural's top five and senior Wyatt Shorb and sophomore Brady Meek finished 28th and 29th.

Rural finished sixth as a team in last year's state meet, with Laubach finishing 14th to earn a state medal.

Senior Emily Graf, a two-time 6A state medalist, will lead the young Junior Blues into Saturday's state meet at Rim Rock Farm. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural suffered heavy graduation losses off its girls team that finished second in, losing out to Olathe West on a tiebreaker, in last year's state meet, but the Junior Blues, ranked fifth in 6A, earned a trip to state with a strong runnerup regional finish to Centennial champ Manhattan.

Seniors Emily Graf and Kenzie Maddox and sophomore Reese Beardslee return from last year's runnerup Rural team and will be joined on Saturday by freshmen Alyson Hinck, Morgan Munson, Clara Dillon and Lilly Palmer.

Graf led Rural with a fifth-place finish at regionals while Hinck was eighth, Munson ninth, Maddox 16th, Beardslee 17th, Dillon 21st and Palmer 36th.

"You've got some young girls, so you just want them to get out there and run the best that they can and see where you land,'' Swedlund said.

Graf will be shooting for her third 6A state medal, finishing 14th a year ago after a 19th-place showing as a sophomore.

Topeka High sophomore Easton Davis posted a 14th-place regional finish to qualify as an individual for the 6A boys race.

The 6A girls race is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. Saturday while the boys race is slated for 12:20 p.m.

CLASS 5A

Three city standouts qualified as individuals for Saturday's Class 5A state meet at Rim Rock Farm, led by Seaman senior Brody Anderson, a returning state medalist.

Seaman senior Brody Anderson is back at state for his third straight season after finishing second in last week's Class 5A regional at Wichita. [File photo/TSN]

Anderson, a 5A state medalist last season with a ninth-place finish, was the runnerup in last Saturday's regional at Wichita while Shawnee Heights senior Max Esquibel qualified with a 14th-place regional finish at Lawrence.

Seaman junior Brynn Spencer, a returning state medalist, posted a sixth-place individual finish at regionals. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman junior Brynn Spencer will be the lone local runner in the 5A girls race, qualifying as an individual with a sixth-place regional finish in Wichita.

Spencer finished 18th at state as a sophomore.

The 5A boys race is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. Saturday while the girls will run in the final race of the day at 12:55 p.m.

CLASS 4A

Hayden's boys and girls combined for three individual qualifying berths for Saturday's Class 4A state meet at Wamego Country Club.

Sophomore Nick Newkirk and senior Connor Baldwin finished 14th and 15th in the Leonardville 4A regional to earn boys state berths while Hayden junior girls standout Sofia Harper qualified with a 12th-place regional finish.

The 4A girls race is scheduled for 10:35 a.m. Saturday while the boys race is set for a 12:20 p.m. start.

CLASS 3A

Silver Lake's boys earned a team berth for Saturday's Class 3A state meet at Rim Rock Farm, while junior Alessandra Gerber qualified as an individual for the girls race.

Silver Lake earned the final team berth in the 3A regional at Leonardville with a third-place finish, just three points out of second and 16 out of first.

Junior Hunter Rooks led Silver Lake with an eighth-place regional finish while sophomore Carson Kraus finished 20th, senior Brayden Just 27th, sophomore Miles Burgess 28th, junior Lane Ray 29th, senior Joel Heier 38th and senior Zachariah Rodenbaugh 66th. 

Gerber earned a return trip to state with a sixth-place individual finish at regionals.

The 3A boys race is the first race of the day at 10 a.m. Saturday while the 3A girls will run at 11:45 a.m.

CLASS 2A

Rossville junior Madelyn Wonnell earned a return trip to the Class 2A meet at Wamego Country Club with a 14th-place individual finish in the Marion regional.

The 2A girls race is Saturday's final race of the day at 12:55 p.m. 

SHAWNEE COUNTY STATE QUALIFIERS

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After finishing third in last year's Class 4A state tournament, No. 6 seed Hayden is back in the title hunt after a perfect 3-0 day Friday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Corrinne McGreevy's Wildcats, 32-9 on the season, claimed the Pool II championship with three straight-set victories.

Hayden volleyball is headed to the Class 4A state semifinals Saturday after a perfect 3-0 record in pool play at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. [File photo/TSN]

Hayden opened its day with a 25-16, 25-19 win over No. 3 seed McPherson and then knocked off No. 2 Clay Center, 25-14, 26-24 before clinching the pool championship with a 25-20, 25-13 win over No. 7 seed Buhler in the Wildcats' final match of the day.

Hayden will now face Pool I runnerup Paola (27-10) in the semifinals, with the Panthers advancing on a tiebreaker despite a 1-2 record in pool play.

No. 1 seed and Pool II champion Andale (34-1) will face Pool I runnerup Clay Center (40-3) in the other semifinal.

The championship and third-place matches will begin 25 minutes after the conclusion of the final semifinal.  

Rural comes up short in bid for 6A semifinals

After splitting its first two matches Friday, No. 4 seed Washburn Rural pushed two-time defending Class 6A state champ and top seed Mill Valley to three sets in the Junior Blues' final pool match of the day at the Tony's Pizza Event Center in Salina before Mill Valley escaped with a 25-27, 25-18, 25-17 win.

Mill Valley, 2-1 on the day, advanced to Saturday semifinals as the Pool I runnerup while Washburn Rural ended its season with a 31-9 record on the year. 

Bulldawgs go 1-2 in 2A pool play

No. 8 seed Rossville split its first two Class 2A state pool play matches at Dodge City's United Wireless Arena and went to three sets in its final match against No. 5 seed Hillsboro, but came up short in its bid to advance to Saturday's semifinals. 

The Bulldawgs dropped a 25-12, 25-13 decision to top seed and undefeated Ellinwood in its opening match before taking a 19-25, 25-19, 25-15 victory over No. 4 Humboldt.

After dropping a 25-20 first-set decision to Hillsboro Rossville answered with a 25-15 win in the second set, but the Trojans took the match with a hard-earned 26-24 win in the third set.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

CLASS 6A

Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural

WICHITA SOUTH (3-5) at WASHBURN RURAL (5-3)

Washburn Rural is the No. 7 Class 6A West seed while Wichita South is No. 10. Washburn Rural, playing without standout senior quarterback John Hoytal, dropped a 43-0 home Centennial League decision to Manhattan last week. Friday's winner will advance to a second-round game to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 2 Wichita Northwest (7-1) and No. 15 Campus (0-8). Game time: 7 p.m. 

TOPEKA HIGH (3-5) at DERBY (5-3)

The Trojans, coming off a 34-12 home non-league loss to Pittsburg, are the No. 11 6A West seed while perennial state contender Derby is the No. 6 seed. The Topeka High-Derby winner will advance to face Friday's winner between No. 3 seed Junction City (6-2) and No. 14 Wichita West (1-7). Game time: 7 p.m.

CLASS 5A

G'Honi Montgomery, Highland Park

DE SOTO (6-2) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (6-2)

At Hummer Sports Park

Coming off a big 42-30 Meadowlark Conference road win over previously-unbeaten Kansas City-Washington, Highland Park is the No. 8 Class 5A East seed while United Kansas Conference stalwart De Soto is seeded No. 9 and coming off a 42-21 UKC home win over Seaman. Highland Park junior G'Honi Montgomery carried the ball 14 times for 292 yards and five touchdowns against Washington and has 633 yards on 55 attempts in five games. Junior JoJo Kingcannon has rushed for 393 yards and four TDs on 26 carries and caught seven passes for 280 yards and three TDs. The Highland Park-De Soto winner will move on to face the winner of Friday's contest between No. 1 seed Basehor-Linwood (8-0) and No. 16 Blue Valley Southwest (0-8). Game time: 6 p.m.

Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (4-4) at ST. JAMES ACADEMY (7-1)

Shawnee Heights is coming off a 29-16 home United Kansas Conference win over Kansas City Turner and is the No. 11 5A East seed for the playoffs while St. James is the No. 6 seed. The T-Bird-Thunder winner will advance to next week's second round of the playoffs to take on the winner of Friday's game between No. 3 seed Spring Hill (7-1) and No. 14 Kansas City-Harmon (1-7). Shawnee Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott has completed 181 of 287 passes for 2,767 yards and 23 TDs while senior AJ Gallegos has 61 catches for 860 yards and seven touchdowns. Dayton Vanderpool is the T-Birds' leading tackler with 75 stops (51 solo), including 5.5 tackles for loss. Game time: 7 p.m.

SEAMAN (3-5) at LIBERAL (6-2)

Seaman, coming off a 42-21 United Kansas Conference road loss at De Soto, is the No. 11 5A West seed while Liberal is No. 6. The winner of Friday's game will advance to face the winner of Friday's game between No. 3 Andover (6-2) and No. 14 seed Salina South (1-7). Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 136 of 231 passes for 2,013 yards and 23 touchdowns while Josh Brown has 38 catches for 611 yards and eight TDs and Coy Barta has 33 catches for 558 yards and nine TDs. Sophomore Quentin Moravec has 830 rushing yards and 11 TDs on 147 attempts. Game time: 6 p.m.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Top Class 5A East seed Shawnee Heights opened its postseason bid with a 6-1 regional semifinal win over United Kansas Conference rival Basehor-Linwood Tuesday night at the Bettis Family Sports Complex.

 Shawnee Heights senior Camden Granado (left) scored three goals in Tuesday's 6-1 regional win over Basehor-Linwood, becoming Heights' career-leading scorer. [File photo/TSN]

Senior Camden Granado scored a three-goal hat trick for the T-Birds to become Shawnee Heights' all-time career leading scorer while senior Juan Garcia added two goals and senior Wyatt Lindecrantz one.

Garcia also had an assist in the win while junior Mason Haas, senior Sheldon Pokphanh and senior Chase Tofflemire also had assists. 

The T-Birds improved to 15-2-0 on the season, with their only losses coming against 6A power Washburn Rural and fellow 5A power Blue Valley Southwest.

Shawnee Heights advanced to a 6 p.m. Thursday semifinal at Bettis to face No. 9 seed St. Thomas Aquinas (8-8-1), a 3-2 winner over Kansas City-Turner.

Washburn Rural senior Dylan Willingham (middle), Rural's single-season and career scoring leader, scored three goals in Tuesday's 9-1 regional win over Wichita Northwest. [File photo/TSN]

Rural rolls to 9-1 regional win over Wichita Northwest

Washburn Rural improved to 15-1-1 with a 9-1 Class 6A regional semifinal win over 4-12-1 Wichita Northwest Tuesday night at McElroy Field.

Senior Dylan Willingham, Rural's single-season and career-leading scorer, led the Junior Blues with a three-goal hat trick while junior Brodye Kocher-Munoz and senior Brandon Hamilton scored two goals apiece and senior Brody Grogan and junior Myles Didde had one goal each.

Senior Draden Chooncharoen and Didde both had two assists apiece while Willingham, senior Everett Un and senior Drew Moore had one assist each.

Rural, the No. 2 6A West seed, advanced to a 6 p.m. home game Thursday to host No. 7 seed Wichita East (12-5-0), which moved on with a 5-0 win over Junction City.

Cair Paravel advances with 6-2 4A-1A regional romp

Cair Paravel Latin, the No. 5 West seed in Class 4A-1A, advanced to a Thursday regional final with a 6-2 Monday win over No. 12 seed Circle (5-11-1).

The Lions, now 10-6-0, advanced to a 4 p.m. Thursday game at Berean Academy (12-5-1), with Berean advancing with a 3-1 wins over El Dorado. 

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

MONDAY'S GAME

CLASS 4A-1A

CIRCLE (5-10-1) vs. CAIR PARAVEL LATIN (9-6-0)

At Bettis Family Sports Complex

Cair Paravel Latin, the No. 5 seed in the Class 4A-1A West bracket with a 9-6-0 record, will open its postseason bid with a 6 p.m. Monday regional game against Circle (5-10-1). With a win Monday the Lions will advance to a Region 4 regional final on Thursday to face the winner of a Monday game between Berean Academy (10-5-1) and El Dorado (3-11-2).

TUESDAY'S GAMES

CLASS 6A

Dylan Willingham, Washburn Rural

WICHITA NORTHWEST (4-11-1) at WASHBURN RURAL (14-1-1)

Perennial state power Washburn Rural is the No. 2 West seed in Class 6A with a 14-1-1 record and will be at home Tuesday for a 6 p.m. regional semifinal at McElroy Field to host No. 15 seed Wichita Northwest (4-11-1). With a win Tuesday the Centennial League champs will advance to a regional final on Thursday to host the winner of Monday's game at Wichita between No. 10 Junction City (8-7-1) and No. 7 Wichita East (11-5-0). 

Billy Lutz, Topeka High

TOPEKA HIGH (9-5-2) at WICHITA NORTH (10-6-0)

Topeka High is the No. 9 Class 6A West seed with a 9-5-2 record and will go on the road Tuesday to face No. 8 seed Wichita North (10-6-0) in its postseason opener. With a win Tuesday, the Trojans will move on to a regional final on Thursday to face the winner of a regional semifinal between top West seed Wichita Southeast (15-1-0) and No. 16 Derby (3-13-0).

CLASS 5A

Camden Granado, Shawnee Heights

BASEHOR-LINWOOD (3-12-1) vs. SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (14-2-0)

At Bettis Family Sports Complex

An outstanding 14-2-0 regular season earned Shawnee Heights the No. 1 East seed for the Class 5A playoffs. The T-Birds will begin postseason with a 6 p.m. regional semifinal on Tuesday against their United Kansas Conference rival, No. 16 Basehor-Linwood (3-12-1). With a win Tuesday the T-Birds will advance to a regional final on Thursday to host the winner of Tuesday's game between No. 8 seed Kansas City-Turner (6-6-4) and No. 9 St. Thomas Aquinas (7-8-1) at Turner, also a member of the UKC.

Gage Kindred-Noragon, Topeka West

HAYS (7-8-0) vs. TOPEKA WEST (12-2-2)

At Hummer Sports Park

Topeka West earned the No. 3 Class 5A West seed with a 12-2-2 regular season and will open postseason with a 6 p.m. Tuesday regional semifinal against Hays (7-8-0). With a win Tuesday the Chargers will move on to a Thursday regional final to host the winner of Tuesday's game at Salina between No. 6 seed Salina South (11-5-0) and No. 11 Andover Central (8-7-1).

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

 Elise Eckert

ELISE ECKERT, Seaman

A senior, Eckert captured her fourth straight Class 5A state girls golf medal in Emporia, tying for fifth with a 36-hole total of 161 (77-84). Eckert, who won city and United Kansas Conference individual championships and finished second at regionals, led the Vikings to a tie for fifth in the team standings.

 Izzy Glotzbach

IZZY GLOTZBACH, Hayden

Glotzbach, a senior, finished her high school girls golf career with a tie for fifth in the Class 4A state tournament at Hutchinson's Carey Park. Glotzbach, who helped Hayden win the 4A team title as a sophomore and junior, had rounds of 85 and 79 to finish at 164 and lead the Wildcats to a fourth-place team finish. 

Connor Hanika

CONNOR HANIKA, Hayden

Hanika, a senior quarterback, completed 14 of 21 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers last Friday as the 8-0 Wildcats wrapped up the Class 3A District 4 championship with a 42-0 home victory over Jefferson West. Hanika has now completed 75 of 127 passes for 1,117 yards and 16 touchdowns while throwing just one interception on the season.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Perennial Class 3A volleyball contender Silver Lake will be the team to beat in this week's state tournament at Hutchinson Sports Arena, earning the top seed in the eight-team field with a sparkling 41-1 record on the season.

Silver Lake volleyball celebrates its Class 3A sub-state title Saturday at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

In the brand new state tournament format installed by the Kansas State High School Activities Association, the 3A field will play its three pool matches on Thursday before a day off on Friday and the semifinals, championship and third-place matches on Saturday.

Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Sarah Johnson's Eagles will open their state bid at 11 a.m. Thursday with a Pool I match against No. 8 seed Hesston (26-12).

Silver Lake junior Jaylie Whitehead makes a return during Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

After a match off, Silver Lake will return to the court at 1 p.m. to face No. 5 seed Ellsworth (32-8) before closing out pool play with a 3 o'clock match against No. 4 Wichita Trinity (28-5).

On the other side of the 3A bracket are No. 2 seed Riverton (36-4), No. 3 Hoisington (36-4), No. 6 Holton (34-9) and No. 7 Osage City (27-12).

The top two finishers in both pools will advance to 9 a.m. semifinals on Saturday, followed by the championship and third-place matches.

CLASS 3A VOLLEYBALL

At Hutchinson Sports Arena

THURSDAY'S POOL PLAY

Pool I

10 a.m. -- Wichita Trinity (4: 28-5) vs. Ellsworth (5: 32-8).

11 -- Silver Lake (1: 41-1) vs. Hesston (8: 26-12).

12 p.m. -- Wichita Trinity vs. Hesston.

1 -- Silver Lake vs. Ellsworth.

2 -- Ellsworth vs. Hesston.

3 -- Silver Lake vs. Wichita Trinity.

Pool II

10 a.m. -- Hoisington (3: 36-4) vs. Holton (6: 34-9).

11 -- Riverton (2: 36-4) vs. Osage City (7: 27-12).

12 p.m. -- Hoisington vs. Osage City.

1 -- Riverton vs. Holton.

2 -- Holton vs. Osage City.

3 -- Riverton vs. Hoisington.

SATURDAY

9 a.m -- Semifinals.

(Championship and third-place matches 25 minutes after conclusion of last semifinal).

Washburn Rural volleyball is the No. 4 seed for the Class 6A state volleyball tournament, with the Junior Blues looking for their ninth state title. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN] 

Eight-time champ Rural No. 4 seed in Class 6A

Eight-time Class 6A state champion Washburn Rural will be making its ninth straight state appearance, earning the No. 4 seed for Friday and Saturday's state event at Tony's Pizza Event Center in Salina with a 30-7 record.

Kevin Bordewick's Junior Blues will open Pool I play in Friday's first match of the day at 10 a.m., facing No. 5 seed Olathe West (26-7).

Washburn Rural's Brynn Anderson has turned in a banner freshman season, helping lead the Junior Blues to a ninth straight Class 6A state tournament berth. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

After a match break, Washburn Rural will face No. 8 seed Free State (20-12) at 12 p.m. before closing out pool play at 3 p.m. against top seed Mill Valley (31-4).

On the other side of the 6A bracket are No. 2 seed Blue Valley West (30-4), No. 3 Wichita Northwest (30-6), No. 6 Manhattan (27-8) and No. 7 Olathe Northwest (28-9).

The top two finishers in both pools will advance to 1 p.m. semifinals on Saturday, followed by the championship and third-place matches.

CLASS 6A VOLLEYBALL

At Tony's Pizza Events Center, Salina

FRIDAY'S POOL PLAY

Pool I

10 a.m. -- Washburn Rural (4: 30-7) vs. Olathe West (5: 26-7).

11 -- Mill Valley (1: 31-4) vs. Free State (8: 20-12).

12 p.m. -- Washburn Rural vs. Free State.

1 -- Mill Valley vs. Olathe West.

2 -- Olathe West vs. Free State.

3 -- Mill Valley vs. Washburn Rural.

Pool II

10 a.m. -- Wichita Northwest (3: 30-6) vs. Manhattan (6: 27-8).

11 -- Blue Valley West (2: 30-4) vs. Olathe Northwest (7: 28-9).

12 p.m. -- Wichita Northwest vs. Olathe Northwest.

1 -- Blue Valley West vs. Manhattan.

2 -- Manhattan vs. Olathe Northwest.

3 -- Blue Valley West vs. Wichita Northwest.

SATURDAY

1 p.m -- Semifinals.

(Championship and third-place matches 25 minutes after conclusion of last semifinal).

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Veteran Silver Lake volleyball coach Sarah Johnson expected her team to be good this fall, but she is quick to admit that she never really expected the 41-1 record that the Eagles will take into this week's Class 3A state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Silver Lake volleyball celebrates a point in last Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Now the aim for top-seeded Silver Lake is to finish off its dream season with the school's 10th state title and first since 2018.   

"I honestly wasn't expecting this record at this point in the season, however, I did have very high hopes for this squad,'' Johnson said. "My first feeling of, 'this team has the potential to go far,' was this summer at the Mokan volleyball tournament at Washburn University.

"We came out first at that tourney with some tough competition. There is just something special about them. They are all bought in, willing to give their all, okay with being held accountable, and have a love and respect for one another cheering the other one on.''

Silver Lake's only loss came against 5A sub-state finalist Shawnee Heights in its 10th match of the season and the Eagles have reeled off 32 straight wins entering 3A pool play Thursday.  

"Leadership and unity is definitely part of it,'' Johnson said of the Eagles' success.  "A good sign of leadership is the ability to listen. I feel that they are all open to each other's ideas and feedback. They take it and learn from it. A big thing I've seen with this group leading to the success they've had thus far is the ability to not get rattled.

"We talk about getting uncomfortable in practices so when we are faced with uncomfortable situations in matches, it's familiar and we are comfortable. They have that calm confidence that helps them in those tough situations.''

Johnson knows that the Eagles are likely to encounter some of those tough situations in a 3A field that includes five teams with at least 33 wins and all eight with at least 26.

But the Silver Lake coach knows her team is extrememly capable of answering the challenge. 

"Yes, this weekend will be tough,'' Johnson said. "Our goal is to keep at it like we have all year -- limit our own errors, not let a team go on runs and adjust to different players/teams quickly and efficiently without getting rattled.

"(We want to) continue rising to the occasion and competing at a high level physically and mentally.'' 

In the brand new state tournament format installed by the Kansas State High School Activities Association, the 3A field will play its three pool matches on Thursday before a day off on Friday and the semifinals, championship and third-place matches on Saturday.

Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter spikes the ball during last Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Silver Lake junior Jaylie Whitehead makes a return during last Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

The Eagles will open their state bid at 11 a.m. Thursday with a Pool I match against No. 8 seed Hesston (26-12). After a match off, Silver Lake will return to the court at 1 p.m. to face No. 5 seed Ellsworth (32-8) before closing out pool play with a 3 o'clock match against No. 4 Wichita Trinity (28-5).

On the other side of the 3A bracket are No. 2 seed Riverton (36-4), No. 3 Hoisington (36-4), No. 6 Holton (34-9) and No. 7 Osage City (27-12).

The top two finishers in both pools will advance to 9 a.m. semifinals on Saturday, followed by the championship and third-place matches.

CLASS 3A VOLLEYBALL

At Hutchinson Sports Arena

THURSDAY'S POOL PLAY

Pool I

10 a.m. -- Wichita Trinity (4: 28-5) vs. Ellsworth (5: 32-8).

11 -- Silver Lake (1: 41-1) vs. Hesston (8: 26-12).

12 p.m. -- Wichita Trinity vs. Hesston.

1 -- Silver Lake vs. Ellsworth.

2 -- Ellsworth vs. Hesston.

3 -- Silver Lake vs. Wichita Trinity.

Pool II

10 a.m. -- Hoisington (3: 36-4) vs. Holton (6: 34-9).

11 -- Riverton (2: 36-4) vs. Osage City (7: 27-12).

12 p.m. -- Hoisington vs. Osage City.

1 -- Riverton vs. Holton.

2 -- Holton vs. Osage City.

3 -- Riverton vs. Hoisington.

SATURDAY

9 a.m -- Semifinals.

(Championship and third-place matches 25 minutes after conclusion of last semifinal).

Eight-time Class 6A state champion Washburn Rural will be making its ninth straight state tournament appearance this weekend in Salina. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural takes aim on ninth Class 6A state crown

Eight-time Class 6A state champion Washburn Rural will be looking for title No. 9 this weekend in its ninth straight state appearance.

The 30-7 Junior Blues earned the No. 4 seed for Friday and Saturday's 6A event at Tony's Pizza Event Center in Salina with a 30-7 record.

Six of Rural's seven losses have come against state tournament teams in 6A, 5A and 4A, while the seventh defeat came at the hands of a Gardner-Edgerton team that played in a 6A sub-state final.

And now Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick, who has led the Junior Blues to all eight of their state titles and ranks No. 2 on Kansas' all-time wins list, is hoping his team can step up its game even more this weekend.

"It's all about raising your level of play and your level of intensity, your mental toughness, and all those factors go into it,'' Bordewick said. "But we still have to be us. We can't be somebody we're not.

"The greatest teams make the routine plays more often than just making great plays and if we can just make routine plays more often than the other team we should be alright.'' 

The Junior Blues will open Pool I play in Friday's first match of the day at 10 a.m., facing No. 5 seed Olathe West (26-7), and Bordewick said he wants all of his team's focus to be on that match against an Owls team that defeated Rural 15-25, 25-19, 25-22 early in the season.

"We're just worried about Olathe West,'' he said. "We haven't really talked about any other teams yet. We did not feel like we played well against them, but they had a lot to do with that, too, when we played them way back in early Sept.

Brynn Anderson has turned in a banner freshman season, helping lead the Junior Blues to a ninth straight Class 6A state tournament berth. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

"I think overall, when you put everything together, we've come a really long way. We expect a lot out of ourselves and we have standards that people strive to get to and I think they've done that. They've continued what we've had for several years really, really well. I'm pretty proud of all of them.'' 

After a match break after facing Olathe West, Washburn Rural will face No. 8 seed Free State (20-12) at 12 p.m. before closing out pool play at 3 p.m. against top seed and two-time defending state champ Mill Valley (31-4).

On the other side of the 6A bracket are No. 2 seed Blue Valley West (30-4), No. 3 Wichita Northwest (30-6), No. 6 Manhattan (27-8) and No. 7 Olathe Northwest (28-9).

The top two finishers in both pools will advance to 1 p.m. semifinals on Saturday, followed by the championship and third-place matches.

CLASS 6A VOLLEYBALL

At Tony's Pizza Events Center, Salina

FRIDAY'S POOL PLAY

Pool I

10 a.m. -- Washburn Rural (4: 30-7) vs. Olathe West (5: 26-7).

11 -- Mill Valley (1: 31-4) vs. Free State (8: 20-12).

12 p.m. -- Washburn Rural vs. Free State.

1 -- Mill Valley vs. Olathe West.

2 -- Olathe West vs. Free State.

3 -- Mill Valley vs. Washburn Rural.

Pool II

10 a.m. -- Wichita Northwest (3: 30-6) vs. Manhattan (6: 27-8).

11 -- Blue Valley West (2: 30-4) vs. Olathe Northwest (7: 28-9).

12 p.m. -- Wichita Northwest vs. Olathe Northwest.

1 -- Blue Valley West vs. Manhattan.

2 -- Manhattan vs. Olathe Northwest.

3 -- Blue Valley West vs. Wichita Northwest.

SATURDAY

1 p.m -- Semifinals.

(Championship and third-place matches 25 minutes after conclusion of last semifinal).

The 2025 All Shawnee County girls golf team -- From left: Lauren Cox, Washburn Rural; Kailyn Petersen, Washburn Rural; Kailyn Hanni, Silver Lake; Elise Eckert, Seaman; Makenna Stuke, Seaman; Lauren Borjon, Hayden; Izzy Glotzbach, Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Five state medalists, including three first-team repeat picks, headline the 2025 All-Shawnee County girls golf team.

Hayden seniors Lauren Borjon and Izzy Glotzbach are both three-time first-team all-county selections while Washburn Rural senior Lauren Cox is a first-team repeater.

City and United Kansas Conference team champion Seaman is represented by seniors Elise Eckert and Makenna Stuke on the all-county first team along with Silver Lake senior Kailyn Hanni and Washburn Rural junior Kailyn Petersen.

Hanni, Stuke and Petersen were all second-team all-county selections in 2024 while Eckert earned first-team honors in her first season at Seaman. 

Hanni placed fifth in Class 3A-1A, Glotzbach tied for fifth in 4A and Eckert tied for fifth in 5A while Borjon tied for 12th in 4A and Cox tied for 18th in 6A. 

Eckert and Borjon were both four-time state medalists while Glotzbach and Hanni were both repeat medalists.

Eckert in 5A, Glotzbach in 4A and Hanni in 3A-1A all earned first-team All-State honors from the state's coaches while Borjon was a second-team pick and Stuke earned honorable mention.

Named to this year's second team were Washburn Rural seniors Taryn Jellison, Briley Miles and Peyton Merrick, Hayden junior Brooke Johnson, Seaman juniors Chloe Schmidtlein and Kaitlynn Frye and Silver Lake freshman Avenley Head.

All-Shawnee County first-team capsules:

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Silver Lake topped Council Grove 17-8 Friday night to capture the Class 2A District 3 championship while stretching its win streak to six games.

The Eagles improved to 6-2 overall while wrapping up a perfect 4-0 run to the district title.

Silver Lake has been installed as the No. 4 East seed in 2A and will open its postseason bid with a Friday night home game against No. 13 seed St. Marys (3-5).

The Eagles topped the Bears 21-6 on Sept. 26.

The winner of next Friday's game will advance to the second round of the playoffs to face the winner of the game between No. 5 seed Sabetha (7-1) and No. 12 Humboldt (3-5).  

Rossville caps 8-1 regular season

Rossville wrapped up its Class 1A District 2 championship and a 7-1 regular season with a 49-6 Homecoming win over Wabaunsee Friday night.

The Bulldawgs took control of the game with a 21-0 first quarter, getting a 12-yard touchdown run from Conner Bush, an 8-yard TD from Canann Mitchell and a 49-yard TD pass from Mitchell to Cameron Miller.

Rossville tacked on a 9-yard Mitchell run and a 9-yard Jack Donovan run to take a 35-0 halftime advantage.

Bush scored his second TD of the game on an 18-yard run and Landen Lewis scored on a 4-yard to end Rossville's scoring with 4:02 left in the third quarter.

Wabaunsee scored its lone TD with 6:49 left in the game on a 28-yard pass.

Rossville is the No. 4 East seed and will host No. 13 Mission Valley (4-4) at 7 p.m. next Friday.

The Rossville-Mission Valley winner will advance to take on the winner between No. 5 seed Jefferson County North (7-1) and No. 12 McLouth (3-5). With a win over Mission Valley, the Bulldawgs will host the second-round game.

Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers Friday night as the Wildcats improved to 8-0 with a 42-0 district win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Hayden improves to 8-0 with 42-0 district shutout

Hayden continued to roll Friday night in a 42-0 home win over Jefferson West, with the Wildcats improving to 8-0 overall and a perfect 4-0 in Class 3A District 4.

Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for three touchdowns, hitting three different receivers for TDs, while senior Jude Krentz ran for a pair of TDs and helped spearhead a defense that blanked the Tigers (6-2 overall, 3-1 in the district).

Hayden senior Jude Krentz ran for a pair of touchdowns and helped the Wildcat defense post a shutout in Friday's 42-0 district win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Wildcats are the No. 1 East seed in 3A and will host No. 16 seed Columbus (2-6) next Friday night (7 p.m. start).

With a win over Columbus, Hayden will advance to a second-round playoff game to host the winner of the game between No. 8 seed Parsons (3-5) and No. 9 Wellsville (5-3).

Washburn Rural to open Class 6A playoff bid at hom

Washburn Rural, 5-3 on the season, earned a first-round home Class 6A playoff game as the No. 7 West seed.

Rural, which dropped a 43-0 Centennial League decision to Manhattan in its regular-season finale, will host No. 10 Wichita South (3-5) next Friday.

The winner of the Washburn Rural-Wichita South game will move on to face the winner of the game between No. 2 seed Wichita Northwest (7-1) and No. 15 Campus (0-8).  

Scots earn share of Meadowlark Conference crown, No. 8 5A East seed

Highland Park remained unbeaten on the field Friday night on the way to earning a share of the Meadowlark Conference championship with a 42-30 road win at previously-unbeaten Kansas City-Washington.

The Scots, 6-2 overall, built a big lead over the Wildcats and held on down the stretch for the win over Washingon, 7-1 on the year.

Highland Park was installed as the No. 8 Class 5A East seed and will be at Hummer Sports Park next Friday to host No. 9 East seed De Soto (6-2).

The Hi Park-De Soto winner will advance to second round of postseason to face the winner of next Friday's game between top seed Basehor-Linwood (8-0) and No. 16 Blue Valley Southwest (0-8).

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural will make its traditional trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament next week after a dominating performance in Saturday's sub-state tourney on the Junior Blues' home court.

Washburn Rural earned its ninth straight trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament with a pair of straight-set wins Saturday at Rural. [Washburn Rural Athletics]

Rural, the No. 1 6A West seed, punched its ticket to the state tournament at Salina's Tony's Pizza Event Center with a 25-11, 25-4 semifinal win over No. 16 Wichita West and a 25-11, 25-21 win over No. 8 seed Maize in the championship match.

Now 30-6 on the season, the Junior Blues will be making their ninth straight state tournament appearance and their 27th in 31 seasons under coach Kevin Bordewick, who has led Rural to eight state titles and ranks No. 2 on Kansas' all-time career victory list.

Washburn Rural was ranked No. 5 in the final Kansas Volleyball Association 6A state rankings.

Hayden volleyball poses for a team picture after capturing a Class 4A sub-state title Saturday at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Wildcats survive three-set final to earn return trip to Class 4A state

Hayden, the No. 4 Class 4A East seed, was pushed to three sets by No. 5 seed Eudora but outlasted the Cardinals, 25-23, 24-26, 25-20 Saturday at the Bueltel Activity Center to earn a return trip to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Hayden senior Reese Huscher spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Hayden senior Ella Foster sets the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state tournament at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Hayden reached the championship match with a 25-7, 25-10 semifinal win over No. 13 Labette County while Eudora survived a three set semifinal with No. 12 seed Ottawa, taking a 20-25, 25-10, 25-19 win over the Cyclones.   

Now 29-9 on the season, Hayden finished third in last year's state tournament and was ranked No. 3 in the final KVA state rankings.

Silver Lake volleyball celebrates its Class 3A sub-state title Saturday at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Top-ranked Eagles top Riley County to take 3A sub-state crown

Silver Lake, the No. 1 Class 3A East seed and ranked No. 1 by the KVA for seven straight weeks, fought off Riley County in Saturday's sub-state final on the Eagles' home court to advance to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Silver Lake volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Now 41-1 on the season, Silver Lake dropped the first set to No. 3 sub-state seed Riley County, 25-23, but rallied to take 25-21 and 25-15 wins in the next two sets to garner the title.

Silver Lake took a 25-12, 25-9 semifinal win over No. 4 Perry-Lecompton while Riley County needed three sets to knock off No. 2 Nemaha Central, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18.

Rossville volleyball poses for a team picture after earning a Class 2A state tournament berth Saturday at Rossville. [Rossville volleyball]

Bulldawgs advance to 2A state with back-to-back thrillers

Tournament host and top sub-state seed Rossville was pushed to three sets in both its semifinal and championship matches, but the Bulldawgs survived both sets to advance to next week's Class 2A state tournament in Dodge City.

Rossville volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's Class 2A sub-state tournament at Rossville. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Rossville junior Nora Burdiek spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 2A sub-state tournament at Rossville. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]

Rossville, ranked No. 7 in the final KVA 2A state rankings, outlasted No. 4 Cair Paravel Latin, 27-25, 19-25, 25-20 in the semifinals before rallying from a first-set loss against No. 2 Maur Hill-Mt. Academy in the sub-state final to take a 22-25, 25-23, 25-12 win.

Maur Hill-Mt. Academy advanced to the final with a 25-16, 27-25 semifinal win over Kansas City Christian. 

The Bulldawgs will take a 28-13 record into the state tournament.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Jefferson West Tigers are having their best football season in years, but they were no match for Hayden Friday night. Hayden stifled the high-scoring visitors 42-0 to claim the Class 3A District 4 title.

Hayden's defense limited Jefferson West to 129 total yards en route to a 42-0 win over Jefferson West Friday night, with the Wildcats improving to 8-0. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Jefferson West came to Hayden aiming to claim the district crown by defeating the Wildcats for the first time in 15 tries, a string dating back to the consolidation of the school in 1971. The Tigers have put up at least 40 points on nearly every opponent this season. But the stubborn Wildcat defense surrendered just 129 yards of total offense, and the Tigers never came near the goal line.

“I just liked the way our kids competed tonight,” said Hayden coach Bill Arnold. “We made some mistakes early. There were some stupid penalties that extended some of the drives for (Jefferson West). But for the most part, I loved the energy our kids played with.

“They take a lot of pride in (the shutout). That’s the goal every week. But at the same time, we’re going to run into some competition here pretty quick where we just need them to keep plugging away out there.”

The Tigers entered the contest attempting more than 25 passes per game. The Wildcats knew freshman quarterback Brixton Schwinn would challenge them through the air. Hayden responded by holding Schwinn to 7-20 passing for 44 yards and two interceptions.

“It was a long practice week, getting ready for this, I’m not going to lie,” said senior linebacker Jude Krentz. “We got prepared. We were ready. It just came down to communication.

“On defense we have just come together and our camaraderie is just really good. Especially with being heavy on seniors. We’ve been brothers like since eighth grade, probably even longer than that.”

Senior Jude Krentz scored a pair of touchdowns in Friday's 42-0 Hayden win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers in Friday's 42-0 district win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

On offense, Krentz gave the Wildcats two short touchdown runs in the first half. Quarterback Connor Hanika found three different receivers on touchdown throws, and Jace Wolf capped the scoring with a 25-yard interception return for a score.

Despite the lopsided outcome, Arnold praised the Tigers, who are 6-2 on the season.

“Jeff West is a good team. They’re going to win some games in the playoffs,” Arnold said. “I’m just proud of our kids for the way they fought all night.”

The Wildcats finished the regular season 8-0 and will host the opening round of the postseason next week. No strangers to playoff football, the Wildcats advanced to the Class 3A championship game the past two seasons.

“We’re just looking for 1-0. Every week, 1-0. That’s all we care about. One game at a time,” Krentz said. “I think we’re going to go far and we’re going to get it done.”

HAYDEN 42, JEFFERSON WEST 0

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

Connor Hanika, Hayden

JEFFERSON WEST (6-1, 3-0 Class 3A District 4) at HAYDEN (7-0, 3-0 Class 3A District 4)

Hayden and Jefferson West will square off for the Class 3A District 4 title Friday night. The Wildcats are coming off a 48-7 district win at Perry-Lecompton last Friday while Jefferson West took a 54-12 non-district win over Atchison County. Hayden senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 61 times for 586 yards and has scored 14 total touchdowns while senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 61 of 106 passes for 950 yards and 13 TDs. Mahki Kidd has caught 18 passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns.

MANHATTAN (5-2, 2-1 Centennial League) at WASHBURN RURAL (5-2, 2-1 Centennial League)

Washburn Rural dropped a 35-20 Centennial League decision at Junction City last Friday after losing standout senior quarterback John Hoytal to an injury in the first half while Manhattan rolled to a 50-0 home league win over Topeka High. Both the Junior Blues and Indians are in line to host a first-round Class 6A West playoff game.

Joseph Kingcannon, Highland Park 

HIGHLAND PARK (5-2, 4-1 Meadowlark) at KC-WASHINGTON (7-0, 5-0 Meadowlark)

Highland Park can earn a share of the Meadowlark Conference championship with a win Friday. Both teams are unbeaten on the field, with Kansas City-Washington coming off a 49-33 Meadowlark win over KC-Schlagle while Highland Park picked up a forfeit win over Kansas City-East, Mo. last Friday. Scot senior quarterback Dontrail Fox has completed 16 of 30 passes for 465 yards and six touchdowns in Hi Park's four on-field games while junior Joseph Kingcannon has gained 380 yards and scored four TDs on just 21 attempts and has caught six passes for 273 yards and three TDs. Junior G'Honi Montgomery has 341 rushing yards and three TDs on 41 carries.

PITTSBURG (3-4) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (3-4)

At Hummer Sports Park

Topeka High will close out its regular season with a non-league game against Pittsburg. The Trojans dropped a 50-0 Centennial League decision at Manhattan last Friday while Pittsburg is coming off a 42-0 win over Chanute. The Trojans and Purple Dragons have one common opponent, with Pittsburg opening its season with a 24-14 victory over Emporia while High took a 13-12 win over the Spartans in its league opener.

Cameron Miller, Rossville

WABAUNSEE (4-3, 3-1 Class 1A District 2) at ROSSVILLE (6-1, 4-0 Class 1A District 2)

Rossville remained unbeaten in the District 2 race with a come-from-behind 36-22 win over Olpe while Wabaunsee has won three straight games, including a 36-21 district win over Mission Valley last Friday. Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 67 of 103 passes for 981 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 566 yards and eight TDs on 73 attempts. Conner Bush has carried the ball 36 times for 435 yards and six TDs while Cameron Miller has 24 catches for 398 yards and six TDs and Jack Donovan has 25 catches for 298 yards and two TDs. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Silver Lake earned the No. 1 spot in Class 3A in the final Kansas Volleyball Association state ranking, the Eagles' seventh straight week atop the rankings.

Silver Lake earned the top spot in Class 3A in the final 2025 Kansas Volleyball Association state rankings, the Eagles' seventh straight week at No. 1 [File photo/TSN] 

Silver Lake, 36-1 at the time of the rankings, is joined in the rankings by fellow Shawnee County schools Washburn Rural, Hayden and Rossville.

Hayden (26-8) maintained the No. 3 spot in 4A, while Washburn Rural (28-6) moved up a spot to No. 5 in 6A and Rossville (23-13) remained No. 7 in 2A.

Kansas Volleyball Association State Rankings

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Hayden had its two-year Class 4A state championship reign ended by Wamego Tuesday at Hutchinson's Carey Park, but the Wildcats posted a top-four team finish as seniors Izzy Glotzbach and Lauren Borjon ended their high school careers with state medals.

 Izzy Glotzbach, Hayden [File photo/TSN]

Lauren Borjon, Hayden [File photo/TSN]

Glotzbach tied for fifth individually with a 36-hole total of 164 (85-79) while Borjon tied for 12th at 170 (88-82).

Hayden's Brooke Johnson tied for 23rd with a two-day total of 178 (89-89), one stroke out of 20th.

Kellyn Specht finished at 196 (99-97), Morgan Johnson was at 213 (104-109) and Avery Becker at 226 (116-110) for the Wildcats.

Wamego star Addison Douglass won her fourth straight state title by a seven-stroke margin with a 36-hole score of 145 (77-68) as the Red Raiders won the team championship by 40 strokes over Goodland (658-698).

McPherson was third at 701 while Hayden was fourth at 708.

 Kailyn Hanni, Silver Lake [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

Hanni fifth in Class 3A-1A to lead Eagles to fourth-place showing

Silver Lake multi-sport standout Kailyn Hanni closed out her high school golf career with a fifth-place finish in Class 3A-1A Tuesday at Salina Municipal Golf Course.

Hanni posted a 36-hole score of 164, carding rounds of 81 and 83, as Silver Lake, which had placed first and second in the previous two 3A-1A state tournaments, finished fourth as a team at 729. 

The Eagles' Savanah Wende narrowly missed a state medal with a tie for 21st at 184 (93-91) while Silver Lake got a tie for 29th from Avenley Head (99-89 -- 188) and a tie for 36th from Morgan Ackerley (91-102 -- 193) to round out its top four.

Rossville's Elley Sanders, competing as an individual, tied for 36th at 193 (95-98).

Goodland's Allison Cure was the individual state champion at 150 (73-77) as the Cowboys won the team title by a 31-stroke margin over Jefferson West. St. Marys Colgan finished third at 718.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Silver Lake and Rossville's volleyball teams both took their first steps to state tournament berths with Class 3A and 2A regional championships Monday night.

Kylie Hanni and the Silver Lake Eagles will host a Class 3A sub-state volleyball tournament on Saturday. [File photo/TSN]

Nora Burdiek and Rossville volleyball will host a Class 2A sub-state on Saturday. [File photo]

The Eagles and Bulldawgs will now host sub-state tournaments on Saturday, vying for berths in next week's state tournaments at Hutchinson (3A) and Dodge City (2A).

Silver Lake, top-ranked in 3A, rolled to three straight regional wins Monday night on its home court, taking a 25-9, 25-8 win over Council Grove, a 25-16, 25-11 win over Hiawatha and a 25-11, 25-18 win over Pleasant Ridge to wrap up the regional crown.

The Eagles will host 3A sub-state No. 1 at 2 p.m. on Saturday, facing Perry-Lecompton in one semifinal while Nemaha Central will face Riley County in the other semi. The two winners will meet for the sub-state title.

Rossville hosted a 2A regional Monday and the Bulldawgs went a perfect 3-0 with a 25-10, 25-8 win over McLouth, a 25-13, 25-8 victory over Central Heights and a 25-9, 25-14 win over Mission Valley.

The Bulldawgs will host 2A sub-state No. 2 on Saturday, taking on Cair Paravel Latin in a semifinal match while Maur Hill-Mt. Academy will square off against Kansas City Christian in the other semifinal. The two winners will play for the sub-state championship.

Cair Paravel went 2-1 in Monday's 2A regional at Jefferson North, posting a 26-24, 19-25, 26-24 win over Horton and a 25-16, 25-16 win over Atchison County before dropping a 25-16, 25-23 match to Jefferson North.

Washburn Rural, the No. 1 Class 6A West seed, will be aiming for its ninth straight state berth in a Saturday sub-state at Rural. [File photo/TSN]

Class 6A sub-state at Washburn Rural

Perennial state power Washburn Rural will be looking for its 27th Class 6A state tournament berth in Kevin Bordewick's 31st year as head coach and ninth straight when Rural hosts a sub-state tournament (1 p.m. start) on Saturday.

The Junior Blues, the No. 1 West seed at 28-6, will open their sub-state bid with a semifinal match against Wichita West (5-29) while Maize (16-20) will face Wichita East (5-28) in the other semifinal before the two winners face off in the championship match.

The sub-state champion will advance to next week's Class 6A state tournament at the Tony's Pizza Event Center in Salina.

Hailey Schmidtlein and Hayden volleyball will host a Class 4A sub-state tournament on Saturday. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Class 4A sub-state at Hayden

Hayden, third in Class 4A a year ago, will host a sub-state tournament on Saturday (1 p.m. start) in the Bueltel Activity Center, vying for a return trip to state next week at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The Wildcats, 26-9 on the season and the No. 4 East seed, will play Labette County (12-22) in a semifinal match while No. 5 seed Eudora (25-10) will take on Ottawa (12-20) in the other semifinal.

The two semifinal winners will square off in the sub-state championship match.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After finishing sixth in the 2024 Class 5A girls state golf tournament, Seaman put itself in position to improve on that finish with a solid opening day performance Monday at Emporia Municipal.

Elise Eckert, Seaman [File photo/TSN]

The Vikings are in fourth place in the team standings entering Tuesday's final round after posting a four-person score of 354, six strokes behind third-place St. James Academy. Kapaun Mt. Carmel leads the team race by a 321-332 margin over Andover.

Senior Elise Eckert, who is looking for her fourth straight 5A state medal, is tied for third after shooting a 77 in Round 1. Andover's Regan Dusenbery is the tournament leader at 68. 

The Vikings' Makenna Stuke and Chloe Schmidtlein carded 91s Monday and are tied for 16th while Kaitlynn Frye added a 95 and Molly Quintana a 98.

The top 20 individuals after Tuesday's final round will receive state medals while the top three teams will receive trophies.

Shawnee Heights' Lauryn Valdivia shot a 111 and Topeka West's Berlyn Kolean a 113 on Monday and did not advance to Tuesday's final round.

State tournaments at all sites are scheduled to get under way at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. 

Izzy Glotzbach, Hayden [File photo/TSN]

Class 4A at Hutchinson

Two-time defending Class 4A state champion Hayden advanced to Tuesday's final round at Carey Park in fourth place as a team after an opening-round four-person score of 361.

The Wildcats are 25 strokes behind tournament leader Wamego, but Hayden is just two strokes behind third-place McPherson and four strokes behind second-place Wellington. Wamego and Hayden finished one-two in last Tuesday's regional at Shawnee Country Club.

Senior Izzy Glotzbach led Hayden Monday with a first-round 85 and is tied for ninth individually entering Tuesday's final round.

Lauren Borjon shot an 88 in the first round and is tied for 14th while Brooke Johnson is tied for 19th after a first-round 89.

Kellyn Specht had a 99, Morgan Johnson a 104 and Avery Becker a 116 for the Wildcats.

Wamego three-time state champion Addison Douglass holds a one-stroke lead after shooting a 77 on Monday.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Senior Brooks Kehoe claimed the boys individual Centennial League cross country championship Saturday at Jones Park in Emporia, leading the Washburn Rural boys to the league team title.

Kehoe took the league crown in a five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 21.11 seconds as the Junior Blues put all of their top five scoring runners in the top 14 places individually.

Senior Brooks Kehoe won the Centennial League individual cross country title on Saturday in Emporia, pacing the Junior Blues to the team crown. [File photo/TSN]

Rural sophomore Clayton Fink posted a fourth-place finish in 16:56.01 while sophomore Henry Laubach was seventh in 17:03.26, sophomore Jaxson Adams ninth in 17:19.15 and sophomore Duke Graf 14th in 17:30.63 as the Junior Blues won the team title by a 35-54 margin over Manhattan and Junction City.

Emporia was fourth as a team with 111 points, followed by Hayden (138) and Topeka High (145).

Sophomore Nick Newkirk led Hayden with an 18th-place finish in 17:36.65 while sophomore Easton Davis placed 19th in 17:41.16 to pace Topeka High.

Manhattan posted a perfect team score of 15 to win the girls championship, led by junior individual champion Gabrielle Converse, who clocked a winning time of 18:37.56.

Freshman Alyson Hinck placed sixth in the Centennial League cross country meet to lead Washburn Rural to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural freshman Alyson Hinck was the first non-Manhattan runner to cross the finish line, taking sixth in 20:00.93 to lead runnerup Rural (49 points).

The Junior Blues also got a an eighth-place showing from senior Emily Graf (20:05.52), while freshman Morgan Munson was 10th (20:17.43), sophomore Reese Beardslee 11th (20:26.07) and senior Kenzie Maddox 14th (20:40.39) to round out Washburn Rural's top five.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

Rossville scored 22 fourth-quarter points to rally past Olpe 36-22 in a Class 1A District 2 showdown Friday night at Olpe.

Canann Mitchell, Rossville

The Bulldawgs, now 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the district, trailed 16-14 at the end of the third quarter before taking the lead for good on a 34-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Canann Mitchell and a 2-point conversion pass from Mitchell to senior Cameron Miller, giving Rossville a 22-16 lead.

With 4:26 remaining senior Conner Bush returned an Eagle punt 85 yards for a TD (conversion failed) to give the Bulldawgs a 28-16 lead.

Then, after Olpe (5-2, 3-1) scored on a 25-yard pass, Rossville scored its final TD on an 81-yard run from Mitchell with 1:48 left and Mitchell added a 2-point conversion pass to Andre Johnson to account for the final margin.

Rossville and Olpe were tied 14-14 at the half, with the Bulldawgss getting first-half touchdowns on a 71-yard Bush run and a 32-yard run from senior Jack Donovan.

Rossville will close out its regular season at home Friday against Wabaunsee.

Wildcats remain undefeated with 48-7 district rout at Perry-Lecompton

Hayden improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in Class 3A District 4 with Friday's 48-7 road win over Perry-Lecompton (1-6, 0-3).

The Wildcats will be back at home next Friday to host Jefferson West in a showdown for the district title. The Tigers, 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the district, are coming off a 50-12 non-district win over Atchison County.

T-Birds post second straight UKC victory

Shawnee Heights improved to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the United Kansas Conference with a 42-8 road victory at Lansing Friday night.

Shawnee Heights will be at home on Friday to close out its regular season against Kansas City-Turner. 

Lions pick up second win in 54-13 district win

Cair Paravel Latin notched its second victory of the season Friday, taking a 54-13 Class 1A District 2 road win over Maranatha  Academy.

The Lions, now 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the district, will close out their regular season at Yager Stadium Saturday night against Olpe.

Unbeaten Basehor-Linwood rallies past Seaman, 47-40

Basehor-Linwood improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the United Kansas Conference last Friday night at home, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 47-40 conference victory over Seaman.

The game was tied at 7-all after one quarter and Seaman led 17-14 at the half.

Basehor-Linwood led 24-17 at the start of the fourth quarter before both teams scored 23 points over the final 12 minutes.

Seaman junior Cale Ketter completed 24 of 44 passes for 390 yards and five touchdowns, while junior Coy Barta had five catches for 149 yards and three TDs, junior Jack Becker had eight catches for 85 yards, junior Josh Brown had seven grabs for seven catches for 97 yards and a TD and senior Noah Kobuszewski caught three passes for 53 yards and a score.

Viking sophomore Quentin Moravec carried the ball 17 times for 61 yards. 

The Vikings, who fell to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the UKC, will travel to De Soto next Friday to close out their regular season.

Leavenworth rolls past Topeka West 56-6 for sixth straight win

Leavenworth posted its sixth straight victory, improving to 6-1 overall and 6-1 in the United Kansas Conference with a 56-6 win over Topeka West Friday night at Hummer Sports Park.

West, now 1-6 overall and 1-6 in the UKC, will close out its regular season next Friday at Piper.

Trojans fall to Centennial League foe Manhattan

Topeka High fell to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Centennial League with a 50-0 Friday night loss at Manhattan in the Trojans' final league game of the season.

Manhattan improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the league entering a game next Friday at Washburn Rural.

Topeka High will be at Hummer Sports Park next Friday to face Pittsburg in a non-league contest.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

It's probably safe to say that nobody in Monday and Tuesday's Class 5A state tournament field has played more rounds at Emporia Municipal Golf Course than Seaman senior Elise Eckert.

Seaman senior Elise Eckert will be shooting for her fourth straight Class 5A state medal this week in Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

After all, Emporia Municipal was Eckert's home course growing up and through her first three years of high school golf  before her family moved to Topeka prior to this school year after her junior year at Emporia High.

Now Eckert, who was a three-time 5A state medalist for the Spartans, is hoping to use her vast knowledge of the tournament layout to cap her high school career with a run at the state title.

"I'm so glad that state's at Emporia this year,'' Eckert said. "I know where the ins and outs are of the course for sure. But you can't get too comfortable with any course.

"I've played this course a bunch, but you know there's still new spots you haven't seen that you'll find eventually and you've just got to play that day.''   

Eckert followed up her city and United Kansas Conference individual championships with a second-place regional finish last Monday at Shawnee County Club as the Vikings advanced to state as a team with a runnerup finish behind Andover (342-355).

Eckert carded a two-over-par 75 at regionals to finish second behind Regan Dusenbery's two-under 71 while Seaman also got a fourth-place finish from Makenna Stuke (90), a tie for seventh from Kaitlynn Frye (94), a 10th-place finish from Chloe Schmidtlein (96) and a 16th from Molina Quintana (110).

Eckert feels like her game is in pretty good shape entering her final high school state tournament.

"I feel like if I can keep up with what I've been doing right now I think I'll be in pretty good shape for state,'' Eckert said.  

Topeka West senior Berlyn Kolean qualified for state as an individual with a 109 while Shawnee Heights junior Lauryn Valdivia qualified for state as an individual with a 112.

State tournaments at all sites are scheduled to get under way at 9 a.m. on Monday and 10 a.m. on Tuesday after the fields are cut to the top six teams and top individuals.

Junior Kailyn Petersen placed third in last Monday's Class 6A regional to lead Washburn Rural to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]

Class 6A at Hesston

Washburn Rural girls golf will compete in the Class 6A state tournament for the 20th straight season in Jared Goehring's 20 years as head coach, qualifying for the state meet at Hesston Golf Course with a runnerup finish in last Monday's regional tournament at Sim Park Golf Course.

Rural, which has captured four 6A state titles, posted a four-person score of 335 to finish second behind champion Olathe West (328).

Junior Kailyn Petersen led the Junior Blues with a third-place regional finish, shooting a 79, while Taryn Jellison placd fourth with an 83.

The Junior Blues also got a tie for fifth from Lauren Cox (85), an 11th-place finish from Briley Miles (88), a tie for 14th from Peyton Merrick (92) and a 16th-place showing from Ella Taggart (93).

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The ultimate goal is always to finish first, but Seaman girls tennis still had plenty to celebrate in Saturday's Class 5A state tournament at Kossover Tennis Center.

Andover ruled the day, sweeping the singles, doubles and team championships, but Seaman junior Emma Sweeney posted a runnerup singles finish to lead the way as the tournament-host Vikings finished second as a team, just six points behind the champion Trojans (39-33).

Seaman junior Emma Sweeney earned her third straight Class 5A singles medal Saturday with a career-best runnerup finish as the Vikings finished second as a team. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"A great weekend,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. "Of course that's why we wanted to host is we wanted to give an advantage to a team that we thought was going to be one of the best teams in the state, and we were. We proved it.''

And it was a day of breakthroughs for the Vikings, with Sweeney advancing to the title match after finishing fourth as a sophomore, while senior Molly Gorman finished sixth in singles after a 10th-place finish as a junior and the Viking doubles team of senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux finished seventh to cap their first season as a doubles team.

Sweeney, who captured her third straight 5A state medal, finished her season 30-2, with both losses coming against Andover senior Mia Jaramillo, who took a 6-4, 6-3 decision in Saturday's championship match.

Jaramillo, who beat Sweeney in the third-place match in 2024, jumped out to 3-0 and 5-2 leads in the first set before Sweeney rallied to within 5-4 and Jaramillo went up 5-1 in the second set before Sweeney cut her deficit to 5-3.

"We did the same thing in Olathe, so I was kind of expecting it, but I feel like I pushed through,'' Jaramillo said. "She's a great player, so she did good.

"I felt I had a lot of pressure, but we have a great team, so we all pushed through.''

While obviously upset with her near miss, Sweeney knows that someday soon she'll be proud of her accomplishment.

"I'll be pleased after a little bit,'' Sweeney said. "The goal after last year, and I was surprised I made it (to the semifinals), I made it my new goal to try and win, but it's okay and I'll come back next year even harder.

"This gives me more experience and it gives me the experience of playing in front of a big crowd in a big situation, so I think I'm just going to take what I learned today and it will help me grow and make me work even harder in the offseason.''

"Runnerup is so impressive,'' Robinson said of Sweeney's performance. "She's lost to one person this year and that was Mia, so credit to her. She came to play.

''Emma had a couple of runs, but it just wasn't quite enough, so hey, let's learn from it and grow from it.''

Seaman senior Molly Gorman captured her fourth Class 5A state medal Saturday, finishing sixth in singles at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Gorman, who dropped an 8-1 decision to Eisenhower sophomore Quinn Scheideman in the fifth-place match, capped her prep career with her fourth state medal in as many tries -- two singles, two doubles.

Henry and Lux finished off state with a win, taking an 8-6 win over Bishop Carroll senior Macy Wetta and freshman Leah Jackson in the seventh-place match. 

Wildcats earn third-place 4A team trophy

Hayden singles players Lana Hull and Grace Funk and the doubles team of Sophia Wichman and Avery O'Bray all earned Class 4A state medals on Saturday at Harmon Park in Prairie Village, leading the Wildcats to a third-place team finish.

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

Josiah Wilkie, Topeka West

LEAVENWORTH (5-1, 5-1 UKC) vs. TOPEKA WEST (1-5, 1-5 UKC)

At Hummer Sports Park

Topeka West picked up its first win of 2025 last Friday, rallying for a 42-27 United Kansas Conference victory at Kansas City-Turner, while Leavenworth posted its fifth straight win, a 27-14 UKC decision over De Soto.

Dayne Johnson, Silver Lake

OSAGE CITY (6-0, 2-0 Class 2A District 3) at SILVER LAKE (4-2, 2-0 Class 2A District 3)

Osage City and Silver Lake will square off in a game that is likely to decide the Class 2A District 3 championship. Osage City remained unbeaten last week with a 49-14 district win over St. Marys while Silver Lake ran its winning streak to four straight games with a 42-8 district win over Riley County.

John Hoytal, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

WASHBURN RURAL (5-1, 2-0 Centennial League)at JUNCTION CITY (4-2, 2-0 Centennial League)

Washburn Rural will put its three-game winning streak on the line in a game that will give the winner a leg up in the Centennial League race. Washburn Rural is coming off a 38-0 league road win at Emporia while Junction City took a 44-6 league win over Topeka High.

TOPEKA HIGH (3-3, 1-2 Centennial League) at MANHATTAN (4-2, 1-1 Centennial League)

Topeka High is coming off a 44-6 Centennial League loss to Junction City while Manhattan dropped a 40-13 non-league decision to Wichita Northwest last week. The Indians will be looking to keep their Centennial League title hopes alive while the Trojans will be trying to snap a two-game league losing streak.

AJ Gallegos, Shawnee Heights

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (2-4, 2-3 UKC) at LANSING (2-4, 2-3 UKC)

Shawnee Heights posted its biggest win of the season last Friday, riding an outsanding defensive effort to a 20-3 United Kansas Conference road win at city rival Seaman, while Lansing dropped a 44-13 UKC decision to Piper.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

With a pair of dominating victories Friday at Kossover Tennis Center, Seaman junior Emma Sweeney, the No. 2 seed, assured herself of a top-four Class 5A state singles finish for the second straight season.

Seaman junior Emma Sweeney advanced to the Class 5A singles semifinals for the second straight season with a pair of dominant victories Friday at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But after finishing fourth as a sophomore, the Seaman star has her sights on bigger things Saturday.

"Last year I wasn't really expected to make it, so I didn't really know what was going on and not winning my semifinal match, it was OK and it was a learning moment,'' Sweeney said. "But this year I'm really looking forward to taking that step and competing and trying to make it to the championship.''  

Now 29-1 on the season, Sweeney dropped just one game on Friday, posting a 6-0, 6-0 win over St. James Academy's Jenna Peltzer and a 6-1, 6-0 quarterfinal victory over Kapaun Mt. Carmel's Clara Hocker to advance to Saturday's 9 a.m. semifinal.

Sweeney said she felt relaxed for the most part during Friday's matches.

"I had a talk with my mental performance coach the other day and we talked about winning over my nerves and I think after I won them over it helps me play a lot more confident and loose,'' Sweeney said.

Sweeney will face No. 3 seed Allison Munhall of Valley Center in one semifinal while top seed Mia Jaramillo of Andover will face No. 5 seed Kali Keough of Emporia in the other semifinal. 

Seaman senior singles player Molly Gorman and the Viking doubles team of senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux also assured themselves of state medals while advancing to Saturday's place matches.

Gorman, who lost 6-0, 6-2 to Jaramillo in the singles quarterfinals, can still finish as high as fifth, as can Henry and Lux, who also lost in the doubles quarterfinals.

Viking juniors Kaylyn Hiebsch and Cadence Speer were eliminated Friday, just one win away from advancing to the place rounds.

Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said he was pleased overall with the Vikings' first-day state performance as the team tries to earn a top-three state finish for the second straight season.

"We won the matches we were supposed to win,'' Robinson said. "So far, so good. It could have been a little better, it could have been a lot worse.''

Cair Paravel junior Madilyn Poole advanced to Saturday's Class 3A-1A singles semifinals with a pair of Friday wins. [File photo/TSN] 

Lions' Poole advances to 3A-1A semis

Cair Paravel Latin junior Madilyn Poole, making her second straight Class 3A-1A state appearance, has assured herself of a top-four finish and her first state medal after advancing to Saturday's singles semifinals at the Salina Tennis Center.

Poole, the No. 3 seed, posted a 6-0, 6-1 win in her first match of the day before rallying for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 6 seed Lauren Sleder of Larned in the quarterfinals.

Poole will face No. 2 seed Karli Haase of Ellsworth in a 9 a.m. semifinal Saturday.

Silver Lake junior Evelynn Thompson came within one win of advancing to Saturday's place matches. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Junior Emma Sweeney has been a star for the Seaman girls tennis team since she stepped on campus.

Seaman junior Emma Sweeney, the No. 2 seed, will be aiming for her third straight Class 5A singles medal in this weekend's state tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Megan Sweeney roots on big sister Emma Sweeney during last Saturday's Class 5A regional tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

And after earning a Class 5A state medal with an 11th-place singles finish as a freshman and turning in a strong fourth-place showing as a sophomore, Sweeney feels like she's in position to take another big step in Friday and Saturday's state meet at Kossover Tennis Center.

Sweeney has put together a banner 27-1 campaign so far with a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and 5A regional titles and earned the No. 2 seed for this weekend's state event. 

"I'm excited,'' Sweeney said. "I'm nervous, but nerves are good. I've been hitting really good, really loose and just hitting good shots.

"And then from a mental standpoint, I think my head's pretty clear, too.'' 

Seaman is coming off a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and regional team championships and will be aiming for a second straight 5A team trophy after finishing third a year ago.

"I think we're aiming for third or above,'' Sweeney said. "We got it last year so, I think that's what we're looking for this year, and we've all made it (to state), so if we are all able to make it to the second day and place I think we're putting ourself in a good position.''

Two-time regional champ Sweeney led the way last Saturday at Kossover as the Vikings edged St. James Academy for the regional crown.

Seaman senior Molly Gorman is a three-time Class 5A state medalist entering this weekend's state tournament at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Viking senior Molly Gorman finished second to Sweeney at regionals for the second straight season and will be shooting for her fourth straight state medal.

Gorman finished 10th in 5A singles last season after teaming with Katie Krumins to earn state medals in doubles as a freshman and sophomore.

Gorman is 24-6 on the season and has been installed as the eighth seed for state.

Seaman senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux finished third at regionals while Viking juniors Kaylyn Hiebsch and Cadence Speer finished fourth.

Henry and Lux are 25-5 on the season and the No. 6 seed for state while Hiebsch and Speer are 22-8 and seeded No. 13.

The 5A state tournament will start at 10:30 a.m. Friday and continue on Saturday with a 9 a.m. start.

Class 6A at Olathe College Boulevard Activity Center

Washburn Rural and Topeka High finished one-two in the Class 6A regional at Wichita while combining for eight state qualifiers for this weekend's state meet at the College Boulevard Activity Center in Olathe.

Topeka High senior Madeline Deters won a Class 6A regional title last Friday and will be aiming for her second straight state medal this weekend. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural junior Julia Katzer is headed to her second Class 6A state tournament this weekend after advancing in singles last season. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn Rural junior Halle Owen (above) teamed with Julia Katzer to win a Class 6A regional doubles title last Friday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Trojans and Junior Blues swept the regional singles and doubles championships, with Topeka High senior Madeline Deters taking the singles crown and Washburn Rural juniors Julia Katzer and Halle Owen winning the doubles title.

Deters, a three-time state qualifier who placed eighth at state in 2024, is 29-4 this fall and has been installed as the No. 4 seed for state.

Katzer and Owen will take a 25-4 into the state meet and are seeded No. 9. Katzer will be making her second straight state appearance after qualifying in singles a year ago.

Rural also qualified freshman singles player Bridget Hoopes and the doubles team of senior Alizah Alvarez-Chedzoy and sophomore Annie Henderson for state while Topeka High qualified the doubles team of senior Ava Ritter and sophomore Hailey Caryl.

Hoopes (18-5) finished third at regionals and is seeded No. 14 for state while Alvarez-Chedzoy and Henderson (7-2) posted a fifth-place regional finish and are seeded 21st for state.

Caryl and Ritter (24-8) took third at regionals to earn their second straight state berth and are the No. 17 doubles seed.

The first round of state competition will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

Class 4A at Prairie Village Harmon Park Tennis Complex

Hayden will enter the Class 4A state tournament as the defending state champion and is coming off a regional team title Saturday at Marysville while qualifying its entire team for state at the Harmon Park Tennis Complex in Prairie Village.

Wildcat senior Avery O'Bray and sophomore Sophia Wichman won the regional doubles championship and will take an 11-5 record into the state meet as the ninth seed. Wichman teamed with then-senior Emily Sheetz to finish second in the 2024 state meet while O'Bray teamed with Izzy Glotzbach to earn an 11th-place medal.

Hayden freshman Lana Hull (20-8) and senior Grace Funk (5-5) posted third and fourth-place singles finishes at regionals and are seeded No. 11 and No. 12 for state.

Funk is a two-time state medalist, including a ninth-place finish in 2024.

Senior Kinsey Bullock and junior Kaelyn Gerdel (4-8) qualified for state with a fifth-place regional finish and are the 21st seed for this weekend's tournament. 

The first round of state competition will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Brody Anderson

BRODY ANDERSON, Seaman

Anderson, a senior cross country standout, won his second straight boys city individual title Saturday at the Shawnee North Community Center while posting his fourth individual victory of the 2025 season. A Class 5A state medalist in cross country and track, Anderson set a course record with a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 00.11 seconds.

Madeline Deters

MADELINE DETERS, Topeka High

A senior tennis standout, Deters won her first Centennial League singles championship last Tuesday in Junction City and followed that up with the singles title in Friday's Class 6A regional tournament at Wichita. Deters posted a 6-2, 6-1 final-round win over Emporia's Kali Keough in the Centennial League tournament and took a 6-2, 6-4 win over Junction City's Hannah Micheel in the regional final.

Emily Graf

EMILY GRAF, Washburn Rural

Washburn Rural senior cross country standout Graf won her first city girls individual championship Saturday at the Shawnee North Community Center, leading the Junior Blues to their seventh straight city team title. Coming off a hip injury, Graf clocked winning time of 19 minutes, 18.57 seconds in the city meet.

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

For a second consecutive Saturday, Seaman High School hosted a cross country meet in north Topeka.

Washburn Rural senior Emily Graf won the city individual cross country title Saturday, leading the Junior Blues to their seventh straight team title. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his second straight city individual cross country title Saturday. [File photo/TSN]

Last week, it was the Seaman Invitational. This week, the city championships at Shawnee County North Park, with Washburn Rural's girls and boys sweeping the team championships. 

Rural's boys stretched their city meet winning streak to 19 straight seasons while the Junior Blue girls won their seventh straight crown. 

 In the girls race, Washburn Rural senior Emily Graf won the city championship in a time of 19:18.57. It was her first race since the Shufelberger Top City Classic on the third week of September due to an injury.

 “Coming back from a hip injury I’ve had over the past three weeks, it felt great to come out, run and get the win,” Graf said.

Graf was joined by three of her teammates in the top five -- freshman Alyson Hinck (second in 19:38.05), senior Kenzie Maddox (fourth in 19:44.75) and sophomore Reese Beardslee (fifth in 19:57.07). Overall, the Jr. Blues had eleven girls finish in the top 20 to earn city medals.

The only non-Washburn Rural runner to finish in the top five was Seaman junior Brynn Spencer. She was pleased with her third-place finish, where she also finished last week in the Seaman Invitational, but was able to trim almost 25 seconds off her time in the city meet.

“I’m very proud of myself for improving my time from last week and I knew I had a chance to be top three and break up the Washburn Rural girls a little bit,'' Spencer said. "They provide great competition so I wanted to stay up with them throughout the race.”

Spencer was joined by four teammates as medalists -- junior Kinley Robinson (ninth in 21:29.35), junior Hannah Wempe (10th in 21:42.04), junior Jaydin Frickey (16th in 23:23.29) and sophomore Avery Villines (19th in 24:17.54).

Other medalists included Hayden junior Sofia Harper (seventh in 20:34.43), Topeka West freshman Phebe Phelps (12th in 22:34.71), Shawnee Heights freshman Kendall Lewis (15th in 23:04.35) and Topeka senior Breanna Maldonado (20th in 24:28.02). 

In the boys race, Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his fourth race of the season, breaking the course record in a time of 15:00.11.

“I knew after last week, I knew the course was fast. Coach (Luke) Wiens and I were planning to come out, run fast and set a PR,” Anderson said.

Being so close to breaking the fifteen minute barrier was a hope of Anderson.

“I was close to the fourteen mark, I know I’m fit enough to do it, but things happen for a reason.”

Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe finished second in Saturday's city cross country meet, leading the Junior Blues to their 19th straight city team title. [File photo/TSN]

The winning Washburn Rural team had the next four finishers to round out the top five -- senior Brooks Kehoe (second in 16:10.45), sophomore Duke Graf (third in 16:46.96), sophomore Clayton Fink (fourth in 16:52.01) and sophomore Jaxson Adams (fifth in 17:03.47). The Jr. Blues had eight other runners finish in the top twenty as medalists.

Hayden had two runners finish in the top ten -- sophomore Nick Newkirk finished sixth (17:04.74) and senior Connor Baldwin finished seventh (17:06.38).

Shawnee Heights’ senior Max Esquibel finished eighth in a time of 17:07.46.

Seaman had two other medalists -- junior Conner Bloom finished ninth in 17:13.81 and senior Drake Spurlock finished 20th with a time of 17:46.87.

Topeka sophomore Easton Davis finished in 17th in 17:33.64 while junior Ezra Phelps of Topeka West finished 18th with a time of 17:36.33. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Fresh off a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and Class 5A regional team championships, Jamie Robinson's Seaman girls tennis team will now turns its focus on trying to earn a top-three state finish for the second straight season.

Emma Sweeney won the singles title in Saturday's Class 5A regional at Kossover Tennis Center, helping the Vikings win the team championship. [File photo/TSN]

Seaman senior Molly Gorman finished second in singles in Saturday's Class 5A regional at Kossover Tennis Center, helping the Vikings win the team championship. [File photo/TSN]

The Vikings tuned up for state with a team title in Saturday's regional at Kossover Tennis Center and will be back at Kosover Friday and Saturday for the state meet.

Seaman achieved its goal of qualifying all six of its varsity players for state while edging St. James Academy for the team championship, 22-21.

"That is so huge,'' Robinson said of Seaman's qualifying effort. "And that's something you don't want to take for granted is getting your six in. That's huge for team morale, it's huge for people coming back the next year and we've done it for three, four years in a row, so that's exciting.

 "Everybody's rooting for each other and our parent base is happy and proud and it makes the whole program proud when you take six to state. That is not a given, not even with good teams.''   

Viking junior Emma Sweeney and senior Molly Gorman went one-two in singles while the Vikings' doubles teams of senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux and juniors Cadence Speer and Kaylyn Hiebsch placed third and fourth.

Sweeney and Gorman advanced to the regional singles final for the second straight season, with Sweeney taking a 6-0, 6-1 win in the final.

After both Seaman doubles teams dropped semifinal matches to St. James Academy, Henry and Lux took a 6-1, 6-3 win in the third-place match.

Topeka West's senior doubles team of Jordan Felsburg and Taryn Gilbert is also headed to state after finishing fifth Saturday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Piper's Allison Ochs and Aubrey Eidson.

Felsburg and Gilbert are West's first girls state qualifiers since 2021.

Washburn Rural girls tennis poses for a team picture after winning the championship in Friday's Class 5A regional at Wichita. [Submitted photo]

Junior Blues, Trojans finish one-two in 6A regional

Washburn Rural claimed the team title in Friday's Class 6A regional at Wichita's Riverside Tennis Complex by a 15-12 margin over Topeka High while the city schools swept the singles and doubles championships.

Topeka High senior Madeline Deters, the Centennial League champion, won the regional singles title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Junction City's Hannah Micheel while Washburn Rural juniors Julia Katzer and Halle Owen, the city champs, took the regional doubles crown with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Manhattan's Keylee Schartz and Jackie Hsu.

Rural freshman singles player Bridget Hoopes qualified for state with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Derby's 5 2 Ella Boline and the Junior Blues' doubles team of senior Alizah Chedzoy and sophomore Annie Henderson defeated Derby's Katie Brehm and Karlie Demel in the fifth-place match, 6-1, 6-2.

In addition to Deters, Topeka High qualified its doubles team of senior Ava Ritter and sophomore Hailey Caryl, who posted a third-place regional finish with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Wichita East's Charlotte Docking and Jane Docking.

The 6A state tournament will be played at the College Boulevard Activity Center in Olathe.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

For a football team with Class 3A state championship aspirations, Hayden knows there's still work to be done.

But the Wildcats gave a glimpse of what could be ahead in Friday's 53-22 Class 3A District 4 romp past traditional state power Holton at Hayden.

Senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for three touchdowns in Hayden's 53-22 district win over Holton Friday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

"Overall it was good,'' said Hayden coach Bill Arnold. "We came out and did some nice things on both sides of the ball. I'm a little disappointed we weren't quite as consistent as what I would have liked to have been.

"At the same time I'm happy with the progress that we're making, but we're not done. We've still got a ceiling to get to and that's what I challenged them with after the game. We've got to get better in practice. Our practices need to be cleaner than what they have been, but I'm happy with their effort.''

Hayden senior standout Kade Mitchell agreed with his coach that the Wildcats can still get a lot better moving forward.

"There's plenty of room to grow,'' Mitchell said. "As you saw there, we kind of settled down towards the second half and gave up way too many big plays in the second half. We've got to come together and finish games.

"We've got a lot of room to grow on defense and offense.''

Now 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the district, Hayden led by just a 7-6 margin a play into the second quarter, but turned the game into a rout with 29 unanswered points in the second quarter to build a 36-6 halftime advantage and eventually went up 53-14 before Holton (3-3, 1-2) added a late TD.

Mitchell, a 5-foot-9, 180 pound senior, had a game-high 128 rushing yards and 1 and 8 yards on 16 attempts and also scored a third TD on a 9-yard pass from senior quarterback Connor Hanika.

Hayden senior Xander Blasing had a 23-yard touchdown reception in Friday's 53-22 district win over Holton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Hanika, 6-6, 195, went 15 of 22 through the air for 205 yards and three TDs -- a 23-yard TD to senior Xander Blasing, a 21-yard scoring strike to senior Jude Krentz and the 9-yard TD to Mitchell.

Junior Mason Becker scored on a 27-yard run, kicked a 40-yard field goal and was six of six on extra points in Friday's 53-22 Hayden district win over Holton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Wildcats also got a 5-yard touchdown run from senior Jackson McGivern to open the night's scoring, while junior Mason Becker scored Hayden's final TD on a 27-yard run, kicked a 40-yard field goal and went 6 of 6 on extra-point kicks.

Holton got a 1-yard TD plunge and a 17-yard run from senior Cael Frazier and a 48-yard TD run from senior Korban Wilson, who had 95 yards on 14 carries. Frazier had 85 yards on 18 attempts.

Hayden will travel to Perry-Lecompton next Friday while Holton will be at home to host Hiawatha.

HAYDEN 53, HOLTON 22

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

THURSDAY NIGHT'S GAME

ATCHISON (3-2, 3-1 Meadowlark) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (3-2, 3-1 Meadowlark)

At Hummer Sports Park

JoJo Kingcannon, Highland Park 

Highland Park will play for the first time in three weeks, returning to action after forfeiting back to back games to Kansas City-Harmon and Wichita East. The Scots will be facing an Atchison team that is coming off an 82-44 Meadowlark Conference loss to KC-Washington. Highland Park senior quarterback Dontrail Fox has completed 9 of 20 passes for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns while junior JoJo Kingcannon has caught 5 passes for 200 yards and 2 TDs. Kingcannon leads the Scots with 293 rushing yards and 4 TDs on 13 carries while junior G'Honi Montgomery has 256 yards and 3 TDs on 32 attempts. 

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-4, 1-3 UKC) at SEAMAN (3-2, 3-1 UKC)

Quentin Moravec, Seaman

Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights

Seaman ran its winning streak to three games last Friday with a 48-8 United Kansas Conference romp past Lansing while Shawnee Heights is coming off a 50-48 UKC heartbreaker to De Soto. Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 82 of 125 passes for 1,118 yards and 15 touchdowns while junior Josh Brown has 22 catches for 303 yards and 6 TDs, junior Coy Barta has 18 catches for 223 yards and 4 TDs and senior Noah Kobuszewski has 19 catches for 300 yards and 2 TDs. Viking junior Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 92 times for 644 yards and 11 TDs. Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott passed for more than 600 yards last Friday and has completed 127 of 200 attempts for 1,956 yards and 15 touchdowns while junior AJ Gallegos has 40 catches for 601 yards and 3 TDs, while Dallas Owens has 33 catches for 419 yards and 3 TDs and senior Tyren Parker 22 receptions for 500 yards and 3 scores.

HOLTON (3-2, 1-1 Class 3A District 4) at HAYDEN (5-0, 1-0 Class 3A District 4)

Kade Mitchell, Hayden

Rivals Hayden and Holton square off in a key Class 3A District 4 contest Friday night. Hayden rolled to a 51-0 district win over Hiawatha last week while Holton dropped a 27-17 district decision to Jefferson West. Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika has completed 40 of 73 passes for 612 yards and 7 touchdowns while senior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 38 times for 399 yards and has scored nine total TDs and senior Jackson McGivern has 250 yards on 28 carries and scored five total touchdowns. Junior Mason Becker is 24 of 24 on extra point attempts while also scoring two TDs and two 2-point conversions.

JUNCTION CITY (3-2, 1-0 Centennial League) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (3-2, 1-1 Centennial)

At Hummer Sports Park

Zane Smith, Topeka High

Both the Blue Jays and Trojans are coming off losses, with Junction City dropping a 34-28 non-league decision to Hays and Topeka falling to Centennial League foe Washburn Rural, 35-6. Topeka High senior quarterback Zane Smith completed 12 of 26 passes for 284 yards against Washburn Rural while also carrying the ball 17 times for 85 yards. Junior Courtney Sanders caught 5 passes for 192 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown reception. Junction City is 1-0 in the Centennial League race after beating Manhattan 28-14 two weeks ago.

ROSSVILLE (4-1, 2-0 Class 1A District 2) vs. CAIR PARAVEL LATIN (1-4, 0-2 Class 1A District 2)

At Yager Stadium

Conner Bush, Rossville

Defending Class 1A District 2 champ Rossville is off and running in the district race again this fall, improving to 2-0 with a 55-6 win over Mission Valley last week. Cair Paravel is coming off a 53-25 district loss to Wabaunsee. Rossville, which advanced to the 1A semifinals a year ago, opened up a commanding 43-6 halftime lead over the Vikings and cruised the rest of the way. Senior quarterback Canann Mitchell passed for two touchdown and ran for a 52-yard TD in the Rossville win while Conner Bush ran for a pair of TDs. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Four Shawnee County schools continue to earn Top 10 spots in the Kansas Volleyball Association's state rankings released Wednesday, led by Class 3A Silver Lake, which is ranked No. 1 for the fifth straight week.

Silver Lake remains top-ranked in Class 3A, improving to 32-1 on the season. [File photo/TSN]

Coming off the championship in its home tournament last Saturday and a pair of wins on Tuesday, Silver Lake is now 32-1 on the season. The Eagles' lone loss came against 5A Shawnee Heights. 

Hayden (19-7) is ranked No. 3 in 4A while Washburn Rural is No. 6 in 6A and 16-4 after winning the Centennial League tournament and going 7-0 last week.

Rossville (19-10) is ranked sixth in 2A.

Kansas Volleyball Association State Rankings

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Four Shawnee County schools continue to earn Top 10 spots in the Kansas Volleyball Association's state rankings released Wednesday, led by Class 3A Silver Lake, which is ranked No. 1 for the sixth straight week.

Silver Lake volleyball is ranked No. 1 in the KVA Class 3A state rankings for the sixth straight week. [File photo/TSN]

Silver Lake is now 34-1 on the season. The Eagles' lone loss came against 5A Shawnee Heights. 

Hayden (23-7) is ranked No. 3 in 4A while Washburn Rural (21-4) is No. 6 in 6A and Rossville (23-13) is ranked seventh  in 2A.

Kansas Volleyball Association State Rankings

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka High senior standout Madeline Deters captured her first Centennial League tennis championship Tuesday at Junction City, pacing city players in the league meet.

Topeka High senior Madeline Deters won the Centennial League singles championship Tuesday at Junction City. [File photo/TSN]

Deters won the singles championship with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Emporia's Kali Keough in the title match.

Hayden freshman Lana Hull finished fourth in singles, dropping a 6-1, 6-2 decision to Junction City's Hannah Micheel in the third-place match while Wildcat senior Grace Funk finished fifth with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Manhattan's Sally Kastner.

Hayden's Sophia Wichman and O'Bray finished third in doubles, taking a 6-4, 6-2 win over Topeka High's Ava Ritter and Hailey Caryl in the third-place match.

Emporia won the league team championship by a 33-28 margin over Hayden and Manhattan, who tied for second place.

Topeka High finished fifth as a team with 24 points while Washburn Rural, playing a split squad, was sixth with 17 points.

Topeka High and Washburn Rural will both compete in a Class 6A regional Friday at Wichita while Hayden will compete in a 4A regional Friday and Saturday at Marysville. 

CENTENNIAL LEAGUE TENNIS

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Perennial Class 6A state volleyball power Washburn Rural got off to a bit of a slow start this season both in terms of a so-so 5-4 record and the number of matches played.

Washburn Rural volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's 5-0 run to the Centennial League championship. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

But a busy stretch has paid big dividends for the Junior Blues, with No. 6-ranked Washburn Rural running off 11 straight victories over the past week, seven in the past three days and five on Saturday as host Rural dominated the Centennial League tournament en route to the league championship.

"We haven't played near as many matches as some of those other teams have,'' Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "We've got this kind of weird schedule where we don't play very much and then we play a lot.

"But the fact is we've got to get out and play and we had some good matches today that tested us pretty good.''

Washburn Rural freshman Brynn Anderson (20) celebrates a kill during Saturday's 5-0 run to the Centennial League championship. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Now 16-4 on the season, Rural dropped a 25-20 decision to Manhattan in its first set of the day, but the Junior Blues proceeded to win 10 straight sets over the remainder of the league meet.

After its first-set loss to the Indians, Rural bounced back to top Manhattan with 25-18, 25-17 wins and then followed that performance with a 25-16, 25-14 victory over No. 3 (4A) Hayden, a 25-14, 25-13 win over Junction City, a 25-13, 25-17 win over Emporia and a 25-9, 25-8 romp past Topeka High.

Washburn Rural senior Taylor Guffey sets the ball during Saturday's 5-0 run to the Centennial League championship. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Bordewick said he feels like his team is making progress.

"I do, and we still have a pretty high ceiling,'' Bordewick said. "Manhattan and Hayden are really good teams and I thought we clicked in the second and third set against Manhattan pretty well and against Hayden I thought both sets we played pretty well, but I think we've got more in us.''

Washburn Rural senior Dayne Shriver spikes the ball during Saturday's Centennial League championships. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Rural senior Dayne Shriver said she agrees with Bordewick that the Junior Blues are starting to gain momentum.

"In the beginning of the season we hadn't played as many games, so I feel like now we're starting to get into the flow of it playing more games and connecting better,'' Shriver said. "I just really think that as the season goes we're flowing better.

"It's nice sometimes to have it be go, go, go.''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Silver Lake football took control in the second half to extend its win streak to three games Friday night with a 47-7 non-league home win over Baldwin.

Kipton Kruger, Silver Lake

Dayne Johnson, Silver Lake

The 3-2 Eagles trailed 7-6 midway through the second quarter before ending the game with 41 unanswered points to turn the game into a rout.

Senior Bryson Burgos scored on a 7-yard run to give Silver Lake a slim 13-7 halftime advantage before the Eagles outscored the 3-2 Bulldogs 20-0 in the third quarter and 14-0 in the fourth.

Junior Owen Rottinghaus began Silver Lake's big second half with an 80-yard kickoff return before freshman quarterback Kipton Kruger and senior receiver Dayne Johnson connected on touchdown passes of 78, 17 and 4 yards.

Sophomore Jake Workman scored Silver Lake's final TD on a 27-yard run.

Now 3-2 overall, the Eagles will return to Class 2A District 4 play next Friday, traveling to Riley County. 

Silver Lake is 1-0 in the district while Riley County is 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the district.

Rossville improves to 2-0 in 1A district play with 55-6 romp

Rossville improved to 2-0 in the Class 1A District 2 race Friday night with a 55-6 home romp past Mission Valley.

The Bulldawgs, now 4-1 overall, took control with a pair of first-quarter touchdowns, from Landen Lewis on an 8-yard run and from Andre Johnson on a 38-yard run, and scored 29 points in the second quarter to build a huge 43-6 halftime advantage over the Vikings (3-2, 1-1).

Canann Mitchell, Rossville

Conner Bush scored a pair of second-quarter TDs on runs of 52 and 25 yards while quarterback Canann Mitchell  completed a 25-yard TD pass to Cameron Miller and a 35-yard scoring strike to Cale Horak.

Mitchell added a 52-yard touchdown run in the third quarter before Ryder Foster finished the Bulldawgs' scoring with a 29-yard pick six.

Mitchell completed 7 of 8 passes for 125 yards and the twoTDs and carried the ball three times for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Bush scored on both of his carries while Johnson carried the ball four times for 55 yards and a TD and Miller had four catcthes for 80 yards and a score.

Rossville will face Cair Paravel Latin Friday night at Washburn's Yager Stadium.

Unbeaten Hayden routs Hiawatha, 51-0

Hayden opened Class 3A District 4 play with a 51-0 road romp past Hiawatha Friday night, improving to 5-0 on the season.

The Wildcats took control with a 22-point opening quarter and led 29-0 at halftime.

Hayden finished off the rout with a 22-point third quarter to build its final margin.

The Wildcats will be at home next Friday to host Holton in a district game. Holton is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the district after a 27-17 Friday night loss to Jefferson West. 

Seaman stretches win streak to three games with 48-8 romp past Lansing

Seaman won its third straight United Kansas Conference game Friday night, rolling to a 48-8 road win at Lansing.

The Vikings are now 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the UKC.

Seaman will be at home Friday to face UKC and city rival Shawnee Heights. 

By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news

FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES

(Allkickoffs at 7 p.m.)

John Hoytal, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

TOPEKA HIGH (3-1, 1-0 Centennial) at WASHBURN RURAL (3-1, 0-0 Centennial)

Both Topeka High and Washburn Rural are coming off victories, with the Trojans opening Centennial League play wih a 13-12 home win over Emporia while the Junior Blues rolled to a 31-7 non-league road win at Blue Valley Northwest. Friday is Rural's Centennial League opener. Junior Blues senior quarterback John Hoytal threw for three touchdowns against Northwest while junior Jadyn Baum caught a touchdown pass and ran for a TD and senior Brody Haas picked off two passes, returning one for a TD. Topeka High's defense came up big in last week's win over Emporia, including stuffing the Spartans' two-point conversion attempt to preserve the Trojans' one-point lead.

Aiden Scott, Shawnee Heights [File photo/TSN]

DE SOTO (3-1, 3-1 UKC) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (1-3, 1-2 UKC)

Both teams are coming off United Kansas Conference losses, with De Soto dropping a 42-38 nailbiter to undefeated Basehor-Linwood while Shawnee Heights fell 43-29 on the road at Leavenworth. Heights senior quarterback Aiden Scott has completed 95 of 153 passes for 1,330 yards and 12 touchdowns while senior AJ Gallegos has a team-high 28 catches for 391 yards and a pair of TDs and junior Dallas Owens has 27 receptions for 312 yards and two TDs. Senior David Wakes has 281 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 60 attemps. Senior Dayton Vanderpool leads Heights with 36 tackles, including 23 solo stops.

Jackson McGivern, Hayden [File photo/TSN] 

HAYDEN (4-0, 0-0 Class 3A District 4) at HIAWATHA (1-3, 0-1 Class 3A District 4)

Hayden is coming of a 42-7 home win over Wamego, with the Wildcats avenging one of their two defeats in the 2024 season, while Hiawatha opened Class 3A District 4 play with a 12-7 loss to Jefferson West. Hayden senior quarterback Connor Hanika hit Jackson McGivern, Xander Blasing and Kade Mitchell for touchdowns and Hanika also ran for a TD in the Wildcats' win. Junior Mason Becker returned a pass interception for a touchdown and also went 6 for 6 on extra-point kicks.

Quentin Moravec, Seaman [File photo/TSN]

SEAMAN (2-2, 2-1 UKC) at LANSING (2-2, 2-1 UKC)

Seaman won its second straight game last Friday, a 56-6 United Kansas Conference win over Kansas City-Turner, while Lansing took a 36-20 conference win over Topeka West. Seaman sophomore running back Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 70 times for 510 yards and nine touchdowns while junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 68 of 102 passes for 892 yards and 11 TDs. Junior Josh Brown has 20 pass receptions for 266 yards and six TDs. Senior Cameron Brian leads the Vikings with 54 tackles, including 28 solo stops and five tackles for loss.