Sometimes all it takes is one win to turn things around.
 
And for Topeka West’s boys soccer team, a 2-1 victory over Hayden to start the 2024 season was just that.
 
Coming into this season, the Chargers hadn’t had a whole lot of success within the program in the last decade-plus to hang their hat on. In fact, three years ago the Chargers were winless, going 0-15-1.
 
But since that season, the Chargers have been on a bit of an uptick. They won three games in 2022 and then more than doubled that total with a 7-9 mark last fall.
 
The momentum built in 2023 led to higher expectations for the 2024 season.
 
“I knew we would be taking a step forward with a more positive season,” West coach Josh Kutter said. “I did not know it would be as successful as we are enjoying right now. I think we’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
 
After beating United Kansas Conference rival Lansing 3-1 on Monday and then tying De Soto 0-0 on Tuesday, the Chargers are indeed enjoying a more positive season. They’ve nearly doubled their win total, sitting at 12-2 1.
 
The turnaround season began with that big win over Hayden in the season opener.
 
“It was a competitive test with Hayden and getting that win and then (going 2-1) at our early-season tournament at Salina South really gave them that confidence,” Kutter said. “We had some challenging games and learned some things that we needed to improve on and the players really took to working on those improvements and made some corrections and from there it’s taken off.”
 
West was locked in a 1-1 tie with Hayden before Valentin Del Real came up with the game-winner late in the second half. He’s been an impact addition as a freshman, scoring 9 goals to back sophomore Diego Gonzalez-Talavera, who leads the team with 15 goals and 13 assists after missing much of last season with an injury.
 
Junior Morris Blick has added eight goals, giving West some offensive firepower it hasn’t displayed in recent seasons.
 
“Everyone knows that they’re capable of scoring,” Kutter said. “We knew we had talented players coming back and some guys coming in that would help us. Our players know each other really well and have good team chemistry. The freshmen that came in knew the sophomores and all play with a common club system, the Topeka Soccer Club. They know how to play together and it’s a talented bunch that’s a lot of fun to watch.”
 
As much as West has improved offensively, so too has the defensive performance been big. Led by senior centerback Jafet Rodriguez and junior goalkeeper Gage Kindred-Noragon, the Chargers have allowed more than one goal in a game just three times in 15 games.
 
The Chargers are still relatively young with seven freshmen and sophomores playing major roles to complement solid players in each of the other two classes.
 
West lost 2-0 to Hays at the Salina south Tournament and thin dropped a 2-1 decision to Turner in the UKC opener on Sept. 17. The Chargers haven’t lost since, reeling off nine straight wins before the tie with De Soto.
 
The tie knocked the Chargers out of contention for the UKC title with West now 5-1-1 in league play, just behind Turner, which is 7-1 and Shawnee Heights which is 6-1. The Chargers can spoil Heights’ bid to tie Turner atop the league standings, facing the T-Birds on Friday.
 
“They were excited coming into the season, building up from the past couple of seasons,” Kutter said. “One of the things we keep repeating all year is we can beat anyone and we’re going to respect everyone. Every game has to be our best and the players are really buying in. They know what they’re capable of and we’re competing every night out.
 
“It’s been a lot of fun and the league is competitive year in, year out with top level teams. It’s a great way to prepare for the postseason where we’ll see high quality teams.”
 
West is currently the No. 3 seed in the Class 5A west standings, setting the Chargers up to potentially host a regional when postseason begins.
 
 
OTHER BOYS SOCCER STANDOUTS

• Washburn Rural clinched its 30^th consecutive Centennial League championship with a 4-0 win over Topeka High on Tuesday, capping another undefeated run through league play. The Junior Blues outscored their league foes 29-0 this season with the closest win a 3-0 decision over Emporia. Rural is 11-2-2 overall with only one of those losses or ties coming to a Kansas team.
• With a 5-1 win over Lansing on Tuesday, Turner clinched at least a share of the United Kansas Conference title. The Bears finished league play 7-1 with the lone loss coming to Shawnee Heights. Heights is 6-1 in league play with a game against Topeka West on Friday.

 

 
CROSS COUNTRY STANDOUTS

• De Soto’s boys captured their fifth straight united Kansas Conference title, scoring 47 points to top runner-up Seaman by 16 points. The Wildcats were led by individual runner-up Vance Krudwig and also placed Luke Vogt (7^th) and Aaron Vogt (10^th) in the top 10. The Wildcat girls couldn’t defend their team title from a year ago, taking a distant second to Seaman, with whom they’ve traded titles over the past five seasons. Brooke Bundt paced the girls with a runner-up finish.
• Seaman swept the individual titles at the United Kansas Conference meet. Ryin Miller won her second straight league title in dominant fashion, finishing in 17:58.96 to win by more than two minutes over De Soto’s Brooke Bundt. She led the Vikings to their second team title in three years and was joined in the top 10 by Stella Appelhanz (4^th) and Brynn Spencer (5^th). Brady Anderson won his first boys’ league title, winning by 27 seconds over De Soto’s Vance Krudwig in 16:21.42. It was Anderson’s fifth win of the season while Miller is unbeaten this fall.
• Washburn Rural’s girls won their fourth straight Centennial League championship in dominating fashion, putting three in the top five and four in the top 10 to finish with 28 points, 26 ahead of runner-up Junction City. Rylee Ismert denied teammate Payton Fink her third straight league title, taking a 19-second win with her winning time of 18:02.90. The time was a career-best for Ismert and the victory was the first of her career.
• Junction City swept the boys Centennial League crowns as senior Ethan Fontaine topped Washburn Rural’s Henry Laubach by 10 seconds for the individual title. He was one of four Blue Jays in the top eight with Anthony Testa third, Williams Dee fifth and Everett Pickler eighth, helping the Jays to a team score of 28, 15 points ahead of Rural. The team title was the second straight for Junction City.
• Washington County’s McKenzie Baker claimed her second straight Twin Valley League girls’ individual title, winning in 22:05, 21 seconds ahead of Doniphan West’s Belle Smith. Centralia was the lone league school to field a full team and was league champ.
• Axtell continued its dominance of the boys’ Twin Valley League race, taking the team title for the third straight year. Runner-up to teammate Grady Buessing a year ago, Gavin Shaughnessy won his first league title in dramatic fashion, edging Blue Valley-Randolph’s Titus Cobb by just .06 seconds in a near-photo finish with Shaughnessy finishing in 17:36.89 and Cobb in 17:36.95.
• Led by six runners in the top 15, Wamego’s boys added yet another North Central Kansas League title to their collection, winning by 51 points over Clay Center. The league title was the eighth straight for the Red Raiders and 20^th in the last 27 years for the program. Isaac Ibendahl and Breckin Musyoki finished 2-3 behind individual champion Drew Elliott of Chapman, who won by 42 seconds in 16:51.8. Braxton Williams (6^th) and James Bearman (8^th) also finished in the top 10.
• Clay Center went 1-2 in the girls’ North Central Kansas League race to edge Wamego by three points for the team title – the Tigers’ third straight. Kylie Pfizenmaier continued her strong junior season, beating teammate and three-time reigning league champion Lauren Smith for the title by 44 seconds with her winning time of 19:53.2. It was Pfizenmaier’s second win of the season and denied Smith a career sweep of the league title.
• Goessel’s boys captured the Wheat State League title for the eighth straight season, led by Eli Gaeddert, who captured his second straight league title.
• Lebo’s Caleb Durst won his third straight Lyon County League boys’ title, finishing in 16:28 to beat Olpe’s Kaleb Arnold by 20 seconds.
• Oskaloosa’s girls put all five scoring runners in the top 10 including a 1-2-3 sweep, to run away with their third straight Northeast Kansas League title. Katelyn Vogel won her second straight individual league title, finishing in 21:20.02 to beat teammate Taylor Peterson by 15 seconds. Emma Vogel was third in 21:40.78 and the Bears also got top 10s from Katie Peterson (7^th) and Bethany Kabus (10^th) to finish with 23 points and win by 70 over Atchison County.
• Jefferson County North’s Lucas Meredith won the boys’ Northeast Kansas League title in runaway fashion, finishing in 17;20.39 to beat runner-up Hank Lance of Pleasant Ridge by more than a minute. Lance led the Rams to the team title and Pleasant Ridge also put Canon Duncan (5^th) and Coben Hoppe (6^th) in the top 10.
• After winning the last Big Seven League girls’ championship, Holton won the inaugural Big East League title, scoring 40 points to beat Hiawatha by 19 points. Eva Cortes won her second straight league crown as well, edging teammate Maya Doney by just over a second in 20:06.58 as the Wildcats went 1-2. Ava Clayton added a fourth for the Wildcats.
• Nemaha Central ran away with the boys Big East crown, scoring 59 points to easily outdistance runner-up Silver Lake. Harry Langill led the way for the Thunder in third place and Lane Mosteller was seventh. Royal Valley’s Dominick Schnider took a 22-second win for the boys’ individual title, crossing in 17:11.08.
• Prairie View’s Bree Allen won her third consecutive Pioneer League title, finishing more than a minute ahead of Santa Fe Trail’s Lea Roberts in 19:27.96. She also led the Buffaloes to the team title as they finished with 30 points, 22 ahead of runner-up Burlington.
• Santa Fe Trail dominated the boys Pioneer League race, putting four in the top six to finish with 34 points, 21 ahead of Iola. Bryce Roberts got his first individual league title, winning by more than a minute and a half in 16:14.55. Younger brother Kale Roberts was third, Holden Tantaros was fourth and Rylan Roberts was sixth.
• A three-time Mid-East League champion, Payton Wurtz won her first Flint Hills League championship as the Chargers moved leagues this year. Wurtz beat Osage City’s Emory Speece by more than a second and a half with her winning time of 19:11.62 and the victory was her fifth in six races this fall with her lone non-win a runner-up finish at the Wamego Invitational to Northern Heights’ Ellei McCrory – last year’s Flint Hills League champion who captured the Lyon County League title with Heights also moving leagues.
• West Franklin swept the team titles at the Flint Hills League meet with the boys scoring 21 points to win by 45 over Chase County and the girls scoring 23 to win by 11 over Osage City. Hunter Bailey led four Falcons in the boys’ top 10, getting his first league title after finishing runner-up to Central Heights’ Cody Hammond the past two falls. Bailey won by almost a minute of Council Grove’s Jadyn Picolet in 16:55.61 while Falcon teammates Andrew Patterson, Josh Foster and Caul Johns went 3-4-5 and Coy Link was eighth.
• In placing seventh at the Centennial League meet, Hayden’s Elliot Wrench broke her own school record for the third time this season. Wrench finished in 19:24.1, knocking more than 12 seconds off her previous record of 19:36.64.
• Southeast of Saline swept the North Central Activities Association titles at the Lakeside Invitational – which combines the NCAA meet with the Mid-Continent and Northern Plains League meets. The Trojan girls won the overall meet title with 39 points with Minneapolis finishing runner-up in league. Republic County’s Ellie Callaway was the NCAA girls individual champion and was third overall at the meet. Southeast’s boys went 1-2-3 in the league standings with Jacob Bircher winning the league title and taking second overall at the meet to Smith Center’s Gavin Hickert.
• Central Heights’ boys posted a perfect score in their Three Rivers League meet debut, sweeping the top seven individual places in the race. Connor Burkdoll, Cody Hammond and Owen Miller finished in a virtual three-way tie for the individual title with Burkdoll winning by .02 seconds over Hammond and .17 over Miller in 17:31.56. Stetson Miller (4^th), Christian McCord (5^th), Jotham Meyer (6^th) and Josiah Meyer (7^th) gave the Vikings the clean sweep of the top seven spots.

 
VOLLEYBALL STANDOUTS

• Marais des Cygnes Valley knocked off Lebo to capture the Lyon County League Tournament title for the first time since 2003. The Wolves had beaten MdCV four times this season, including for the regular-season title. But in the tournament championship match, the Trojans got revenge and pulled out a 13-25, 25-21, 25-21 win. Emily Criqui had 54 kills at the tourney for the Trojns while Gracen Stahl had 25 and 14 aces, Colbie Cormode had 18 kills and 9 blocks and Akyra Traver had 71 assists and 50 digs.
• Hanover completed its sweep of the Twin Valley League titles, adding the tournament title to its undefeated regular-season crown. The Wildcats cruised past Doniphan West 25-17, 25-13 in the semifinals before sweeping Valley Heights 25-12, 25-18 in the championship match.
• At the TVL tournament, Valley Heights’ Ava Smith surpassed 1,000 career kills.
• Clay Center finished undefeated in North Central Kansas League play to capture its fourth league title in the past five years. The Tigers finished the regular season with a 34-3 record.
• Seaman capped. 35-2 season with the title at the Emporia Invitational, going 5-0. The Vikings locked up the No. 1 seed in Class 5A west and beat Washburn Rural for the second time last week at the tourney. Seaman also knocked off Class 6A No. 1 Blue Valley West and Class 5A No. 1 St. James Academy last week.
• After earlier this season picking up her 1,000th career kill, Royal Valley's Samantha Klotz got her 1,000th career dig in the Panthers' regular-season finale.