Camden Granado had an immediate role model when he hit the Shawnee Heights’ soccer program as a freshman.
 
That season, he got a front row seat to the greatest goal-scoring season in T-Bird history as Jordan Garvin racked up a whopping 30 goals in 2022.
 
“I watched him get that record and I’m not going to lie, it was surreal,” Granado said of the former All-State selection Garvin. “He was a great player and I like to say he took me under his wing that freshman year.”
 
Now in his senior year, Granado is having the kind of season he witnessed Garvin enjoying his senior season. With a goal in Tuesday’s 8-0 rout of Lansing, Granado is moving closer to eclipsing Garvin’s record-setting season. Through 11 games, Granado has 22 goals.
 
And you can bet his mentor’s mark is on his mind.
 
“I want it so bad, you have no idea,” Granado said of the record. “I want it really bad, but more than that I want to win.”
 

 
That hasn’t been a problem for Granado and his T-Bird teammates this year either. Tuesday’s win marked Heights’ 10th straight and also wrapped up another United Kansas Conference title for the program.
 
After somewhat backing into the crown a year ago after finishing tied atop the league standings with Turner, the T-Birds have left no doubt this season. With one league match left against Basehor-Linwood, Heights sits 7-0 in league play. Their closest victories were 3-1 wins over Piper and Turner and in league play, Heights has outscored its opponents 36-3.
 
“That was definitely one of the first things on their goals this season,” Heights coach Nic Simons said. “We didn’t want to leave it up to chance.”
 
Heights opened the season with a 6-0 loss to Washburn Rural that could have been somewhat deflating for a senior-dominant team – 12 on the roster – that entered 2025 with high expectations. But both Granado and Simons agreed, the loss actually has served as a catalyst for the run they are on right now.
 
“I’m not going to lie, the loss hit us hard and definitely made us more fired up,” Granado said.
 
“If you look back at who we played, we started the season playing some perennial powers,” Simons said. “Obviously, Rural was a tough game for us. But we turned around and played Lawrence Free State, who is having a heck of a season. We got a win there and that was kind of a springboard for us. After having a tough loss with Rural and playing Free State and having a last-second goal there to win it, you could see the kids coming together.
 
“We haven’t looked back since and it almost feels like this team is on a mission. It has to be statement games every single game and that’s where we’re at. We’ve played teams in our league and Topeka High, which are having great seasons and we’re still sending a statement.”
 
Granado – who also serves as the place kicker for Shawnee Heights’ football team – has been one of the main catalysts behind those statement victories. After not seeing much, if any, varsity time as a freshman, he eased into a starting role as a sophomore and tallied five goals.
 
Last year, he enjoyed a breakout season, leading Heights with 18 goals. But this year he’s taken that goal-scoring prowess to the next level. After scoring one goal in the T-Birds’ win over Free State, Granado seven straight multi-goal games, including four against Cair Paravel and three against both Piper and Topeka West.
 
Simons said a big part of that success was manner in which he spent his freshman year on the bench behind a senior-laded T-Bird lineup.
 
“Coming in his freshman year we had a group that reminds me a lot of the team we have this year, a lot of seniors and a lot of talent,” Simons said. “Him and many of our seniors didn’t get a lot of opportunities early on in the season to get varsity minutes. They had to put in their time and find ways to get into a varsity game.
 
“Camden was a kid that sat there and watched and took mental notes on the type of player he wanted to turn into that he was watching on the varsity pitch every single night. Jordan was one of those guys and Camden was like, ‘Not only do I want to be like him, I want to be better than him.’ And that’s what he’s trying to do.”
 
Granado scored less than five minutes into Tuesday’s game with Lansing and at that point it seemed like another multi-goal night was in order. But while he only had a handful of other prime scoring opportunities, his presence sucked in the Lansing defense and his teammates benefited.
 
Mason Haas scored a pair of goals, including one on a header off a corner kick, while Jose Curvelo-Montenegro, Axel Flores-Gutierrez, Juan Garcia, Jason Slay and Isaac Fisher all added solo goals as Heights built a 7-0 halftime lead and ended the contest 15 minutes into the second half.
 
“It’s definitely fun seeing the guys that don’t score as much get to score,” Granado said. “Everybody was celebrating on the sideline and it was fun to see those guys get rewarded when maybe they don’t get the credit they deserve to get.”
 

 
OTHER BOYS SOCCER STANDOUTS

• Washburn Rural extended its unbeaten streak to eight straight games with a sweep of Wichita’s private schools, beating both Kapaun Mt. Carmel and Bishop Carroll by 2-0 scores after returning from the Great River Fall Classic in Quad Cities, Iowa. The Junior Blues are 7-0-0 in their last eight games and 9-1-1 overall.

 
 
GIRLS GOLF STANDOUTS

• Wamego set a program record with its team score of 314 at the Tonganoxie Invitational at Painted Hill Golf Course and then did it again with a 311 in winning the title at the Nemaha Central Invitational at Spring Creek Golf Course. Addison Douglass took the individual title at both meets, shooting 3-under at the Tonganoxie tourney and 6-under at Nemaha, staying unbeaten on the season.
• Concordia’s Mya Niehues added her fourth tournament win of the season at the TMP-Marian Invitational in Hays, leading the Panthers to the team title with a 363 total, 46 shots ahead of Hesston. Niehues shot a 77, winning the tourney by 13 strokes.
• Silver Lake’s Kailyn Hanni picked up her third win of the season at the Eagles’ home tournament at Lake Shawnee Golf Course. Hanni carded an 83 to win by one stroke over Osage City’s Peyton Pitts and Jefferson West’s Addison Fechter. West Franklin won the team title with a 360, five shots better than Jefferson West.
• Manhattan’s Maddie Myers and Lily Bahr finished 1-2 to lead the Indians to the team title at their home meet at Stagg Hill Golf Club. Myers shot a 71 to win by three over Bahr and Seaman’s Elise Eckert, who each shot 74s. Kat Ball and Jessica Kim were fifth and sixth for Manhattan, which had a team total of 304 and won by 44 shots over Seaman.
• Prairie View’s Harley Wade won the Pioneer League title in runaway fashion, shooting a 75 to win by 27 shots over Anderson County’s Rylee Hill. Prairie View won the team title as well, posting a 423 to beat Anderson County by 10 shots.

GIRLS TENNIS STANDOUTS

• Chapman captured the North Central Kansas League title, winning three of the four brackets. Josie Baer captured the No. 2 singles title while Avery Baer and Carmen Courtois were first at No. 1 doubles and Cora Merritt and Addalynn Casey won at No. 2 doubles. Marysville’s Katherine Frese denied the Irish a sweep of the brackets, beating Clara Gfeller 8-3 for the No. 1 singles crown.
• Seaman captured its fourth straight United Kansas Conference championship, finishing 1-2 in singles and 1-3 in doubles to beat De Soto by a 75-65 margin. Emma Sweeney won her second straight singles title, beating teammate Molly Gorman 8-0 in the finals for the second straight year. Peyton Henry and Camryn Lux won the doubles title with an 8-4 win over De Soto’s Myah Tuttle and Kierra Minihan.
• Topeka High’s Madeline Deters won her first Centennial League singles title, beating Emporia’s Kali Keough 6-2, 6-1 in the championship match, avenging an 8-5 loss to the Spartan earlier this season. Emporia’s Payton Chanley and Kinsley Hines claimed the doubles title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Manhattan’s Keylee Schartz and Jackie Hsu in the finals. Emporia also took the team title, scoring 33 points to edge Manhattan and Hayden, which each scored 28.