Sports > Columnists > Bob Lutz

Posted on Fri, Nov. 06, 2009

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Time marches on, and city's top 100 high school athletes evolves

A lot can happen in six years, and that's about the only solace I can provide for Brad Speer, Allen Lyday, Artie Vaughn, Doug Hoppock, Lawrence Pete, Fred Brickell, Jim Thomas, Randy Smith, Russ Campbell, Leonard Scott, Reuben Eckels, Mike Hollimon and Jill Redo.

They must have known their time on The Eagle's 2003 list of Wichita's Top 100 high school athletes was short, being that they were ranked from No. 88 (Speer) to No. 100 (Redo).

Speer still holds the Kansas high school high jump record of 7 feet, 4 1/2 inches, yet he falls off the Top 100 list. That's how tough this list is.

Time stops for no one and our city's high schools are still churning out quality athletes at an impressive rate.

We haven't re-visited the list in six years, so it was time.

And in doing so, we have changed the list with obvious choices (Caroline Bruce, Bryce Brown) and some that might surprise you.

There are 13 newcomers to the list and one who was at No. 47, Collegiate's Maurice Evans, vaults to No. 30 because of his continued success in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks.

Some newcomers have a chance to hit the Top 10 someday.

* Former East running back Bryce Brown, a freshman at Tennessee, debuts on the Top 100 list at No. 24 after rushing for 6,809 yards during his high school career, although he is off to a slow start as a freshman with the Volunteers.

* Bishop Carroll quarterback Blake Bell, headed for Oklahoma, isn't even out of high school yet, but he's done enough already to warrant a spot at No. 47.

* Kamerion Wimbley, a 2002 Northwest grad, debuts highest among the newcomers at No. 12 because of his standout college career at Florida State, the fact he was a first-round NFL Draft pick by Cleveland and because he's in his fourth year as a starting defensive end for the Browns.

* Former Trinity Academy swimmer Caroline Bruce is at No. 14 because of her outstanding high school career, her 13 All-America honors at Stanford, her two NCAA championships and for being on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team in Athens.

* Mike Pelfrey, who pitched at Heights and later was an All-American at Wichita State, is off to a promising start in his big-league career with the New York Mets. That gets him the No. 22 spot.

* Taj Gray, who left East in 2002, went on to play two seasons at Oklahoma, where he was an All-Big 12 selection in 2005 after averaging 14.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. He has played professionally in France the past three years. He's at No. 39.

* Sprinter Audacia Moore (No. 44) won the Class 6A 100- and 200-meter races in 2007 and 2008 and as a freshman at Wichita State last season was almost as good, finishing second in the 100 and first in the 200 at the Missouri Valley Conference meet.

* Tristen DeShazer (West, 2006) won four state wrestling championships and last season placed third in the 132-pound weight class at Mid-America Conference tournament for Northern Illinois, where he set a single-season record with 17 pins.

That earned DeShazer an NCAA Tournament spot, and he went 2-2. On our list, he's No. 59.

* Brandon Polk played two seasons with Gray at Redlands Community College in Oklahoma, then transferred to Butler University, where he averaged 16 points and 4.6 rebounds from 2004-06. Polk enters the Top 100 list at No. 64.

* Leah Ratzlaff, a 2002 Bishop Carroll grad, went on to become the top hitter in Creighton volleyball history and a two-time All-MVC choice. Ratzlaff (No. 68) is Creighton's career kills leader.

* Cameron Kasel (No. 75) passed for 4,709 yards during his junior and senior seasons as quarterback at Heights.

The 2007 grad is currently a backup quarterback at Washburn, and he led the Ichabods' baseball team in hitting last season, batting .350.

* Nick Taylor, a 1998 West grad, isn't your typical athlete. But he's one of the greatest wheelchair athletes in the country, a two-time gold-medal winning Paralympian in doubles tennis at the 2004 and 2008 Games in Athens and Beijing.

Taylor, No. 76 on the list, is an assistant tennis coach at Wichita State.

* Finally, Doug Hoover, a 2002 Kapaun Mount Carmel graduate, is another four-time state wrestling champion. That's a rare breed, good for No. 93 on our list.

Eagle sports columnist Bob Lutz co-hosts "Sports Daily" from 9-11 a.m. weekdays on KFH, 1240-AM and 98.7-FM. Reach him at 316-268-6597 or blutz@wichitaeagle.com.