In the final year under now-retired athletics director Mike Marsh, Manhattan High fittingly delivered another banner athletic season. Highlighted by three Class 6A team state championships, the Indians once again proved to be one of Kansas’ premier high school athletic programs.
In a year filled with state championships, historic performances, postseason breakthroughs and major facility upgrades, narrowing the list to just 10 moments wasn’t easy. Several worthy accomplishments narrowly missed the cut.
Nevertheless, here are the top 10 moments from Manhattan High’s 2025-26 athletic season.
1. Football wins 4th state championship with shutout of Olathe NW
Three years after ending a 33-year championship drought, Manhattan High football further cemented its place among Kansas’ premier programs by capturing its fourth Class 6A state championship.
The Indians closed the season with a dominant seven-game winning streak, culminating in a 27-0 shutout of Olathe Northwest to secure the program’s second title under head coach Joe Schartz.
After navigating a 4-2 start, Manhattan found its identity behind one of the state’s most dominant defenses. The Indians’ starters held previously undefeated Maize to 10 points before late scores, and then limited Derby to its fewest points since 2009. In the championship game, Manhattan recorded the first shutout in a Class 6A title game since 1995.
The offense reached its peak at the perfect time behind senior quarterback Finn Watson, who rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns while throwing scoring passes of 68 and 50 yards to Miami signee JJ Dunnigan in the title game.
Manhattan High’s Maddie Myers chips to the No. 9 green during the Washburn Rural Invitational, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at Wamego Country Club.
2. Girls’ golf wins 2nd consecutive state title
One year after returning girls’ golf to the top of Class 6A, the Indians proved their championship wasn’t a one-year breakthrough. Manhattan rallied from a six-shot deficit after the opening round, fighting back to capture its second consecutive Class 6A state championship and the program’s 13th state title.
Maddie Myers led the way with a runner-up finish at 7-over-par 149, while senior Kat Ball placed third at 150, giving Manhattan two of the tournament’s top three individual finishers. The championship capped a dominant season in which Manhattan won every tournament it entered, including the Centennial League and regional titles.
The title also marked the end of an era, as head coach Paige McCarthy retired after helping guide the Indians to back-to-back state championships alongside assistant coach Kim Crusinberry. Former Silver Lake coach Brock Leroux will inherit one of Kansas’ most successful girls’ golf programs.
Manhattan High’s girls’ cross country team stands atop the podium with the 6A state championship during the state meet Nov. 1 at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence. The Indians won the title for the first time since 2015.
3. Girls’ cross country wins 6A title
In a defining moment of Marsh’s final year, MHS claimed three 6A team titles in the fall season. A decade after its last state championship, girls’ cross country returned to the top of 6A with one of the most dominant runs in program history.
Manhattan’s depth separated it from the field all season and culminated in three top-10 finishers at the state meet. Junior Gabrielle Converse, the All-Flint Hills female athlete of the fall, led the Indians with a third-place finish.
Freshmen Zara Koehn and Isla Spreer added seventh- and ninth-place finishes, respectively, while sophomore Andie Strathman earned her first state medal in 15th. With all four returning next season, Manhattan not only ended a 10-year championship drought but positioned itself to remain among Kansas’ elite.
Manhattan High’s Caeleb Hutchinson reacts after winning his 150-pound championship match versus Gardner Edgerton’s Roman Clouse during the 6A state wrestling tournament Feb. 28 at AdventHealth Sports Park in Overland Park. It marked Hutchinson’s fourth individual state title.
4. Hutchinson completes 4-peat; boys 2nd at state, girls place 4th
Manhattan High wrestling added another memorable chapter to one of the state’s premier programs during championship weekend in Overland Park. While the boys fell just short of a third consecutive Class 6A team title with a runner-up finish, senior Caeleb Hutchinson became the first wrestler in program history to win four individual state championships, and the girls earned the highest team finish in school history by placing fourth.
Hutchinson, an Illinois signee, capped one of the greatest careers in Kansas wrestling history by capturing the 150-pound state championship, becoming just the 44th boys wrestler in state history to win four individual titles. Junior Max Evans-Pryor added his first state championship at 175 pounds.
The girls continued the program’s rapid rise behind individual champions Alayna Slifer and Sophia Hoeme. Slifer closed her career with a second consecutive state title at 135 pounds, while Hoeme completed an undefeated season by winning the 140-pound championship one year after placing fifth.
Manhattan High’s 6A 4×800-meter relay team — from left are Zara Koehn, Lauren Perry, Gabrielle Converse and Allison Knopp — smile with their medals after running a meet record 9:15.63 during the state track meet May 30 at Crossland Stadium in Wichita.
5. Record-breaking relay leads T&F girls to 5th at state
The Indians’ 4×800-meter relay delivered a state championship in record-breaking fashion, helping Manhattan finish fifth in the Class 6A team standings while showcasing one of the state’s best young cores.
The quartet of Allison Knopp, Zara Koehn, Lauren Perry and Gabrielle Converse won the state title in a school- and state meet-record time of 9:15.63, shattering the previous meet record by five seconds and breaking the school mark they had set earlier in the spring. The victory marked the first girls’ 4×800 state championship in program history.
On the boys’ side, Wilson Wesch capped his career with the Class 6A title in the 1,600 meters and a runner-up finish in the 800, helping the Indians place ninth.
The Manhattan High boys’ basketball team celebrates with the 6A sub-state championship plaque after a 57-48 win over Wichita East, March 7, in Manhattan.
6. Doering’s buzzer-beaters lead to postseason, state berth
After back-to-back losing seasons and consecutive years falling short of the Class 6A state tournament, boys’ basketball reestablished itself. The Indians captured the outright Centennial League championship, returned to state for the first time since 2023, and finished 17-8 after winning 11 more games than the previous season.
The defining moment came in the opening round of sub-state, when senior Vince Doering buried a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Manhattan to a dramatic 58-56 victory over Wichita Northwest. It marked Doering’s second game-winning shot in less than a week, after he beat Washburn Rural with a buzzer-beating layup in the regular-season finale. Manhattan followed by defeating Wichita East 57-48 to clinch its state tournament berth.
Although the Indians’ season ended against top-seeded Shawnee Mission South in the quarterfinals, Manhattan transformed from a six-win team into a league champion and state qualifier, laying the foundation for the program’s resurgence under head coach Benji George.
Mike Marsh, left, and Shadwin Spilski oversee activity from the viewing deck of CiCo Park’s Steel and Pipe Supply Ballpark in Manhattan on March 28.
7. New era at CiCo Park; Bishop Stadium receives video board
Manhattan High athletics entered a new era in 2025-26 with major facility upgrades that will benefit student-athletes for years to come. In Marsh’s final year before retirement, the Indians returned baseball and softball to CiCo Park while Bishop Stadium received its first video board.
The new Steel and Pipe Supply Ballpark became the shared home for softball and baseball, marking the programs’ return to CiCo Park for the first time since 1996. The four-field turf complex reunited the sports on one campus. The return carried special significance for Marsh, who grew up just blocks from CiCo Park before overseeing the project during his final year leading MHS athletics.
Just across the complex, Bishop Stadium debuted a new Daktronics video board and sound system funded through private donations. Beyond enhancing the game-day experience for football, soccer and track and field, the technology also created new opportunities for students involved in broadcast journalism.
Manhattan High head baseball coach Don Hess looks on from the dugout in the Indians’ 9-3 win over Olathe Northwest in the second game of a doubleheader April 11 at Steel and Pipe Supply Ballpark.
8. Baseball returns to state; Hess records 500 wins
Few programs in Kansas have matched Manhattan High baseball’s sustained success in recent years, and the Indians added another chapter in 2025. Manhattan captured its home Class 6A regional at the new-look CiCo Park, earning the program’s fifth state tournament appearance in the past six seasons and second consecutive trip to state after finishing fourth a year earlier.
The Indians defeated rival Junction City 3-1 before blanking Wichita West 5-0 in the championship game. Although Manhattan’s season ended in the Class 6A quarterfinals against eventual 6A champion Washburn Rural, the Indians finished 21-5, celebrated longtime head coach Don Hess’ 500th career victory and another Hays tournament championship.
The senior class closed its career with 42 wins over its final two seasons and another state tournament appearance, reinforcing Manhattan’s place among Kansas’ perennial baseball powers.
Manhattan High’s Keeli Tepe sets the ball during a match in the 6A state volleyball tournament Oct. 31 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
9. Volleyball clinches 3rd consecutive state berth
Manhattan High volleyball continued its postseason consistency by earning a third consecutive trip to the Class 6A state tournament, extending one of the program’s most successful stretches in recent history. The Indians finished the season 28-10.
Manhattan swept both Campus and Derby in straight sets to secure its state berth. During the sub-state semifinal, junior Bailey Busch surpassed 1,000 career kills, becoming one of the premier hitters in program history. The Indians later opened the state tournament with a straight-set victory over No. 3 seed Wichita Northwest before falling to Blue Valley West and Olathe Northwest in pool play.
The Indians finished the season 28-10. The roster loses just three seniors, positioning Manhattan to remain a contender with Busch leading a deep returning core.
Manhattan High midfielder Jubilee Kelly-Kuwata takes a corner kick during a match against Junction City March 26 at Bishop Stadium.
10. Girls’ soccer captures regional crown
After narrowly missing the postseason a year earlier, girls’ soccer returned to the Class 6A state tournament, upsetting No. 2 seed Maize 3-2 on the road to secure the regional title.
The victory sent the Indians back to the state tournament for the first time since 2023 and marked their first trip to the quarterfinals since the program’s run of five consecutive semifinal appearances from 2018-23, excluding the COVID-canceled 2020 season.
Although the season ended with a 2-0 loss to defending Class 6A champion Washburn Rural, the postseason run represented a step forward for the program, providing momentum for a roster returning much of its core.
Honorable mention
Girls’ basketball wins first league title since 2018; USD 383 signs five-year Adidas partnership; Haney finishes state runner-up as boys’ golf places 6th at state; Millington takes third at Class 6A bowling; Hoke leads boys’ tennis at state; girls’ tennis seniors Schartz, Hsu medal at state; girls’ swimming repeats as league champion; boys’ swimming finishes league runner-up.