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\u2019 premier high school athletic programs.<\/p>\n
In a year filled with state championships, historic performances, postseason breakthroughs and major facility upgrades, narrowing the list to just 10 moments wasn\u2019t easy. Several worthy accomplishments narrowly missed the cut.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, here are the top 10 moments from Manhattan High\u2019s 2025-26 athletic season.<\/p>\n
1. Football wins 4th state championship with shutout of Olathe NW<\/p>\n
Three years after ending a 33-year championship drought, Manhattan High football further cemented its place among Kansas\u2019 premier programs by capturing its fourth Class 6A state championship.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s second title under head coach Joe Schartz.<\/p>\n
After navigating a 4-2 start, Manhattan found its identity behind one of the state\u2019s most dominant defenses. The Indians\u2019 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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Manhattan High\u2019s Maddie Myers chips to the No. 9 green during the Washburn Rural Invitational,\u00a0Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at Wamego Country Club.<\/p>\n
Staff photo by Lewis Marien<\/a><\/p>\n 2. Girls\u2019 golf wins 2nd consecutive state title<\/p>\n One year after returning girls\u2019 golf to the top of Class 6A, the Indians proved their championship wasn\u2019t 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\u2019s 13th state title.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 most successful girls\u2019 golf programs.<\/p>\n Manhattan High\u2019s girls\u2019 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.<\/p>\n Staff photo by Lewis Marien<\/a><\/p>\n 3. Girls\u2019 cross country wins 6A title<\/p>\n In a defining moment of Marsh\u2019s final year, MHS claimed three 6A team titles in the fall season. A decade after its last state championship, girls\u2019 cross country returned to the top of 6A with one of the most dominant runs in program history.<\/p>\n Manhattan\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 elite.<\/p>\n Manhattan High\u2019s Caeleb Hutchinson reacts after winning his 150-pound championship match versus Gardner Edgerton\u2019s Roman Clouse during the 6A state wrestling tournament Feb. 28 at AdventHealth Sports Park in Overland Park. It marked Hutchinson\u2019s fourth individual state title.<\/p>\n Staff photo by Lewis Marien<\/a><\/p>\n 4. Hutchinson completes 4-peat; boys 2nd at state, girls place 4th<\/p>\n Manhattan High wrestling added another memorable chapter to one of the state\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The girls continued the program\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Manhattan High\u2019s 6A 4×800-meter relay team \u2014 from left are Zara Koehn, Lauren Perry, Gabrielle Converse and Allison Knopp \u2014 smile with their medals after running a meet record 9:15.63 during the state track meet May 30 at Crossland Stadium in Wichita.<\/p>\n Staff photo by Lewis Marien<\/a><\/p>\n 5. Record-breaking relay leads T&F girls to 5th at state<\/p>\n The Indians\u2019 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\u2019s best young cores.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 4×800 state championship in program history.<\/p>\n On the boys\u2019 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.<\/p>\n The Manhattan High boys\u2019 basketball team celebrates with the 6A sub-state championship plaque after a 57-48 win over Wichita East, March 7, in Manhattan.<\/p>\n Staff photo by Lewis Marien<\/a><\/p>\n 6. Doering\u2019s buzzer-beaters lead to postseason, state berth<\/p>\n After back-to-back losing seasons and consecutive years falling short of the Class 6A state tournament, boys\u2019 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Although the Indians\u2019 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\u2019s resurgence under head coach Benji George.<\/p>\n Mike Marsh, left, and Shadwin Spilski oversee activity from the viewing deck of CiCo Park\u2019s Steel and Pipe Supply Ballpark in Manhattan on March 28.<\/p>\n Staff photo by Lewis Marien<\/a><\/p>\n 7. New era at CiCo Park; Bishop Stadium receives video board<\/p>\n 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\u2019s final year before retirement, the Indians returned baseball and softball to CiCo Park while Bishop Stadium received its first video board.<\/p>\n The new Steel and Pipe Supply Ballpark became the shared home for softball and baseball, marking the programs\u2019 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Manhattan High head baseball coach Don Hess looks on from the dugout in the Indians\u2019 9-3 win over Olathe Northwest in the second game of a doubleheader April 11 at Steel and Pipe Supply Ballpark.<\/p>\n Staff photo by Lewis Marien<\/a><\/p>\n 8. Baseball returns to state; Hess records 500 wins<\/p>\n Few programs in Kansas have matched Manhattan High baseball\u2019s 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\u2019s fifth state tournament appearance in the past six seasons and second consecutive trip to state after finishing fourth a year earlier.<\/p>\n The Indians defeated rival Junction City 3-1 before blanking Wichita West 5-0 in the championship game. Although Manhattan\u2019s season ended in the Class 6A quarterfinals against eventual 6A champion Washburn Rural, the Indians finished 21-5, celebrated longtime head coach Don Hess\u2019 500th career victory and another Hays tournament championship.<\/p>\n The senior class closed its career with 42 wins over its final two seasons and another state tournament appearance, reinforcing Manhattan\u2019s place among Kansas\u2019 perennial baseball powers.<\/p>\n Manhattan High\u2019s Keeli Tepe sets the ball during a match in the 6A state volleyball tournament Oct. 31 at Tony\u2019s Pizza Events Center in Salina.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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