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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The Washburn Ichabod football team put together a strong second-half rally, but could not overcome a big rushing day from No. 24-ranked Colorado School of Mines, falling 41-27 on Saturday afternoon in Golden, Colo.

Zach Watkins put together a strong second half but fell at Colorado School of Mines 41-27 on Saturday in Golden, Colo. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn and Mines were forced to withstand more than four hours of lightning delays in the second half.

The Ichabods dropped to 1-2 overall while the Orediggers moved to 2-0 on the season.

Mines jumped out to a 27-7 lead at halftime, leaning on a ground attack that piled up 365 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the day.

Washburn struggled to contain the Orediggers' explosive plays, but the Ichabods battled back after the break with 20 second-half points, including a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns that narrowed the deficit.

Quarterback, Logan Madden, playing near his hometown of Arvada, Colo., completed  11 of 17 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns in his first action as an Ichabod. 

Justin Lewis added 106 yards through the air on 9 of 20 passing with two scores of his own.

Combined, the duo accounted for all four Ichabod touchdowns, throwing passes to eight different receivers.

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Veteran Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron isn't necessarily known for passing out praise freely.

So Herron's comments about Ichabod 6-foot senior rightside hitter Austin Broadie Saturday night after the Ichabods wrapped up a perfect 4-0 weekend in the Washburn Invitational should carry some real weight.

"Austin Broadie's playing like an All-American,'' Herron said. "She's hitting the crap out of the ball.''

Senior Austin Broadie (23) is congratulated by her Washburn teammates after one of her 17 kills Saturday against William Jewell in the Washburn Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Broadie was named the tournament most valuable player after helping 12th-ranked Washburn cap off a dominating weekend with 3-0 wins over Newman and William Jewell in the final day of the tournament.

Shawnee Heights product Taylor Rottinghaus was one of four Washburn players named to the Washburn Invitational All-Tournament Team after the Ichabods went 4-0 on the weekend. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Broadie was joined on the all-tournament team by WU teammates Taylor Rottinghaus, Bella Limback and Brynne Topolski after the Ichabods beat Newman 25-10, 25-16, 25-20 and William Jewell 25-22, 25-16 and 22-12.

"I felt good,'' Broadie said. "We started out a little rusty and then everyone started flowing. I felt like the setters were doing a really good job reversing the flow, so that's helpful.

"We did what we wanted to do. We know some stuff we need to work on now and I feel like that's going to give us an objective for the next weekend.''

Washburn is now 8-0 on the season, the first time the Ichabods have done so since the 2022 season that began 11-0.

The Ichabods started slowly against winless William Jewell (0-8) in the tournament finale, trailing as late as 18-17 in the opening set, but the Ichabods rallied for the three-point win and got stronger as the match wore on.

Herron admitted that he was not happy with the Ichabods' play out of the gate against the Cardinals.

"Absolutely, I was upset,'' Herron said. "This is something I try to tell these kids all the time, 'You're going to get people's best shot,' and that's the best they played all weekend, that team we just played. They were scrappy, they were hitting the crap out of the ball, they were finding holes and doing things that they hadn't done all weekend and good for them. 

"But we didn't respond in kind. We were just like, 'Oh, they'll make mistakes and we'll beat them in the end,' and that's the way we played for all of Set 1. In Set 2 we kind of found ourselves at the end and it carried into Set 3.''

With the second set score at 20-16, Washburn started a run of five straight kills, three coming from Broadie to end the set with a nine-pont win.  

The Cardinals got out to a 7-6 lead in the third set until a Topolski kill started a 6-1 Washburn rally.

The Ichabod offense took over shortly after, hitting .481 as a team in the set, including a 7-0 burst to create some separation at 20-11. The momentum carried over into a streak of five points to end the set and match on a Sydney Conner ace.

Washburn celebrates a match-ending ace from Sydney Conner (15) against William Jewell in Saturday'sWashburn Invitational. Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]  

Washburn tallied 49 kills across the three sets to hit .388 while William Jewell hit .128 and managed just 26 kills. The Ichabods nearly doubled the assist total at 46-24 while each team picked up exactly 37 digs.

Broadie started the match hot and stayed hot, registering a team-high 17 kills while hitting .607 for the match, good for the 17th highest attack percentage in a game in program history with a minimum of 20 attempts.

Corinna McMullen led the way with 23 assists while Rottinghaus snagged 10 digs from the back row.  

The Ichabods set the tone early in Saturday's first match against Newman, rolling to a 15-point win in the first set before securing 25-16 and 25-20 victories in the next two sets to top Newman (2-5).  

A 9-1 run highlighted the beginning of the match and was capped off by a kill from Natalie Hedlund that put Washburn up 10-2.

Newman was able to keep the match close until a 6-0 Ichabod burst pushed the lead to double figures, ending at 20-7 with an Abby Leaf block. Washburn's offense highlighted the first set, hitting .516 as a team with 18 kills.  

After leading just 5-4 in the second set, a 6-0 run for the Ichabods was capped off by an ace from Autumn Gibbs to create separation at 11-4.

As Washburn worked its bench into the game the lead continued to grow, reaching 10 at 21-11 after Shannon Frakes set up Josie Cleveringa for a kill. Washburn closed out the set shortly after with three straight points.  

Both teams split the first 10 points in the third set before the Ichabods took six of the next seven, with kills by four different players in the stretch.

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Natalie Barnes, Topeka High

NATALIE BARNES, Topeka High

A senior forward, Barnes returns for Topeka High, a Class 6A quarterfinalist last season, after earning first-team All-City and All-Centennial League recognition in 2025.

Nina Bolanos, Shawnee Heights

NINA BOLANOS, Shawnee Heights

Bolanos, a junior midfielder, was a first-team All-United Kansas Conference honoree for Shawnee Heights last spring while also earning All-City honorable mention. Bolanos is a top returner for a young T-Bird team. 

Carsyn Broxterman, Hayden

CARSYN BROXTERMAN, Hayden

Broxterman, a senior forward, is a returning two-time first-team All-City and All-Centennial League honoree for the Wildcats, who finished second in Class 4A-1A last spring, dropping a double-overtime decision to Bishop Miege in the state title game. Broxterman also received first-team All-4A-1A All-State recognition last spring from the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association.

Kelly Ann Chada, Cair Paravel

KELLY ANN CHADA, Cair Paravel Latin 

Chada, a senior striker, received All-City honorable mention last season after helping lead Cair Paravel to a runnerup finish in the 2024 Class 4A-1A state tournament, earning All-City first-team recognition as well as first-team All-4A-1A All-State honors from the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association.

Hemi Duehring, Cair Paravel Latin

HEMI DUEHRING, Cair Paravel Latin

A senior defender, Duehring is a top returner for a Cair Paravel Latin team that has established itself as a consistent Class 4A-1A state contender. Duehring received All-City honorable mention last season after helping the Lions post a runnerup finish in the 2024 Class 4A-1A state tournament.

Brylee Garner, Shawnee Heights

BRYLEE GARNER, Shawnee Heights

Garner, a junior, will be counted on to lead the defensive effort for a young Shawnee Heights team in 2026 after earning All-United Kansas Conference honorable mention last season.

Ava Golightley, Seaman   

AVA GOLIGHTLEY, Seaman

A senior forward, Golightley was a first-team All-City and All-United Kansas Conference selection last spring after helping the Vikings reach the Class 5A quarterfinals. Golightley scored four goals in an 11-0 regional victory over Highland Park last season. 

Emery Hall, Washburn Rural

EMERY HALL, Washburn Rural

A junior, Hall was named the Centennial League newcomer of the year last season after helping Washburn Rural win its first-ever Class 6A state championship last season, with the Junior Blues taking a 1-0 win over Mill Valley in penalty kicks in the title game.

Reese Huscher, Hayden

REESE HUSCHER, Hayden

Huscher, a senior midfielder, is a two-time All-Centennial League first-team selection and received second-team All-Class 4A-1A honors from the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association last spring after helping the Wildcats finish second in Class 4A-1A to Bishop Miege. Huscher received All-City honorable mention in 2025.

Maya Martin, Seaman

MAYA MARTIN, Seaman

A senior midfielder, Martin earned second-team All-United Kansas Conference recognition last season after helping the Vikings reach the Class 5A state quarterfinals while posting a 13-6-0 record.

Peyton Merrick, Washburn Rural 

PEYTON MERRICK, Washburn Rural

Merrick, a senior sweeper, earned second-team All-Centennial League recognition last season after helping the Junior Blues capture their first-ever Class 6A girls state championship. Merrick helped Washburn Rural post a 19-2 record, capped by a 1-0 win over Mill Valley in penalty kicks in the state title game. 

Julia Molleker, Seaman 

JULIA MOLLEKER, Seaman

A junior, Molleker will be counted on to be a leader for the Vikings this season after Seaman advanced to the Class 5A quarterfinals and posted a 13-6-0 record in 2025. Molleker earned second-team All-United Kansas Conference recognition as a freshman in 2024.

Morgan Robinson, Shawnee Heights 

MORGAN ROBINSON, Shawnee Heights

Robinson was a breakout star as a freshman forward in 2024, earning first-team All-City and All-United Kansas Conference honors and earning second-team All-Class 5A recognition from the Kansas High School Soccer Coaches Association. Robinson sat out the 2025 high school season to concentrate on club soccer before returning to the T-Birds this spring.

Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden 

HAILEY SCHMIDTLEIN, Hayden

A sophomore three-sport star, Schmidtlein earned All-Centennial League honorable mention last spring after helping Hayden finish as the state runnerup in Class 4A-1A, with the Wildcats dropping a double-overtime decision to Bishop Miege in the state title game. Schmidtlein helped lead Hayden to a 4A state championship in basketball this past season as well as a runnerup 4A finish in volleyball.

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