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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden two-time state doubles champions Lauren Sandstrom and Emily Sheetz headline the 2023 All-City girls tennis team, which includes nine state medalists.
Sandstrom, a senior, and junior Sheetz capped a 33-3 season with their second straight Class 4A state title and their third state medal overall.
Shawnee Heghts junior Jette Glasenapp, 36-3 on the season, posted a runnerup state singles finish in 5A after sweeping city, United Kansas Conference and 5A regional titles.
Washburn Rural placed all six of its varsity players on the All-City team after the Junior Blues swept city, Centennial League and 6A regional team titles and tied for fifth in the state tournament.
The Junior Blues got eighth-place finishes in the 6A state tournament from the senior doubles team of Claire Ireland and Gabby Martinez and junior singles player Carolina Chedzoy.
Rural senior Mena DiMarzio and the junior doubles team of Emerie Catlin and Izzy Haggard also qualified for state, with DiMarzio, a two-time state qualifier, forced to miss the state tournament after suffering an injury at regionals.
United Kansas Conference and 5A regional team champion Seaman is represented on the All-City team by two-time state doubles medalists Katie Krumins, a senior, and sophomore Molly Gorman, as well as freshman 5A singles medalist Emma Sweeney.
Krumins and Gorman finished seventh in the '23 state meet while Sweeney placed 11th.
All-City capsules:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 23-ranked Washburn University soccer scored a goal just 5 minutes, 13 seconds into Sunday's MIAA match at Yager Stadium and spent the final 84 minutes-plus making that goal stand up.
The Ichabods, who improved to 12-1-1 overall and 6-0-1 in the MIAA accomplished that task in impressive fashion, posting a 1-0 shutout over No. 8-ranked Central Missouri (10-3-1, 5-1-1) while giving WU coach Davy Phillips his 100th career coaching win.and snapping a 17-match losing streak against the Jennies.
"This one is huge, defeating a No. 8 team in the nation,'' said Schuckman, who scored the game's only goal. "That's incredible and we've never beaten UCM since I've been here.''
"It's definitely a step,'' Phillips said. "We've talked about being on a journey all season and no matter what comes, we've got to figure out the next step. This, I think, validates some of those thoughts that we can go play with anyone at any time and go get a result.''
Washburn got the only goal it woulc need early in the match when Riley Wells beat the UCM defense down the right side of the field and dished to Schuckman who was open in the middle of the box and was able to knock in the ball into the left side of the net.
"Riley Wells took on two defenders and saw me in the middle wide open and I was able to finish it and put it away,'' Schuckman said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Emporia State opened up a 21-0 lead on the way to a 38-23 MIAA win over Washburn University Saturday at Welch Stadium in the 119th version of the Turnpike Tussle.
ESU jumped out to a three-touchdown lead after scoring drives of 70, 72 and 80 yards, with the final score coming at 9:08 left in the second quarter.
Emporia State got on the board on a 4-yard Kingsley Bennett run at the 9:54 mark of the opening quarter and Hornet quarterback Braden Gleason hit Tyler Kahmann for a 39-yard TD and Tommy Zimmerman for 32-yard score to put ESU up 21-0/
Washburn got on the board with 6:47 left to go in the first half when Connor Searcy scored on a 3-yard run, capping a 48-yard drive to trim the Emporia State lead to 21-7.
The Hornets (5-2 overall, 4-2 MIAA) quickly scored on the ensuing drive, going 75 yards in four plays in 60 seconds to push their lead back to 28-7 on a 1-yard Gleason pass to Jaylen Varner.
Washburn (1-6, 0-6 MIAA) wrapped up the scoring just before the half with a 34-yard field goal by Trenton Brehm.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the first time in program history, Washburn University men's tennis has a national champion, with Tim Hammes and Santiago Rendon completing a dominant tournament performance run to win the ITA Cup men's doubles dhampionship Saturday night in Mount Berry, Ga.
Hammes and Rendon didn't drop a set through the last two rounds on their way to the first national championship of any kind for Washburn athletics since former Washburn Rural star Madeline Hill Madeline Hill won the ITA Cup women's singles championship for the Ichabods in 2016.
Hammes and Rendon started the day with a 6-4 win in the first set of their semifinal match against Phil Exner and Alex Blanchar of Ouachita Baptist.
The Ichabods finished off the match in the same fashion with another 6-4 win to advnce into the national championship match.
Rendon and Hammes, who finished the 2022-23 season ranked No. 17 nationally in doubles, kept rolling in the championship match with a swift 6-2 first set win over Cas de Ruiter and Toedor Zlatar from Harding University and finished off the match with a 6-2 second-set victory.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After running the Kanza Park cross country course a week earlier, Washburn Rural junior girls standout Payton Fink knew what to expect when she lined up for Saturday's Centennial League meet.
And what Fink expected was to take care of business from the outset, and she did exactly that, winning her second straight individual league title in a five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 33.3 seconds as the Junior Blues repeated as team champs by a 39-52 margin over Manhattan.
"I decided to take off and just try to get a gap early at the beginning,'' Fink said. "My mile time wasn't as fast as last week, so that scared me a ittle, but it ended up being OK.''
Fink had finished second to Seaman's Ryin Miller in the city meet, but said that just having the experience of running the Kanza course was a benefit in Saturday's race.
"Last week I came out without having run here since my freshman year and on this courst you've got to know where the cuts are on the course and you've got to know to stay inside so it definitely helped coming back the second week and knowing where all of those were,'' Fink said.
As planned, Fink jumped out to an early lead and held it throughout, winning by a 31-second margin over Junction City senior Lorna Rae Pierce.
"I kind of just came out and decided that I was going to run best for me and just try and get a good time, not worry about anyone else and run my own race,'' Fink said.
Rural sophomore Emily Graf and junior Rylee Ismert backed Fink up front, with Graf finishing third in 18:28.7 and Ismert taking fourth in 18:39.7.