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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron knows that his Ichabods will have a tougher road to hoe over the next two days of the Washburn Invitational.
But Thursday's opener against Christian Brothers was certainly a fun way to start.
Washburn volleyball celebrates a kill in Thursday's 3-0 sweep over Christian Brothers at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn freshman Sophia Cavanaugh puts away a kill Thursday against Christian Brothers, one of 11 Ichabods to record at least one kill in the 3-0 WU sweep. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The 17th-ranked Ichabods rolled to a 25-11, 25-10, 25-9 three-set sweep over the Bucs and the lopsided outcome gave Herron the opportunity to get every player on his roster into the match, which made for a lot of smiles on the Ichabod bench.
"It's great, it's awesome,'' said Herron, whose team improved to 3-1 on the season. "As a matter of fact I'll sleep really well tonight because there's times where I'll go home and I'll worry about, 'Hey, I should have got so and so in,' and that stuff weighs on my mind a lot.
"And what I said just now is everybody got to play, everybody contributed and everybody can feel good tonight so lets enjoy it today.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Thursday's 2023 home-opener was painful for Washburn University's football team both on the scoreboard and the injury report;
Washburn (0-2, 0-2) saw its seven-game winning streak over Missouri Southern (1-1 overall, 1-1 MIAA) come to an end Thursday night at Yager Stadium as the Ichabods potential game-tying touchdown was picked off in the end zone in the closing seconds, allowing Missouri Southern to close out a 30-23 MIAA victory.
"We gave up the ball and they came down and scored and we made a nice drive at the end and they came up with a big play,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said.
Washburn junior quarterback Kellen Simoncic reacts in pain after injuring his shoulder in Thursday's 30-23 loss to Missouri Southern. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods also suffered injuries to several key players, including standout quarterback Kellen Simoncic, who left the game with a shoulder injury after missing the end of the '22 season with a similar injury.
"He hurt his shoulder with the way he landed,'' Schurig said. "It's a bad deal for him. He had worked his tail off and is really just a great leader on our team and a great player. We'll just have to wait and see (about the injury).''
Also suffering game-ending injuries were junior running back Tyler Bowden, junior safety Jordan Finnesy and sophomore defensive end Phoenix Smith.
"Last week we kind of got out of the game unscathed and this week they were dropping,'' Schurig said. "I don't know the ins and outs of everybody, where they are, but it was some of our main dudes.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University soccer will play its first home matches of 2023 at Yager Stadium this weekend, hosting Southwest Minnesota State at 6 p.m. Friday and Wayne State College at 1 p.m. Sunday in a pair of non-conference matches.
Junior Khloe Schuckman has scored two goals and recorded an assist for the 1-1 Washburn soccer team. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn senior goalkeeper Raegan Wells is 18 saves away from reaching 300 for her career. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn is 1-1-0 so far in the 2023 season and has won its last three home games.
Washburn returns 19 players from last season's roster while adding two transfers and seven freshmen.
The Ichabods took a season-opening 2-0 victory over Drury before dropping a 3-1 decision to Missouri-St. Louis.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)
THURSDAY'S GAME
MANHATTAN (1-0, 0-0) vs. TOPEKA HIGH (0-1, 0-0)
At Hummer Sports Park
Topeka High dropped a 43-0 decision to 2022 Class 5A runnerup Maize last Friday and Carlos Kelly's Trojans face another tough test in their home-opener Thursday night, facing reigning 6A state champ Manhattan. The Indians opened their season with a 33-19 non-league win over Derby. Thursday night's game will be the Centennial League opener for both Topeka High and Manhattan.
FRIDAY GAMES
SILVER LAKE (1-0) at HAYDEN (1-0)
Both Silver Lake and Hayden are coming off big season-opening wins, with the Eagles avenging a 2022 playoff loss with a 40-24 win over Riley County while Hayden rolled to a 41-7 decision over traditional small-school power Olpe while giving veteran Wildcat coach Bill Arnold his 200th career win as a head coach. Senior standout Finn Dunshee ran for 196 yards, including 66 and 67-yard touchdown runs while junior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier threw for 188 yards and three TDs on a 12 of 20 performance. Senior Blake Redmond scored four touchdowns in Silver Lake's win over Riley County, including an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff.
KC-SCHLAGLE (1-0, 1-0) at HIGHLAND PARK (1-0, 1-0)
Highland Park, coming off a 6-3 season in 2022, opened its season with a win over Meadowlark Conference foe Kansas City-Wyandotte for the second straight season, rolling to a 33-7 win over the Bulldogs at Wyandotte. Kansas City-Schlagle opened its season with a 44-0 Meadowlark Conference win over Kansas City-Harmon.
Washburn Rural senior Jaren Heim (27) scored on a pick six in Friday's 26-25 win over Wichita East. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
DE SOTO (1-0) at WASHBURN RURAL (1-0)
Washburn Rural survived a tough non-league test from Wichita East last Friday at Rural, with senior JC Heim blocking a Blue Aces extra point attempt late in the game to preserve the Junior Blues 1-point lead in a 26-25 victory. Senior Jaren Heim had a pick-six in the game for Washburn Rural. De Soto opened its season with a 42-21 United Kansas Conference win over Lansing.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After sharing the team championship in the first of two Seaman Invitational girls tennis tournaments last Saturday, Jamie Robinson's Vikings earned the outright title Wednesday on the Seaman courts, winning by a 21-19 margin over Manhattan.
The Vikings, playing a split varsity squad, swept the doubles championships in Wednesday's six-school tournament while adding second and third-place singles finishes.
Seaman's Cami Lux and Lauren Barker won the No. 1 doubles title in Wednesday's six-school Seaman Invitational tennis tournament, helping the Vikings win the team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman's Sidney Chinn was the runnerup in the No. 1 singles division Wednesday, helping the Vikings win the team title in the Seaman Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman's Lauren Barker and Cami Lux won the No. 1 doubles title with an 8-4 win over Manhattan's Gabby Turner and Averie Thurston while the Vikings' Marissa Alcala and Kaylyn Hiebsch took the No. 2 crown with an 8-6 win over Shawnee Heights' Elli Spencer and Hanna Baismeier.
Seaman's Sidney Chinn finished second in the No. 1 singles division, dropping an 8-1 decision to Wabaunsee's Baylie Tharman while Seaman's Laina Frost finished third in No. 2 singles with an 8-7 (7-3 tiebreaker) win over Piper's Eva England.
"I love this team,'' Robinson said. "We're young and have a lot of energy and we're just trying to put the right people in the right spots''
