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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After helping lead Washburn Rural to back-to-back Class 6A state championships in basketball and volleyball, Zoe Canfield suddenly found herself on the sidelines after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear nine games into her junior basketball season.
Washburn Rural senior volleyball/basketball star Zoe Canfield (second from right) watches warmups before Tuesday's volleyball triangular at Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I had a deep gut feeling that something bad happened, but I was just hoping that it wasn't,'' Canfield said.
Eight months later Canield is finally inching ever closer to returning to action for the Junior Blues and is upbeat about her mental and physical health.
"I feel good,'' Canfield said. "Hopefully, I'll be able to get cleared in the next couple of weeks but I'm just taking it day by day.''
After playing a major role as a sophomore as Rural won the 2022 6A basketball title the Kansas basketball commit had to watch from the sidelines the second half of the '22-'23 season as the Junior Blues posted a runnerup state finish.
Canfield has also been unable to take the floor for the Washburn Rural volleyball team early this fall after helping the Junior Blues post a 45-1 record en route to the eighth 6A state crown in school history last fall.
"It's definitely hard to watch but I think it's good to see the game from a different perspective and be able to kind of put that into practice later on and give little pointers here and there for the girls,'' Canfield said. "It's definitely been really difficult but I think it's also been like a period of growth for me, physically with my body.
"I've been able to build my upper body more, lift weights more, watch more film and support my teammates, so I think it's been good overall.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
If Washburn football coach Craig Schurig had gotten a pick for the Ichabods' season-opener it may not have been defending MIAA champion and top five-ranked Pittsburg State on the road.
Craig Schurig, the winningest football coach in Washburn University history, will begin his 21st season Thursday night at Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]
But Schurig, a former Pittsburg State assistant, also knows that Thursday's 7 p.m. clash will teach his team a lot about where it is at this point and where it needs to go this fall.
"This will be fun,'' Schurig said. "Game 1 it's too early to tell everything, but we have an interesting group because we have inexperience with experience and we'll see how it meshes together. We have talent and the sooner we can figure it out as coaches and players, that this is how it's going to fit together, we could be pretty good.
"It seemed like our practices have been good -- the intensity level, the commitment by the upperclassmen -- because they knew who we were getting ready to play. You can't lie on that. When you're opening up with a Pitt, it's right there and you don't even have to say anything.''
The Ichabods are coming off a 7-4 season and received votes in the AFCA Preseason Coaches Top 25 poll and were picked fourth in both the MIAA Coaches and media polls, while the Gorillas were 12-1 last season while going 11-0 in the MIAA. Pitt State was picked No. 4 in the AFCA Preseason Poll and No. 3 in the D2Football.com Preseason Poll.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's football team is coming off back-to-back banner seasons, posting 16 wins over the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, including an 8-3 record last fall.
And with a strong returning nucleus, Steve Buhler's Junior Blues would appear to have the experience and talent to be a major player in the Centennial League and Class 6A ranks this season.
Washburn Rural football coach Steve Buhler returns a strong nucleus from a team that went 8-3 and reached the third round of the Class 6A playoffs a year ago. [File photo/TSN]
"Especially with our senior group, they've been playing a lot of varsity football and the expeection now, even from them, is to go a step further,'' said Buhler, who is starting his 11th season at Rural and has a 173-96 career mark. "You've got a lot of steps to keep working towards if you haven't won that state championship yet, so we always have something in front of us to keep working on, but I think the expectation is to be there late in the season, late in the playoffs and see where you can put yourself.''
Washburn Rural returns 30 lettermen, including five starters on both sides of the ball and 10 returners who earned TopSports.news All-Shawnee County recognition (Top 22, Second 22 or honorable mention) a year ago.
That group includes returning senior Top 22 picks Packson Bettis, Branton DeWeese, JC Heim and Titan Osburn.
Washburn Rural senior linebacker JC Heim (25) is a returning TopSports.news All-Shawnee County pick. [File photo/TSN]
Bettis, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound defensive end, recorded 61 tackles (38 solos) with 10 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback pressures and a forced fumble last season while Heim, a 6-3, 215 outside linebacker, was in on 73 tackles (48 solos) with 15 tackles for loss, five sacks,
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka sports legend Gary Woodland made the stunning announcement Wednesday morning that he will undergo surgery on Sept. 18 for the removal of a lesion on his brain.
Topeka sports legend Gary Woodland, a Shawnee Heights graduate and 2019 U.S. Open champ, confirmed Wednesday that he will have surgery on Sept. 18 to remove a lesion on his brain. [PGA Tour]
Woodland, the former Shawnee Heights basketball and golf star and 2019 U.S. Open champion, shared the following post on all of his social media platforms:
“I wanted to share a recent health development with you. On Sept. 18th I'll be having surgery to remove a lesion found on my brain. I was diagnosed a few months ago and have been trying to treat symptoms with medication. After consulting with multiple specialists and discussing with my family, we’ve made the decision that surgery to remove the lesion is the best course of action. I’m in good spirits with my family and team by my side and so thankful for the love and support of everyone.”
Topekan Gary Woodland hoists his 2019 U.S. Open trophy at Pebble Beach. [PGA Tour]
The 39-year-old Woodland is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour and won the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He was also a member of the winning 2019 U.S. Presidents Cup.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Veteran Washburn Rural volleyball coach Kevin Bordewick knew that the defending Class 6A champions, who graduated an ultra-talented senior class, were going to face growing pains in the early going this fall, particularly with senior standout Zoe Canfield still sidelined with an injury.
And that has proven to be the case, with the Junior Blues off to a 1-2 start on the year after home losses Tuesday night to Shawnee Mission East and perennial state contender St. James Academy.
Washburn Rural senior standout Jada Ingram spikes the ball during Tuesday's home triangular. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But Bordewick, who has coached Rural to eight state championships, said the Junior Blues' longtime goals won't change and that it's up to Rural as a team to take the steps it needs to take to right the ship..
"This is a group where we have a lot of new parts,'' Bordewick said. "Even the parts that were back from last year, Zoe can't play yet and Jada (Ingram) is in a different position, and as good as she is, she stil has to learn how to play that position.
"But it's on us. We still need to pass, we still need to set and we're not doing those things very well, but we had spurts. We knew it was probably going to be a learning process and it's a day to day thing. We'll just have to get better.''
