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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn University was picked fourth out of 11 teams in the 2022 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Football Preseason Polls, released during Tuesday's MIAA Media Day.
Craig Schurig's Washburn football team, coming off a 7-4 season last fall, was picked fourth in both MIAA preseason polls, released Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods received 73 points in the coaches poll, five points behind No. 3 pick Emporia State, and 16 points ahead of Central Oklahoma and Nebraska-Kearney, who tied for the fifth spot.
Washburn received 209 points in the media poll, 49 points behind Emporia State (one first-place vote) and 1 point ahead of Central Oklahoma.
The Ichabods posted a 7-4 record last season.
Washburn coach Craig Schurig, the dean of MIAA head coaches in terms of service with 22 seasons, said the MIAA may be more balanced than it's ever been.
"That's what makes our conference so tough,'' said Schurig, who has a 137-92 career coaching record. "Obviously by the end of the year there's going to be a couple teams that have kind of separated themselves like usual but it's the three through 10 and those are hard games.
"Sometimes the bottom team has had a rough year or whatever, but it's tough. You go toe to toe. When you look at some of the other teams you're like well they're seventh or eighth but those games will be damn hard so you've got to play really well every week. There's no week off.''
Defending MIAA champion Pittsburg State was tabbed No. 1 in both the coaches and media preseason polls.
The 2023 MIAA football season officially kicks off Thursday, August 31 with Washburn traveling to Pittsburg State.
In the coaches poll, Pittsburg State earned 98 total votes and eight first-place votes. Northwest Missouri earned three first-place votes and totaled 93 points to finished second.
The Gorillas also topped the preseason media poll, collecting 22 first-place votes and 320 points.
Northwest Missouri was ranked second by the media with 302 points and seven first-place votes.
2023 MIAA Football Coaches Poll
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks TopSports.news will recognize Shawnee County's all-time best teams in 21 sports as part of our Best of the Best project. The project continues with girls/boys wrestling and readers will have the opportunity to vote for teams in that sport through August 7. TopSports.news will begin to announce the top teams in all categories on Friday and continue into August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4881865x661A4906-151 while email votes/nominations will also be accepted at
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The Kansas State High School Activities Association hosted its first state wrestling tournament in 1930 and it took 90 years for Shawnee County to celebrate its first state team championship.
Washburn Rural's girls captured the first of their three state wrestling team championships in 2020, the first official girls state meet in Kansas history. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Washburn Rural captured the first boys state team wrestling title in Shawnee County history in 2021. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
But in four short years the county has put its stamp on wrestling's state history, with Washburn Rural claiming five state team championships and two runnerup finishes since 2020 while Rossville's girls also posted a runnerup team finish.
KSHSAA made girls wrestling an official state sport in '20 and Damon Parker's Junior Blues immediately became the queens of the mats, winning the first state tournament and repeating in '21 before adding a third title this past season after a runnerup finish in '22.
Rural's girls won the '20 title by an 84-80 margin over Great Bend on Dajia Anderson's state championship and the Junior Blues rolled to a 100-74 margin over Wichita North in '21 as Anderson and Rebekah Smith won state titles to lead the way.
Washburn Rural's girls wrestling team, parents and coaches posed for a team picture after the Junior Blues won their third state title in four seasons in February at Hartman Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After finishing second to Dodge City in '22, Washbun Rural's girls captured title No. 3 in February as nine Junior Blues earned state medals and Rural took a 153-141 win over Garden City.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The idea for Ken Berry's recently-released novel, GOOD COP -- BAD COP, was easy for the Topeka baseball legend to come up with.
But the former American League All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner hit some pratfalls along the way before closing strong to finish his fourth novel and 11th book overall.
Ken Berry's fourth novel, GOOD COP -- BAD COP, is available now. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
GOOD COP -- BAD COP chronicles the life of Stan Lundy, who inherited $2 million dollars at the age of 12, narrowly avoided service in Viet Nam due to a freak injury at 18 while unknowingly taking part in a $3 million dollar armored car robbery and being targeted for a murder attempt at the age of 21 while serving as a police officer in a small town in Iowa.
"This idea is old,'' Berry said. "I thought I had the whole thing figured out from start to finish but I kept running into roadblocks in the middle where I couldn't get past it. It didn't work for me, it didn't feel right.''
Former American League All-Star Ken Berry appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with former Yankees star Mickey Mantle in 1967. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Berry, who played 11 years in the Major Leagues for the White Sox, Angels, Brewers and Indians, eventually got the boost he needed after going to a buddy for help.
"I sat down with a banker friend of mine because there's a bank involved and I said, 'Here's the story, here's what has gotten us up to here and how can I get past this?' '' Berry said. "He said, 'Oh, just kill those two guys and move on.' I said, 'You're right!' And that was it.''
"They were guys that you would probably visualize needing to be knocked off eventually, just based on what transpired up to that point, so it was easy once he gave me that. I was off and rolling.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Getting set to begin his second season on the Pittsburg State University football staff, former Topeka High standout Tyrell Everett got the 2023 campaign off to a good start with a preseason pomotion.
Gorillas head coach Brian Wright announced Friday that Everett, a 2011 High graduate, has been promoted to the role of assistant head coach and defensive run game coordinator for Pitt State.
Topeka native Tyrell Everett has been promoted to assistant head coach and defensive run game coordinator for Pittsburg State University's football program. [File photo/TSN]
Everett, an All-City and Kansas Shrine Bowl pick for the Trojans, joined the Pitt State staff as defensive line coach in 2022. He will continue to coach the Gorillas' defensive linemen. "Tyrell is a very driven young coach and a passionate teacher of the game of football,'' Wright said in a Pitt State release. "Our players respond at a high level to his mentorship, and he will thrive in his additional duties for the Gorillas."
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks TopSports.news will recognize Shawnee County's all-time best teams in 21 sports as part of our Best of the Best project. The project continues with volleyball and readers will have the opportunity to vote for teams in that sport through August 6, with the top teams in all categories announced in late July and August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on https://take.quiz-maker.com/poll4881663x7A8C40E8-151 while email votes/nominations will be also accepted at
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Twenty-five. That single number sums up Shawnee County's proud volleyball history.
It took 27 years for county schools to notch their first state championship in the sport, but once Angie Bittner's Silver Lake team broke the ice with a Class 3A championship in 1998 the flood gates opened, with four county schools combining for 25 tiles over the past 24 seasons.
Silver Lake's volleyball team won the first of its nine Class 3A state titles in 1998. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Silver Lake and Washburn Rural have combined for an amazing 17 championships while Hayden and Shawnee Heights have combined for another eight titles.
Washburn Rural's volleyball team went 45-1 to capture the school's eighth Class 6A state title last fall. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Kevin Bordewick's powerhouse Washburn Rural program won the county's most recent state crown, with the Junior Blues winning their eighth state championship in 6A, the state's largest class, last fall.
