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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Looking to jump start the second half of their 2024 season, Washburn University football returns home for a 1 p.m. contest Saturday against Missouri Southern in Yager Stadium.
Highland Park product Tre Richardson scored Washburn's lone touchdown last Saturday in a 38-7 road loss at Fort Hays State. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn, 1-5 overall, 1-4 in the MIAA, is coming off a 38-7 loss at Fort Hays State last Saturday while Missouri Southern (1-6, 0-5) lost to No. 17-ranked Emporia State at home, 49-30.
Washburn's Chase McCoy is 19th in the nation in sacks and leads the MIAA in sacks at 0.8 per game while Highland Park product Tre Richardson is 29th in the nation and third in the MIAA in all-purpose yards, averaging 129.5 yards per game. Richardson is also 36th in the nation in receiving yards with 471 and 34th in receiving yards per game with 78.5.
The Ichabods have played the seventh-toughest schedule in the nation so far this season.
Washburn leads the all-time series with the Lions, 28-22-1, and has won seven of the last eight in the series.
The Lions broke a seven-game winning streak by the Ichabods with their win in Yager Stadium in the 2023 WU home opener, taking a 30-23 win to break a 10-game losing streak in Topeka.
Washburn has won 19 of the last 22 in the series and 10 of the last 12 overall.
Southern quarterback Luke Sampson is 139 of 249 passing with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions, passing for 236 yards per game.
Draper Parker leads the Lions with 67 yards per game on 37 catches, averaging 12.8 yards per catch.
Colton Bass leads the team with 54 tackles while adding two interceptions.
De'Shawn Larson leads the Lions in rushing with a 45-yard per game average and two touchdowns.
Missouri Southern is ranked 10th in the MIAA in scoring offense at 19.4 points per game and 10th in the MIAA in scoring defense, allowing 40.3 points a game.
Missouri Southern has the ninth-ranked offense in the league, averaging 326.7 yards of total offense a game, and they are ninth in the MIAA in total defense, allowing 446.4 yards per game.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University volleyball will play the middle leg of its three-week road trip this weekend as the Ichabods face Missouri Southern at 6 p.m. on Friday and Central Missouri at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Washburn volleyball, 13-4 on the season, will remain on the road this weekend, playing at Missouri Southern and Central Missouri. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods are 13-4 on the year overall and 4-3 in the MIAA.
Washburn went 1-1 last weekend with a sweep over Fort Hays State on Friday before falling 3-0 to No. 3-ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday.
Senior Jalyn Stevenson is the team leader with 189 kills (3.00 per set) while hititng .225 across her 17 starts. She is also second on the squad in digs with 189 and in aces with 21.
Stevenson is 11th in the MIAA in kills and 18th in kills per set while ranking 19th in total digs. The senior has six double-doubles on the year and 10 matches with 10-plus kills.
Junior Alex Dvorak leads the Washburn defense at the net with 80 blocks on the year. She sits fourth on the team in kills with 125 and is second with a .376 hitting percentage. The junior is 26th in the nation and second in the MIAA in blocks per set while ranking 28th nationally in hitting percentage and third in the conference. She has hit over .300 in 13 of 17 matches.
Sophomore Taylor Rottinghaus, a Shawnee Heights product, has a team-high 299 digs (4.75 per set) across 17 matches. She has chipped in 65 assists and served 13 aces.
She is 52nd in the nation and seventh in the MIAA in digs per set while ranking eighth among conference players in total digs. She has at least 10 digs in every match.
Corinna McMullen paces Washburn with 385 assists (6.21 per set) through 17 matches with 15 starts. She is also third on the team with 138 digs while serving a team-high 24 aces. The junior is 10th in the MIAA in assists per set, ninth in total assists and fourth in aces. She has five double-doubles on the year and three matches with at least 30 assists.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod women's soccer team will begin a four-game road trip this weekend with matches against the Northeastern State RiverHawks and the Rogers State Hillcats.
The Ichabods, No. 16 spot in the USC National poll, will take on the RiverHawks at 7 p.m. on Friday before facing the Hillcats at 1 p.m.
No. 16-ranked Washburn soccer will put its 7-2-2 record on the line with a pair of MIAA road games this weekend in Oklahoma. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn is 7-2-2 on the season and currently in a tie for second place in the MIAA with a 4-0-1 record. Washburn and Central Missouri sit five points behind league-leader Missouri Western.
Washburn picked up a pair of home conference victories over Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State last week, each by a 3-0 margin.
Missouri Southern held the Ichabods scoreless in the first half, but Washburn exploded for three goals in the second half to earn the victory. Washburn defeated Pittsburg State in the first-ever matchup between the two schools.
Sophomore goalkeeper Hailey Beck, a Washburn Rural product, is tied for second nationally with six shutouts posted in goal. Beck's 0.371 goals against average is good for 14th in Division II, while her 0.852 save percentage places her in a tie for 41st.
Beck currently sits in first place all-time at Washburn in save percentage and goals against average.
Junior Rural grad Belle Kennedy is tied for 13th nationally with three game-winning goals.
For the second week in a row, Kennedy broke a scoreless tie in the second half with her goal in the 58th minute against Missouri Southern. Kennedy split through the Lion defense and received a short pass from Khloe Schuckman, giving Kennedy a quality scoring opportunity.
With her goal against Missouri Southern, Kennedy moved to third in game-winning goals in Washburn history.
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
The United Kansas Conference Cross Country meet took place on a windy and cool Thursday afternoon with local teams Seaman, Shawnee Heights, and Topeka West competing at Pierson Park in Kansas City, Kan.
Seaman junior Ryin Miller won the girls individual title in Thursday's UKC cross country meet, leading the Vikings to the team championship. [File photo/TSN]
Girls Varsity
After finishing in second place behind the De Soto Wildcats last year, the Seaman Vikings flipped the result this year and are the United Kansas Conference champions.
Junior Ryin Miller continued her excellent season by winning the individual title with a time of 17 minutes, 58.96 seconcs. Miller commented on winning the team title and the difficulty of the course, saying, “The main goal today was to have our team win, which we did and I’m proud of that. The course was very hard, so I knew my time wouldn’t be great. I heard my two-mile time and it wasn’t normal. I still feel that I ran well and happy with how I pushed through the hills.”
Coach Rick Brading commented on the race, “The course was rough, but our kids competed well. Ryin ran the course well and everybody right down the line did what they were supposed to do and we got a little extra out of freshman Avery Villines today.”
The Lady Vikings finished with four girls in the top 10. Senior Stella Applehanz finished fourth in 20:56.52, sophomore Brynn Spencer was fifth in 21:54.43 and Villines 10th with a time of 22:58.87.
Topeka West’s only runner, senior Chloe Phelps, placed 14th in a time of 23:25.72. Sophomore Abigal Lewis was the top finisher for Shawnee Heights, in 26th place.
United Kansas Conference All-Conference Awards
First Team: Ryin Miller, Stella Applehanz and Brynn Spencer (Seaman).
Second Team: Avery Villines and Kinley Robinson (Seaman); Chloe Phelps (Topeka West).
Honorable Mention: Hannah Wempe (Seaman).
Final Team Standings: Seaman 33, De Soto 68, Basehor-Linwood 77, Lansing 95, Piper 105, Leavenworth 130.
Seaman : Ryin Miller (17:58.96, 1st); Stella Applehanz (20:56.52, 4th); Brynn Spencer (21:54.43, 5th); Avery Villines (22:58.87, 10th); Kinley Robinson (23:22.18, 13th); Hannah Wempe (23:45.90, 20th); Emma Gonzalez (24:41.12; 30th); Abigail Cooper (25:16.58, 32nd); Kennedy Gatewood (28:07.51, 45th).
Shawnee Heights: Abigail Lewis (24:17.30, 26th); Adelaide Davis (26:38.25, 42nd); Kinsley Mohan (26:53.83, 43rd); Elizabeth Hogan (30:07.10, 48th).
Topeka West: Chloe Phelps (23:25.72, 14th).
Seaman junior Brody Anderson won the boys individual title in Thursday's UKC cross country meet, leading the Vikings to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]
Boys Varsity
In the boys race, junior Brody Anderson of Seaman won the individual title in a time of 16:21.42 and the Vikings finished second as a team behind conference champion De Soto.
Senior Adrian Lehman of Topeka West finished third with a time of 16:52.72 and Shawnee Heights senior Evan Carter rounded out the top five in a time of 17:49.56.
On his fifth win of the season, Anderson shared his thoughts on the race, “It was really difficult and the first mile hill was tough. I had really good guys to race against, which was good. I was able to push through and was able to come home with the conference win.”
Seaman coach Luke Wiens commented on his team’s second place finish, “I really liked the team’s tactics and toughness. We knew that the course would be challenging and we have been a little over-aggressive in races earlier in the season, so we made an effort to pack together. They responded very well and I loved the way they approached the hills in later portions of the course. It was awesome to be right with De Soto, that is a really great program.”
Seaman finished with four in the top 15 -- senior Alex Newell in 13th (18:21.71), senior Corbin Murrow in 14th (18:25.57) and sophomore Conner Bloom in 15th (18:26.92).
Shawnee Heights placed one other runner in the top 15 -- junior Max Esquibel finished in 11th with a time of 18:18.11.
Topeka West had one other runner finish in the top 15 -- sophomore Tony Lloyd finished in ninth with a time of 18:16.83.
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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
After a sluggish start, the Washburn Rural Junior Blues boys soccer team exploded for six unanswered goals in a 6-1 win over Seaman on Thursday night at Seaman High School.
Brodye Kocher-Munoz (8) had two goals and an assist in Thursday's 6-1 Washburn Rural non-league soccer win over Seaman. [File photo/TSN]
The Junior Blues went on the attack from the opening kickoff, with Dylan Willingham just missing the mark on a shot attempt just seconds into the match.
Washburn Rural would get another opportunity a few minutes later, when a change in possession put the host Vikings in a poor defensive position. With Seaman goalkeeper Landon Geis caught several yards outside the six-yard box, the Junior Blues appeared to have an open net, but a Viking defender stopped a shot attempt to put an end to the threat.
Despite the Junior Blues having the momentum, the Vikings were able to move the ball down the field and take the lead in the 24th minute. A shot attempt from senior forward Blake Toyne was initially blocked, but the ball fell to the feet of Kaelon Taylor, whose chip shot went just over Washburn Rural goalkeeper Miles Cook and into the net to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage.
The Seaman lead would only last about eight minutes, when Washburn Rural’s Brodye Kocher-Munoz received a pass from Drew Moore and found the equalizer to put the Junior Blues back in the game.
Washburn Rural took the lead in the 35th minute, when Willingham’s corner kick bounced off the head of a Viking defender and into the net for an own goal, putting the Junior Blues up 2-1.
Washburn Rural would find its third goal in a span of five minutes courtesy of Draden Chooncharoen’s strike in the 37th minute, giving the Junior Blues a 3-1 lead heading into halftime.
