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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Wednesday was a hectic day for first-year Washburn University women's basketball coach Lora Westling, but it ended with a 63-51 non-conference victory over Haskell Indian Nations University at Lee Arena.
Westling found out at about 10:30 a.m. that Washburn's scheduled opponent, Central Christian College, would be unable to play Wednesday due to COVID protocols.
The Ichabods' two options were either to not play on Wednesday or find a fill-in opponent and Haskell answered the call to come to Topeka with seven available players.
"Our A.D., Loren (Ferre') told me at 10:30 and I said, 'Can I have 15 minutes just to see if we can find somebody?' '' Westling said. "There's a reason we really wanted to play it here. We had a lot of kids with family in town and it's a great last tuneup before we start conference play.
"It was just a really ideal time for us to play and fortunately Haskell was able to make the trip. We knew they were going to be pretty challenging but it's a lot of respect and we're really grateful that they made the trip.''
Coming off a 52-47 loss to Rockhurst last Saturday, junior Lauren Cassaday said it was important to be able to play and get a win on Wednesday.
"It was good to have a win, especially going into conference play,'' Cassaday. "It's good to be able to take some confidence in, but we still have a high ceiling that we've still got to fill. I think we have a lot of potential on this team and we've just got to find it.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
ANDREW BONEBRAKE, Shawnee Heights
Bonebrake, a junior 132-pounder, posted a 35-11 record last season, won a United Kansas Conference championship and was a Class 5A state qualifier, earning All-Shawnee County honorable mention. Bonebrake is ranked No. 3 at 132 pounds in the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association preseason 5A state rankings.
EASTON BROXTERMAN, Washburn Rural
A sophomore, Broxterman advanced to the 6A state championship match at 106 pounds as a freshman, finishing second for the state-champion Junior Blues and posting a 39-6 record. Broxterman, a Centennial League champion, was named the Shawnee County newcomer of the year and was a first-team all-county pick. He is currently ranked No. 2 at 106 pounds in the KWCA's 6A and All-Class preseason rankings.
TRISTAN BUCE, Shawnee Heights
Buce is being counted on to be an immediate contributor as a freshman for Shawnee Heights at 106 pounds. Buce has extensive Kids Wrestling experience, placing in multiple state tournaments.
BRODY BYRNE, Washburn Rural
Byrne, a junior, won a Centennial League championship last season and was a first-team All-Shawnee County selection after posting a 27-14 record. Byrne is No. 6-ranked in the KWCA preseason 6A state rankings at 157 pounds.
JACOB CARVER, Rossville
A two-time TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 22 pick in football, Carver was a 3A-1A regional champ and finished second in the state tournament at 285 pounds last season as a junior. Carver, a first-team All-Shawnee County wrestling pick last season, is top-ranked at 285 pounds in the KWCA's 3A-1A preseason rankings and is No. 6 in the All-Class rankings.
RYKAN CARVER, Shawnee Heights
Carver, a 285-pound junior, was a United Kansas Conference champion and a 5A state qualifier last seaon while posting a 17-11 record. Carver received All-Shawnee County honorable mention last season and is ranked No. 3 at 285 in the KWCA's 5A preseason rankings.
NICK FREELAND, Shawnee Heights
Freeland, a senior 150-pounder, was a United Kansas Conference champion and a 5A state qualifier last season, posting a 35-15 record. Freeland was a second-team All-Shawnee County selection as a junior.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team will be looking to climb back above .500 on the season when the 2-2 Ichabods close out their five-game homestand at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Central Christian College in Lee Arena.
The Ichabods went 1-1 last weekend at the Washburn Classic, defeating Southern Nazarene, 65-63, before falling to Rockhurst, 52-47.
The Tigers, who compete in the NAIA, are looking for their first win of the season, entering Wednesday's game 0-6.
Wednesday's game will be an official game for Washburn, but will count as an exhibition for Central Christian. Central Christian College went 1-29 last season.
Washburn point guard Aubree Dewey scored a career-high 20 points and shot 57 percent from the field in the Ichabods' two-point victory over Southern Nazarene to bump her scoring average to 10.8 points per game. She also leads the team with 3.8 assists per game.
Mackenzie Gamble has made a 3-pointer in every game this season and is shooting 44 percent from behind the arc.
Out of Gamble's 14 made baskets, 11 of those have been 3s. For the season, she is averaging 10.3 points.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden, which advanced to the Class 3A sub-state round, and 6A sectional partcipant Washburn Rural combined for 11 Top 22 spots on TopSports.news' All-Shawnee County football team while Highland Park's Tre Richardson and Rural's Ty Weber garnered the top individual honors.
Hayden, which posted a 10-2 record this fall, is represented on the Top 22 by seniors JC Cummings, Ben Evans and Joe Otting, junior Finn Dunshee and sophomore Jensen Schrickel while Washburn Rural, 8-3 on the year, put seniors Weber and Ma'kenttis Adams and juniors Packson Bettis, Branton DeWeese, JC Heim and Titan Osburn on the Top 22.
Highland Park's Richardson, who led the Scots to a breakout 6-3 season, was named the Shawnee County offensive player of the year while Weber was named the county defensive player of the year for the second straight season.
Richardson, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior, rushed for 1,964 yards and 27 touchdowns on 96 attempts and caught 40 passes for 1,079 yards and 15 TDs as the Scots snapped a 65-game losing streak in the season-opener and went on to record one of Highland Park's best seasons in school history.
Weber, a 6-3, 230 senior, recorded 134 total tackles (82 solos) with 19 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, three recovered fumbles, two sacks and an interception.
Hayden's Bill Arnold and Washburn Rural's Steve Buhler were named the Shawnee County co-coaches of the year.
Shawnee Heights junior running back Allen Baughman and Hayden's Dunshee, a running back/linebacker, were named the co-offensive newcomers of the year while Washburn Rural junior defensive end Jamond Lane was named the defensive newcomer of the year.
Baughman, 5-8, 180, rushed for 1,496 yards and 20 touchowns on 225 carries for the 5-5 T-Birds while Dunshee, 5-8, 160, rushed for 1,150 yards on 96 attempts and scored 17 total touchdowns for the 10-2 Wildcats.
Lane, 6-0, 280, was in on 44 tackles (23 solos) with six sacks, six tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception return for a touchdown.
Rural's Weber and DeWeese, Highland Park's Richardson, Hayden's Otting and Rossville senior Jacob Carver are All-Shawnee County Top 22 repeat picks.
Seaman is represented on the Top 22 by seniors Kasen Hasenkamp, Sean Miller and Bryson Vawter, while Shawnee Heights put Baughman and senior Gavin Zuperku on the Top 22, Silver Lake is represented by juniors Eli Barnes and Tanner Martin, Rossville by Carver and junior Barrett Lietz and Topeka West by senior Malachi Berg.
All 10 Shawnee County high schools have representatives on either the Top 22 or Second 22 teams.
All-Shawnee County Top 22 capsules:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural, which won a 28th straight league soccer title (outright or shared) on the way to a fourth-place finish in the Class 6A state tournament, put four players on the All-Centennial League first team, led by senior player of the year Easton Bradstreet.
Bradstreet, an All-State forward, scored 29 goals as a senior for the 16-5 Junior Blues and finished his high school career with a share of Rural' career scoring record with 57 goals.
Bradstreet is joined on the all-league first team by senior teammates Cayden Lee and Ty Stead and junior teammate Devon Rutschmann.
Topeka High is represented on the first team by senior Aidan Morrison while senior Jake Muller represents Hayden on the 12-player first team.
Trojan freshman goalkeeper Billy Lutz was named the Centenial League newcomer of the year.
Emporia put a league-high five players on the all-league first team, while Spartan coach Victor Ibarra was named the league coach of the year.
ALL-CENTENNIAL LEAGUE SOCCER