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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabods will be in action at Lee Arena for the first time this season when the Ichabods host William Jewell at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Washburn men's basketball will play its home-opener on Wednesday night against William Jewell. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The 1-1 Ichabods are coming off a 75-46 win over No. 18-ranked win over Augustana last Saturday after dropping a 79-73 season-opening decision to Henderson State last Friday.
William Jewell is also 1-1, defeating Davenport 90-76 before losing to Purdue Northwest, 77-62, at the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge last weekend.
Washburn fell 56-52 at William Jewell last season.
The Ichabods are 37-1 all-time in home openers, with the lone loss coming in 1990 to Friends in an 89-88 setback. Since then the Ichabods have won their last 31 Lee Arena debuts.
Washburn posted a 22-11 record last season, recording the program's 30th 20-win season and the fourth under Ichabod coach Brett Ballard in his five seasons.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Geo Lyons and Brittney Redmond have spent a lot of time in Topeka High's gymnasium, affectionately known as "The Dungeon.''
But this year is different, with Lyons and Redmond running the show at their alma mater.
Lyons, a 1998 THS graduate, held his first official practice as the Trojans' boys basketball coach on Monday while Redmond, a 2011 grad, kicked off her tenure as the High girls coach as preseason practice got under way across the state in boys and girls basketball, boys and girls wrestling and boys swimming.
Topeka High graduate Geo Lyons held his first official practice as the Trojans' head boys basketball coach on Monday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Brittney Redmond, a 2011 Topeka High graduate, was back in "The Dungeon'' on Monday for her first practice as the Trojans' head girls basketball coach. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Redmond was named the Trojans' girls coach in May after stints as an assistant coach at four junior colleges while Lyons was named Topeka High's boys coach in June after four seasons as the head coach at Kansas City-Schlagle.
"I think it brought back some nastaligic memories but it also made it real that basketball is officially here,'' Redmond said about Monday's opening practice. "In college you jump right in it, but here you kind of have to wait a minute and then it's just the rush of trying to get a team ready in two weeks.''
Lyons, who had stints as an assistant at both High and Topeka West, said he was excited to get started in his new role of guiding the THS program.
"I'm looking at this as really a blank canvas,'' Lyons said. "We've got a whole new staff so everything's going to be new to these young men, but I like that I really get to come in and put my stamp on this thing.''
Redmond and Lyons face different challenges in the 2022-2023 campaign, with Redmond trying to help Topeka High continue a recent run as one of the state's most successful girls programs while Lyons will be trying to help the Trojans return to their once-storied status.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Over the past few days, veteran Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron has experienced the extreme highs and lows of coaching.
Washburn's volleyball team reacts to the announcement that the Ichabods earned the No. 6 seed for this week's NCAA Central Region Tournament at Wayne, Neb. [Photo by Rick Peterson
Herron was in the dumps after the Ichabods suffered a disappointing loss to Missouri Western in their regular-season finale, which put Washburn's NCAA Tournament hopes in severe jeopardy.
But Washburn experienced a dramatic transformation in last week's MIAA Tournament, with WU earning the automatic NCAA bid with its first-ever MIAA tournament championship after posting three straight wins over nationally-ranked opponents.
"To be honest with you I thought the season was over (after the Western loss),'' Herron said, "and we just flipped it 180 (degrees). I'm incredibly happy for this group to be able to finish like this.''
On Sunday night the 24-7 Ichabods were installed as the No. 6 seed in the Central Region and will face No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth at 12 p.m. on Friday in Wayne, Neb. Match times will be announced later.
The Central Region bracket consists of four teams from the NSIC, three from the MIAA, and the automatic qualifier from the GAC.
Tournament host Wayne State will be the No. 1 seed and take on No. 8 seed Harding in the quarterfinal while No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul will face No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 4 Northwest Missouri will play No. 5 St. Cloud State.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Austin Broadie
AUSTIN BROADIE, Washburn University
A 6-foot redshirt freshman out of Wichita Trinity Academy, Broadie registered a career-high 18 kills as Washburn's volleyball team captured its first MIAA Tournament championship with a 25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20 victory over Nebraska-Kearney Saturday night in St. Joseph, Mo. Broadie hit .359 on the night as the 24-7 Ichabods earned an NCAA Tournament berth.
Finn Dunshee
FINN DUNSHEE, Hayden
A 5-8, 160-pound junior running back/linebacker, Dunshee set the tone for the night in Friday's Class 3A sectional football game at Columbus when he ran for a 60-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage as 10-1 Hayden advanced to a 3A sub-state game with a 39-19 victory. Dunshee, who also had a 67-yard run, added a 3-yard TD.
Mackenzie Gamble
MACKENZIE GAMBLE, Washburn University
Gamble, a 5-7 junior guard out of Highlands Ranch, Colo., scored 19 points and hit 5 of 7 3-pointers as Washburn's women's basketball team opened the 2022-2023 season Friday night with a 71-55 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State in the Washburn Crossover Classic. Gamble added 9 points on three 3-pointers in Saturday's 41-38 loss to Oklahoma Baptist.
Jaden Monday
JADEN MONDAY, Washburn University
A 6-0 sophomore guard out of Independence, Mo., Monday scored a career-high 22 points and connected on 6 of 12 3-pointers to lead the way as Washburn's men's basketball team picked up its first win of the season, a 75-46 romp past No. 18-ranked Augustana Saturday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
Jensen Schrickel
JENSEN SCHRICKEL, Hayden
Schrickel, a 5-9, 145 sophomore, helped lead the 10-1 Hayden football team to a 39-19 Class 3A sectional playoff win Friday night at Columbus. Schrickel caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Wildcat quarterback Jett Wahlmeier, returned a pass interception 35 yards for a TD and kicked a 28-yard field goal and four extra points as Hayden advanced to a sub-state matchup with Holton.
Jalyn Stevenson
JALYN STEVENSON, Washburn University
Stevenson, a 5-10 sophomore out of Spring Hill, recorded her 14th double-double of the 2022 volleyball season in Saturday's MIAA Tournament championship match at St. Joseph, Mo., registering 17 kills and 18 digs in Washburn's 25-18, 19-25, 25-22 and 25-20 victory as the 24-7 Ichabods won their first conference tournament title while earning an NCAA Tournament berth.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 20 Washburn University's volleyball team captured the program's first-ever MIAA Tournament title on Saturday evening in St. Joseph, Mo., defeating the No. 2 seed and No. 12-ranked Nebraska-Kearney in four sets.
No. 5 seed Washburn volleyball hoists the MIAA Tournament championship trophy after topping Nebraska-Kearney 3-1 in Saturday night's championship match. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn volleyball poses for a team picture after winning its first MIAA Tournament championship Saturday night in St. Joseph, Mo. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
With the victory, Washburn earned an automatic bid to compete in its 17th NCAA Tournament, which will take place Nov. 17-19.
The complete postseason bracket of location and seeding will be announced Sunday evening at 9:30 p.m. Topeka time on ncaa.com.
Washburn, the MIAA Tournament's No. 5 seed, topped Nebraska-Kearney by the set scores of 25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20 and moved to 24-7 on the year. Nebraska-Kearney is now 28-5 on the season, with three of the Lopers' losses coming against Washburn.
Additionally, the Ichabods have now won five straight matches against Nebraska-Kearney.
At the conclusion of the match, the Ichabod quartet of Jalyn Stevenson, Halle Meister, Sydney Pullen and Kealy Kiviniemi were selected to the All-Tournament team.
In the opening set of Saturday's championship match, the Ichabods trailed 11-8 when they scored eight of the next nine points to jump in front, 16-12.
The Lopers pulled within three at 18-15, but a kill from Ella Waters started a 3-0 mini-run to create some breathing room.
Washburn maintained its lead and Pullen capped off the 25-18 first-set win with a service ace.
Hitters Austin Broadie and Stevenson recorded six kills each in the first set.
