Details

Created: 07 November 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Ma'Kenttis Adams

MA'KENTTIS ADAMS, Washburn Rural

A 5-foot-9, 195-pound senior running back, Adams scored a pair of touchdowns and set up a third TD with a long run as Washburn Rural improved to 8-2 on the season with a 34-7 Class 6A playoff victory at Garden City last Friday night. Adams helped the Junior Blues advance to the state quarterfinals while posting their fifth straight victory.

 JC Cummings

JC CUMMINGS, Hayden

A 5-foot-10, 189-pound senior running back/linebacker, Cummings helped lead 9-1 Hayden to a a come-from-behind 22-19 Class 3A playoff win over previously-unbeaten Wellsville last Friday night on the road. Unofficially, Cummings rushed for 81 yards on 16 attempts and scored the game-winning points on an 11-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats advanced to a 3A quarterfinal game at Columbus.

Branton DeWeese

BRANTON DEWEESE, Washburn Rural

DeWeese, Washburn Rural's 6-foot, 185-pound junior quarterback, completed 14 of 21 passes for 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Junior Blues advanced to a Class 6A quarterfinal with a 34-7 road victory at Garden City last Friday night. DeWeese helped Washburn Rural improve to 8-2 on the season with its fifth straight win, setting up a Friday night game at Derby.

Finn Dunshee

FINN DUNSHEE, Hayden

A 5-foot-8, 160-pound junior running back/linebacker, Dunshee scored two touchdowns and a 2-point conversion as 9-1 Hayden advanced to the Class 3A quarterfinals with a come-from-behind 22-19 playoff victory over previously-unbeaten Wellsville. With Hayden trailing 13-0, Dunshee returned a Wellsville kickoff approximately 80 yards for a touchdown and also scored on an 11-yard TD run and added a 2-point conversion. 

 James Letcher Jr.

JAMES LETCHER JR., Washburn University

Letcher, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound senior, caught five passes for 127 yards, including an 84-yard touchdown, in Washburn's 37-23 MIAA loss to No. 4-ranked Pittsburg State last Saturday at Yager Stadium. Saturday's receiving yards boosted Letcher's season total to 1,005 yards, with Letcher the first Ichabod since 2018 to go over the 1,000-yard mark in a season.

Ty Weber

TY WEBER, Washburn Rural

Weber, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior, stood out on both sides of the ball as Washburn Rural's 8-2 football team advanced to the Class 6A  state quarterfinals with a 34-7 win at Garden City last Friday night. Weber helped spearhead a No. 1 Rural defensive unit that did not allow a point before leaving the game in the fourth quarer and he also caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Branton DeWeese while filling in on offense for the injured Lukas Hanks.

Details

Created: 06 November 2022

The 2022 All-Shawnee County boys cross country team: Front row, from left -- Jackson Esquibel, Shawnee Heights; Hayden Keller, Washburn Rural; Lenny Njoroge, Topeka West; Zach Jowers, Seaman. Back row, from left -- coach Donnie Palmer, Topeka West; Andrew Emerson, Shawnee Heights; Grayson Fink, Washburn Rural; Davin Johnsson, Washburn Rural; Branen Moore, Seaman; Michael Christopher, Topeka High. Not pictured: coach John Oshel, Sawnee Heights; Kory Sutton, Shawnee Heights; Easton Dial, Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After missing his entire junior season with a serious leg injury, Topeka West star Lenny Njoroge bounced back with a dominant 2022 cross county campaign, sweeping Topeka city, United Kansas Conference and regional individual championships before posting a career-best fourth-place finish in the Class 5A state meet.

Njoroge, whose only loss to a Kansas runner came in the state meet, headlines the 2022 All-Shawnee County boys cross country team along with Shawnee Heights state medalists Jackson Esquibel, a junior, and senior Kory Sutton.

 Shawnee Heights senior Kory Sutton was a repeat All-Shawnee County boys cross country pick after winning his third Class 5A state medal. [File photo/TSN]

Heights senior Andrew Emerson was also named to the All-Shawnee County first team after teaming with Equibel and Sutton to lead the T-Birds to a 5A regional team championship.

Washburn Rural senior Easton Dial was one of four Junior Blues to earn first-team spots on the All-Shawnee County boys cross country team. [Submitted]

Washburn Rural, which won city and Centennial League team titles, is represented on the all-county team by seniors Easton Dial, Grayson Fink and Davin Johnson and junior Hayden Keller.

Seaman is represented on the first team by seniors Zach Jowers and Branen Moore while Topeka High senior Michael Christopher also earned a first-team berth.

Shawnee Heights coach John Oshel and Topeka West coach Donnie Palmer were named the boys co-coaches of the year for 2022.

All-Shawnee County boys capsules:

MICHAEL CHRISTOPER, Topeka High -- Christoper, a senior, posted a 13th-place finish in the Class 6A regional meet at Manhattan to earn an individual berth for the 6A state meet for the third time. Christopher finished ninth in the Centennial League meet and was 11th in the city meet. Prior to earning first-team All-Shawnee County honors this fall, Christopher received honorable mention two years in addition to being a two-time All-Centennial League second-team selection.

EASTON DIAL, Washburn Rural -- Dial was one of three senior leaders for Washburn Rural's cross country team after showing significant improvement throughout his high school career. The 2022 season was a breakout season of sorts for Dial, who bettered his previous personal best by 75 seconds. Dial placed fifth in the city meet as Rural won its 16th straight team title and he finished fourth in the Centennial League and second at regionals to help Rural qualify for state as a team.

ANDREW EMERSON, Shawnee Heights -- Emerson has been a significant part of Shawnee Heights' cross country and track teams for the past four years. Emerson posted three top 10 finishes in cross country this fall, ending his season with a third straight state appearance. Emerson helped Shawnee Heights win a team championship in 5A regional competition and is in the top one percent of his class. Emerson plans to attend the Air Force Academy.

Read more …

Details

Created: 06 November 2022

The 2022 All-Shawnee County girls cross country team: Front row, from left -- Payton Fink, Washburn Rural; Bethany Druse, Seaman; Brooklyn Nolte, Washburn Rural; Stella Appelhanz, Seaman; Sydney Laster, Washburn Rural. Back row, from left -- coach Matt Swedlund, Washburn Rural; Madeline Carter, Washburn Rural; Ryin Miller, Seaman; Leah Spurlock, Seaman; Rylee Ismert, Washburn Rural; Vilde Tronstad, Washburn Rural; coach Rick Brading, Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural, which earned a third-place trophy in the Class 6A state meet, put six runners on the 2022 All-Shawnee County girls cross country team, which also includes a pair of top-five individual state finishers and five state medalists overall.

Rural, which won Topeka city and Centennial League team championships is represented on the all-county team by senior Madeline Carter, sophomore Payton Fink, sophomore Rylee Ismert, junior Sydney Laster, sophomore Brooklyn Nolte and senior Vilde Tronstad.

Regional team champion Seaman put sophomore Stella Appelhanz, senior Bethany Druse, freshman Ryin Miller and senior Leah Spurlock on the all-county team as the Vikings combined with the Junior Blues to earn 10 of 11 first-team berths.

Rural's Fink posted a fifth-place indiviual finish in 6A while Miller placed fifth in 5A and Druse, Appelhanz and Carter also earned state medals.

Silver Lake's Tessa Gerber earned a berth on the All-Shawnee County girls cross country team after a strong sophomore season, including a 21st finish in the Class 3A state meet. [Twitter photo/Silver Lake Schools]

Silver Lake sophomore Tessa Gerber earned the final spot on the All-Shawnee County first team, turning in a strong performance in the 3A state meet and missing a state medal by just one place in a peronal-record time.

Rural coach Matt Swedlund and Seaman coach Rick Brading were named the girls Shawnee County co-coaches of the year for 2022.

All-Shawnee County girls capsules:

STELLA APPELHANZ, Seaman -- Appelhanz is a two-time All-Shawnee County selection as a sophomore. Appelhanz turned in a very consistent second half of the 2022 season, placing in the top 10 in the Seaman Invitational as well as the city, United Kansas Conference and Class 5A regional meets. Appelhanz placed 20th in the 5A state meet, earning All-State honors. Appelhanz's personal-best time five-kilometer time is 19:51.

MADELINE CARTER, Washburn Rural -- After battling a nagging injury early in the season, Carter, a senior, bounced back and was a big factor in Rural's late-season success. Carter didn't race until the fourth week of the season at the Rim Rock Invitational, contributing to Rural's second-place finish. Carter, who plans to run at Kansas, placed fourth in the Topeka city meet, second in the Centennial League and regional meets and capper her season with an All-State performance, finishing 11th and helping Rural finish third as a team.

BETHANY DRUSE, Seaman -- A senior, Druse was Seaman's No. 2 runner in all meets this fall and was a strong team leader for a young Viking team. Bethany was fifth in the city meet, third in the the United Kansas Conference, third in Class 5A regional competition and 14th in the 5A state meet.  Bethany is a three-time 5A All-State runner and has also been All-City/County four straight years. The reigning 800 meters champ in track, Druse's personal best time is 18:48.  Bethany will run at Kansas next year.

PAYTON FINK, Washburn Rural -- Following her outstanding freshman debut, Fink continued to make a name for herself in her sophomore season. Never finishing worse than seventh place, Fink was the individual champion in the Topeka city, Centennial League and Class 6A regional meets. Fink earned All State honors with her fifth-place finish at the state meet, leading the Junior Blues to a third-place podium team finish in 6A.

Read more …

Details

Created: 05 November 2022

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The Washburn Ichabod football team wrapped up its home slate on Saturday at Yager Stadium, falling 37-23 to the No. 4-ranked Pittsburg State Gorillas in WU's Senior Day contest.

Washburn outscored Pittsburg State 10-7 in the second half but couldn't overcome the 30-13 hole it dug itself in the first half.

"I'm proud of the way our kids responded at halftime,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said. "The defense did a great job and kept giving us chances and we finally got some points and got it to a one score game but then we just couldn't turn the table on it.

"That's why they're undefeated in conference. They're undefeated for a reason and they made the plays when they needed to. We obviously needed to play cleaner and play better.'' 

The Ichabods (6-4 overall, 6-4 MIAA) opened the scoring on their first drive of the game when Jared Taylor, making his first Washburn start, connected on a slant pass to James Letcher Jr., who scampered 84 yards to give WU a 6-0 advantage after the extra point went off the upright.

James Letcher Jr. (13) celebrates his 84-yard touchdown with Washburn lineman Andrew Funk during Saturday's 37-23 Senior Day loss to Pittsburg State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Washburn quarterback Jared Taylor threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns in his first start for the Ichabods. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Pitt State scored the next nine points, getting an 8-yard TD run by Caleb Lewis with 10:30 to go in the first quarter and a safety with 5:50 left in the period after the Ichabods held the Gorillas on a fourth down from the Washburn 3.

Read more …