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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Veteran Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron is extemely proud of what his Ichabods, inexperienced and unproven at the start of the 2022 season, have accomplished this fall.
But like most coaches, Herron is always looking for more, especially with the crucial month of November looming in just a few days.
Washburn celebrates a point during Wednesday night's 3-0 MIAA sweep over Pittsburg State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
After advancing to the NCAA Division II national championship match last season, Washburn had to replace a big, talented senior class from last year's team, but this year's Ichabods, ranked 14th in the nation, are well on their way to carving out their own niche, improving to 20-5 overall (12-5 MIAA) with a 25-18, 25-18, 25-15 MIAA sweep over Pittsburg State Wednesday night at Lee Arena.
"If you would have told me we'd be 20-5 with all this newness and youth, I would have said, 'No, there's no way,' '' Herron said. "But here's the problem with that -- every coach gets greedy so they're always saying, 'Wait a minute, why can't I win them all?'
"Every coach gets greedy, 'It's good but it's not good enough,' and I'm greedy. I want more.''
A well-balanced attack paired with a strong defensive effort led to Washburn's latest victory.
The Ichabods broke a 4-4 tie in the first sset with three-straight points and then built a 19-7 lead with a 11-1 scoring tear.
Washburn was at set point, 24-13, when Pittsburg State (14-12, 8-9 MIAA) spoiled it five times before Austin Broadie put the game away with a kill to give the Ichabods the 25-18 win.
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[Photos courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- First-team selection Khloe Schuckman was one of six Washburn women's soccer players to be named to the 2022 All-MIAA teams that were released by the conference office on Wednesday.
Schuckman, a sophomore forward, earned All-MIAA honors for a second consecutive season after starting all 18 games and logging 1,346 minutes. She led the Ichabods with eight regular-season goals and added three assists.
A third-team selection as a freshman, Schuckman recorded a hat trick against Missouri Southern on Oct. 7, the first for Washburn since 2009. Schuckman finished fourth in the MIAA in shots per game, second in shots on goal per game and tied for fifth in goals and seventh in points.
Senior defender Emily Michaelis earned All-MIAA second-team honors for the second straight season.
Michaelis led all non-goalkeepers with 1,566 played this season. Michaelis led a defense that recorded seven shutouts on the season and did so while only committing seven fouls all season. Michaelis finishes her senior season by earning all-conference honors every year of her playing career as an Ichabod.
Former Washburn Rural star Belle Kennedy was awarded third-team honors as a midfielder following her freshman season as an Ichabod.
Kennedy was second on the team with six goals on the season. She has played 16 games this season, starting all 16 for a total of 1,014 minutes.
Kennedy has scored multiple goals in three games this season and was the first Washburn player to do so since Jessica Mainz in 2007. Among the MIAA she ranked ninth in goals per game over the regular sseason and was tied for fifth with three game-winning goals.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights junior cross country standout Jackson Esquibel and Silver Lake sophomore girls golfer Taylor Zordel have been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Rising Stars of the Week for last week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the 2022-2023 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Esquibel and Zordel last week:
![Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel finished second individually in last Saturday's Class 5A regional cross country meet at Kanza Park, helping the T-Birds win the regional team title. [File photo/TSN]](/images/aa-images/JacksonEsquibel.jpg)
Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel finished second individually in last Saturday's Class 5A regional cross country meet at Kanza Park, helping the T-Birds win the regional team title. [File photo/TSN]
JACKSON ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights
The Shawnee Heights junior cross country standout posted a second-place individual finish in last Saturday's Class 5A regional championships at Kanza Park, helping lead the T-Birds to the team title by a 53-61 margin over Lansing.
Esquibel, who also posted runner-up finishes in the city and United Kansas Conference meets, clocked a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 47.09 seconds at regionals and will compete in Saturday's 5A state meet at Rim Rock Farm, north of Lawrence.
As a sophomore Esquibel earned a state medal with a 13th-place finish.
Silver Lake sophomore Taylor Zordel tied for 7th in the Class 3A-1A state golf tournament with a 36-hole score of 176, shooting 88s both days. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]
TAYLOR ZORDEL, Silver Lake
Zordel, a Silver Lake sophomore, earned a state medal for the second straight season in the Class 3A-1A state golf tournament last Monday and Tuesday at Carey Park in Hutchinson.
Zordel shot 88s both days to earn a tie for seventh place with a 36-hole total of 176.
Zordel, who was named the TopSports.news Shawnee County softball newcomer of the year last spring, tied for 16th as a freshman in the 3A-1A state golf meet.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's volleyball team has never really been at full strength this fall, with Tatiana Dowling's Vikings fighting through a series of injuries.
But Seaman persevered to earn a third straight berth in this weekend's Class 5A state tournament berth at the Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina, which makes Dowling extremely proud of what the Vikings have been able to accomplish.
Seaman's volleyball team displays its Class 5A sub-state trophy for fans after winning last Saturday's title at Seaman. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Seaman will take a 30-8 record into this weekend's Class 5A state volleyball tournament at Salina, the Vikings' third straight state tournament berth. [Photo by Sarah Carson/TSN]
"I think any time you have to deal with as much adversity as we've had as far as the injury bug goes that you have a lot to be proud of when we're at the point that we're at this season,'' Dowling said.
The Vikings have been without junior Hope Dapkiewicz all season and lost sophomore Ava Esser to an ACL injury early in the year while junior standout Taylin Stallbaumer missed significant time early in the season and other players were sidelined at various times throughout the regular season.
"We've had people out with various injuries throughout the year, whether it's a concussion or a back injury that sat out some games randomly at tournaments,'' Dowling said.
But the silver lining to Seaman's injury woes is that several underclassmen were able to step up and help keep the United Kansas Conference champions on track..
"We played a lot of younger kids because we had so many injuries, especially with some of our upperclassmen and people that we relied on, so I felt it made us a deeper lineup,'' Dowling said. "Looking forward, if we need them in the postseason and definitely in the years to come, it will make them more experienced.''
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' stellar season continued with a convincing 3-1 soccer victory over Kansas City-Washington in the opening round of Class 5A regional play Tuesay night at the Bettis Family Sports Complex.
The dominating outing from Shawnee Heights allowed the Thunderbirds to advance to play St. James Academy in Thurday's regional championship game.
Shawnee Heights soccer coach Nic Simons talks to his team after Tuesday's 3-1 Class 5A regional win over KC-Washington. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Coming into Tuesday's playoff contest, Shawnee Heights had won four out of its last five games.
In addition, Shawnee Heights had outscored the opposition during its hot streak, 15 goals to three.
In the first half, although Shawnee Heights' dominated with its three goals, KC Washington controlled the pace of play. The Wildcats had the ball in Thunderbird territory for most of the half and showed a sense of urgency.
"We did enough offensively in the first half to put the game away, which was nice," Shawnee Heights coach Nic Simons said. "We struggled to get a rhythm in the midfield, but the shots we did have to go in were great shots for us."
No one would argue that the Thunderbird backline was the X factor in the first half. Excellent goalie play from Carter Freeman took away nearly nine goals that KC Washington was so close to having.
"Carter (Freeman) has been nothing short of excellent," Simons said. "I know we gave up that last goal with just a few minutes left in the game, but sometimes it happens. Carter is only a sophomore, which is exciting."
