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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural senior Easton Bradstreet entered the 2022 soccer season with lofty goals.
But even Bradstreet admits that he's been surprised by his red-hot start to the year.
Washburn Rural senior Easton Bradstreet, splitting two De Soto defenders, scored four goals for the second time this season in the Junior Blues' 5-0 non-league win over De Soto Thursday night at McElroy Field. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Bradstreet recorded his second four-goal game of the young season in Washburn Rural's 5-0 non-league win over De Soto Thursday night at McElroy Field, raising his goal total to 11 in just four games for the 4-0 Junior Blues.
Bradstreet has scored at least one goal in every game with multiple goals in three of Rural's four games.
"Honestly, yes I am (surprised),'' Bradstreet said. "Some goals these past few games have been just ridiculous and I couldn't even imagine having 11 right now.
"Teammates are finding me with the ball and they're doing everything they can to get it to me and I'm finding the right place at the right time.''
Former Rural star Austin Halsey is the school single-season regular-holder with 30 goals and Bradstreet would love to take a run at that mark.
"Obviously I want to set the record, that's the goal, but I'm just trying to get as many as I can get,'' he said. "It's a lot more fun when you're scoring.''
Freshman Brandon Hamilton (right) celebrates his first-half goal in Thursday's 5-0 Washburn Rural soccer win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural freshman Brandon Hamilton gave the Junior Blues the only goal they would need at the 33:42 mark of the first half off an assist from junior Griffin Heinen and Bradstreet did the rest.
Bradstreet gave Rural a 2-0 halftime lead with a goal at the 5:07 mark off an assist from Ty Stead and he scored all three Junior Blue goals in the second half, leaving the game after his fourth goal with 8:31 remaining.
Hamilton was credited with two assists while juniors Ethan Uhlrig and Brayden Lehnherr combined for the shutout in goal.
Rural had been forced to double overtime in its previous game against Wichita Northwest (4-3 Junior Blue win) and Rural coach Brian Hensyel thought his team took a big step forward in Thursday's win.
"We've got a lot of new people, a lot of new faces on the team and the first three games were kind of a perfect example of what a season can look like -- one great game, one average game and then maybe a not great performance,'' Hensyel said. "We just want to be the most consistent team we can be. Northwest gave us all we can handle and it was probably good for us to maybe get knocked down a peg and have to get back to working hard, which we did this week, and tonight was our best performance so far this season.''
WASHBURN RURAL 5, DE SOTO 0
De Soto (0-3-1) 0 0 -- 0
Washburn Rural (4-0-0) 2 3 -- 5
Washburn Rural -- Goals: Easton Bradstreet 4, Brandon Hamilton. Assists: Brandon Hamilton 2, Griffin Heinen, Ty Stead.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shortly after arriving on Washburn University's campus in 2019, Raegan Wells earned the job as the Ichabods' soccer goalkeeper and has never looked back.
Raegan Wells
Wells has started all 40 matches of her college career entering Friday's 6 p.m. home MIAA match against Emporia State at Yager Stadium and continues to move up WU's all-time list in multiple categories.
"Every since I've been here since Day 1 my teammates have put trust in me and I put trust in them,'' said the 6-foot Wells, a Lincoln, Neb. native. "My defense has been there for me so it was like a fast transition (to college), but an easy one because me teammates were so good.''
Wells, who also plays basketball for the Ichabods, said that with each passing season she gets more comfortable in the net, which has translated to more and more success.
"My teammates give me a lot of confidence, too, because when I know they're doing their job I can do my job.''
Raegan Wells has posted three shutouts this season, helping lead Washburn soccer to a 3-0-1 start. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Wells helped lead Washburn to a solid 9-7-2 season a year ago while earning third-team All-MIAA recognition and the Ichabods are off to a 3-0-1 start this season, with Wells already earning three shutouts.
"Coach (Davy Phillips) and I were actually just talking and the vibe of our team is so good,'' Wells said. "We show up to practice with energy and we are all on the same page and its been really good. Obviously it shows on the field.''
Wells, who will finish her college career in 2023, is well on her way to ending up as one of the most successful goalkeepers in Washburn history, although she said she really doesn't pay much attention to all-time lists and the like.
"I haven't looked at them, I just take the games day by day,'' said Wells, a communications major.
Wells is currently WU's all-time leader in career save percentage, third in saves per game, fourth in most career shutouts and wins and fifth in total saves.
And statistics aside, Wells said her Washburn career has been everything she thought it could be.
"I got to play right away, I met a bunch of amazing people and we've been pretty successful,'' Wells said. "This season seems different than last season because it's just like everyone's finally on the same page and we're going to do really well.''
Adding icing on the cake has been the opportunity to play with her younger sister, Riley, a sophomore for the Ichabods.
"Me and my sister played in high school together, basketball and soccer, so it's kind of the same but it' s just so fun,'' Raegan Wells said. "She scored her first career goal and I got to see that playing with her on the field.
"That's another reason I'm going to stay (for her COVID year in 2023) is because I get to play one more year with her.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)
HAYDEN (1-0) at SILVER LAKE (1-0)
Hayden senior JC Cummings (38) celebrates his second-quarter touchdown in last Friday's 21-7 Wildcat victory over Olpe. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden is coming off of a 21-7 season-opening win over two-time defending Class 1A state champion Olpe, ending the Eagles' 26-game winning streak, while Logan Pegram made his debut as Silver Lake's coach with a 28-21 road win over Riley County. Hayden got pass interceptions from seniors JC Cummings and Dylan Foster while Cummings and senior Ethan Florence ran for touchdowns and sophomore quarterback Jett Wahlmeier hit sophomore Jensen Schrickel for a TD pass. Junior quarterback Tanner Martin accumulated more than 250 total yards and had a hand in all four Silver Lake touchdowns in the Eagles' season-opening win.
LANSING (0-1, 0-1) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (0-1, 0-1)
Shawnee Heights fell 31-20 to new United Kansas Conference member Piper in its season opener on the road, while Lansing dropped a 27-21 UKC decision to De Soto. Piper built a 24-0 advantage over Heights before surviving a late T-Bird rally. Heights junior Allen Baughman rushed for 92 yards on 17 carries while senior Nick Freeland completed six of 11 passes for 45 yards and junior Jayden Moore caught five passes for 65 yards. Defensively, junior Alex Dittman was in on eight tackles and senior Jaye Jones was credited with seven stops.
LEAVENWORTH (1-0, 1-0) at TOPEKA WEST (0-1, 0-1)
At Hummer Sports Park
Topeka West standout senior quarterback Malachi Berg (left) and the Chargers will be looking to bounce back from a season-opening loss to Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka West will be looking to bounce back from last Thursday's 58-14 United Kansas Conference loss to Seaman while Leavenworth is coming off a 61-0 UKC win over Kansas City-Turner. West senior quarterback Malachi Berg went 17 of 29 passing for 244 yards and two touchdowns while senior Xavier Alexander carried the ball 17 times for 102 yards and senior Kamen Jones caught five passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Surrounded by All-Americans in her first four years in the program, 5-foot-11 hitter Halle Meister had to wait her turn to move into a prominent role for Washburn University's volleyball team.
Halle Meister
And when the fifth-year senior finally got that opportunity this fall, she has made the most of it, helping lead the No. 2-nationally ranked Ichabods to a perfect 8-0 start entering this weekend's MIAA openers at Lee Arena against Fort Hays State and Nebraska-Kearney.
Meister turned in a career performance this past weekend in the Lee Invitational in Cleveland, Tenn., earning Most Valuable Player honors after helping the Ichabods post a 4-0 record on the weekend while leading the WU offense with 44 total kills and a .488 attacking percentage.
Halle Meister turned in a big performance for Washburn in the Lee Invitational last weekend, helping the Ichabods improve to 8-0 on the season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
In Saturday's 3-1 win over Saint Leo, Meister knocked down a career-high 16 kills and hit a sizzling .565 for the match and followed that with 13 kills with a .524 hitting percentage in a sweep over Trevecca Nazarene.
Meister ranks second on the team with 71 kills while being a part of 11 blocks.
"I just had to be patient,'' Meister said of her breakout season. "I came in and I kept working every single day. The girls above me deserved the spot and I wasn't mad about it. I was cheering them on, I was happy for them and whatever makes the program win I'm totally down for it.''
The Omaha, Neb. native has tried to maintain that same attitude this fall.
"I'm having the same amount of fun as I have the last four years,'' she said. "Nothing has really changed. Yeah, I'm on the court now, but the vibe and the energy and everything is still the same.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Most college football players have to wait a year, sometimes a lot longer, to get on the field.
Conversely, Jake Zeller, a former Holton High standout, only had to wait a matter of minutes to make his debut for the Washburn University football team and delivered in a big way in the Ichabods' 45-3 season-opening win over Lincoln.
Jake Zeller
Zeller, a 6-foot-1, 175 pound true freshman, averaged 54.3 yards on three punts with a long of 61 en route to being named the MIAA Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, and also handled the holding duties for the Ichabods on extra point and field goal attempts.
Zeller came to Washburn knowing that the WU punting job was open after the graduation of Lane Spiker and earned the job in preseason camp.
"I was told at the beginning of camp that camp decides a lot, so I went in with the mindset that, 'Im going to work my butt off and I want that spot,' '' Zeller said.
Zeller actually made his Washburn debut as the holder for Kameron Lake's extra point after a James Letcher Jr. touchdown that capped WU's first possession.
Zeller punted for the first time in the third quarter, recording a 48-yarder, and followed that with 61 and 54-yard punts as his average per punt was the second-highest in Washburn single-game history.
"Surprisingly I wasn't that nervous,'' Zeller said. "The first punt I probably put a little bit too much on that one but after that I settled down and just kicked the ball.''
