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Created: 29 September 2024

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

With the exception of a six-goal win, Washburn University soccer had found it to be a challenge to put the ball in the net over its first seven games of the 2024 season, with the Ichabods failing to score more than more than two goals in six starts and being held without a goal in three contests.

Washburn senior Ana Muruzabal scored a pair of goals in Sunday's 3-0 MIAA win over Newman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn junior Aubrey Tanksley (9) is congratulated by her teammates after scoring the first goal in Sunday's 3-0 Ichabod win over Newman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But the Ichabods showed signs of an offensive resurgence in Sunday's 3-0 MIAA home win over Newman while continuing to excel on the defensive end.

Senior Ana Muruzabal keyed Washburn's offense with a pair of second-half goals while the Ichabods never trailed after getting a goal from junior Aubrey Tanksley at the 36:13 mark of the opening half as WU improved to 4-2-2 overall and 1-0-1 in the conference.

"In our pregame talk I said we've got to be committed to the long process in this game and it may take us 60 minutes before we get a goal,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "We're the better team and you just have to keep doing the right things.

"Getting the goal before half helped a little bit, it took a little bit of that edge off. We had 23 shots, so it was coming. We have to be more clinical up front. That's something we've got to get right before the heart of conference and playoffs, but foundationally speaking we are in a really good place. It's figuring out that very last detail now.''

And while Washburn was able to get its offense cranked up against the Jets (0-7-1, 0-2-0), the Ichabods made program history on the the other end of the field.

With Sunday's win, Washburn has now recorded six shutouts in a row and has set a school record for consecutive minutes played without allowing a goal.

The Ichabods have kept opponents off the scoreboard for 568 minutes and 44 seconds, dating back to the 62nd minute of the game against Maryville on Sep. 7. The previous record was set in 2014, when the Ichabods recorded 564 minutes and 36 seconds of shutout defense in a span from Sep. 28 to Oct. 19.

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Created: 28 September 2024

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 24-ranked Washburn volleyball was on the wrong end of a five-set match for a second straight day as the Ichabods fell 3-2 to Missouri Western on Saturday.

Washburn sophomore Taylor Rottinghaus had 33 digs in Saturday's five-set MIAA volleyball loss at Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

The Ichabods will play next in Topeka for the first time this season on Thursday against Pittsburg State at 6 p.m.  

Just like on Friday at Northwest Missouri the first set belonged to Washburn (9-3 overall, 0-2 MIAA) with a 25-23 win.

The next two went to the Griffons (11-2, 2-0), 29-27 and 25-21 before the Ichabods forced a fifth set with a 25-17 win in the fourth. Missouri Western was able to pull away in an extended fifth set, winning 18-16.  

Washburn held an early lead in the first set before the Griffons won six of seven points to go ahead by four. Four points in a row from the Ichabods tied it back up and won five out of six to go in front at 16-15. Both sides went back and forth down the stretch until they won the final three to take the set.  

After both teams hit under .150 in the first set it was more of the same early in the second with Washburn taking a 7-5 lead after a pair of attack errors.

Missouri Western won four points in a row to pull ahead before both sides began to trade points through the middle of the set. A kill from Brynne Topolski sparked a 3-0 run to put the Ichabods up 21-18.

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Created: 29 September 2024

By CHARLES SPURLOCK

Special to TopSports.news

The Rim Rock Classic, one of the largest cross country meets in the region, took place on Friday evening with four races followed by eight races on Saturday at Rim Rock Farm. There were over 3,000 runners from Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa and Texas participating in the two-day event.

 

Seaman junior Ryin Miller won the Girls Gold title Saturday in the prestigious Rim Rock Classic, her fourth win of the season. [Photo by Charles Spurlock/TSN]

Seaman junior Ryin Miller (front, right) won the gold medal in Saturday's Rim Rock Classic. [Photo by Charles Spurlock/TSN]

The highlight of the races on Saturday for the local schools occurred during the Girls Gold varsity race where Seaman junior Ryin Miller continued her winning ways by leading from start to finish in a five kilometer time of 17 minutes, 14.1 seconds, leading her team to a 15th-place finish.

Washburn Rural senior Payton Fink posted a 10th-place finish in the Rim Rock Classic Girls Gold race on Saturday at Rim Rock Farm. [Photo by Charles Spurlock/TSN]

The Washburn Rural girls finished in sixth place, only one point from fifth. The Junior Blues were led by senior Payton Fink, who finished in 10th place with a time of 18:32.9. Rylee Ismert, also a medalist, finished in 23rd with a time of 19:12.9 while Emily Graf just missed out on the medals with a 26th-place finish of 19:22.7.

 

Seaman coach Rick Brading discusssed his team’s performance: “We ran very well. We were hopeful that Ryin could pull it off, but we wanted to see our fourth and fifth runners get some improvement today and they did. Sophomores Kinley Robinson and Hannah Wempe ran really well. Senior Stella Applehanz also had the best race of her career today.”

Miller, winning her fourth race of the season, said, “I felt like I ran really smart. Usually when she (Salina Central senior Katelyn Rupe) gets too far ahead, it gets to me. I wanted to stick with her, so I pushed the pace. I like to lead because that’s what makes me run the best and feel the most confident. So that was my goal and I just tried to hang on at the end because they (Rupe and sophomore teammate Kaylie Shultz) were coming hard at the end. I was happy with how it went.”

 

In the Boys Gold race, Seaman junior Brody Anderson was a medalist, finishing 23rd, with a time of 16:16.7, leading Seaman to a 24th- place team finish. The Washburn Rural boys finished in 21st place.

Seaman coach Luke Wiens discussed his team’s performance: “I really liked our competitiveness. We got out aggressive, maybe too aggressive, but I really liked their heart. If we’re too aggressive, it’s a lot easier to tone that back, rather than to take someone who is not aggressive and make them aggressive. We’re not there yet, but I thought it was a big step forward.”

There were several other great performances from local schools throughout the two-day event.

The Boys Gold JV race on Friday evening saw Washburn Rural finish in second place as a team with two runners in the top ten -- senior Anderson Leinwetter finished in fifth while junior Wyatt Shorb finished in 10th. The Seaman boys finished in 13th place.

 

Both C Team races on Friday saw success from both Washburn Rural teams -- the boys finished first, while the girls finished second. The Seaman boys finished the C Team race in 11th place.

In the Saturday JV races, Seaman’s girls finished in sixth place, while the Shawnee Heights girls finished in 14th place. In the boys race, Shawnee Heights finished in 14th, Hayden finished in 23rd and Topeka High finished in 25th.

The remaining varsity races on Saturday saw two medalists in the boys races.

 

Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman finished second in Saturday's Rim Rock Classic Crimson division. [File photo/TSN]

Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman finished second with a time of 16:12.2 and Shawnee Heights senior Evan Carter finished 22nd in a time of 17:02.2. In the girls races, senior Elliot Wrench of Hayden was a medalist, finishing in 16th with a time of 20:39.7.  

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Created: 28 September 2024

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The Washburn Ichabod football team picked up its first win of the 2024 season in a 24-16 MIAA decision over Missouri Western Saturday in St. Joseph, Mo.

Washburn's defense limited Missouri Western to a single touchdown while picking up its first win of 2024 with a 24-16 road victory. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

After the teams traded punts, the Ichabod defense forced a turnover on downs and the Ichabods (1-3 overall, 1-2 MIAA) took a 7-0 lead to cap a nine-play, 60-yard drive when quarterback Keller Hurla converted a 3rd-and-13 for a 23-yard run for the score.
 
Western (2-3, 2-3) would get on the board with 2:58 left in the opening half on a 52-yard field goal by Cody Watson, cutting Washburn's lead to 7-3.

Washburn came up empty on its next drive and the Griffons would march 84 yards in three plays to take a 10-7 lead with under a minute to play in the opening half.
 
Receiving the ball in the second half, the Ichabods went 69 yards in nine plays, capped by a Lucas Oitker 1-yard touchdown run to regain the lead at 14-10 with 10:14 to play in the third quarter.

On the ensuing Griffon drive, WU's Daniel Chavez recorded a quarterback sack, forcing a fumble that was recovered by L.J. Minner Jr.,  setting up a 42-yard field goal by Trenton Brehm to push the Ichabod lead to 17-10 with 7:01 to go in the third.
 
Again the Ichabod defense stymied the Griffons to force a punt, Washburn went up 24-10 after an 8-yard touchdown run by Cam Robinson, marching 99 yards in 10 plays while taking 5:19 off the clock.

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