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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Daniel Allen, Washburn Rural
DANIEL ALLEN, Washburn Rural -- A junior, Allen was a multiple Class 6A state medalist as a freshman in 2024 before taking a year away from high school swimming. Allen finished seventh in the 500-yard freestyle in the 2024 state meet and was part of Washburn Rural's third-place 200 free relay team. Allen won four gold medals in the 2024 city meet (200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke, 200 medley relay and 400 free relay) and was second in the 200 IM and part of the winning 400 free relay team in the Centennial League meet.
Thomas Appuhn, Washburn Rural
THOMAS APPUHN, Washburn Rural -- Appuhn, a sophomore, was a first-team All-City honoree last season, swimming on Washburn Rural's winning 200-yard medley and 400 free relays in the city meet while also finishing second in the 200 individual medley and second in the 100 backstroke. Appuhn swam on the Junior Blues' runnerup 200 medley and 400 free relay teams in the Centennial League meet and placed third in the 100 backstroke.
Kinser Barbosa, Seaman
KINSER BARBOSA, Seaman -- A junior, Barbosa was the 2025 city champion in the 200-yard freestyle and as a member of the Vikings' winning 200 free relay last season while finishing second in the 100 butterfly and 200 medley relay. Barbosa finished third in the United Kansas Conference in the 100 butterfly and the 100 breaststroke and swam on the Vikings' second-place 200 medley relay and third-place 200 free relay.
THERON CARLSON, Seaman -- Carlson opened his 2025-2026 season in last Wednesday's Topeka West Invitational, helping the Vikings post a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay and an eighth-place showing in the 400 free relay while finishing sixth in the 50 freestyle and the 100 free.
JOSH HOCHARD, Seaman -- Hochard, a second-team All-City selection in 2025, Hochard opened his season in last Wednesday's Topeka West Invitational, swimming on Seaman's fifth-place 200-yard medley relay.
ALEXANDER JEFFRIES, Washburn Rural -- Jeffries finished fourth in the 200-yard freestyle in the season-opening Topeka West Invitational last Wednesday and added an eighth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke.
JOSEPH JENSEN, Washburn Rural -- A second-team All-City selection last season, Jensen swam on Washburn Rural's winning 200-yard free relay in the season-opening Topeka West Invititional last Wednesday while also posting a seventh-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100 freestyle.
QUINTEN JESSOP, Washburn Rural -- Jessop opened the 2025-2026 season with a strong performance in the Topeka West Invitational, swimming on Rural's winning 200-yard medley relay team and second-place 400 free relay. Jessop also finished eighth in the 50 freestyle and the 500 free.
PATRICK LUKE, Hayden -- Luke, a second-team All-City selection last season, anchored the Wildcats' fifth-place team in the 200-yard freestyle relay in last Wednesday's season-opening Topeka West Invitational.
Andres Morao-Jaspe, Washburn Rural
ANDRES MORAO-JASPE, Washburn Rural -- Morao-Jaspe, a junior, was an All-City repeater after winning four gold medals in the 2025 city meet as Rural won its sixth straight city team title. Morao-Jaspe won the 200-yard individual medley and the 500 freestyle and swam on the winning 200 medley and 400 free relays. Morao-Jaspe finished second in the Centennial League in the 500 free and third in the 200 individual medley and swam on Rural's second-place 200 medley and 400 free relays.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel cheer squad is back on top!
The Lions cheerleaders claimed their fourth state championship in five years, returning to the top of the Class 2A podium after placing second a year ago. To do so, they had to knock off four-time defending Class 3A champ Rossville, which dropped down to 2A for the first time this year.
Cair Paravel cheer celebrates its fourth KSHSAA state cheer championship in five years Nov. 21 at the Stormont Vail Events Center. [Photo by Jan Pabitzky/Special to TSN]
Cair Paravel cheer poses for a team picture after winning its fourth KSHSAA state cheer championship in five years Nov. 21. [Photo by Jan Pabitzky/Special to TSN]
Cair Paravel’s elementary students took to the school’s hallways last Friday to celebrate the cheer squad who paraded through the hallways displaying their latest trophy. The school’s upper grades rallied in the gymnasium to celebrate the squad’s fourth state title – still the school’s only trophies since it earned KSHSAA membership in 2020.
Last year, the Lions placed second to Oskaloosa, snapping their string of three wins in as many attempts. At this year’s competition on Nov. 21 at Stormont Vail Events Center, the Lions got by Rossville to reclaim the title.
“When we got second place last year, I think that really sparked a fire in us,” said Cair Paravel coach Courtney Bond. “I had a meeting with Coach Edye (Sack) and our returning seniors, and we talked about what we needed to do so that doesn’t happen again. We talked about song changes, choreography changes, adding different props and those kinds of things. We watched a lot of film. And I think the girls were just hungrier this year than ever before.”
“I think we all kept a pretty good attitude about (finishing second in 2024),” said senior Logan Johnson. “We just came back wanting that win our senior year. We focused on keeping a great mindset that, win or lose, this does not define us. We added some extra practices this year and worked with our choreographer a little bit more to just have some more help.”
Taking second place after a run of championships caused the Lions to reevaluate and adjust their priorities.
“Losing last year sort of made us more easy-going this year,” senior Maddy Freund said. “I think all of us were not as stressed this year.”
“We changed our focus this year,” Bond said. “Instead of a championship being our focus, we focused on bettering our skills competing against ourselves, viewing our abilities as a gift from God and using this performance as a form of praise and thanksgiving to Him.”
Reclaiming the crown got significantly tougher when Rossville moved to 2A. The Bulldawgs were the 3A champs from 2021-2024.
“We’ve always had the utmost respect for Rossville as they are the most dominant program across all the classes in the state,” Bond said. “They were the four-time 3A champs and had literally never lost before in person (Rossville did not win the virtual competition held during the pandemic).”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball achieved its biggest victory over a nationally-ranked team in more than 10 years on Saturday in Lee Arena, with the Ichabods taking a 67-64 MIAA thriller over No. 3 Fort Hays State, 67-64.
Washburn celebrates its 67-64 win over No. 3-ranked Fort Hays State Saturday in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Getting a combined 46 points from seniors Yibari Nwidadah and Gabi Giovannetti, the Ichabods handed the Tigers their first loss of the season while ending a 10-game Fort Hays State winning streak in the series.
"It was a big one and I think it was a real testament to the work these seniors have done because when we need them down the stretch they just seem to keep showing up and now the confidence is coming that they've earned and they've worked really hard for,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said.
"It was just a great team win and that's what we've been about this week.''
Nwidadah notched her first double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Giovannetti scored 22 points with three assists and three 3-pointers and senior Payton Sterk contributed six points and five assists.
"Every day I'm just trying to be as dominant as I can,'' Nwidadah said. "I know that's my role on this team, so doing that I think makes our team as successful as we can be.''
It was a game of runs early on with Washburn, now 6-2 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA, throwing the first punch as the Ichabods led 8-1 after an inside bucket from Nwidadah.
Fort Hays State (7-1, 1-1) answered with the next 18 points in the game to lead 19-8. The Ichabods finished the opening quarter by scoring the final four points as they weathered the storm while shooting 4 of 18 from the field.
The Tigers opened the second quarter by extending the lead back to 11 points at 28-17 with 6:28 to play, but shots started to fall for Washburn, which put together an 8-0 run that included two buckets by Britany Kogbara inside.
The game was tied in the final minute of the second quarter after a 3-pointer by Giovannetti and the Ichabods entered the locker room leading 35-32 after Nwidadah converted an and-one in the final seconds of the half.
Fort Hays State quickly tied the game up in the third quarter, but Washburn had an answer with baskets from Nwidadah and Giovannetti.
In the final three minutes of the quarter the duo combined for eight straight points to give the Ichabods a double-digit lead for the first time at 51-40 with 1:41 to play in the third. Sterk beat the buzzer on a jumper to keep the lead at 10 (55-45) heading to the fourth.
The first four points in the fourth came from Fort Hays State and the Tigers continued to cut away, with the lead at just two points at the 4:49 mark.
Minutes later Giovannetti got three the old fashioned way, stretching the lead to five. The basket was matched with a 5-0 run for Fort Hays State to tie the game with 44 seconds remaining.
Out of a timeout Nwidadah got a layup to fall inside and on the other end would come up with a block to help secure the second ranked victory of the season for Washburn.
"We talked a lot about staying the course,'' Nwidadah said. "I think in any basketball game it's a game of runs, so we just had to stop their runs as much as we could and fight back as well.''
Even though Washburn is just two games into the conference season, Giovannetti said Saturday's win should give the Ichabods confidence moving forward.
"I've never beat Fort Hays the whole time I've been here, so it gives us a lot of confidence,'' Giovannetti said. "We just have a lot of confidence within our team and a lot of confidence in each other.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 2-ranked Washburn University's two closest games of the season have something in common, a clutch performance down the stretch from senior guard Bryson Smith.
Senior Bryson Smith scored 18 of his 22 points in the second half Saturday as Washburn Improved to 10-0 with a hard-earned 73-66 win over Fort Hays State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Smith scored 18 of his team-high 22 points in the second half while hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the final 20 minutes as Washburn stayed perfect on the season with a 73-66 win over Fort Hays State in Lee Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Ichabods, 10-0 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA, trailed 34-33 at halftime and the game was tied at 58 with five minutes left before the Northeastern State transfer scored 11 points over the final 2:38, including a 7 of 8 showing at the free throw line in the final 46 seconds as the Ichabods held off the Tigers (5-3, 0-2).
"I feel like I'm one of the guys on the team that can be a closer for this team and help us get the win down the stretch and make good plays,'' Smith said.
Saturday's performance was reminiscent of Smith's early-season performance against Rockhurst when Smith scored 19 of his 22 points after after halftime and scored the go-ahead basket as WU rallied from a five-point deficit with 2:29 to play to take an 85-81 win.
"He's a good player and we knew that coming in,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "He's one of those guys that in these big games, he's not afraid of the moment.
"The thing with Bryson is he gets downhill and he's athletic enough to go finish. Sometimes you just need a guy to go create his own and that's kind of what he did tonight.''
Ballard first took notice of Smith and what he could do last season when Smith scored 10 points with 11 assists and three steals as Northeastern State handed Washburn an 88-84 defeat, one of only two regular-season losses for the Ichabods.
And when Smith entered the transfer portal, the Ichabods knew they wanted him on their side.
"We couldn't guard him, so we said, 'If you can't beat him, join him,' '' Ballard said with a laugh.
"I thought I controlled that game in the second half, so I feel that's why I'm here now,'' Smith said. "Coach saw that and wanted me to be here.''
Sophomore Dillon Claussen scored 21 points, including 13 in the first half of Saturday's 73-66 Washburn win over Fort Hays State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Smith's big second half came after WU sophomore star Dillon Claussen scored 13 of his 21 points in the first half to carry the Ichabods.
Claussen went 7 of 10 from the field on the day and went 7 of 8 at the free throw line, grabbed six rebounds and registered four steals.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University soccer team advanced to the NCAA Final Four with a 3-2 Saturday victory over Missouri-St. Louis in St. Louis.
Washburn soccer celebrates after Saturday's 3-2 Elite Eight road win over Missouri-St. Louis. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn soccer displays its NCAA Final Four sign after Saturday's 3-2 win over Missouri-St. Louis. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
With the win the 14-3-6 Ichabods avenged a 3-0 loss to the Tritons in Washburn's second game of the season.
"That was a great college soccer game,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "UMSL is a good team that is tough to score on, and to get three today was such a big-time effort from the ladies."
"I thought we were really good for large spells of the game. We had to really earn it today and battle through some challenges that this game provided, but I'm so proud of our team and their character to battle back and find the game winner."
Washburn heads to the Final Four for the second time in program history, and for the second time in three years, traveling to Colorado Springs, Colo. to face Franklin Pierce in a 4 p.m. (Central time) semifinal on Thursday.
Washburn soccer poses for a team picture after earning a trip to the Final Four in Colorado Springs with Saturday's 3-2 win over Missouri-St. Louis. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]Following re-seeding for the Final Four, Washburn is the No. 1 seed and Franklin Pierce No. 4.
The opening 20 minutes were back and forth, with both teams having chances to score first.
The Ichabods would start to gain some momentum shortly with two shots in the 26th and 27th minute, both saved by the UMSL goalie, but after a corner was taken in the 39th minute by Bricelyn Betts that was fumbled by the UMSL goalie, Shaye Taylor would find the back of the net to put Washburn up, 1-0.
Just one minute, 19 seconds later, Aubrey Tanksley would put the Ichabods up 2-0 heading into the halftime break. It was Tanksley's second goal of the season, coming in back-to-back matches.
The Tritons would not go down without a fight and would get one back in the 51st minute to cut the Ichabod lead to 2-1. UMSL would find an equalizer seven minutes later in the 58th minute from a cross that was headed in.
The Ichabods would respond right back four minutes later in the 62nd minute. After Leah Henke's initial shot was saved, Henke put away the rebound to put Washburn back on top 3-2.
It was the freshman's 12th goal of the year, moving her into the No. 4 spot all-time for goals in a single season, passing fellow Bishop Carroll product Khloe Schuckman, who had 11 in 2023.
The Ichabods outshot the Tritons 14-12 and had seven corners to just two taken by UMSL.
Washburn freshman goalkeeper Lili Everley registered six saves during the match.
