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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Now in his third season as a member of the Pittsburg State University football staff, former Topeka High standout Tyrell Everett has settled in nicely to Southeast Kansas.
Tyrell Everett
"I definitely have,'' said Everett, the Gorillas' assistant head coach, defensive line coach and defensive run game coordinator. "They treat me so good down here. Our head coach (Tom Anthony) is like family to me and this community has definitely welcomed me in and the players are unbelievable. Of course the standards are high here and we coach them hard, but we love them so much on and off the field.''
But the 32-year-old Everett, who will be in Yager Stadium for Saturday's 1 p.m. Pittsburg State-Washburn MIAA contest, knows he wouldn't where or who is today without his Topeka roots and the challenges he faced and overcame along the way.
"Everything I've done I've been blessed by the good Lord upstairs and it's exciting to be able to represent my city,'' Everett said. "I think that's what I'm most excited about. Wherever I go I say I'm from Topeka, Kansas and I don't bat an eye.
"When you look at all I've been through and the stuff that I've overcome, and to be able to come out of the environment that I was able to come out of and make it and then be able to come back and coach in that environment and allow people to see that you can thrive out of Topeka, it's just fun to be part of that fraternity and to be able to say, 'Hey, I'm from Topeka.' ''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Since suffering its lone loss of the 2024 season in its fourth game -- a 5-2 non-league defeat to Blue Valley West -- Washburn Rural's boys soccer team has bounced back exactly how Junior Blues coach Brian Hensyel hoped it would, with a string of wins.
The Junior Blues stretched their current win streak to three games Thursday at Hayden, with Rural rolling to a 7-0 Centennial League win over the Wildcats to improve to 6-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in the league.
Washburn Rural junior Dylan Willingham (19) scored two goals and had two assists in Thursday's 7-0 Centennial League soccer victory over Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Pierce Cannon (left) had two goals and an assist in Thursday's 7-0 Centennial League soccer win over Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Since the loss to Blue Valley West, the Junior Blues have outscored their three opponents by a 20-1 margin.
"In the game we lost we saw some negative energy when we fell behind, and for the first time had any adversity, so we spent a lot of time talking about staying positive and not letting one mistake become five mistakes and they've done a good job since then,'' Hensyel said.
"Obviously, we've played pretty well and we've scored some goals and really, it's been a really, really good season. We had one bad half. We had kind of a bad start to our Blue Valley West game, went down 2-0, tied it up and then gave up three goals late. We've had about 20 bad minutes so far this season but we're going to find out next week. We go to Iowa next week and those teams are all great, so we better be ready.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After suffering a pair of tough home losses to open the 2024 season, Davy Phillips' Washburn University soccer team posted a pair of shutout victories last weekend to get back on track.
After dropping a 2-0 season-opening loss to Missouri-St. Louis and a 2-1 loss to Maryville, the Ichabods defeated Southwest Minnesota State 2-0 and Wayne State College, 1-0 to even their record at 2-2.
Senior forward Riley Wells helped Washburn University soccer post a pair of shutout victories last weekend. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
"Davy knew those were tough teams coming into it and he warned us about that, so we got those out of the way, we got the losses out of the way, and especially getting six points last weekend it was huge for us and for confidence,'' Washburn senior forward Riley Wells said.
"The vibes weren't great (after the season-opening losses), but I think that next week in practice we just continued to work harder and get better and fine tune the things that we needed to work on. We didn't get too down on ourselves and we knew we were better than that.''
Now the Ichabods will be looking to keep rolling when they conclude their non-conference schedule with a pair of neutral site contests against the Black Hills State (S.D.) Yellow Jackets and Western Colorado Mountaineers Friday and Sunday.
"I think we stepped up last weekend and I think this streak will continue if we work together and continue to get better each week,'' said Wells, who has scored seven goals with seven assists in her WU career.
Both games will be played in Kearney, Neb. at the facilities of fellow MIAA member Nebraska-Kearney. The Ichabods will face the Yellow Jackets on Friday and the Mountaineers on Sunday, with both matches scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m.
The Ichabods, the NCAA Division II national runnerup last season, are ranked 20th in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II Women's National poll.
Wells and fellow senior Khloe Schuckman scored their first goals of the 2024 campaign in the win over Southwest Minnesota State, while the Ichabod defense held the Mustangs without a shot until the 80th minute.
Former Washburn Rural star Belle Kennedy scored her first goal of the season in the victory over Wayne State. Kennedy stole the ball from a Wildcat player and took it all the way to the goal.
Rural product Hailey Beck posted back-to-back shutouts in goal for the Ichabods. Beck made a career-high five saves in the victory over Wayne State.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden junior golf and tennis standout Izzy Glotzbach and Shawnee Heights junior football standout Aiden Scott have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2024-2025 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Glotzbach and Scott over the past week:
Hayden junior Izzy Glotzbach, a returning Class 4A state medalist, tied for first place in last Thursday's Seaman Invitational golf tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden junior Izzy Glotzbach, a Class 4A state tennis qualifier last season, teamed with Emily Sheetz to win the No. 1 doubles title in last Tuesday's Hayden Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
IZZY GLOTZBACH, Hayden
A two-sport fall athlete in golf and tennis, the Hayden junior won championships in both sports last week.
Glotzbach teamed with senior Emily Sheetz to win the No. 1 doubles championship in last Tuesday's Hayden Invitational tennis tournament at Kossover Tennis Center with a 9-7 win over Marysville and she shared the individual title in last Thursday's Seaman Invitational golf tournament at Village Greens Golf Course with a 76, leading the Wildcats to a second-place team finish.
As a sophomore Glotzbach placed ninth in the Class 4A state golf tournament while helping the Wildcats win the state team title by 37 strokes and she also earned a berth in the 4A state tennis tournament.
Shawnee Heights junior quarterback Aiden Scott is the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency male Rising Star of the Week after throwing for 333 yards and three touchdowns in last Friday's 53-8 win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
AIDEN SCOTT, Shawnee Heights
A junior first-year starter at quarterback for the T-Birds, Scott has eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark in his first two games of 2024.
Scott is coming off of a 16 of 26 passing performance for 333 yards and three touchdowns in last Friday's 53-8 United Kansas Conference victory over Topeka West at Hummer Sports Park.
Scott, who also rushed for a TD against Topeka West, has now completed 40 of 66 passes for 655 yards and five touchdowns for the 1-1 T-Birds.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After winning its first six matches of the 2024 season, including four sweeps, Washburn University volleyball suffered a tough five-set loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville last Saturday in its final match of the Mountaineer Volleyball Classic at Gunnison, Colo.
Junior setter Corinna McMullen leads the 6-1 Ichabods in assists with 148 entering this weekend's PSU Regional Challenge. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But junior setter Corinna McMullen said the key now is to make sure that Saturday's defeat is nothing more than a temporary bump in the road as the 6-1 Ichabods get set for their final three tuneups this weekend before opening MIAA play.
"I'm upset about the loss, but at the same time I'm not happy it happened but sometimes it is essential for us to have it happen in order to grow,'' McMullen said.
And McMullen said that despite Saturday's loss the Ichabods are proud of their start to 2024.
"The team's been really excited about it,'' said McMullen, a former Louisburg standout. "We've grown a lot in these matches and I think even though we did lose, and we definitely should have won, sometimes you have to lose those matches, especially early in the season, to grow from them and learn where we have to grow from them.
"We learned that we have to show up in the big moments and our next goal for these next couple of matches is to win in these big moments and to want to be that player that is going to put the ball away or is going to make the good pass or make the good set.''
Washburn heads to Pittsburg this weekend for three matches at the PSU Regional Challenge in John Lance Arena, beginning with two matches on Friday before wrapping up non-conference play with a match on Saturday.
The Ichabods will take on Missouri S&T at 9 a.m. on Friday before facing Harding later in the day at 2 p.m. Washburn will wrap up the tournament on Saturday morning with a 9 a.m. match against Henderson State.
The 2024 PSU Regional Challenge will be made up of seven teams -- three from the MIAA and two from the GLVC and the GAC.
Joining the Ichabods from the MIAA are Emporia State and host Pittsburg State while Henderson State and Harding will represent the GAC and Illinois-Springfield and Missouri S&T will represent the GLVC.
The Ichabods went 3-1 last weekend, sweeping Western Colorado and Fort Lewis and adding a 3-1 decision over Western New Mexico before finishing the tournament with the 3-2 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Senior Jalyn Stevenson is the team leader with 76 kills (2.92 per set) while hititng .264 across WU's seven matches. She also leads the Ichabods with eight service aces and is second in digs, picking up 88. She is 16th in the MIAA in both total digs and kills per set. She has double-digit kills in four matches this season with three double-doubles.
Stevenson ranks 23rd in program history with 1,067 career kills and needs 81 more to crack the top 20. She is also 15th on the program charts in aces with 109. With four more aces she will move into 14th place.
Junior Alex Dvorak is second on the team in both kills with 63 and in hitting percentage with a .450 mark. She has started all seven matches and leads the team with 37 total blocks. Dvorak is 16th in the nation and secnd in the MIAA in hitting percentage and is 14th in the nation and first among MIAA players in blocks per set with 1.42. She has hit at least .333 in all seven matches.
McMullen paces Washburn with 148 assists (5.92 per set) through seven matches and is also third on the team with 68 digs while adding five service aces. McMullen is 12th in the MIAA in both assists and assists per set and has three double-doubles on the year and four matches with at least 20 assists.
McMullen ranks 13th in program history in total assists with 1,578. She needs 32 more to move up one spot to 12th. She also ranks 25th on the program charts with 87 service aces.
