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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 24-ranked Washburn University volleyball finished off its regular season with a four-set win on the road over Arkansas-Fort Smith in the first-ever conference battle between the two teams.
Former Cair Paravel star Taryn Pridgett (18) tied for team-high honors with 15 kills as Washburn volleyball capped its regular season with a 3-1 road win over Arkansas-Fort Smith. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods will await their seeding in the MIAA Tournament after the KPI Rankings are calculated at the conclusion of all matches around the conference.
Washburn (20-6 overall, 11-5 MIAA) got out to a fast start, winning 25-16 in the first set. The second set went long, and ended with the Lions (14-14, 6-10) evening up the match.
The visiting Ichabods jumped out to early leads in each of the next two sets, winning both, 25-18 and 25-22.
A kill by Jalyn Stevenson began the match and three points later Corinna McMullen served an ace, forcing a timeout by Arkansas-Fort Smith as the Lions trailed 4-0.
Shortly after, a 5-0 run ending with another ace, this time via Taylor Rottinghaus, made it a 10-2 set. Both sides traded points until the Lions got a rally going, winning four in a row to cut the lead to three at 18-15. The Ichabods finished out the set by winning seven of the final eight points, with Bella Limback delivering the final blow on a pass from Sydney Conner.
In the second set the Lions got off to a quicker start, jumping ahead 6-3. Washburn tied the set up at seven on a kill by Natalie Hedlund and each side traded the lead back and forth until a 6-1 run by the Ichabods created separation at 16-12. Arkansas-Fort Smith battled back, winning six of seven points to tie things up at 19.
Washburn was the first to reach set point after an ace from McMullen. The Ichabods reached set point twice, but each time the Lions had an answer. On Fort Smith's second time reaching set point they were able to put the set away with two straight kills, ending it at 30-28.
The Ichabod offense got right back on track in the third, starting the set with a kill by Dvorak which sparked a 6-0 run. On the defensive end Dvorak and Hedlund combined for a block to finish off a 4-0 stretch that left the score at 18-10. The Lions were able to pull within five but down the stretch the Washburn offense carried the way as they hit .552 as a team with 16 kills and no errors in the 25-18 victory.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
An eighth straight Rossville victory appeared highly unlikely on the road Friday night when the Bulldawgs trailed top seed and undefeated Jackson Heights 31-14 at the start of the fourth quarter and 38-21 with five and a half minutes remaining.
But three touchdowns over a span of just 1 minute, 27 seconds did the trick, with Rossville rallying for a dramatic 42-38 win to advance to next Friday's Class 1A sub-state (semifinal) round.
Rossville senior quarterback Tayson Horak passed for four TDs and ran for the game-winning score in Friday's 42-38 road win at Jackson Heights. [File photo/TSN]
Now 8-3 on the season, the Bulldawgs took their only lead of the night on a 6-yard run by senior quarterback Tayson Horak (Vincent Daniel kick) with 3:07 left and Rossville was able to keep the Cobras out of the end zone the rest of the way to close out the win.
Rossville will be on the road again next Friday, traveling to Centralia to face the 10-1 Panthers, a 46-14 winner over Pittsburg Colgan.
Jackson Heights (10-1) struck first against Rossville, just 18 seconds into the game, but a 4-yard Andre Johnson TD run (Daniel kick) knotted the score at 7-7 at the 7:21 mark of the opening quarter.
The Cobras took a 10-7 lead on a 25-yard field goal late in the first and scored back-to-back TDs to take a 24-7 lead with two minutes remaining in the first half.
Rossville junior Mahki Jackson (15) scored a pair of TDs in Friday's 42-38 come-from-behind playoff win at Jackson Heights. [File photo/TSN]
Rossville got back within 10 points on a 25-yard pass from Horak to Mahki Jackson (Daniel kick) with just 16 seconds left before the intermission but Jackson Heights scored the only touchdown of the third quarter late in the period to go back in front by 17.
Horak and Jackson hooked up again early in the fourth quarter, this time on a 35-yard TD (Daniel kick), but the Cobras answered with a 6-yard TD to go up 38-21 with 5:30 left.
That's when Rossville turned the tables in a big way.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 10-ranked Washburn University men's basketball team had four players reach double figures as the team improved to 4-0 on the season in a 77-55 win over Rockhurst on Friday night in Kansas City, Mo.
Washburn senior Jacob Hanna scored 19 points Friday night as the Ichabods improved to 4-0 with a 77-55 road win over Rockhurst. [File photo/TSN]
With 4:30 to go in the opening half, the Ichabods turned a 26-24 lead into a 41-27 halftime advantage, closing the half on a 15-3 run capped by a Kade Cook dunk at the buzzer.
Washburn started the second half by scoring 10 of the first 14 points to build a 20-point lead and the Hawks got no closer than 14 the rest of the way.
The Ichabods scored eight straight points to go up 22 at 70-48 with 6:55 remaining,cruising to the 22-point win.
Former Great Lakes Valley Conference first-team selection Jacob Hanna scored a game-high 19 points back in familiar territory on 6 of 11 shooting while adding five rebounds.
Sophomore Brayden Shorter followed up his 26-point game on Tuesday with 16 points against Rockhurst, hitting four 3-pointers.
Senior Michael Keegan had 15 points with nine rebounds and five assists and sophomore Jack Bachelor scored 11 points with six rebounds and four assists.
Rockhurst was led by Jesse White who scored 18 for the Hawks.
Washburn shot a season-best 52 percent from the field, hitting 29 of 56 shots overall and going 8 of 23 from 3-point range. Washburn also held a 40-34 advantage on the glass and outscored the Hawks 40 to 14 in the paint while turning 11 Hawk turnovers into 17 points.
Washburn returns to action back on Tuesday when it will host Pittsburg State in a non-conference contest at 6 p.m. in Lee Arena.
WU women come up short in 88-83 loss to McKendree
Washburn fell behind early after a hot start by McKendree and was unable to bounce back, falling 88-83 in the first game of the Quincy Classic in Quincy, Ill.
The Ichabods will finish out the tournament against host Quincy at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Senior star Jensen Schrickel had an OK game the first time Hayden played Perry-Lecompton, compiling 113 rushing/receiving yards and scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion in the Wildcats' 34-point Class 3A district romp.
Hayden senior Jensen Schrickel scored seven touchdowns as the Wildcats advanced to the Class 3A sub-state round with a 56-6 win over Perry-Lecompton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Jensen Schrickel (9) celebrates with his Hayden teammates after scoring one of his seven TDs in Friday's 56-6 win over Perry-Lecompton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But that performance paled in comparison to Friday night as Schrickel turned in a game for the ages as Hayden advanced to next Friday's 3A sub-state round at Wellsville with a 56-6 rout in the Wildcats' rematch with the Kaws.
Schrickel, a 5-foot-10, 160-pounder, caught five passes for 192 yards and rushed for 124 yards on just five attempts while scoring seven touchdowns, six in the first half, as Hayden improved to 10-1 on the season.
"It was awesome,'' Schrickel said. "I couldn't have done it without people blocking and some great passes from my quarterback Jett (Wahlmeier). Everthing clicked, so it worked out really well.
"We started off a little bit slow, but we took control pretty early on and we kept putting pressure on after that.''
Schrickel set the tone for his huge night when he caught a 54-yard touchdown pass from senior Wahlmeier on a 4th-and-11 play to cap Hayden's game-opening drive.
He and Wahlmeier hooked up for a 65-yard TD on Hayden's one-play second drive and made it a 20-0 Wildcat lead when he and Wahlmeier made connections again, this time on a 24-yard strike.
After Perry-Lecompton (5-6) scored its only TD of the night on a 78-yard TD pass from Garrett Metcalfe to Tristan Gorden, Schrickel tacked on three second-quarter scores -- a 24-yard run, a 33-yard pass from Wahlmeier and a 5-yard run -- as Hayden took a commanding 42-6 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The multi-event state track and field champion scored his seventh and final touchdown on a 79-yard run with 5:13 left in the third quarter before Wildcat junior Kade Mitchell capped Hayden scoring with a 9-yard TD run to force a running clock for the final 4:08.
Hayden senior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier passed for 263 yards and four TDs in Friday's 56-6 Class 3A playoff win over Perry-Lecompton. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
While Schrickel's seven TDs stole the show, Wahlmeier had a big night in his own right, completing 12 of 18 passes for 263 yards and four scores.
Hayden coach Bill Arnold said Friday's game showed off the Wildcats' variety of weapons.
"We didn't play clean all the way across the board but our kids played hard and obviously took advantage of some situational plays out there,'' Arnold said. "Kade's had his games, Schrickel's had his games, Jett's had his games and (Broderick) Desch is pretty solid on the inside there.
"You have an opportunity to take advantage of some mis-matches out there and it's kind of hard to take all of those guys away.''
With Friday's win Hayden set up next Friday's sub-state matchup with 11-0 and top East seed Wellsville, which took a 35-14 home win over Prairie View.
HAYDEN 56, PERRY-LECOMPTON 6
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn baseball head coach Harley Douglas has announced the signing of seven players to the 2025 class that will join the Ichabods in the 2026 season.
Washburn baseball coach Harley Douglas has announced a seven-member recruiting class to join the Ichabods for the 2026 season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The class features two pitchers, two outfields, an infielder and two utility players.
Cal Clark | 5-10 | 180 | Utility | L/L | Kansas City, Kan. | St. James Academy
High School: A four-year member of the St. James Academy Thunder baseball program ... as a junior was named the St. James Academy Offensive Player of the Year after hitting .333 with a .449 OBP ... selected to KC United (KCCBA National Team) and named the Impact Athletes Hitter of the Year during club ball
Personal: Son of Missy and David Clark ... has a sister, MaryBeth who swims at St. Louis University ... plans to major in exercise and rehab science
Eli Dean | 5-11 | 185 | OF | R/R | Perry, Kan. | Perry Lecompton HS
High School: A four-year member of the Perry Lecompton Kaws baseball program ... was a All-League honorable mention as a freshman ... earned first team All-League honors as a sophomore while also being named to the All-State second team by Sports in Kansas ... helped the Kaws to a 14-8 record as a junior while being named the Lawrence Journal World Player of the Year and first team All-League and All-State honors ... played club ball at Building Champions Baseball Academy
Personal: Son of Angela Franson and Justin Dean ... has one brother, Caden ... plans to major in environmental biology
Eli Helberg | 6-0 | 190 | RHP | R/R | Holt, Neb. | Kearney HS
High School: A four-year member of the Kearney baseball team ... earned All-State honorable mention honors as a freshman ... had a 1.5 ERA and a 7-1 record as a sophomore helping the Bulldogs to a quarterfinal finish at state ... was an All-State second team selection ... was a first team selection as a junior as Kearney went 30-8 setting a new school record for wins ... played club ball for the Royals Scout Team
