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THE PENNANT PLAYER PROFILE
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University senior linebacker Jacob Anderson and Emporia State junior wide receiver Corey Thomas are best friends dating back to their days as standouts for Topeka High, and nothing is going to change that.
But Anderson and Thomas will put that unbreakable bond on hold for about three hours Saturday afternoon when the rival Ichabods and Hornets hook up in the Turnpike Tussle at ESU's Welch Stadium (1 p.m. kickoff).
"I'm always wishing Corey the best, but this week we both know that out there on that field we're just going to be competing and our main goal is to win,'' Anderson said. "We both want to win, we're both super competitive and we're going to give it everything we have while we're out there and then it will be all love after the game. That's the type of relationship we have.
"We know that when we're out there on that field, it's war and we're going to be battling and fighting, but after the game we're going to shake it up and go back to being brothers.''
Senior linebacker Jacob Anderson leads Washburn in tackles heading into Saturday's Turnpike Tussle at Emporia State. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Former Topeka High standout Corey Thomas, in action against Northeastern State in 2019, is coming off a six-catch game for Emporia State against Pittsburg State. [Photo courtesy of ESU Athletics]
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Senior Kaitlyn Crough shot a 72 to lead the way as Washburn Rural's girls golf team shot a season-low 310 as a team Wednesday to post a second-place finish in the 23-school Lawrence Invitational at Eagle Bend Golf Course.
Washburn Rural senior Kaitlyn Crough carded a 72 to tie for second Wednesday in the 23-school Lawrence Invitational. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Crough tied for second individually while Washburn Rural also got top-10 finishes in the 125-player field from senior Aliyah North and junior Avery Scott.
North tied for eighth with a 76 and Scott tied for 10th with a 77 for the Junior Blues, who have won city and Centennial League titles this fall.
Sophomore Raegan Petersen placed 18th with an 81 while senior McKenna Merrick tied for 28th with an 85 and juniors Mallory Nelson and Annika Peterson tied for 35th with 87s.
Blue Valley West senior star Julia Misemer shot a 66 to win the individual title by six strokes while West won the team championship with a four-person score of 304.
LAWRENCE INVITATIONAL GIRLS GOLF
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Andrew Davids was an honor student at both Topeka West and Emporia State, including earning MIAA Scholar-Athlete recognition at ESU, but challenges in one particular college class started Davids thinking about joining his parents in education.
It's a decision the former tennis standout for the Chargers and Hornets and the current head coach at Olathe South will never regret.
"It was honestly because of calculus,'' Davids said during Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center. "My original major was physical therapy. I didn't get the grade I needed in calculus and I didn't want to re-take calculus, so I switched my major. It turned out to be a good decision.''
Olathe South tennis coach Andrew Davids, a former standout at Topeka West and Emporia State, talks with Falcon singles player Sadie Fosha during Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Andrew's father, Kurt, is a longtime teacher and boys and girls tennis coach at Topeka West while his mother, Katie, is also a longtime teacher and coach and is currently the activities coordinator at Landon Middle School.
Calling his parents to tell them he was switching majors wasn't necessarily an easy call for Andrew to make, but he said they took the news exactly the way he hoped they would.
"They were actually pretty excited about it, excited and supportive obviously, as good parents are,'' said Davids, who coaches chemistry at Olathe South along with his coaching duties. "In the back of my mom's head she said she always knew that I had that kind of personality and the teacher attitude and mentality, so she wasn't surprised I don't think.''
Davids, who was an assistant coach two years at Arkansas City before moving to Olathe South, said not a day goes by that he doesn't feel his parents' influence on him.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's doubles stars Grace Unruh and Lauren Sweeney have been tested on multiple occasions this fall, but the Viking duo continues to pass every test.
Unruh, a senior, and Sweeney, a junior, remained unbeaten on the season in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational, posting a perfect 3-0 record to win the No. 1 doubles title at Kossover Tennis Center.
After surviving a couple of tough tests from Class 6A opposition in last Saturday's Emporia tournament, Unruh and Sweeney lost just two games on the day in Tuesday's tournament, including a 6-0, 6-0 win over Salina Central in the championship match.
"They don't panic, they don't press and they wait and they play their game and execute their game plan,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said of Unruh and Sweeney, who improved to 24-0 on the season. "They don't play safe, but just do what they need to do.''
Seaman's Lauren Sweeney (left) and Grace Unruh remained unbeaten on the season Tuesday, winning the No. 1 doubles title in the Topeka West Invitational. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Unruh and Sweeney were part of a big day by city players in the 12-school Topeka West tournament, including a team championship by city champ Washburn Rural.
Washburn Rural senior Sheriden Wichman won the No. 1 singles championship while the Junior Blues also got a win from the No. 2 doubles team of Hailey Beck and Shelby Schmutzler as well as a second-place finish from Mena DiMarzio in No. 2 singles and from Meredith Kucera and Kate Fritz in No. 1 doubles en route to the team title by a 51-50 margin over Salina Central.
Washburn Rural senior Sheriden Wichman won the No. 1 singles championship in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational, helping the Junior Blues win the team title. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Wichman took the No. 1 singles crown with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Salina Central's Janae Montoya while Beck and Schmutzler survived a tight match with Salina Central in the No. 2 doubles final to take a 7-6 (8-6 tiebreaker), 6-4 victory.
In addition to the win by Unruh and Sweeney, third-place Seaman got third-place finishes in No. 1 singles from Nina Del-Zio and in No. 2 singles from Katie Krumins.
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL TENNIS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Winning a Centennial League volleyball championship is never one of Washburn Rural's biggest goals, with Kevin Bordewick's Junior Blues using the regular season to put themselves in position to make a run at the big championship -- the Class 6A title.
But winning league is a step in that direction and the Junior Blues, ranked No. 11 nationally, took that step Tuesday night at Seaman, wrapping up a perfect 8-0 league record with a 25-8, 27-25 win over Seaman and a 25-8, 25-12 win over Topeka High.
"(League's) never been one of our bigger priorities, to be honest, in all our years here,'' said Bordewick, whose Junior Blues have won seven state titles. "We're more concerned about getting better every day and we emphasize that and we talk about that ad nauseum. That's all we talk about, but if everything else goes like that then the league should care of it itself and sub-state should take care of itself.
"But we'd rather win it than lose it, definitely.''
And Washburn Rural did lose the league title in 2020, with Seaman rallying late to knock off the Junior Blues in the league finale at Topeka High to claim the championship.
Bordewick said he didn't talk much about that last year's loss to the Vikings, but he didn't need to.
"I think I said one thing yesterday in practice: 'Remember what happened at T-High last year,' and they go, 'Yep, yep, yep,' '' Bordewick said. "The difference between this team this year and last year is that we learned and remembered that and what that felt like and we didn't want to let it happen again.''
Washburn Rural volleyball players congratulate each other after wrapping up a 2-0 night and the Centennial League title Tuesday at Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
