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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Kansas' softball team already has a definite Washburn Rural flavor, with Kasey Hamilton finishing her freshman season this past spring and Olivia Bruno just beginning her Jayhawk career.
Now Campbell Bagshaw is set to join her former Junior Blue teammates at KU in 2022-23 after orally committing to the Jayhawks over the weekend.
"It's definitely a stress reliever,'' Bagshaw said about getting her college pick out of the way. "I went on a visit to William Jewell and I was also looking into Murray State, but after everything was all said and done, KU just seemed like the best fit for me.''
Campbell Bagshaw [Twitter]
Bagshaw said she's looking forward to reuniting with Hamilton and Bruno in the fall of '22.
"I've always looked up to them and admired them for their leadership and their work ethic and they always were just super encouraging and always supported me through it all, whatever decision I made,'' Bagshaw said. "But they love KU and I know that I can trust both of them with everything, so it was good to have those two as kind of like my mentors.''
Bagshaw, who earned All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League first-team honors as a junior infielder, said it will be nice to get a chance to play her college softball so close to her Topeka home.
"It was definitely whatever felt right,'' Bagshaw said of her college choice. "I know personally I am a homebody and that was one of the reasons that Murray State wasn't quite a good fit for me because I knew I wouldn't be able to go eight hours away.
"I was OK to go a couple of hours away maybe, but just being around the atmosphere of Lawrence itself and then also the campus, I knew it was definitely the right fit.''
With her future set, Bagshaw will turn her focus on her senior seasons in basketball this winter and softball next spring.
"I'll play travel fall ball and then I'll play basketball and I'll play travel softball after our high school season,'' Bagshaw said.
Bagshaw played on Rural's Class 6A state championship basketball team as a freshman in 2019 and hit .419 with 37 runs scored, two homers and 18 runs batted in for the Junior Blue softball team this past season as Rural posted a 20-3 record and advanced to the 6A state quarterfinals.
Now Bagshaw wants to do whatever she can to end her prep career in both sports with a bang.
"Last year our seniors were great leaders,'' Bagshaw said. "I know for basketball we only had one senior, but I think the chemistry between the girls is great and I think that is definitely a key in both sports to have success.''
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Washburn University senior libero Faith Rottinghaus has been named the MIAA Volleyball Defensive Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced Monday afternoon.
Faith Rottinghaus
Rottinghaus, who helped Shawnee Heights win the Class 5A state title in 2016, passed the 2,000 career digs milestone last week as she helped the Ichabods to a 3-1 record at the Mountain Lion Invitational.
Rottinghaus averaged 5.29 digs/set in four matches and scooped up 20 digs against No. 15 Colorado School of Mines to reach the milestone. She was also named to the All-Tournament team and finished the weekend with 74 digs, 57 receptions with zero errors, five service aces with one error in 48 total attempts and eight assists.
Rottinghaus now has 2,005 digs and is 88 away from moving up to second on Washburn's all-time record list. Shawnee Heights product Erica Cowhick (2004-07) is Washburn's career digs record holder with 2,464.
The Ichabods will begin MIAA play this weekend on the road at Fort Hays State (Sept. 17) and No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney (Sept. 18).
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Camden Barta
CAMDEN BARTA, Seaman
A senior quarterback/defensive back, Barta accumulated 285 total offensive yards, including 244 passing yards, as Seaman's football team improved to 2-0 with a 35-14 win over Hayden. Barta passed for three touchdowns and also had a pass interception.
Bethany Druse
BETHANY DRUSE, Seaman
A returning Class 5A state medalist, Druse finished second in last Saturday's Joe Schrag Invitational cross country meet at the Kanza Park Course in a five-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 45.51 seconds, leading Seaman to the girls team championship by a 30-41 margin over Blue Valley.
Torrey Horak
TORREY HORAK, Rossville
Horak, a senior, rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and completed 16 of 26 pass attempts for 239 yards and two TDs as the defending 2A state-champion Bulldawgs improved to 2-0 with a 56-14 romp past Rock Creek.
Tanner Newkirk
TANNER NEWKIRK, Hayden
Newkirk, who won the Class 4A state cross country championship last fall at Wamego Country Club, returned to that course last Saturday for the Wamego Invitational, posting a 14-second victory in a field of 114 runners, clocking a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 47.50 seconds.
Khloe Schuckman
KHLOE SCHUCKMAN, Washburn University
A freshman, the Bishop Carroll product scored two goals, her first two goals of her college career, over the final 20 minutes of last Thursday's 2-1 road victory at Missouri-Saint Louis, helping Washburn University's soccer team improve to 3-0 on the season.
Kory Sutton
KORY SUTTON, Shawnee Heights
Hampered by injuries in the 2020 cross country season, Sutton posted his second individual victories in as many races this fall, winning the boys title in last Saturday's Topeka West Joe Schrag Invitational in a personal-record five-kilometer time of 15:58.84.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
If things had gone like planned, Topeka West junior Lenny Njoroge would have entered Saturday's Joe Schrag Invitational cross country meet as the defending champion.
Instead, Njoroge, a Charger standout in cross country, soccer and track and field, was on the sidelines watching, still recovering from a broken leg suffered early in May in a club soccer game.
"It's pretty tough to watch,'' he said. "I miss it.''
But Njoroge, a Class 5A state medalist as both a freshman and sophomore, is doing everything he can to make the best of a situation he didn't expect to be in.
Lenny Njoroge
During Saturday's meet at the Kanza Park Course, Njoroge rooted on his Topeka West teammates while also making the rounds to visit with fellow competitors, all while wearing a constant smile on his face.
Njoroge's injury came about 12 hours after he won the city title in the 3,200-meter run in track.
"And then everything just collapses,'' Njoroge said. "Honestly, it was pretty hard, but I just tried to stay positive. I've got coaches around me helping me and keeping me positive.''
Topeka West junior Lenny Njoroge was the city champion in the 3,200 meters last spring before suffering a broken leg the next day. [File photo/TSN]
Njoroge is likely to miss the entire 2021 cross country season, but expects to be back in action next spring.
"I'm on schedule and I'm actually jogging right now,'' said Njoroge, who placed 12th in 5A cross country as a freshman and 11th last fall. "I'm starting some slow training and getting back into it step by step.
"The coaches and the doctors told me to take it easy this fall and then next track season I'll get back into it. They tell me I'll be back to being good and where I was, so by next year I'll be good.''
And Njoroge has every intention of continuing to participate in both cross country/track and soccer.
"I've still got love for both sports so I'll keep playing both,'' he said. "They're both my favorite sport.
"It was a pretty devastating time, but you've got to stay positive.''
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Returning to the Wamego Country Club course Saturday where he won the Class 4A cross country title in 2020, Hayden star Tanner Newkirk was just as impressive.
In fact, the Wildcat senior was even better than he was in his state-winning run.
Newkirk clocked a winning 5-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 47.50 seconds on Saturday to top a field of 114 competitors in the Wamego Invitational while paring nearly six seconds off the 15:53.32 time that he recorded in the 4A state meet last fall.
Tanner Newkirk
Newkirk won Saturday by 14 seconds over Buhler senior star Tanner Lindahl.
