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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural soccer took care of business Monday night at McElroy Field, rolling to the Class 6A state semifinals with a 5-1 quarterfinal romp past Garden City.
Washburn Rural's soccer team celebrates Monday's 5-1 Class 6A quarterfinal win over Garden City at McElroy Field. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Now the 17-1-1 Junior Blues will get the opportunity to avenge their lone loss of the season in Wednesday's 6 p.m. state semifinal on the road against Blue Valley West, which rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit to take a 3-2 double-overtime early-season victory over Washburn Rural.
Needless to say, the Junior Blues are looking forward to the challenge ahead.
"We're glad to get the win (tonight) and know that we're playing two more times,'' Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel said. "We'll be ready Wednesday. This team has been playing great for quite sometime, we've been scoring goals and we feel really confident in our chances.''
Hensyel said the earlier loss to Blue Valley West (17-2), which advanced to the semifinals with a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Blue Valley, provided a wakeup call for the Junior Blues.
"It was probably the turning point,'' Hensyel said. "It was just the third game and I think we thought we were going to be really good and that first half we were really good and dominated the game and then just gave it away.
"Blue Valley West is a good team obviously and one of the best teams in Kansas City and we felt like on that night we just handed them a win in the second half. I think we've gotten a lot better since then and we had a feeling we were going to see them again because they're a really good team, so (Wednesday) will be fun.''
Washburn Rural senior Draden Chooncharoen (23) had a goal and an assist in Monday's 5-1 Class 6A quarterfinal win over Garden City. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Rural never trailed in Monday's quarterfinal after senior Draden Chooncharoen scored at the 25:35 mark of the first half.
"(Hensyel) always talks about getting out early, the first 15 minutes you've got to have a goal, so getting that first goal and having energy and making them play from behind that gave us a good starter for the game,'' said Chooncharoen, who also had an assist in the win.
Junior Myles Didde scored Monday's second goal in Washburn Rural's 5-1 Class 6A quarterfinal win over Garden City. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Myles Didde made it a 2-0 game just over five minutes later and an own goal at the 12:20 mark put Washburn Rural in command 3-0 at the half.
Senior Dylan Willingham, Washburn Rural's single-season and career scoring record-holder, scored two goals on penalty kicks in Monday's 5-1 Class 6A state quarterfinal win over Garden City at McElroy Field. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Garden City (15-3-1) got on the scoreboard 6:44 into the second half on a goal from junior Saul Ortega, but Washburn Rural star Dylan Willingham converted penalty kicks with 12:40 and 3:50 remaining to account for the final margin.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Eight Shawnee County standouts from Class 3A state champion Silver Lake, 4A runnerup Hayden and 2A participant Rossville have earned All-State Tournament recognition from the Kansas Volleyball Association.
Kylie Hanni, Silver Lake [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]
Jaylie Whitehead, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner /Special to TSN]
Jaiden Wise, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Silver Lake, which completed a 46-1 season with the 10th state volleyball championship in school history Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena, is represented on the All-3A state tourney team by 5-foot-3 junior setter Kylie Hanni, 5-5 junior libero Jaylie Whitehead and 5-8 senior outside hitter Jaiden Wise.
Ella Foster, Hayden [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]
Mallory Tanking, Hayden [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]
Blakely Walter, Hayden [File photo/TSN]
Hayden, 33-10 after a three-set loss to Andale in the championship match at Hutchinson, is represented on the All-4A state tournament team by 5-4 senior libero Ella Foster, 5-11 sophomore rightside hitter/middle blocker Hailey Schmidtlein, 6-0 junior outside/rightside hitter Mallory Tanking and 5-9 sophomore setter Blakely Walter.
Schmidtlein and Walter earned all-state tournament honors for the second straight season.
Nora Burdiek, Rossville [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]]
Rossville 5-11 junior outside hitter Nora Burdiek was named to the 2A all-state tournament team after leading the Bulldawgs to a 1-2 record in pool play at Dodge City.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Class 3A state champion Silver Lake and 2A state qualifier Rossville combined for three first-team spots on the All-Big East League volleyball team, selected by league coaches.
Kylie Hanni, Silver Lake [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]
Jaylie Whitehead, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Nora Burdiek, Rossville [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Silver Lake is represented on the all-league first team by junior setter Kylie Hanni and junior libero Jaylie Whitehead while Rossville put junior outside hitter Nora Burdiek on the first team.
Silver Lake senior outside hitter Jaiden Wise and Rossville freshman setter Kenna Perine were named to the all-league second team and Lake senior middle hitter Paige Heiman and Rossville junior libero Ady Henry were third-team picks.
Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter received all-league honorable mention.
ALL-BIG EAST LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL
First team
Nora Burdiek, jr. OH, Rossville; Kylie Hanni, jr. S, Silver Lake; Jaylie Whitehead, jr. L, Silver Lake; Kiwe Miller, so. OH, Royal Valley; Addison Schwinn, sr. MH, Jefferson West; Macie Corcoran, jr. OH, Perry-Lecompton.
Second team
Jaiden Wise, sr. OH, Silver Lake; Khloe Black, so. OH, Holton; Macy Holthaus, so. OH, Nemaha Central; Harriet Dean, jr. S, Jefferson West; Audrey Holle, so. OH, Riley County; Kenna Perine, fr. S, Rossville.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman, Shawnee Heights and Topeka West all put a player on the All-United Kansas Conference volleyball first team while Seaman senior Kinsley Smith was named the conference defensive player of the year.
Smith also earned a spot on the eight-member All-UKC first team along with Shawnee Heights senior Avery Willey and Topeka West junior Sydney Van Dyke.
Shawnee Heights senior Brooke McCabe was named to the All-UKC second team while Seaman senior Addison Sibley, Shawnee Heights junior Clara Morgan and senior Jaidyn Euwer andTopeka West senior Breonnah Keeling and sophomore Kendall Munoz received honorable mention.
Lansing senior Avery Sands was named the UKC offensive player of the year while De Soto senior Kylie Groves was named the setter of the year and Lansing's Whitney Pakenham was voted coach of the year.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
JADYN BAUM, Washburn Rural
A junior running back, Baum sailed over the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season Friday night, picking up 182 yards and scoring three touchdowns on 15 carries as 6-3 Washburn Rural advanced to the second round of the Class 6A football playoffs with a 37-0 win over Wichita South at Bowen-Glaze Stadium. Baum scored TDs on 8, 8 and 46 yards against the Titans.
DILLON CLAUSSEN, Washburn University
A 6-foot-8 sophomore, Claussen registered a pair of double-doubles as the No. 2-ranked Washburn men's basketball team opened the season with a pair of wins in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. The Omaha, Neb. native scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in Saturday's 101-53 win over Augusta (Ga.) and had 23 points and 12 rebounds in Sunday's 89-77 win over No. 3-ranked Dallas Baptist.
HENRY LAUBACH, Washburn Rural
A sophomore, Laubach led a balanced Washburn Rural cross country team with a 22nd-place individual finish in a five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 40.66 seconds Saturday at Rim Rock Farm as the Junior Blues captured the Class 6A team championship by a single point, 100-101 over Blue Valley.





