- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University soccer showed off its resiliency and depth Sunday in Yager Stadium as the Ichabods stretched their unbeaten streak to 11 games with a 2-1 MIAA victory over Fort Hays State.
The Ichabods, now 10-2-3 overall and 7-0-2 in the conference, never trailed after freshman Bricelyn Betts scored her first career goal with 11:49 left in the opening half off an assist from sophomore Sam Searcey, but the Tigers (3-10-1, 1-7-1) squared the match just 1:39 into the second half on a goal from Chaley French.
The game remained tied for just over 30 minutes until junior Kylie Hinrichs recorded her first career goal for the game-winner, with Searcey again providing the assist, and the Ichabods were able to hold on the rest of the way.
Washburn freshman Bricelyn Betts is mobbed by her teammates after scoring the Ichabods' first goal in Sunday's 2-1 win over Fort Hays State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn freshman Kylie Hinrichs delivers the game-winning goal in the Ichabods' 2-1 win over Fort Hays State Sunday in Yager Stadium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
For the second straight game Washburn scored the game-winning goal in the final 15 minutes.
"The resiliency of this group, they just stay so committed to the process day-in and day-out, training, games,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "Teams have to beat us. They truly have to beat us and there'll be a moment here and there in games where they might get a goal, but takes a lot to beat us.
"Credit the girls, they find a way. We are going to need that down the stretch here. We're going to need big moments late in games and knowing they can produce them is comforting and should give us confidence in these tight games down the stretch."
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Perennial Class 3A volleyball contender Silver Lake will be the team to beat in this week's state tournament at Hutchinson Sports Arena, earning the top seed in the eight-team field with a sparkling 41-1 record on the season.
Silver Lake volleyball celebrates its Class 3A sub-state title Saturday at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
In the brand new state tournament format installed by the Kansas State High School Activities Association, the 3A field will play its three pool matches on Thursday before a day off on Friday and the semifinals, championship and third-place matches on Saturday.
Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Sarah Johnson's Eagles will open their state bid at 11 a.m. Thursday with a Pool I match against No. 8 seed Hesston (26-12).
Silver Lake junior Jaylie Whitehead makes a return during Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
After a match off, Silver Lake will return to the court at 1 p.m. to face No. 5 seed Ellsworth (32-8) before closing out pool play with a 3 o'clock match against No. 4 Wichita Trinity (28-5).
On the other side of the 3A bracket are No. 2 seed Riverton (36-4), No. 3 Hoisington (36-4), No. 6 Holton (34-9) and No. 7 Osage City (27-12).
The top two finishers in both pools will advance to 9 a.m. semifinals on Saturday, followed by the championship and third-place matches.
CLASS 3A VOLLEYBALL
At Hutchinson Sports Arena
THURSDAY'S POOL PLAY
Pool I
10 a.m. -- Wichita Trinity (4: 28-5) vs. Ellsworth (5: 32-8).
11 -- Silver Lake (1: 41-1) vs. Hesston (8: 26-12).
12 p.m. -- Wichita Trinity vs. Hesston.
1 -- Silver Lake vs. Ellsworth.
2 -- Ellsworth vs. Hesston.
3 -- Silver Lake vs. Wichita Trinity.
Pool II
10 a.m. -- Hoisington (3: 36-4) vs. Holton (6: 34-9).
11 -- Riverton (2: 36-4) vs. Osage City (7: 27-12).
12 p.m. -- Hoisington vs. Osage City.
1 -- Riverton vs. Holton.
2 -- Holton vs. Osage City.
3 -- Riverton vs. Hoisington.
SATURDAY
9 a.m -- Semifinals.
(Championship and third-place matches 25 minutes after conclusion of last semifinal).
Washburn Rural volleyball is the No. 4 seed for the Class 6A state volleyball tournament, with the Junior Blues looking for their ninth state title. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Eight-time champ Rural No. 4 seed in Class 6A
Eight-time Class 6A state champion Washburn Rural will be making its ninth straight state appearance, earning the No. 4 seed for Friday and Saturday's state event at Tony's Pizza Event Center in Salina with a 30-7 record.
Kevin Bordewick's Junior Blues will open Pool I play in Friday's first match of the day at 10 a.m., facing No. 5 seed Olathe West (26-7).
Washburn Rural's Brynn Anderson has turned in a banner freshman season, helping lead the Junior Blues to a ninth straight Class 6A state tournament berth. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
After a match break, Washburn Rural will face No. 8 seed Free State (20-12) at 12 p.m. before closing out pool play at 3 p.m. against top seed Mill Valley (31-4).
On the other side of the 6A bracket are No. 2 seed Blue Valley West (30-4), No. 3 Wichita Northwest (30-6), No. 6 Manhattan (27-8) and No. 7 Olathe Northwest (28-9).
The top two finishers in both pools will advance to 1 p.m. semifinals on Saturday, followed by the championship and third-place matches.
CLASS 6A VOLLEYBALL
At Tony's Pizza Events Center, Salina
FRIDAY'S POOL PLAY
Pool I
10 a.m. -- Washburn Rural (4: 30-7) vs. Olathe West (5: 26-7).
11 -- Mill Valley (1: 31-4) vs. Free State (8: 20-12).
12 p.m. -- Washburn Rural vs. Free State.
1 -- Mill Valley vs. Olathe West.
2 -- Olathe West vs. Free State.
3 -- Mill Valley vs. Washburn Rural.
Pool II
10 a.m. -- Wichita Northwest (3: 30-6) vs. Manhattan (6: 27-8).
11 -- Blue Valley West (2: 30-4) vs. Olathe Northwest (7: 28-9).
12 p.m. -- Wichita Northwest vs. Olathe Northwest.
1 -- Blue Valley West vs. Manhattan.
2 -- Manhattan vs. Olathe Northwest.
3 -- Blue Valley West vs. Wichita Northwest.
SATURDAY
1 p.m -- Semifinals.
(Championship and third-place matches 25 minutes after conclusion of last semifinal).
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural will make its traditional trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament next week after a dominating performance in Saturday's sub-state tourney on the Junior Blues' home court.
Washburn Rural earned its ninth straight trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament with a pair of straight-set wins Saturday at Rural. [Washburn Rural Athletics]
Rural, the No. 1 6A West seed, punched its ticket to the state tournament at Salina's Tony's Pizza Event Center with a 25-11, 25-4 semifinal win over No. 16 Wichita West and a 25-11, 25-21 win over No. 8 seed Maize in the championship match.
Now 30-6 on the season, the Junior Blues will be making their ninth straight state tournament appearance and their 27th in 31 seasons under coach Kevin Bordewick, who has led Rural to eight state titles and ranks No. 2 on Kansas' all-time career victory list.
Washburn Rural was ranked No. 5 in the final Kansas Volleyball Association 6A state rankings.
Hayden volleyball poses for a team picture after capturing a Class 4A sub-state title Saturday at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Wildcats survive three-set final to earn return trip to Class 4A state
Hayden, the No. 4 Class 4A East seed, was pushed to three sets by No. 5 seed Eudora but outlasted the Cardinals, 25-23, 24-26, 25-20 Saturday at the Bueltel Activity Center to earn a return trip to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Hayden senior Reese Huscher spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Ella Foster sets the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state tournament at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden reached the championship match with a 25-7, 25-10 semifinal win over No. 13 Labette County while Eudora survived a three set semifinal with No. 12 seed Ottawa, taking a 20-25, 25-10, 25-19 win over the Cyclones.
Now 29-9 on the season, Hayden finished third in last year's state tournament and was ranked No. 3 in the final KVA state rankings.
Silver Lake volleyball celebrates its Class 3A sub-state title Saturday at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Top-ranked Eagles top Riley County to take 3A sub-state crown
Silver Lake, the No. 1 Class 3A East seed and ranked No. 1 by the KVA for seven straight weeks, fought off Riley County in Saturday's sub-state final on the Eagles' home court to advance to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Silver Lake volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Now 41-1 on the season, Silver Lake dropped the first set to No. 3 sub-state seed Riley County, 25-23, but rallied to take 25-21 and 25-15 wins in the next two sets to garner the title.
Silver Lake took a 25-12, 25-9 semifinal win over No. 4 Perry-Lecompton while Riley County needed three sets to knock off No. 2 Nemaha Central, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18.
Rossville volleyball poses for a team picture after earning a Class 2A state tournament berth Saturday at Rossville. [Rossville volleyball]
Bulldawgs advance to 2A state with back-to-back thrillers
Tournament host and top sub-state seed Rossville was pushed to three sets in both its semifinal and championship matches, but the Bulldawgs survived both sets to advance to next week's Class 2A state tournament in Dodge City.
Rossville volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's Class 2A sub-state tournament at Rossville. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Rossville junior Nora Burdiek spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 2A sub-state tournament at Rossville. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Rossville, ranked No. 7 in the final KVA 2A state rankings, outlasted No. 4 Cair Paravel Latin, 27-25, 19-25, 25-20 in the semifinals before rallying from a first-set loss against No. 2 Maur Hill-Mt. Academy in the sub-state final to take a 22-25, 25-23, 25-12 win.
Maur Hill-Mt. Academy advanced to the final with a 25-16, 27-25 semifinal win over Kansas City Christian.
The Bulldawgs will take a 28-13 record into the state tournament.
- Details
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
WICHITA -- On a rain soaked Saturday morning, four local teams (Topeka High, Washburn Rural, Seaman, Topeka West) headed to Wichita’s L.W. Clapp Park to run in the Class 5A and 6A regional cross country championships.
In 6A, both the girls and boys teams from Washburn Rural qualified for the state meet and will run next Saturday at Rim Rock Farm north of Lawrence.
Washburn Rural senior Emily Graf finished fifth in Saturday's Class 6A regional at Wichita, leading Rural to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]
The second-place Washburn Rural girls were led by a fifth-place finish from senior Emily Graf, who finished in a time of 20:19.10. Two freshmen teammates also finished in the top ten -- Alyson Hinck in eighth with a time of 20:34.75 and
Morgan Munson had a ninth place finish in 20:41.04.
The Washburn Rural boys tied Manhattan with 62 points, but Manhattan finished in first due to the tiebreaker of their sixth runner finishing four places ahead of Washburn Rural’s sixth-place runner.
Rural sophomore Duke Graf finished in second place in a time of 17:38.44 and was joined in the top 10 by fellow sophomore Clayton Fink with a time of 17:51.16.
Topeka High sophomore Easton Davis qualified for state individually based on his 14th-place finish in 18:09.80.
In Class 5A, the Seaman girls and boys will send one runner each to the state meet next Saturday.
Seaman junior Brynn Spencer was sixth in Saturday's Class 5A regional at Wichita, earning a state berth. [File photo/TSN]
Junior Brynn Spencer finished in sixth place with a time of 20:06.18 and commented on running in the rainy conditions,
“Knowing that everyone would be running in the same conditions, I wanted to go out and push the pace as much as I could,'' Spencer said. "All the puddles were fun to run through and I’m just really glad with how I did.”
In looking forward to next week’s state meet, Spencer said, “I’m kind of sad that the whole team didn’t qualify and I’ll have to run by myself, but it’s been a great season with all of them. My main goal for next week is to get a better time and place than last year at state. Coach (Rick) Brading wants me to push for the top 10 and into the elite runners group in our school.”
Seaman senior Brody Anderson finished second individually in Saturday's Class 5A cross country regional at Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman senior Brody Anderson finished the boys race in 16:55.76, just 0.07 seconds behind regional champion Daniel Enriquez of Kapaun-Mt. Carmel.
Anderson talked about running the rain-soaked course, “It was a fun day to get out and race, but the conditions never produce fast times and that wasn’t the goal today. Coach (Luke) Wiens and I planned all week to go out today and qualify and put up either one or two points for the team.”
He is aware of what will happen next week, “State will be more strategic and I’ll be fighting for the win.”
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University football did a lot of good things, particularly in the first half, in Saturday's Homecoming game against Fort Hays State in Yager Stadium.
Senior Ky Thomas had 95 rushing yards and Washburn's lone touchdown in Saturday's 13-10 overtime loss to Fort Hays State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But in the end, WU coach Zach Watkins felt like the Ichabods let a win get away, with Fort Hays State scoring the final 13 points to escape with a 13-10 overtime MIAA victory.
"We did a great job in the first half, but it's a two-half game, a four-quarter game and we didn't finish,'' Watkins said.
"The mark of a really good team in the MIAA is how you finish and we didn't finish today.''
The Ichabods (2-6 overall, 1-5 MIAA) struck first when Ky Thomas scored on a 3-yard run (Aidan Battle kick) midway through the first quarter after Braiden Lagafuaina's interception return to the Fort Hays State 20-yard-line.
Washburn extended its lead when Battle drilled a 32-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 12:37 to go before halftime and ending the first-half scoring.
Fort Hays (5-4, 4-3) finally broke through in the third quarter, taking advantage of a Washburn turnover on an interception to score on an 18-yard keeper from Tiger quarterback Caleb Heavner.
The Tigers tied the game later in the period with a 25-yard field goal by Zane Hall.
Neither team managed points in the fourth quarter as both defenses forced turnovers and traded punts in increasingly wet conditions.
Washburn got the ball first in overtime and reached the red zone, but missed a 41-yard field goal attempt in overtime before the Tigers' Michael Polley connected from 34 yards out to seal the win.
"You're not defined by one game, but those are the type of games that you have to win to make the leaps in this conference that we want to make and know we can make and are capable of making,'' Watkins said. "But that's a game you have to win to take the next step.
"We'll get back to work tomorrow and we'll improve and get better from there.''
Former Topeka High star Thomas, a senior, powered the Ichabods' ground game with 95 yards on 16 carries, averaging 5.9 per attempt, and added 16 receiving yards.
Washburn freshman quarterback Logan Madden had 101 passing yards in Saturday's 13-10 overtime loss to Fort Hays State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Freshman quarterback Logan Madden went 16 for 29 for 101 yards, with redhirt freshman Henry Mohrmann catching three passes for 26 yards and Jaden Abongo Jr. adding 21 yards receiving and 38 on kickoff returns.
