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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
With three state championships, 16 semifinal appearances and 23 quarterfinal appearances, including 18 of the last 20 seasons, the Washburn Rural boys soccer program is one of the most successful in all of Kansas.
Washburn Rural senior Dylan Willingham is closing in on Rural's single-season and career scoring records. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Year after year, it produces some of the best players in the state. Holding any type of record in such a program is quite an accomplishment.
Senior Dylan Willingham is on the verge of establishing himself as the program’s all-time greatest scorer. The next time Willingham puts a shot in the net, he will tie the school record for goals scored at 57. And he needs four goals to tie the mark for scores in a single season.
The Junior Blues have two more games left on the regular season schedule – at Topeka High on Monday, and at Blue Valley North on Thursday – and figure to play several postseason matches after that. The chances are high that Willingham will eclipse both records before he’s done.
“He’s one of the most talented kids to ever come through our program,” said Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel. “He has an unbelievable work ethic, wants to get better, super competitive.
“To get these records, he’s going to be up there with some of the great kids that we’ve had. It’s just cool to see a great kid like him, a really good student, be the person who could potentially hold those records.”
Last year’s Centennial League Player of the Year and an All-State first-team selection, Willingham now stands among the best goal scorers around. But it’s been a slow, steady build to this point. He scored just three goals as a freshman despite being a starter. He scored 12 as a sophomore, then 15 as a junior. He has scored 26 times thus far as a senior.
“When he was a freshman, I wouldn’t have thought of him as a goal scorer,” Hensyel said. “He played midfield for a couple of years. Now he’s playing forward. He was just a really good technical soccer player who has turned into a really good finisher.”
Willingham is excelling at scoring, but he doesn’t necessarily think of himself as a scorer.
“I was playing center-mid (my first two years) and I like to be more of a playmaker,” Willingham said. “But scoring goals is a fun thing to do. That’s the role that this team needs for me now, to play forward.”
Hardly a ball hog, Willingham also ranks high on the school list for assists.
“I think I play better as a whole when I just think about having us as a team winning, scoring goals as a team,” Willingham said. “In reality, it doesn’t matter who scores the goal. It just matters that the ball goes in the net.”
Hensyel said Willingham’s personality has helped him reach this point as a player.
“Sometimes when he was younger, he was a little bit tough on himself, if he made a mistake or missed a shot or whatever,” Hensyel said. “But it’s been pretty rare for me to see a team rally around one guy as much as I’ve seen them rally around him. His biggest fans are his teammates. They’re like, ‘We’ve got to get the ball to Dylan! We need to keep feeding him!’ ”
Willingham is chasing the season goals record of 30 set by Austin Halsey in 2014. He needs just one goal to match the career total of 57 held by Halsey and Easton Bradstreet.
“To reach those kind of totals, it means, number one, you’ve got to probably be on the team for four years. And then you’ve got to play a big role for four years,” Hensyel said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Rossville scored 22 fourth-quarter points to rally past Olpe 36-22 in a Class 1A District 2 showdown Friday night at Olpe.
Canann Mitchell, Rossville
The Bulldawgs, now 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the district, trailed 16-14 at the end of the third quarter before taking the lead for good on a 34-yard touchdown run from senior quarterback Canann Mitchell and a 2-point conversion pass from Mitchell to senior Cameron Miller, giving Rossville a 22-16 lead.
With 4:26 remaining senior Conner Bush returned an Eagle punt 85 yards for a TD (conversion failed) to give the Bulldawgs a 28-16 lead.
Then, after Olpe (5-2, 3-1) scored on a 25-yard pass, Rossville scored its final TD on an 81-yard run from Mitchell with 1:48 left and Mitchell added a 2-point conversion pass to Andre Johnson to account for the final margin.
Rossville and Olpe were tied 14-14 at the half, with the Bulldawgss getting first-half touchdowns on a 71-yard Bush run and a 32-yard run from senior Jack Donovan.
Rossville will close out its regular season at home Friday against Wabaunsee.
Wildcats remain undefeated with 48-7 district rout at Perry-Lecompton
Hayden improved to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in Class 3A District 4 with Friday's 48-7 road win over Perry-Lecompton (1-6, 0-3).
The Wildcats will be back at home next Friday to host Jefferson West in a showdown for the district title. The Tigers, 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the district, are coming off a 50-12 non-district win over Atchison County.
T-Birds post second straight UKC victory
Shawnee Heights improved to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the United Kansas Conference with a 42-8 road victory at Lansing Friday night.
Shawnee Heights will be at home on Friday to close out its regular season against Kansas City-Turner.
Lions pick up second win in 54-13 district win
Cair Paravel Latin notched its second victory of the season Friday, taking a 54-13 Class 1A District 2 road win over Maranatha Academy.
The Lions, now 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the district, will close out their regular season at Yager Stadium Saturday night against Olpe.
Unbeaten Basehor-Linwood rallies past Seaman, 47-40
Basehor-Linwood improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the United Kansas Conference last Friday night at home, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take a 47-40 conference victory over Seaman.
The game was tied at 7-all after one quarter and Seaman led 17-14 at the half.
Basehor-Linwood led 24-17 at the start of the fourth quarter before both teams scored 23 points over the final 12 minutes.
Seaman junior Cale Ketter completed 24 of 44 passes for 390 yards and five touchdowns, while junior Coy Barta had five catches for 149 yards and three TDs, junior Jack Becker had eight catches for 85 yards, junior Josh Brown had seven grabs for seven catches for 97 yards and a TD and senior Noah Kobuszewski caught three passes for 53 yards and a score.
Viking sophomore Quentin Moravec carried the ball 17 times for 61 yards.
The Vikings, who fell to 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the UKC, will travel to De Soto next Friday to close out their regular season.
Leavenworth rolls past Topeka West 56-6 for sixth straight win
Leavenworth posted its sixth straight victory, improving to 6-1 overall and 6-1 in the United Kansas Conference with a 56-6 win over Topeka West Friday night at Hummer Sports Park.
West, now 1-6 overall and 1-6 in the UKC, will close out its regular season next Friday at Piper.
Trojans fall to Centennial League foe Manhattan
Topeka High fell to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the Centennial League with a 50-0 Friday night loss at Manhattan in the Trojans' final league game of the season.
Manhattan improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the league entering a game next Friday at Washburn Rural.
Topeka High will be at Hummer Sports Park next Friday to face Pittsburg in a non-league contest.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Senior Brooks Kehoe claimed the boys individual Centennial League cross country championship Saturday at Jones Park in Emporia, leading the Washburn Rural boys to the league team title.
Kehoe took the league crown in a five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 21.11 seconds as the Junior Blues put all of their top five scoring runners in the top 14 places individually.
Senior Brooks Kehoe won the Centennial League individual cross country title on Saturday in Emporia, pacing the Junior Blues to the team crown. [File photo/TSN]
Rural sophomore Clayton Fink posted a fourth-place finish in 16:56.01 while sophomore Henry Laubach was seventh in 17:03.26, sophomore Jaxson Adams ninth in 17:19.15 and sophomore Duke Graf 14th in 17:30.63 as the Junior Blues won the team title by a 35-54 margin over Manhattan and Junction City.
Emporia was fourth as a team with 111 points, followed by Hayden (138) and Topeka High (145).
Sophomore Nick Newkirk led Hayden with an 18th-place finish in 17:36.65 while sophomore Easton Davis placed 19th in 17:41.16 to pace Topeka High.
Manhattan posted a perfect team score of 15 to win the girls championship, led by junior individual champion Gabrielle Converse, who clocked a winning time of 18:37.56.
Freshman Alyson Hinck placed sixth in the Centennial League cross country meet to lead Washburn Rural to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural freshman Alyson Hinck was the first non-Manhattan runner to cross the finish line, taking sixth in 20:00.93 to lead runnerup Rural (49 points).
The Junior Blues also got a an eighth-place showing from senior Emily Graf (20:05.52), while freshman Morgan Munson was 10th (20:17.43), sophomore Reese Beardslee 11th (20:26.07) and senior Kenzie Maddox 14th (20:40.39) to round out Washburn Rural's top five.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University football turned Hall of Fame Saturday into its best performance of the year, using six interceptions and forcing two more fumbles as the Ichabods scored 30 points off of Central Missouri turnovers and added a balanced offensive attack to take down the Mules 37-17 in Yager Stadium, notching their first MIAA win of the season.
Linebacker L.J. Minner Jr. had a pick six as Washburn forced eight Central Missouri turnovers in Saturday's 37-17 MIAA win. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods, after winning the opening coin toss, took advantage of a Central Missouri fumble on the second play from scrimmage that was forced and recovered by Jordan Finnesy, setting the Ichabods up at the UCM 45 less than a minute into the game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Logan Madden threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a TD in Washburn's 37-17 MIAA win over Central Missouri. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Making his first career start, quarterback Logan Madden capped an 8-play, 45-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter to give Washburn a 6–0 lead.
After the teams traded punts, Central Missouri cut the lead in half at 6-3 after a 36-yard field goal by Will Peacock cut the margin to 6-3 with 1:24 to play in the opening frame.
The Mules briefly went ahead 10–6 in the second quarter on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Donovyn Omolo to Rossville product Bo Reeves capping a 12-play, 81-yard drive with 8:24 to go in the first half.
But the Ichabods quickly regained control.
Ky Thomas had rushing and receiving touchdowns in Saturday's 37-17 Washburn win over Central Missouri. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods punted after the UCM score, but Josh Grant intercepted a pass at the visitors' 15-yard line and three plays later Madden found former Topeka High star Ky Thomas on a 9-yard touchdown strike, giving Washburn a 13-10 halftime edge.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The ultimate goal is always to finish first, but Seaman girls tennis still had plenty to celebrate in Saturday's Class 5A state tournament at Kossover Tennis Center.
Andover ruled the day, sweeping the singles, doubles and team championships, but Seaman junior Emma Sweeney posted a runnerup singles finish to lead the way as the tournament-host Vikings finished second as a team, just six points behind the champion Trojans (39-33).
Seaman junior Emma Sweeney earned her third straight Class 5A singles medal Saturday with a career-best runnerup finish as the Vikings finished second as a team. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"A great weekend,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. "Of course that's why we wanted to host is we wanted to give an advantage to a team that we thought was going to be one of the best teams in the state, and we were. We proved it.''
And it was a day of breakthroughs for the Vikings, with Sweeney advancing to the title match after finishing fourth as a sophomore, while senior Molly Gorman finished sixth in singles after a 10th-place finish as a junior and the Viking doubles team of senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux finished seventh to cap their first season as a doubles team.
Sweeney, who captured her third straight 5A state medal, finished her season 30-2, with both losses coming against Andover senior Mia Jaramillo, who took a 6-4, 6-3 decision in Saturday's championship match.
Jaramillo, who beat Sweeney in the third-place match in 2024, jumped out to 3-0 and 5-2 leads in the first set before Sweeney rallied to within 5-4 and Jaramillo went up 5-1 in the second set before Sweeney cut her deficit to 5-3.
"We did the same thing in Olathe, so I was kind of expecting it, but I feel like I pushed through,'' Jaramillo said. "She's a great player, so she did good.
"I felt I had a lot of pressure, but we have a great team, so we all pushed through.''
While obviously upset with her near miss, Sweeney knows that someday soon she'll be proud of her accomplishment.
"I'll be pleased after a little bit,'' Sweeney said. "The goal after last year, and I was surprised I made it (to the semifinals), I made it my new goal to try and win, but it's okay and I'll come back next year even harder.
"This gives me more experience and it gives me the experience of playing in front of a big crowd in a big situation, so I think I'm just going to take what I learned today and it will help me grow and make me work even harder in the offseason.''
"Runnerup is so impressive,'' Robinson said of Sweeney's performance. "She's lost to one person this year and that was Mia, so credit to her. She came to play.
''Emma had a couple of runs, but it just wasn't quite enough, so hey, let's learn from it and grow from it.''
Seaman senior Molly Gorman captured her fourth Class 5A state medal Saturday, finishing sixth in singles at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Gorman, who dropped an 8-1 decision to Eisenhower sophomore Quinn Scheideman in the fifth-place match, capped her prep career with her fourth state medal in as many tries -- two singles, two doubles.
Henry and Lux finished off state with a win, taking an 8-6 win over Bishop Carroll senior Macy Wetta and freshman Leah Jackson in the seventh-place match.
Wildcats earn third-place 4A team trophy
Hayden singles players Lana Hull and Grace Funk and the doubles team of Sophia Wichman and Avery O'Bray all earned Class 4A state medals on Saturday at Harmon Park in Prairie Village, leading the Wildcats to a third-place team finish.
