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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The only surprise in Monday's United Kansas Conference girls golf tournament at Shawnee Country Club would have been if Seaman hadn't won.
Seaman's girls golf team won its fourth straight UKC girls golf title by 52 strokes Monday at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After all, the Vikings were coming off a 14-stroke victory in the city tournament and had won the previous three UKC tourneys by an average of 51.7 strokes.
Suffice it to say that were no surprises Monday, with senior Elise Eckert leading a one-two-three individual finish as Seaman won its fourth straight conference championship in an many years in the league by a whopping 52-stroke margin over De Soto (327-359).
Seaman senior Elise Eckert shot a 73 to take an eight-stroke individual win in Monday's UKC meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Makenna Stuke finished second with an 81 in Monday's UKC meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
City champion Eckert shot a 73 for an eight-stroke win while senior Makenna Stuke was second with an 81 and junior Kaitlynn Frye third with an 84.
The Vikings also got a tie for fourth from junior Chloe Schmidtlein (89) and an 11th-place finish from senior Molina Quintana (96).
"I felt like overall we had a good solid day,'' Seaman coach Julie McLaughlin said. "There's always room for improvement. All of them were saying there's things they want to work on, but I like where we're sitting right now.
"All we're focusing on is getting stronger mentally, physically and just being ready for that postseason play when it's here.''
Although she was happy to get the league title, Eckert wasn't particularly pleased with Monday's round.
"I especially struggled a bit with my putting today,'' Eckert said. "Everything else was alright, but putting definitely got me today.''
Seaman has two more regular season tournaments before regionals and state and Eckert, a three-time Class 5A state medalist, wants to continue making strides to get ready for her postseason run.
"I definitely need to work on putting more, but I also need to work on some just basic fundamentals with my swing that I can fix on the course, but l just need to practice more to get everything solid,'' she said.
Shawnee Heights finished fourth as a team, with T-Bird junior Lauryn Valdivia tying for seventh with a 92.
Topeka West's Berlyn Kolean tied for 12th with a 98.
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod soccer team picked up its first MIAA win of the season Sunday, with freshman Leah Henke's goal the difference in a 1-0 win over Newman in Wichita.
Washburn freshman Leah Henke (11) scored the game's only goal in Sunday's 1-0 MIAA win over Newman. [File photo/TSN]"Today was a tough game in a challenging environment,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "The team was unlucky not to add one or two more, as we hit the post a few times and their keeper made a couple of really good saves. The girls, again, grew into the game pretty well and played a pretty good second half.
"It was a great goal by Leah and an important three points for us. We're finding ways to get results, which is an important quality in successful teams."
Washburn (4-2-2, 1-0-1) was bombarding the Newman goal in the opening 45 minutes, even putting a shot off the post in the 22nd minute. The Ichabods attempted 11 shots, with four of them on goal, forcing saves out of the Jets' goalie.
The Ichabods held Newman (1-6-1, 0-2-0) to zero shots in the first half.
Washburn started the second half right where it left off by peppering the Newman goal.
In the 67th minute, the Ichabods found a breakthrough by way of Henke, a Wichita native who fired home her fourth goal of the season.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Elise Eckert
ELISE ECKERT, Seaman
A senior golf star, Eckert shot a 2-under-par 68 to win the city individual championship by eight strokes last Monday at Western Hills, leading the Vikings to their first-ever city team title by a 14-stroke margin over runnerup Hayden. Eckert is a three-time Class 5A state medalist.
Molly Gorman
MOLLY GORMAN, Seaman
Gorman, a senior tennis standout, won her second straight city title in No. 2 singles and her third city championship overall, helping lead the Vikings to the city team championship by a 32-28 margin over runnerup Washburn Rural last Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center. Gorman's back to back No. 2 singles titles came after she teamed with Katie Krumins to win the No. 1 doubles title as a sophomore.
Camden Granado
CAMDEN GRANADO, Shawnee Heights
A senior two-sport athlete for the T-Birds, Granado recorded a three-goal hat trick last Monday as Shawnee Heights took a 4-1 United Kansas Conference soccer victory over Topeka West at Hummer Sports Park. Granado has helped Shawnee Heights post seven straight victories since a season-opening loss. Granado also handles placekicking duties for Heights and is 11 of 11 on extra-point attemps.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Missouri Western junior volleyball star Taylor Russell is excited for every match she plays.
But the 6-foot-1 outside hitter admits that she gets even more fired up when she has the opportunity to play in her home town of Topeka.
Former Washburn Rural standout Taylor Russell (3) is congratulated by her Missouri Western teammates after one of her 18 kills in Saturday night's 3-1 win over Washburn. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Russell, a returning All-MIAA first-team pick and AVCA All-America honorable mention honoree, got that opportunity Saturday night and delivered a team-high 18 kills on .444 hitting as the No. 24-ranked Griffons (9-4 overall, 1-1 MIAA) handed No. 1 Washburn (12-1, 1-1) its first loss of the season in a 25-23, 19-25, 25-20, 25-19 Western win.
"Coming back to the hometown, it's like every time we come back here it's a big rivalry between us and Washburn and I think because we have so many Topeka girls on our team it just feels really good to get that win and kind of prove ourselves,'' Russell said.
Russell, who helped lead Washburn Rural to the Class 6A state championship in 2022, said it's fun to get a chance to play in front of a lot of people she grew up around, including her high school coach, Kevin Bordewick.
"We have a lot of fans here,'' said Russell, who has 807 kills in her career. "I don't know if half of them are rooting for us our Washburn, because they are from Topeka, but it's always great to play in this environment.
"I love the loud environment and just seeing all my friends and family here.''
Shawnee Heights product Emily Loy (10) registered 13 kills in Missouri Western's MIAA win over Washburn Saturday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Former Shawnee Heights standout Emily Loy, a 6-foot junior rightside hitter who received All-MIAA honorable mention last fall, also came up big for the Griffons Saturday, delivering 13 kills, while former Seaman 5A state champ Brooklyn Gormley, a 6-1 redshirt freshman, also plays for Missouri Western.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn senior Austin Broadie contributed a match-high 23 kills Saturday night, but Missouri Western handed the Ichabods their first loss of 2025 in four sets. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
