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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
PARK CITY -- Washburn Rural junior wrestling star Easton Broxterman admits that he used to be a bundle of nerves before he took the mat for a big match.
These days it's Broxterman's opponents that should be nervous.
Washburn Rural junior Easton Broxterman (top) dominated Saturday's 132-pound championship match en route to a 15-0 technical fall, winning his second straight state title. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Easton Broxterman points up to the Rural cheering section after capping a 49-1 win with his second state title. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
"This year's been different,'' Broxterman said. "I've been pretty confident and I've been wanting to wrestle, but before that I think if you ask any of my coaches, I was always the most nervous.
"I always felt like throwing up. I threw up a lot before all my matches, but this year I've just been anxious, not even been nervous anymore, just ready to go out there.''
On Saturday night at Hartman Arena Broxterman appeared to be as cool as a cucumber as he methodically posted a 15-0 second-period technical fall over Maize freshman Vincent Rosas to earn his second straight Class 6A state championship in his third straight final-round appearance.
From un-ranked to un-equaled: Washburn Rural girls wrestling rolls to repeat Class 6A-5A state crown
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
PARK CITY -- Washburn Rural's Damon Parker loves every team he's coached, but the 2023-2024 Junior Blues girls wrestling team will always hold a special place in his heart.
Washburn Rural junior state runnerup Molly Spader hoists the championship trophy after the Junior Blues won their fourth state team championship in five seasons Saturday at Hartman Arena. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
The Junior Blues spent much of the season-unranked in Class 6A-5A and entered the state meet ranked sixth, but Saturday night Washburn Rural was back on the Hartman Arena floor celebrating their second straight state team championship and an amazing fourth title in five years.
Parker looked at the championship as icing on the cake to what he said has been the most fun he's ever had as a coach.
"Ever,'' Parker said. "It's not like one of the most, it is the most. When you've really got to earn it, it is so much more rewarding, it's so much more valuable and we had to earn everything this year. We have four kids this year that we anticipated having on the roster that weren't able to compete with us this year, and those four kids were state medalists.
"That's worth about 60 team points and you don't take 60 points off the board and then repeat as state champs. It doesn't happen. That's taking Jordan and Scottie Pippen off the Bulls and then expecting them to repeat. It doesn't work that way and (the Junior Blues) somehow found a way. They got it done.''
Washburn Rural junior Molly Spader gains the upper hand on Derby senior Amara Ehsa during Saturday's 105-pound state final. Spader dropped a tough 6-4 decision but Rural won its fourth state team title. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Junior 105-pound runnerup Molly Spader, who earned her second state medal with a 35-3 record on the year, was one of six Junior Blues to earn state medals as Rural posted a 118-96 win over Garden City, with Dodge City third with 87 points.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
A Thursday night home win over Lincoln gave the Washburn women’s basketball team a brief reprieve from a seven-game losing streak. But the Ichabods couldn’t string together a second win Saturday, losing 69-56 at home to Central Missouri State.
Senior Aubrey Dewey led Washburn with 14 points in Saturday's 69-56 home MIAA loss to Central Missouri State. [File photo/TSN]
The loss dropped Washburn to 7-13 in the MIAA and 12-14 overall.
“Winning is that magic drug that cures a lot,” Washburn coach Lora Westling said. “We had good practices coming off that. But this league is pretty unforgiving.”
The Ichabods were plagued by turnovers and struggled to get much offense going in the first 15 minutes. Their slow start permitted the Jennies to establish a double-digit advantage in the second period.
But Washburn came rushing back late in the period with a seven-point run, closing the gap to 30-27 at halftime.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Washburn men took another step Saturday toward achieving their goals, and took revenge on a team that beat them earlier in the season in the process.
Sophomore Jarmell Johnson scored 14 points in Washburn's 68-49 MIAA romp past Central Missouri on Saturday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods trounced Central Missouri State – a team that beat them by 11 points in January – at Lee Arena Saturday by a score of 68-49.
The Mules warmed up with just eight players and employed just seven of them in the contest. The two leading scorers from the first meeting did not suit up on Saturday. Still, Washburn coach Brett Ballard saw no need to apologize for the drubbing.
“They weren’t at full strength, and they were trying to piece some things together. But still, I don’t think we have to apologize for winning a league game by 20,” Ballard said. “You never want to lose twice to a team, so winning today was big for a lot of reasons.”
The Ichabods were methodical in their handling of the Mules. They steadily pulled away, leading 33-19 at halftime and continuing to stretch the lead throughout. With two minutes remaining, Ballard cleared his bench.
The Ichabods had four players in double figures, led by guard Jarmell Johnson, who came off the bench to score 14, his high point output in the MIAA this year.
“My teammates looked for me today,” Johnson said. “I kind of had the hot hand, so they kept looking for me. We had a really great game plan.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
The Seaman boys played their final regular-season game at home Thursday night against the Kansas-City Turner Bears, with sophomore Landon Wiltz's 29-point night powering Seaman to a 73-57 United Kansas Conference win.
Seaman sophomore Landon Wiltz scored a career-high 29 points in Friday's 73-57 UKC win over Turner. [File photo/TSN]
The Vikings and Bears battled for the first three quarters before Seaman pulled away late.
After jumping out to an early 9-0 lead, the Vikings saw the Bears battle back to within four points, 15-11, at the end of the first quarter.
“To their (Turner’s) credit, they fought back after the tough start,” Seaman coach Craig Cox said.
In the second quarter, Turner had a stretch where they made three consecutive 3-point baskets to take a 24-21 lead, but the Vikings responded by going on a 13-3 run to close out the quarter and lead 34-27 at the halftime break.
Seaman extended its lead to 43-29 in the first 4:30 of the third quarter, but another stretch of four straight Bear 3-pointers cut Seaman’s lead to 49-41 heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Seaman pulled away by outscoring Turner 24-16, led by Wiltz, who scored 11 of his career-high 29 points in the quarter.
“Landon obviously was huge for us offensively,'' Cox said. "He got inside, understanding he had a matchup he could take advantage of.''
