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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Easton Broxterman
EASTON BROXTERMAN, Washburn Rural
A senior wrestling star, Broxterman claimed his third straight Class 6A state championship Saturday in Overland Park, clinching the 144-pound championship with a a 16-0 technical fall over Manhattan junior Brecken Crist-Funk. A four-time state finalist, Broxterman finished his season with a 41-2 record, including four straight technical falls in last weekend's state tournament.
Makayla Cadet
MAKAYLA CADET, Highland Park
Cadet, a junior, became Highland Park's first-ever girls state wrestling champion on her 17th birthday Saturday in Park City, registering a first-period pin over Basehor-Linwood junior Izzy Renfro in 1 minute, 36 seconds to win the Class 5A 190-pound title. Cadet, who finished 23-4 on the season, went 4-0 at state with four pins. Cadet's pin over Renfro avenged a loss on a 1:37 pin in a regional final.
Maddie Gragg
MADDIE GRAGG, Seaman
A 5-foot-10 junior basketball standout, Gragg converted a buzzer-beating inside shot to give the undefeated and top-ranked Seaman girls a 48-47 United Kansas Conference over Piper Wednesday at Seaman. Gragg led the Vikings with 14 points against the Pirates and scored 34 points on the week as defending Class 5A state champion Seaman went 3-0 on the week to finish off a perfect 20-0 regular season.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural, which won its sixth straight team championship, and Topeka High four-time diving champ Jaxon Cowdin headline the 2025 All-City boys swimming and diving team.
The 2025 All-City boys swimming and diving first team -- Front, from left: Palmer Heskett, Hayden; Castle Wallace, Washburn Rural; Evan Hoobler, Shawnee Heights; Truman Brede, Shawnee Heights; Dawson Blankenship, Topeka High; Kinser Barbosa, Seaman. Back, from left: Peyton Holmes, Seaman; Jeremiah Moylan, Seaman; Will Stewart, Topeka High; Andres Morao-Jaspe, Washburn Rural; Luke Lemke, Washburn Rural; Thomas Appuhn, Washburn Rural; Jaxon Cowdin, Topeka High. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The 2025 All-City boys swimming and diving second team -- Front, from left: Patrick Luke, Hayden; Dominic Delgado, Topeka High; Alex Lanterman, Washburn Rural; Kaden Collette, Topeka West; Joseph Jensen, Washburn Rural. Back, from left: Owen Lathrop-Allen, Topeka High; Miller Reid, Hayden; William Toland, Topeka High; Josh Hochard, Seaman; Sourish Sinha, Washburn Rural; Brody Clark, Topeka West. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The All-City team, based on performances in the city meet, includes a city-high four members of the Rural team that won its sixth straight city championship.
Earning first-team All-City honors for the Junior Blues are Thomas Appuhn, Luke Lemke, Andrew Morao-Jaspe and Castle Wallace.
Sophomore Morao-Jaspe won four gold medals in the city meet to pace Rural's title run.
Topeka High senior Jaxon Cowdin earned his fourth straight city one-meter diving title and his third straight Centennial League championship before finishing 11th in 6A.
The Trojans also put Dawson Blankenship and Will Stewart on the first team after finishing second as a team in the city meet.
Shawnee Heights is represented on the All-City team by repeat picks Truman Brede and Evan Hoobler while Kinser Barbosa, Peyton Holmes and Jeremiah Moylan earned first-team berths for Seaman and Hayden is represented by Palmer Heskett.
All-City capsules:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball finished out its regular season with a 70-66 come-from-behind MIAA win Saturday afternoon, knocking off Missouri Southern on the road.
Yibari Nwidadah (32) scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Saturday's 70-66 MIAA road win at Missouri Southern. [File photo/TSN]
WU finished its regular season 17-12 overall and 11-8 in the MIAA and will compete in the conference tournament this week in the historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. Washburn is the No. 5 seed and will open its tournament bid against No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney at 6 p.m. Friday.
Saturday's regular-season finale was a back-and-forth affair early on with four ties in the first quarter.
Washburn went fron down by three to up by three with a 6-0 run started by a Yibari Nwidadah shot inside.
The Ichabods led by five with 1:27 to play in the quarter after Aniah Wayne on a triple. The Lions (18-13, 10-9) tied things up in the next minute but the Ichabods still led 21-19 after one, with Nwidadah scoring in the final seconds.
The second quarter began much like the first with both teams trading scores.
A free throw by Gabi Giovannetti tied the game up at 29 with 3:52 to go before the half, but the next nine points would all come from the Lions as they shot 61.5% in the quarter. The run came to an end as Giovannetti ended the half with a 3-pointer to make it 38-32 Southern going into the break.
Washburn began chipping away at the lead early in the third, pulling within two at the 6:46 mark after another layup by Nwidadah.
The next six points went to Missouri Southern to go back in front by eight. The Ichabods kept it there and a triple by Wayne cut the Washburn deficit to three with 2:19 in the quarter. Neither team scored the rest of the frame, making it a 52-49 Southern lead heading into the fourth.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 4-ranked Washburn Ichabods wrapped up the regular season with a dominating 108-71 road performance at Missouri Southern Saturday, finishing the regular season with a 26-2 overall record and a 17-2 mark in MIAA play.
Washburn senior Michael Keegan (middle) had 18 points in Saturday's 108-71 at Missouri Southern, moving to within five points of the 1,000-point career milestone. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods will now turn their attention to the postseason as they will open the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. at 12 p.m. on Thursday in Municipal Auditorium.
After the teams were tied for the final time in the game at 12-12 with 13:50 to go, the Ichabods pulled away, outscoring the Lions 35-8 over the next nine-plus minutes, taking a 47-20 lead as eight different Ichabods scored during the run.
The Lions scored the next five points of the game, but Washburn closed the half by scoring 9 of the next 12 points to take a 56-28 lead into the break, doubling up Missouri Southern (11-17, 6-13 MIAA) at the half.
In the second half, the Ichabods had runs of 10-0, 9-0 and 7-0, building a lead of as many as 38 points with 2:21 to play on the way to the 37-point win.
Senior Michael Keegan tied for the team lead with 18 points hitting 7 of 8 shots from the field while adding six rebounds and climbing to 995 career points as an Ichabod.
Senior Andrew Orr also scored 18 points while also pulling down seven rebounds with two steals.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
PARK CITY -- Winning a Class 5A state wrestling championship would have made Saturday a special day for Highland Park junior 190-pounder Makayla Cadet no matter what.
Highland Park junior Makayla Cadet posted a pin in 1:36 pin to win the Class 5A 190-pound title Saturday in Park City. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
But the calendar provided the proverbial icing on the cake for the Scot star.
"The best birthday present ever,'' said Cadet, who celebrated her 17th birthday with a first-period pin (1 minute, 36 seconds) over Basehor-Linwood junior Izzy Renfro.
Highland Park junior Makayla Cadet has her hand raised as the Class 5A 190-pound state champ Saturday in Park City. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Cadet, who capped a 23-4 season, won the title with a dramatic takedown and pin, avenging a loss to Renfro (1:37 pin) in a regional final.
"Honestly, I have no idea what happened, it just happened so fast,'' Cadet said.
Cadet had already made Highland Park girls program history by reaching the semifinals and finals before capping her dream weekend with the title.
"I had no idea this was going to go this way,'' Cadet said. "I took it slow, I came up with a plan and I just gained momentum as the match went on.
"I had a plan and I just tried to execute it to the best of my ability.''
Highland Park also got a sixth-place finish from junior Connie Burns (22-7) at 115 pounds.
Vikes' Heston, Best post runnerup finishes
Seaman seniors Taylie Heston and Koti Best came within an eyelash of winning 5A state titles Saturday, with the Viking stars dropping a pair of heartbreakers in their championship matches.
Heston (32-8) fell 3-2 to Emporia junior Kensley Medrano (31-13) in the 120 final while Best (20-3) dropped an 11-10 overtime decision to Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Courtney Nye (37-10) in the 125-pound title match.
Heston's loss to Medrano came after a four-overtime loss to the Emporia star at regionals while Best built a 10-4 lead before Nye, who led KMC to the 5A team title, rallied late as Best battled a shoulder injury that had sidelined her for a portion of the season.
Seaman coach Jordan Best said he was proud of the performances turned by his two finalists.
"I'm happy,'' Best said. "It's our first time in program history to have two state finalists. Taylie is a multi-time state placer, Koti's a three-time state placer, I can't be disappointed. I'm happy for them. Seniors, they got to make the big show, and that's what matters the most. It's not about the wins or the losses.''
