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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Defending Class 6A boys state champion Washburn Rural opened its 2026 cross country season with the team title in Saturday's Manhattan Invitational at Warner Park.

The Junior Blues edged host Manhattan by a 56-67 margin for the team title, while Lawrence finished third in the 11-school meet with 91 points.

Junior Duke Graf paced Washburn Rural with a second-place individual finish behind senior champion Anthony Testa of Junction City, clocking a five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 01.2 seconds. Testa won in 16:51.9.

Sophomore Julius Wood-Nichols posted an eighth-place finish in the field of 81 runners for the Junior Blues in 17:21.1 while Rural got a 12th-place showing from junior Jaxson Adams (17:34.1), a 13th from junior Clayton Fink (17:36.3) and a 22nd from senior Cohen Thiessen (18:07.2) to round out the Junior Blues' top five.

Hayden junior Nick Newkirk placed 20th in 18:00.3 while junior Oliver Snethen paced Topeka High with a 27th-place finish (18:24.5) and senior Ezra Phelps led Topeka West with a 38th-place showing (18:50.8).

Washburn Rural's girls finished second as a team to Manhattan by a 28-54 margin, with Free State third with 63 points.

Manhattan senior Gabrielle Converse (19:03.3) and sophomore Zara Koehn (19:48.3) posted a one-two finish for the Indians in the field of 49 runners while Washburn Rural sophomore Alyson Hinck finished third in 20:18.6.

Rural junior Reese Beardslee finished sixth (20:26.5) while sophomore Morgan Munson placed ninth (20:48.4) to earn individual medals. 

Seaman senior Brynn Spencer finished fourth in the season-opening Bobcat Invitational at Wyandotte County Park. [File photo/TSN]     

Nine Vikings earn medals in season-opener

Seaman's boys posted a second-place team finish in Thursday's season-opening Bobcat Invitational at Wyandotte County Park, edging meet host and United Kansas Conference rival Basehor-Linwood by a single point (70-71) while Blue Valley Southwest won the team title with 32 points.

Sophomore Trindon Jones paced six Seaman individual medalists with an eighth-place finish, posting a five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 36.78 seconds.

The Vikings also got a 10th-place finish from sophomore Weston Kennedy (17:54.78), a 12th from senior Conner Bloom (18:00.36), a 19th from junior Emmanuel Armstead (18:20.22), a 21st from sophomore Tate Oliva (18:26.12) and a 25th-place showing from junior Maddox Moore (18:43.10).

Shawnee Heights' boys finished ninth in the team standings as sophomore Miles Hadley earned an individual medal with an 11th-place finish (17:59.40).

Seaman girls finished tied for third with Eudora with 79 points, finishing fourth on a tiebreaker.

Blue Valley Southwest won the team title with 18 points while Piper was second, just three points ahead of Eudora and Seaman.                         

Senior Brynn Spencer, a returning Class 5A state medalist, paced Seaman with a fourth-place individual finish (20:47.09) while freshmen Brinley Cochran and Morgan Ransom also earned individual medals.

Cochran finished 12th (22:07.17) and Ransom placed 18th (22:34.81).

Silver Lake senior Ali Gerber opened her 2026 season with a third-place finish in Saturday's Silver Lake Invitational at Kanza Park. [Submitted photo]

Gerber third in Silver Lake Invitational

Silver Lake senior Ali Gerber posted a third-place individual finish in Saturday's Silver Lake Invitational at Kanza Park, leading the Eagle girls to a second-place team finish.

Gerber clocked a five-kilometer time of 22 minutes, 55.01 seconds to finish third behind Osage City freshmen Elizabeth Vehige (20:52.47) and Eliana Lowery (22:38.87). 

Osage City won the team title by a 51-84 margin over Silver Lake.

The Eagles also got a 14th-place finish from freshman Jessilyn Mohler (24:24.29), a 23rd from sophomore Pearl Eisenbarth (26:09.59), a 26th from sophomore Adrianna Gerber (27:53.54) and a 31st from sophomore Lena Jahr (28:29.15). 

Rossville seniors post top-seven finishes

Rossville seniors Payton Shaddox and Madilyn Wonnell finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in Thursday's Mission Valley Invitational girls cross country meet at Mission Valley.

Shaddox was sixth in a five-kilometer time of 25 minutes, 52.76 seconds while Wonnell was right behind in seventh place in 25:53.17.

Sophomore Keegan Pollock paced the Rossville boys with a 34th-place finish in 25:42.31.

 

 

       

 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University and Colorado School of Mines were headed to overtime to settle a hard-fought non-conference contest Saturday before extreme heat conditions forced the game to be suspended, leaving the teams with a 16-16 tie.

Washburn's Nathan Lewis Jr. (4) scored both of the Ichabods' touchdowns in Saturday's 16-16 tie with Colorado School of Mines, including the game-tying score with 1:48 left in regulation. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The deadlock marked Washburn's first tie game since 1977 after a pair of delays, including the final stoppage that ended the contest before the start of the extra session.

"Coach Wat (Zach Watkins) just told us obviously we want to win, but we're still undefeated going up to Northwest (Missouri), which we know is going to be a very tough game at Northwest so we're on to the next one, on to the next week moving forward,'' said Washburn junior linebacker JC Heim, who was credited with 13 tackles.

Saturday's game was originally scheduled for 12 p.m. and switched to 7:05 because of weather concerns before Colorado School of Mines requested the 9:05 a.m. start, the earliest in Washburn program history.

Washburn sophomore quarterback Logan Madden passed for 268 yards and two TDs in Saturday's 16-16 tie with Colorado School of Mines. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Washburn sophomore quarterback Logan Madden, who passed for 268 yards and both Ichabod TDs, agreed with Heim that Saturday was a frustrating day as both teams dealt with the uncertainty.

"It sucks for sure, but we battled all game and I'm proud of the guys for that,'' Madden said. "We just control the controllables. I wish we could have played at 7 p.m., it would have been nice, but I thought the guys did a good job of handling the heat and both sides are just mentally tough teams.''

Washburn, now 1-0-1, took the opening kickoff and put together an eight-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass from Madden to Nathan Lewis Jr. (Aidan Battle kick) at the 11:40 mark of the first quarter.

Mines (0-1-1) answered with a 43-yard field goal from Preston Kyle on its ensuring possession.

Washburn extended its lead to 10-3 when Battle connected on a 26-yard field goal to end the first half following a 10-play, 80-yard drive.

Mines tied the game at 10 when Joseph Capra found Nick Stone for a 24-yard touchdown pass (Kyle kick) with 8:43 remaining in the third quarter and Kyle drilled a 43-yard field goal as time expired in the quarter to give the Orediggers a 13-10 lead.

Kyle's third field goal of the game, a 29-yarder with 5:34 left in the fourth quarter, pushed the Mines' lead to 16-10.

After forcing a punt, Madden led an 82-yard scoring drive in just 1:12, highlighted by a 47-yard touchdown strike to Lewis with 1:48 remaining.

The extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving the score tied at 16-16.

Washburn defends Preston Kyle's 64-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation in Saturday's 16-16 tie in Yager Stadium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]1

Mines drove into Washburn territory in the final minute and attempted a 64-yard Kyle field goal at the buzzer, but the kick fell short and to the left, sending the game to what would have been overtime before play was halted.

Prior to the start of overtime the wet globe temperature surpassed the safety zone and the teams were sent to the locker rooms and fans were asked to leave the stadium.

After nearly an hour delay, the game was called.

"I'm proud of our guys,'' Watkins said. "We had a lot of ups and downs in that game. I thought we played really well at times and played below average at times.

"Ending a game that's not a win or a loss is different and difficult, but it's also a non-conference game and we move on to the MIAA play starting next week.''

Madden finished 20 of 35 passing without an interception while Lewis turned in a career performance with six receptions for 141 yards and both Washburn TDs.

Washburn's JC Heim (left) and Daniel LaValley stop a Colorado School of Mines ball-carrier in Saturday's 16-16 tie. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN] 

Defensively, Brody Hayes and Heim led the Ichabods with 13 tackles apiece.

Mines held advantages in rushing yards (147-76) and total offense (361-344) as well as time of possession (36:06-23:54), while Washburn generated 268 passing yards and averaged 5.7 yards per play.

Saturday's tie was the first for Washburn since a 7-7 tie with Missouri Western on Oct. 7, 1977.
 
The Ichabods will open MIAA play next Saturday at Northwest Missouri.

COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES 16, WASHBURN 16 (End regulation)

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Junior Landen Lewis, who made his first career start at quarterback, scored all five Rossville touchdowns Friday night as the Bulldawgs rallied from two early deficits to take a 35-14 home Big East League victory over Perry-Lecompton.

Junior Landen Lewis scored all five of his team's touchdowns in his first start as Rossville's quarterback Friday night, leading the Bulldawgs to a 35-14 win over Perry-Lecompton. [File photo/TSN]

The Kaws took first-half leads of 7-0 and 14-7, but the Bulldawgs, the Class 1A state runnerup a year ago, finished with 28 straight points to take control.

Rossville used 11, 3 and 6-yard Lewis touchdown runs to take a 21-14 halftime advantage before the Bulldawg QB scored from 22 and 8 yards in the third quarter to give the hosts their final 21-point margin.

Julian Goj went 5 of 5 on extra points for the Bulldawgs.

Next up for Rossville is the storied War on 24 rivaly with Silver Lake, with the Eagles hosting this year's game next Friday.

Hayden drops 22-19 nailbiter to Cardinals

Hayden traveled to Eudora Friday for a rematch of last year’s season-opener and the Cardinals were able to turn the tables from last season’s 28-6 Wildcat victory and earn a come-from-behind 22-19 win.

Eudora, ranked No. 4 in the Class 4A KFBCA preseason poll, took the opening kickoff right down the field and scored a touchdown on a 2-yard run by senior running back Grayson Moody. Following the extra point by senior kicker Caden Dunback, the Cardinals led 7-0.

Hayden, No. 2 in the 3A KFBCA poll, responded with 4-yard run by senior running back Mason Becker, who added the extra point to even the score at 7-7 with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.

The Wildcats dominated the second quarter both offensively and defensively.

Hayden took its first lead of the game on a 14-yard pass from junior quarterback Ryker Tetuan to senior wide receiver Logan Power with 5:07 left in the half (kick failed).

The Wildcat defense stepped up on the next drive as sophomore linebacker Jairus Todwong stripped the ball from Eudora senior wide receiver Preston White and returned the fumble 70 yards for a touchdown (kick failed) and Hayden took a 19-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

While the first half saw Hayden score 19 straight points, the second half was just the opposite as Eudora’s offense and defense made the necessary adjustments.

After the Cardinals forced a punt on Hayden’s first possession, they drove down the field and scored a TD on a 7-yard run by junior running back Keelyn Duncan. Dunback’s extra point cut the Wildcat lead to 19-14 with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Over the next 10 minutes of game time, both teams were able to move the ball offensively, but neither could score.

With about nine minutes remaining in the game, Eudora began a drive that led to their second touchdown of the second half when Moody scored his second touchdown of the evening on a 2-yard run. Duncan ran in the 2-point conversion, giving Eudora its 22-19 lead with 4:37 left.

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