Blanco, a senior girls wrestling standout, captured the 145-pound championship in Saturday's Class 6A West regional at Wichita South, improving to 37-3 on the season. After receiving a first-round bye, Blanco posted 32-second, 1:13 and 5:35 wins by fall, including a third-period pin over Garden City freshman Aria Cordes in the title match.
Jack Donovan
JACK DONOVAN, Rossville
A senior basketball standout, Donovan scored a total of 61 points in two Rossville wins on the week as the Bulldawgs improved to 12-6 on the season. Donovan scored 21 points in Tuesday's 75-43 Big East League win over Royal Valley and then scored a career-high 40 points, with six 3-pointers and a 4 of 4 performance at the free throw line in Friday's 95-48 non-league victory over Abilene.
Cianna Graves
CIANNA GRAVES, Shawnee Heights
Graves, a senior girls wrestling star, won the 155-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A East wrestling regional at Bonner Springs as Shawnee Heights finished second as a team and qualified all 14 of its competitors for state. Now 31-2 on the season, Graves received a first-round bye and then went 3-0 with 1:35 and 1:56 pins and a 5-1 decision over Bonner Springs senior Addison Vogel.
Ichabod softball 13-2 on the season after perfect 5-0 weekend
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University softball controlled every facet of the game in a 6–0 shutout of Southeastern Oklahoma Sunday, using a second-inning surge and a complete-game pitching gem from senior Sadie Walker to earn their 13th win of the season with their sixth win in a row.
Senior pitcher Sadie Walker helped Washburn softball close out a perfect 5-0 weekend with a 6-0 Sunday win over Southeastern Oklahoma. [File photo/TSN]
Walker was in command from the first pitch, tossing seven scoreless innings while allowing just five hits, striking out six, and walking only one.
Walker faced 28 batters, just one over the minimum, as the Ichabods wrapped up a perfect 5-0 weekend at the Cherokee Classic in Tahlequah, Okla.
Washburn's offense erupted in the second inning, transforming a scoreless contest into a commanding lead for the 13-2 Ichabods.
The inning began with Erin Boles singling to left, followed by a walk to Maddie McGee. Makenzie Saisworked another walk to load the bases with none out.
That set the stage for freshman Taylor Brees, a former Shawnee Heights standout, slashing a two-run double, bringing home McGee and Boles while advancing Sais to third.
Moments later, after a strikeout, Madi Moore continued the barrage with a two-run double of her own, scoring both Brees and Sais to stretch the lead to 4-0.
With two outs, Seaman product Aspen Burgardt delivered the biggest swing of the inning -- a towering two-run home run that brought home Moore and capped the six-run outburst. The Ichabods totaled four hits, drew three walks, and sent 10 hitters to the plate in the inning.
Sais singled again in the sixth inning, later stealing both second and third base -- giving her four stolen bases in the game after swiping two in the first inning.
Sunday's win followed a pair of Washburn win on Saturday -- a 7-3 win over Harding and a 3-1 win over Southwestern Oklahoma.
Regional girls wrestling: T-Birds qualify all 14 for Class 5A state, earn runnerup team finish
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' girls wrestling team turned in a strong performance in Saturday's Class 5A East regional at Bonner Springs, posting a runnerup team finish while advancing all 14 competitors to the state tournament Feb. 27-28 at Park City.
Shawnee Heights sophomore Olive Jones (top) won the 135-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A East regional. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Cianna Graves won the 155-pound championship in Saturday's Class 5A East regional. [File photo/TSN]
The T-Birds, ranked No. 3 in 5A by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, got individual regional championships from 135-pound sophomore Olive Jones and 155-pound senior Cianna Graves and put four other wrestlers in the finals, finishing second to top-ranked Basehor-Linwood by a 275-212.5 margin.
Jones improved to 35-1 on the season with a 1 minute, 25-second win by pin over Basehor-Linwood sophomore Willow Rademacher (30-10) in the 135 final while Graves improved to 31-2 with a 5-1 decision over Bonner Springs senior Addison Vogel (25-3) at 155.
The T-Birds got second-place finishes from freshman 120-pounder Brinnley Morris (17-3), junior 125-pounder Audrey Hinkly (25-12), senior 145-pounder Olivia Stevens (29-5) and junior 190-pounder Brooklyn Binkley (20-11) while sophomore Bianca Juarez (110 pounds) posted a third-place finish.
Freshmen Makynzie Allen (100) and Stella Engel (235) qualified with fourth-place regional finishes while freshman Raelyn Kelly (130) finished fifth, senior Shelby Watson (170) sixth, sophomores Halle Hill (115) and Evelyn Ruby (140) seventh and freshman Carmarra Smith (105) eighth.
Highland Park senior Makayla Cadet, the defending 5A state champion at 190 pounds, earned a shot to defend her title with a third-place regional finish. Cadet is 20-2 on the season.
Washburn Rural senior Emme Blanco won the Class 6A West 145-pound regional title Saturday at Wichita South, helping Rural finish third as a team. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Elia Smith won the 170-pound title in Saturday's Class 6A West regional at Wichita South for the third-place Junior Blues. [File photo/TSN]
Rural regional champs Blanco, Smith lead 13 Junior Blues 6A qualifiers
Washburn Rural seniors Emme Blanco and Elia Smith captured individual regional championships in the Class 6A West regional Saturday at Wichita South, powering the Junior Blues to a third-place team finish with 13 state qualifiers.
Blanco, now 37-3 on the season, won the 145-pound title with a 5:35 pin in the finals over Garden City freshman Aria Cordes while Smith, 32-3, earned a 4-1 decision over Derby senior Chloe Spears (36-6) in the 170-pound regional final.
The Junior Blues got third-place regional finishes from 125-pound senior Lacey Middleton (36-6), 140-pound senior Madi Blanco (35-4) and freshman 155-pounder Raella Ebanez (31-8) while freshman 105-pounder Aliyah Tangpricha (25-5), freshman 135-pounder Alea Estep (21-16), 190-pound junior Lily Davis (33-10) and sophomore Emma Mehl (24-14) placed fourth.
Junior Dixie Day (120) qualified for state with a sixth-place regional finish while freshman Ashlyn Johnson (110) finished seventh and freshman Hadley Rosenbaum (100) and junior Rylee-Jade Ebanez (130) placed eighth.
Topeka High freshman 235-pounder Kya Dawkins qualified for state with a seventh-place regional finish while senior 170-pounder Taniza Huggins advanced with an eighth-place finish.
The 6A state tournament will be contested Feb. 27-28 at the AdventHealth Sports Park in Overland Park.
