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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

OVERLAND PARK -- The Washburn Rural girls wrestling team added yet another state trophy to the school’s increasingly crowded case Saturday, placing third at the Class 6A state meet for the second year in a row.

Washburn Rural girls wrestling coach Damon Parker cheers on his team during Saturday's Class 6A state tournament in Overland Park. [Photo by Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports]

Winners of state titles in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, Washburn Rural remains the standard in girls wrestling.

“There’s nobody outside of the people that were sitting up in (the Junior Blues’ cheering) section that thought we had a chance to bring home a trophy. And we came in here and we won a third-place finish at state,” said Washburn Rural coach Damon Parker. “I could not be more proud of this team.

“People have a recency bias. People forget that we are the most decorated program in Kansas girls wrestling history. We’ve never had a state tournament where we haven’t brought home a trophy. I think everybody else thought that this was the year, but we showed up with the youngest team in Kansas and still won third.”

The Junior Blues failed to take a gold medal in any weight class at AdventHealth Sports Park in Overland Park on Saturday. Still, they amassed 175 points, good for third behind Garden City with 226.5 and Gardner Edgerton with 197.

Three Junior Blues – all seniors – placed second in their respective weight classes.

Washburn Rural senior 145-pounder Emme Blan posted a runnerup Class 6A state finish at 145 pounds for third-place Washburn Rural. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Washburn Rural senior 145-pounder Emme Blanco finished second in Class 6A Saturday in Overland Park. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Washburn Rural senior Elia Smith, the 170-pound runnerup, talks to coach Damon Parker during Saturday's Class 6A state meet in Overland Park. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Lacey Middleton took the silver in the 125-pound class after she finished fourth at 120 a year ago. Emme Blanco took second in the 145-pound class after placing third at 140 last year and Elia Smith took second in the 170-pound class, the class in which she placed sixth a year ago.

Blanco nearly pulled off a big upset against Audrey Lennard, defending champ in the 145-pound class and the 6A East Regional Wrestler of the Year. Blanco led 11-3 and had battered her opponent when the reigning champ mustered the strength for one decisive pin.

“That girl is, what, 46-0, and then Emme put her on her back twice,” Parker said. “Nobody’s done that to her all year, right? She hasn’t given up a single back point until today. Emme was that close to winning that one.”

Middleton agreed with Parker’s belief that the Junior Blues surprised the rest of the 6A class on Saturday.

“I think we outperformed ourselves because we have grown so much as a team and just our culture together,” Middleton said. “We’re just a family and it really shows out on the mat.”

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Brady Christiansen is the unquestioned elder statesman for Washburn University men's basketball, taking the court in 120 games while helping the Ichabods celebrate a pair of MIAA regular-season championships as a well as a trip to the NCAA Division II Final Four last season.

Washburn senior Brady Christiansen cuts down the nets in Lee Arena Wednesday night, celebrating Washburn's second straight MIAA regular-season title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But to Christiansen, a 6-foot-7 senior forward who is one of four Washburn seniors who will be honored Saturday when the No. 3-ranked Ichabods, 27-1 overall, 17-1 MIAA, will face Missouri Southern (16-11, 10-8) in a 1 p.m. game on Senior Day, it sometimes seems like he just arrived on campus.

"I'm not going to lie, it feels like I was just a freshman not too long ago,'' Christiansen said. "It went by that fast and I blinked and it's Senior Day. It's really hard to believe its here.''

Christiansen has been a solid contributor since he arrived on campus and is proud of what he and the Ichabods have been able to accomplish over the past four seasons.

"I'm grateful for my time here, what I put in, but also getting the program put in the right hands,'' he said. "My ultimate goal is just to leave the program better than when I got here and I couldn't be more grateful for my teammates, everybody else and we're not done yet.''

Christiansen has helped Washburn win back-to-back MIAA regular-season championships in addition to last season's regional championship and Final Four appearance and said he knows he'll appreciate the Ichabods' accomplishments more and more as time goes on.

"In the moment it really feels good, but five, 10 years down the road when you're looking at the ring, that's when you're really going to be like, 'Wow, that team was special, what we did was special,' and hopefully we just keep this going and we've got three things left to do (MIAA Tournament, regionals and nationals).''

Christiansen will be honored Saturday along with fellow seniors Sam Ungashick, Bryson Smith and Isaiah Saams-Hoy.

Ungashick is in his third season with the Ichabods after playing his freshman year at Benedictine while Smith and Saams-Hoy are in their first seasons at Washburn.   

Washburn is coming off a dominant 88-49 MIAA win over Pittsburg State on Wednesday night in Lee Arena, improving to 27-1 and 17-1 in the conference with their 28th straight home victory.

The Ichabods put up 44 points in each half while holding the Gorillas to 34 percent shooting, winning their 11th game in a row over Pitt State.

Sophomore Dillon Claussen led Washburn with a game-high 23 points on 9 of 15 shooting while adding five rebounds and two blocked shots.

Junior Jack Bachelor scored 13 points with eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals against the Gorillas while sophomore Marcus Glock finished with 15 points off the bench, hitting five 3-pointers.

Junior Jeremiah Jones set Washburn's single-season steals record in Wednesday's 88-49 win over Pittsburg State in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Junior Jeremiah Jones scored eight points with three steals, breaking the Washburn single-season steals record of 82 set by Will McNeill during the 2012-13 season.

The Ichabods will wrap up the regular season on Saturday against the Lions, with the men's game followed by a 3 o'clock women's game between the Ichabods and Missouri Southern.

Missiouri Southern's men are coming off a 95-69 MIAA loss at Central Missouri on Wednesday night.
 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn seniors Gabi Giovannetti, Yibari Nwidadah, Payton Sterk and Aniah Wayne will be honored before Saturday's 3 p.m. game against Missouri Southern in Lee Arena. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]