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Sub-State VB: Rural, Hayden, Silver Lake, Rossville earn state tournament berths
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural will make its traditional trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament next week after a dominating performance in Saturday's sub-state tourney on the Junior Blues' home court.
Washburn Rural earned its ninth straight trip to the Class 6A state volleyball tournament with a pair of straight-set wins Saturday at Rural. [Washburn Rural Athletics]
Rural, the No. 1 6A West seed, punched its ticket to the state tournament at Salina's Tony's Pizza Event Center with a 25-11, 25-4 semifinal win over No. 16 Wichita West and a 25-11, 25-21 win over No. 8 seed Maize in the championship match.
Now 30-6 on the season, the Junior Blues will be making their ninth straight state tournament appearance and their 27th in 31 seasons under coach Kevin Bordewick, who has led Rural to eight state titles and ranks No. 2 on Kansas' all-time career victory list.
Washburn Rural was ranked No. 5 in the final Kansas Volleyball Association 6A state rankings.
Hayden volleyball poses for a team picture after capturing a Class 4A sub-state title Saturday at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Wildcats survive three-set final to earn return trip to Class 4A state
Hayden, the No. 4 Class 4A East seed, was pushed to three sets by No. 5 seed Eudora but outlasted the Cardinals, 25-23, 24-26, 25-20 Saturday at the Bueltel Activity Center to earn a return trip to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Hayden senior Reese Huscher spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior Ella Foster sets the ball during Saturday's Class 4A sub-state tournament at Hayden. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden reached the championship match with a 25-7, 25-10 semifinal win over No. 13 Labette County while Eudora survived a three set semifinal with No. 12 seed Ottawa, taking a 20-25, 25-10, 25-19 win over the Cyclones.
Now 29-9 on the season, Hayden finished third in last year's state tournament and was ranked No. 3 in the final KVA state rankings.
Silver Lake volleyball celebrates its Class 3A sub-state title Saturday at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Top-ranked Eagles top Riley County to take 3A sub-state crown
Silver Lake, the No. 1 Class 3A East seed and ranked No. 1 by the KVA for seven straight weeks, fought off Riley County in Saturday's sub-state final on the Eagles' home court to advance to next week's state tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Silver Lake volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's Class 3A sub-state tournament at Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Now 41-1 on the season, Silver Lake dropped the first set to No. 3 sub-state seed Riley County, 25-23, but rallied to take 25-21 and 25-15 wins in the next two sets to garner the title.
Silver Lake took a 25-12, 25-9 semifinal win over No. 4 Perry-Lecompton while Riley County needed three sets to knock off No. 2 Nemaha Central, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18.
Rossville volleyball poses for a team picture after earning a Class 2A state tournament berth Saturday at Rossville. [Rossville volleyball]
Bulldawgs advance to 2A state with back-to-back thrillers
Tournament host and top sub-state seed Rossville was pushed to three sets in both its semifinal and championship matches, but the Bulldawgs survived both sets to advance to next week's Class 2A state tournament in Dodge City.
Rossville volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's Class 2A sub-state tournament at Rossville. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Rossville junior Nora Burdiek spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 2A sub-state tournament at Rossville. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Rossville, ranked No. 7 in the final KVA 2A state rankings, outlasted No. 4 Cair Paravel Latin, 27-25, 19-25, 25-20 in the semifinals before rallying from a first-set loss against No. 2 Maur Hill-Mt. Academy in the sub-state final to take a 22-25, 25-23, 25-12 win.
Maur Hill-Mt. Academy advanced to the final with a 25-16, 27-25 semifinal win over Kansas City Christian.
The Bulldawgs will take a 28-13 record into the state tournament.
Mason Becker, Madilyn Poole the Dan Key Farmers Agency Rising Stars of the Week
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden junior football standout Mason Becker and Cair Paravel Latin junior state tennis medalist Madilyn Poole have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.
Here's a brief look at the recent accomplishments of Becker and Poole.
Mason Becker, Hayden [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
MASON BECKER, Hayden
A junior multi-sport standout for the Wildcats, Becker has helped Hayden's football team post a perfect 7-0 record this fall, with no game closer than 22 points.
Becker, 6-foot, 160 pounds, plays offense, defense and on special teams for the Wildcats, scoring touchdowns in all three phases of the game.
Becker has established himself as one of the state's top kickers, going 37 of 37 on extra-point attempts while also booting a 40-yard field goal and kicking the vast majority of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. Becker has carried the ball nine times for 150 yards and two TDs and caught seven passes for 187 yards and two TDs.
Madilyn Poole, Cair Paravel Latin
MADILYN POOLE, Cair Paravel Latin
A junior two-time Class 3A-1A state tennis qualifier in singles, Poole became the first-ever Cair Paravel girls player to earn a state medal last Saturday in Salina.
After winning a regional singles championship at Kossover Tennis Center, Poole won her first two matches in the state tournament to advance to the state semifinals.
After falling in the semis, Poole, an All-City honoree, bounced back to finish third at state with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Wichita Classical's Ani Doom to cap a 19-3 season.
Undefeated Hayden clinches Class 3A district title with 42-0 win over Jeff West
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Jefferson West Tigers are having their best football season in years, but they were no match for Hayden Friday night. Hayden stifled the high-scoring visitors 42-0 to claim the Class 3A District 4 title.
Hayden's defense limited Jefferson West to 129 total yards en route to a 42-0 win over Jefferson West Friday night, with the Wildcats improving to 8-0. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Jefferson West came to Hayden aiming to claim the district crown by defeating the Wildcats for the first time in 15 tries, a string dating back to the consolidation of the school in 1971. The Tigers have put up at least 40 points on nearly every opponent this season. But the stubborn Wildcat defense surrendered just 129 yards of total offense, and the Tigers never came near the goal line.
“I just liked the way our kids competed tonight,” said Hayden coach Bill Arnold. “We made some mistakes early. There were some stupid penalties that extended some of the drives for (Jefferson West). But for the most part, I loved the energy our kids played with.
“They take a lot of pride in (the shutout). That’s the goal every week. But at the same time, we’re going to run into some competition here pretty quick where we just need them to keep plugging away out there.”
The Tigers entered the contest attempting more than 25 passes per game. The Wildcats knew freshman quarterback Brixton Schwinn would challenge them through the air. Hayden responded by holding Schwinn to 7-20 passing for 44 yards and two interceptions.
“It was a long practice week, getting ready for this, I’m not going to lie,” said senior linebacker Jude Krentz. “We got prepared. We were ready. It just came down to communication.
“On defense we have just come together and our camaraderie is just really good. Especially with being heavy on seniors. We’ve been brothers like since eighth grade, probably even longer than that.”
Senior Jude Krentz scored a pair of touchdowns in Friday's 42-0 Hayden win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior quarterback Connor Hanika threw for three touchdowns to three different receivers in Friday's 42-0 district win over Jefferson West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
On offense, Krentz gave the Wildcats two short touchdown runs in the first half. Quarterback Connor Hanika found three different receivers on touchdown throws, and Jace Wolf capped the scoring with a 25-yard interception return for a score.
Despite the lopsided outcome, Arnold praised the Tigers, who are 6-2 on the season.
“Jeff West is a good team. They’re going to win some games in the playoffs,” Arnold said. “I’m just proud of our kids for the way they fought all night.”
The Wildcats finished the regular season 8-0 and will host the opening round of the postseason next week. No strangers to playoff football, the Wildcats advanced to the Class 3A championship game the past two seasons.
“We’re just looking for 1-0. Every week, 1-0. That’s all we care about. One game at a time,” Krentz said. “I think we’re going to go far and we’re going to get it done.”
HAYDEN 42, JEFFERSON WEST 0
