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Regional tennis roundup: City trio claims regional team championships
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Fresh off a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and Class 5A regional team championships, Jamie Robinson's Seaman girls tennis team will now turns its focus on trying to earn a top-three state finish for the second straight season.
Emma Sweeney won the singles title in Saturday's Class 5A regional at Kossover Tennis Center, helping the Vikings win the team championship. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman senior Molly Gorman finished second in singles in Saturday's Class 5A regional at Kossover Tennis Center, helping the Vikings win the team championship. [File photo/TSN]
The Vikings tuned up for state with a team title in Saturday's regional at Kossover Tennis Center and will be back at Kosover Friday and Saturday for the state meet.
Seaman achieved its goal of qualifying all six of its varsity players for state while edging St. James Academy for the team championship, 22-21.
"That is so huge,'' Robinson said of Seaman's qualifying effort. "And that's something you don't want to take for granted is getting your six in. That's huge for team morale, it's huge for people coming back the next year and we've done it for three, four years in a row, so that's exciting.
"Everybody's rooting for each other and our parent base is happy and proud and it makes the whole program proud when you take six to state. That is not a given, not even with good teams.''
Viking junior Emma Sweeney and senior Molly Gorman went one-two in singles while the Vikings' doubles teams of senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux and juniors Cadence Speer and Kaylyn Hiebsch placed third and fourth.
Sweeney and Gorman advanced to the regional singles final for the second straight season, with Sweeney taking a 6-0, 6-1 win in the final.
After both Seaman doubles teams dropped semifinal matches to St. James Academy, Henry and Lux took a 6-1, 6-3 win in the third-place match.
Topeka West's senior doubles team of Jordan Felsburg and Taryn Gilbert is also headed to state after finishing fifth Saturday with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Piper's Allison Ochs and Aubrey Eidson.
Felsburg and Gilbert are West's first girls state qualifiers since 2021.
Washburn Rural girls tennis poses for a team picture after winning the championship in Friday's Class 5A regional at Wichita. [Submitted photo]
Junior Blues, Trojans finish one-two in 6A regional
Washburn Rural claimed the team title in Friday's Class 6A regional at Wichita's Riverside Tennis Complex by a 15-12 margin over Topeka High while the city schools swept the singles and doubles championships.
Topeka High senior Madeline Deters, the Centennial League champion, won the regional singles title with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Junction City's Hannah Micheel while Washburn Rural juniors Julia Katzer and Halle Owen, the city champs, took the regional doubles crown with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Manhattan's Keylee Schartz and Jackie Hsu.
Rural freshman singles player Bridget Hoopes qualified for state with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Derby's 5 2 Ella Boline and the Junior Blues' doubles team of senior Alizah Chedzoy and sophomore Annie Henderson defeated Derby's Katie Brehm and Karlie Demel in the fifth-place match, 6-1, 6-2.
In addition to Deters, Topeka High qualified its doubles team of senior Ava Ritter and sophomore Hailey Caryl, who posted a third-place regional finish with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Wichita East's Charlotte Docking and Jane Docking.
The 6A state tournament will be played at the College Boulevard Activity Center in Olathe.
Ichabod football drops 34-10 MIAA decision on the road to Gorillas
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Topeka High star Ky Thomas scored Washburn's lone touchdown in Saturday's loss at Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]
The Gorillas (5–2 overall, 4–1 MIAA) struck first midway through the opening quarter with a 42-yard field goal before adding a 17-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jackson Berry to go ahead 10–0.
Washburn (1–5, 0–4) answered early in the second quarter when Logan Madden engineered a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive.
Madden hit Ky Thomas on an 8-yard swing pass to cap the march, trimming the Gorilla lead to 10-7.
Pittsburg State countered immediately with a 75-yard drive of its own, ending in Berry's second rushing touchdown from 19 yards out.
After forcing a Washburn punt late in the half, the Gorillas extended the margin when Berry connected with Jaelon Travis for a 73-yard score with six seconds left before intermission, pushing the lead to 24–7 heading into the break.
Washburn's defense stiffened in the second half, forcing a turnover and limiting PSU to a pair of field goals and a late short touchdown. The Ichabods turned a recovered Gorilla fumble into a 34-yard Battle field goal early in the fourth quarter to make it 24–10, but the hosts pulled away down the stretch.
The Ichabods were limited with time of possession in the game (21:16 to PSU's 38:44).
Madden completed 14 of 28 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown. Thomas caught four passes for 26 yards and a score, while D.J. Bell added five catches for 31 yards and 39 return yards for a team-high 84 all-purpose yards. Chase Allen-Jackman provided the game's longest Washburn play with a 40-yard reception in the first quarter.
Defensively, linebacker JC Heim paced the Ichabods with 12 total tackles, while L.J. Minner Jr. added 10 stops. Defensive end Elijah Clarke-Boyd contributed 1.5 sacks as Washburn recorded two total on the day.
Pittsburg State finished with 481 total yards to Washburn's 170, powered by a 260-26 advantage on the ground. Berry threw for 221 yards and rushed for 29 more with three total touchdowns.
Washburn punter Jake Zeller was strong again, averaging 47.5 yards on six punts with three pinned inside the 20.
The Ichabods who were top-five in the nation in least penalty yards and least penalties called against, were flagged for 108 yards and 10 calls. The Gorillas were called for 12 flags for 143 yards.
T-Birds bounce back from heartbreaker with 20-3 UKC road win at Seaman
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
On a beautiful night for football, city rivals Seaman and Shawnee Heights squared off in a United Kansas Conference matchup. Host Seaman was honoring its senior class and Shawnee Heights was coming off a tough, 50-48 loss to DeSoto last Friday night. However, Shawnee Heights played its best all-around game of the season, defeating the Vikings, 20-3.
“Kids played outstanding,'' Heights coach Jason Swift said. "That’s one of the best football games I’ve seen from a T-bird team ever. Everybody did their job -- all eleven on offense, defense and the special teams. They were phenomenal and I couldn’t be happier for these guys because they’ve faced adversity.
Following the tough loss to DeSoto last week, Coach Swift was proud of the team’s resolve, “You never know how someone will react when they get knocked down, but our boys got up and is a testament to them and their heart and resiliency.”
Seaman (3-3 overall, 3-2 UKC) took the opening kickoff and drove right down the field, but were unable to get into the end zone and senior Bryan Hayes kicked a 23-yard field goal to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead. On their ensuing possession, Shawnee Heights (2-4, 2-3) drove into the red zone, but junior wide receiver Javon Williams fumbled following a catch and Seaman took over at their own 18-yard line. Seaman responded to the turnover by driving back down into Thunderbird territory, but Hayes missed a 36-yard field goal attempt.
Following a couple of turnovers by the Vikings (an interception and on downs), the Thunderbirds were able to get on the scoreboard with a 10-yard pass from senior Aiden Scott to fellow senior AJ Gallegos. Senior Camden Granado kicked the extra point and with 4:59 remaining in the first half, Shawnee Heights led, 7-3. After another turnover on downs by Seaman with 2:56 left in the half, Shawnee Heights drove deep into Seaman territory and Granado kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired in the half, giving Heights a 10-3 lead going to the locker room.
As the second half began, Shawnee Heights appeared to be on their way to getting two scores on each side of the halftime break as sophomore Reid Niedfeldt took the opening kickoff 72 yards deep into Seaman territory. However, there was a penalty on the return, nullifying the terrific return. The teams traded punts after lengthy drives and Heights once again entered the red zone, threatening to extend their lead. But Viking senior Mike Hurla intercepted Scott’s pass at the 5-yard-line and returned it all the way to midfield with a little over three minutes remaining in the third quarter. As Seaman began moving the ball, the drive stalled because of a Viking fumble.
Shawnee Heights took the following possession into the fourth quarter and Scott was able to throw his second touchdown pass of the game on a 25-yard pass to Williams. Granado tacked on the extra point, giving the Thunderbirds a commanding 17-3 lead with 9:09 left in the game.
The ensuing kickoff appeared to be a momentum-shifting play as junior Jack Becker picked up the ball on the 1-yard line and went 93 yards all the way to the Heights 6-yard-line. But there was a holding penalty called, shifting the momentum right back to Heights. Seaman was unable to move the ball and was forced to punt with a little over seven minutes left in the game.
Shawnee Heights was able to run the ball with junior Trone Purvis getting the majority of the carries, milking the clock and forcing Seaman to use all of their timeouts. The Thunderbirds were able to convert two third downs into first downs, eventually taking the clock down to 1:12, when Granado kicked another 31-yard field goal to end the scoring.
Junior Trone Purvis carried the load as the lead running back and his coach was elated with his effort. “Trone probably had more carries tonight than he’s had all season as he stepped in for David Wakes (senior starter). Our offensive line paved the way for him and this was a ‘find a way’ game and our kids found a way to win it."
Shawnee Heights will go on the road to Lansing next Friday while Seaman will travel to face Basehor-Linwood.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 20, SEAMAN 3
