Welcome to Top Sports News
Offensive attack leads No. 6 Washburn volleyball to sweep over Black Hills State
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- No. 6 Washburn University volleyball opened the Sioux Falls Classic with a 3-0 sweep over Black Hills State on Thursday afternoon.
Junior Emma Siron (left) led Washburn with 15 kills in Thursday's 3-0 sweep over Black Hills State. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods return to action with two matches on Friday, taking on Upper Iowa at 10 a.m. and Sioux Falls at 7 p.m. on Day 2 of the tournament.
Washburn (5-0) was relentless on the offensive end, winning 25-14 in the opening set before closing out the match with 25-21 and 25-13 sets to take down the Yellow Jackets (2-3).
Early on in the first set the Ichabods doubled up Black Hills State 8-4 after a kill by Brooklyn Morrisey.
Throughout the middle of the set Washburn went on a 7-2 run, pushing the lead to 19-12.
The Ichabods offense churned out a .447 hitting percentage as a team in the first set as they cruised to a 25-14 win.
The Yellow Jackets responded with a 7-4 start to the second set.
Washburn re-took the lead on kills by Emma Siron and Brynne Topolski to lead 9-8. After the lead traded hands twice more it was Siron and Topolski that took over down the stretch, scoring the final four points of the set as part of a 4-1 run to end the set 25-21 and put the Ichabods up 2-0 in the match.
Washburn jumped in front of Black Hills State early in the third set, leading 14-7 after a 4-0 run and kill by Siron.
The Ichabods continued to pile on offensively, growing the lead to double-digits after Shannon Frakes set up Kennedy Derk for a kill that sparked a 5-0 burst. The Ichabods finished the set hitting .400 as a team to win 25-13.
Prep parade: Blues counting on tough schedule to prep for 6A bid
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After posting a 6-4 record a year ago while wading through a brutal schedule, nothing gets any easier for Washburn Rural this fall.
Veteran Washburn Rural football coach Steve Buhler is starting his 14th season at Rural, with the Junior Blues coming off a 6-4 record last fall. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Junior Blues open the season Friday on the road against defending Class 4A state champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel, will face defending 6A champ Manhattan in the Centennial League as well as facing other traditional state powers and taking a road trip to Omaha, Neb.
But veteran Washburn Rural coach Steve Buhler is confident that his Junior Blues are up to the task ahead.
"We like that,'' Buhler said of Rural's slate. "We feel like we're in a spot with the program where it may not make our overall season record look glossy, but I think it benefits us at the end and we like the idea that our kids don't shy away from anybody and feel like that's just beneficial to us when we get to the playoffs.
"We've think we've got some really talented kids coming back and we've got some talented young guys but they're just going to have to learn how to play at the varsity level a little bit. And it's not that they can't physically do it, they just have to learn to play with the intensity it takes on a Friday night.''
Washburn Rural senior running back Jadyn Baum earned All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial League first-team honors last season. [File photo]
Washburn Rural's returning cast is led by senior running back Jadyn Baum, who earned TopSports.news All-Shawnee County and All-Centennial first-team recognition last fall before going on to win a Class 6A state wrestling title at 215 points.
Baum carried the ball 139 times for 1,262 yards and 10 touchdowns last fall while averaging 9.1 yards per attempt.
"If not the best, he is one of the top five running backs in the state of Kansas,'' Buhler said. "Everybody can say whatever, but 1,200 yards last year, 9 yards a carry against a really good schedule that we played and he's kind of the heart and soul right now of the offense.''
Senior Gavin Vantuyl takes over as the Junior Blues' starting quarterback this fall after seeing time backing up John Hoytal and playing wide receiver last season.
Vantuyl was also the All-Centennial League first-team punter last fall and received All-Shawnee County honorable mention.
A senior defensive end, Steven Cantrell earned first-team All-Centennial League recognition as a junior and also received All-Shawnee County honorable mention.
Amir Jones, a senior linebacker, received All-Shawnee County honorable mention last season while the Junior Blues also return senior Cade Danielson and junior Isaiah Whiteside at outside linebacker.
Chargers open 2026 soccer season with 8-0 shutout over Hayden
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West soccer handled the 100-degree heat and the rust that went with a season-opener Tuesday at Hayden, dominating the second half on the way to an 8-0 non-league win over the Wildcats.
Topeka West senior midfielder Diego Gonzalez-Talavera (9), who had two goals, tries to get past Hayden junior midfielder Isaac Woods in Tuesday's 8-0 Charger win over the Wildcats at Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Chargers, who are coming off back-to-back banner seasons, led 2-0 at halftime despite letting numerous scoring opporunities get away and then peppered the net after the break, scoring six goals to end the game by the eight-goal spread rule with 11:15 remaining.
"I'm glad to get that first one out of the way and kind of put into a game what we've been working on and see where we can improve from what we've been working on in practice,'' Topeka West coach Josh Kutter said. "Overall it was a positive.''
Hayden, which was also opening its season, was still in the game at halftime, but West boosted its lead to 3-0 at the 30:25 mark of the second half, starting a run of three goals in less than five minutes, and continued to roll from there.
"It always seems like once one falls then the rest start to come, but I guess that's just something we've got to keep working on, finishing under pressure,'' Kutter said. "I know sometimes it's just knocking the rust off.
"We've got lot of guys that are capable of finishing and scoring and creating great plays.''
Senior midfielder Diego Gonzalez-Talavera and senior defender Kameron Ortiz scored two goals apiece for the Chargers while West also got goals from junior forward Valentin Del Real, senior forward Henry Miller and sophomore forward Yahel Garcia as well as an own goal.
Junior Makaly Martinez and Topeka West opened the 2026 soccer season with an 8-0 win at Hayden Tuesday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Ortiz, Del Real and senior midfielder William Lara were credited with assists while junior Kevin Voelker picked up the shutout in goal as the Chargers limited Hayden to very few offensive opportunities.
TOPEKA WEST 8, HAYDEN 0
Topeka West (1-0) 2 6 -- 8
Hayden (0-1) 0 0 -- 0
Topeka West -- Goals: Diego Gonzalez-Talavera 2, Kameron Ortiz 2, Valentin Del Real, Henry Miller, Yahel Garcia, own goal. Assists: Kameron Ortiz, Valentin Del Real, William Lara. Shutout: Kevin Voelker.
