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All-Shawnee County golf: Junior Blues put four players on first team

2021 All-Shawnee County girls golf -- From left: Avery Zimmerman, Topeka High; Lois Deeter, Seaman; Avery Scott, Washburn Rural; Kaitlyn Crough, Washburn Rural; McKenna Merrick, Washburn Rural; Aliyah North, Washburn Rural; Kate Roeder, Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural garnered four spots on the All-Shawnee County girls golf team after the Junior Blues swept city, Centennial League and regional team titles before finishing second in last week's Class 6A state tournament.

The Junior Blues are represented by seniors Kaitlyn Crough, McKenna Merrick and Aliyah North and junior Avery Scott, who all earned 6A state medals this fall.

Also earning spots on the seven-member All-Shawnee County first team were Seaman junior Lois Deeter, Hayden senior Kate Roeder and Topeka High sophomore Avery Zimmerman.

Deeter claimed the city title and tied for fifth in the 5A state tournament while Roeder finished second in the 4A state meet and Zimmerman qualified for the 6A state tournament as an individual.

Named to the second team were Seaman junior Aspen Burgardt and sophomore Avery Samuelson, Hayden sophomore Avery Grunert and junior Ava Teply, Washburn Rural junior Mallory Nelson and sophomore Raegan Petersen, Shawnee Heights senior Olivia Morgan and Silver Lake freshman Taylor Zordel.

All-County first-team capsules:

KAITLYN CROUGH, Washburn Rural -- Crough capped her high school career with an 11th-place finish in the 6A state tournament, earning the second state medal of her career, as Rural finished second as a team at state after sweeping city, Centennial League and regional titles. A former city champ, Crough was the runner-up in the city and league meets.

LOIS DEETER, Seaman -- A junior, Deeter tied for fifth in the 5A state tournament after winning the city title by five strokes and finishing second in regional competition. Deeter, who also tied for fifth in the state tournament as a freshman, shot an even-par 70 in the city tournament and posted a career-low 66 in the Manhattan Invitational.

McKENNA MERRICK, Washburn Rural -- Merrick, a senior, earned a 6A state medal with a tie for 19th place to help Washburn Rural finish second as a team. Merrick also tied for seventh in the Centennial League tournament as the Junior Blues won the team title.

ALIYAH NORTH, Washburn Rural -- In her first year as a varsity player the Rural senior finished fifth in the 6A state tournament for the runner-up Junior Blues after finishing as the runner-up in regional competition, tying for fourth in the Centennial League and taking third in the city meet as Rural won city, league and regional team titles.

KATE ROEDER, Hayden -- Roeder, a senior, turned in an outstanding performance in the 4A state tournament, posting a second-place individual finish to lead the Wildcats to a third-place team finish. Roeder also tied for seventh place individually in 4A regional competition and she placed seventh in the city tournament.

AVERY SCOTT, Washburn Rural -- A junior, Scott tied for 12th place individually in the 6A tournament, helping Rural finish second as a team after the Junior Blues swept city, Centennial League and regional titles. A two-time state medalist, Scott finished fourth at regionals, third in the Centennial League and tied for fourth in the city tournament.

AVERY ZIMMERMAN, Topeka High -- Zimmerman, a sophomore, qualified for the 6A state tournament as an individual and went on to tie for 33rd place at state. Zimmerman also placed sixth individually in the Centennial League tournament and she tied for eighth in the city tournament.

ALL-SHAWNEE COUNTY GIRLS GOLF

WU's Rose gets memory of a lifetime with 75-yard touchdown ramble

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University defensive end Braden Rose isn't likely to make the switch to running back any time soon.

But the 6-foot-1, 255-pound junior did record the Ichabods' second-longest touchdown of the 2021 season last Saturday, scooping up a Central Oklahoma fumble in the closing seconds and rambling 75 yards for Washburn's game-clinching TD in a 29-17 road victory over the Bronchos.

Rose admitted he was out of gas by the time he reached the end zone, but said that was a small price to pay to achieve what he called the biggest moment of his football career.

"I definitely didn't have a lot left,'' Rose said. "It took everything I had to get the touchdown because obviously I don't do that type of running all the time, but the experience of a lifetime scoring that was what kept me going.

"That's No. 1 for sure. That's definitely a play I'll never forget.''

Ironically, Rose's 75-yard TD with nine seconds remaining came just three minutes after James Letcher Jr. recorded Washburn's longest scoring play of the season on a 90-yard kickoff return as the 6-2 Ichabods rallied from a late 17-16 deficit.

Washburn junior defensive end Braden Rose (right) battles for a loose ball in the Ichabods' 17-16 win over then-No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Rose's highlight-reel score was part of another strong performance by the Washburn defense, which has not allowed an opponent to score more than 20 points over its current three-game winning streak.

Going into Saturday's 1 p.m. MIAA home game against 2-6 Northeastern State at Yager Stadium, Rose has registered 22 tackles (16 solos), with 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries.

"It's a great time, just having the camaraderie of our defense as a whole,'' said Rose, also a standout thrower for the Ichabods' track and field team. "I feel like we all get along very well and it's just fun playing with your brothers out there, making plays and getting things done. I love our defense.''

Rose, a former state high school champion in the shot put and javelin, said that the Ichabods used the COVID-canceled 2020 season to get closer as a team, which is paying dividends this fall.

"I think that whole year was just a year to get through it all because obviously we didn't know what was going to happen, we didn't know when we were going to play again,'' Rose said. "But at the same time everyone showed up every day, everyone came back to practice, came back to weights and I definitely think that showed that everyone wants to be here.

"It definitely built that closeness for us.''

State VB preview: Tough schedule preps Seaman for 5A tourney

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Tatiana Dowling's Seaman volleyball team has faced a brutal schedule this fall, with seven of the Vikings' losses in a 25-10 season coming against schools that will compete in the Class 6A and 5A state tournaments this weekend.

Now the goal for the battle-tested Vikings, the No. 7 seed, is to make that tough slate pay off in Friday and Saturday's 5A state tournament at Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.

"I am really happy with our schedule in the regular season,'' Dowling said. "I think it gives us challenges, makes us better, and prepares us for competition at state.

"With that being said, of course I would like to come away with some wins instead of losses in those circumstances, but I am glad that we have been able to have learning experiences through those games.''

Seaman's volleyball team will make a second straight appearance in the Class 5A state tournament this weekend. [File photo/TSN]

After ending a lengthy state drought last season with a quarterfinal experience Seaman clinched its second straight state appearance with a romp through the Eisenhower sub-state last Saturday at Goddard.

The Vikings took a 25-13, 25-19 semifinal win over Kapaun Mt. Carmel before taking a 25-23, 25-19 victory over Maize in the championship match.

Senior Drew Baxter, junior Laynee Brown and sophomores Taylin Stallbaumer and Brooklyn Gormley all played key roles for Seaman a year ago in a quarterfinal loss at Lansing and Dowling is hopeful that experience will help the Vikings this weekend.

"I definitely think that any state experience helps in the future,'' Dowling said. "It helps our program create a culture and an expectation, but it also helps give us the experience of a state tournament, which we hadn’t gotten before last year.''

And the fact that the Vikings were able to earn a return trip to state speaks well for the program.

"It is definitely something we’re proud of,'' Dowling said. "We make mini-goals throughout the season and this was one of them. Now, we have a goal to make it to the second day of state.

"We’ll continue making goals from there. I try to instill in them to never be satisfied and to keep pushing for more, and I feel like they’ve done a great job of stepping up to that challenge.''

Lansing is the tournament's top seed at 33-1 and is in Pool I along with No. 4 Maize South (30-8), No. 5 St. James Academy (27-9) and No. 8 Bishop Carroll (25-12).

Seaman is in Pool II along with No. 2 seed St. Thomas Aquinas (34-3), No. 3 Spring Hill (30-6) and No. 6 Emporia (26-9)

Seaman will open its state bid at 9:30 a.m. Friday against Aquinas and will face Spring Hill at 10:30 and Emporia at 12:30 p.m.

The top two finishers in both pools will advance to Saturday's 9 a.m. semifinals. The championship and third-place matches will follow the semis.

Seaman faced five schools in the 5A state field in the regular season, taking two wins over Spring Hill and a win over Centennial League rival Emporia and dropping three matches to Lansing while also losing to St. James Academy and Bishop Carroll.

CLASS 5A STATE VOLLEYBALL

At Tony's Pizza Events Center, Salina

FRIDAY POOL PLAY

Pool I (Court A)

8:30 a.m. -- Maize South (4: 30-8) vs. St. James Academy (5:27-9)

9:30 -- Lansing (1: 33-1) vs. Bishop Carroll (8: 25-12).

10:30 -- Maize South vs. Bishop Carroll.

11:30 -- Lansing vs. St. James Academy

12:30 p.m. -- St. James Academy vs. Bishop Carroll.

1:30 -- Lansing vs. Maize South.

Pool II (Court B)

8:30 a.m. -- Spring Hill (3: 30-6) vs. Emporia (6: 26-9).