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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
State tournament teams Seaman, Washburn Rural and Hayden combined to put 10 players on the TopSports.news 2024 All-Shawnee County volleyball first team, led by Seaman two-time player of the year Maegan Mills.
Seaman senior Maegan Mills (23) has been named the TSN Shawnee County volleyball player of the year for the second straight season. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Seaman's Tatiana Dowling has been named the Shawnee County coach of the year for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman, which finished second in Class 5A this fall after winning the state title in 2023, put a county-high four players on the all-county first team, with Mills joined by fellow Viking seniors Campbell Chabot, Ava Esser and Kinley Wilhelm while Viking coach Tatiana Dowling, a Seaman grad, was named the coach of the year for the second straight season after leading her team to a county-best 41-3 record and a county-best state tournament finish.
Hayden freshman Hailey Schmidtlein has been named the Shawnee County co-newcomer of the year. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden freshman Blakely Walter has been named the Shawnee County volleyball co-newcomer of the year. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden, which placed third in the 4A state tournament, is represented on the first team by senior Reagan McGivern and freshmen Hailey Schmidtlein and Blakely Walter, who were named co-Shawnee County newcomers of the year. McGivern is a first-team all-county repeat pick after earning first-team honors at Seaman as a junior.
Washburn Rural is represented on the all-county first team by seniors Layla Collins and Kate Hinck and junior Karsyn Horyna after helping the Junior Blues win the Centennial League championship and advance to the 6A state tournament.
Collins is a first-team All-Shawnee County repeat pick after being a second-team pick as a sophomore.
Shawnee Heights put seniors Kaydence Torrez and Taylor Brees on the first team while Silver Lake is represented by senior Ella Bolan, Rossville by sophomore Nora Burdiek and Topeka High by senior Jo'Mhara Benning.
Torrez and Bolan are first-team repeat picks while Burdiek was named the county newcomer of the year as a freshman.
All-Shawnee County first-team capsules:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Thirteen Shawnee County players have earned Kansas Volleyball Association All-State recognition, including four first-team picks.
Seaman senior Campbell Chabot earned KVA All-State first-team honors in Class 5A after helping the Vikings finish second in Class 5A this fall. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Seaman senior Maegan Mills earned first-team KVA All-State honors in Class 5A for the second straight season after helping lead the Vikings to a runnerup state finish. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Hayden senior Reagan McGivern earned a spot on the KVA Class 4A All-State first team after helping the Wildcats finish third in 4A. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Rossville sophomore Nora Burdiek was named to the KVA All-Class 2A All-State team. [Submitted photo]
Seniors Campbell Chabot and Meagan Mills, who helped lead Seaman to a runnerup finish in Class 5A, were named to the All-5A first team while Hayden senior Reagan McGivern earned first-team honors in 4A after helping the Wildcats post a third-place state finish and Rossville sophomore Nora Burdiek was a first-team pick in 2A after helping the Bulldawgs win a regional championship this fall.
Washburn Rural senior Layla Collins received second-team all-state recognition in 6A while Seaman senior Ava Esser was a second-team All-5A pick, freshmen Hailey Schmidtlein and Blakely Walter were second-team selections in 4A and Silver Lake senior Ella Bolan was a second-team honoree in 3A.
Rural senior Kate Hinck received All-6A honorable mention while Seaman seniors Maggie Moulden and Kinley Wilhelm received honorable mention in 5A and Hayden junior Ella Foster received honorable mention in 4A.
KANSAS VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION 2024 ALL-STATE
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball fell just short of picking up its first win on Saturday afternoon in Quincy, Ill., falling 70-67 to the host team in the final game of the Quincy Classic.
Yibari Nwidadah scored a career-high 29 points with eight rebounds and four blocks in Washburn's 70-67 Saturday loss to Quincy. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will stay on the road to face William Jewell on Tuesday, with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m.
After creating a 5-2 lead early, Washburn (0-4) rode the hot hand of Yibari Nwidadah in the first quarter as she scored 10 straight points for the Ichabods to put them ahead 15-8 with 3:58 left in the frame.
The WU lead grew to double figures after Madelyn Amekporfor went 2-2 at the line at the 1:15 mark. The Hawks (3-1) offense got going late in the first as they cut the lead to eight, ending the quarter down 25-17.
Quincy scored the first four points of the second quarter and picked up the aggressiveness offensively. They went 8-10 at the free throw line in the second quarter alone after not shooting from the charity stripe in the first.
After Washburn shot 50.0 percent from the floor in the first quarter they were held to 5-17 shooting (29.4) in the second.
The Hawks went from down seven to up 31-28 with 4:24 left in the half before the Ichabods finished the half strong, beginning with a trey from Brooke Gomez to break a 32-32 tie and using a 10-4 run to end the half leading 42-36.
Both sides traded baskets coming out of the half. After the Washburn lead was reduced to four a 3-pointer by Payton Sterk and a free throw by Amekporfor put it back up to eight at the 4:54 mark of the third. Each team struggled to score as both shot under 30.0 prcent from the floor. A second chance opportunity by Nwidadah extended Washburn's lead from the quarter's beginning as it ended 53-46.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
In a season full of big plays for Washburn University football, Tre Richardson came through with one of the biggest on Saturday in Tahlequah, Okla., helping the Ichabods end their 2024 season with a 35-28 win over Northeastern State.
Former Highland Park star Tre Richardson caught the game-winning TD pass in Saturday's 35-28 Washburn win over Northeastern State. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn, which capped a 3-8 season, scored the tiebreaking touchdown with 48 seconds to play as Richardson pulled down a 3rd-and-10 pass from Sam Van Dyne in the back corner of the end zone for the game-winner, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:05 off the clock.
"Tre Richardson, getting the ball in his hands makes great things happen as everybody knows,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig told KTPK Radio after the game. "We listen to our players and Tre said he felt like he could get them on a corner route and that's what it was. (Sam) put it on the money and it connected so we didn't have to rely on a fourth-down play and it felt good.''
After Richardson's TD (Trenton Brehm kick) Northeastern State (2-9) drove down to the Ichabod 28-yard-line, but the RiverHawks' final pass into the end zone was picked off by DeAndre Washington, giving the Ichabods their 12th straight win over Northeastern State.
The Ichabods took their first lead of the game at the 9:54 mark of the first quarter when Jaquez White picked off a Dereus Dortch pass and returned it 30 yards for the touchdown on his first interception of the season.
The RiverHawks came right back with a 75-yard drive of their own to tie the score with 5:34 to play.
Neither team would score the rest of the quarter and Washburn returned to the scoreboard with 8:01 to play in the opening half when Lucas Oitker had a 2-yard run up the middle, putting Washburn up 14-7.
The RiverHawks came right back and tied the score at 14-14 after a 3:02 drive but on the RiverHawks' kickoff, Richardson returned the ball 84 yards to the NSU 11-yard-line and then Tyler Bowden scampered 11 yards on the one-play touchdown drive, breaking the deadlock and putting Washburn up 21-14 at halftime.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 24-ranked Washburn University volleyball finished off its regular season with a four-set win on the road over Arkansas-Fort Smith in the first-ever conference battle between the two teams.
Former Cair Paravel star Taryn Pridgett (18) tied for team-high honors with 15 kills as Washburn volleyball capped its regular season with a 3-1 road win over Arkansas-Fort Smith. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods will await their seeding in the MIAA Tournament after the KPI Rankings are calculated at the conclusion of all matches around the conference.
Washburn (20-6 overall, 11-5 MIAA) got out to a fast start, winning 25-16 in the first set. The second set went long, and ended with the Lions (14-14, 6-10) evening up the match.
The visiting Ichabods jumped out to early leads in each of the next two sets, winning both, 25-18 and 25-22.
A kill by Jalyn Stevenson began the match and three points later Corinna McMullen served an ace, forcing a timeout by Arkansas-Fort Smith as the Lions trailed 4-0.
Shortly after, a 5-0 run ending with another ace, this time via Taylor Rottinghaus, made it a 10-2 set. Both sides traded points until the Lions got a rally going, winning four in a row to cut the lead to three at 18-15. The Ichabods finished out the set by winning seven of the final eight points, with Bella Limback delivering the final blow on a pass from Sydney Conner.
In the second set the Lions got off to a quicker start, jumping ahead 6-3. Washburn tied the set up at seven on a kill by Natalie Hedlund and each side traded the lead back and forth until a 6-1 run by the Ichabods created separation at 16-12. Arkansas-Fort Smith battled back, winning six of seven points to tie things up at 19.
Washburn was the first to reach set point after an ace from McMullen. The Ichabods reached set point twice, but each time the Lions had an answer. On Fort Smith's second time reaching set point they were able to put the set away with two straight kills, ending it at 30-28.
The Ichabod offense got right back on track in the third, starting the set with a kill by Dvorak which sparked a 6-0 run. On the defensive end Dvorak and Hedlund combined for a block to finish off a 4-0 stretch that left the score at 18-10. The Lions were able to pull within five but down the stretch the Washburn offense carried the way as they hit .552 as a team with 16 kills and no errors in the 25-18 victory.
