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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team posted an uncharacteristic 11-17 record last season while being stung by six losses of seven or fewer points, including 1 and 2-point defeats.
And while the Ichadods lost several key players off that team, including their No. 2, 3 and 4 scorers, former WU standout Lora Westling is confident her team is poised to make some major steps forward in her second year at the helm of the Ichabods.
Second-year Washburn women's basketball coach Lora Westling is looking for the Ichabods to make significant progress in the 2023-2024 season. [File photo/TSN]
Senior point guard Aubree Dewey (3) led Washburn women's basketball in scoring, assists and steals last season. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn will have to replace the trio of Natalia Figueroa, Macy Doebele and Emma Chapman, who combined for 23.8 points and 11.9 rebounds in 2022-2023, but Aubrey Dewey returns to lead the Ichabods' returning cast, along with fellow seniors Mackenzie Gamble and Lakyn Shieferecke and sophomore standouts Gabi Giovannetti and Yibari Nwidadah.
Doebele and Chapman were classified as seniors last season, while Figueroa, who hails from Madrid, Spain, notified Westling the week before the start of the fall semester that she would not be returning to Washburn after a strong freshman campaign (8.2 points per game, 42 3-pointers).
But Westling said the Ichabods, who began practice on Oct. 6, have taken those personnel losses in stride and have impressive in early preparations for their Nov. 10 season-opener against Southwestern Oklahoma State in Shawnee, Okla.
"We really pride outselves on resiliency as a program and one of our core values is grit and I think if you're around college athletics enough you can never know what the next day is going to bring, good or bad,'' Westling said. "And in this situation, I'm just really excited about our players who have stepped up and some of our young players who are ready to step in and be that next woman up. We really haven't missed a beat.''
Dewey, a 5-foot-7 point guard out of Plainville, led Washburn with a 10.7 scoring average a year ago while also dishing out 110 assists and recording 34 steals.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden and Silver Lake did what they needed to do on Monday to put themselves in contention for state girls golf championships.
Now the Wildcats and Eagles will try to finish off their title quests over Tuesday's final 18 holes.
Hayden sophomore Izzy Glotzbach shot a team-low 78 on Monday at Salina Municipal Golf Course, helping the Wildcats open up a 13-stroke lead in the Class 4A team standings. [Photo by Kyle Grunert/Special to TSN]
Klara Kleinig is second in the Class 3A-1A state tournament entering the final 18 holes, helping Silver Lake open up an eight-stroke lead in the team race. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Hayden will take a commanding 13-stroke margin over two-time defending Class 4A state champion Wemgo into Tuesday's final round at Salina Municipal Golf Course while Silver Lake will start the final day of the 3A-1A state tournament at Hesston with an eight-stroke advantage over Colby.
Three of the five Shawnee County schools that qualified their entire teams for state advanced to Tuesday's final day of competition, along with four individual qualifiers.
Washburn Rural advanced to the final round of the 6A state tournament at Emporia Municipal, earning the sixth and final berth by a stroke over Maize.
Regional champion Seaman missed a Day 2 team berth in Class 5A by two spots and Shawnee Heights was 12th after the first state of state competition, but four city golfers advanced as individual competitors..
Here's a class-by-class look at the state tournaments involving Shawnee County teams:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Jackson Esquibel
JACKSON ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights
Esquibel, a senior cross country star, captured his first United Kansas Conference individual title last Thursday at Shawnee North Community Center after finishing second as a junior. A two-time Class 5A state medalist in cross country and a state champion in track, Esquibel posted a 42-second victory in the conference meet, clocking a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 40 seconds.
Payton Fink
PAYTON FINK, Washburn Rural
A junior cross country standout, Fink posted a 31-second individual victory in Saturday's Centennial League meet at Kanza Park, winning her second straight league individual championship while helping Washburn Rural repeat as the league team champion. Fink, who placed fifth in the Class 6A state meet as a sophomore, clocked a winning five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 33.3 seconds.
Jette Glasenapp
JETTE GLASENAPP, Shawnee Heights
A junior foreign exchange student from Germany, Glasenapp completed her first high school tennis season with a runnerup singles finish in Saturday's Class 5A state meet at Salina, capping a 36-3 season. Glasenapp's state performance followed a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference and Class 5A regional championships. Glasenapp led Shawnee Heights to a sixth-place tie (seventh on a tiebreaker) in the 5A team standings as the T-Birds' lone state qualifier.
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The 2023 All-City girls tennis team -- Left to right: Katie Krumins, Seaman; Molly Gorman, Seaman; Emma Sweeney, Seaman; Izzy Haggard, Washburn Rural; Emerie Catlin, Washburn Rural; Mena DiMarzio, Washburn Rural; Carolina Chedzoy, Washburn Rural; Gabby Martinez, Washburn Rural; Claire Ireland, Washburn Rural; Jette Glasenapp, Shawnee Heights; Emily Sheetz, Hayden; Lauren Sandstrom, Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden two-time state doubles champions Lauren Sandstrom and Emily Sheetz headline the 2023 All-City girls tennis team, which includes nine state medalists.
Sandstrom, a senior, and junior Sheetz capped a 33-3 season with their second straight Class 4A state title and their third state medal overall.
Shawnee Heghts junior Jette Glasenapp, 36-3 on the season, posted a runnerup state singles finish in 5A after sweeping city, United Kansas Conference and 5A regional titles.
Washburn Rural placed all six of its varsity players on the All-City team after the Junior Blues swept city, Centennial League and 6A regional team titles and tied for fifth in the state tournament.
The Junior Blues got eighth-place finishes in the 6A state tournament from the senior doubles team of Claire Ireland and Gabby Martinez and junior singles player Carolina Chedzoy.
Rural senior Mena DiMarzio and the junior doubles team of Emerie Catlin and Izzy Haggard also qualified for state, with DiMarzio, a two-time state qualifier, forced to miss the state tournament after suffering an injury at regionals.
United Kansas Conference and 5A regional team champion Seaman is represented on the All-City team by two-time state doubles medalists Katie Krumins, a senior, and sophomore Molly Gorman, as well as freshman 5A singles medalist Emma Sweeney.
Krumins and Gorman finished seventh in the '23 state meet while Sweeney placed 11th.
All-City capsules:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 23-ranked Washburn University soccer scored a goal just 5 minutes, 13 seconds into Sunday's MIAA match at Yager Stadium and spent the final 84 minutes-plus making that goal stand up.
The Ichabods, who improved to 12-1-1 overall and 6-0-1 in the MIAA accomplished that task in impressive fashion, posting a 1-0 shutout over No. 8-ranked Central Missouri (10-3-1, 5-1-1) while giving WU coach Davy Phillips his 100th career coaching win.and snapping a 17-match losing streak against the Jennies.
Washburn's Khloe Schuckman (11) and her Ichabod teammates celebrate Sunday's 1-0 MIAA soccer win over No. 8-ranked Central Missouri. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"This one is huge, defeating a No. 8 team in the nation,'' said Schuckman, who scored the game's only goal. "That's incredible and we've never beaten UCM since I've been here.''
"It's definitely a step,'' Phillips said. "We've talked about being on a journey all season and no matter what comes, we've got to figure out the next step. This, I think, validates some of those thoughts that we can go play with anyone at any time and go get a result.''
Washburn got the only goal it woulc need early in the match when Riley Wells beat the UCM defense down the right side of the field and dished to Schuckman who was open in the middle of the box and was able to knock in the ball into the left side of the net.
"Riley Wells took on two defenders and saw me in the middle wide open and I was able to finish it and put it away,'' Schuckman said.
