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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's boys soccer team saw its Class 6A title hopes come to an end Friday night, with Shawnee Mission West handing Rural a 2-0 semifinal defeat at Hummer Sports Park.
Shawnee Mission West coaches and players console Washburn Rural after the Vikings' 2-0 win over the Junior Blues in a Class 6A semifinal Friday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Vikings scored a goal in both halves en route to handing Rural only its second loss of the season and first against a Kansas opponent as the Junior Blues endured a frustrating offensive night. .
Shawnee Mission West advanced to Saturday's 3 p.m. championship game against Olathe East, a 3-2 overtime winner over Dodge City, while Washburn Rural will play Dodge City in the third-place game at 12 o'clock.
Shawnee Mission West, which improved to 15-3-2, got on the scoreboard at the 21:39 mark of the opening half when senior Phillip Mutantika found the back of the net and that goal held up for a 1-0 halftime advantage.
"That's the sport of soccer,'' veteran Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel said. "You've got to finish your chances. We had some in the first half where maybe we could have grabbed the lead and then one of their kids made a special play. That's a top level goal to give them the lead.
"At this level teams are tight and one person has to go finish a play off.''
Washburn Rural players react after having a potential game-tying goal disallowed by an offsides call. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The biggest play of the night for Rural came early in the second half when an apparent game-tying goal by the Junior Blues was wiped out by an offsides call.
Although the call was a heartbreaker for the 18-2-0 Junior Blues, Hensyel did not question the official's decision.
"The ref down here is one of the best we've got and he's looking right at it,'' Hensyel said. "We'll see it tomorrow (on video tape) but at the end of the day I just have to trust his judgement.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University senior star David Kibet ran the race of his life in the recent MIAA cross country championships, leading from start to finish en route to the individual title while leading the Ichabods to a program-best second-place team finish at Gans Creek Country Club in Columbia, Mo.
Coming off an individual MIAA championship Washburn senior standout David Kibet will compete in Saturday's NCAA regional championships at Joplin, Mo. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Now Kibet and the Ichabods will try to follow that up with another strong performance in Saturday's NCAA Central Regional Championships at the Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin, Mo.
A native of Eldoret, Kenya, Kibet ran the second-fastest eight-kilometer time in WU program history at the MIAA meet, clocking a time of 24 minutes, 00.92 seconds, and he topped his previous time at the Gans Creek Course by 36 seconds from 2022. Kibet became Washburn's first individual champion at the MIAA meet since former Hayden star Jacob Klemz won the title in 2017.
"The last four years I've been trying and I've come up short sometimes but this time was my time,'' Kibet said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Star senior goalkeeper Raegan Wells will end her soccer career as one of the greatest players in Washburn University history, dotting the Ichabod record book in multiple categories.
Washburn senior Raegan Wells, the MIAA Goalkeeper of the Year, helped lead WU to a 15-2-1 record and the MIAA regular-season title. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Raegan Wells and Washburn University soccer will open postseason at 6 p.m. Friday against Missouri Western at Yager Stadium. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But now Wells, who made an immediate impact after arriving on campus in 2019, just wants to make her days as an Ichabod last as long as possible.
"Honestly, it feels like it's flown by,'' said Wells, the 2023 MIAA goalkeeper of the year for conference champion WU. "I was just telling Riley Painter, who's also a senior, "Oh my gosh, this has gone by in the blink of an eye, it's crazy.
"I already cried on Senior NIght and I'm going to be sad that soccer's over, but also just all the relationships with my teammates. I'm going to miss that day to day.''
But Wells, who has received All-MIAA recognition all four seasons at Washburn, isn't done just yet.
After helping lead Washburn to a 15-2-1 regular-season record and the second MIAA regular-season championship in program history, Wells and the Ichabods will open postseason at 6 p.m. Friday, hosting Missouri Western in the first round of the MIAA Tournament.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Nine Silver Lake and Rossville players have received mention on the All-Mid-East Volleyball team, led by four first-team selections.
McKinley Kruger
Kinsey Perine
Kinley Porter
Sarah Wehrli
Silver Lake, which posted a 32-12 record and placed third in the Class 3A state tournament is represented by seniors McKinley Kruger and Sarah Wehrli while Rossville, which went 31-8 on the year, put seniors Kinsey Perine and Kinley Porter on the first team.
Perine was an all-league first-team repeater while Perine, Kruger, Porter and Wehrli were all unanimous first-team selections.
Silver Lake junior Ella Bolan and Rossville freshman Nora Burdiek were second-team picks while Silver Lake seniors Kaibryn Kruger and Makenzie McDaniel and Rossville senior Ryan Leathers received honorable mention.
ALL-MID-EAST LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL
First team
Ayla Klingenberg, Rock Creek; McKinley Kruger, Silver Lake; Kinsey Perine, Rossville; Kinley Porter, Rossville; Brenna Smith, St. Marys; Sarah Wehrli, Silver Lake.
Second team
Ella Bolan, Silver Lake; Nora Burdiek, Rossville; Hope Garland, St. Marys; Hayden Heim, St. Marys; Sam Killingsworth, Rock Creek; Ambree Portelli, Rock Creek.
Honorable mention
Maddie Belle Davis, Riley County; Kaibryn Kruger, Silver Lake; Ryan Leathers, Rossville; Sarah Lett, St. Marys; Makenzie McDaniel, Silver Lake; Brynna Zoeller, Rock Creek.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Even though both Shawnee Heights and Highland Park entered Thursday's second-round Class 5A playoff game with identical 7-2 records, the T-Birds were the favorite in the all-city battle, based on strength of schedule and a hot streak at the end of the season.
Shawnee Heights senior Allen Baughman scores one of his three first-half touchdowns in Thursday's 56-20 win over Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Allen Baughman is hoisted in the air by teammate Rykan Carver after scoring a touchdown in Thursday's 56-20 Class 5A playoff win over Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
And Jason Swift's T-Birds lived up to that role in a dominant first half, opening up a commanding 49-0 advantage on the way to a 56-20 win at Hummer Sports Park.
"We were very workmanlike and I like that because there's always a lot of distractions,'' Swift said. "It starts off with one, it being a Thursday night and two, it's playing a Highland Park team that's good and competitive and probably is your friends on the side.
"You put all that together and you're trying to stay focused on a short week and they did it. They came out and took care of business.''
Shawnee Heights, which has now won five straight games, reached the eight-win mark for the first time since 1994 and have advanced to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014. The T-Birds will face the winner of Friday night's game between Blue Valley Southwest (8-1) and Lansing (5-4).
