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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
FRIDAY'S GAMES
Class 6A
Washburn Rural senior JC Heim scored three touchdowns, including a 95-yard run, in last Friday's 35-14 Class 6A playoff win over Wichita East. [File photo/TSN]
DERBY (10-1) at WASHBURN RURAL (11-0)
Washburn Rural, the No. 1 West seed, is coming off a 35-14 home playoff win over Wichita East last Friday while Derby advanced with a 23-21 win over 2022 Class 6A state champion Manhattan. Rural has won 11 straight games since dropping a 36-21 state quarterfinal decision at Derby a year ago while Derby has won 10 straight since a 33-19 loss to Manhattan in the opening game of the '23 season.
Rural senior quarterback Branton DeWeese has completed 111 of 180 pass attempts for 1,644 yards and 27 touchdowns while junior Lafayette Thompson has rushed for 559 yards and four TDs on 93 attempts and senior JC Heim has 453 yards and nine TDs on 67 carries.
Senior Titan Osburn has 29 pass receptions for 528 yards and 11 touchdowns and Thompson has 22 catches for 278 yards and three scores.
Defensively, JC Heim has been in on 153 tackles (91 solo) with 17 tackles for loss while Jaren Heim has 116 tackles (62 solo) with 10 tackles for loss and senior Jamond Lane has 67 stops (38 solo) with eight tackles for loss and four sacks.
Junior King Leonard has nine interceptions on the season while junior Wilson Miller has five interceptions. Both Leonard and Miller have returned interceptions for touchdowns.
Derby senior quarterback Braxton Clark has completed 80 of 110 pass attempts for 1,246 yards and 14 touchdowns in seven games and has rushed for 268 yards and seven TDs on 59 attempts.
Panther senior Derek Hubbard has rushed for 917 yards and 13 TDs on 124 carries while senior Colton Ruedy has 40 receptions for 706 yards and four TDs and junior Da'saahn Brame has 39 catches for 807 yards and 12 scores.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman junior Maegan Mills has been named the United Kansas Conference volleyball offensive player of the year while Viking coach Tatiana Dowling has been named the UKC coach of the year.
Seaman junior volleyball standout Maegan Mills (13) has been named the United Kansas Conference offensive player of the year. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman volleyball coach Tatiana Dowling has been named the United Kansas Conference volleyball coach of the year. [File photo/TSN]
Mills was one of four city players named to the All-United Kansas Conference first team, with Seaman senior Brooklyn Gormley, Shawnee Heights junior Kaydence Torrez and Toeka West senior Addison Brooks also earning first-team honors.
Lansing senior Tabor Scanlon was named the UKC defensive player of the year and also was a first-team pick, along with De Soto senior Aubrey Scott, Lansing senior Anna Laincz and Piper junior Abbie Roth.
Seaman senior Taylin Stallbaumer and junior Campbell Chabot were second-team All-UKC honorees while Shawnee Heights junior Taylor Brees and Topeka West senior Siana Sanchez also were named to the second team.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Six Shawnee County players, including three from Class 5A state champion Seaman, have received All-State Tournament recognition from the Kansas Volleyball Assocation.
Seaman senior Brooklyn Gormley was named to the Class 5A All-State Tournament team for the third time after helping lead the Vikings to the 2023 state title. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman junior Maegan Mills (13) earned All-State Tournament honors for the second time after helping the Vikings capture their first Class 5A state title. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman, which capped a 38-6 season with a straight-set win over St. Thomas Aquinas in Saturday's state championship game, is represented by 6-foot-1 senior middle hitter Brooklyn Gormley, 6-2 junior middle hitter Reagan McGivern and 6-1 junior outside hitter Maegan Mills after Tatiana Dowling's Vikings went 5-0 in the state tournament with five straight-set wins.
Gormley, a three-time All-State tournament pick, teamed with Mills, a two-time all-tournament pick and McGivern to help Seaman capture the school's first state volleyball championship after the Vikings posted back-to-back fourth-place state finishes in 2021 and 2022.
Silver Lake, which finished third in the 3A state tournament, put 5-foot-6 senior setter Sarah Wehrli and 5-11 junior outside hitter/middle blocker Ella Bolan on the 3A All-State Tournament team.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Jackson Esquibel
JACKSON ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights
A senior cross country star, Esquibel capped a sweep of city, United Kansas Conference, regional and Class 5A individual titles Saturday at Rim Rock Farm, capturing his first state cross country championship. A three-time 5A state medalist in cross country and a state champion in track, Esquibel posted a five-second victory in the state meet, clocking a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 34.47 seconds.
Payton Fink
PAYTON FINK, Washburn Rural
Fink, a junior cross country standout, earned her third Class 6A state medal Saturday at Rim Rock Farm, posting a career-best second-place finish. Fink, the Centennial League and regional winner, was the runnerup to four-time state champion Anjali Hocker Singh of Olathe North, clocking a five-kilometer time of 18 minutes, 12.79 seconds. Fink finished fifth in the 2022 state meet and was 19th as a freshman in 2021.
Brooklyn Gormley
BROOKLYN GORMLEY, Seaman
A 6-foot-1 senior middle-hitter, Gormley was named to the Class 5A All-State Tournament team for the third time, helping lead Seaman to its first-ever 5A state volleyball championship Saturday at Salina. Gormley, who helped Seaman to a perfect 5-0 record at state, capped by a 25-19, 25-22 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in the state championship match, was also named to the All-United Kansas Conference first team.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After back-to-back fourth-place state finishes, Seaman;s volleyball team was determined to make a statement in the Class 5A state tournament.
Seaman's volleyball team celebrates Saturday's 25-19, 25-22 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class 5A state championship match. [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]
Tatiana Dowling's Vikings accomplished that goal in dominant fashion, capping a perfect 5-0 weekend on Saturday at the Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina with a 25-19, 25-22 win over defending champion St. Thoms Aquinas in the championship match.
The win was the fifth consecutive straight-set victory for the Vikings, who capped a 38-6 season with the first state volleyball championship in school history while avenging a 3-0 dual loss to Aquinas earlier in the month.
"The way that these girls came out and played with confidence and as a team, it’s just awesome to see them come together that way,'' Dowling, who picked up her 200th career coaching victory, told KSHSAA Covered. "They truly did outwork and outplay today.
"We talked about being relentless on offense and relentless on defense. I felt like they were relentless this whole entire state tournament. It was great to see.''
After winning the Pool I championship with a 3-0 record on Friday, the fourth-seeded Vikings advanced to the championship match with a 25-17, 25-21 win over Maize South.
Seaman rode that momentum through its wire-to-wire 25-19 first-set victory over Aquinas before the Vikings showed their meddle by coming from behind on two occasions to close out the title.
"When we got down, we just kept trusting each other and stayed together,'' Viking junior standout Maegan Mills told KSHSAA Covered. "We were telling each other to calm down, it’s going to be OK. Let’s just do us and not worry about what they’re doing on the other side."
