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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)
Seaman senior Max Huston has passed for 2,078 yards and 26 TDs and rushed for 627 yards and nine TDs for the 7-2 Vikings. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman senior Bryer Finley (1) has caught 67 passes for 1,404 yards and 21 TDs this fall for the 7-2 Vikings. [File photo/TSN]
Class 5A
VALLEY CENTER (No. 11 West: 3-6) at SEAMAN (No. 3 West: 7-2)
Seaman advanced to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs with a 65-7 win over Topeka West last Friday while Valley Center upset No. 6 West seed Goddard, 7-6. The winner of Friday's game will advance to play the winner of Friday's game between No. 2 West seed Eisenhower (7-2) and No. 7 Maize South (6-3). Seaman senior Max Huston has completed 122 of 194 passes for 2,078 yards and 26 touchdowns and has rushed for 627 yards and nine TDs on 96 attempts. Senior Bryer Finley has 67 receptions for 1,404 yards and 21 TDs while junior Kaden McKinney has carried the ball 126 times for 823 yards and 11 TDs. Junior Cameron Brian leads the Vikings with 100 tackles (56 solo) with eight tackles for loss. Valley Center senior Connor Brian has completed 63 of 166 passes for 655 yards and eight TDs. Junior Rylan Bailey has 401 rushing yards and three TDs on 173 attempts while sophomore Ray J Logan has caught 33 passes for 424 yards and five TDs. Senior Steel Schomaker leads Valley Center with 93 tackles.
Hayden senior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier has passed for 1,448 yards and 16 TDs for the 8-1 Wildcats. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Hayden senior Jensen Schrickel has 426 receiving yards, 288 rushing yards and has scored 11 touchdowns for the 8-1 Wildcats. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Class 3A
GIRARD (No. 6 East: 6-3) at HAYDEN (No. 3 East: 8-1)
Hayden, which played for the Class 3A state championship last fall, advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 56-6 win over Hiawatha last Friday, while Girard is coming off a 43-15 first-round win ovr Kansas City-Bishop Ward. The winner of Friday's game will play the winner of Friday's game between No. 2 East seed Frontenac (9-0) and No. 10 Perry-Lecompton (4-5). Hayden senior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier has completed 96 of 139 passes for 1,448 yards and 16 touchdowns while junior Kade Mitchell has carried the ball 78 times for 696 yards, caught 23 passes for 398 yards and scored 21 total touchdowns. Senior Jensen Schrickel has caught 28 passes for 426 yards, rushed for 288 yards on 23 attempts and scored 11 total TDs. Junior Jude Krentz leads Hayden with 87 total tackles.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Veteran Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron knows that his Ichabods face a daunting task in Friday's 6 p.m. MIAA match against No. 5-ranked Nebraska-Kearney at Lee Arena.
Washburn volleyball celebrates last week's 3-0 sweep over nationally-ranked Missouri Western. [File photo/TSN]
After all, the Lopers are 24-1 on the season overall, 11-1 in the MIAA and swept the Ichabods 3-0 earlier in the season.
But Washburn is on a hot streak of its own, sporting an 18-4 overall record and a 9-3 mark in the MIAA after a pair of sweeps last week over Northwest Missouri State and No. 23-ranked Missouri Western, and Herron wants his team to embrace the challenge of Friday night's UNK match.
"I try to present to our kids that we have to treat it like and think of it as an opportunity, that we get the chance and we get an opportunity to play the No. 5 team in the country,'' Herron said. "And as long as our kids believe that, and I feel like this group does, then they almost relish the opportunity and they're looking forward to that opportunity.
"And that's how I want them to look forward to every match. That's hard to do that every match, but we only have four left (in the regular season) that we're guaranteed so there's got to be a sense of urgency.''
Friday's match against the Lopers will open WU's Alumni Weekend while the Ichabods will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday with their final home regular-season match against Fort Hays State (6 p.m.).
Before the match on Saturday Washburn will recognize seniors Emma Williams, Jalyn Stevenson, Maddie Steiner, Taryn Pridgett and Austin Broadie. The five seniors have played a combined 19 seasons with the Ichabods, appearing in 377 total matches.
Stevenson has been a four-year member of the WU program, appearing in 428 sets across 119 matches. She was an AVCA All-American honorable mention pick in 2022 and is a two-time All-MIAA first team selection. The Spring Hill native is 15th in program history with 1,234 kills and 19th in digs with 1,247.
Cair Paravel product Pridgett has been a five-year member of the program, appearing in 115 sets and 56 matches. Pridgett has tallied 170 total kills with 50 digs and 42 blocks.
Broadie has been with Washburn for four seasons, playing in 291 sets and 82 matches. She has accumulated 600 career kills with 191 total blocks and 145 digs. The Burns native is 24th in program history with a .243 career attacking percentage and is 33rd all-time in total blocks.
Williams has been with the Ichabods for three seasons as a player and one as a student assistant. She has played in 129 sets and 52 total matches, serving 16 aces with 43 digs and five assists.
Steiner is a three-year member of the Ichabod volleyball team and the Seaman product has appeared in 193 sets across 68 matches. Steiner has accumulated 309 career digs with 72 assists and has served 26 aces.
Washburn Rural soccer drops 3-0 decision to SM East in Class 6A semifinal, will play for third place
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawneee Mission East struck early and late in Wednesday's Class 6A soccer semifinal, taking a 3-0 win over Washburn Rural at the Shawnee Mission Soccer Complex.
The Lancers got a goal from Ben Perkins with 37 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first half to build a 1-0 halftime advantage before Lars Alsin added a pair of goals in the second half to give SM East its final margin.
With Wednesday's win Shawnee Mission East improved to 18-1-1 while Washburn Rural fell to 14-3-3.
The Lancers will play Dodge City for the 6A state title at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Stryker Soccer Complex in Wichita while Washburn Rural will face Shawnee Mission West in the 4 p.m. third-place game at Stryker.
Dodge City (20-0-0) advanced to the championship match with a 1-0 semifinal win over SM West, getting a goal from Osvaldo Chairez on a long shot with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. The Red Demons played without leading goal scorer Zahit Garibay, who suffered an injury in the second half of Monday's quarterfinal.
Washburn Rural, which is in the 6A Final Four for the fifth straight season, will be facing a SM West team that is now 15-3-2 on the season.
Class 6A semifinal
SHAWNEE MISSION EAST 3, WASHBURN RURAL 0
Washburn Rural (14-3-3) 0 0 -- 0
Shawnee Mission East (18-1-1) 1 2 -- 3
Shawnee Mission East -- Goals: Lars Alsin 2, Ben Perkins.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University has shown signs of being a very good football team this fall, but the Ichabods have been derailed by a string of close losses.
Now the goal for WU is to close out 2024 with a bang, beginning with Saturday's 1 p.m. Senior Day contest against No. 8-ranked Central Oklahoma.
Former Shawnee Heights standout Tyce Brown (17) is one of 19 Washburn seniors who will be honored on Saturday at Yager Stadium. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athleetics]
Washburn will take a 2-7 overall record and 2-6 MIAA mark into Saturday's game, but four of the Ichabods' losses have been one-score decisions, including three defeats by between one and three points and back-to-back losses the past two weeks by a total of four points.
The Ichabods dropped a 31-28 road game at Central Missouri two weeks ago before dropping a 14-13 home tilt against Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday.
"After '23 (a 2-9 injury-riddled season) our biggest goal in '24 was to close the gap and be competitive,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said. "We knew we were going to play some of the top teams and we're right there. Some of it is just not making the play when needed and that comes with experience.
"It's not a talent thing and I think with another year of physical strength and all those kind of things this team will make those plays and we'll reverse those scores.''
Obviously the close losses have been frustrating for everyone connected with the WU program, but Schurig said he's been very proud of how his Ichabod players have handled the situation.
"They've been awesome and it's like, 'Hey, let's win this week,' '' Schurig said. "We're playing UCO, which is a very good football team, and they're kind of where we want to be, and it's like, 'Let's see where we stack up against them.'
"I think our kids have confidence and know that we're close because you've got to get to this point before you can win those games. We're playing well, we play physical, we make plays. We just need to cut down on a couple of mistakes and get a break here or there and we win.''
Washburn senior defensive back Caeden Spencer said the Ichabods just want to do everything they can over the final two weeks to end the season on a positive note.
"These last two games we just want to come out strong and just play the way we know we can play,'' Spencer said.
Washburn will honor 19 seniors before Saturday's game -- Spencer, Tyler Bowden, DeAndre Washington, Andrew Pujado, Kamble Haverkamp, Jai Haynes, Kaleb White, Tyce Brown, Eli Garnett, Mason Capper, Brycen Labertew, C.J. Callaghan, Connor Searcy, Simeon Sullivan, Sam Underwood, Chase McCoy, Nicholas Orr, Justice Akinmoladun and Nate Harding.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 16-ranked Washburn University women's soccer team earned its second straight MIAA regular-season championship on Wednesday at Emporia State, with the Ichabods taking a 2-0 win over Hornets to wrap up their regular season.
Washburn University's soccer team hoists the MIAA championship trophy after Wednesday's 2-0 win at Emporia State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn's Mackinly Rohn (24) and Viviana Soto-Herrera (15) scored the Ichabods' goals in Wednesday's 2-0 win at Emporia State as WU clinched the MIAA regular-season title. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods, who improved to 13-3-2 overall and 10-1-1 in the MIAA, will be the top seed for the MIAA Tournament and will host a first-round game on Sunday at Yager Stadium. MIAA Tournament pairings will be set after the conclusion of Wednesday's games.
Washburn scored the only goal it would need in the 21st minute of the opening half as a shot near the top of the box from senior Viviana Soto-Herrera off an assist from senior Khloe Schuckman found the far post past the dive of ESU goalkeeper Mackenzi Goen.
Soto-Herrera's goal held up for a 1-0 WU halftime lead.
In the first half Washburn held a 5-4 shots advantage and a 2-0 advantage on corner kicks.
Following the break the Ichabods resumed control of the match, recording six shots through the first 20 minutes of the half, eventually leading to the second goal of the match.
Emporia State conceded a corner and after the free kick, a loose ball in the box fell to former Washburn Rural standout Mackinly Rohn, a sophomore, who doubled Washburn's lead in the 65th minute.
Washburn out shot Emporia State (6-8-3, 4-6-2) 15-8 in the match and held the Hornets without a corner kick.
Ichabod senior Alli Harrington recorded the shutout in goal, making four saves.
Topeka High product Avery Zimmerman, a freshman, started for Emporia State and played 84 minutes.
