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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
After winning team championships in meets in Salina and Arkansas City, the Topeka West boys tennis team dominated the John Markham Spring Classic at Goddard Saturday, taking first as a team for the third straight meet.
Topeka West seniors Miles Cusick (back) and Ian Cusick rolled to the doubles championship Saturday at Goddard as the Chargers won their third straight team championship. [Submitted photo by Kami Cusick]
Seniors Ian and Miles Cusick, the defending Class 5A state doubles champions, shut out opponents from Wichita Southeast and Goddard Eisenhower in their first two matches. They went on to beat the team from McPherson 8-5 before taking an 8-4 decision over junior teammates Caden McGee and Caleb Weybrew to reach the finals.
The Cusicks then defeated Derby's Isaak Bowman and Hayden Carrillo 8-1 to take the top spot in doubles. McGee and Weybrew finished fourth.
Topeka West senior singles player Carter Cool finished fourth Saturday at Goddard, helping West win the team championship. [Submitted photo by Kami Cusick]
In singles, senior Carter Cool rolled past Jayden Phrakonkham from Wichita Southeast and Cair Paravel Latin freshman Drew Fay by 8-0 counts to open his tournament bid.
After beating Jack Ring from Maize High School, Cool fell in the semifinals to Independence's Kale Groff 8-1 and took fourth place in singles.
Junior James Maag won 8-1 in his first two matches against Goddard's Arce Gross and Independence's Owen Clapp before coming up short in the quarterinals, losing 8-3 to Goddard Eisenhower's Kyle King. Maag went on to finish fifth.
The Chargers will host the Topeka West Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center on Tuesday, April 18.
Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel (right) and Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge finished first and second in the 1,600 last Friday's Lansing Invitational. [Submitted photo by Amy Esquibel]
Esquibel, Njoroge shine at Lansing
Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel set Shawnee Heights school records in a pair of events in Friday's Lansing Invitational track and field meet while Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge registered a pair of personal records.
Esquibel and Njoroge went one-two in the 1,600, with Esquibel setting the Heights school record in 4 minutes, 23.37 seconds and Njororge finihing second in 4:24.12.
Njoroge came back later in the night to win the 3,200 9:26.36, with Esquibel second in a school-record time of 9:31.56.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Ian Cusick
IAN CUSICK, Topeka West
A senior, Cusick teamed with his twin brother, Miles, to win the doubles championship in Saturday's John Markham Spring Classic tennis tournament at Goddard, with the Cusicks leading the Chargers to their third straight team championship this spring. The Cusicks, defending Class 5A state doubles champions, went 5-0 in the tournament, capped by an 8-1 win over Derby's Isaak Bowman and Hayden Carrillo in the title match.
Miles Cusick
MILES CUSICK, Topeka West
Cusick, a senior, teamed with twin brother Ian to win the doubles championship in Saturday's John Markham Spring Classic at Goddard, leading the Chargers to their third straight team championship this spring. The Cusicks, defending Class 5A state doubles champions, went 5-0 in the tournament, capped by an 8-1 win over Derby's Isaak Bowman and Hayden Carrillo in the title match.
Jackson Esquibel
JACKSON ESQUIBEL, Shawnee Heights
A junior, Esquibel set Shawnee Heights school records in both the boys 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs in Friday's Lansing Invitational track and field meet. A Class 5A state medalist in both track and cross country, Esquibel won the 1,600 in 4 minutes, 23.37 seconds and finished second in the 3,200 in 9:31.56. Esquibel eclipsed the previous school record of 4:24.09 in the 1,600 and the previous record of 9:31.9, set 34 seasons ago, in the 3,200.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After the No. 17-ranked Washburn University softball team dropped a tough 3-2 first-game decision to Nebraska-Kearney Saturday at Gahnstrom Field, the Ichabods turned to a freshman pitcher to help get them back on track.
Washburn freshman pitcher Sadie Walker turned in a clutch performance in Saturday's 7-0 win over Nebraska-Kearney, improving to 5-3 on the season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Holton product Sadie Walker was up to the challenge, turning in the best performance of her young college career in a 7-0 win over the Lopers, continuing her progress for the 31-9 Ichabods.
The left-handed Walker, who has settled into a role as the Ichabods' regular second-game starter behind All-American Jaycee Ginter, threw six innings of shutout ball against Nebraska-Kearney to improve to 5-3 while allowing just three hits and one walk and striking out seven. Walker lowered her earned run average to 3.46.
"She did the same thing for us yesterday, which was great,'' Washburn coach Brenda Holaday said of Walker's outing. "And she had a good weekend last weekend for us. We lost the first game at Northwest and won the next. We did win the first game at Mo. West and lost the next one, but she pitched really well and gave us a chance there.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University softball didn't get the weekend it was looking for, needing a pair of second-game victories to earn MIAA splits with Fort Hays State on Friday and Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday.
But No. 17-ranked Washburn ended the homestand with a decisive 7-0 win over the Lopers and the Ichabods, 31-9 overall, 10-6 in the conference, will try to build some momentum off that performance entering an eight-game road trip.
Washburn junior Marrit Mead went 3 for 4 with a two-run homer in Saturday's 7-0 second-game win over Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
"It's a tough game and a tough conference and when you're not playing your best the teams are just that good and they're going to take advantage of it,'' Washburn coach Brenda Holaday said. "We haven't played good ball the last couple of weekends and because of that we're .500 over that time.
"We realize we've kind of thrown away an opportunity to fight for a conference title and now we've got to fight to get in the tournament and get some things turned around. They're good kids and they're hard-workers but it's kind of like everything else, it's contagious. When we're hitting everybody hits and when we're not nobody hits and it's maddening and frustrating for sure.''
Washburn's rally came up short in Saturday's opener with the Ichabods dropping a 3-2 decision, but the Ichabods led from start to finish in the second game at Gahnstrom Field.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For much of Friday's second game against Fort Hays State, the No. 17-ranked Washburn Ichabods softball team looked as if it might be headed for only its second doubleheader loss of the season.
Washburn freshman Erin Boles hit a walkoff two-out double in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Ichabods a 4-3 second-game win over Fort Hays State Friday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn center-fielder Paige Robbins makes a diving catch in Friday's twinbill sweep with Fort Hays State at Gahnstrom Field. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics.]
But Washburn, which had dropped a tough 2-1 decision in the opener, rallied in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings and earned an MIAA split when Boles stroked a two-out walkoff double to give the Ichabods a 4-3 win.
Washburn (30-8 overall, 9-5 MIAA), which had dropped three of its previous five games, including Friday's first-game loss, struggled at the plate much of the day and also committed six errors in the twinbill, but came to life when it counted to salvage the split.
"We gave them the first game on errors for sure, but we also didn't hit,'' Washburn coach Brenda Holaday said. "As I told our kids, we were kind of on life support there for awhile and I think we had some kids do some nice things for us and gave us a chance to get back in it and eventually win it.
"And anytime you can get some big performances out of some kids that really need it you hope that builds their confidence and they can move on from there.''
