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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Eight-time Class 6A state volleyball champion Washburn Rural got off to an uncharacteristic 6-7 start to the 2023 season, but Kevin Bordewick's Junior Blues are starting to look more and more like the Rural of old.
Washburn Rural senior Jada Ingram spikes the ball during Tuesday's Senior Night quadrangular. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural celebrates a point during Tuesday's Senior NIght quadrangular sweep. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural posted three straight-set Senior NIght wins Tuesday night, with the Junior Blues stretching their winning strreak to 14 straight matches while strengthening their hold on the No. 1 West seed for the upcomining 6A sub-state competition.
Rural, now 20-7 on the season, kicked off Tuesday's home quadrangular with a 25-13, 25-13 win over Lawrence and then took a 25-9, 25-11 win over city rival Hayden before capping its night with a 25-16, 25-16 win over Manhattan.
"I don't know if we played that well this past weekend but I know that we looked really sharp tonight,'' Rural coach Kevin Bordewick said. "That's what you wanted to see, especially after a long weekend and I do feel like we are getting more comfortable with who we're next to and I think we trust each other better, but we've still got a long ways to go.''
Washburn Rural has obviously benefitted from the return of senior Zoe Canfield from ACL surgery but Bordewick said he feels like it also helped Rural to learn to play without the All-Stater..
"I think it did,'' Bordewick said. "It made other people step up. It's kind of like when Zoe went out during basketball, we had to have other people statep up. That's a lot of credit to the kids and how hard they work when they come to practice and just a belief that, 'We can get this done.' ''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls golf team encountered some challenges along the way, but in the end the Vikings claimed the biggest prize in Tuesday's Class 5A regional tournament at Lake Shawnee, winning the team championship by a four-stroke margin.
Seaman's girls golf team poses for a team picture after winning the team title in Tuesday's Class 5A regional by a four-stroke margin. [Photo courtesy of Seaman Athletics]
The Vikings put four golfers in the top nine places to win the team title by a 364-368 margin over Andover and advance to next Monday and Tuesday's 5A state tournament at Hutchinson's Carey Park.
"I was nervous,'' Seaman coach Julie McLaughlin said. "Things weren't looking very good. We were struggling out there, but as I'm seeing the scores come in there were some scores that really surprised me. I didn't realize there were going to shoot that low and we had some girls near the bottom (of the lineup) really step up, so that was big.
"I heard some key putts were made out there so overall I think we're going to be able to walk away from this pretty happy, but it was touch and go there for awhile. It was kind of a nailbiter for us at times.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2023-24 Washburn University women's basketball team was picked eighth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and tapped for a 10th-place finish in the media poll released Tuesday morning by the conference in Kansas City, Mo.
Senior point guard Aubree Dewey led Washburn's women's basketball team in scoring, assists and steals last season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Sophomore Gabi (Artis) Giovannetti averaged 7.7 points with 37 3-pointers for the WU women's basketball team as a freshman. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods went 11-17 overall and 7-15 in the MIAA last season in the Ichabods' first season under head coach Lora Westling, a former WU standout.
Washburn returns six players from last year's team while adding one transfer and a six-player freshman class.
Top returners for Washburn include seniors Aubree Dewey, Mackenzie Gamble and Lakyn Shieferecke and sophomores Gabi (Artis) Giovannetti and Yibari Nwidadah.
Dewey, a 5-foot-7 point guard, led the 2022-2023 Ichabods in scoring (10.7 points per game), assists (100) and steals (34).
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Andrew Orr is a top returner for Washburn men's basketball after earning third-team All-MIAA honors last season. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden product Levi Braun is a returning starter for Washburn University after hitting 61 3-pointers last season. [File photo/TSN]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls golf team went through a somewhat up and down day in Monday's Class 6A regional at Cypress Ridge.
But the Junior Blues achieved their main objective, earning a team berth for next Monday and Tuesday's state tournament at Emporia Municipal.
Senior Raegan Petersen, lining up a putt, shot an 85 to lead Washburn Rural to a third-place finish and a state berth in Monday's Class 6A regional tournament at Cypress Ridge. [Photo by Rick Petersen/TSN]
The Junior Blues shot a four-person score of 346 Monday to earn the third of four team berths for the state tournament.
"Just survive and advance and see what we've got next week,'' Washburn Rural coach Jared Goehring said. "I thought we were right there for a stretch today and it seemed like we just didn't have our best stuff coming in finishing but we'll work on that this week and get ready to go for some positive results next week at the state tournament.''
Olathe Northwest won the regional team championship by a 331-335 margin over Manhattan while Rural took third-place by a four-stroke margin over Olathe West, which garnered the final team berth.
Senior Raegan Petersen paced Washburn Rural Monday, shooting an 85 to tie for seventh place individually.
Washburn Rural junior Natalie Peterson tied for 10th in Monday's Class 6A regional golf tournament, helping the Junior Blues earn a state berth. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Natalie Peterson tied for 10th with an 86 while senior Olivia Smith tied for 12th with an 87 and junior Reece Randall tied for 14th with an 88 to round out the Junior Blues' top four.
