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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West junior track and field returning state champ Alesecio Batson and Seaman sophomore multi-sport star Ryin Miller have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2023-2024 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Batson and Miller over the past week:
Topeka West junior Alesecio Batson won the triple jump in last week's Lansing Invitational, continuing his comeback from an injury. [File photo/TSN]
ALESECIO BATSON, Topeka West
A returning Class 5A state champion, Batson is steadily returning to form after battling back from a serious leg injury over the summer.
Batson won the boys triple jump in last Friday's Lansing Invitational, recording a season-best jump of 44 feet, 5 inches.
Batson won the state triple jump title in the 2023 state meet with a leap of 48 feet, 4.25 inches. An All-Shawnee County first-team pick, Batson was the county leader in the event last season with a season-best jump of 48-11.
Seaman sophomore Ryin Miller broke a pair of 38-year-old school records in last week's Lansing Invitational, winning three gold medals on the day. [File photo/TSN]
RYIN MILLER, Seaman
A four-sport athlete for the Vikings, Miller broke two 38-year-old school records in last Friday's Lansing Invitational track and field meet and also starred on the soccer pitch.
In the girls 1,600 meters, Miller's time of 4 minutes, 53.37 seconds broke the school record, previously held by Marge Eddy, by 11 seconds. In the 3,200, Miller ran a 10:26.54, which broke Eddy's school record by 33 seconds. Miller ran a 59-second split on the Vikings' winning 4x400-meter relay (4:15.21).
Miller also recorded two goals and an assist in a 6-0 Seaman soccer win over Topeka West last week.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball will host MIAA foe Fort Hays State for three games this weekend, beginning on Friday at 5 p.m. in Little League Weekend at Falley Field.
Payton McHarg leads Washburn with 18 home runs and 47 RBI entering a weekend series against Fort Hays State at Falley Field. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Last time out the Ichabods won 12-7 over Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday afternoon at home to wrap up the season series with the Bearcats.
Washburn is now 20-16 overall on the year and 14-10 in the MIAA. The Ichabods are 10-5 at Falley Field, 9-11 on the road and 1-0 in neutral field games.
Fort Hays State enters the weekend with a 21-17 overall record and a 9-15 mark in the MIAA after falling 12-5 to Newman on the road on Tuesday afternoon.
Through 35 games Washburn is scoring 9.56 runs per game while allowing 7.69.
At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .328 with a .424 on base percentage and are slugging .592 as a team. They have 74 home runs and have drawn 185 walks.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 23-ranked Washburn University softball team will return to action on Friday, hosting No. 9-ranked Pittsburg State at 4 p.m., and then wrap up its home schedule on Saturday, facing Missouri Southern at Gahnstrom Field.
Washburn University softball will honor seniors Hailey Neira, Sheyenne Cheek, Jaycee Ginter, Autymn Schreiner and Marrit Mead between games of Saturday's twinbill against Missouri Southern. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Between games on Saturday the Ichabods will honor Ichabod seniors Sheyenne Cheek, Jaycee Ginter, Hailey Neira, Marrit Mead and Autymn Schreiner, who will be playing their final games at Gahnstrom Field this weekend.
Washburn enters the weekend with a 34-10 overall and 15-5 in the MIAA after going 4-0 last weekend with sweeps over Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State.
No. 9-ranked Pittsburg State is 38-4 this season and 12-2 in the MIAA and the Gorillas have won their last six games. PSU has gone a perfect 20-0 in home games this season while going 5-2 on the road and 13-2 in neutral site games.
Missouri Southern is 29-12 and 9-5 in the MIAA and just outside the top 25 rankings entering the weekend.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Two solid pitching efforts helped Washburn Rural sweep Hayden on the softball diamond Tuesday at Rural to improve to 8-2 under first-year coach Joy Marie Galliart.
Freshman Olivia Koch picked up a complete-game victory in Washburn Rural's 10-2 first-game win over Hayden on Tuesday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“Anybody who watched us in our first game on March 22 and came back and watched us now, I think they would see tremendous growth and improvement,” said Galliart, a longtime coach in Oklahoma who took over the Washburn Rural program during the offseason. “We’ve made huge strides in the three and a half weeks since then.
“Change is hard for kids when they’re trying to do it under a new coach with some new philosophies. So it’s taken some time for them to adjust to those changes, but we’re really starting to move in the right direction.”
Freshman Olivia Koch limited Hayden to two runs in the first game of the afternoon, leading to a 10-2 Junior Blues victory.
“I think Olivia’s been doing a great job as a freshman,” Galliart said. “She comes in and does everything we ask her to do both offensively and in the circle. We’re trying to work on getting her to trust her pitches and rely on her defense. But she’s doing some great things for us.”
“I knew she was a great athlete, and I knew that she was a pitcher. But I think we’ve been equally impressed with her defensive skills (in the outfield) when she’s not in the circle. She loves to run bases, so having her at the top of our lineup with her speed also gives us an added bonus.”
Junior Layla Collis is congratulated by Washburn Rural coach Joy Marie Galliart after a first-game home run. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Avery Rupp celebrates a hit during Washburn Rural's doubleheader sweep over Hayden on Tuesday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Koch benefitted from 14 hits by the Junior Blues, including home runs by Avery Rapp and Layla Collins. Washburn Rural will not rely on home runs, however, according to Galliart.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Silver Lake's softball team swept defending Class 3A state champion Rossville in convincing fashion on the Bulldawgs' home turf Monday night, winning 12-1 and 14-0.
Senior Avery Wende pitched a complete-game two-hitter in Silver Lake's 14-0 second-game win over Rossville Monday night. [File photo/TSN]
The Eagles combined dominant pitching with outbursts of offense to roll over their rival and improve to 8-0.
“I don’t know if there is any guarantee of how to predict what’s going to happen in (matchups between Rossville and Silver Lake),” said the Eagles coach Nick Hamilton. “I’ve been around this my whole life, and I know that on any given night either team could win. It’s that much of a rivalry.
“It’s good for both of us. I think that’s why there is such success on both sides. We both compete and push each other.”
In the first game of the doubleheader, pitcher Kendra Cook held the Bulldawgs down until the Silver Lake offense kicked in. The Eagles exploded for six runs in the fifth inning to blow the game open.
“Kendra has been solid in the ring for us,” Hamilton said. “She did a good job working in the offseason to improve on what she needed to improve.”
