- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's been quite a while since Washburn Rural stars Emmerson Cope and Brooklyn DeLeye made their college choices.
On Thursday morning at Rural, Cope and DeLeye made those choices official, signing their national letters of intent.
Washburn Rural softball star Emmerson Cope speaks to family and friends Thursday at Rural before signing her national letter of intent with Nebraska. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural multi-sport star Brooklyn DeLeye addresses a large crowd at Washburn Rural Thursday morning before signing her volleyball letter of intent with Kentucky. [File photo/TSN]
Cope signed to play softball at Nebraska while DeLeye signed a volleyball letter with Kentucky.
Cope made her commitment to Nebraska in July and said that the Huskers made her choice an easy one.
"I love the coaching staff,'' Cope said. "As soon as I stepped on campus they made me feel like family. They're another role model for me. Their academics are awesome. It's the Big 10 Conference, you can't get any better, the facilities are great and they really care for their athletes. I know that I'm not just going to become a better softball player but become a better person as well.''
DeLeye made her oral commitment to Kentucky in the summer between her sophomore and junior seasons at Rural and said it was nice to make it official with Thursday's signing.
"It's just a really cool place and kind of far from home but I'm excited for the new start,'' DeLeye said. "(The recruiting process) was a stressful time for me and when I went there for their camp and to visit I just kind of knew it was the place for me and there was really no other question, just get it done with and move on to the next step.''
- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
It wasn't the day Topeka West bowling coach Alyx Nash expected, but Nash was pleased with the overall outcome of the Chargers' performance in its home quadrangular at West Ridge Lanes on Wednesday afternoon.
The Topeka West boys' took a runner-up finish with a 2,290 team score, while the girls also finished in second place with a 1,842 score.
In the three-game series, Topeka West couldn't overcome Emporia, which took first-place finishes in both the boys and girls divisions.
"I don't believe we showed our full performance as a team," Nash said. "I'm super proud of some girls that stepped up for Megan Wood, who's been dealing with an injury. We are really used to the pins that Megan brings to the team. We had to decide whether Megan should keep performing or for her to rest her body tonight. Taking her off didn't help the girls' team score. Every single one of them had their moments tonight.
"On the boys' side, I'm proud of the bowlers. They did what they were supposed to do and stepped up in the lanes and really took care of business. Individually, we had Dason (Tidwell) last week at the Free State Invitational bowl a 299, which is always super exciting to see for the team. The team chemistry that we have brought this year has stood out to me."
- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
On Tuesday night, the Seaman and Shawnee Heights boys and girls wrestling teams split a dual meet at Seaman.
The Shawnee Heights girls' pulled away with a convincing 60-24 win, while the Seaman boys' won on a victory in the last match, 40-39.
Seaman senior 285-pounder Jaxson Thomas (left) battles with Shawnee Heights junior Rykan Carver in the 285-pound match Tuesday at Seaman. Thomas won with a pin to give the Vikings a 40-39 win over the T-Birds. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
The Seaman and Shawnee Heights girls wrestling teams congratulate each other after Heights' 60-24 victory at Seaman. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Shawnee Heights girls impressed
Even though Shawnee Heights scored 36 points off of Seaman forfeits, the Thunderbirds wrestled terrifically.
Shawnee Heights got wins from 100-pound Connie Burns, 130-pound Isabel Reyes, 135-pound Emily Ward and 140-pound Madison Freeland. Six other Thunderbird wins came from the Viking forfeits.
The most eye-opening victory of the night for the Thunderbirds was 130-pound Isabel Reyes pinning 130-pound No. 2-ranked Koti Best in 33 seconds. That was a memorable defeat that Shawnee Heights won't forget anytime soon.
"We knew there were going to be some big-time matchups for the girls, and there were," Shawnee Heights coach Chad Parks said. "Some matches went our way, and some didn't. Overall, having our full team helped us out tonight. Izzy Reyes got a big upset on paper. Izzy is always going to wrestle hard. Koti Best is really good. They will see each other again, but it was fun to see. Izzy really stood out today.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For a half, Topeka West's girls basketball team looked like it might be on the way to pulling off a major United Kansas Conference upset Tuesday night.
But Basehor-Linwood ended the Chargers' hopes with a dominating second half, pulling away for a 54-34 decision at Topeka West.
Senior Jazmyn Ford led Topeka West with 12 points in Tuesday's 54-34 UKC loss to Basehor-Linwood. [FIle photo/TSN]
Topeka West led 10-9 early in the second quarter and trailed by just a point (13-12) at the half, but Basehor-Linwood took control with a 19-9 third quarter and led by 25 points (52-27) midway through the fourth quarter, outscoring the Chargers 41-22 in the second half.
"That's kind of been our personality this year,'' Topeka West coach Jeff Skar said. "We were within two of De Soto at halftime and it was kind of the same thing. In trying to establish the program we're talking about trying to break the other team's momentum or keeping ours going and it's a challenge for us right now. We need to put a complete game together.
"It was frustrating tonight because every time we caught the ball we were putting our head down and trying to drive it into traffic and driving it kind of without a purpose instead of driving to maybe draw two defenders and get it to a shooter.''
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team will open a four-game homestand with a 5:30 p.m. Wednesday MIAA contest against Fort Hays State at Lee Arena.
The Ichabods lost will be looking to get back on track Wednesday night after dropping road games at Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State last week to fall to 7-8 overall and 3-6 in the MIAA
Washburn's Lakyn Schieferecke had a breakout week last week, scoring a career-high 10 points at Missouri Southern and grabbing six rebounds at Pittsburg State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Fort Hays State (13-6, 8-3 MIAA) has also lost back-to-back games and the Tigers are coming off a tough 53-52 loss to then-No. 19-ranked Nebraska-Kearney.
The Tigers and Ichabods only played once last season and No. 1-ranked Fort Hays State defeated Washburn in Topeka, 72-50, on Dec. 1, 2022 to begin MIAA play. Like last season, Washburn and Fort Hays will only play once this season in the regular season.
Fort Hays State closed out last season with a 30-4 record and was picked second in the MIAA Coaches Preseason Poll while Washburn was voted 10th.
The Ichabods are third in the MIAA in fewest points allowed per game, holding opponents to 57.2 points per game.
WU junior point guard Aubree Dewey is five points away from having 400 in her career after a 20-point effort at Pittsburg State, tying her career-high.
Dewey is the lone Ichabod averaging double figures at 11.0 points per game and is eighth among MIAA players with 3.7 assists per game.
