- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After two seasons at Johnson County Community College, former Seaman volleyball standout Addie Steiner did consider multiple schools to continue her college career.
But given her family tree, it seemed almost inevitable that Steiner would end up at Washburn University.
"I've had my dad (Jeff) come play baseball here, my mom (Audra) came to finish her schooling and her master's degree here and then my brother (Nick) played baseball for four years, and here I am, transferring in,'' said the 5-foot-5 defensive specialist/libero.
"Coming out of Johnson County I had visits at Nebraska-Kearney, Ottawa and here, and here was by far my best choice. I love it here.''
A first-team NJCAA All-American and former national champion at Johnson County, Steiner made the switch to Washburn for the spring semester, using that time to start getting ready for the upcoming season.
"I think it really helped because I got to know the girls very well and and I really just bonded with them and got together as a team with them,'' said Steiner, who finished the 2021 season for JCCC with 663 digs, 43 service aces and 104 assists.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There's been some twists and turns along the way, but senior wide receiver Collin Wilson is back at Washburn University and fired up to finish what he started in 2017.
"I'm super excited to be back with my brothers, who I started it off with,'' the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Wilson said during Sunday's Washburn Media Day. "Now we're just a little bit older, a little more mature and I think we should have a good year.''
The Washbun Rural product has not played since the 2019 season and said having two full seasons off has strengthened his resolve to return to action.
"I'm well-rested and ready to go,'' Wilson said. "I've been working hard, really since COVID hit, so I feel stronger, faster, more athletic.''
Wilson earned All-MIAA honorable mention in '19 after catching 37 passes for 543 yards, averaging a team-best 14.7 yards per catch and tying for the team lead with seven touchdown receptions.
But Wilson and the rest of the Ichabods had the entire '20 season wiped out by COVID-19 and he made the decision to test the waters in the transfer portal prior to last season.
"There were a lot of things,'' Wilson said about making that decision. "I've been in Topeka my whole life and I kind of wanted to explore and wanted to see if I could move up to the Division I level. The transfer portal was open so it changed a lot of things and I felt like it was the best decision for my career at the time.''
When no Division I schools came calling, Wilson planned to play in '21 at Fort Hays State, but the after-effects of a bout with COVID prevented that from happening.
"I had COVID and lost like 20-something pounds and just couldn't end up playing last year,'' Wilson said. "I had gotten COVID a week before camp had started and it was bad. It was to the point where I'd run one route and be light-headed to where I didn't even want a ball thrown to me because I couldn't see. And I was like, 'That's not like me, I want the ball every play.'
"I knew I couldn't play last year, to the level I wanted to at least and needed to play to get to where I want to go.''
With his career at a crossroads, Wilson reached out to Washburn coach Craig Schurig, who gave him the go-ahead to return to the Ichabods.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
As the son of longtime Washburn University football coach Craig Schurig, Mitch Schurig has spent most of his life around the WU program, including the last five years as a quarterback for the Ichabods.
So it probably wasn't a big shock that once Mitch decided to pursue a coaching career, he ended up at Washburn.
The fact that Schurig got the opportunity to join the Ichabod staff as a full-time assistant just a year after completing his playing career was probably a little bit of a surprise, and the the fact that the former All-MIAA QB will be coaching the Ichabod defensive line may be an even bigger surprise.
But when Washburn opens fall camp on Monday Schurig will be on board and ready to go.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When former multi-sport Seaman standout Raigan Kramer made the decision to sign with NCAA Division I softball power Arkansas, she realized she would probably have to wait her turn to move into a prominent role for the Razorbacks.
That was a big adjustment for a player who was rarely out of the game for the Vikings in either softball or basketball during her high school career.
"It's definitely a reality check, but I enjoy the competitiveness of the program and how good we are, and if you want to play for a good program it's going to be like that, so I knew that going in,'' said Kramer, who was The Warehouse Sports Training Facility in downtown Topeka Friday to give baserunning tips to young players.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Heartland Motorsports Park has been on the NHRA national drag racing schedule since the facility opened in 1989, hosting at least one national event every season except 2020 when Topeka's largest sporting event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The facility that bills itself as the "House of Speed'' will be back in action Friday through Sunday when the stars of the Camping World Drag Racing Series return to Topeka for the 2022 Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
Gearing up for race week, here’s a look back at 15 of the great moments in Topeka drag racing history from the perspective of someone who's had the privilege of attending every national event since the track opened:
1. John Force called his Funny Car win at Heartland in 2008 the biggest of his career. That’s saying a lot for a driver who has won 16 championships and an NHRA-record 155 national events as a driver and 21 world championships as an owner with John Force Racing.
What made the 2008 victory stand out was that it was Force’s first victory after a serious crash at Dallas in '07 that ended his season and put his career in jeopardy.
“Coming back from that wreck, that race was key,” Force told The Topeka Capital-Journal in an interview. “It showed that I could still drive, that I could still cut it.
"I knew even then my legs were still weak. I struggled just getting in and out of the car, but to get that win after a year of rehab was huge -- to be there and hear those fans scream the way they did.”
2. In 1990 the late Gary Ormsby put Topeka on the national racing map, becoming the first driver in NHRA history to break the 4.9-second and 295 mile-per-hour barriers in his Top Fuel dragster, clicking off a pass of 4.881 seconds at 296.06 mph.
Ormsby, who won the 1989 Top Fuel championship, died after a battle with cancer on Aug. 28, 1991. Ormsby ran his final race at HMP, defeating Lori Johns in a match race.
Ormsby will always be linked with Heartland Park, with the main entrance into the facility named Gary Ormsby Drive after his death.
3. The 1993 Sears Craftsman Nationals at HMP delivered a double dose of history in the Funny Car class when Chuck Etchells and Jim Epler both broke the four-second and 300-mph barriers.
Etchells became the first Funny Car racer to run in the fours with a 4.987 pass while Epler recorded the first 300-mph run with a 300.40 pass.
4. Courtney Force topped Cruz Pedregon in the 2014 Funny Car final at HMP to post the 100th event win by a woman in NHRA history.