- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University football team, which posted a 7-4 record in 2022, earned 18 All-MIAA honors Tuesday, led by senior star James Letcher Jr., who repeated as the conference's special teams player of the year while also picking up unanimous first team All-MIAA honors at wide receiver and first team honors as a return specialist.
Washburn senior James Letcher Jr. was named the MIAA special teams player of the year and made the all-conference team at two positions for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn senior Grant Bruner, who leads the nation in tackles, was named to the All-MIAA firt team at linebacker. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn junior offensive lineman Andrew Funk (72), congratulating teammate James Letcher Jr., received All-MIAA first-team honors. [File photo/TSN]
Letcher, Jr. became the first Ichabod to earn the conference special teams player of the year honor twice and only the second Ichabod to win it.
Letcher, a former Piper standout, averaged 26 yards per punt return on 11 attempts with two touchdowns, including an 89-yard return against Missouri Southern in last Saturday's season finale.
As a wide receiver, Letcher led the MIAA in receiving with 80 receptions, 1,076 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He averaged 13.5 yards per catch and a league-best 7.3 receptions per game, tallying 97.8 receiving yards per game.
Overall, Letcher had 24 more catches and 344 receiving yards than anyone else in the league.
Letcher has been a three-time All-MIAA selection at wide receiver, with two first team selections, and is a three-time selection as a return specialist. Letcher also leads the league in all-purpose yards with 1,575 averaging 143.2 yards per game – more than 42 yards ahead of the next closest player.
Washburn senior linebacker Grant Bruner earned first-team All-MIAA honors at linebacker as he leads the nation with 137 tackles, including a nation-best 80 solo tackles, while averaging 12.5 tackles per game. Bruner received honorable mention in 2019.
Junior offensive lineman Andrew Funk was a first team All-MIAA selection after helping the Ichabods to the fourth-best offense in the league at 401.5 yards per game with the No. 2 passing offense and the No. 6 rushing units.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabods will be in action at Lee Arena for the first time this season when the Ichabods host William Jewell at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Washburn men's basketball will play its home-opener on Wednesday night against William Jewell. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The 1-1 Ichabods are coming off a 75-46 win over No. 18-ranked win over Augustana last Saturday after dropping a 79-73 season-opening decision to Henderson State last Friday.
William Jewell is also 1-1, defeating Davenport 90-76 before losing to Purdue Northwest, 77-62, at the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge last weekend.
Washburn fell 56-52 at William Jewell last season.
The Ichabods are 37-1 all-time in home openers, with the lone loss coming in 1990 to Friends in an 89-88 setback. Since then the Ichabods have won their last 31 Lee Arena debuts.
Washburn posted a 22-11 record last season, recording the program's 30th 20-win season and the fourth under Ichabod coach Brett Ballard in his five seasons.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Geo Lyons and Brittney Redmond have spent a lot of time in Topeka High's gymnasium, affectionately known as "The Dungeon.''
But this year is different, with Lyons and Redmond running the show at their alma mater.
Lyons, a 1998 THS graduate, held his first official practice as the Trojans' boys basketball coach on Monday while Redmond, a 2011 grad, kicked off her tenure as the High girls coach as preseason practice got under way across the state in boys and girls basketball, boys and girls wrestling and boys swimming.
Topeka High graduate Geo Lyons held his first official practice as the Trojans' head boys basketball coach on Monday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Brittney Redmond, a 2011 Topeka High graduate, was back in "The Dungeon'' on Monday for her first practice as the Trojans' head girls basketball coach. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Redmond was named the Trojans' girls coach in May after stints as an assistant coach at four junior colleges while Lyons was named Topeka High's boys coach in June after four seasons as the head coach at Kansas City-Schlagle.
"I think it brought back some nastaligic memories but it also made it real that basketball is officially here,'' Redmond said about Monday's opening practice. "In college you jump right in it, but here you kind of have to wait a minute and then it's just the rush of trying to get a team ready in two weeks.''
Lyons, who had stints as an assistant at both High and Topeka West, said he was excited to get started in his new role of guiding the THS program.
"I'm looking at this as really a blank canvas,'' Lyons said. "We've got a whole new staff so everything's going to be new to these young men, but I like that I really get to come in and put my stamp on this thing.''
Redmond and Lyons face different challenges in the 2022-2023 campaign, with Redmond trying to help Topeka High continue a recent run as one of the state's most successful girls programs while Lyons will be trying to help the Trojans return to their once-storied status.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Over the past few days, veteran Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron has experienced the extreme highs and lows of coaching.
Washburn's volleyball team reacts to the announcement that the Ichabods earned the No. 6 seed for this week's NCAA Central Region Tournament at Wayne, Neb. [Photo by Rick Peterson
Herron was in the dumps after the Ichabods suffered a disappointing loss to Missouri Western in their regular-season finale, which put Washburn's NCAA Tournament hopes in severe jeopardy.
But Washburn experienced a dramatic transformation in last week's MIAA Tournament, with WU earning the automatic NCAA bid with its first-ever MIAA tournament championship after posting three straight wins over nationally-ranked opponents.
"To be honest with you I thought the season was over (after the Western loss),'' Herron said, "and we just flipped it 180 (degrees). I'm incredibly happy for this group to be able to finish like this.''
On Sunday night the 24-7 Ichabods were installed as the No. 6 seed in the Central Region and will face No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth at 12 p.m. on Friday in Wayne, Neb. Match times will be announced later.
The Central Region bracket consists of four teams from the NSIC, three from the MIAA, and the automatic qualifier from the GAC.
Tournament host Wayne State will be the No. 1 seed and take on No. 8 seed Harding in the quarterfinal while No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul will face No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 4 Northwest Missouri will play No. 5 St. Cloud State.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Austin Broadie
AUSTIN BROADIE, Washburn University
A 6-foot redshirt freshman out of Wichita Trinity Academy, Broadie registered a career-high 18 kills as Washburn's volleyball team captured its first MIAA Tournament championship with a 25-18, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20 victory over Nebraska-Kearney Saturday night in St. Joseph, Mo. Broadie hit .359 on the night as the 24-7 Ichabods earned an NCAA Tournament berth.
Finn Dunshee
FINN DUNSHEE, Hayden
A 5-8, 160-pound junior running back/linebacker, Dunshee set the tone for the night in Friday's Class 3A sectional football game at Columbus when he ran for a 60-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage as 10-1 Hayden advanced to a 3A sub-state game with a 39-19 victory. Dunshee, who also had a 67-yard run, added a 3-yard TD.
Mackenzie Gamble
MACKENZIE GAMBLE, Washburn University
Gamble, a 5-7 junior guard out of Highlands Ranch, Colo., scored 19 points and hit 5 of 7 3-pointers as Washburn's women's basketball team opened the 2022-2023 season Friday night with a 71-55 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State in the Washburn Crossover Classic. Gamble added 9 points on three 3-pointers in Saturday's 41-38 loss to Oklahoma Baptist.
Jaden Monday
JADEN MONDAY, Washburn University
A 6-0 sophomore guard out of Independence, Mo., Monday scored a career-high 22 points and connected on 6 of 12 3-pointers to lead the way as Washburn's men's basketball team picked up its first win of the season, a 75-46 romp past No. 18-ranked Augustana Saturday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.
Jensen Schrickel
JENSEN SCHRICKEL, Hayden
Schrickel, a 5-9, 145 sophomore, helped lead the 10-1 Hayden football team to a 39-19 Class 3A sectional playoff win Friday night at Columbus. Schrickel caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Wildcat quarterback Jett Wahlmeier, returned a pass interception 35 yards for a TD and kicked a 28-yard field goal and four extra points as Hayden advanced to a sub-state matchup with Holton.
Jalyn Stevenson
JALYN STEVENSON, Washburn University
Stevenson, a 5-10 sophomore out of Spring Hill, recorded her 14th double-double of the 2022 volleyball season in Saturday's MIAA Tournament championship match at St. Joseph, Mo., registering 17 kills and 18 digs in Washburn's 25-18, 19-25, 25-22 and 25-20 victory as the 24-7 Ichabods won their first conference tournament title while earning an NCAA Tournament berth.
