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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No matter what the destination, traveling to the Class 6A state tournament is a semi-regular early November trip for the Washburn Rural soccer team.
Senior standout Easton Bradstreet and the 16-3-0 Washburn Rural soccer team will take on Mill Valley in a 7 p.m. Class 6A state semifinal Friday at Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
This weekend that trip is to Wichita's Stryker Complex, with Brian Hensyel's Junior Blues competing in the state semifinals for the third straight season and the 15th time overall.
Washburn Rural, 16-3-0, will face 15-1-1 Mill Valley in a 7 p.m. semifinal Friday night.
"We lose people every year and what we take pride in is that every year Washburn Rural is going to be in the Final Four, that's our job,'' Rural coach Brian Hensyel said. "We had a goal in mind, we took care of it, and we probably exceeded expectations but there's no reason we can't go there now and make some noise.''
Washburn, second in 2021, advanced to the Final Four with a 3-2 win over Derby Tuesday night at McElroy Field while Mill Valley survived a 3-2 marathon with Shawnee Mission East, taking the win with a 5-4 edge in penalty kicks.
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The 2022 All-Shawnee County girls golf team: From left -- Mallory Nelson, Washburn Rural; Avery Scott, Washburn Rural; Raegan Petersen, Washburn Rural; Avery Grunert, Hayden; Taylor Zordel, Silver Lake; Avery Zimmerman, Topeka High. Not pictured: Lois Deeter, Seaman. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Five state placers headline the 2022 All-Shawnee County girls golf team, led by three-time medalist Lois Deeter of Seaman.
Deeter, a three-time All-City/All-Shawnee County selection, placed seventh in the Class 5A state meet at Hesston as a senior after finishing fifth in her previous two state tournaments.
Seaman senior Lois Deeter was named to the All-Shawnee County girls golf team for the third time after becoming a three-time Class 5A state medalist. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural, which won its 10th straight city team title, put a county-high three golfers on the seven-member first-team, with the Junior Blues represented by seniors Mallory Nelson and Avery Scott and junior Raegan Petersen.
Nelson finished 11th and Petersen 15th in the 6A state meet at Salina as Rural finished fourth, just two strokes out of second, while Scott is a former state medalist.
Also earning spots on the seven-member All-Shawnee County first team were Hayden junior Avery Grunert, Topeka High junior Avery Zimmerman and Silver Lake sophomore Taylor Zordel.
Grunert tied for 14th in the 4A state tournament at Emporia to lead the Wildcats to a county-high third-place team finish while Zordel tied for seventh in the 3A-1A state meet at Hutchinson and Zimmerman competed in the 6A state tournament for the second straight season.
Deeter, Scott and Zimmerman are all-county first-team repeaters while Grunert, Nelson, Petersen and Zordel all move up to the first team after being second-team picks in 2021.
Named to this year's second team were Seaman junior Avery Samuelson and sophomore Jaycee Zimmerman, Hayden junior Hannah Reynoldson and freshman Izzy Glotzbach, Shawnee Heights senior Karlyn Bowman and Washburn Rural junior Lauren Cox and freshman Reece Randall.
All-Shawnee County first-team capsules:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sonia Smagina loved her four years at the University of Kansas and the teammates and coaches she had with the Jayhawks.
Tennis star Sonia Smagina has made a big splash for Washburn this fall after transferring from Kansas. [Photo courtesy of ITA]
But with one year of eligibility remaining, the native of Penza, Russia decided it was time for a change, transferring to Washburn University for her final season.
It's a move that's already paid dividends for Smagina and the Ichabod program.
"I was at Kansas for four years, but my second year COVID happened and the NCAA gave us a chance to compete another year,'' Smagina said. "I felt like it was time for me to go and do something different.
"It was so tough (at KU) that there's no time for yourself . Basically you think about only your team and how the team is doing and there's no time to think about what you want from life, so I decided to go somewhere where it wasn't going to be that much of tennis matches and practice to figure out what I want to do with my life.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Last Saturday will always be a special memory for Washburn senior quarterback Jared Taylor and his entire family.
Washburn senior quarterback Jared Taylor came off the bench last Saturday to help the Ichabods pull out a 21-17 MIAA win at Northeastern State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Taylor came off the bench in the fourth quarter after Ichabod starter Kellen Simoncic went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, engineering the Ichabods' game-winning drive as Washburn rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to take a 21-17 MIAA victory over Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla.
At the same time, Jared's father, Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor, was in Manhattan watching the Wildcats dismantle nationally-ranked Oklahoma State, 48-0.
Jared's mother, Cathy, was in Tahlequah to watch what turned out to be a memorable day for her son while keeping Gene and Jared's sister, Casey, apprised of what was going on in the WU-Northeastern State game.
"My mom made the trip,'' Jared said. "I had told her early in the week, 'Mom, it's a long drive, and Oklahoma State's coming to town and it's a big game,' and she was like, 'You know, if you get in and play this game and I don't make the trip I'm really going to kick myself.'
"So she was sitting in the stands cheering me on while I got in and was texting everybody back home. My dad and sister were watching the (K-State) game in the suite and had my game pulled up. It was a pretty cool moment watching K-State beat Oklahoma State at home and watching me get to come in for the fourth quarter of our game.''
And as soon as both games ended Jared got a special call from his father.
"He was the first phone call I got right after the game was over, which was really cool because it was a big win for him and their football team and he was just so excited for us and me,'' Jared Taylor said. "It was a pretty emotional call from dad, so that was cool.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Rossville junior football standout Camden Horak and Washburn Rural state-champion junior volleyball standouts Zoe Canfield and Jada Ingram have been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency Rising Stars of the Week for last week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the 2022-2023 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Horak, Canfield and Ingram last week:
Rossville junior quarterback Camden Horak passed for three touchdowns and ran for a TD in last Friday's 57-6 Class 2A playoff win over Minneapolis. [File photo/TSN]
CAMDEN HORAK, Rossville
A junior quarterback, Horak had a hand in four touchdowns last Friday night as Rossville, the two-time defending Class 2A state champs, routed Minneapolis 57-6 to advance to the second round of the state playoffs.
Horak passed for three touchdowns and also ran for a TD as Rossville improved to 5-4 on the season.
Horak threw for a 14-yard touchown to senior Braiden Hensley and 33-yard and 30-yard TDs to senior Ayron Klesath. Horak also scored on a 3-yard run and now has passed for 1,144 yards and ran for 844 yards on the season.
Washburn Rural junior Jada Ingram (back) helped the Junior Blues win the Class 6A state volleyball championship last Saturday in Salina, the eighth state volleyball title in school history. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Rural junior Zoe Canfield (right) receives a hug from Junior Blue volleyball coach Kevin Bordewick after receiving her Class 6A state championship medal last Saturday in Salina. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
ZOE CANFIELD and JADA INGRAM, Washburn Rural
Canfield and Ingram, both juniors, helped lead Washburn Rural's volleyball team to its eighth Class 6A state championship and first since 2012 last Saturday at the Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Canfield and Ingram helped the Junior Blues go 5-0 on the weekend, all in straight-set victories, capped by a 25-21, 26-24 win over Blue Valley in the state championship match, with Rural finishing off a 45-1 record with its 44th straight victory.
Canfield and Ingram, who played in their third straight state volleyball tournament, also helped the Junior Blues win the 6A state baketball title last season.
