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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No matter what happens in Washburn soccer's MIAA Tournament quarterfinal at Northwest Missouri State on Sunday (1 p.m. start), the Ichabods have taken steps forward in the 2022 season.
Washburn finished the regular season with an 11-5-2 record, already showing a two-win improvement over 2021 with its most wins since 2009, and is in the running for an NCAA Tournament berth, earning a No. 8 ranking in the latest Central Region rankings.
Davy Phillips and his Washburn University women's soccer team will open the MIAA Tournament Sunday at Northwest Missouri State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"We've taken a lot of (steps), not only within the season but from last year to this year,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "I feel good progress going forward. It's been a good thing, no doubt.''
And on Sunday Phillips and his team will have their sights set on taking yet another step forward in the conference tourney.
"I told the girls, we don't have to do anything other than just be the best version of ourselves,'' Phillips said. "We feel really good that if we're the best version of ourselves we can go make a run at this.''
The Ichabods, picked eighth in the MIAA preseason coaches poll, finished the regular season in sixth place in the conference and will be the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament, facing No. 3 seed Northwest (12-4-2).
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn defense held Northeastern State to 54 yards in the second half, forcing six punts, and Taylon Peters scored on a 3-yard run with 1:49 to go as the Ichabods notched their 10th win in a row over Northeastern State in a 21-17 win on Saturday in Tahlequah, Okla.
Washburn senior Grant Bruner and the Ichabod defense shut down Northeastern State in the second half as WU rallied for a 21-17 MIAA victory. [File photo/TSN]
Junior running back Taylon Peters scored the game-winning touchdown in Washburn's 21-17 MIAA win at Northeastern State on Saturday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
After trailing 17-6 at halftime, Washburn (6-3, 6-3 MIAA) had the first possession of the third quarter, but an interception on the first play of the drive returned the ball back to the host RiverHawks.
But the Ichabod defense forced the first of their six punts in the half and Washburn took over. On the drive, Peters had rushes for 22, 3, 2, 9 and 22 yards for the score with 10:27 left in the third quarter cutting the NSU lead 17-12. Peters would then catch the 2-point conversion from Kellen Simoncic trimming the lead to 17-14.
On the go-ahead drive, Jared Taylor connected with James Letcher Jr. on a 25-yard strike converting a 3rd and 7 and after two rushes by Peters, with a pass from Taylor to Letcher in between, Peters rushed for 2, 7, 4, 7 and the 3-yard touchdown with 1:49, putting the Ichabods up 20-17 following the extra point by Kameron Lake.
The RIverHawks moved the ball to the Ichabod 50 with 33 seconds to go, but did not complete the 4th and 6, turning the ball back to the Ichabods and a kneal down by Taylor finished the game, recording Craig Schurig's 15th winning season at the helm of the Washburn program in his 20th season on the sidelines.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SALINA -- A fourth-place state finish isn't necessarily bad. In fact, there are a lot of schools across the state that would love to finish that high.
But after finishing fourth in back-to-back Class 5A state tournaments, Seaman volleyball coach Tatiana Dowling isn't a fan.
Seaman sophomore Maegan Mills (left) is congratulated by her teammates during Saturday's Class 5A state volleyball tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I'm so sick of fourth place,'' Dowling said after the Vikings' 25-16, 25-18 loss to Hutchinson in Saturday's state event at the Tony's Pizza Events Center. "That's what we said in (the locker room). It was a goal to get here. We talk about that every year, how we want to get back to state, how we want to make it an expectation that we go to state every year and now our expectation needs to change and our mindset needs to change.
"We shouldn't just be happy to be here, we should want more and be hungry for more.''
Seaman, which went 32-11 on the season, went 2-1 in Friday's pool play to earn a semifinal berth against St. Thomas Aquinas.
Seaman pushed the Saints, who went on to capture the state title, to three sets, but after splitting the first two sets Aquinas routed the Vikings in the deciding third set, 25-9.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SALINA -- The tears of 2021 were replaced by a long, and probably still ongoing, victory celebration for the Washburn Rural volleyball team on Saturday.
Washburn Rural dogpiles on the court after winning the Class 6A state volleyball title Saturday at Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina. [Photo by Jeff Jacobsen/Action Images Photography]
Washburn Rural's Brooklyn DeLeye, Zoe Canfield and Katie Borough celebrate after Saturday's 25-21, 26-24 win over Blue Valley in the Class 6A state volleyball championship game. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
After losing their final two matches of last year's state tournament to finish a disappointing fourth, Washburn Rural responded with a dominant performance on Friday and Saturday at the Tony's Pizza Events Center, posting five consecutive straight-set victories, capped by Saturday's 25-21, 26-24 win over Blue Valley in the championship match.
The Junior Blues capped a 45-1 season with their 44th straight victory while earning the school's eighth state volleyball championship.
Washburn Rural senior star Brooklyn DeLeye spikes the ball in Saturday's Class 6A state championship match. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
Four-year Rural star Brooklyn DeLeye, a Kentucky commit, had finished second, third and fourth in her previous three state appearances, including a loss to Blue Valley in the 2019 final and said Saturday's win was a perfect way to end her high school career.
"Especially playing Blue Valley, like we did freshman year and getting second, it was just unbelievable that we actually came out on top,'' DeLeye said. "It feels great, especially for the seniors, who had gone all four years without one, just ending it out with a state championship is really cool.''
Rural junior Jada Ingram said this year's state tournament was all about making up for last season when the Junior Blues posted 41 straight wins before the two state losses.
"I felt like we had a chip on our shoulder from last year,'' Ingram said. "I didn't think we had any pressure on us, we just wanted to go into the game and play our game so we could come out on top.
"We've been thinking about that for a year and obviously we thought about it long and hard because now we're state champs. We practiced hard every day to get to this spot.''
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Highland Park's historic 2022 football campaign ended with an 83-64 Class 5A playoff loss to its former Centennial League foe, Emporia, in a 147-point shootout at Hummer Sports Park.
This season was a special one for the Highland Park community, with the Scots starting the season snapping a 65-game losing streak and ended it with hosting a playoff game.
Highland Park senior star Tre Richardson ended his high school football career with a six-touchdown performance in Friday night's 83-64 playoff loss to Emporia. [Photo by Sarah Carson/TSN]
Highland Park senior quarterback Kei'Juan Johnson threw for four touchdowns in Friday's 83-64 playoff loss to Emporia. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
One of the greatest seasons in Highland Park's history didn't go unnoticed by Highland Park coach Jermaine Monroe.
"I will never forget the team that started this all," Monroe said. "This (season) isn't just a trend. We have a lot of young guys that we will be able to build with. This is the season that our seniors made happen. I'm extremely proud of this group, and I know everyone around here is proud of them.
"I'm 100 percent confident in the younger guys coming up. For us to host a playoff game, that's huge. These young guys have been looking up to the older guys that have led them. They know exactly what our program and system is. Our young guys have found out what are weaknesses are and what we need to get better at. We can do nothing from here but keep growing."
