- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Payton Fink
PAYTON FINK, Washburn Rural
A sophomore, Fink won her first individual city girls cross country title last Saturday at Washburn Rural after finishing third as a freshman, leading the Junior Blues to the team championship by a 21-35 margin over Seaman. Fink clocked a winning five-kilometer time of 18 minutes, 10.9 seconds, setting a personal record.
Kate Fritz
KATE FRITZ, Washburn Rural
A senior, Fritz teamed with Meredith Kucera to win a pair of doubles championships last week. Fritz and Kucera won the Centennial League doubles title last Monday and followed that up with a win in last Friday's Class 6A regional win on Friday at Kossover Tennis Center, leading the Junior Blues to the regional team title. Fritz and Kucera posted a 6-0, 6-2 win over Topeka High in the regional final.
Meredith Kucera
MEREDITH KUCERA, Washburn Rural
Kucera, a senior, partnered with Kate Fritz to win Centennial League and Class 6A regional titles last week. After winning the league title with a three-set win over Hayden last Monday, Kucera and Fritz won a regional champioship last Friday at Kossover Tennis Center, leading the Junior Blues to the regional team title. Kucera and Fritz posted a 6-0, 6-2 win over Topeka High in the regional final
Lenny Njoroge
LENNY NJOROGE, Topeka West
The Topeka West senior won his first city crosss country championship in last Saturday's city championship at Washburn Rural, clocking a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 30 seconds to win by 18 seconds. Njoroge became the Chargers' first city boys champion since Winston Tidwell in 1993 and has now won five individual titles in six races this fall.
Lauren Sweeney
LAUREN SWEENEY, Seaman
A Class 5A state doubles champion as a junior, Sweeney earned an opportunity to try to win a second straight state title with last Saturday's Class 5A regional singles championship at Emporia. Now 29-5 on the season, Sweeney will compete in the 5A state tournament Friday and Saturday at Andover after taking a 6-0, 6-0 win in her regional final, helping the Vikings win the regional team title.
Ainzley Zulueta
AINZLEY ZULUETA, Hayden
Zulueta, who won the Class 4A state singles championship last season as a freshman, earned the chance to defend her title with last Saturday's regional championship. Zulueta, now 24-2 on the season, took a 6-1, 6-1 win in her regional final, leading the Wildcats to the regional team championship. Zulueta will compete in the 4A state tournament at Harmon Park Friday and Saturday.
- Details
By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
EMPORIA – After running away with the United Kansas Conference on Tuesday, the Seaman girls' tennis team rolled through the competition in Saturday's Class 5A regional tournament, sweeping the singles, doubles and team championships at Emporia High School.
Coming into Saturday, Seaman was riding a lot of momentum from clinching a conference championship.
Seaman senior Lauren Sweeney, a state doubles champion last season, will take aim on the Class 5A singles crown Friday and Saturday in Andover. [File photo/TSN]
UKC champions Katie Krumins (left) and Molly Gorman added a Class 5A regional doubles title on Saturday in Emporia. [File photo/TSN]
“I think the key for us has been the momentum,” Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. “The momentum has been evident. It’s easier to practice when things are going so well. Winning league and regionals will help us in practice.
“I think we are going to cause as much chaos at state as possible.”
Like Tuesday, senior star Lauren Sweeney swept the regional championship in singles, while junior Katie Krumins and freshman Molly Gorman swept the competition in doubles.
Katie Eckert and Ella Foxhoven were runner-ups in doubles while Nina Del-Zio took a fourth-place finish in singles.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University scored 24 first-half points and added 21 more in the third quarter on the way to a 45-14 MIAA win at Fort Hays State Saturday night, improving to 4-2 on the season as the Ichabod defense held the Tigers to a season-low 14 points.
The Ichabods, now 3-0 in road games, will be back on the road for the second straight week when they travel to Northwest Missouri next Saturday.
Taylon Peters had 73 rushing yards and 71 receiving yards in Washburn's 45-14 MIAA win at Fort Hays State Saturday night. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods took the opening kickoff and marched 81 yards on six plays, capped by a 44-yard touchdown pass from Kellen Simoncic to Washburn Rural product Collin Wilson.
Fort Hays State was forced to punt on its ensuing drive and Micah Skebo blocked the punt and it was recovered by Tyler Bowden for a scoop and score as the Ichabods jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
Washburn made it a 21-0 game when it wrapped up an 87-yard, 13-play drive with a 1-yard plunge by former Washburn Rural standout Hunter Browning.
The Tigers got on the scoreboard with a 6-yard run by Jaqualen Brown but Washburn wrapped up the half on a 47-yard field goal by Kameron Lake as time expired, taking a 24-7 lead to the locker room.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden's girls tennis team tied for second and finished third in a tiebreaker in the 2021 Class 4A state tournament.
Hayden's girls tennis team takes part in its tradition of taking a bite out of the championship trophy after winning Saturday's Class 4A regional tournament. [Submitted photo]
Hayden's girls tennis team poses with its regional championship trophy after Saturday's Class 4A regional at Kossover Tennis Center. [Submitted photo]
The Wildcats put themselves in position to challenge for 4A supremacy again this season with a strong performance in Saturday's regional tournament at Kossover Tennis Center,
The Wildcats swept the singles, doubles and team titles while qualifying all six players for the 4A state tournament next Friday and Saturday at the Harmon Park Tennis Complex in Prairie Village.
"When you get your whole team in, first of all you're really proud of your program because you know that you have worked really hard and you've done some things right with them and the girls have supported each other and this has been a goal of theirs to take six to state,'' Hayden coach Christy Sheetz said. "This is an exciting day for all of them.''
Hayden sophomore Ainzley Zulueta, the defending state singles champion, tuned up for her title defense with a dominating regional performance, took a 6-1, 6-1 decision over Chapman junior Elyssa Frieze in the championship match to improve to 24-2 on the season. Frieze, also 24-2, placed third at state last season.
Hayden's doubles team of junior Lauren Sandstrom and Emily Sheetz, now 30-4, won the regional doubles championship with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Bishop Miege juior Livi Shull and senior Grace Tucker.
Sandstrom and Sheetz, who were coming off a three-set loss in the finals of the Centennial League tournament, got down 3-0 in Saturday's final but dominated the remainder of the match.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 12-ranked Washburn volleyball held No. 23 Central Missouri to a season-low .087 attacking percentage on Saturday afternoon as the Ichabods swept the Jennies for the first time since 2014.
The 3-0 victory over Central Missouri is just the fifth time in program history that Washburn has shut out the Jennies in 77 matchups since 1978.
No. 12-ranked Washburn volleyball swept Central Missouri on Saturday, improving to 16-3 on the season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn won by the set scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-18 to capture its eighth sweep of the year.
The Ichabods have now won four in a row and hold a record of 16-3 (8-3 MIAA).
Central Missouri (12-7, 7-3 MIAA) got out to a quick 4-2 first-set lead after three errors by Washburn, but the Ichabods responded with nine points in a row to go up, 11-4.
The Jennies pulled within one at 16-15 after a 6-0 burst before a Halle Meister kill sparked a run of five consecutive kills for Washburn to extend its lead to 21-15.
The final point of the 25-20 set was won on a big solo block from Jalyn Stevenson. The Ichabods had 19 kills in the opening set while limiting the Jennies to seven with five attacking errors for a .045 hitting percentage.
