The Ichabods are 1-5 this season and looking for their first conference win of the season after falling 34-10 to No. 15-ranked Pittsburg State last time out.
The Mules are 3-3 overall and 3-1 in MIAA play after falling 49-32 to Northwest Missouri.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Like most football players, Washburn University junior Ty Weber has battled his share of injuries over his career.
Washburn tight end Ty Weber, who will wear No. 0 this fall, missed the Ichabods' first five games of the season while battling a rare illness. [File photo/TSN]
But nothing prepared the 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end and former Washburn Rural star for what he's been forced to deal with this fall, a condition that forced the Ichabod captain to miss Washburn's first five games of the season.
"I developed something called amyloidosis,'' Weber said. "To put it in laymen's terms, it's like your body loses proteins and eats away your muscles a little bit, and it just came from dehydration as well as probably something underlying, like an illness or what not.
"It's something that took me by shock. You're weren't expecting it at all. It was crazy, something I never experienced before because it was just cramps everywhere, all over my body. I've been through a lot of injuries before and that was by far the worst ever.''
The illness put Weber in the hospital before he began a frustratingly slow process to get back to 100 percent.
"I was there for probably a day and a half and stayed overnight and they probably pumped 10 bags of fluids into me to get me back to where I was before,'' Weber said.
The initual prognosis was that Weber, who developed his condition well into fall camp, might only miss a game or two but then he got the news that his return would be delayed.
"The trainers did a great job with my return to play program and I practiced and went and got a blood test and the blood test wasn't very positive,'' he said. "There were a lot of issues with my kidneys and liver and they wanted to give me a couple of options and said we could go through another four weeks and see if by that point I'd be able to play, and if I was I could play out the remainder of the season, so I decided to do that.
"My cutoff was (Pittsburg State last Saturday) because everything before that's when you have the option of a medical redshirt and at Pitt I got to play and probably played 12 snaps, which was awesome to be back out there. It was a great environment, just not the result we wanted obviously (a 34-10 loss).''
Weber has steadily gotten closer and closer to being back to full speed and expects to be 100 percent for Saturday's 2 p.m. Hall of Fame game against Central Missouri.
This fall's battle has made Weber appreciate the opportunity he's been given to play college football even more.
"I can't even emphasize how blessed I am and I give all the glory to God because he gave me the perspective of, 'This is your life without football,' and it totally just changed my perspective on leadership and the ability to play the game I love,'' Weber said. "Without him it wouldn't be possible for me.''
Ichabods set to host Mules
Washburn returns to Yager Stadium for the first time since Sept. 27 to host Central Missouri on Saturday at 2 p.m. as part of Washburn Athletics Hall of Fame Day.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
(All kickoffs at 7 p.m.)
FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAMES
Josiah Wilkie, Topeka West
LEAVENWORTH (5-1, 5-1 UKC) vs. TOPEKA WEST (1-5, 1-5 UKC)
At Hummer Sports Park
Topeka West picked up its first win of 2025 last Friday, rallying for a 42-27 United Kansas Conference victory at Kansas City-Turner, while Leavenworth posted its fifth straight win, a 27-14 UKC decision over De Soto.
Dayne Johnson, Silver Lake
OSAGE CITY (6-0, 2-0 Class 2A District 3) at SILVER LAKE (4-2, 2-0 Class 2A District 3)
Osage City and Silver Lake will square off in a game that is likely to decide the Class 2A District 3 championship. Osage City remained unbeaten last week with a 49-14 district win over St. Marys while Silver Lake ran its winning streak to four straight games with a 42-8 district win over Riley County.
John Hoytal, Washburn Rural [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
WASHBURN RURAL (5-1, 2-0 Centennial League) at JUNCTION CITY (4-2, 2-0 Centennial League)
Washburn Rural will put its three-game winning streak on the line in a game that will give the winner a leg up in the Centennial League race. Washburn Rural is coming off a 38-0 league road win at Emporia while Junction City took a 44-6 league win over Topeka High.
TOPEKA HIGH (3-3, 1-2 Centennial League) at MANHATTAN (4-2, 1-1 Centennial League)
Topeka High is coming off a 44-6 Centennial League loss to Junction City while Manhattan dropped a 40-13 non-league decision to Wichita Northwest last week. The Indians will be looking to keep their Centennial League title hopes alive while the Trojans will be trying to snap a two-game league losing streak.
AJ Gallegos, Shawnee Heights
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (2-4, 2-3 UKC) at LANSING (2-4, 2-3 UKC)
Shawnee Heights posted its biggest win of the season last Friday, riding an outsanding defensive effort to a 20-3 United Kansas Conference road win at city rival Seaman, while Lansing dropped a 44-13 UKC decision to Piper.
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
BONNER SPRINGS -- Wyandotte County Park provided the backdrop for the 2025 United Kansas Conference cross country meet Thursday. The Seaman girls and boys teams were the top local finishers, with the girls finishing fifth and the boys coming in second while the day was also highlighted by the return of senior star Ryin Miller.
Seaman junior Brynn Spencer was the individual runnerup in Thursday's UKC cross country meet. [File photo/TSN]
In the girls race, Seaman junior Brynn Spencer finished in second place with a time of 19:46.90, behind conference champion Elizabeth Arenas of Piper.
“I was very proud of how I ran today, despite running alone most of the race,'' Spencer said. "I knew there were lots of rolling hills on the course, so my goal was to push up the hills and use the downhills to get some energy back.”
Seaman senior Ryin Miller returned from injury to place third in Thursday's UKC meet in Kansas City, Kan. [File photo/TSN]
Miller, the 2024 Class 5A runnerup and a five-time state champ in track, finished third in the race in a time of 20:36, which was her first race of the season due to an injury. Miller talked about dealing with the prolonged injury and the opportunity to race Thursday.
“This season has been very challenging and the hardest thing I’ve ever had to face as an athlete,'' she said. "There are so many highs and lows in sports, but because of the lows we grow, learn and truly are stronger because of it. I’ve been extremely fortunate with injury in playing four sports.
"Today was great to toe the line and give it all for my team considering that I’ve had zero running-related training. I still have lots of work to do to finish getting totally healthy and increasing my mileage and fitness again.”
Spencer and Miller were both recognzied as first-team All-UKC with their respective finishes.
Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his second straight UKC individual cross country title Thursday. [File photo/TSN]
In the boys race, Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his fifth race of the season in a time of 15:38.30.
“The race went great today and I’m excited to get back-to-back conference individual titles,'' Anderson said. "Coach (Luke) Wiens and I had a plan to get out and do enough to win while feeling great. The course ran well, not my favorite, but I can’t choose where I run and have to adapt to each situation I’m put in.”
With the season coming down to the final two weeks, Anderson talked about the regional race next weekend.
“I feel great going into regionals and trust my fitness and the training of Coach Wiens to put myself in a great spot against a stacked regional,” he said.
With the victory, Anderson was named first team All-UKC while junior teammate Conner Bloom finished 11th in 17:18.50, garnering second-team All-UKC honors.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 2 nationally ranked Washburn University volleyball is on an unquestioned hot streak ... and just keeps getting hotter.
The Ichabods stretched their win streak to six straight sweeps, covering 18 straight sets, Thursday night at Whiting Fieldhouse with Washburn taking a 25-20, 25-21, 25-23 MIAA victory over No. 24 Central Missouri.
No. 2-ranked Washburn volleyball celebrates a kill from senior Austin Broadie (23) in Thursday's 3-0 MIAA sweep over No. 24 Central Missouri. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn, which posted its second straight win over a ranked opponent, improved to 18-1 overall and 7-1 in the MIAA while Central Missouri fell to 14-4, 6-2.
"Really solid,'' Washburn coach Chris Herron said of the Ichabods' performance. "But that's a really good (UCM) team. I have to be honest with you, in all my scouts this year so far, that team worried me more than anybody, just because their middles are good, their outsides are good, their (libero) is good and their setter has gotten so much better.''
But the Ichabods were definitely up to the challenge.
"Our middles both hit for a really high percentage, which opens stuff up for (Austin) Broadie and Broadie's playing at an All-American level,'' Herron said. "And our setters are smart enough to know where the gravy is on the biscuit, so I thought they did a good job as well.''
Senior Alex Dvorak, the reigning MIAA Offensive Player of the Week, also gave her team high marks for its work against the Jennies.
"I think that we've found our flow so well and being in like the middle of the season, I think we're in a great spot to just keep on rolling,'' Dvorak said.
Dvorak admitted that being ranked No. 2 and in the midst of a winning streak could bring along some pressure with it, but she said the WU team is good about just being able to concentrate on the task at hand.
"I think we're very good about always trying to get better,'' she said. "Like in practice, we're always trying to get better and we're not hesitating or slowing down, so there may be some kind of pressure on us, but with us wanting to keep growing, we're just kind of flowing with it.''
Central Missouri led 4-3 early in the opening set but Washburn's Brynne Topolski got a kill that started a 4-1 run, putting the Ichabods in front.
The Ichabods held the narrow lead until Topolski got another kill that became the first of six points for Washburn. A Corinna McMullen ace made it 19-12.
The Jennies would score five in a row later in the set to pull within three but an Ichabod offense that hit .324 in the set finished off the five-point win on another Topolski kill.
The Ichabods took control early in the second set, with a setter kill by Sydney Conner sparking a 6-2 run that put Washburn in front, 15-10.
Central Missouri stormed back, tying the set at 16 after four straight points.
With the score once again tied, this time at 19, Topolski and Keilah Rivers slashed kills and Shawnee Heights product Kali Henry served an ace. Another three-point WU run ended the set at 25-21.
The first four points of the third set belonged to Washburn, starting with a kill by Dvorak.
The Jennies hung around, eventually coming all the way back to tie the set at ten. They would go in front with a 5-1 run at 15-14.
After five ties the Ichabods created a two-point advantage with Bella Limback making a solo block to put Washburn in front at 21-19. Central Missouri tied it back up at 23 but the final two points of the match belonged to the home squad to complete the sweep.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural gave a sendoff to a group of seniors who don’t figure to finish their high school careers anytime soon. The group of 12 seniors dominated Seaman 9-1 in their final regular-season game at McElroy Field, but they figure to host several more games come playoff time.
Senior Dylan Willingham netted four scores and added two assists to lead the rout.
Senior Dylan Willingham had four goals and two assists in Washburn Rural's 9-1 Senior Night win over Seaman Thursday night. [File photo/TSN]
“I love this group,” Willingham said. “We’ve worked really well together, and our chemistry is really tight. We are all really good friends and we all love coming out here and playing together.
“I think as a group we’re a really good team and we have got a shot this year at winning the whole thing.”
Willingham put the Junior Blues up early at 34:11 in the first half. Seaman locked down the net for the next 20 minutes, however, until Willingham scored again.
Even then, the Vikings weren’t going away. Seaman senior Kaelon Taylor broke through the Junior Blue defense to cut the Washburn Rural lead to 2-1.
But at that point, the home team poured it on, scoring three more times in the remaining eight minutes of the period. The Junior Blues came back with four goals in the first 16 minutes of the second period to induce an early exit.
Washburn Rural improved to 11-1-1 with two games remaining – at Hummer Sports Park to face Topeka High next Monday and at Blue Valley North next Thursday.
“Every time we’ve had really successful teams here, we’ve had big, strong, successful senior classes, and this one’s as good as we’ve had,” said Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel. “I told the guys before the game that one of the great parts of my job is when you have a really good senior class that make your job easy.
"They promote being good teammates. They work hard. They buy into what their coaches are telling them. Over a four-year time period, they can really develop into some really good soccer players.''
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