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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural junior football standout Titan Osburn and Hayden's Class 4A state-champion doubles team of junior Lauren Sandstrom and Emily Sheetz 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 Osburn, Sandstrom and Sheetz last week:
Washburn Rural junior Titan Osburn continued his breakout junior season with three receptions for 67 yards and three touchdowns in last Friday's 49-14 Centennial League win over Emporia. [File photo/TSN]
TITAN OSBURN, Washburn Rural
A junior wide receiver, Osburn had three catches for 67 yards and three touchdowns in Washburn Rural's 49-14 Centennial League win over Emporia last Friday night at Bowen-Glaze Stadium.
Osburn scored touchdowns on 18, 18 and 32-yard receptions from Branton DeWeese as Washburn Rural improved to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Centennial League.
Hayden sophomore Emily Sheetz (left) and junior Lauren Sandstrom won the Class 4A doubles championship last Saturday, helping lead the Wildcats to their first state girls tennis team championship. [File photo]
LAUREN SANDSTROM and EMILY SHEETZ, Hayden
Sandstrom, a junior, and Emily Sheetz, a sophomore capped their 2022 season with a state championship in Class 4A doubles, helping lead the Wildcats to their first-ever girls tennis state team championship.
Sandstrom and Sheetz won city and regional titles and finished second in the Centennial League meet.
Sandstrom and Sheetz finished seventh at state in 2021 and posted a 34-4 record this fall.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
In a high school career that has been filled with noteworthy personal and team accomplishments, Washburn Rural three-sport star Brooklyn DeLeye took things to a different stratosphere last weekend.
Washburn Rural multi-sport star Brooklyn DeLeye went over the 2,000 career mark for career kills in last Saturday's Emporia Invitational volleyball tournament. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
DeLeye, a 6-foot-2 Kentucky volleyball commit, surpassed the 2,000 mark for career kills in last weekend's Emporia Invitational volleyball tournament as the 38-1 Junior Blues went 6-0 to claim the tournament championship.
"I knew I was getting close, but I had no idea that it was going to be this early,'' Deleye said.
A Rural standout since her freshman season and a player of the year at the city, Shawnee County, Centennial League and state level, DeLeye said she set a few career goals earlier in her career, but that reaching 2,000 kills wasn't one of them.
"I somewhat did (set goals), but I didn't expect to get this far,'' DeLeye said. "I wanted to break the (school) kill record but this is just a bonus. I didn't even know until (Tuesday). Coach told me right before practice.''
Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick, who has over 1,000 wins in his career while leading Rural to seven state volleyball championships as well as two basketball titles, said that reaching the 2,000 mark is a rare accomplishment.
"I knew she was close and I knew she had a chance to get it but some of the teams we don't have her hit against so I knew that she was losing some kills because of that,'' Bordewick said. "But I still thought she had a chance to get it and sure enough she ended up (Saturday) 13 over 2,000.
"I almost bet that she might be the only one in 6A or 5A that's got 2,000, and to me that's tremendous.''
The softspoken Rural star admitted that reaching the 2,000 mark will be a special memory.
"It means a lot, obviously, just kind of being that representation for the younger girls to try to beat and just trying to be that top person,'' she said.
Bordewick, who also coaches DeLeye in basketball, said that she is very deserving on any honors she receives.
"I still think she has a ceiling that she doesn't realize and this is a kid who has great work ethic,'' Bordewick said. "She's got a mind for the game and studies it. She's the only kid I've ever had that gave me a detailed scouting report on an opponent last year, and it was good stuff.
"She's a real student of the game and I think when she gets into a weightlifting regimen (at Kentucky) it's really going to help her jumping and her quickness and her shoulder strength and she'll be phenomenal. And it's not like she doesn't work out in the weight room now because she does put time in there, but it's a different animal when you get to college and I'm excited to see what she does. What she accomplishes doesn't really surprise me and when she was a freshman I told Amanda (Vanderbogart, Rural assistant coach), 'Let's just enjoy these four years because we may not have another one like this.' ''
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By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musings at the mid-month:
• Much was made about the missing pieces on Kansas City’s defense when the Chiefs lost to Buffalo.
• The defense actually held up pretty well in the three-point defeat; better than a leaky offensive line.
• One question: As bad as the Chiefs secondary has looked at times, will it matter that much when starting cornerbacks return?
• Still like the Chiefs to advance as AFC West champs but isn’t that a given anymore?
• In a season when the division supposedly could be the best in football, rivals have disappointed.
• The Broncos are unwatchable. But can they get on some kind of roll by December when they first play the Chiefs?
• Happy for San Diego to see the Padres advance to the National League championship series.
• Especially after the Chargers moved to Los Angeles to play before hostile crowds the entire season.
• Didn’t count on the road to a Big 12 football breakthrough running through TCU for both KU and K-State.
• Of course, none of us saw the rise of the Jayhawks, who will become bowl eligible.
• That requires one more victory. They’ll get it.
• Jalon Daniels means a lot to that team but not quite everything.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 12-ranked Washburn volleyball used an efficient offensive attack to cruise to a 3-0 MIAA victory over Emporia State on Tuesday evening at Lee Arena.
The Ichabods won by the set scores of 25-12, 25-23, and 25-14 to improve their record to 18-4 overall and 10-4 in the MIAA.
Washburn volleyball celebrates a point in Tuesday's 3-0 home MIAA sweep over Emporia State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn's Halle Meister (16) and Sophie McMullen block an Emporia State kill attempt in Tuesday's 3-0 WU sweep.[Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn led from start to finish in the opening set. The Ichabods used a 9-1 run midway through the frame to go up, 17-8, and then pushed the lead to double-figures with a 6-1 run to make it 23-11.
The Ichabods won, 25-12, claiming the last two points with a kill from Sophie McMullen and a Hornet attacking error.
The second set saw three lead changes and nine ties during the game. Emporia State (4-19, 1-13 MIAA) took its largest lead of the night at 14-10 after five unanswered points.
Washburn slowly closed the gap and leveled the score at 20-all with a 3-0 mini run.
The teams took turns scoring over the next six points before the Ichabods won three in a row to close out the 25-23 set victory, capped off by Chloe Paschal's service ace to go up 2-0 in the match.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A lot of things change, but some things don't.
The Centennial League has gone through major changes, dropping from 10 schools to nine a few years ago and to six schools this fall.
But one thing that hasn't changed is Washburn Rural's league dominance in boys soccer.
The Junior Blues ran their incredible league championship streak (shared or outright) to 28 straight years Tuesday night, with Rural rolling to a 5-1 victory over Topeka High at McElroy Field.
Washburn Rural senior Easton Bradstreet (13) battles Topeka High junior Chris Gomez (18) for the ball Tuesday night at McElroy Field. Bradstreet had two goals and an assist in Rural's 5-1 win. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Now 13-2-0 overall, Washburn Rural gave up an early Topeka High goal but dominated the rest of the game while capping a perfect 5-0 record in league play.
"The league has changed from 10 teams to nine teams to six teams, but you play who's on your schedule and this year the league had some good squads,'' Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel said. "Topeka High was tough and they got the early goal so we had to play well.
"Some of our better performances this year were in those league games, so that was a good thing.''
Topeka High (11-5-0, 2-3) drew first blood at the 33:26 mark of the first half on a shot from sophomore Jaime Alvarado off an assist from senior Thomas Schmidt, but Washburn Rural pulled even at 31:03 mark on senior Easton Bradstreet's goal off junior Devon Rutschmann's pass and Rutschmann put the Junior Blues ahead to stay with a goal at the 24:51 mark off Bradstreet's assist.
"We always talk about getting the early goal and they kind of took advantage -- a nice combination off passes and a good finish by them -- but what I liked is often times this year when we've given up a goal we haven't responded real well to that so what was nice was whatever momentum they could have got from 1-0 we took the lead back pretty quickly and kind of seized control, which was good.''
