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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's football team will close out the 2022 regular season on Saturday with a trip to Joplin, Mo. to face Missouri Southern in a 2 p.m. MIAA contest.
Washburn football coach Craig Schurig discusses a non-pass interference call during last Saturday's game against No. 5-ranked Pittsburg State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Craig Schurig's Ichabods, 6-4 overall and in the MIAA, have already clinched a winning regular season, but Schurig admitted that a seventh win would be a great way to end the regular season.
"Going 7-4 sounds a lot better than 6-5,'' Schurig said.
Washburn also still harbors hopes of a postseason bowl game and could help its case with a victory over the Lions.
"We want to end on a high note and then maybe we get a bowl game,'' Schurig said. "We'll be among some teams that will be looked at because if you're 7-4 in this conference you get pretty good consideration.''
After going 9-3 and making the NCAA Playoffs in 2021, the Ichabods have gone through a somewhat up and down regular season, with three of their four losses coming by between two and eight points.
"This style of team, with the seniors that we have and type of team we have, our goals were set much higher,'' Schurig said. "You were thinking that this week would be a week you've got to win to be in the playoffs for sure and it just didn't round out that way.
"Last year's team we seemed to win those closer games and this year's team we've won a few of them, but we've lost a few and that's what makes this conference so good.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The 2022-23 women's basketball season will officially begin for Washburn University and first-year coach Lora Westling this weekend as the Ichabods host the Washburn Crossover Classic Friday and Saturday.
Washburn will open the new year at 6 p.m. Friday against Southwestern Oklahoma State before wrapping up its opening weekend against Oklahoma Baptist at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
"We're really trying to get into this conference challenge focusing on us, what we need to continue to improve on and just with the mindset of having a little more urgency, understanding that now it all counts,'' Westling said.
Washburn point guard Aubree Dewey led the Ichabods with eight points in a 70-27 exhibition loss at nationally-ranked Nebraska on Oct. 30. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods fell 70-27 at No. 22 Nebraska in their lone exhibition on Oct. 30 and Westling said despite the lopsided outcome the WU staff saw a lot of things that the team can put to good use moving forward.
"We took a lot of positives out of that,'' Westling said. "Honestly, any time you can play a game like that and have film that's worth watching afterwards and you can build from that, it's worth the trip and that's what we got.
"We were able to see some things where we've been deficient and we needed to get back to work on, but most importantly we saw that our kids were willing to compete against a top 25 team. We went in with some goals and some five-minute battles and we reached a few of them. Not many, but a few of them and I was just really proud of our group for how they stepped up against one of the best teams in the country.''.
Washburn began last season against the Lady Bulldogs and the Bison in Weatherford, Okla., with the Ichabods falling to then-No. 16-ranked Southwestern State Oklahoma, 70-54, before defeating OBU in overtime, 62-50.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
On Thursday Shawnee Heights senior star Jeremiah Smith picked Nebraska to continue his track career next season ... with a little help from a former T-Bird.
Smith, a three-time state champ and No. 1 on Kansas' all-time list in the 100-meter dash, revealed his college choice in front of friends and family Thursday at Heights, picking the Huskers over Iowa Oklahoma, and then immediately signed his letter of intent to make things official.
Shawnee Heights senior Jeremiah Smith signed a track and field letter of intent with Nebraska on Saturday at Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Smith follows in the footsteps of former Shawnee Heights state champ and current Nebraka standout Mikey Hoffer, an NCCA qualifier for the Huskers, and said that Hoffer was in his ear during the recruiting proces.
"He definitely was,'' Smith said. "The University of Nebraska definitely used the connection we had to their advantage, had me talking to him all the time and things like that. He was deinitely involved.''
And Smith said it was good to have somebody like Hoffer to lean on.
"It definitely was because I had like an inside view and I could ask him personal questions that I couldn't ask the coach,'' Smith said. "He's been there for four years and he's going to tell me straight. Even though he wants me to go there, he wants what's best for me so he's going to tell me the truth about what I asked.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: The college fall letter of intent signing period got under way this week and TopSports.news will post signing updates as they are received. Email any signing information and signing day pictures to Rick Peterson at
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Seaman girls golf star Lois Deeter and Viking javelin standout Ally Trier signed their college letter of intents on Wednesday, with Deeter signing with Arkansas Tech and Trier with Emporia State.
Seaman's Ally Trier (left) signed with Emporia State and the Vikings' Lois Deeter signed with Arkansas Tech on Wednesday. [Submitted photo]
Deeter finished seventh in the Class 5A state golf tournament as a senior after winning city and United Kansas Conference individual titles and finishing second in regional competition.
Deeter led Seaman to its first-ever league title by 51 strokes and to a regional team crown before earning her third state medal in as many high school golf seasons. Deeter placed fifth individually in 5A as a freshman and junior.
Trier was an All-Shawnee County track and field selection as a junior, posting a second-place finish in a 5A regional meet to qualify for state.
Trier was the city champion in the javelin with a personal-record throw of 132 feet, 10 inches.
High state champ Alvarez signs softball letter with KCKCC -- Topeka High catcher Alesia Alvarez, who helped lead the Trojans to the Class 6A state softball championship last spring, has signed with Kansas City Kansas Community College's softball program.
Topeka High senior Alesia Alvarez (middle) has signed a softball letter with Kansas City Kansas Community College. [Submitted Photo]
Alvarez received All-State, All-Centennial League and All-Shawnee County recognition as a junior.
Alvarez has also played tennis all four years at Topeka High and joined the Trojans' girls wrestling program last year, receiving All-City honorable mention.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
(Games at 7 p.m.)
CLASS 6A
WASHBURN RURAL (8-2) at DERBY (8-2)
Washburn Rural is coming off an 34-7 second-round playoff win at Garden City while Derby rolled to a 76-28 win over Lawrence.
Washburn Rural's defense set the tone for the night when it scored the game's first touchdown on a JC Heim recovey in the end zone with five minutes left in the opening quarter and the Junior Blues went on to open up a commanding 34-0 lead.
Washburn Rural junior JC Heim (25) scored the game's first touchdown on a defensive TD as the Junior Blues rolled to a 34-7 Class 6A playoff win last Friday at Garden City. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Ma'kenttis Adams led the way as Rural finished with 41 carries for 192 rushing yards against Garden City while junior quarterback Branton DeWeese was 14 of 21 passing for 157 yards.
Washburn Rural enters Friday night's 6A state quarterfinal on a five-game winning streak while perennial state title contender Derby has won four straight games.
The Panthers two losses have been by a total of four points, to undefeated Manhattan (in overtime) and Maize.
Notre Dame commit Dylan Edwards has rushed for 1,590 yards and 27 touchdowns on 144 attempts for Derby while senior quarterback Brock Zerger is also in the midst of a big senior season.
Zerger has rushed for 997 yards and 14 TDs on 101 attempts and completed 61 of 103 pass attempts for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Derby senior Miles Wash has been in on 120 tackles.
The Washburn Rural-Derby winner will advance to the state semifinals to face the winner of Friday's game between Centennial League champion Manhattan (10-0) and Wichita Northwest (8-2).
CLASS 3A
HAYDEN (9-1) at COLUMBUS (5-5)
Hayden rallied from a 13-0 deficit to hand previously-unbeaten Wellsville a 22-19 defeat last Friday while Columbus took a 21-14 second-round playoff victory over Galena last Thursday.
Hayden senior JC Cummings (38) has had a big 2022 season on both offense and defense for the 9-1 Wildcats. [File photo/TSN]
