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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Four Topeka volleyball standouts have earned All-State Tournament honors for 2021.
Washburn Rural senior Katelynn Brogan and junior Brooklyn DeLeye were named to the All-Class 6A All-State Tournament team while Seaman senior Drew Baxter and sophomore Brooklyn Gormley were named to the 5A team.
Brogan, a 5-foot-10 setter/rightside hitter, and DeLeye, a 6-2 outside hitter, helped lead Washburn Rural to a 41-2 record on the season and a fourth-place finish in the 6A state tournament.
DeLeye was named to the 6A All-State Tournament team for the third straight season.
Baxter, a 5-9 outside hitter/setter, and Gormley, a 5-11 middle blocker, helped lead Seaman to a 27-13 record and a fourth-place finish in the 5A state tournament.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Six Washburn University players have earned recognition on the All-MIAA women's soccer team, including second-team picks Emily Michaelis and Tera Lynch, while former Cair Paravel Latin standout Hannah Woolery earned first-team honors for Emporia State.
Woolery, a sophomore midfielder, moved up to the All-MIAA first team after earning honorable mention last season.
Woolery is tied for second in the MIAA with seven assists, fourth in points scored with 23 and sixth with eight goals scored this year.
She was the MIAA offensive player of the week on September 21 following her two-goal effort against Washburn.
Second-teamers Lynch, a senior midfielder, and Michaelis, a sophomore defender, lead Washburn's all-conference contingent while sophomore goalkeeper Raegan Wells and freshman forward Khloe Schuckman earned third-team honors and defender Mattie Miano and midfielder Charlie Taylor received honorable mention.
Central Missouri’s Kassie Newsom was selected as the MIAA’s offensive player of the year for the 2021 season. Newsom led the league with 43 points to help UCM win its second consecutive MIAA regular-season championship.
Her 13 assists led the MIAA while her 15 goals ranked second. Four of Newsom’s 15 goals were game-winning scores. The Jennies junior also ranked second in the league with 69 shots and 36 shots on goal. Newsom’s 13 assists are currently tied for first in Division II while her 43 total points rank second in the nation. This is Newsom’s second consecutive season earning All-MIAA honors.
Central Oklahoma’s Taryn Kedzior was tabbed the 2021 MIAA defensive player of the Year. Kedzior anchored the Bronchos' backline that finished regular-season competition with a league-high 10 shutouts.
Kedzior and the UCO defense allowed just 75 shots on goal and 17 goals, the second-fewest in the league. The Broncho junior accounted for a team-high 1,507 minutes on the field with 18 starts. This is Kedzior’s third consecutive All-MIAA honor
Voting for the MIAA goalkeeper of the year award ended in a tie between UCM’s Lindsey Johnson and UCO’s Kaitlyn Asher.
Asher started all 18 games in the net for the Bronchos for a total of 1,4030 minutes played. She ranked second in the league with just 15 goals allowed for a .944 goals against average. The Bronchos senior also ranked second in the MIAA with six shoutouts while her .805 save percentage ranked fourth. This is Asher’s second All-MIAA recognition.
Senior keeper Johnson helped the Jennies to their second consecutive regular-season championship with a total of 74 saves in 16 games for a .779 save percentage. In 1,458 minutes of action, Johnson allowed 21 goals and secured four shutouts. This is Johnson’s second consecutive season tabbing the association’ goalkeeper of the year honor.
The 2021 MIAA freshman of the year award went to Central Missouri’s Caroline Cole. Cole has started 17 games and totaled 1,324 minutes of play. She ranks third on the UCM squad with 15 points, six goals and three assists. She’s taken 49 shots this season with 23 falling on goal. Cole shares the team-high game-winning goals with Newsom at four.
Central Missouri's Lewis Theobald and Northwest Missouri’s Marc Gordon were selected as the MIAA’s co-coaches of the year by conference coaches.
The 2021 regular-season championship is the 12th of Theobald’s career as the Jennies have claimed 12 of the last 15 regular-season titles. This is Gordon’s first coach of the year honor since taking over the Northwest program in 2018. After being voted seventh in the MIAA preseason coaches poll, Gordon led the Bearcats to a third-place finish in the MIAA and set a program record with 12 wins on the season.
The MIAA tournament begins Sunday at campus sites with the semifinal and championship rounds to be played at the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals.
ALL-MIAA WOMEN'S SOCCER
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Seven Shawnee County high school football teams will continue their 2021 seasons on Friday with playoff contests.
Washburn Rural will host Free State in Class 6A, while Seaman will host Blue Valley Southwest and Shawnee Heights will travel to Mill Valley in 5A
Hayden will host Rock Creek in a 3A contest while Rossville will host Nemaha Central and Silver Lake will travel to St. Marys in 2A.
Cair Paravel will host Wichita Home School in a KCAA playoff game.
Here's a look at all seven games involving county schools:
CLASS 6A
FREE STATE (7-2) at WASHBURN RURAL (8-1)
FREE STATE -- This Free State offense has been a stellar unit under the leadership of coach Kevin Steward. The Firebirds have averaged 33.4 points a game this season. The Firebirds most notably defeated Mill Valley, 41-20, handing the Jaguars their only loss of the year. The last meeting between the Junior Blues and Firebirds was in 2016, with Free State taking a 17-14 victory.
WASHBURN RURAL -- The Junior Blues have one of the most complete teams in the area. The defense has allowed 20 or more points only once this season (Seaman). The offense is led by sophomore Branton DeWeese, who has excelled in his first season as the Junior Blues' quarterback. Sophomore JC Heim has been impressive at running back while senior Robby Bolin is a top-notch receiver for Rural, which earned a share of the Centennial League championship.
CLASS 5A
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Regardless of what happens this weekend in the Class 6A state tournament, Washburn Rural's soccer team has turned in an outstanding 2021 season, posting a perfect 18-0-0 record heading into Friday's state semifinal matchup with Blue Valley Northwest at Olathe's College Boulevard Activity Center.
But senior captain Joe Morse said the Junior Blues know there's still work to be done.
"There's always work to do,'' Morse said. "I'm just happy to keep playing with these guys. I just want to go out with my team and lets show the world what we've got.''
Washburn Rural, which made it to the 6A final four for the 14th time in school history, will take on 8-10-1 Blue Valley Northwest in Friday's 5 p.m. semifinal, followed by a 7 o'clock semifinal between Olathe West (11-7-1) and Wichita North (17-1-1).
The semifinal winners will advance to Saturday's 2 p.m. championship game, which will follow the 12 p.m. third-place game.
Washburn Rural advanced to the semifinals with a 6-1 quarterfinal win over Derby, never trailing after Morse scored 22 seconds into the game.
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THE PENNANT PLAYER PROFILE
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There were some stops along the way, but junior receiver Peter Afful is thankful that he eventually found his way to Washburn University.
After playing for Dirk Wedd at Lawrence High, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Afful had brief stops at Hutchinson Community College and Baker University and played a season for Coffeyville Community College before finding a home with the Ichabods.
After biding his time on the scout team in his first season at Washburn in 2019 and having the 2020 season canceled due to COVID-19, Afful has made up for lost time this season for the 7-2 Ichabods.
"It was a great decision,'' Afful said about coming to Washburn. "It was actually between Central Arkansas and here and Central Arkansas ended up keeping their walk-on receiver, so the decision was going to be of course Washburn after that.
"Coming in, Coach (Craig) Schurig gave me an opportunity to earn a spot and I earned it and I'm just running with it now.''
Afful is part of a talent Ichabod receiving corps that includes standouts James Letcher Jr. and Jace Williams, but Afful has 21 catches for 426 yards and leads the team with a 20.3-yard average per catch and is tied with Letcher for the team lead with seven receiving touchdowns. He also has 82 yards on just four rushing attempts.
"When you're on a team filled with great receivers such as Jace (Williams) and JJ Letcher your opportunities are somewhat limited and when you get those opportunities you've got to be sure to make the most of them and that's what I try to do,'' Afful said.