- Details
By RICK PETERSON JR.
KSHSAA Covered
The Washburn Rural girls soccer team left no stone unturned in prepping for every scenario during its pursuit of the program’s first state title.
Washburn Rural soccer rushes the field at the end of Saturday's win over Mill Valley in the Class 6A championship game. [Photo by Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered]
Washburn Rural soccer celebrates Saturday's win over Mill Valley in the Class 6A championship game. [Photo by Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered]
That included meticulous work on penalty kicks throughout this playoff run.
“I learned my lesson about a decade ago,” Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel said. “Our boys got into a shootout in 2015. We hadn’t practiced penalty kicks at all, and we lost. Every playoff run, boys or girls, for the last 10 years, we do (penalty kicks) every practice.”
So after 100 minutes of scoreless soccer in Saturday’s Class 6A state championship game against Mill Valley at Stryker Sports Complex, Hensyel felt reasonably confident about his team’s chances.
“It’s random,” Hensyel said of PKs. “But if you have a great goalkeeper, which we do, and you have confident kids who practice it and put in the time, you feel as good as you can in that situation.
“I told them: ‘Madison Lemke is going to save two. All we have to do is make our shots and this is over.”
Indeed, Rural was nearly flawless in the shootout, beating Mill Valley 4-1 on penalty kicks to break through for its long-awaited championship with a 1-0 win.
As Hensyel predicted, Lemke made two saves, and the Junior Blues converted on all four kicks with goals from Dayne Shriver, Kate Hinck, Delaney Hill and Bristol Karr.
“I come at it with confidence, because there’s no way you’re going to do well without confidence,” Lemke said. “There’s so much adrenaline and I’m trusting my team to do their part. All I can do is just do mine and make some saves.”
“That’s as good as you can do in a shootout,” Hensyel said. “We did a lot of drills to see who’s the most accurate and who hits the most shots, and who wanted to take it – that’s part of the mental aspect. The practice paid off. We picked the right group.”
Washburn Rural senior Madison Lemke comes up with a save in Saturday's win over Mill Valley in the Class 6A championship game. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]
Washburn Rural senior Bristol Karr scored the game-clinching penalty kick in Saturday's win over Mill Valley in the Class 6A championship game. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]
Ava Edwards scored on Mill Valley’s first attempt to knot it at 1-1 but Lemke blocked the Jaguars’ next two attempts. Karr’s goal was the clincher.
“I can just kind of feel where it’s going,” Lemke said. “Once I saved the (second attempt) I was like, ‘Ok, I got this.’ I heard the whole crowd cheering behind me. It’s just amazing to have that much support.”
“Madison is amazing," Rural senior forward Kate Hinck said. “She's out of this world.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WICHITA – Hayden made a valiant attempt at ending Bishop Miege’s dynasty in Class 4-1A soccer, but the Stags outlasted the Wildcats 2-1 in double overtime to extend their title strike to nine.
Hayden soccer receives its Class 4A-1A runnerup trophy and medals after Saturday's 2-1 double-overtime loss to Bishop Miege. [Photo by Mac Moore/KSHSAA Covered]
The Wildcats struck first 10 minutes into the game when freshman Hailey Schmidtlein scored off an assist from junior Carsyn Broxterman.
Hayden celebrates freshman Hailey Schmidtlein's early goal in Saturday's 2-1 double-overtime loss to Bishop Miege. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./KSHSAA Covered]
Junior goalkeeper Lauren Borjon and Hayden’s defenders made that lead stand up until 13:50 left in the second half when Miege’s Kristina Eskrine converted on a penalty kick after Hayden was called for a handball in the box off a corner kick.
Miege capitalized on a corner again to score the winning goal two minutes into the second overtime. Rowan Epps headed in a perfectly-placed kick from Gaby Calderon to end it.
Hayden junior Carsyn Broxterman (4) battles for the ball in Saturday's 2-1 double-overtime loss to Bishop Miege in the Class 4A-1A state title game. [Photo by Rick Peterson Jr./TSN]
“Our effort was good, our performance was good,” Hayden coach Klaus Kreutzer told KSHSAA Covered. “We were unlucky on the handball to give them the PK, but give (the Stags) credit. You have to play your best in order to compete with them.
“It wasn’t for a lack of effort on our team. We were prepared and we’re looking forward to being back here next year.”
After Schmidtlein’s early goal, opportunities were limited for Hayden, but the Wildcats hung tough on defense against a Miege squad that handed them a 4-0 loss early in the season.
“(Scoring early) gave us a pretty good boost of confidence and helped us finish the first half,” Kreutzer said. “As much as they attacked, I think we defended very well back there.
“Miege is tough to defend. They put the ball where their runners are and that’s how they make the connection.”
- Details
By KYLE MANTHE
TopSports.news
For a second season in a row Silver Lake breezed to a Class 3A state softball championship game appearance.
Senior Silver Lake standout Kendra Cook holds the Class 3A runnerup trophy after Friday's 2-1 championship game loss to Frontenac. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But for a second year in a row they ran into winners of three of the last four state titles, Frontenac, on Friday evening as they fell 2-1 in nine innings.
The Eagles won an 8-0 semifinal game over No. 3 Burlington to begin the day and were tied 1-1 with the top-seeded Raiders after seven innings in the finale.
The game-winning run came in the ninth for Frontenac to knock off the No. 7 seed Silver Lake 2-1 and thwart the upset bid.
“They played hard. Like I said before everyone wants to win the title but if they leave it all on the field that’s all I can ask for and these seniors left it on the field,” said Silver Lake coach Nick Hamilton. “They’re (Frontenac) just disciplined, she (head coach Cassie Rhuems) obviously has a good process in place and they stick to it.”
Game 1 of the day for the Eagles was highlighted by a no-hitter from standout senior Kendra Cook in the 8-0 affair.
Silver Lake took advantage of a pair of errors by Burlington, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout by senior Kira Lowrey in the third inning.
Lowrey came through again in the fifth inning, blasting a two-out double, scoring Hanni to double to lead.
Back-to-back doubles from sophomore Savanah Wende and junior Taylor Swygert plated a pair in the sixth to make it 4-0. The lead doubled once again in the seventh, with Silver Lake scoring two runs on errors before junior Paige Heiman hit a no-doubter to left field to go up by eight.
While the bats came alive in the final innings, Cook continued to cook on the mound.
Silver Lake senior standout Kendra Cook pitched a no-hitter in an 8-0 semifinal victory over Burlington. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Washburn signee extended her scoreless streak at the state tournament to 16.0 innings. She finished striking out 13 with just three walks in the no-hit effort.
“She’s confident. There are times there where she gets that full count and she’s confident in her teammates making plays behind her ... when you trust your fielders behind you then you can throw a lot easier,” Hamilton said.
It was more of the same for Cook in the title game with two scoreless innings. Her first run allowed of the tournament came in the third on a solo home run from the Raiders' standout senior pitcher Avery Johnson.
That was the games only run until Silver Lake loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth. Singles from Kailyn Hanni and Lowrey put two on and Zordel was hit to juice the bases. Cook grounded back on the infield but the throw home was bobbled, allowing Hanni to score and tie the game.
With no outs the Eagles were unable to scratch across a second run and take the lead.
Cook sent the game to extras with a 1-2-3 seventh. In the eighth Silver Lake had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out but hit into an inning-ending double play.
A one-out walk from Frontenac in the ninth moved to 2nd on a passed ball before coming around to score on a walk-off single by Raider senior Ella Sullivan to left field.
“It’s incredible what this group has done because everybody in our lineup 1-9 has produced something big for us all season and that’s what’s so special about this group,” said Frontenac coach Cassie Rhuems after winning her fifth title with the Raiders, all coming since 2016. “It’s great to go win one but when you go back-to-back you’re really making a statement about your team and your program.”
Silver Lake ended the game out-hitting Frontenac 8-1 while the Raiders led in errors 2-1. Cook finished with five strikeouts while at the plate Lowrey had three hits in the game and Wende had two.
- Details
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
WICHITA - On Day 1 of the KSHSAA State Track Meet at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium, several local boys competed in preliminary races in an attempt to qualify for the finals on Saturday. There were also some field event finals on Friday.
Qualifiers for Saturday’s Finals
Senior Ben Roeder of Cair Paravel qualified fifth in the Class 2A 400 meters with a time of 50.40 seconds.
Senior Evan Scheid of Silver Lake qualified second in the 3A 200 meters in a time of 22.32 seconds.
Silver Lake’s 4x100-meter relay team (Brandon Rupp, Evan Scheid, Joel Miller and Trent Rollenhagen) qualified fourth in 43.46 seconds.
Seaman senior Bryce Cochran qualified fifth in the 5A 400 meters in a time of 49.04 seconds.
Shawnee Heights senior Liam Benz qualified seventh in the 400 meters with a time of 49.86 seconds.
Washburn Rural senior Braylon Badger qualified fifth in the 300 meter hurdles in a time of 40.40 seconds.
Washburn Rural junior Liam Morrison qualified second in the 110 meter hurdles in a time of 14.64 seconds. He also qualified third in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 40.05 seconds.
Washburn Rural senior Isaiah Terry qualified fourth in the 400 meters in a time of 49.32 seconds.
Washburn Rural junior Draden Chooncharoen competes in the Class 6A 4x400 relay prelims Friday night in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural’s 4x400 meter relay team (Matthew Houser, Liam Morrison, Draden Choonchareon, Isaiah Terry) qualified second with a time of 3:22.61.
Medalists from Friday’s Finals
Seaman senior Peyton Holmes finished sixth in the Class 5A long jump Friday in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Peyton Holmes finished sixth in the 5A long jump with a distance of 22 feet, 1 inch.
Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman finished fifth in Friday's Class 5A 3,200 meters at Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West senior Adrian Lehman finished fifth in the 6A 3,200 meters with a time of 9:18.60.
Washburn Rural junior Brooks Kehoe finished fifth in Friday's Class 6A 3,200 meters at Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Brooks Kehoe finished fifth in the 3,200 meters with a time of 9:20.97.
The remaining events will be contested beginning Saturday morning at 8:30 with the preliminaries for the 100 meters for girls and boys.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Seaman junior Ryin Miller was content to let her friendly rival, Salina Central senior star Katelyn Rupe, set the early face in Friday night's Class 5A girls 3,200 meters at Cessna Stadium.
And although there were times in the race where Miller thought she might be letting Rupe too far ahead, the Seaman star relied on her 57-second quarter mile speed when it counted the most, overtaking Rupe on the final lap, winning her first 3,200 title in 10 minutes, 19.53 seconds while three-time 3,200 champ Rupe was second in 10:22.11.
Seaman junior Ryin Miller crosses the finish line in the Class 5A 3,200 meters Friday night at Cessna Stadium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] b]in cV
Ryin Miller and Salina Central's Katelyn Rupe exchange a hug after Friday night's Class 5A 3,200 race in Wichita. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I didn't really want to lead too much,'' Miller said. "That takes a lot out of you when you lead, so I didn't really want to do that. I figured Katelyn would want to get out and push the pace just because she knows she's super fit and I know she's super fit so I thought her race strategy going into it would be to just be to try to run it out of me. And, honestly, I really thought she was going to do that.
"Going into the first mile she looked really strong and I was already struggling, so I was a little bit worried especially just knowing what a competitor Katelyn is and how much she really brings it at the state meet so I was just, 'Hang on, just hang on,' and trying to be positive about it, just like, 'You've got this, it's only four more laps.' ''
Miller began to gradually cut into Rupe's lead over the second mile and made her big move on the final lap, passing Rupe with about 200 meters remaining.
"(The gap) just kept getting smaller and smaller and I was, 'Ok, one lap, just give it everything you've got and see what happens,' and luckily it came out in my favor.''
