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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn was tapped for middle-of-the-pack finishes in both MIAA preseason football polls released Tuesday as part of the conference's Media Day activities at the Kansas City Convention Center.
The Ichabods were picked sixth in the coaches poll and seventh in the media poll after posting a 6-5 record in 2019 and having the 2020 season canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Washburn coach Craig Schurig said he never puts much stock in polls, noting that this year's projections were even more of a crapshoot due to the long layoff.
"You're probably (picked) the way the season was in 2019, maybe," Schurig said of the polls. "We feel good about our team, and obviously polls are polls and you get rewarded for past performance. We realize, 'Hey, we got some work to do.'
"You hope to use it as motivation. When people doubt you, it should motivate you to do higher things.''
Veteran Washburn University football coach Craig Schurig, flanked by Washburn University standouts Grant Bruner and Mitch Schurig, speaks at Tuesday's MIAA Media Day in Kansas City, Mo. [Photo by Rick Peterson]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
By the time Chris Ridley finished his first book on his high school football coach, Baldwin legend Merle Venable, his book on another one of his coaching idols, Washburn Rural's Ron Bowen, was already in the works.
Buoyed by the success of "Venable: Part Legend, All American,'' which was released last fall, Ridley almost immediately turned his focus to writing "Never Seen A Finer Day,'' which chronicles the long coaching career of Bowen, who compiled a record of 156-73 in 23 seasons as Rural’s head football coach with three Class 5A state championships in the 1980s and a 6A runner-up finish.
Ron Bowen, the subject of the biography "Never Seen a Finer Day,'' guided Washburn Rural to three Class 5A state football championships and a runner-up finish in 6A during his 23-year tenure at the school. [Submitted]
Longtime Washburn Rural football assistant and former Rural athletic director Chris Ridley is the author of "Never Seen A Finer Day,'' a biography on former Junior Blues football coach Ron Bowen. [Submitted]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks, TopSports.news will recognize hundreds of Shawnee County's all-time greats in 25 sports/categories as part of our Best of the Best project. Readers will have the opportunity to vote through July, with the Top 25 in all categories announced in August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on: https://linkto.run/p/0TG9IJG3. Email votes/nominations will also be accepted at
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Over the past couple of weeks TopSports.news has published ballots for its Best of the Best project in all of the Kansas State High School Activities Association-sanctioned sports that Shawnee County High Schools currently compete in.
But some of the top athletes in county history performed in athletic endeavors outside that realm.
Hayden product Margaret Thompson Murdock was a silver medalist in the 1976 Olympic Games as a shooter while Tom Bunger (Washburn Rural) and Caitlin Morrisey (Topeka West) also excelled in that sport.
Margaret Murdock
Steve Tilford
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden Catholic High School has announced its plans to launch the Hayden Hall of Fame.
The Hall of Fame will recognize individuals in four categories -- alumni achievement, student athletic/activity achievement, staff achievement and contributor.
"Individuals will be recognized for achievements that are noteworthy and deserving of recognition,'' Hayden stated in a press release. "These individuals will serve as role models and examples of achievement to future students, staff and supporters.''
Hayden and the Hayden High School Foundation serve as the sponsoring organizations of the Hall of Fame.
Nominations for the 2021 class will be accepted throughJuly 31, 2021, and may be submitted by anyone.
Nominee notifications and announcements for the 2021 inaugural Hall of Fame will take place in mid-September.
A Hall of Fame dinner will take place on Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Requests for a nomination form can be sent to
Related Stories and Videos
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EDITOR'S NOTE: Over the coming weeks, TopSports.news will recognize hundreds of Shawnee County's all-time greats in 25 sports/categories as part of our Best of the Best project. Readers will have the opportunity to vote through July, with the Top 25 in all categories announced in August. To cast a vote for the Best of the Best, click on: https://linkto.run/p/7NGNFB5L. Email votes/nominations will also be accepted at
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Women's wrestling is relatively new in Kansas at the high school and college level, but Shawnee County wrestlers have already made their mark in the sport.
Washburn Rural has won the state team championship both seasons since the Kansas State High School Activities Association made women's wrestling an official sport while Shawnee County competitors have already captured four individual titles.
Recent Rural grad Dajia Anderson won state titles in both her state appearances while her teammate, Rebekah Smith, added her first state crown as a senior after placing third as a junior.
Dajia Anderson
Rebekah Smith
Kendra Hurla
