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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 3-ranked Washburn University men opened MIAA play with a bang Thursday night, recording the largest margin of victory in the 50-game series with Nebraska-Kearney in an 87-52 road win.
Washburn sophomore Jack Bachelor scored 19 points to lead the way in the Ichabods' 87-52 win at Nebraska-Kearney Thursday night. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods (8-0 overall, 1-0 MIAA) trailed 3-0 after the Lopers (1-6, 0-1) hit a long jumper. Then, after a 3-pointer by WU's Jack Bachelor tied the score, the Lopers took a 5-3 lead, but the Ichabods used a 17-1 run over the next 6:07 of the contest to take a 20-6 lead as Washburn was 7 of 10 during the stretch while the Ichabod defense held the Lopers to 0-7 shooting from the field.
The Lopers used an 8-0 run to cut Washburn's lead to 28-10 with 7:17 to play in the first half before Washburn used another double-digit run, outscoring the Lopers 10-0 to go up 20 before taking a 44-26 lead into the break.
Bachelor hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to push Washburn's lead to 23.
The Lopers connected on two more jumpers before the Ichabods ripped off another big run of 17-3, going up by 33 with 8:57 left.
After the final media timeout, Bachelor connected on another 3-pointer and Jake Schadegg hit two treys of his own 28 seconds apart, giving Washburn its 11th 3-pointer on the evening as the Ichabods rolled to the 35-point win.
The 35-point win topped the previous series victory margin of 31 in an 89-58 win over the Lopers on Jan. 16, 2019 in Topeka.
Washburn snapped a three-game MIAA-opener losing streak with the win over the Lopers, recording its first win in its league lid-lifter since 2020.
Bachelor's 19 points was a game high as the Washburn Rural product finished 5 of 8 from 3-point range.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Despite a 31-point night from Payton Sherk and a gutsy effort, the short-handed Washburn women's basketball team came up short in its conference opener Thursday evening, falling 66-61 on the road to Nebraska-Kearney.
Washburn junior Payton Sterk scored 31 points and hit five 3-pointers in Thursday's 66-61 MIAA loss at Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods played without injured starters Yibari Nwidadah and Madelyn Amekporfor, but were still within one possession of the Lopers until the final seconds.
The Lopers (7-2 overall, 1-0 MIAA) scored the first five points of the contest as Washburn (4-5, 0-1) was held scoreless until Emporia Rebecca Snyder got free for a layup at the 7:10 mark of the first quarter.
A pair of 3-pointers, first from Aniah Wayne and then Sterk, put the Ichabods in front 10-7 with 4:03 to play in the quarter.
In the final minutes Nebraska Kearney finished on a 10-2 run to lead 17-12 after one.
The first four points of the second quarter came from Washburn to pull within one.
WU was able to tie the game up at 19 after Snyder connected on a triple.
The Ichabods briefly went up in the final minute before half as Sterk scored two of her 15 first-half points on a jumper. A late bucket from the Lopers tied the game at 31 going into the break.
After Washburn scored the first two points out of the break the next nine went to Nebraska Kearney.
The lead reached as high as nine points as the Lopers shot 8-15 (53.3 percent) in the quarter before Sterk had the final seven points of the quarter for the Ichabods as they trailed 51-43 with 10 minutes to go.
Washburn was scoreless for the first two minutes of the first quarter but quickly went on a 10-2 run and tied the game at 53 after Sterk knocked down a triple with 5:48 to play.
Brooke Gomez connected on a pair of free throws to tie things back up under the five-minute mark but the next five points went to the Lopers.
Defense created opportunities, as UNK shot just 3-13 in the quarter, and Sterk drained two more 3-pointers in the final three minutes to pull within two each time.
Nebraska-Kearney was able to respond each time, as the Lopers held onto the lead, shooting 8-12 at the line in the quarter to take the five-point victory.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Washburn University volleyball will continue to dance in the NCAA Tournament after knocking off No. 5 nationally ranked Nebraska-Kearney in five sets on Thursday in a Central Region quarterfinal.
No. 6 seed Washburn volleyball celebrates its final point in Thursday's five-set NCAA tournament win over No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn's bench takes the court to celebrate Thursday's win over Nebraska-Kearney with its teammates. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will face either Central Oklahoma or Southwest Minnesota State at 4 p.m. on Friday in the Central Region semifinals.
Thursday's win was WU's first of the season over Nebraska-Kearney after two regular-season losses to the Lopers, with the Ichabods taking a 20-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-18, 15-13 decision.
"It was fun, wasn't it,'' veteran Washburn coach Chris Herron said in the post-match press conference. "I'm sure it was fun if you were sitting in the stands, but I'm up here shaking.
"We played them that way last time, too. Last time we lost in five, 15-12, so I'm very excited for my team.''
The first set went in the 30-3 Lopers' favor, 25-20, before 21-7 Washburn flipped the score in the second to even the match.
Nebraska Kearney went back up, winning 25-21 in the third set, but the Ichabods forced a fifth set with a 25-18 win in the fourth.
After trailing 7-1 to begin the final set Washburn rallied to win 15-13 and knock off UNK.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Thirty-one Washburn Rural and Topeka High football players have received All-Centennial League recognition, including nine first-team selections.
Washburn Rural senior Lafayette Thompson earned All-Centennial League first-team honors at both wide receiver and returner. [File photo/TSN]
Rural is represented on the first team by senior Lafayette Thompson, who made the team at wide receiver and returner along with senior offensive linemen Caden Estrada and Jacob Hawks, senior defensive lineman Baron Blankenship, senior linebacker Connor Danielson, senior defensive back Kingston Leonard and junior offensive back TJ Minikwu.
Senior running back Tevante Ewing (25) earned All-Centennial League first-team honors for Topeka High. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka High put senior offensive back Tevante Ewing and junior Malichi Murph on the first team.
Trojan senior Jayden Norman received all-league recognition at three positions, receiving second-team honors at wide receiver and kicker and honorable mention at punter.
2024 ALL-CENTENNIAL LEAGUE FOOTBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
When Washburn Rural had a vacancy for a girls swimming coach back in 2020, veteran coach Bob Burdick stepped in for the Junior Blues.
Senior Luke Lemke (front) led Washburn Rural to a third-place team finish in Wednesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
This winter is deja vu all over again for Burdick, who took over the reins of the Rural boys program after Janson Garman stepped down.
"He graduated from college and got a job,'' Burdick said. "I hoped Janson would stay because he had a lot of energy and he's a young coach and I want to see these young coaches move up because people like me, we're going to be retiring. But he just couldn't do it.''
Burdick had put together a long coaching career in Missouri before retiring in that state and moving over to Washburn Rural, where he teaches history and eventually took on the girls coaching position.
And as fate would have it, the timing worked out perfectly this winter for Burdick to take on the added responsibility of coaching both Rural teams.
"About two or three years ago I told our athletic director (Charlie Nimz) that I couldn't do this (coach the boys) because I used to coach the boys and the girls back in Missouri and when I took the girls my wife said, 'Promise me you're not going to take the boys until our last son's in college,' '' Burdick said.
"Well, he's at K-State now, so she said, 'You can do whatever the heck you want with swimming now, so enjoy.' Charlie came to me and said, 'Are you going to do this?' And I was like, 'Yes, I'm going to do it,' so that's how it all went down.''
Burdick's Washburn Rural boys team made its debut in Wednesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational at the Capitol Federal Natatorium, posting a third-place finish.
"I'm enjoying it,'' Burdick said. "I love swimming, so I enjoy watching these guys swim, I enjoy the races. We had a lot of surprises tonight for our team and there's a lot of great teams out here and I love seeing all the other coaches.
"This has been a great start and it was getting the bugs out for everybody.''
Washburn Rural suffered heavy graduation losses, including state champions Brogan Meier and Jack Miranda, off last year's team that tied for third in Class 6A, but Burdick said the team is coming around.
"It's going to take awhile, but we can see it on the horizon,'' he said.
Luke Lemke led Rural in Wednesday's opener, placing second in the 200-yard individual medley (2 minutes, 10.90 seconds) and the 100 backstroke (58.98) while also swimming on the Junior Blues' third-place 200 medley relay (1:49.96) and fourth-place 400 free relay (3:40.96).
Lemke teamed with Castle Wallace, Alexander Lanterman and Andres Morao-Jaspe on the 200 medley relay and with Morao-Jaspe, Thomas Appuhn and Joseph Jensen on the 400 free relay.
Rural's foursome of Wallace, Ethan Overbey, Lanterman and Jensen posted a third-place finish in the 200 free relay (1:42.93) while Wallace finished third in the 100 breaststroke (1:08.19).
Topeka High's Dawson Blankenship posted a third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly in Wednesday's 11-school Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka High finished sixth as a team, led by Dominic Delgado (209.65) and Malichi Delgado (166.70), who went one-two in one-meter diving. The Trojans also got a third-place finish from Dawson Blankenship in the 100 butterfly (1:00.40).
Shawnee Heights senior Truman Brede posted a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle in Wednesday's Topeka West Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights' Evan Hoobler finished third in the 100-yard freestyle in the Topeka West Invitational on Wednesday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights got a third-place finish from Truman Brede in the 200 freestyle (2:02.51) and a third from Evan Hoobler in the 100 free (53.02).
TOPEKA WEST INVITATIONAL
