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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Elijah Brooks
ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West
Brooks, a returning All-Shawnee County first-team pick, opened his senior season with a game-high 32-point performance, including four first-half dunks, as Topeka West's boys basketball team took a 69-57 Centennial League victory over Washburn Rural last Friday night at West.
Connor Deffebaugh
CONNOR DEFFEBAUGH, Washburn University
Deffebaugh, a 6-3 sophomore guard from Fayetteville, Ark., scored a career-high 19 points, including the game-winning basket with two seconds remaining, as Washburn University edged Nebraska-Kearney, 79-77, last Saturday at Lee Arena. Deffebaugh also was credited with five assists and two steals as Washburn evened its record at 4-4.
BRENNON DODGE, Shawnee Heights
A sophomore guard, Dodge scored a game-high and career-high 33 points and hit seven 3-pointers as Shawnee Heights opened its 2021-2022 boys basketball season with a 74-37 non-league victory over Bishop Seabury last Friday at Heights.
Allison Maxwell
ALLISON MAXWELL, Washburn University
A senior middle hitter, Maxwell registered 14 kills with a scorching .500 hitting percentage and was a part of eight blocks, including two solos, as Washburn earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-19 win over Concordia-St. Paul in last Saturday's Central Region championship match in Warrensburg, Mo. Maxwell earned All-Central Region honors.
Allison Sadler
ALLISON SADLER, Washburn University
Sadler, a senior setter, recorded 39 assists and six digs as fifth-seeded Washburn advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-19 win over Concordia-St. Paul in last Saturday's Central Region championship match at Warrensburg, Mo. Sadler earned All-Central Region honors.
Jacob Tangpricha
JACOB TANGPRICHA, Washburn Rural
A two-time Class 6A state champion, Tangpricha opened his senior season with the 126-pound championship in last Saturday's Leavenworth Challenger tournament, helping Washburn Rural win the team title by a 351.5-278 margin over Free State. Tangpricha went 4-0 on the day, including a pin over Lawrence senior Kevin Honas in the championship match.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's volleyball team has been installed as the No. 3 seed for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight Tournament, which will get under way Thursday in Tampa, Fla.
The Central Region champions will face No. 6 seed West Texas A&M in a national quarterfinal match at 11 a.m. (Topeka time) on Thursday at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on the campus of the University of Tampa..
The Ichabods are ranked sixth in the nation and will take a 29-5 record into their quarterfinal match.
Washburn celebrates its NCAA Division II Central Region volleyball championship Saturday night in Warrensburg, Mo. The Ichabods are the No. 3 seed for the Elite Eight tournament in Tampa, Fla. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn claimed the NCAA Central Region title with wins over No. 10-ranked Winona State and No. 1 Central Missouri in four sets and a sweep over No. 15 Concordia-St. Paul in Saturday night's championship match.
Washburn has faced West Texas A&M six times since 1989 and WU leads the series, 4-2.
The two teams last met on Sept. 14, 2019, with the Ichabods sweeping the Lady Buffs, 25-22, 25-22 and 25-14.
West Texas A&M (26-4) earned a trip to the NCAA national tournament with wins over No. 8 Colorado School of Mines, No. 22 Texas-Tyler and No. 3 Metropolitan State-Denver.
In the regional championship match, the Lady Buffs completed the reverse sweep over the Roadrunners, winning 18-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-18 and 15-8.
Washburn is 2-2 all-time in the national tournament and advanced to the semifinals in 2007 and 2018.
All four national quarterfinals will be played on Thursday, followed by the semifinals on Friday and the championship match on Saturday.
Other quarterfinal matches will pit No. 7 Daemen vs. No. 2 Western Washington at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, followed by No. 4 Hillcrest vs. No. 5 Gannon at 4 p.m. and No. 8 Augusta vs. No. 1 Tampa at 6:30 p.m.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's been a while since Ben Meseke and Rick Strecker, who combined to win an amazing 17 state championships in four sports, left Hayden Catholic High School.
But then again, the coaching greats, who both now live in the Kansas City area, never really left.
Meseke and Strecker were back on campus Saturday night as part of the first class of inductees into the Hayden Hall of Fame and said as soon as they walked through the front doors of the school they knew there were home.
"They wanted some pictures so I was looking through yearbooks and then you walk in the doors and I feel my classmates from the '70s and I feel the students who I taught and all the wonderful people that I worked with,'' said Strecker, who filled a variety of roles at Hayden, including serving as the school's president for nearly two decades.
Meseke said he can't think about Hayden, and his two decades-plus at the school, without getting a flutter in his heart.
"It's never left,'' Meseke said. "I don't get it, it's there.''
Hayden Hall of Fame inductee Ben Meseke receives a hug from Leslie Miller, longtime companion of the late Willie Nicklin, a Topeka coaching legend, during Saturday's ceremonies. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Inductee Rick Strecker visits with former Hayden player Shelly (Meseke) Good while holding his granddaughter, Tori Wiedel, during Saturday's Hayden Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Meseke and Strecker were inducted Saturday night along with the late Ken Bueltel, former Wildcat star player Mark Turgeon and Ken McGarity.
Strecker was inducted for alumni achievement, Meseke and Bueltel for staff achievement, Turgeon for student athletic/activity achievement and McGarity as a Hayden contributor.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The goal for Washburn University's volleyball team in Saturday's NCAA Division II Central Region final, as it has been all season, was to never think about anything but what was right in front of the Ichabods.
But Washburn can now afford to think just a little bit about the future, like what to pack for Tampa.
Continuing an impressive season and an even more impressive regional performance, Washburn earned its second trip to the Elite Eight since 2018 with a dominating 25-22, 25-20, 25-19 sweep over Concordia-St. Paul.
"It's such a cliche to say, 'Take it one at a time, one point at a time,' and all that kind of stuff, but we preached that the entire week leading up to this tournament,'' Washburn coach Chris Herron told TopSports.news in a phone interview. "We just wanted to play in the moment and not worry about the end result and the end result will take care of itself if you just play in the moment and take care of the moment.
"We didn't let ourselves think about winning the championship until we won the championship.''
Washburn celebrates its NCAA Division II Central Region volleyball championship Saturday night in Warrensburg, Mo. [Photo by Andrew Mather/MatherPhotos.com]
Now the 29-5 Ichabods, who won the regional title as the No. 5 seed, will start getting ready for the Elite Eight, which will be played in Tampa, Fla. next Thursday through Saturday.
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Entering the weekend at 1-5 on the year Washburn women’s basketball was looking for answers as they wrapped up the first week of MIAA play against No. 21 Nebraska-Kearney.
And like it has all season the basket closed in the second half and leads slipped away late, with the Lopers taking a 49-43 victory Saturday at Lee Arena.
“It’s just so hard because we are trying to catch a win, and the bottom line is there are no moral victories,” said Washburn coach Ron McHenry.
Washburn got off to a fast start offensively, scoring nine in the first three and a half minutes to take a lead, led by five points from freshman Mackenzie Gamble. Five turnovers in the quarter for the Ichabods derailed the fast start as they stumbled into a 16-11 deficit after 10 minutes.
Washburn senior Hunter Bentley works around a Nebraska-Kearney defender in Saturday's 49-43 Ichabod loss to the Lopers. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/TSN]
The defense from both sides was strong to start the second quarter but Washburn’s was able to break free late, going on a 7-0 run over three possessions. It was capped off with the second and-one basket of the quarter by senior Hunter Bentley, giving the Ichabods a lead. They would carry it into halftime, leading 27-26.
“Our defense and our offense are much better when we are pressuring up and being able to get in transition because that is what we are good at,” Bentley said.
