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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's two-time defending state-champion girls wrestling team officially starts its stretch run in Saturday's Centennial League tournament.
And the Junior Blues probably couldn't have picked a better way to tune up than with an impressive performance in the largest girls wresting tournament in the state, Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational.
With individual champions Alexis Fredrickson and JaliahJohnson leading the way and six Junior Blues posting top-four finishes, Washburn Rural won the team championship by a 293-175.5 margin over Burlington in a tournament that included 32 schools, approximately 280 competitors, seven state-ranked teams, 46 individually-ranked wrestlers and a Rural gym full of fans.
Washburn Rural senior Jaliah Johnson (left) won the 155-pound championship in Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational, helping lead the Junior Blues to the team title. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior Alexis Fredrickson stands atop the medal stand after winning the 132-pound title in Saturday's Washburn Rural Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I'm not even claustrophobic, but when everybody came in I was like, 'I feel a bit claustrophobic,' '' Johnson said. "I was just like, 'Dang, there's a lot of people here.' ''
But Frederickson said the atmosphere made for an extremely enjoyable experience.
"Oh my gosh, the energy and just all of the people and everyone on the team being able to wrestle, the combination of it all was insane,'' Fredrickson said.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Rossville's girls topped host Jefferson County North 57-41 on Saturday to win the tournament championship in the Jefferson County North Invitational.
Rossville's girls basketball team posed for a team picture after winning the tournament championship in the Jefferson County North Invitational Saturday. [Twitter]
The Bulldawgs jumped out to a 14-8 advantage in the first quarter and took a nine-point (26-17) lead at the half.
Jefferson County North used a 16-15 third quarter to cut the Bulldawgs' lead to 41-33 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Rossville closed with a 16-8 scoring edge over the final eight minutes to take the 16-point victory.
Senior Caylee Douglas led the Bulldawgs with 14 points while sophomore Kinley Porter added 13 points with three 3-pointers and sophomore Kinsey Perine had 12 points with a pair of 3s.
Sophomore Emma Mitchell scored eight points Saturday and was named to the all-tournament team along with Perine.
SPRING HILL GIRLS 55, HAYDEN 47 -- Hayden put itself in position to win the Top Gun Invitational championship on Saturday in Wellsville before foul problems and a strong fourth quarter by Spring Hill foiled the Wildcats' title bid.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The Washburn Rural Junior Blues topped themselves yet again.
Friday night Washburn Rural 's girls earned a big win over previously-undefeated and Class 6A No. 3-ranked Derby and on Saturday Rural defeated 6A's No. 1-ranked team, previously undefeated, Shawnee Mission West, 47-38.
“I stayed up a little late last night,” said Lady Blues coach Kevin Bordewick. “We never played a team like (Shawnee Mission West). They are really good. They run their offense a little unique, what they did on offense was new to us, and we haven’t run into a zone that lengthy.”
Washburn Rural’s continuous hot starts in the tournament were a big key to the Junior Blues becoming the champions. Rural never trailed in the scoring column in any quarter of any game in the tournament.
Washburn Rural poses for a team picture after winning the championship in the Lady Firebirds Winter Classic at Lawrence Free State. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Lady Blues senior guard Emma Krueger had an unforgettable weekend in Lawrence.
Krueger’s defense against the best players in the state of Kansas boosted the Lady Blues past Leavenworth, Derby and Shawnee Mission West and Krueger’s efforts earned her the Lady Firebirds Winter Classic Most Valuable Player honor.
Senior Emma Krueger was named the most valuable player in the Lady Firebirds Winter Classic after helping lead Washburn Rural to the tournament championship. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
“This MVP award means a lot to me,” Krueger stated. “It means I’m doing my job well and doing all of the little things for (Rural). I think it’s important to make other people look good. If I do my job, work my butt off on defense, get boards, it helps everyone else.”
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Winners of six of the last seven games, Washburn men’s basketball wrapped up its four-game homestand Saturday with a matchup against No. 9-ranked University of Central Oklahoma.
The Ichabods did not let up as they took control early and led for 38:20 en route to a 96-86 MIAA victory, the highest point total for the team this season.
“We got some confidence right now which is great to see, and we are playing as well as we have played all year so we are going in the right direction,” Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. “All of our goals are still ahead of us, everything we wanted to accomplish is still there.”
The win moved Washburn to 13-7 on the season and 10-4 in MIAA play and Saturday was the team's seventh win in the last eight games.
The Ichabods began the game shooting 11 of 19 from the field in the first 10 minutes.
Sophomore Connor Deffebaugh scored seven early points, the last of which coming off a steal gave Washburn a 26-16 lead at the 10:20 mark in the first half.
The Bronchos were making baskets but the Ichabods kept responding, with 3-pointers from senior Jeremy Harrell and junior Jalen Lewis helping WU maintaining a three-possession lead.
Jalen Lewis scored a team-high 23 points as Washburn knocked off No. 9-ranked Central Oklahoma 96-86 on Saturday at Lee Arena. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Lewis continued to roll, knocking down two jumpers in the final five minutes until the lead grew to double digits at the 1:06 mark after junior forward Jonny Clausing converted a three-point play. A late three by Harrell made it a 48-33 game at halftime.
“I thought we were great in the first half especially, our defensive effort was really good, that is a hard team to guard,” Ballard said. “That was as good defensively as we have been all year and then offensively the thing that’s good for us now is we can just come at you with so many guys.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There were a lot of tense moments in Saturday's Capital City Classic championship tilt between Topeka High and Wichita Heights, with the Trojans having to fight back after letting a 17-point lead get away while the game included 10 lead changes and was a one-point contest with less than three minutes left.
Topeka High junior standout Kiki Smith said she cherished every minute of it, especially after the No. 4-ranked Trojans escaped with a 65-57 win over the Falcons at Topeka High.
"I love games like that,'' Smith said. "Games like that are so fun -- the intensity, the crowd, everything about is just so fun.''
Topeka High celebrates at the end of Saturday's 65-57 win over Wichita Heights in the championship game of the Capital City Classic. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Trojans, who improved to a perfect 12-0 on the season, looked like they might run away with the win after doubling up the 9-3 Falcons 14-7 in the first quarter and going in front 24-7 with 4:35 left in the first half.
Topeka High was still up 31-22 at the half, but the Falcons opened the second half with an 11-0 run to take a 33-31 lead midway through the third quarter/
Trojan senior standout Tae Thomas scored High's first points of the third quarter on a 3-pointer at the 3:34 mark, the first of five straight lead changes before the Trojans took a slim 40-39 advantage into the fourth quarter.
A 5-0 mini-run -- two points by Smith and three by Thomas -- gave the Trojans 45-39 advantage with 5:20 remaining and High held on the rest of the way.
"This group never quits, they never stop and they always persevere,'' Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander said. "Their team chemistry is thick and they mess up, but do something phenomenal to get it right back.
"I love their no-quit mentality and just their tougness. You can't coach that.''
Wichita Heights got within a point (51-50) with 3:29 left, but Topeka High used an 11-1 run to put the Falcons away.
"We knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy,'' Smith said of Heights' second-half rally. "They were down at half and we knew exactly what they were going to do.
"We came out slow but I'm really happy with the way we responded after seeing the way they came out and how we responded to that.''
![Topeka High's Kiki Smith (23) and DayShauna Wiley go to the floor to battle Wichita Heights' Zyanna Walker for a loose ball in Saturday's Capital City Classic championship game at Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]](/images/2024/08/THighscramble.jpg)
Topeka High's Kiki Smith (23) and DayShauna Wiley go to the floor to battle Wichita Heights' Zyanna Walker for a loose ball in Saturday's Capital City Classic championship game at Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka High senior Tae Thomas (15) battles Wichita Heights' Mya Mayberry for the ball in Saturday's Capital City Classic championship game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Smith led Topeka High with 20 points, including a seven of eight performance at the free throw line, while also grabbing nine rebounds and coming up with multiple steals.
Thomas was right behind with 19 points and junior Adisyn Caryl added 10 points and nine rebounds and came up big down the stretch.
Louisville signee Zyanna Walker scored a game-high 23 points to lead Wichita Heights while senior Cayanna Stanley added 12 points.
Smith and Thomas earned all-tournament honors for Topeka High while Walker and Stanley represented Wichita Heights on the all-tournament team.
SEAMAN GIRLS 61, SHAWNEE MISSION EAST 32 -- Having dropped a 22-point semifinal decision to Wichita Heights Friday night, Seaman coach Matt Tinsley was eager to see how his Vikings would bounce back in Saturday's Capital City Classic third-place game against Shawnee Mission East.
Tinsley couldn't have been any happier with his team's response, with the Vikings posting a wire-to-wire 61-32 win and forcing a running clock in the fourth quarter.
"The last three minutes of last night's game, we were down 20, and I said that we needed to set the momentum for (this) game,'' Tinsley said. "Our quote before today's game was, 'You're going to get knocked down. Are you going to have the courage to get back up again?'
"I thought the girls did that today. I'm really proud of my team for stepping up to the challenge.''
Seaman, which improved to 8-4, roared out to a 19-4 first-quarter advantage and took a huge 34-11 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The Vikings continued to roll in the second half, outscoring the Lancers 23-9 in the third quarter to push their lead to 57-20 and force a running clock throughout the fourth quarter.
Sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer was named to the Capital City Classic all-tournament team after helping lead Seaman to a third-place finish. [File photo/TSN]
Sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer, who was named to the all-tournament team, led the Vikings with a game-high 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and also grabbed seven rebounds.
Junior Jaycee Schumann joined Stallbaumer in double figures with 11 points, including three 3-pointers, while freshman Ava Esser had nine points.
