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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Senior Brooks Kehoe claimed the boys individual Centennial League cross country championship Saturday at Jones Park in Emporia, leading the Washburn Rural boys to the league team title.
Kehoe took the league crown in a five-kilometer time of 16 minutes, 21.11 seconds as the Junior Blues put all of their top five scoring runners in the top 14 places individually.
Senior Brooks Kehoe won the Centennial League individual cross country title on Saturday in Emporia, pacing the Junior Blues to the team crown. [File photo/TSN]
Rural sophomore Clayton Fink posted a fourth-place finish in 16:56.01 while sophomore Henry Laubach was seventh in 17:03.26, sophomore Jaxson Adams ninth in 17:19.15 and sophomore Duke Graf 14th in 17:30.63 as the Junior Blues won the team title by a 35-54 margin over Manhattan and Junction City.
Emporia was fourth as a team with 111 points, followed by Hayden (138) and Topeka High (145).
Sophomore Nick Newkirk led Hayden with an 18th-place finish in 17:36.65 while sophomore Easton Davis placed 19th in 17:41.16 to pace Topeka High.
Manhattan posted a perfect team score of 15 to win the girls championship, led by junior individual champion Gabrielle Converse, who clocked a winning time of 18:37.56.
Freshman Alyson Hinck placed sixth in the Centennial League cross country meet to lead Washburn Rural to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural freshman Alyson Hinck was the first non-Manhattan runner to cross the finish line, taking sixth in 20:00.93 to lead runnerup Rural (49 points).
The Junior Blues also got a an eighth-place showing from senior Emily Graf (20:05.52), while freshman Morgan Munson was 10th (20:17.43), sophomore Reese Beardslee 11th (20:26.07) and senior Kenzie Maddox 14th (20:40.39) to round out Washburn Rural's top five.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University football turned Hall of Fame Saturday into its best performance of the year, using six interceptions and forcing two more fumbles as the Ichabods scored 30 points off of Central Missouri turnovers and added a balanced offensive attack to take down the Mules 37-17 in Yager Stadium, notching their first MIAA win of the season.
Linebacker L.J. Minner Jr. had a pick six as Washburn forced eight Central Missouri turnovers in Saturday's 37-17 MIAA win. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods, after winning the opening coin toss, took advantage of a Central Missouri fumble on the second play from scrimmage that was forced and recovered by Jordan Finnesy, setting the Ichabods up at the UCM 45 less than a minute into the game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Logan Madden threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a TD in Washburn's 37-17 MIAA win over Central Missouri. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Making his first career start, quarterback Logan Madden capped an 8-play, 45-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter to give Washburn a 6–0 lead.
After the teams traded punts, Central Missouri cut the lead in half at 6-3 after a 36-yard field goal by Will Peacock cut the margin to 6-3 with 1:24 to play in the opening frame.
The Mules briefly went ahead 10–6 in the second quarter on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Donovyn Omolo to Rossville product Bo Reeves capping a 12-play, 81-yard drive with 8:24 to go in the first half.
But the Ichabods quickly regained control.
Ky Thomas had rushing and receiving touchdowns in Saturday's 37-17 Washburn win over Central Missouri. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods punted after the UCM score, but Josh Grant intercepted a pass at the visitors' 15-yard line and three plays later Madden found former Topeka High star Ky Thomas on a 9-yard touchdown strike, giving Washburn a 13-10 halftime edge.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The ultimate goal is always to finish first, but Seaman girls tennis still had plenty to celebrate in Saturday's Class 5A state tournament at Kossover Tennis Center.
Andover ruled the day, sweeping the singles, doubles and team championships, but Seaman junior Emma Sweeney posted a runnerup singles finish to lead the way as the tournament-host Vikings finished second as a team, just six points behind the champion Trojans (39-33).
Seaman junior Emma Sweeney earned her third straight Class 5A singles medal Saturday with a career-best runnerup finish as the Vikings finished second as a team. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"A great weekend,'' Seaman coach Jamie Robinson said. "Of course that's why we wanted to host is we wanted to give an advantage to a team that we thought was going to be one of the best teams in the state, and we were. We proved it.''
And it was a day of breakthroughs for the Vikings, with Sweeney advancing to the title match after finishing fourth as a sophomore, while senior Molly Gorman finished sixth in singles after a 10th-place finish as a junior and the Viking doubles team of senior Peyton Henry and junior Camryn Lux finished seventh to cap their first season as a doubles team.
Sweeney, who captured her third straight 5A state medal, finished her season 30-2, with both losses coming against Andover senior Mia Jaramillo, who took a 6-4, 6-3 decision in Saturday's championship match.
Jaramillo, who beat Sweeney in the third-place match in 2024, jumped out to 3-0 and 5-2 leads in the first set before Sweeney rallied to within 5-4 and Jaramillo went up 5-1 in the second set before Sweeney cut her deficit to 5-3.
"We did the same thing in Olathe, so I was kind of expecting it, but I feel like I pushed through,'' Jaramillo said. "She's a great player, so she did good.
"I felt I had a lot of pressure, but we have a great team, so we all pushed through.''
While obviously upset with her near miss, Sweeney knows that someday soon she'll be proud of her accomplishment.
"I'll be pleased after a little bit,'' Sweeney said. "The goal after last year, and I was surprised I made it (to the semifinals), I made it my new goal to try and win, but it's okay and I'll come back next year even harder.
"This gives me more experience and it gives me the experience of playing in front of a big crowd in a big situation, so I think I'm just going to take what I learned today and it will help me grow and make me work even harder in the offseason.''
"Runnerup is so impressive,'' Robinson said of Sweeney's performance. "She's lost to one person this year and that was Mia, so credit to her. She came to play.
''Emma had a couple of runs, but it just wasn't quite enough, so hey, let's learn from it and grow from it.''
Seaman senior Molly Gorman captured her fourth Class 5A state medal Saturday, finishing sixth in singles at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Gorman, who dropped an 8-1 decision to Eisenhower sophomore Quinn Scheideman in the fifth-place match, capped her prep career with her fourth state medal in as many tries -- two singles, two doubles.
Henry and Lux finished off state with a win, taking an 8-6 win over Bishop Carroll senior Macy Wetta and freshman Leah Jackson in the seventh-place match.
Wildcats earn third-place 4A team trophy
Hayden singles players Lana Hull and Grace Funk and the doubles team of Sophia Wichman and Avery O'Bray all earned Class 4A state medals on Saturday at Harmon Park in Prairie Village, leading the Wildcats to a third-place team finish.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 2-ranked Washburn volleyball worked a seventh straight sweep and extended its set winning streak to 21 with a 3-0 takedown of Missouri Southern on Friday night in Whiting Fieldhouse.
Washburn volleyball stretched its winning streak to 21 straight sets in Friday's 3-0 home win over Missouri Southern. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods, now 19-1 overall and 8-1 in the MIAA, have a full week off before returning to action facing Emporia State on Friday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m. in Whiting.
Both the first and second sets went long, but both went to Washburn, which posted a 28-26 come-from-behind victory followed by a 27-25 win in the second over the Lions (8-11, 2-6). The third set was not as dramatic, with the Ichabods taking a 25-18 decision to close out the match.
Early in the first set Washburn jumped out to a 5-1 lead after Emery Keebaugh took a pass from Sydney Conner for a kill.
But the next seven points were all scored by Missouri Southern. The lead grew to five points at 15-10 after three more in a row by the visitors.
The Ichabods chipped away, finally tying it on a Kali Henry ace and going in front 18-17 with a Brynne Topolski kill.
A 4-1 run by the Lions put them back in front, 22-20, but Washburn came right back to tie it up. There were four more ties after the 22-22 knot. Finally, kills by Alex Dvorak and Keilah Rivers ended the set at 28-26.
Both sides traded runs to begin the second set, eventually splitting the first 20 points. Missouri Southern went in front 12-10 after a three-point burst and stayed in front over halfway through the set.
A kill by Keebaugh began a five-point rally by the Ichabods to put them in front, 19-16. Washburn led 23-19 before the Lions went on a 5-0 run to go in front and force set point. The Ichabods navigated with two points in response.
After one more tie Dvorak got a kill and then teamed with Austin Broadie on a block to end the set.
In the third set Washburn used a five point burst at the beginning to go in front 10-5. It turned into a 8-1 run after Broadie slammed a kill.
Missouri Southern got within four points after scoring five in a row, but the Ichabod offense didn't let up down the stretch, hitting .375 in the final set to win, 25-18.
- Details
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
JUNCTION CITY -- Centennial League title implications were on the line Friday night as the Washburn Rural Junior Blues traveled west to take on the Junction City Blue Jays, who posted a 35-20 win.
Jadyn Baum, Washburn Rural
Junction City (5-2 overall, 3-0 in the league) took the opening kickoff and methodically drove the ball down the field with a mixture of the run and pass. In the wildcat formation, junior linebacker Khaliel Walker took the snap and handed off to senior wide receiver Lovell Autry who ran it in for a 4-yard touchdown, giving the Blue Jays a 7-0 lead with 6:20 left in the opening quarter.
While Junction City’s drive took almost six minutes, the Junior Blues (5-2, 2-1) answered in a little over a minute when Jadyn Baum scored on a 51-yard touchdown run, tying the game at 7.
The Blue Jays' next possession was a little over five minutes and on the first play of the second quarter, senior Conrad Gomez threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Autry, giving Junction City a 14-7 lead.
The Junior Blues were able to drive the ball into Blue Jay territory, but Ryan Austin’s 37-yard field goal attempt was wide left. Rural’s defense stiffened and forced a Junction City punt about halfway through the second quarter.
Washburn Rural’s next possession changed the complexion of the game. On a third down play, senior quarterback John Hoytal wasn’t able to maintain a high snap from center, fumbled and Junction City recovered the fumble at midfield. Hoytal was injured on the play, requiring him to be placed on a stretcher and taken off the field on a cart.
The teams traded possessions to complete the second quarter and Junction City took a 14-7 lead to the locker room.
Washburn Rural had the first possession of the second half and junior Gavin Vantuyl took over at quarterback, led the Junior Blues down the field and tied the game at 14-14 on a 31-yard touchdown run.
The game remained tied for only 14 seconds as senior Kingston Timms took the ensuing kickoff down the left sideline, cut across the field and scored on a 95-yard return, giving the Blue Jays a 21-14 lead.
Rural’s next possession ended in a failed fake punt, giving Junction City excellent field position with a little over six minutes left in the third quarter. The Blue Jays capitalized on the turnover and scored another touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Gomez to junior Brody Boeckman, extending their lead to 28-14.
In the final twelve seconds of the third quarter, Junction City scored their third touchdown of the stanza. From the wildcat formation, Walker took the snap and scored on a 5-yard run. The Blue Jay lead was now 35-14, heading into the fourth quarter.
Washburn Rural had the only score of the final quarter on a 10-yard pass from Vantuyl to senior Nate Selm. The extra point was blocked, accounting for the final score of 35-20.
With the win, Junction City will claim the Centennial League title and will host Emporia next Friday night to finish the regular season.
Washburn Rural will return home to face Manhattan on Friday night.
JUNCTION CITY 35, WASHBURN RURAL 20
