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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University volleyball will open the 2024 season at the Kansas City Classic with three matches in three days Thursday through Saturday.
Washburn volleyball opens its 2024 season with three matches over three days in the Kansas City Classic. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods' first two matches will be played at Rockhurst University, with the final match on Saturday against the co-host, William Jewell.
Washburn, which is coming off a 17-11 season, will open the season against Sioux Falls (S.D.) at 4 p.m. Thursday before facing Winona State at 10 a.m. on Friday, with both matches played at Mason-Halpin Field House on the campus of Rockhurst University. WU wraps up the weekend at 11 a.m. on Saturday against William Jewell in Liberty, Mo.
Washburn junior setter Sydney Conner ranked No. 2 for the Ichabods in assists last season with 484. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
"We are eager to play,'' said junior setter Sydney Conner, who ranked second for WU in assists last fall with 484 while playing in all 28 matches. "We've been playing the last two weekends (scrimmages against Rockhurst and Central Missouri) but now that it counts we're really ready to go, geared up for that point that's going to be shown on our record.''
The 2024 Kansas City Classic will be made up of six teams -- Washburn and Emporia State from the MIAA, Rockhurst and William Jewell from the GLVC and Winona State and Sioux Falls representing the NSIC.
Washburn is 39-15 all-time in season-openers and 27-6 since joining the NCAA and MIAA in 1989.
The Ichabods were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, just behind Nebraska-Kearney. Washburn received one first-place vote in the poll after finishing fifth in the 2023 MIAA regular-season standings with an 11-9 record.
The 2024 roster is the most balanced by class in the Chris Herron era, with at least four players from each class on the roster.
The Ichabods have 13 returners with 12 letter-winners from a season ago, with the returning roster including five seniors, three juniors and five sophomores.
Washburn senior Jalyn Stevenson (10) is a returning two-time first-team All-MIAA pick for the Ichabods. [File photo/TSN]
Senior two-time All-MIAA first-team pick Jalyn Stevenson, an outside hitter, returns for her senior year after leading the Ichabods with 342 kills (3.32 per set) last season. She recorded 338 digs (3.28 per set), served 33 aces and was a part of 31 total blocks. Stevenson was the only player to start in all 28 matches a season ago. She finished second in the MIAA in points per set (3.81), fourth in kills per set and sixth in total kills.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
None of Seaman's current boys soccer players were even born during Tim Collins' previous one-year head coaching stint with the Vikings, which produced a fourth-place finish in the 2002 Class 5A state tournament.
Veteran soccer coach Tim Collins talks with Viking sophomore Lowell Ogden during Tuesday's 1-0 Seaman win over Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But 22 years later, including a 13-year stint as the coach of the Washburn University women's team, Collins is back at the Viking helm, kicking off his second stint with a 1-0 non-league win over Emporia Tuesday night at Seaman.
"I was so nervous before the game started,'' Collins said. "I knew we can do some good things and I knew that we had good ideas. Our execution -- what coach doesn't want better execution? -- but when we needed it, it was on tonight.''
Senior Ethan Geiger (17) scored the game-winning goal in Seaman's 1-0 non-league soccer win over Emporia Tuesday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Ethan Geiger scored the game's only goal at the 9-minute, 46-second mark of the first half and both teams had scoring opportunities the rest of the night, but Viking freshman Landon Geis (first half) and senior David VanLeeuwan (second half) combined for the shutout in goal for Seaman.
"The thing I'm proudest about is the shutout,'' Collins said. "It was a little bit of a struggle and we created chances, but we have to be a little more dangerous in the attacking third.''
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
A disputed call in a scoreless match marred a soccer battle between Washburn Rural and Shawnee Heights that eventually went the way of the Junior Blues 5-0 Tuesday night at Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Washburn Rural junior Brandon Hamilton had a goal and two assists in Tuesday's 5-0 non-league road win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Midway through the first half, the Shawnee Heights goalkeeper was issued a red card for an unsafe tackle in front of the goal. When a T-Bird defender was similarly penalized for his reaction to the call, Shawnee Heights found itself down two key players at the 15:41 mark.
After T-Bird coach Nic Simons was red-carded for arguing his displeasure, the game took on a different tone.
To their credit, the T-Birds didn’t give up despite Washburn Rural’s Brandon Hamilton banging home the penalty kick. But the Junior Blues added a second goal just before halftime – a Brodye Kocher-Munoz score assisted by Hamilton – and gradually pulled away.
“I actually thought that while we created more opportunities, it was a fairly even game the first 20 minutes before the (penalty kick),” Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel said. “Shawnee Heights had good effort. When you come to their home field, they are always going to bring energy, and if we don’t match that, it’s going to be a tough game.
“For the first 20 minutes they had the better energy, and I thought, ‘This is going to be a tough one tonight.’ But then that call broke the game open. That just changes the complexion of the game. Give them credit, down two guys, they still played real hard all night.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Josh Kutter's young Topeka West soccer team, which has 13 underclassmen and four freshmen on its varsity roster, will no doubt face some growing pains at times this fall.
Topeka West freshman Valentin Del Real (3) scored the game-winning goal in Tuesday's 2-1 non-league soccer win over Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Kutter is confident the Chargers have the talent to overcome their youth and West showed evidence of that in Tuesday's 2-1 non-league season-opening road win over city rival Hayden.
"We're young, but very talented,'' Kutter said. "To have this kind of competitive game against a solid team, it really helps us see what we've got to work on but also build that confidence that they're going to need.
"We have quite a few freshmen and sophomores in that lineup that have skill on the ball and they're smart and they play intense, so they're ready to jump right in.''
Freshman midfielder Valentin Del Real scored West's game-winning goal with 4 minutes, 42 seconds remaining, snapping a 1-1 tie, before the Charger defense held the Wildcats out of the goal the rest of the way.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Former Seaman and Kansas University standout Ryan Zeferjahn’s dream of pitching in the Major Leagues has come true, with Zeferjahn promoted to the Los Angeles Angels on August 22.
Ryan Zeferjahn's dream of pitching in the Major Leagues came true late last month when he was promoted by the California Angels. [Photo by Los Angeles Angels]
Prepared to pitch in a AAA game for the Angels’ affiliate in Salt Lake that day, Zeferjahn was summoned from the bullpen to the dugout.
“When that call comes, you don’t know if it’s going to be a good or a bad thing. You never know,” Zeferjahn said in a phone interview. “The manager and everyone was looking at me and he said, ‘You’re no longer needed here. You’re going to the big leagues.’ It was like my heart dropped and I was like ‘Oh my.’ ”
Zeferjahn quickly packed and took an overnight flight to Toronto in time for a three-game series with the Blue Jays. The whirlwind didn’t allow much time for reflection.
“You can always expect it, thinking, ‘Hopefully my chance is going to come soon.’ So, I thought the call might come. But it was cool to finally get my chance,” said the 2016 Seaman grad.
Once in Toronto, Zeferjahn waited two days to be summoned from the bullpen, which he noted helped calm his nerves and allowed him to settle in.
The call came on August 25, in the seventh inning, with the Angels trailing by a substantial amount. Adding to the excitement of his Major League debut was a unique game circumstance.
With two strikes on the Toronto batter, Angels’ pitcher Matt Moore suffered an elbow injury. Zeferjahn was called in to complete the at-bat, and in just one pitch, recorded a strikeout.
“I was pretty warm so when I got out there, I was ready to go,” Zeferjahn said. “And what better way to start than to have my first career pitch be a strikeout?”
The feat might just be the first of its kind in Major League Baseball history. Pitch tracking doesn’t go back very far, but according to the limited data available, no pitcher has every recorded a strikeout on his first big league pitch.
