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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Of course, Seaman girls tennis coach Jamie Robinson wanted to win Tuesday's United Kansas Conference tournament.
But with Class 5A regional competition just four days away, Robinson also wanted the city-champion Vikings to continue to play well while continuing to build momentum for the Vikings' two biggest tournaments of the season.
Seaman junior Emma Sweeney repeated as the UKC singles champion Tuesday as the Vikings won their fourth straight conference team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Molly Gorman finished second in UKC singles Tuesday as the Vikings won their fourth straight conference team title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And Robinson felt like his team did just that, finishing one-two in singles and one-three in doubles on the way to its fourth straight UKC title by a 75-65 margin over De Soto at Kossover Tennis Center.
"You want to continue to build and play well and continue to get better,'' Robinson said. "That's one thing we talk about, is trying to get better every day, and we wanted to build momentum going into regionals and I think we did that.''
Seaman's Peyton Henry (left) and Camryn Lux won the doubles title in Tuesday's UKC tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman junior Emma Sweeney and senior Molly Gorman advanced to the singles final for the second straight season, with Sweeney taking an 8-0 win for her second straight title while Peyton Henry and Camryn Lux took the doubles title with an 8-4 win over De Soto and Kaylyn Hiebsch and Cadence Speer bounced back from a semifinal loss to take an 8-4 win over De Soto in the third-place doubles match.
Topeka West finished fourth as a team, led by a fifth-place doubles finish from seniors Taryn Gilbert and Jordan Felsburg while Shawnee Heights finished eighth.
Seaman, Topeka West, Shawnee Heights and Highland Park will all compete in a Class 5A regional tournament on Saturday at Kossover, vying for state tournament berths.
Seaman won a regional title and posted a third-place finish in 5A last season and Robinson feels like his team is where it needs to be to make another strong postseason run.
"I think we have to be pretty happy where we're at,'' Robinson said. "We have pretty much dominated most of our meets and I think we're peaking at the right time and that's what you want. You want a team to peak right at regionals and go into state with a lot of momentum and that's what I think we're doing.''
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After playing in all 11 games last fall with three starts as a redshirt freshman, Washburn University sophomore quarterback Keller Hurla was excited for the 2025 season before a preseason injury put him on the sidelines.
Quarterback Keller Hurla is back in action for Washburn after recovering from a pre-season hamstring injury. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But after missing the Ichabods' first three games, the former St. Marys star is back in action and hoping to help Washburn get hot over the second half of the season.
"I had a Grade 2 hamstring tear that happened late in fall camp,'' Hurla said. "At first they thought it was a Grade 1, so I thought I'd be back in a week or so and hopefully be back for Week 1 or Week 2, but then it ended up being a little worse than they thought so they held me out four or five weeks.
"I was able to return the week of (Central Oklahoma). That Wednesday I was able to get a full go and start practicing again. It's good to be back and healthy and just being with the guys out there again. I feel like (last week) I was finally getting back to 100 percent and now it feels great.''
While splitting time with graduate QB Justin Lewis, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Hurla has completed 11 of 20 passes for 149 yards and two TDs and carried the ball 21 times for 60 yards and two scores as WU pushed UCO and Nebraska-Kearney to the limit in six and seven-point losses.
Hurla also split time running the offense last season when he passed for 812 yards and five TDs and ranked No. 2 on the Ichabods with 332 rushing yards and a team-high five rushing TDs.
"It's kind of tough not knowing exactly when you're going to be thrown in, but it's always just staying ready and being prepared as if you're the starter every week and just being ready to go whenever your name's called,'' he said.
"I've kind of learned how to deal with situations like that just in the past year, so it's really nothing new for me and I'm just trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get.''
Washburn, 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the MIAA, faces a tough test Saturday on the road at Pittsburg State, but Hurla feels like the Ichabods' best days are ahead of them in the second half of the season.
"It's going to flip,'' Hurla said. "It will, just with our culture of this new coaching staff and the leaders on this team.
"We have the same mindset every week, just attack the new seven-day season no matter what happened last week. We flush it, we move on and attack the seven-day season and attack it to the best of our ability.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 9-ranked Washburn will go on the road Tuesday to face Emporia State at White Auditorium. [File photo/TSN]Washburn returns to home on Friday, hosting Fort Hays State at 6 p.m.
Senior Austin Broadie leads the Washburn offense with 175 kills (3.50 per set) while hitting .389, third best on the team. She has started all 15 matches and has also has logged 31 blocks with 37 digs.
Broadie has eight double-digit kill matches and ranks 16th nationally in hitting percentage and third in the MIAA. She is second among conference players in kills per set.
Bella Limback is slashing a team-high .552 with 98 kills (2.04 per set) while playing and starting in all 15 matches. She has also added 52 blocks, a team high, and served seven aces.
Limback has hit over .400 in all but two matches this season with two double-digit kill efforts. She leads the nation in hitting percentage and is sixth in the MIAA in total blocks and fifth in blocks per set.
Alex Dvorak is second on the team with 51 blocks (1.06 per set) on the season while starting all 15 matches. Offensively she has 91 kills (1.98 per set) along with hitting .428, second best on the team. She has recorded five or more blocks in seven matches.
The senior ranks eighth in the nation and second in the MIAA in hitting percentage among qualified hitters. She is also sixth in the MIAA in blocks per set.
Corinna McMullen has started all 15 matches this season to lead Washburn with 322 assists (6.57 per set). She has also chipped in 16 service aces while ranking second on the team with 124 digs (2.53 per set). The senior has delivered nine matches of 20-plus assists and six double-doubles. She ranks seventh in the conference in assists per set.
Junior libero Taylor Rottinghaus leads the Ichabods with 204 digs (4.08 per set). She has chipped in 61 assists while serving 19 aces, a team-high. Rottinghaus has two matches with at least 20 digs. She ranks seventh in the MIAA in digs per set and 11th in total digs.
Washburn is second in the nation and leads the MIAA with a .309 team hitting percentage.
The Ichabods are 12th nationally and second among MIAA teams with 2.55 blocks per set.
On the defensive side Washburn is limiting opponents to a .114 hitting percentage, good for sixth nationally and second in the MIAA.
The Ichabods are dishing out 13.82 assists per set on offense, good for third in the nation and second in the MIAA.
Washburn knocks down 14.68 kills per set to rank fifth in all Division II and second among MIAA programs.
The Hornets are receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Centralia multi-sport star Kamble Haverkamp cherished his time in the Kansas State football progam.
But Washburn University offered Haverkamp an opportunity that the 6-foot, 205-pound senior free safety wasn't sure if or when he'd ever get from the Wildcats -- a chance to play on a regular basis.
Centralia product Kamble Haverkamp's decision to transfer to Washburn has been a good one for him and the Ichabods. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
"There were a lot of great guys (at Kansas State) that taught me a lot, great leaders, as far as how you have to study and prepare and how you approach all the things you have to do as a student-athlete, so I definitely grew a lot in my time there for sure,'' Haverkamp said.
"You're there and it's awesome. It's a great place to be, you can't deny that, but whenever you look at all the time you have to put in to be a student-athlete and all the early mornings and all the lifting, eating right and all the time that it takes just to be a student-athlete, the bare minimum, if I'm going to do all of that I want to play on the field.
"I want to play and contribute to my team and make all that time worth it and get the reward of playing.''
And four seasons after making the decision to transfer to Washburn, it's safe to say the move has been a good one for both Haverkamp and the Ichabods.
"Absolutely, one of the best decisions I've ever made,'' Haverkamp said. "Obviously, playing football is great and that's awesome, but it's also just all the people that I've gotten to meet, teammates that are now brothers, and coaches that have impacted me, especially coach Wat (Ichabod coach Zach Watkins).
"I've been with him four years now and he's just a great guy to be around and he's taught me so much and he's a mentor to me.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Preseason MIAA polls for the 2025-26 season have Washburn women's basketball slotted at No. 2 in the Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the Media Poll released on Monday morning by the conference.
Lora Westling's Washburn women's basketball team has been picked second and third in the MIAA preseason polls. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is coming off an 18-13 season with a 11-8 mark inside the MIAA that saw them reach the MIAA Tournament semifinals.
In the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll the Ichabods landed at No. 2 with 148 points and six first-place votes, the most among any team in the conference among coaches.
Fort Hays State sits atop the poll with 152 total points and two first-place votes. Pittsburg State is slotted at No. 3 with five first-place votes and 144 points. Central Missouri claims the final first-place nod, with 138 total points at No. 4.
In the media poll Washburn sits at No. 3 with 276 total points and three first-place votes.
Pittsburg State leads the media ballot with 13 first-place votes and 326 total points. Fort Hays State is second with five first-place votes and 299 points. Behind the Ichabods is Central Missouri at No. 4, with the final four first-place votes and 271 total points.
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