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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Conner Bush
CONNER BUSH, Rossville
A 5-foot-11, 176-pound junior running back, Bush scored three touchdowns Friday night as Rossville advanced to the second round of the Class 1A football playoffs with a 47-13 win over Wabaunsee. Bush scored TDs on runs of 51, 9 and 25 yards as the Bulldawgs improved to 6-3 on the 2024 season while posting their sixth straight victory.
Rylee Ismert
RYLEE ISMERT, Washburn Rural
Ismert, a senior cross country standout, earned her second straight Class 6A state medal in Saturday's state meet at Rim Rock Farm, posting a career-best third-place individual finish in a five-kilometer time of 18 minutes, 41.30 seconds as the Junior Blues tied Olathe West for the team championship, with the Owls winning their fifth straight state title on a tiebreaker. Ismert won Centennial League and regional titles this fall.
Adrian Lehman
ADRIAN LEHMAN, Topeka West
The Topeka West senior cross country standout posted a Shawnee County-best boys finish of seventh place in Saturday's Class 5A state meet at Rim Rock Farm. Lehman, a two-time state qualifier in his only two seasons of high school cross country, clocked a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 49.59 seconds after qualifying for the state meet as an individual.
Seaman volleyball's Mills UKC repeat pick as offensive player of the year, Dowling coach of the year
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman senior Maegan Mills has been named the United Kansas Conference volleyball offensive player of the year for the second straight season while Viking coach Tatiana Dowling was a repeat pick as the UKC coach of the year.
Seaman senior Maegan Mills (23) has been named the United Kansas Conference offensive player of the year for the second straight season. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Seaman volleyball coach Tatiana Dowling has been named the United Kansas Conference volleyball coach of the year for the second straight season. [File photo/TSN]
Mills was joined on All-United Kansas Conference first team by senior teammate Campbell Chabot, who moved up from the second team.
Shawnee Heights senior Kaydence Torrez was a first-team selection for the second straight season while T-Bird senior Taylor Brees moved up to the first team after being a second-team pick in 2023.
Seaman seniors Ava Esser and Kinley Wilhelm were second-team All-UKC honorees along with Topeka West sophomor Sydney VanDyke.
Lansing junior Avery Sands was named the UKC defensive player of the year and also was a first-team pick, along with De Soto junior Chloe Kmiecik, Lansing sophomore Halle Laincz and Piper senior Abbie Roth.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
OK, so it may have lacked the overall drama of Babe Ruth's legendary called shot in the 1932 World Series, but Josie Boyle did a pretty good imitation for Washburn University soccer in Sunday's 1-0 Senior Day win by the No. 20-ranked Ichabods over No. 15-ranked and previously-unbeaten Missouri Western at Yager Stadium.
Washburn senior Josie Boyle (middle) is mobbed by her Ichabod teammates after scoring the game-winning goal in Sunday's 1-0 win over No. 15 Missouri Western. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Josie Boyle (left) exchanges a hug with Aubrey Tanksley (9) and Jordan Tenpas after scoring Sunday's game-winning goal off a Tanksley corner kick. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Boyle, a senior defender, gathered in a corner kick from junior Aubrey Tanksley and buried it in the net with 11:19 remaining for the game's only goal as the Ichabods improved 12-3-2 overall and 9-1-1 in the MIAA while dropping the Griffons to 14-1-3 and 9-1-2 in the conference.
Washburn's win prevented Missouri Western from clinching the MIAA title while opening the door for the Ichabods to repeat as the conference champ. WU will close out its regular season at Emporia State on Wednesday (1 p.m.) and can earn the conference outright wth a win or take a share of the championship with a tie.
Boyle's second goal of the season and the third of her Washburn career made that possible.
"She noticed that no one was marking her and she said, 'I'm going to score,' and told Belle (Kennedy), 'I'm going to score here, nobody's marking me,' and sure enough she scored,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "It was incredible.''
"I called Belle off,'' said Boyle, a Baldwin native. "Usually Belle and I kind of go to the same spot and I noticed no one was marking me so I said, 'Belle, if it comes near us let me have it because no one's on me,' so I kind of called it.''
The fact that her game-winner came against a ranked opponent and on Senior Day made the goal even more special.
"It was a big game,'' Boyle said. "They're ranked in the nation, so are we, so we knew this was the biggest game of the season so far and it feels really good.''
"Senior Night is always special,'' Phillips said. "I don't get it, I don't understand it, but seniors always find big moments on Senior Night. I'm really happy for Josie. She's been dangerous on corners all year and she was really good on that one.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University football team came up just shy Saturday, battling the rain and the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers in a 14-13 Homecoming loss in a game that saw two lightning delays totaling 153 minutes in game stoppage.
Freshman Cam Robinson scored Washburn's first touchdown in Saturday's 14-13 MIAA loss to Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods opened the scoring on their first drive of the game after taking the kickoff and marched 68 yards on four plays, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run from Cam Robinson, but the Lopers blocked the extra point.
The big play of the drive was a 44-yard pass from Sam Van Dyne to Maury Sullivan down to the UNK 5.
Neither team would score in the middle of a downpour after trading punts and a pair of fumbles before Julius Jackson picked off a Reagan Jones pass and returned it from the redzone 78 yards to the Lopers' 16-yard-line.
Five plays later, the Ichabods went up 13-0 after Lucas Oitker scored from 2 yards out on a 4th and 2 with 2:19 go to in the first half.
Once the intermission started, the field and stadium was cleared after a lightning strike.
On the Lopers' first drive of the second half, De'Andre Washington picked off a Jones pass, setting up the Ichabods at the Washburn 48, but the drive stalled as Jake Zeller placed a punt down at the Loper 5.
The teams again traded punts and the Lopers scored cut the Washburn lead to 13-7 after a 41-yard drive.
On the Ichabods' second play of the ensuing drive, Washburn threw an interception at the Ichabod 33 and the Lopers took a 14-13 lead with 8:57 to go in the game after Jones scored on a 9-yard touchdown scamper.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SALINA -- A year ago Seaman's volleyball team knocked off St. Thomas Aquinas to end the Saints' Class 5A volleyball championship reign.
Seaman volleyball celebrates a point during Saturday's Class 5A state tournament at Salina. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Seaman senior Maegan Mills (23) spikes the ball during Saturday's Class 5A championship match against St. Thomas Aquinas. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
On Saturday at the Tony's Pizza Events Center, the Saints evened the score, taking a 25-22, 20-25, 25-9 win over the Vikings in the title match.
"I think we fought hard in games one and two and in game three we kind of let one thing lead to another and unfortunately couldn't find the fight to fight back all the way there at the end,'' Seaman coach Tatiana Dowling said. "But it doesn't overlook all the good moments that they've had all year and the fact that they got to the state championship match.
"I think in this one Aquinas just came out with a better game plan than us and we didn't quite have an answer for it.''
After dropping a straight-set regular-season decision to Aquinas back on Oct. 10, Seaman beat the Saints 25-19, 25-23 in 5A pool play on Friday before Aquinas took Saturday's rubber match in the season series.
Seaman finished its season with a 41-3 record while Aquinas finished the year 34-6.
Seaman claimed the Pool I title with a perfect 3-0 record on Friday but Pool II runnerup Kapaun Mt. Carmel took a 26-24 opening-set win over the Vikings in the semifinals. Seaman answered with a 25-19 win over the Crusaders in the second set before holding off Kapaun 25-23 in the third set to advance to the championship match.
