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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
For a second consecutive Saturday, Seaman High School hosted a cross country meet in north Topeka.
Washburn Rural senior Emily Graf won the city individual cross country title Saturday, leading the Junior Blues to their seventh straight team title. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his second straight city individual cross country title Saturday. [File photo/TSN]
Last week, it was the Seaman Invitational. This week, the city championships at Shawnee County North Park, with Washburn Rural's girls and boys sweeping the team championships.
Rural's boys stretched their city meet winning streak to 19 straight seasons while the Junior Blue girls won their seventh straight crown.
In the girls race, Washburn Rural senior Emily Graf won the city championship in a time of 19:18.57. It was her first race since the Shufelberger Top City Classic on the third week of September due to an injury.
“Coming back from a hip injury I’ve had over the past three weeks, it felt great to come out, run and get the win,” Graf said.
Graf was joined by three of her teammates in the top five -- freshman Alyson Hinck (second in 19:38.05), senior Kenzie Maddox (fourth in 19:44.75) and sophomore Reese Beardslee (fifth in 19:57.07). Overall, the Jr. Blues had eleven girls finish in the top 20 to earn city medals.
The only non-Washburn Rural runner to finish in the top five was Seaman junior Brynn Spencer. She was pleased with her third-place finish, where she also finished last week in the Seaman Invitational, but was able to trim almost 25 seconds off her time in the city meet.
“I’m very proud of myself for improving my time from last week and I knew I had a chance to be top three and break up the Washburn Rural girls a little bit,'' Spencer said. "They provide great competition so I wanted to stay up with them throughout the race.”
Spencer was joined by four teammates as medalists -- junior Kinley Robinson (ninth in 21:29.35), junior Hannah Wempe (10th in 21:42.04), junior Jaydin Frickey (16th in 23:23.29) and sophomore Avery Villines (19th in 24:17.54).
Other medalists included Hayden junior Sofia Harper (seventh in 20:34.43), Topeka West freshman Phebe Phelps (12th in 22:34.71), Shawnee Heights freshman Kendall Lewis (15th in 23:04.35) and Topeka senior Breanna Maldonado (20th in 24:28.02).
In the boys race, Seaman senior Brody Anderson won his fourth race of the season, breaking the course record in a time of 15:00.11.
“I knew after last week, I knew the course was fast. Coach (Luke) Wiens and I were planning to come out, run fast and set a PR,” Anderson said.
Being so close to breaking the fifteen minute barrier was a hope of Anderson.
“I was close to the fourteen mark, I know I’m fit enough to do it, but things happen for a reason.”
Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe finished second in Saturday's city cross country meet, leading the Junior Blues to their 19th straight city team title. [File photo/TSN]
The winning Washburn Rural team had the next four finishers to round out the top five -- senior Brooks Kehoe (second in 16:10.45), sophomore Duke Graf (third in 16:46.96), sophomore Clayton Fink (fourth in 16:52.01) and sophomore Jaxson Adams (fifth in 17:03.47). The Jr. Blues had eight other runners finish in the top twenty as medalists.
Hayden had two runners finish in the top ten -- sophomore Nick Newkirk finished sixth (17:04.74) and senior Connor Baldwin finished seventh (17:06.38).
Shawnee Heights’ senior Max Esquibel finished eighth in a time of 17:07.46.
Seaman had two other medalists -- junior Conner Bloom finished ninth in 17:13.81 and senior Drake Spurlock finished 20th with a time of 17:46.87.
Topeka sophomore Easton Davis finished in 17th in 17:33.64 while junior Ezra Phelps of Topeka West finished 18th with a time of 17:36.33.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 9-ranked Washburn University volleyball picked up its first victory of the year over a nationally ranked team in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon in Whiting Fieldhouse, knocking off No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney in three sets.
Washburn volleyball knocked off No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney for its fifth straight sweep Saturday at Whiting Fieldhouse. [File photo/TSN]
It was a back-and-forth affair in the first set, but after coming away with a 25-21 win, Washburn (17-1 overall, 6-1 in the MIAA) didn't look back, winning 25-13 and 25-14 in the final two sets over the Lopers (18-2, 5-2 MIAA) to post its fifth straight 3-0 sweep.
The win over Nebraska-Kearney was the highest-ranked victory for Washburn since Sept. 18, 2021 when the Ichabods also defeated the Lopers, who were ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time.
The Ichabods' 17-1 start matches the best start to a season since 2021 when Washburn also began the season 17-1.
Within the first 16 points of the match there were six ties as both sides traded blows. A eight-point rally from the Ichabods began with Brynne Topolski slashing a kill and ended at 14-8 after Austin Broadie delivered back-to-back kills.
Nebraska-Kearney came nearly all the way back, getting within one point, but Washburn had an answer, landing four straight points with a block by Limback and Keilah Rivers capping off the rally. Broadie eventually landed another kill to end the set at 25-21.
The momentum carried over into the second set for the Ichabods as they jumped out to a 6-0 run with the last three points all coming from Alex Dvorak on a solo block and two kills. Also at the net, Limback and Emery Keebaugh combined for a block to make it 10-2 and force another Loper timeout. Washburn eventually pushed the lead to double-digits at 22-12 before taking three of the final four points to win 25-13.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Defending Class 1A District 2 champion Rossville improved to 3-0 in the district and 5-1 overall with a 49-14 win over Cair Paravel Latin Friday night at Yager Stadium.
Andre Johnson, Rossville
Conner Bush, Rossville
The Bulldawgs jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter advantage and went up by a commanding 34-6 margin at the half before outscoring the Lions 15-8 in the second half as Cair Paravel fell to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in the district.
Seniors Conner Bush and Andre Johnson both had a pair of rushing touchdowns on the night, with Bush scoring on 3 and 8-yard runs and Johnson scoring on 2 and 5-yard runs.
Senior quarterback Canann Mitchell threw for a 31-yard touchdown to Cale Horak and completed a 9-yard TD strike to Jack Donovan.
The Bulldawgs also got a 10-yard TD scamper from Landen Lewis while Austin Dohrman kicked three extra points and Donovan added a pair of PATs. Johnson also scored on a two-point conversion in addition to his two TDs.
With Friday's win Rossville set up a district showdown at Olpe next Friday. The Eagles are 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the district.
Chargers rally to pick up first win
Topeka West used a 30-point fourth quarter to pull out a 42-27 United Kansas Conference road win at Kansas City-Turner Friday night.
Trey Parker, Topeka West
Josiah Wilkie, Topeka West
Turner, 1-5 overall and 0-5 in the UKC, led Topeka West, 1-5, 1-5, by a 7-6 margin at the end of the first quarter and built a 21-12 halftime advantage that also held up through a scoreless third quarter.
But the Chargers played their best football over the final 12 minutes, outscoring the Bears 30-6 to pull out the 15-point victory.
Topeka West has yet to lose to Turner since joining the UKC.
The Chargers will be back at Hummer Sports Park next Friday to host red-hot Leavenworth in a UKC contest.
The Pioneers are 5-1 overall and in the UKC after taking a 27-14 win over De Soto Friday night.
Eagles push win streak to four games
Silver Lake posted its fourth straight victory Friday night, improving to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in Class 2A District 3 with a 42-8 road win at Riley County.
The Eagles rode a strong defensive effort to the decisive win, led by senior Jayden Waterer.
Waterer had 10 tackles on the night, including three of Silver Lake's seven sacks.
Waterer caused two fumbles and had a fumble recovery while senior Dayne Johnson had a pass interception.
Silver Lake will be back at home next Friday to host undefeated Osage City in a district showdown.
The Indians are 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the district after a 49-14 win over St. Marys.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University soccer team rode freshman Leah Henke's three-goal hat trick to a 5-1 MIAA road win at Missouri Southern Friday night.
Washburn freshman Leah Henke had a hat trick in Friday's 5-1 win at Missouri Southern and now has eight goals on the season. [File photo/TSN]
"I thought we did well in most aspects of the game tonight,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "It's always tough to get points on the road in this conference, so I'm very happy with the team performance today. We have to make sure we continue to grow, but I'm really proud of the progress the team continues to make."
The first half was filled with goals. Missouri Southern opened the scoring with a goal in the 11th minute from a penalty kick. Washburn responded directly back in the 13th minute with a goal from Henke, then Henke would score two more in the 15th minute (assisted by Grace Peterson) and 17th minutes to complete her hat trick.
Henke recorded the first hat trick by an Ichabod player since 2022 by Khloe Shuckman, who also did so against Missouri Southern. Henke now has eight goals on the season and has scored in three straight games.
Washburn recorded 15 shots in the opening half, with nine of them on target, while only allowing three shots in the half.
Washburn would add a fourth in the 55th minute on freshman Kate Hinck's third goal of the season, and was assisted by Brynn Alison. Washburn would wrap up the scoring with a fifth goal by Jules Wardlaw (assist by Bricelyn Betts) in the 73rd minute. Washburn took five second-half shots with four on goal.
Washburn will be back on the road against Pittsburg State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 9 Washburn University volleyball recorded a fourth straight sweep on Friday night in its return to Whiting Fieldhouse, taking down Fort Hays State, 25-21, 25-17, 25-22.
No. 9 Washburn volleyball improved to 16-1 Friday night with its fourth straight MIAA sweep. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods are back in action at 2 p.m. Saturday, hosting No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney in a top-10 battle.
Washburn improved to 16-1 overall and 5-1 in the MIAA Friday night.
With the score tied 4-4 in the first set against Fort Hays State, a three-point rally was finished by two straight kills by Bella Limback.
Fort Hays State came back to tie the set at 10 before another three point burst by the Ichabods put them back in front. The lead was at five when the Tigers strung together five straight to tie the set at 19, and again at 20. An offense that hit .387 in the set led the way for WU, with Austin Broadie knocking down a kill to end the set.
A solo block at the net by Limback capped off a 5-1 start to the second set by Washburn. The lead grew to five at 10-5 on another solo rejection, this time by Alex Dvorak. Fort Hays State kept it within five until a three-point rally with kills by Dvorak, Broadie and Keilah Rivers created separation. Corinna McMullen set up Dvorak for the set-ending kill.
