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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Washburn Rural three-sport star Brooklyn DeLeye, now a volleyball star at Kentucky, has been named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year after helping lead the Wildcats to the outright conference championship.
[Kentucky Athletics]
A 6-foot-2 sophomore outside hitter, DeLeye registered 450 kills with a .282 hitting percentage, 155 digs, 31 total blocks and 46 service aces as Kentucky posted a 20-7 regular-season record and went 14-2 in the SEC.
DeLeye became the sixth different Kentucky Wildcat to win SEC Player of the Year as a Kentucky player has now won the award for a seventh time. DeLeye joins Sarah Rumley (2008), Leah Edmond (2018, 2019), Madison Lilley (2020), Alli Stumler (2021) and Emma Grome (2022) as winners of the conference’s top honor. Kentucky has now won the award six of the last seven years.
With its SEC title Kentucky earned the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Pairings will be announced Sunday.
After an outstanding freshman season for Kentucky's volleyball team, including SEC Freshman of the Year and AVCA All-America honorable mention honors, DeLeye helped lead the U.S. Volleyball U21 team to the title in the NORCECA Continental Championship in Toronto, earning MVP and Top Spiker awards.
DeLeye led Washburn Rural to state titles in volleyball and basketball and was also a standout in soccer.
DeLeye was a two-time Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year in volleyball and was named to the All-State first team four straight years. She finished her high school career with 2,090 kills.
DeLeye was a three-time All-Shawnee County pick in basketball, helping Rural win the Class 6A title as a junior and to a second-place finish as a senior.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
For the second consecutive year, the Hayden Wildcats came up short in their bid for the school’s first state football title since 2008. In their return to Gowans Stadium at Hutchinson Community College, the Wildcats fell to Andale 36-19 Saturday.
Hayden senior Jensen Schrickel (9) scores the Wildcats' first touchdown on a 5-yard run in Saturday's 36-19 loss to Andale in the Class 3A state championship game. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
The Indians took home their fifth Class 3A trophy in the past six seasons, finishing the season 13-0. Hayden finished the season 11-2, the Wildcats' other loss coming at the hands of 4A Wamego.
The field conditions were infinitely better than the blizzard conditions that affected the outcome of last year’s championship, claimed by Cheney, 34-7. But the pain of defeat was the same.
“It sucks, point blank,” Hayden coach Bill Arnold said. “You come in here with one goal in mind. Anything less than that, you’re not going to feel very good about it.”
The Wildcats battled back from a deficit to take a 19-12 lead into halftime. But Andale powered its way to three second-half touchdowns to put the game away.
Andale opened the game with two dominant drives to establish the tone of the first period. Although Hayden answered with a score, the first period went decidedly in the Indians’ favor at 12-6. The Indians rushed for 127 yards on just 12 carries in the quarter.
The momentum shifted early in the second period when the Wildcats stopped an Indian drive at midfield. Even a punt that rolled to the Hayden 1-yard line didn’t deter the Wildcats. Hayden mounted a 15-play drive that covered 99 yards and ended with a Jett Wahlmeier scoring pass to Treyton Tetuan.
Hayden senior Treyton Tetuan scores a touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Jett Wahlmeier in Saturday's 36-19 loss to Andale in the Class 3A state championship game. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Junior Kade Mitchell (25) hauls in a touchdown pass from Jett Wahlmeier in Saturday's 36-19 loss to Andale. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Leading 13-12, the Wildcats pooched a kickoff which the Andale returner lost in the sun. Hayden recovered at the Andale 31-yard line. Six plays later, Hayden went up 19-12 on a Wahlmeier pass to Kade Mitchell.
Though Hayden was unable to take advantage of a second fumbled pooch kick, it used up most of the remaining period. The Wildcats went to halftime leading 19-12.
But Andale dominated the second half. After scoring to retake the lead midway through the third period, the Indians recovered a Hayden fumble and turned it into another quick score to go up 28-19.
“Obviously, we knew we weren’t going to be able to come in here and turn the ball over,” Arnold said. “That initial turnover (in the) third quarter was a killer.”
Desperate to keep pace, Hayden drove the length of the field in 17 plays but stalled at the Andale 17-yard line. Andale scored three plays later to put the game on ice.
“We were in the right spots. We just couldn’t finish plays off,” Arnold said. “Part of that’s a tribute to Andale. They’re a good team. They made some adjustments. But at the same time, we had some opportunities that we squandered in the third quarter.”
Hayden senior quarterback Jett Wahlmeier (7) passed for 202 yards and two TDs in Saturday's 36-19 loss to Andale. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Hayden managed 105 yards rushing but averaged just 2.9 yards per carry. The Wildcats relied heavily on Wahlmeier to advance the ball through the air. The senior completed 21 of his 40 passing attempts for 202 yards.
“We knew we could be balanced,” Wahlmeier said. “We called our plays based off the situation we were in. We knew what we were capable of (in the passing game). We repped it out in practice and it worked well. It worked even better in the game, which worked out well, but not well enough, I guess.”
All-purpose threat Jensen Schrickel accounted for much of the Hayden output. He ran for 47 yards and caught nine passes for 106 yards in his final game for Hayden.
But in the end, the rushing attack of Andale was too much for Hayden. The Indians ran for 419 yards on 40 carries. Junior quarterback Sam Harp ran for 163 yards on 16 carries, while his older brother, Landon Harp, rushed for 148 on 12 carries. The brothers accounted for four of Andale’s five touchdowns.
"(The Indians are) good. They’re a hell of a lot bigger than we are, too,” Arnold said. “But I thought our kids played extremely hard. You get in a situation, you’ve got to make the tackle. One guy’s not going to bring them down. You’ve got to get guys rallied to the ball.
“I thought our kids played hard all day long. We played the whole third quarter backed up on our (end) of the field. We made some mistakes, and they took advantage of it.”
Wahlmeier was unable to play in last year’s championship due to injury. He recalled how difficult it was to watch that title game from the sideline. This time, he was his team’s leader, and he spoke on the Wildcats’ behalf following the loss.
“It's awful. It’s worse than last year,” the senior quarterback said. “I gave it everything I had, but it just wasn’t enough.
“But I’m proud of this team. It was special. All the bonds we had and the team we had. Special teams don’t get here by accident. We knew we were special.”
Recognizing how painful it is for the players to come up short in back-to-back seasons, Arnold provided some big-picture perspective.
“I think as time goes on, in the next few weeks, next month or so, it’s a tribute to the kids,” Arnold said. “They put together a really good year. To get back to the state championship game two years in a row is hard. They fought through a lot of adversity to get here. I’m extremely proud of them. It just doesn’t feel very good right now.”
ANDALE 36, HAYDEN 19
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the second straight game No. 3-ranked Washburn University men's basketball allowed an opponent to remain within striking distance in the first half Saturday against Peru State in Lee Arena.
And, for the second straight contest, the Ichabods came out smoking after the break, opening the second half with a 12-0 run and a 31-7 start over the first 10 minutes en route to an 82-56 non-conference win over the Bobcats in WU's final home game of 2024.
Washburn senior Andrew Orr (24) paced five Ichabods in double figures with 14 points in the Ichabods' 82-56 win over Peru State Saturday in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Like it had a week earlier against William Jewell, Washburn never trailed against NAIA school Peru State, but the Bobcats were still within four points well into the first half and trailed by just eight (42-34) at halftime.
But after being reminded by WU coach Brett Ballard that they needed to step it up, the Ichabods did just that, turning in a dominating 40-22 scoring edge over the final 20 minutes.
"Stern is a good word to use,'' senior Andrew Orr, who led five Ichabod double-figure scorers with 14 points, said about Ballard's halftime chat. "He wasn't as turned up as he sometimes is because he knew that we would come out second half and take care of business and that's what we did.''
"I wasn't too animated,'' Ballard said. "These guys are mature and they understood we just didn't play really worth a flip in that first half, so a lot of things we needed to clean up and I was much more pleased with our defensive effort in the second half.
"I was glad they responded. They came out the second half and I thought the first 10 minutes we were very good.''
During the second-half run, eight different Ichabods scored and the Washburn defense held the Bobcats (7-3) to 1 of 13 shooting as the Ichabods turned the game into a rout.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Things are about to get tougher for the red-hot Washburn women's basketball team, beginning with next Thursday's MIAA opener at Nebraska-Kearney.
Junior Gabi Giovannetti led three double-figure scorers for Washburn with 19 points Saturday as the Ichabods posted their fourth straight victory, 98-65 over Sterling. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But Lora Westling's Ichabods tuned up for what will be a six-game road trip covering more than a month in the best possible way, posting a fourth straight win in Saturday's 98-65 romp past Sterling in Lee Arena.
"That's a good team,'' Westling said of the Warriors. "I know they're an NAIA team, but they were 7-1 and obviously No. 12 (Korynn Classon) can really play and we knew they were going to be able to do some things, so a great win and exactly where we want our head going into conference.''
All four of WU's wins during its current streak have been by at least 22 points, with Saturday's 38-point victory the Ichabods' biggest margin of the season.
Washburn, now 4-4, outscored the Warriors in all four quarters while all 12 Ichabods that saw action cracked the scoring column, including seven with at least seven points.
Junior Gabi Giovannetti paced three double-figure scorers for Washburn with 19 points on 8 of 12 shooting overall and 3 of 7 from 3-point range while also adding a game-high three steals.
Junior Payton Sterk scored 18 points and hit four 3-pointers in Saturday's 98-65 Washburn win over Sterling in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Payton Sterk was right behind Giovannetti with 18 points, hitting 4 of 9 3-pointers, while junior Yibari Nwidadah added 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Washburn built a 24-19 first-quarter lead over the Warriors and used a 26-15 second quarter to take a 50-34 halftime advantage.
The Ichabods followed that up with 32-17 third quarter to open up a commanding 82-51 advantage and finished off the rout with a 16-14 fourth quarter.
Washburn shot 53.6 percent from the field for the game while out-rebounding Sterling 37-25 and committing eight fewer turnovers than the Warriors (22-14).
Clason led Sterling with a game-high 25 points whle Alissa Heskamp and Kayla Morris added 10 points apiece.
WASHBURN WOMEN 98, STERLING 65
Sterling 19 15 17 14 -- 65
Washburn 24 26 32 16 -- 98
STERLING (7-2)
Young 2-7 2-4 6, Briar 1-6 0-0 2, Clason 11-17 3-3 25, Heskamp 4-7 2-2 10, Bearup 3-3 0-0 6, Gill 0-1 0-0 0, Morris 4-6 2-2 10, Terverbaugh 2-4 0-0 4, Jacobs 0-2 2-2 2, McCormick 0-1 0-0 0, Galliher 0-0 0-0 0, Spencer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-55 11-13 65.
WASHBURN (4-4)
Amekporfor 4-10 0-0 9, Nwidadah 6-8 3-4 15, Gomez 4-5 1-1 9, Giovannetti 8-12 0-0 19, Sterk 6-15 2-2 18, Snyder 0-1 1-2 1, Davison 2-4 3-4 8, McCallop 1-3 0-0 2, McKenzie 2-3 1-2 5, Gideon 2-3 2-2 7, Boyd 2-5 0-0 4, Luebbert 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 37-69 14-19 98.
3-point goals -- Sterling 0-6 (Briar 0-4, Heskamp 0-1, McCormick 0-1), Washburn 10-27 (Sterk 4-9, Giovannetti 3-7, Amekporfor 1-5, Gideon 1-2, Davison 1-1, Gomez 0-1, McCallop 0-1, Snyder 0-1). Rebounds -- Sterling 25 (Young 9), Washburn 37 (Nwidadah 8). Assists -- Sterling 12 (Briar 3, Clason 3), Washburn 23 (Amekporfor 7, Gomez 7). Turnovers -- Sterling 22, Washburn 14. Total fouls -- Sterling 17, Washburn 16. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden's football team is obviously happy to be back in the Class 3A state championship game for a second straight season.
Now the aim for Bill Arnold's 11-1 Wildcats will be to change the outcome in Saturday's 12 p.m. title game against 12-0 Andale at Hutchinson Community College's Gowans Stadium after Hayden suffered a 34-7 loss to Cheney in awful conditions on the same field a year ago.
Bill Arnold's Hayden Wildcats are back in the Class 3A state championship game after posting an 11-1 record this fall. [File photo/TSN
"Sure it's nice to get back there -- it beats the alternative of staying home right now -- but everybody wants to say it's like a revenge-type thing with these guys but nobody's really talked about revenge,'' said Arnold, who has a 222-67 career coaching record.
"No. 1, we're playing a different opponent this year, and No. 2, we've got different guys but the core thing behind it all is they've been working hard for 11 months for this. It starts all the way back in January when you start doing winter weights and stuff.''
Andale has been arguably the state's most dominant program in recent memory, with the Indians winning seven state championships since 2006 and putting together a 57-game winning streak over four-plus seasons before Cheney snapped the streak in a 36-30 overtime regular-season win over Andale in 2023.
Cheney handed Andale another loss in last year's sub-state round before capping a perfect season with the win over Hayden in the state final.
But Arnold's Wildcats have an impressive resume of their own, playing in multiple championship games in multiple classes and winning a state title in 2008.
Andale beat Hayden on a late field goal on the way to a 14-0 season and a 4A state title in 2007 but the Wildcats took a 20-12 sub-state win over the Indians in '08 and Hayden is 3-1 against Andale under Arnold.
"Do we respect them? Yes, but we're not afraid of them,'' Arnold said. "It's going to come down to which team is able to control the time of possession, hang onto the football with no turnovers and which program's going to put the other one into a situation they don't want to be in.''
