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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
TopSports.news will honor All-America track and field thrower Braden Rose and All-America soccer player Khloe Schuckman as Washburn University's outstanding male and female athletes for 2023-2024 at the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on June 26 at Washburn's Memorial Union.
Rose, a Hutchinson native (Buhler High School), is already a four-time NCAA Division II All-American in track and field, with his final NCAA meet still to come, and holds the Washburn school record in the indoor weight throw, discus and hammer throw.
Schuckman, a Wichita Bishop Carroll product, has scored 25 goals with nine assists over her first three WU seasons and helped lead the Ichabods to a 21-4-1 record last fall, earning third-team All-America recognition.
TopSports.news will honor outstanding Washburn athletes for the fourth time in conjunction with the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Awards and Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.
In 2023 Grant Bruner and Jaycee Ginter were named Washburn outstanding male and female athletes of the year.
Washburn Athlete of the Year capsules:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's softball team improved to 13-5 on the season Wednesday with a non-league home doubleheader sweep over Manhattan.
The Vikings took a 15-3 run-rule romp over the Indians in the first game before taking a 13-8 decision in the nightcap.
Seaman senior Paige Glasgow ended the opener with a grand slam home run.
Glasgow added a second homer in the second game of the twinbill while the Vikings also got home runs from senior Rosalie Schneider, senior Jersey Jellison and junior Raegan McConnell.
Manhattan fell to 9-7 with Wednesday's losses.
SEAMAN BASEBALL HONORS BUSHNELL
Seaman baseball honored former longtime coach and current athletic director Steve Bushnell during Wednesday's United Kansas Conference doubleheader split against De Soto at Seaman.
The Vikings took a 5-1 decision over the Wildcats in the first game before De Soto took a 1-0 win in the second game.
Seaman is now 10-5 overall and 8-3 in the UKC while De Soto is 16-3, 11-2 in the conference.
A highlight of the day was a ceremony honoring Bushnell, who is retiring at the end of the school year after 33 years of service to the Seaman school district as a teacher, coach and athletic director.
Bushnell coached Seaman to nine Class 5A state championships before moving into his current administrative role.
SILVER LAKE SOFTBALL EARNS SPLIT WITH WAMEGO
State softball powers Silver Lake and Wamego battled to a split in Wednesday's non-league doubleheader.
Wamego took a 6-0 win over the Eagles in the opener, but Silver Lake bounced back to claim a 13-6 decision in the nightcap.
Senior Makenzie McDaniel hit a pair of home runs in the second game while Silver Lake also got homers from Taylor Zordel and Raely Sterling.
The Eagles are now 14-2 on the season.
TROJANS, WILDCATS BATTLE TO CENTENNIAL BASEBALL SPLIT
Topeka High and Hayden rode pitching gems to a Centennnial League baseball split at Hummer Sports Park on Wednesday.
Senior Nate Plankinton pitched Topeka High to a 2-0 first-game victory over the Wildcats before Hayden junior Cooper Grace led his team to an 11-0 win in the nightcap.
Topeka High is now 11-4 on the season while Hayden is 8-9.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball took the lead four batters into the game Wednesday afternoon and added to its advantage the rest of the way, knocking off Southern Nazarene at Bethany, Okla.,14-3, in the Ichabods' final non-conference game of the season.
The Ichabods, 26-19 on the year, return to conference play this weekend for three games at Northeastern State, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Washburn's offense led off with Payton McHarg slashing a single to right before Cale Savage traded places with him on a fielders choice. Savage was moved to second and scored on a single into left field by Hayden Priest to open up the scoring for the Ichabods.
Cal Watkins slashed a one-out single in the second and scored on a double from McHarg to left center. Savage followed with a run-scoring single to the outfield to make it 3-0 Washburn.
Charlie Kiefer got his third start of the season and delivered a pair of scoreless innings to begin the game.
The Storm (12-35) got on the board in the third with a hit batter followed by a home run to right, cutting the lead to one.
Washburn got the runs back the next half inning, scoring four runs that all came with two outs.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sophomore Audrey Appuhn led the way with four wins -- two individual events, two relays -- as Washburn Rural piled up more than 500 points to win the team championship by more than 200 points in Tuesday's 10-school Topeka West Invitational swimming and diving meet at the Capitol Federal Natatorium.
Appuhn won the 200-yard individual medley in 2 minutes, 12.29 seconds and the 500 freestyle in 5:18.81 while Appuhn teamed with Genevieve Miranda, Jella Belgardt and Molly Didde to win the 200 medley relay (2:04.40) and with Ella Bombardier, Ava Von Lintel and Madeline O'Brien to win the 400 free relay (4:08.67).
Rural swept the three relays, with Belgardt, Bombardier, Didde and Miranda to win the 200 free relay in 1:50.57 as the Junior Blues rolled to the team title by a 503.5 301.5 margin over Osawatomie/Paola/Louisburg/Spring Hill.
Hayden finished sixth in the team race (211.5 points), while Shawnee Heights was seventh (207), Topeka High eighth (130) and Topeka West ninth (66.5).
Belgardt finished second in the 200 IM (2:26.18) and the 100 freestyle (1:00.48) while Miranda was second in the 50 freestyle (26.70).
Miranda added a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle (2:12.50) while Natalee Grauberger was third in one-meter diving (191.50) and Didde placed third in the 100 breaststroke (1:21.38).
Topeka High got a second-place finishes from Hara Del Castillo in the 100 backstroke (1:07.08) and from Caroline Toland in the 100 breaststroke (1:18.22) and a third from Del Castillo in the 200 IM (2:26.48) while Shawnee Heights' Ashtynn Landry placed third in the 500 free (5:49.79) and Heights' Kaitlyn Aldridge was third in the 100 backstroke (1:10.97).
Hayden's foursome of Kaylee Gregg, Esa Herrera, Jenna Dernovish and Kaelyn Gerdel finished second in the 400 free relay in 4:21.30.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University baseball scored eight runs in the middle three innings on Tuesday evening and held on late to knock off Emporia State 9-7 in a nonconference game to wrap up the regular-season home slate at Falley Field.
The Ichabods will play their second game in as many days Wednesday, going on the road to take on Southern Nazarene on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Griffin Hurst threw two hitless innings against the Hornets to begin Tuesday's game, striking out four of the first seven batters he faced.
In the top of the fourth Emporia State (19-28) opened the scoring with a leadoff home run to right field by Kadyn Williams but Washburn's Cash Jay led off the bottom of the inning with a double and the bases were loaded after a walk to Hayden Priest and Connor Scott was hit by a pitch.
Jett Buck punched a double into the right-field corner, scoring two.
Two batters later Blake Scott blasted a double off the wall in right-center to score two more and complete a four-run inning for the Ichabods (25-19).
The Hornets got a leadoff single in the fifth, moving to second on a wild pitch. A single through the right side of the infield scored the run to make it 4-2. Washburn got out of the inning throwing out runners at both second base and home in a double steal attempt.
Jay, Priest and Connor Scott led off the sixth with three straight singles to load the bases before Cal Watkins hit a sacrifice fly to score Jay. Buck followed with his second straight RBI, hitting a single through the left side of the infield to bring Priest around.