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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
In her first individual races of the 2024 season at Friday's Lansing Invitational, Seaman sophomore Ryin Miller broke two school records along with posting the state’s best times this season in both races.
In the girls 1,600-meter race, Miller's time of 4 minutes, 53.37 seconds broke the 38-year-old Seaman school record, previously held by Marge Eddy, by 11 seconds.
In the 3,200 meters Miller ran a 10:26.54, which broke the school record, also held by Eddy and set 38 years ago, by 33 seconds.
Miller also ran a 59-second split on the 4x400-meter relay, teaming with Taylie Heston, Allie Steiner and Jaida Stallbaumer to win the event in 4:15.21.
Shawnee Heights senior Jackson Esquibel, a Class 5A state champion in both track and cross country, also captured three gold medals in Friday's meet.
Esquibel won the boys 1,600 in 4:28.20 and the 3,200 in 9:31.57 while also teaming with Mason Haas, Charles Hanson and Evan Carter to win the 4x800 relay in 8:38.00.
Seaman won the girls team title by a 121-116 margin over Emporia while Shawnee Heights won the boys championship by a 125-88.5 margin over Emporia.
Also winning on the girls side was Hayden senior Natalie Hillebert in the 400 (62.79).
Shawnee Heights junior Payton Berry-Briggs won the boys 400 dash in 49.95 while Heights also got wins from senior Alexander Dawkins in the discus (138-8) and senior Alex Dittman in the javelin (157-5).
Hayden senior Carter Charvat won the boys shot put at 47-3 while the Wildcats also won the 4x100 relay (43.26) and the 4x400 relay (3:28.60).
Topeka High junior Jaxon Cowdin won the 300 hurdles (42.21), Trojan junior Daniel Brown won the high jump (5-10) and Topeka West junior Alsecio Batson won the triple jump (44-5).
LANSING INVITATIONAL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's softball team ran its win streak to four games with Friday's 8-3, 15-4 non-league road doubleheader sweep over Olathe South, with the Junior Blues improving to 6-2 on the season.
Junior Naudia Wech sparked the Washburn Rural offense in the opener with a bases loaded triple while freshman Olivia Koch picked up the pitching win with a complete-game performance.
Junior Avery Rupp hit a grand slam in the second game, her first home run at the varsity level, while senior Makayla Ekis went the distance in the pitcher's circle for the victory.
Rural's sweep over Olathe South came on the heels of a 5-2, 10-1 Centennial League road sweep over Emporia.
Washburn Rural will be at home Tuesday to host Hayden (2-2) in a Centennial twinbill.
Seaman softball bounces back from first loss with win over city rival Topeka High
After suffering a heartbreaking 10-inning 5-4 loss to Eudora in its first game, Seaman's softball team bounced right back to take a 19-9 win over city rival Topeka High in Friday's triangular at Seaman.
With its second-game win the Vikings improved to 5-1 on the season.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 24-ranked Washburn University softball team pushed its win streak to 11 games on Friday with a doubleheader sweep at Fort Hays State, 13-6 and 2-0.
Washburn, 34-10 overall, 15-5 in the MIAA, recorded a season-high 16 hits in the opener, scoring in six of seven innings, while senior Jaycee Ginter twirled a two-hit shutout in the second game.
The Ichabods got on the board in their first at bat of the day when Erin Boles led off the game with a single and came around to score on Kaylee Wagner's single to left as Washburn took the early 1-0 lead.
In the second frame, Mariah Wheeler started things off with a single and then Gracie Gallagher entered as a pinch runner, moving to second on a sac bunt by Autymn Schreiner. A single from Ellington Hogle, followed by a stolen base from Hogle put runners and second and third. Boles hit a sac fly to score Gallgher as the Ichabods took a 2-0 advantage.
The third inning saw the Ichabods get a two-runner homer by Wagner, her second of the season, scoring Alexis Tanguma, who had reached on a single.
The Tigers scored three runs in the third inning on three hits to get within 4-3, but Washburn came back with two runs of its own in the fourth inning when Hogle was hit by a pictch and then moved to second when Boles singled to center.
A sac bunt from Marrit Mead moved the runners up 60 feet and then Jaycee Ginter's second walk of the game loaded the bases before Tanguma stroked a two-run single.
Washburn added two more in the fifth on Mead's program-best 57th career double which scored Boles and Wheeler as the Ichabods increased their lead to 8-3.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University football team will hold its annual Spring Game on Saturday inside Yager Stadium, starting with warmups around 9:40 a.m.
Following team stretches and special teams drills, a controlled scrimmage will last until approximately 11:45 a.m. going through 20 periods of plays.
Washburn coach Craig Schurig, whose Ichabods are coming off an injury-riddled 2-9 season last fall after three straight winning seasons, said he has been pleased with how the spring has gone. Most all of the players that suffered season-ending injuries last season are back on the field and healthy while a ton of young players who were pressed into duty last season are also making strides according to WU's veteran coach.
"You feel like the team is really coming together,'' Schurig said. "The youth that we had in the fall, the fact that they got all that playing time, you can see their sense of urgency to get better because they've seen what it takes in this conference.
"So they're focused. It's a fun group, a lot of enthusiasm. They go hard and you can see them starting to play together. We've got a ways to go but if we get this group to play with their instinct and their speed, we're good. They're getting more and more like that, where they're just playing.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WAMEGO -- Washburn Rural senior golfer Cam Zimlich didn't get off to the best of starts in Thursday's Washburn Rural Great Plains Classic, carding a triple bogey on his very first hole of the tournament at Wamego Country Club.
But that was one of just a few missteps on the day as Zimlich tied for second individually with a 76 (third on a tiebreaker), leading the host Junior Blues to a second-place team finish with a four-man score of 312, just two strokes behind Manhattan.
"I started on 18 and I hit it (out of bounds) and I ended up tripling right out of the gate,'' Zimlich said. "I kind of fought back and kept it even until hole 15 was my next bad hole and I made a double, but then 16's a Par 5 and I ended up eagling that one and that got me right back after that. It was kind of an up and down round out there.''
But fortunately for Zimlich, there were a lot more ups than downs.
"That's probably my best tournament round so I was really proud about that one,'' Zimlich said.