Washburn University Ichabods

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Jadyn Baum

JADYN BAUM, Washburn Rural

A senior running back, Baum carried the ball 22 times for 183 yards and all three of Washburn Rural's touchdowns in Friday's 24-8 home Centennial League victory over Emporia. Baum scored touchdowns on runs of 20, 5 and 40 yards as the Junior Blues improved to 3-2 on the season and 2-0 in the league.

Mason Becker 

MASON BECKER, Hayden

Becker, a senior, scored 19 of Hayden's 31 points in Friday's 31-21 home Class 3A District 3 victory over Baldwin as the Wildcats picked up their first win of the season. Becker scored on runs of 58 and 11 yards and kicked a 30-yard field goal and four extra points. 

Landen Lewis 

LANDEN LEWIS, Rossville

A junior quarterback, Lewis had a hand in six touchdowns in Rossville's 47-20 Big East League road victory at Royal Valley. Lewis scored on runs of 1, 5, 35 and 20 yards and also threw for 17 and 57-yard TDs as the Bulldawgs improved to 3-2 on the season.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Freshman forward Avery McCorry scored both goals Sunday as No. 24-ranked Washburn University women's soccer blanked MIAA foe Nebraska-Kearney 2-0 in Yager Stadium.

Washburn freshman Avery McCorry (12) gets past Nebraska-Kearney goalkeeper Susie Bovaird to score her first of two goals in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Lopers. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn improved to 9-1-1 and 5-1 in the MIAA while Nebraska-Kearney fell to 3-6-3 and 1-4-1 in the conference.

McCorry, a Wichita Bishop Carroll product, found the back of the net in the eighth and 23rd minute to give Washburn what would end up being its two-goal margin.

McCorry now has five goals on the season along with a pair of assists.

Avery McCorry celebrates her first of two goals Sunday with Washburn teammate and former high school teammate Leah Henke (11) Sunday in the Ichabods' 2-0 win over UNK. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"It's pretty fun just to be around the ball and also being able to lay it off to others and finding scoring opportunities for myself,'' McCorry said.

"We're just bringing the energy and staying competitive I think and finiding the back of the net obviously was a good thing for me.''

McCorry's first goal was unassisted while sophomore Kate Hinck and senior Aubree Blackman assisted on McCorry's second goal.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

EMPORIA -- No. 14 Washburn University volleyball thwarted No. 17 Emporia State's rally to earn its first ranked victory of the season with a 3-2 MIAA win on Saturday night in White Auditorium.

Freshman Hayden Meats (12) registered 16 kills for the second straight day in a 3-2 Washburn win over Emporia State. [File photo/TSN]

The Ichabods will return home for one match on Tuesday, hosting Central Missouri in Whiting Fieldhouse at 6 p.m. 

After Washburn (16-3 overall, 5-1 MIAA) took the first two sets, 25-15 and 25-22, Emporia State (15-3, 2-2) responded with 25-22 and 25-19 set victories to force a fifth set. After trailing 8-4 in the fifth set, the Ichabods rallied to come from behind and win 15-13.  

The first two points of the match went to the home team before Washburn went on a 9-1 run to lead 9-3 after an Emma Siron kill.

A kill by Morgan Sears later on capped off a 5-1 burst and extended the WU lead to double figures at 17-7.

The Ichabods ended the first set with five straight points, hitting .455 as a team to win the opening set, 25-15. 

The two teams traded the first 12 points in the second set before both Washburn and ESU went on 4-0 runs.

The lead continued to trade hands throughout the middle of the second set before Washburn was able to create some separation with a 4-0 run to lead 19-16 after Lauren Tyler set up Hayden Meats for a kill.

The Hornets were able to come back, pulling within one at 23-22 before an attack error and block from Siron and Brooklyn Morrisey ended the 25-22 decision for the Ichabods. 

Emporia State jumped out to an 11-7 lead in the third set just before Washburn scored four in a row to tie the set up at 11. They would never take the lead as the Hornets came back with four in a row and would later push the lead to five at 23-18 before closing out the set at 25-22. 

Emporia State got out to an early lead again in the fourth set, this time leading 11-6 after three straight points. The Ichabods were able to rally and pull within one after a kill from Morrissey but once again they could not pull in front.

The Hornets had their most efficient offensive set of the night to hold on 25-19 and force a fifth set. 

In the final set the home squad got out to an 8-4 lead before a successful challenge by Washburn started a six-point rally that swung the set towards the Ichabods at 10-8.

Emporia State was able to tie the set at 13 before kills from Natalie Hedlund and Meats closed out the match. 

Washburn ended the day hitting .191 with 59 kills while the Hornets tallied more kills with 63, but were held to .174 hitting as a team. Both sides collected 74 digs while assists went 59-54 in favor of ESU.  

Meats tallied 16 kills for a second straight day, hitting .208 with 11 digs for a double-double. Hedlund finished in double figures with 13 kills and hit .270.

Siron finished one kill shy of the first triple-double for Ichabod volleyball in more than 20 years as she slashed nine kills with a team-high 24 assists and added 10 digs.

Tyler also had a double-double with 18 kills and 13 digs while Taylor Rottinghaus scooped 17 digs.  

Emporia State was led by 15 kills from Lavra Krizanic and 47 assists by Brailee Bogle. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University men's basketball coach Brett Ballard gets fired up for the start of every new season.

Washburn men's basketball coach Brett Ballard is thankful to start a new season after surviving serious truck crash in August. [File photo/TSN]

But given the events of Aug. 4 and the dramatic recovery that the 46-year-old Ballard has made since that serious accident on I-470 outside of Topeka, the start of preseason workouts and the beginning of official practice for the 2026-2027 season on Oct. 10 hold a special meaning for the highly-successful Ichabod coach.

Doctors determined that Ballard's one-vehicle crash was caused by a neurological episode, and after a week in Stormont Vail Hospital, the very thankful WU coach has spent the past two months recovering and inching back to normalcy.   

"Physically I feel probably about back to normal,'' Ballard told TopSports.news on Friday. "I was fortunate from that standpoint. Mentally I'm getting there. There's still a little bit of brain fog, but I feel like I'm tracking in a really good direction, and I'd say if I had to put a percentage on it, I'm probably 85-90 percent.

"The good news is the doctors feel like over the next couple of weeks and couple of months I'll be back to 100 percent. It's just going to take a little time for the brain to heal itself.''

Doctors have continued to keep a close eye on Ballard's recovery but have allowed him to return to the court -- albeit on a limited basis -- for the Ichabods' preseason workouts.

"They limited me for awhile and they've been allowing me to ease back into kind of a fuller load,'' said Ballard, whose Ichabods are coming off a 31-2 season. "I would say coming up this month I'll be back to full time. I'm at about 6 to 7 hours a day right now, then I'll go back up to full speed here in the next couple of weeks. I'll kind of be inching up with that. I've been trying to be careful about making sure I don't come back too quickly.

"It was hard on me when they were holding me back and not letting me do much. It was smart and I understood that, but I'm not a guy that really likes to sit around and not having a routine was kind of tough on me. So getting back into the routine of things has been really good for me.

"And without question I'm as excited about officially starting practice this year as any year. I'm always excited, but it's just a little bit different feeling this year and being able to get back in a routine is really nice.''

OUT OF THE BLUE

Ballard, who has led the Ichabods to a 198-81 record and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances, said he had no inkling that his health was in danger prior to the accident and said that doctors are still trying to determine exactly what happened.

"That's what's kind of crazy about it,'' he said. "I feel like I try to take good care of myself with my nutrition and my health and working out, so I felt fine and even that day I felt fine. The doctors are a little bit confused on exactly what happened.

"They've kind of pinpointed it down to a couple of different things. That's got me a little bit anxious that they don't exactly know why this happened. Something definitely happened, but they don't know exactly why. I try not to worry about that and continue to attack each day, but when something like that happens to you out of the blue, it's got me a little spooked.''

Brett Ballard's Washburn Ichabods are coming off a 31-2 season and back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths, including a Final Four appearance in 2025. [File photo/TSN]

READY TO EMBRACE THE FUTURE

Although the accident was clearly a life-changing moment for Ballard, he is determined to approach the future with the same zest he always has. 

"It put things in perspective of how precious life is and how quickly things can be taken from you,'' he said. "It definitely put that into perspective, so there is a level of gratitude that I have. But on the other side of it, though, life goes on and you've got to continue to put one foot in front of the other.

"I still have a job to do and a family to take care of, so you can't just sit back and relax the rest of your life. I still have things I want to accomplish, so it's a balance. I'm definitely grateful and pretty fortunate to be sitting here right now, but at the same time I've got a team that I'm excited to coach this year. God was definitely watching over me that day and he had a plan and he's got me here.

"My faith is important to me and I believe in that even more since this wreck. I'm excited about the job I have to do. From what the doctors told me I'm going to be back to 100 percent. I'm pretty close right now, but I'm going to be back to 100 percent in the next couple of months, and I'm excited to coach this team. This team has got a chance to be really good again and I'm really excited about being around the guys.''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

PITTSBURG -- No. 14-ranked Washburn University volleyball kept its winning streak over Pittsburg State alive on Friday night, defeating the Gorillas 3-2 to extend the winning streak over the in-state rival to 34 matches.

Washburn volleyball extended its winning streak over Pittsburg State to 34 matches Friday, taking a 3-2 MIAA road win. [File photo/TSN] 

The Ichabods will wrap up their weekend road swing on Saturday at 7 p.m. against No. 17 Emporia State. 

Both teams traded sets to begin the match, with the home squad taking the first 25-23 before Washburn (15-3 overall, 4-1 MIAA) won the second set, 25-18.

Pittsburg State (11-6, 0-4) won the third set 25-20, but the Ichabods responded with a lopsided 25-11 win in the fourth set to force a fifth set. Washburn came from behind in the fifth to win 15-12 and take the match. 

Early in the first set the Ichabods led 11-6 after four straight points that ended with a service ace from Emma Siron.

Pittsburg State responded by taking six of the next seven points to tie the set up. Both sides traded rallies throughout the middle of the set before the Gorillas went on a 7-2 run late to bring up set point before winning the opening set, 25-23. 

Washburn jumped in front in the second set, leading 7-3 after Brooklyn Morrisey took a pass from Lauren Tyler to the floor.

Pittsburg State worked its way back into the set, tying things up at 14.

After the set was tied at 17-all, WU's Morgan Sears landed a kill that started an 8-1 run to end the second set 25-18, evening the match at one set each. 

Both sides went back and forth early in the third until Pittsburg State opened up the set with an 8-1 run to lead 15-10. The Ichabods came all the way back to pull within one after Sears and Natalie Hedlund combined for a block that made it 18-17.

The next four points went to the home squad as the Gorillas finished off the set, 25-20.  

The fourth set opened with Washburn leading 9-3 after Tyler served an ace. The offense took control in the middle of the set, starting with a kill from Siron that started a 7-1 run to lead 20-9. The Ichabods hit .464 in the set as they were able to even the match with a 25-11 fourth-set win.  

The Gorillas came out firing in the decisive fifth set, leading 7-4 early on. The lead grew to four points at 9-5 before Washburn began to make a comeback, beginning with Hayden Meats landing a kill that was the first point in an 8-1 run to put the Ichabods in front, 13-10. The Ichabods traded points the rest of the way to secure a 15-12 match-clinching victory in the fifth set.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The No. 24-ranked Washburn women's soccer team used a dominant four-goal second half to defeat Fort Hays State 5-1 on Friday night in Yager Stadium.

Sophomore Kate Hinck (7) had a goal and an assist in Friday's 5-1 MIAA win over Fort Hays State. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn improved to 8-1-1 overall and 4-1 in the MIAA while Fort Hays State fell to 2-7-1 and 0-5 in the conference.

Washburn had 29 shots in the match which tied the fifth most in a match in program history, when the Ichabods had 29 shots against Missouri Western Oct. 19, 2007.

Fort Hays state struck first in 13th minute when Lily Marshall found Berkley Sparks for her second goal of the season.

But five minutes later former Washburn Rural star Kate Hinck tied the match at 1-1.

Washburn outshot FHSU 13-1 in the first half but was unable to find the back of the net the remainder of the first half as the match went to halftime tied.

The Ichabods and Tigers were still deadlocked at 1-all going into the 74th minute before Lydia Keller scored her first goal of the season to give Washburn the 2-1 lead.

Grace Peterson scored shortly after in the 77th minute to extend the Ichabods lead before Bricelyn Betts and Haley Thomsen scored 32 seconds apart from each other to put the game away for Washburn.

Leah Henke had a pair of assists for the Ichabods while Hinck and Kylie Hinrichs also had assists.

Hinck led all players with five shots and three shots on goal. 

Washburn out-shot FHSU 29-4, including 14-2 on goal. 

Washburn has won three straight matches against Fort Hays State, dating back to Nov. 10, 2024.

The Ichabods will host Nebraska-Kearney in Yager Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m.

UNK picked up its first conference win on Friday, defeating Newman, 2-0.  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 24-ranked Washburn University soccer concludes a four-game MIAA homestand against Fort Hays State on Friday at 6 p.m. and Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Yager Stadium.

Leah Henke, Washburn University
 
Washburn defeated Missouri Western 2-0 last Friday and Northwest Missouri State 2-0 on Sunday last weekend, improving to 7-1-1 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA.

Washburn coach Davy Phillips, who picked up his 100th Washburn win on Sunday, said the Ichabods' goal now is to continue to gain more and more consistency over the second half of the season.

"Consistency is still something we're striving to attain,'' Phillips said. "The girls are working really hard and they're paying a lot of attention to what that looks like, but it's just part of the process.

"The team loves navigating the season, the journey. They like these challenges and like coming together and figuring things out. They're doing a good job, but part of that process is consistency and how to attack every moment.''

Sophomore Bricelyn Betts, who scored in both WU wins last weekend, agreed with her coach.

"Every day is a day to get better and honestly every day's a great day, so it's about continuing to progress and building on those little shifts that we need to do,'' Betts said. "We just continue to tighten up those little pieces.'' 

Sophomore Leah Henke leads the Ichabods with six goals and has one assist while Betts has four goals and three assists on the season and freshman Avery McCorry has three goals and a pair of assists for Washburn.

Sophomore goalkeeper Lili Everley has posted a goals against average of 0.24 while recording 22 saves and posting five solo shutouts and a shared shutout.

Fort Hays State, 2-6-1 overall and 0-4 in the MIAA, lost a pair of games last weekend, losing to No. 19 Central Missouri 4-0 and Missouri Southern, 2-0.

Nebraska-Kearney, 2-5-3 overall and 0-3-1 in the MIAA, tied Missouri Southern 0-0 on Friday and lost to Central Missouri 4-0 on Sunday. 

The Ichabods are back on the road next week, facing Rogers State on Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m., before facing Emporia State on Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 14-ranked Washburn University volleyball will face its first MIAA road tests of the season this weekend, traveling to Pittsburg State at 6 p.m. on Friday before facing No. 17 Emporia State at 7 p.m. on Saturday in White Auditorium.

. @HaydenGirlsVb takes 3-0 Senior Night sweep over Holton. @HaydenHigh @TopsportsN... https://loom.ly/7pi7LvM

Washburn is 14-3 on the year overall and 3-1 in the MIAA after defeating Northeastern State 3-0 last Saturday.

The Ichabods posted three straight wins last week after being swept by Nebraska-Kearney, but Washburn coach Chris Herron said his team will have to step up its game against the Gorillas and Hornets.

"The level of competition is much, much greater this week, and the next three games to be honest with you,'' Herron said. "I don't even know who we play after the next three but I know who we play the next three (Central Missouri after Pitt State and ESU) and the level of competition is really high and you're going to be on high point alert because every single point is going to be meaningful.

"Our level has got to rise to meet this challenge.''

Pittsburg State enters Friday's match with a 11-5 record overall and an 0-3 mark in the MIAA while Emporia State is 15-2 on the year with a 2-1 mark in the conference.

Washburn moved up to No. 14 in the latest AVCA poll with 528 total points in the poll. freshman through senior.

Ichabod junior Brynne Topolski has played in 16 matches while making 14 starts and leads the offense with 193 kills (3.51 per set) while also hitting a team-high .327.

She has added 92 digs along with making 32 blocks. The Lincoln, Neb. native has recorded double-figure kills in 12 matches with one double-double.

Topolski is second in the MIAA in kills per set while ranking sixth in the conference in points per set. She is also 10th in the MIAA in hitting percentage. She was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week after recording the highest hitting percentage in a match of any player with 20 attempts this season hitting .810 against Northeastern State.

Emma Siron is second for the Ichabods with 182 kills (3.53 per set) while hitting .216 on the outside. She has started in 14 matches and played in 15 while serving a team-high 23 aces and also scooping 134 digs and making 16 blocks.

The Sedalia, Mo. native has tallied 10 double-digit kill matches with six double-doubles. She is second in the MIAA with 4.13 points per set while ranking third in the MIAA in kills per set. The junior ranks third in the MIAA in aces per set with 0.44.

Shannon Frakes leads Washburn with 539 assists (10.37 per set). The junior has played in 15 matches while starting in 14. She is second on the team in digs with 152 while also recording 46 kills, 22 blocks and serving 17 aces.

The Spring Hill native has four matches with 40-plus assists and has recorded a team-high seven double-doubles. She leads the conference and is 15th in the nation in assists per set.

Shawnee Heights product Taylor Rottinghaus has started 15 matches at libero. She has recorded a team-high 248 digs (4.86 per set) and has six matches with 20-plus digs. The senior has also added 44 assists with 16 aces served. The senior ranks third in the MIAA in digs per set.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Julia Katzer

JULIA KATZER, Washburn Rural

A senior, Katzer teamed with Halle Owen to win a second straight city tennis championship in No. 1 doubles last Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center, leading the Junior Blues to the team title by a 32-28 margin over Seaman. Katzer and Owen earned the championship with an 8-3 win over Hayden juniors Hailey Caryl and Sophia Wichman in the final.

Halle Owen

HALLE OWEN, Washburn Rural

Owen, a senior, teamed with Julia Katzer to win a second straight city tennis championship in No. 1 doubles last Thursday at Kossover Tennis Center, leading Washburn Rural to the team title by a 32-28 margin over Seaman. Owen and Katzer earned the championship with an 8-3 win over Hayden juniors Hailey Caryl and Sophia Wichman in the final.

 Chloe Schmidtlein

CHLOE SCHMIDTLEIN, Seaman

Schmidtlein, a senior, captured her first individual championship in last Monday's city girls golf tournament at Cypress Ridge, shooting a 78 to take medalist honors by a whopping nine strokes. Schmidtlein is a returning Class 5A state medalist, tying for 19th as a junior. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University women's soccer coach Davy Phillips reached a career milestone on Sunday in Yager Stadium, earning his 100th victory as the Ichabods' coach in a 2-0 MIAA win over Northwest Missouri State.

Washburn's players and assistant coaches react to the announcement that Ichabod coach Davy Phillips reached the 100-win milestone at WU with Sunday's 2-0 win over Northwest Missouri State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But when the accomplishment was announced over the public address system at game's end, Phillips was surprised and even seemed a little embarrassed to discuss the accomplishment.

"I had no idea,'' Phillips said. "My wife (Brianne) does a pretty good job tracking that. She has spreadsheets for everything we do, including my coaching, but I have no idea about that stuff and that was brand new for me. 

"We've had really good players and now I've been here for awhile (10th season), so I think the standards within the program have been established now. It's player led truly. They do an incredible job really living to those standards of success every single day, so it's easier for me to just go in and make these little corrections. They're young and they're learning, but as long as the effort is there and the honesty in the effort is there we're going to be in a good place, hopefully.''  

No. 25 Washburn scored both of its goals in the second half en route to improving to 7-1-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference while Northwest Missouri State fell to 1-7-1, 1-3.

Despite taking eight shots in the first 45 minutes, Washburn was unable to record a goal while the Ichabods didn't allow a single shot attempt from the Bearcats.

Sophomore Leah Henke scored her sixth goal of the season in Sunday's 2-0 Washburn win over Northwest Missouri State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But Washburn wasted no time breaking the scoreless deadlock at the start of the second half, with sophomore star forward Leah Henke scoring her team-leading sixth goal of the season off an assist from freshman Avery McCorry in the 47th minute.

Sophomore Bricelyn Betts (2) scored for the second straight game in Washburn's 2-0 MIAA win over Northwest Missouri State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Sophomore Bricelyn Betts added an insurance goal off an assist from McCorry in the 66th minute and the Ichabods went on to close out their second straight shutout and sixth on the season as WU outshot the Bearcats 19-3, including 5-1 shots on goal.

Betts scored a goal in her second straight game and has now scored four goals on the season after scoring one goal her entire freshman season.

"That's the first time I've done that here,'' Betts said of the back-to-back goals. "It's all about the team. The team finds me and I'm able to just finish it in.

"I couldn't do without the team. Every day we're getting better, practice is getting better, and as a team we're just growing and continuing to add on to the pieces, and it's awesome.''   

Washburn has won three straight matches against Northwest Missouri State, dating back to Nov. 1, 2024. 

Washburn hosts Fort Hays State on Friday at 6 p.m. and Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Yager Stadium.

WASHBURN 2, NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE 0

NW Missouri (1-7-1, 1-3) 0 0 -- 0

Washburn (7-1-1, 3-1)      0 2 -- 2 

Washburn -- Goals: Leah Henke, Bricelyn Betts. Assists: Avery McCorry 2. Shutout: Lili Everley.  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The No. 25-ranked Washburn women's soccer team gave Missouri Western its first loss of the season Friday night, defeating the Griffons 2-0 in Yager Stadium.

Sophomore Bricelyn Betts (2) put Washburn ahead to stay with an early goal in Friday's 2-0 MIAA win over Missouri Western. [File photo/TSN]

Bricelyn Betts scored the only goal the Ichabods (6-1-1 overall, 2-0 MIAA) would need in the 22nd minute off a rebounded shot from Avery McCorry, giving Washburn an early 1-0 lead.

Following a yellow card from Missouri Western's Jaida Douch, Presslee Amick sent a pass to Sam Searcey, who connected on her second goal of the season in the 28th minute.

Washburn held on the rest of the way, only allowing three shots in the second half, all of which were on goal.

Chaleigh Depner and Marielle Wright each recorded a shot on goal in the final three minutes for the Griffons (4-1-4) but were unable to connect.

Washburn out-shot Missouri Western 15-5, including 4-3 on goal. 

Washburn has won six out of its last seven matches against Missouri Western. 

The Ichabods notched their fifth shutout of the season on Friday against MWSU, with Lili Everley gong all 90 minutes in goal for Washburn. 

Washburn will hosts Northwest Missouri Missouri State on Sunday in Yager Stadium at 1 p.m. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Since they were born seven minutes apart, Sabetha twin brothers Jacob Grimm and Joshua Grimm have been virtually inseparable.

Twin brothers Jacob Grimm (left) and Joshua Grimm have earned side-by-side starting spots on the offensive line for Washburn. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

And now that twins bond has translated to the football field, where the Grimms line up side by side on the offensive line.

The former Sabetha stars weren't sure they would even end up playing together in college, let alone to earning starting positions at center (Joshua) and left guard (Jacob).

"We walked off that senior year after our last game and it was like I didn't know if he was going to be on my team ever again,'' Jacob Grimm said. "And all glory to God that he brought us here to Washburn and we get to play next to each other now.

"(Joshua) was always on the right side playing tackle and then he made a transition to center, so now I get to play right next to him. It's amazing.''

Joshua agreed.

"We work a lot of combos and double team-type stuff like that in our offense, so it definitely helps with that twin telepathy as everybody likes to call it,'' he said. "We have a sixth sense to be able to just tell what the other one's doing and communication's been huge for this offensive line this year, so it's great to be able to get to play beside him.''

The Grimm twins had to work their way up the Ichabod depth chart over their first two years in the WU program and couldn't be happier with how things have worked out. 

"It's been awesome,'' Jacob said. "It's been a long road. Last year I got a couple of starts under my belt and this summer was huge. We knew we had to have a big summer and knew we had to have a big fall and it's good to see after two years of hard work that it's finally paying off to get to the be on the field on Saturday. Everyone wants to be on the field on Saturday and it's great to be next to him making plays.''

Said Joshua: 

"It's unbelievable,'' he said. "I can't even believe it when I look at myself and him starting at the Division II level side by side coming from that small (Class) 2A town in Northeast Kansas to now we're on the big stage starting next to each other in D-II football.

"It's unbelievable the hard work that we've put in with our strength coaches and the coaches over the offseason and watching that pay off is just so rewarding.''

The Grimms, who also live together, said that there's always a sense of fierce competition between the twins, which Jacob said can be a good thing.

"Growing up together and living with each other I'm definitely able to get on him more,'' Jacob said. "And he gets on me more than the other O-linemen because we just know what to expect from each other.

"I know to expect an amazing job coming from him and I know that when something happens, because it's football and something's always going to happen, I'm able to lean into him a little bit and he's able to give it right back and it makes us better for the next play.''

"There's always competition,'' Joshua said. "There's been competition since the day we were born, the exact minute. The competition of who was going to get born first -- he ended up winning that one -- so there's always competition, but it's healthy competition.

"And that's what is important, to keep it healthy competition. It's just about holding each other accountable and making sure that we get everything done that we need to.''

The Grimms are actually one of three sets of twins on the Washburn roster, along with JC and Jaren Heim and Jeremiah and Javian Flash. 

Jacob Grimm admitted that, not surprisingly, there are times when the twins don't get along, but he said those occasions don't happen often and don't last long.

"I'd say we do -- and mom is going to love this answer -- a very good job of getting along, but of course being brothers and living together and always being with them we sure have our moments where you're getting sick and tired of him,'' Jacob said. "But then we go out to the football field and the football field's a way to relieve all that anger and stress and we're good right after.''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University football will be back on the road again Saturday, facing Nebraska-Kearney in a 1 p.m. MIAA contest.

The Ichabods, 2-1-1 overall, 1-1 MIAA, are coming off a 14-10 MIAA win over Central Oklahoma last Saturday while the Lopers, 0-3, 0-1, are coming off a 19-9 loss at No. 17 Emporia State last time out.

Washburn junior linebacker JC Heim (9) is the reigning MIAA Defensive Player of the Week. [File photo/TSN]

Two of the three Loper losses have been by three or fewer points (21-20 to Wayne State and 24-21 at Chadron State).

Washburn coach Zach Watkins knows that the Ichabods face another tough test on Saturday. UNK leads the all-time series 20-13 and has won the last five meetings.

"Every MIAA game, no matter the record or the location or color of the jersey, is going to be a hard game, a tough game to win,'' Watkins said. "You have to play really well to win the game and a Kearney team that is very physical and has had some tough losses is no different.''

Washburn sophomore quarterback Logan Madden is eighth in the nation in total passing yards at 1,063 and he is 13th in passing yards per game at 265.8. His eight passing touchdowns ranks 13th in the nation.

Tre Calhoun leads the Ichabods with 25 catches for 318 yards and four touchdowns averaging 12.7 yards per catch and 79.5 yards per game.

The interception that sealed the Ichabod win against UCO by reigning MIAA Defensive Player of the Week JC Heim, a former Washburn Rural star, was the first of his career. Heim is 13th in the nation this season in total tackles.

Rural product Jamond Lane's two tackles for loss and his three overall stops against UCO were career bests.

Brody Hayes is eighth in the nation in solo tackles and leads the MIAA with 6.5 per game while ranking 21st in the nation in total tackles.

The Ichabod defense is tied for the national lead with seven fumble recoveries with West Alabama and Western Colorado.

Quincay Ryker leads the Lopers with 181 rushing yards, averaging 60.3 yards per game.

UNK quarterback Devin Tate has a team-high three rushing touchdowns and averages 4.0 yards per carrry and 45.7 yards per game on the ground while completing 43 of 71 passes and averaging 120.7 yards per game.

Alex Parks leads the team with 11 catches for 95 yards.

Nebraska-Kearney topped Washburn 31-24 last season in Topeka.

Washburn's last win in the series came in 2019, a 57-41 win in Kearney.

After an open week on Oct. 3, Washburn will host Pittsburg State on Oct. 10 as part of Washburn's Hall of Fame Weekend.
 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 15-ranked Washburn University volleyball returned home Friday, posting a 3-0 MIAA sweep over Arkansas-Fort Smith in Lee Arena.

Freshman Hayden Meats (12) led Washburn with 15 kills in Friday's 3-0 MIAA sweep over Arkansas-Fort Smith. [File photo/TSN] 

The Ichabods will finish out the two-game homestand against Northeastern State on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the first ever meeting between the two teams on the volleyball court.

Washburn (13-3 overall, 2-1 MIAA) got in front early to take the first set 25-19 and came-from-behind to win each of the next two sets, 25-22 and 25-21, completing the sweep.

The offense clicked early, with the Ichabods leading 9-4 after Hayden Meats took a pass from Lauren Tyler to the floor for a kill.

After the Lions (13-4, 2-2) battled back to within two points, Washburn launched a 5-0 run, starting with a kill from Natalie Hedlund to go up 15-8. Both sides traded points the rest of the way with the Ichabods winning 25-19.

Arkansas-Fort Smith scored the first three points in the second set and pushed the lead to four points at 9-5.

Shortly after, a 4-0 rally by Washburn put the hosts back in front 11-10 after Emma Siron knocked down a kill.

The Ichabods stayed in front until the Lions scored three straight points to tie the set up at 21. After the score was knotted at 22, Meats slashed a kill that started a 3-0 run to end the set.

Just like the second set, the Lions scored the first three points in the third set.

This time the Ichabods quickly re-took the lead before a four-point rally from Arkansas-Fort Smith put it in front, 13-10.

The lead stayed in the visitors' hands until Washburn scored three straight points to lead 19-17 after a kill from Siron. The Ichabods would finish the match out with four straight points, including kills from Meats and Brynne Topolski and an ace by Taylor Rottinghaus to close out the match.

The Ichabods finished the match hitting .287 as a team with 54 kills while holding the Lions to .179 and 32 kills in the three sets. Digs went 69-51 in favor of the home team as did assists, 50-31.

Meats led the way offensively with 15 kills while hitting .519. Topolski had 14 kills and hit .542 while Hedlund added 11 kills.

Rottinghaus scooped up 23 digs from the back row and served a pair of aces. Shannon Frakes and Tyler split the setting duties with 21 assists each while Tyler scooped 10 digs for a double-double.

Lydia Pitts landed a team-high 11 kills for Arkansas-Fort Smith.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University junior outside hitter Brynne Topolski broke a record she wasn't even aware of Saturday in Lee Arena, leading the No. 15-ranked Ichabods to a 3-0 MIAA volleyball sweep over Northeastern State, 25-21, 25-12, 25-18.

Junior Brynne Topolski (3) recorded 17 kills on 21 attempts Saturday to set a Washburn school record for hitting percentage in the Ichabods' MIAA sweep over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Topolski, a Lincoln, Neb. native, registered 17 kills on 21 attempts for an .810 hitting percentage, a Washburn school record and the highest in Division II in a single match since the 2023-24 season.

Washburn junior outside hitter Brynne Topolski (3) celebrates one of her 17 kills in Saturday's MIAA sweep over Northeastern State. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Topolski admitted that she didn't know about the record she set.

"No, I didn't know,'' Topolski said. "We just kind of go out there and play.

"It was a really good day. I'm pretty excited and I'm ready for next week, too.''

Veteran Washburn coach Chris Herron was certainly aware of the performance Topolski was turning in.

"Topolski was a freak,'' Herron said. "Holy cow, was that fun to watch, and she was that way yesterday, too.

"I told her, 'Don't wake up from this dream, stay in it.' ''

After being swept by Nebraska-Kearney last week, Washburn posted a second straight sweep on Saturday in the first meeting between the Ichabods and RiverHawks in program history. 

Washburn, 14-3 overall, 3-1 MIAA, battled through a tight first set to win 25-21 before dominating the final two sets to secure a third sweep in conference play.

"We've worked really hard in practice and one of our goals has been to pick up our energy and just be better about bringing more energy on the court, on the sideline and just boosting each other up and I think we did really well at that,'' Topolski said.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

KEARNEY, Neb. – The Washburn Ichabods scored 35 unanswered points after halftime and turned in a dominant performance on defense Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 42-7 MIAA road victory over Nebraska-Kearney.

Junior Cam Robinson rushed for 108 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in Washburn's 42-7 road win at Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]

Sophomore Quin Renfro rushed for 110 yards and a TD on 12 carries in Saturday's 42-7 Washburn win over Nebraska-Kearney. [File photo/TSN]

The Ichabods improved to 3-1-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play behind a defense that held the Lopers to just 112 total yards while forcing 11 punts.

Washburn's defense set the tone from the opening drive. After Nebraska-Kearney crossed midfield, the Ichabods took advantage of a bad snap a punt that accounted for a 49-yard loss, giving the Ichabods the ball at the Loper 12-yard-line.

Two plays later Cam Robinson powered in from a yard out with 11:45 left in the first quarter and Aidan Battle's extra point made it a 7-0 game.

The Ichabod defense repeatedly forced Nebraska-Kearney (0-4, 0-2) off the field in the opening half, recording six first-half punts while limiting the Lopers to 57 rushing yards and 42 passing yards before intermission.

Washburn forced eight three-and-out series in the game for the Loper offense.

Washburn doubled its lead midway through the second quarter on an impressive 80-yard march.

Logan Madden completed passes to Nathan Lewis Jr., Topeka High product Jayden Norman and Robinson before finding former Washburn Rural star Ty Weber for a 9-yard touchdown pass with 2:45 remaining before halftime, pushing the lead to 14-0.

The lone setback came late in the half when a Nebraska-Kearney interception was returned for a touchdown with 1:38 remaining, trimming the Washburn lead to 14-7 at the break.

The second half belonged entirely to the Ichabods.

Receiving the opening kickoff of the third quarter, Washburn marched 75 yards in seven plays.

Quinton Renfro capped the drive with a 23-yard touchdown run to restore a two-score advantage at 21-7.

The defense then took complete control, with Nebraska-Kearney managing just 33 total yards in the third quarter while punting on all three possessions.

After another defensive stop, Renfro ripped off a 63-yard run to set up Robinson's 8-yard touchdown rush, extending the lead to 28-7 with 4:13 left in the third.

The Ichabods added two more scores in the fourth. Madden connected with Jacoby Ogbonna on a 22-yard touchdown strike with 7:29 remaining, making it 35-7. Moments later, the defense created another takeaway when Aaron Henson forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return and Gabriel Hospins recovered at the Loper 23.

Washburn converted the short field into points as Donovan George scored from 2 yards out for the game's final touchdown as the Ichabods snapped a five-game losing streak against the Lopers.

Defensively, the Ichabods were outstanding after halftime, shutting out the Lopers over the final 30 minutes. Nebraska-Kearney converted just two of 15 third down attempts, and was held to 44 rushing yards.

Washburn recorded two sacks, nine tackles for loss, recovered two fumbles and held the Lopers scoreless on their lone red-zone opportunity.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Two-sport athletes at the collegiate level are becoming a rarity.

Avery McCorry

But for Washburn University freshman Avery McCorry, who is already a starter in soccer and will also play basketball for the Ichabods, it's just what she's always done.

"I used to play three,'' said McCorry, who also played volleyball at Wichita Bishop Carroll. "It's just kind of always been like everything that's going on. My sister (Ashton) played basketball and soccer in college her last year.''

McCorry received plenty of attention from college recuiters after earning All-State recognition in both soccer and basketball, but Washburn soccer coach Davy Phillips and Ichabod women's basketball coach Lora Westling were the only coaches that would allow McCorry to pursue her dream of playing both sports, which made her college choice relatively easy.

"This was the only school that was like, 'Do both,' McCorry said. "It was either play basketball or play soccer with the other ones. And it's close to home from Wichita and my family can come watch.''

McCorry said that Phillips and Westling have already been helpful as she gets used to college life and begins her juggling act between her two sports.

"They've been helping me out a lot, just being able to communicate with both of them,'' McCorry said.

Obviously, McCorry's main focus right now is on soccer, but she's also trying to gain familiarity with the WU basketball program.

"I have my whole schedule on my phone and I just have to go with it,'' McCorry said. "I just have to get there, be on time, don't be late and have everything you need basically.

"It's pretty fun. It keeps it challenging.''

Freshman forward Avery McCorry is the second-leading scorer for Washburn soccer with three goals. [File photo/TSN]

McCorry has already made an immediate impact for the 5-1-1 and No. 23-ranked Washburn soccer team, starting all seven games at forward and scoring three goals to rank No. 2 on the team behind fellow Bishop Carroll product Leah Henke.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Fresh off a Tuesday night road win, No. 15-ranked Washburn University volleyball returns to Lee Arena this weekend to host MIAA matches against Arkansas-Fort Smith at 6 p.m. on Friday and Northeastern State at 2 p.m. on Saturday. 

No. 15-ranked Washburn volleyball returns home for a pair of MIAA matches this weekend in Lee Arena. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn is 12-3 on the year overall and 1-1 in the MIAA after defeating Northwest Missouri State 3-1 in a non-conference meeting on Tuesday.

Veteran Ichabod coach Chris Herron said that the win over the Bearcats was a good bounce-back for his team after being swept at home by Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday.

"We needed to get that bad taste out of our mouth after the Kearney loss,'' Herron said. "So playing quickly was very beneficial for us.

"Kearney punched us and then kept punching us and we didn't react. This time Northwest punched us first, they were up on us 6-1 and I called timeout right off the bat, but we responded after the timeout. So that was good.''

Junior Emma Siron led Washburn with 16 kills against the Bearcats while junior Brynne Topolski slashed 12 kills while hitting .385.

Senior Taylor Rottinghaus scooped up 23 digs in the four sets while junior Shannon Frakes delivered 34 assists.  

Arkansas-Fort Smith enters the match with a 13-3 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the MIAA while Northeastern State is 1-12 on the year overall and 0-3 in the MIAA in its inaugural season in the conference.

The Ichabods will be looking to regain their home mojo after already suffering three home losses this fall after only losing once at home the entire 2025 campaign.

"We're not used to this, we're not accustomed to it,'' Herron said. 

Siron leads the Ichabod offense with 173 kills (3.53 per set) while hitting .227 on the outside. She has served a team-high 23 aces whille also scooping 121 digs and making 16 blocks.

The Sedalia, Mo. native has tallied 10 double-digit kill matches with six double-doubles. She is second in the MIAA with 4.19 points per set and kills per set and third in aces per set with 0.47.

Frakes leads Washburn with 518 assists (10.57 per set) and is second on the team in digs with 143 while also recording 46 kills, 22 blocks and serving 17 aces.

The Spring Hill product has four matches with 40-plus assists and has recorded a team-high seven double-doubles. She leads the conference and is eighth in the nation in assists per set.

Topolski is second on the team with 162 kills while hitting a team-high .288. She has added 89 digs along with 28 blocks. The Lincoln, Neb. native has recorded double-figure kills in 10 matches with one double-double. She is sixth in the MIAA in kills per set while ranking seventh in the conference in points per set.

Shawnee Heights product Rottinghaus has started 13 matches at libero, recording a team-high 213 digs (4.73 per set) and has five matches with 20-plus digs. The senior has also added 39 assists with 14 aces served. The senior ranks fourth in the MIAA in digs per set.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

For the first time in the 2026 season No. 25 Washburn University soccer will be looking to bounce back from a loss when the Ichabods begin a four-game homestand with Friday and Sunday MIAA games in Yager Stadium against Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri State.

No. 25-ranked Washburn soccer returns home this weekend to open a four-game MIAA homestand, [File photo/TSN]

Washburn will host Missouri Western on Friday at 6 p.m. and Northwest Missouri State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Ichabods are 5-1-1 on the season after a 1-0 loss at No. 12 Pittsburg State on Sunday.

"I think we have a lot of room to grow as a team,'' said Washburn sophomore midfielder Jules Wardlaw. "We've kind of talked about areas of growth and places we could improve and we've already implemented that into practice this week.

"I think we know the standard and if we can section the parts we need to fix and get better, then we can grow as a team as a whole.''

Wardlaw, an Olathe West product, appeared in all 24 games as a freshman, totaling 845 minutes. She scored two goals in the 2025 season, including a game-winner against Northwest Missouri State.

Sophomore Leah Henke leads Washburn with five goals while freshman Avery McCorry has three goals and Bricelyn Betts and Mackinly Rohn two goals apiece.

The Griffons are 4-0-4 on the season after opening up MIAA play with a 1-1 tie at Central Oklahoma last Friday and a 1-0 win over Northeastern State on Sunday. MWSU tied Drury 1-1 in its final non-conference game on Wednesday. 

The Bearcats are 0-6-1 so far in 2026 and lost to Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma by scores of 2-1 in the first weekend of MIAA play. 

Washburn is 17-12-1 all-time vs. Missouri Western. The Ichabods last defeated the Griffons on Nov. 21, 2025, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, winning 2-0.

Washburn is 17-10-5 against Northwest Missouri State all-time. The Ichabods last defeated the Bearcats 2-0 on Oct. 31, 2025.

Washburn will conclude its homestand next weekend, facing Fort Hays State on Friday and Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- No. 15-ranked Washburn University volleyball posted a 3-1 non-conference road victory over Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday evening.

Washburn senior libero Taylor Rottinghaus scooped up 23 digs in Tuesday's 3-1 win at Northwest Missouri. [File photo/TSN]

The Ichabods will return home for two MIAA matches this weekend, starting with Arkansas-Fort Smith on Friday at 6 p.m. 

A tight first set went 25-20 in favor of Washburn, now 12-3 on the season.

The Bearcats (5-7) evened the match with a 25-23 victory in the second set, but the Ichabods took control early in the third to win 25-17 and pulled away late to win 25-21 in the fourth set, clinching the match. 

The home squad opened the match with a 6-2 lead early in the first before Washburn responded with a 7-1 rally to lead 10-8 after Autumn Gibbs landed a service ace.

Another ace, this time from Shannon Frakes, pushed the lead to six points shortly after.

Northwest Missouri worked its way back into the set, pulling as close as two points at 22-20 before a kill from Emma Siron started a three-point rally to end the first set 25-20. 

Both sides went back and forth throughout the entire second set, trading points and runs.

There were 18 ties in the set, with the largest run by either team being three points. After a 4-1 run late that started with a kill from Brynne Topolski, the Ichabods led 22-21. After that point the Bearcats took four of the next five points to secure the set 25-23 and tie the match. 

Washburn jumped in front early in the third leading 6-0 after Siron landed an ace. The lead grew to 13-3 with three straight points, capped by a kill from Kennedy Derks.

Northwest Missouri strung together multiple runs, shrinking the lead down to six points at 22-16 but the Ichabods were able to hold off the attack with Brookyn Morrisey providing the final point on a kill.  

After the Bearcats got out to a quick 5-2 advantage in the fourth set, the next seven points went to Washburn, starting with a kill for Topolski and ending with a block from her and Derks.

Northwest Missouri quickly rallied right back with five in a row, going back in front. Another 7-0 run for the Ichabods put them back in front 20-16 after an ace from Siron. Siron would provide the final two kills of the match as Washburn held on to win 25-21. 

The Ichabods finished the match hitting .206 as a team with 50 kills while the Bearcats were held to .095 hitting and 44 kills. Digs went 75-66 in favor of Washburn as did assists, 45-37. 

Topolski slashed 12 kills while hitting .385 and on the defensive end provided eight digs and six blocks.

Siron led the offense with 16 kills while hitting .250 and also added three aces and seven digs.

Shawnee Heights product Taylor Rottinghaus scooped up 23 digs in the four sets while Frakes delivered 34 assists and six digs.  

Northwest Missouri State was led by Sophia Gartner with 17 kills while Ellery Luhring had 25 digs.  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Jadyn Baum

JADYN BAUM, Washburn Rural

A senior running back, Baum carried the ball 23 times for 208 yards Friday night, including touchdown runs of 74 and 70 yards, in Washburn Rural's 34-23 non-league loss to Wichita Bishop Carroll at Bowen-Glaze Stadium.

JC Heim

JC HEIM, Washburn University

Heim, a junior linebacker, was in on 12 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a game-clinching pass interception in the Ichabods' 14-10 MIAA home victory over Central Oklahoma Saturday in Yager Stadium as Washburn improved to 2-1-1 on the season.

Alyson Hinck

ALYSON HINCK, Washburn Rural

A sophomore, Hinck turned in a fourth-place individual finish in a field of 87 runners in Saturday's Shufelberger Top City Classic cross country meet at Washburn Rural, clocking a five-kilometer time of 19 minutes, 26.24 seconds as the Junior Blues finished third as a team in the 13-school field. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University junior linebacker JC Heim has been named the MIAA defensive player of the week following the Ichabods' 14-10 home win over Central Oklahoma on Saturday.

 Washburn junior linebacker J.C. Heim has been named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week following the Ichabods' 14-10 win over Central Oklahoma on Saturday. [File photo/TSN] 

Heim, a former Washburn Rural star, finished the game with 12 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and the game-sealing interception.

Late in the first half, UCO had the ball inside the Ichabod one and the Bronchos ran five plays without scoring a touchdown, settling for a field goal, while Heim collected four tackles on the drive.

In the fourth quarter with 1:54 to go, Heim's breakup on a fourth-down UCO pass play returned possession to the Ichabods at the UCO 48.

After an Ichabod punt, UCO took possession with 1:30, but Heim picked off a UCO pass at the WU 40 to seal the win for Washburn.

His forced fumble came at the WU 24 after a sack and fumble returned the ball back to the Ichabods at the WU 38.

Washburn is back in action Saturday at Nebraska-Kearney with a 1 p.m. start.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

PITTSBURG – The No. 18-ranked Washburn University women's soccer team dropped its first match of the season on Sunday at No. 12 Pittsburg State, 1-0.

Livi Jones scored what proved to be the only goal of the day for the Gorillas in the 29th minute, marking the first time the Ichabods have trailed this season.

Washburn was out-shot 6-0 in the first half.

Inclement weather in the area caused a nearly three-hour rain delay, with play stopping in the 60th minute.

Washburn recorded seven shots in the second half, including a shot on goal from sophomore Leah Henke in the 74th minute, but PSU goalkeeper Jocelyn Kramar made the save.

Senior Rilyn Snyder nearly tied the match, but her shot sailed just over the crossbar. Grace Peterson and Sam Searcey both recorded shots in the final five minutes, but neither was able to find the back of the net.

Undefeated Pittsburg State outshot Washburn 8-7, including 4-2 on goal.

Sunday was the first time PSU has defeated the Ichabods in program history.

Washburn now returns home for the start of a four game homestand, starting with Missouri Western on Friday in Yager Stadium.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

On a day when the Washburn University defense came through time after time, it was fitting that it was a defensive play that provided the game-clincher in Saturday's 14-10 MIAA victory over Central Oklahoma in Yager Stadium.

JC Heim clinched Washburn's 14-10 win over Central Oklahoma with an interception in the final minute. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

With Central Oklahoma trying to pull out a late victory in the final minute, Washburn junior star linebacker JC Heim picked off a pass and the Ichabods were able to close out their first MIAA win of the season while improving to 2-1-1 on the season overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.

The defense shined throughout Saturday's game, forcing three turnovers and coming up with a big second quarter goal-line stand against the Bronchos, who fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

"Our coaches do a great job of getting us prepared,'' said Heim, a former Washburn Rural star. "We knew we had to go back out there when the offense was down and we had to step up and take the team to another level and that's what we did defensively today, staying disciplined and just playing how we play.

"I'm really proud of the D-line, the safeties. Everybody overall played a really good game and I'm just happy to come out with a win.''

Despite being outgained 359-202 in total offense, Washburn came up with the biggest plays of the day.

The Ichabod defense held the Bronchos, who were picked third in the MIAA preseason coaches and media polls, to just 88 rushing yards on 36 attempts while recording three sacks.

"We tell our guys every game we play is going to be close, the MIAA is just like that,'' Washburn coach Zach Watkins said. "Hopefully we're winning these close games, but these are the ones we lost last year.

"That's kind of the step of Year 2 in the program, you've got to win those close games.''  

After a scoreless opening quarter, Washburn capitalized on a pair of miscues by the Bronchos early in the second stanza to take the lead.

First Reece Watkins forced a fumble on a catch by Andrew Carney that was recovered by Jayson Green.

Quin Renfro reacts after scoring Washburn's first touchdown in Saturday's 14-10 MIAA win over Central Oklahoma. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Washburn was forced to punt, but the Bronchos muffed the punt and Keith Guidry recovered the ball at the UCO 16-yard-line, setting up a 2-yard touchdown run from Quin Renfro with 11:57 remaining in the second quarter.

The Ichabods came up with a big defensive stand late in the half when Central Oklahoma mounted a drive deep into Washburn territory.

Following a 24-yard run by Jadaniel Nettles, the Bronchos had a 1st-and-goal situation at the Washburn 1-yard-line.

Washburn stopped four consecutive rushing attempts from the 1, getting tackles from Heim, Brody Hayes, Jayson Green and Al-Mani Jimerson.

A chop-block penalty pushed UCO backward and the Bronchos settled for a 30-yard field goal from Bradley Thao, leaving Washburn with a 7-3 halftime lead.

The Ichabods delivered their best offensive possession of the day to open the second half, marching 75 yards in nine plays.

Sophomore quarterback Logan Madden connected with Tre Calhoun for 8 yards, scrambled for 9 more, found Dwayne Moorehead for a 25-yard gain and then capped the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nathan Lewis Jr. to give Washburn a 14-3 advantage. 

Central Oklahoma cut the margin to four points later in the third quarter, but the Ichabod defense again delivered a momentum-changing play.

After the Bronchos reached the Washburn 24-yard-line, Heim recorded a 14-yard sack of quarterback Jett Huff, forcing a fumble that Guidry recovered.

The takeaway helped Washburn maintain control and the fourth quarter featured more defensive heroics.

"Takeaway, takeaway, big stops,'' Watkins said. "Coach (Kaleb) Koch and the defense preach taking the ball away and for JC to end it like that was pretty exhilirating.

‘’Hopefully we put the game away before that, but the defense stepped up all day and I'm proud of those guys.''

JC Heim (9) and Brody Hayes (7) combined for 23 tackles in Saturday's 14-10 MIAA win over Central Oklahoma. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Heim was everywhere for the Washburn defense, finishing with 12 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and the game-sealing interception.

Hayes added 11 tackles, while Green recorded six stops and recovered a fumble. Watkins forced a fumble, Guidry had the two fumble recoveries, Daniel LaValley and Elijah Clark-Boyd combined for a sack and Green added another sack as Washburn totaled three sacks and eight tackles for loss.

Offensively, Cam Robinson led the Ichabods with 41 rushing yards on 14 carries while Renfro finished with 22 rushing yards.

Tight end Ty Weber delivered a key 21-yard fourth-down run late in the third quarter on a fake punt.

Madden completed 11 of 25 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Lewis caught two passes for 24 yards and the decisive touchdown, while Calhoun led the receiving corps with three receptions for 33 yards. Moorehead added a 25-yard reception and Aden Canty caught two passes for 24 yards.

For Central Oklahoma, Huff completed 27 of 42 passes for 271 yards and rushed for the Bronchos' lone touchdown.

Nettles finished with 33 rushing yards and five catches for 29 yards, while Tahkari Bethel recorded seven catches for 99 yards.  

Washburn continues MIAA play next Saturday at Nebraska-Kearney.

WASHBURN 14, CENTRAL OKLAHOMA 10

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 13-ranked Washburn University volleyball was swept for the first time in the 2026 season Saturday in Lee Arena, losing 3-0 at the hands of No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney.

Washburn celebrates a kill by freshman Hayden Meats (12) in Saturday's 3-0 MIAA loss to Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Ichabods will go on the road for the first time in conference play on Tuesday, facing Northwest Missouri State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.  

The Lopers, 13-1 overall, 2-0 MIAA, set the tone early in the match, winning 25-15 in the first set and followed that up with 25-13 and 25-17 victories to close out the match.  

Nebraska-Kearney jumped in front 9-4 early on but Washburn (11-3, 1-1) scored three in a row to pull within two after a Brynne Topolski kill.

The Lopers came right back to score four in a row and would push the lead up to nine in the middle of the set. The visitors ended the set on a 4-0 run to take the 10-point win. 

The first six points of the second set went to Nebraska-Kearney, which later extended the run to make it a 15-2 start to the set.

Washburn was unable to cut the deficit down into single digits after that point as the visitors hit over .300 in the set to win 25-13.  

The Ichabods were able to take an early 4-3 lead in the third set but it was short lived as the Lopers scored the next five points in a row.

With the score at 11-8 after a kill by WU's Kennedy Derks the visitors went on a 4-0 run to lead 15-8.

Late in the set Washburn pulled within six but was unable to make up the deficit, falling 25-17.  

Nebraska-Kearney finished the match hitting .330 as a team with 44 kills while the Ichabods were limited to a .072 hitting percentage and 32 kills.

Digs went 49-43 in favor of the Lopers as did assists, 42-31. 

Hayden Meats came off the bench to lead Washburn with seven kills while hitting .400. Shannon Frakes had 24 assists along with five digs and Taylor Rottinghaus had a team-high 13 digs. 

Carly Purdy led Nebraska-Kearney with 18 kills while hitting .410 and Ellie Eckman registered 27 assists.  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

JOPLIN, Mo. – No. 18-ranked Washburn University women's soccer team rolled past  Missouri Southern 6-1 in its MIAA opener on Friday night.

Freshman Avery McCorry (left) scored a pair of goals in Friday's 6-1 Washburn MIAA soccer win over Missouri Southern. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn, now 5-0-1, ripped off five first half goals, including two from freshman Avery McCorry and one each from Bricelyn Betts, Kate Hinck and Presslee Amick to take command with a 5-0 halftime advantage.

Hinck and Amick both scored their first goals of the season.

Sophie Spoonmore got Missouri Southern on the board to make the score 5-1 in the 67th minute before WU's Kylie Hinrichs scored her first goal of the season in the 76th minute to account for the final 6-1 score.

Washburn out-shot Missouri Southern 25-16, including 12-8 on goal.

Goalkeeper Ize Tidball led Washburn with four saves.

Washburn scored six goals for the first time since September 20, 2024 against Black Hills State.  

The Ichabods will stay on the road Sunday to face Pittsburg State in a 1 p.m. contest.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Most coaches, including Washburn University football coach Zach Watkins, don't believe in moral victories.

Washburn sophomore quarterback Logan Madden threw for 366 yards and three TDs in last Saturday's 31-24 loss at Northwest Missouri and is among the nation's passing leaders. [File photo/TSN]

But Watkins does know that his Ichabods learned some things from last Saturday's tight 31-24 MIAA road loss at nationally-ranked Northwest Missouri that they can use moving forward, including Saturday's 11:05 a.m. conference game against Central Oklahoma in Yager Stadium. Saturday's kickoff time was moved up an hour due to weather concerns.

"We played our third game and we've gotten better each game and our competition has also gotten better,'' Watkins said. "Northwest Missouri is the best team we've played so far. They're a really good program and have been really good for a long time.

"Offensively, moving the ball and some of the things we can do, we can really build on. And defensively, outside a couple of plays, we played really well for the most part. There's no moral victories and we told our guys that after the game, but we really liked the progression that this team is starting to make.''

Sophomore defensive tackle Elijah Clarke-Boyd, a Junction City product, agreed.

"Obviously, we really wanted to win,'' Clarke-Boyd said. "We went in there expecting to win, because that's what we do, but I was proud of how we fought back the entire time.

"We stayed in the game, we played all 60 minutes and we did our best and worked together very well and got in our stride. And I feel like if we play like that for the rest of the season we're going to do great.'' 

The Ichabods will take a 1-1-1 record into Saturday's game while the 1-1 Bronchos lost 59-20 to NCAA FCS foe Central Arkansas.

The Bronchos lead the all-time series 9-5.

Sophomore Tre Calhoun caught nine passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns against the Bearcats last week, becoming the first Ichabod since J.J. Brainia-Hopp in 2018 to have three touchdown receptions in a game.

Calhoun is ninth in the nation in receptions per game with 7.3, leading the MIAA, while senior Nathan Lewis Jr. is 16th in the nation with 6.67 receptions per game.

As a team, Washburn is 10th in the nation in passing offense at 320.7 yards per game which is also third in the MIAA behind Central Missouri's 344.0 yards per contest.

WU sophomore quarterback Logan Madden is third in the nation in completions per game at 26.7 and is fifth in the nation in total passing yards (962), seventh in passing yards per game (320.7) and 14th in passing touchdowns (7).

Madden is coming off a career-highs of 366 passing yard, three touchdowns, 29 passing completions and 51 passing attempts.

Sophomore safety Brody Hayes is 19th in the nation and leads the MIAA in solo tackles with 6.0 per game and junior Washburn Rural product JC Heim is 32nd with 5.67 solo stops per game.

Former Topeka High standout Jayden Norman had career-highs of four catches for 46 yards against Northwest Missouri last time out.

Cam Robinson had career-highs of 82 receiving yards against Northwest Missouri to go with 140 all-purpose yards.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 13-ranked Washburn University volleyball opened up MIAA play Friday night with a 3-0 clean sweep over Fort Hays State in Lee Arena.

Washburn senior Taylor Rottinghaus contributed six service aces and 15 digs in Friday's 3-0 MIAA sweep over Fort Hays State. [File photo/TSN]

The Ichabods will face their first ranked opponent in No. 7 Nebraska Kearney on Saturday beginning at 6 p.m. 

Offense led the charge early as Washburn (11-2 overall, 1-0 MIAA) won 25-10 and 25-13 sets before grinding out a 25-21 third-set victory to complete the sweep of the Tigers (10-5, 0-2).  

With a quick 5-0 burst, capped off by a kill from Emma Siron, it was 11-4 in favor of the Ichabods early in the first set.

The lead hit double figures at 16-6 after Natalie Hedlund slashed  a kill. Washburn ended the set with a nine-point rally, which included five aces served up by Taylor Rottinghaus to post the 15-point win in the opener.  

After the Ichabods got out to a quick lead in the second set Fort Hays State battled back to pull within two.

A 5-0 run for the host Ichabods put them up 18-11 after Siron served an ace.

The offense took care of things the rest of the way as Washburn hit over .400 for a second straight set to open the match, winning 25-13 to go up 2-0. 

With a 3-0 run in the third set the Tigers took a 9-8 lead and pushed it to 15-13 after winning four out of five points in the middle of the set.

The Ichabods landed three straight points starting with a kill by Brooklyn Morrisey to go up 18-16 but Fort Hays State came right back with four in a row and led 21-20.

A service error by the Tigers started a 5-0 run for Washburn to close out the match as Kennedy Derks and Brynne Topolski combined to stuff an attack and win the set 25-21. 

After hitting over .400 in the first two sets the Ichabods closed the match hitting .224 as a team with 30 kills while holding Fort Hays State to just 19 kills and a -.045 hitting percentage. Digs went 39-27 in favor of Washburn which also led 30-19 in assists and 12-4 in aces.  

Rottinghaus led the defense with 15 digs while also serving a career-high six aces and adding four assists.

Derks made six blocks at the net while adding three kills.

Topolski and Hedlund led the Ichabods with seven kills apiece while Shannon Frakes dished out 22 assists with eight digs and three blocks.  

Fort Hays State was led by Mylie Brown and Peyton Bergschneider with seven kills each.  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

For the first time in the 2026 season No. 13-ranked Washburn University volleyball will be faced with the task of bouncing back from a loss when the Ichabods open MIAA play in Lee Arena on Friday against Fort Hays State and Saturday against No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney.

No. 13 Washburn volleyball will be looking to bounce back from a pair of losses in the Ichabod Classic with a hot start to MIAA play Friday and Saturday. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

After posting eight straight victories to open the year Washburn went 2-2 in last weekend's Ichabod Classic, including a 3-1 loss to Drury in the Ichabods' final tournament match on Saturday.

"I think we were disappointed with that because we should have beat both of those teams and we know that, so I think it was also like a learning opportunity, too'' said sophomore middle blocker Brooklyn Morrisey, who is second on the team with a .296 hitting percentage while registering 89 kills and leading the team with 41 blocks.

"I think everybody has kind of flipped our mindset and our energy has been so much better and practices have just been really great so far and we're excited to get to conference play.''

Veteran Ichabod coach Chris Herron said he won't truly know how his team is going to respond to the losses until the Ichabods take the floor this weekend. 

"I don't think you're ever going to know that until the match starts how they're going to bounce back,'' Herron said. "We're trying to make the most competitive practices that we possibly can leading up to this weekend and it's a huge weekend coming off those losses No. 1 and then No. 2 it's just conference, so it's big.

"This will tell us a lot about the character of the whole group.''

Washburn is now 10-2 on the year heading into this weekend's 6 p.m. conference openers while Fort Hays State enters the weekend with a 10-4 record and Nebraska-Kearney is 12-1 after a 3-0 sweep over the Tigers on Wednesday.

The Ichabods were picked to finish in a tie for first at the top of the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll. Washburn received a league-high five first-place votes and 134 total points, tied with Nebraska Kearney for the top spot.

Emma Siron leads the Ichabod offense with 147 kills (3.77 per set) while hitting .246 on the outside. She has served a team-high 17 aces whie also scooping 107 digs (2.74 per set) and making 11 blocks.

The Sedalia, Mo. native has tallied nine double-digit kill matches with six double-doubles. She is 24th in the nation and first in the MIAA with 4.38 points per set while ranking 31st in the nation in kills per set and also leading the conference. The junior ranks third in the MIAA in aces per set with 0.44.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University women's soccer team jumped to No. 18 in this week's United Soccer Coaches national rankings, released Tuesday.

Washburn is ranked No. 18 in this week's United Soccer Coaches national soccer rankings. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn is 4-0-1 this season, including 2-0 road wins over Ouachita Baptist and Harding this past weekend.

The Ichabods open MIAA play this weekend on the road, facing Missouri Southern on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and No. 12 ranked Pittsburg State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Washburn is ranked third in the Central Region rankings behind Minnesota State Mankato and Pittsburg State.  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University soccer sophomore goalkeeper Lili Everley has been named the MIAA goalkeeper of the week.

Lili Everley, Washburn University

Everley recorded back-to-back shutouts last weekend as Washburn collected non-conference 2-0 road wins over Ouachita and Harding.

Everley has recorded a shutout in each of Washburn's last three matches and has helped Washburn to a 4-0-1 start on the season.

No. 18-ranked Washburn soccer starts MIAA play on Friday at Missouri Southern (7:30 p.m. start) before traveling to No.12 Pittsburg State on Sunday (1 p.m.). 
 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

JOPLIN, Mo. – Washburn University women's golf won its first outright tournament title in program history at the Missouri Southern Fall Invite on Tuesday.

Washburn women's golf won its first outright team championship in program history Tuesday in Joplin, Mo. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

Washburn won the tournament title at 12-over par as a team and finished 16 strokes ahead of second place Arkansas Tech at 28-over.

Susana Granados Carrion finished second overall, with a score of 1-over in her second and final round of the tournament.

Keira Ronsick tied for third placed at 2-over and shot a 4-over 76 on Tuesday. 

Former Washburn Rural standout Aliyah North notched her first career top-five finish at 4-over and shot a 1-over 73 on Tuesday while former Rural standout Raegan Petersen finished tied for sixth at 5-over, shooting a 7-over 79 for her final round.

Manhattan product Kat Ball competing as an individual, tied for 22^nd place at 16-over par. Amy Fusedale placed 28th overall, finishing her Tuesday round with an 8-over 80. 

Washburn women's golf returns to action next Monday at the Newman Invite at Terradyne Country Club.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 18-ranked and undefeated Washburn University soccer opens MIAA play on the road this weekend, facing Missouri Southern on Friday and No. 12 Pittsburg State on Sunday.

Sophomore Leah Henke (11) has scored a team-leading five goals for No. 18-ranked Washburn soccer, which opens its MIAA season on the road this weekend at Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]

Friday's game at Southern is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start while the Pitt State game will kick off at 1 o'clock.

"We know there's going to be really good teams in conference and I think our non-conference prepared us for this moment,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "I think we've learned some really good lessons and now it's just how well we can apply those lessons as a team, especially relative to some execution in the possession part of the game.

"I think we just get caught making some decisions that aren't necessarily conducive to how we want to play and if we can just maybe minimize those decisions and let us be us a little bit more in possession I think we're going to be alright.'' 

Washburn is 4-0-1 on the season after posting 2-0 shutout wins at Ouachita Baptist and Harding last weekend in the Ichabods' first road contests of the year.

Washburn sophomore Lili Everley is the reigning MIAA goalkeeper of the week after recording three straight shutouts in goal. [File photo/TSN]

WU sophomore Lili Everley was named the MIAA goalkeeper of the week after stretching her shutout streak to three straight games. 

Sophomore Leah Henke leads Washburn with five goals in five games while also adding an assist.

Washburn Rural product Mackinly Rohn, a senior, has scored two goals with one assist.

Ichabod junior Sam Searcey eclipsed 20 career points with a goal last time out against Harding.

Freshmen Avery McCorry and Haley Thomsen recorded their first career goals last weekend. 

Sophomores Bricelyn Betts and Jules Wardlaw surpassed 1,000 career minutes last Friday at Ouachita Baptist. 

Missouri Southern (1-3-1) lost to Northeastern State 4-0 on Sunday, while Pittsburg State (6-0-0) defeated Southwest Baptist and Northwest Missouri 3-0 last weekend. 

Washburn is 16-9-6 all-time vs. Missouri Southern, including a 5-1 win last season as Henke had a three-goal hat trick.

MSSU finished the 2025 season with a 2-13-3 record and was 0-10-2 in the MIAA.  

Washburn is 2-0-0 against Pittsburg State all-time. The Ichabods defeated the Gorillas 2-0 on Oct. 12, 2025 as Searcey scored Washburn's two goal in the match.

Pitt State has not allowed a goal this season after falling to St. Cloud State 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

After four straight road games, Washburn will return home next week, facing Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri State on Friday and Sunday next weekend. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Jadyn Baum

JADYN BAUM, Washburn Rural

A senior running back, Baum carried the ball 22 times for 124 yards, including touchdown runs of 2 and 32 yards in Washburn Rural's first football victory of the season Friday night, a 21-7 non-league home win over Olathe South. Baum also caught two passes for 22 yards.

Tre Calhoun

TRE CALHOUN, Washburn University

Calhoun, a sophomore wide receiver out of Marietta, Ga., caught nine passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns in Washburn's 31-24 MIAA road loss at No. 4-ranked Northwest Missouri on Saturday. Calhoun became the first Ichabod receiver to score three TDs in a game since 2018.

 Kipton Kruger

KIPTON KRUGER, Silver Lake

A sophomore quarterback, Kruger completed 18 of 23 passes for 173 yards and three touchdowns in Silver Lake's 42-27 home Big East League football win over rival Rossville. Kruger hit Braun Johnson for an 8-yard touchdown, Mason VanVactor for a 23-yard score and Rylan Young for a 35-yard TD as the Eagles improved to 2-0 on the year. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

SEARCY, Ark. -- Junior midfielder Sam Searcey had a goal and an assist Sunday on the road as Washburn women's soccer defeated Harding 2-0 in the Ichabods' final non-conference match.

Junior Sam Searcey registered a goal and an assist in Sunday's 2-0 road win at Harding. [File photo/TSN]

Neither team found a way to score in the first half despite Washburn notching eight shots to Harding's five going into intermission.

Harding's Skylar Henley nearly gave the Bisons a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute, but Washburn sophomore goalkeeper Lili Everley saved the potential go-ahead shot just before halftime.

Sophomore Bricelyn Betts found Searcey for her first goal of the season to break the scoreless tie in the 57th minute to give the 4-0-1 Ichabods the only goal they would need.

Freshman Avery McCorry (left) scored her first career goal Sunday as Washburn improved to 4-0-1 with a 2-0 win at Harding. [File photo/TSN]

Freshman Avery McCorry scored her first career goal shortly after in the 59th minute off Searcey's assist to double the Ichabod lead to the final margin.

Harding (1-3-1) had multiple opportunities to score in the second half, including a shot from Sami Berry in the 89th minute, but Everley made her fifth save to seal the match for Washburn.

Washburn opens MIAA play next week on the road, facing Missouri Southern on Friday and No. 14 Pittsburg State on Sunday.

WASHBURN 2, HARDING 0

Washburn (4-0-1) 0 2 -- 2

Harding (1-3-1)     0 0 -- 0

Washburn -- Goals: Sam Searcey, Avery McCorry. Assist: Bricelyn Betts, Sam Searcey. Shutout: Lili Everley.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Washburn Ichabod football battled back from a 21-point deficit in the second half to mount a strong upset bid Saturday at nationally-ranked Northwest Missouri, but fell short in a 31-24 MIAA loss.

Washburn sophomore quarterback Logan Madden passed for 366 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's 31-24 MIAA loss at Northwest Missouri. [File photo/TSN]

Washburn, now 1-1-1 overall and 0-1 in the MIAA, trailed 24-3 deficit midway through the third quarter, but scored three straight touchdowns to pull within seven points, but could not complete the comeback at Bearcat Stadium.

Washburn returns to Yager Stadium next Saturday, facing Central Oklahoma in a 12 p.m. MIAA contest.

Northwest Missouri struck first Saturday with a 76-yard drive, capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass from Zechariah Owens to Cooper Warren with 7:06 left in the opening quarter.

Washburn answered with a 36-yard field goal from Aidan Battle early in the second quarter after a 10-play, 51-yard drive, cutting the deficit to 7-3.

The Bearcats (2-0, 1-0) created separation late in the first half.

A 45-yard touchdown run by Jaron Cannon Jr. extended the Northwest lead to 14-3 with 3:59 left in the second quarter, and after Northwest intercepted a Washburn pass and returned it to the Ichabod 4-yard line, the Washburn defense stiffened and forced a field goal, trailing 17-3 at halftime.

Northwest opened the second half with a four-play, 75-yard drive to take a 24-3 lead, highlighted by a 64-yard quarterback scramble by Owens before he found Jaidyn Doss for a six-yard touchdown pass.

Washburn responded immediately as quarterback Logan Madden connected with Tre Calhoun for a 45-yard gain and then a 25-yard touchdown pass, capping a four-play, 76-yard drive.

Later in the quarter, Madden led an eight-play, 65-yard march that ended with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Calhoun, trimming the margin to 24-17.

After Northwest answered with a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to go up 31-17, the Ichabods mounted one more charge.

Early in the fourth quarter, JC Heim forced a Owens fumble, with Jayson Green recovering at the Bearcat 32-yard-line.

Seven plays later, Madden found Calhoun from three yards out to pull Washburn within 31-24 with 8:12 remaining.

The Washburn defense gave the offense another opportunity after forcing Northwest to go three-and-out on its next possession.

The Ichabods drove to the Bearcat 11-yard line in the final minutes, but were stopped on fourth down after a pass into the end zone went incompete, allowing Northwest to run out the clock.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University volleyball was flying high after sweeping its first eight matches of the 2026 season while winning 24 of 28 sets and climbing to No. 4 in the national rankings.

Washburn's Brynne Topolski, who was named to the all-tournament team, goes up for a kill in Saturday's Ichabod Classic. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn all-tournament pick Natalie Hedlund spikes the ball in Saturday's Ichabod Classic. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

But a frustrating 2-2 weekend in WU's home Ichabod Classic, including a 3-1 loss to Drury in Saturday's tournament finale, left veteran Washburn coach Chris Herron searching for answers.

Washburn, which dropped a five-set decision to Missouri-St. Louis in Friday's tourney opener after taking a two-set lead, took a three-set sweep over Arkansas at Monticello in its second match on Friday and opened Saturday with a sweep over Southwestern Oklahoma State before taking it on the chin against Drury, which took a 25-22, 14-25, 25-23, 25-22 decision over the Ichabods.

The result was a rare Washburn loss at home and an even harder to fathom pair of home losses in the same weekend.

"It's never happened,'' Herron said. "I'm just disappointed because (Drury) played harder than we did. They just played harder than we did.

"Their setter (Jacy Bray) made great plays and kept the ball in play and I thought she ran their offense really, really well. Our setting was all over the place. Our setting was awful today, so it didn't give us opportunities to get good swings in critical situations and we shoot ourselves in the foot, too.''

Three of the four sets in the Drury match went down to the wire, and the one that didn't was Washburn's 11-point win in the second set.

The Panthers led most of the first set, but WU rallied from a 23-17 deficit to get within 24-22 before Drury got the win.

Washburn went wire to wire in the second set after opening up 8-1 and 23-11 leads before ending the win on a Natalie Hedlund kill.

Washburn led 13-10 and 17-13 in the third set before Drury took control late in the 25-23 win.

 The Ichabods rallied from 14-11 and 16-13 deficits in the fourth set to take a 20-19 lead but after a WU service error the Panthers scored five of the final seven points to close out the victory.  

"We melted yesterday (against Missouri-St. Louis) and we let it go again today,'' Herron lamented.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University football returns to the road on Saturday, opening MIAA play at No. 4-ranked Northwest Missouri, with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m.

Nate Lewis (4) caught six passes for 141 yards and scored both Washburn touchdowns in last week's 16-16 tie with Colorado School of Mines. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The trip is the first for the Ichabods to Maryville in four seasons as the last three games in the series have all been played in Topeka.

The Ichabods (1-0-1) are coming off a 16-16 tie with Colorado Mines after the game was called due to extreme heat prior to the start of overtime last Saturday in Yager Stadium.

Last Saturday's marked Washburn's first tie game since a 7-7 tie with Missouri Western on Oct. 7, 1977.

Prior to the start of overtime, the wet globe temperature moved pass the safety zone, the teams were sent to the locker rooms and the fans were asked to leave the stadium. After nearly an hour delay, the game was called.

Although last week's game was a first for all the Ichabods and a bit frustrating given how close WU came to a big win, Ichabod coach Zach Watkins said he is extremely happy with the way his team handled everything and has moved on to preparing for this week's meeting with the Bearcats.

"I'm just so proud of these guys because since we've taken over being able to overcome adversity and the mental toughness that we stress in our program has shown up,'' Watkins said.

"We had a lightning delay last year, we had a game time move, we had heat. There's a lot of things that way happen in a season, injuries, and our team just keeps being resilient and that's the sign of a good team.'' 

Logan Madden finished 20 of 35 passing for 268 yards and two touchdowns without an interception against Mines while Nathan Lewis Jr. turned in a career performance with six receptions for 141 yards and both Washburn touchdowns, scoring on plays of 28 and 47 yards. 

Brody Hayes and JC Heim led the Ichabods in tackles with 13 tackles apiece while Gage Depee had a career-high nine tackles against the Orediggers.

The Bearcats (1-0) are coming off their bye week after a 48-3 win at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Aug. 29.

The Bearcats are ranked No. 4 in the latest AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the D2Football.com poll.

Northwest ranks No. 4 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 3.0 points per game.

Northwest is one of five NCAA Division II teams to have not allowed a touchdown this season joining Harding, Mars Hill, Northwood and Fort Lewis.

Northwest Missouri has won its last five home games and Saturday's game with the Ichabods will be its home opener.

The Bearcats rank No. 2 in the nation in pass efficiency defense and No. 6 in total defense, allowing 179.0 yards per game.

Te'Shaun Porter leads the Bearcats in rushing with 100 yards per game after their opener on 16 carries with three touchdowns.

Zechariah Owens has completed 11 of 17 passes for 144 yards and Jiadyn Doss has five catches for 71 yards.

"You're playing a really good team in Northwest Missouri,'' Watkins said. "They're the best team we've played up this point in my opinion and Saturday will be a tough battle.''

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Freshman Haley Thomsen scored her first career goal and sophomore Leah Henke continued her red-hot scoring pace with a goal as Washburn University women's soccer defeated Ouachita Baptist 2-0 in a non-conference match on Friday.

Freshman Haley Thomsen scored her first career goal Friday as Washburn improved to 3-0-1 with a 2-0 win over Ouchita Baptist. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

Sophomore Leah Henke scored her fifth goal of the season in Washburn's 2-0 win over Ouchita Baptist. [File photo/TSN]

Thomsen, a Lincoln, Neb. native, scored her first career goal in the 37th minute of the opening half to break the scoreless tie.

Ouchita Baptist's Kaylee McKinley nearly tied the match in the 41st minute, but Ichabod sophomore goalkeeper Lili Everley made the save.

Washburn outshot OBU 14-2 in the first half, including 5-1 on goal.

Henke, a Wichita Bishop Carroll doubled the Ichabod lead shortly after intermission, scoring in the 49th minute while registering her fifth goal in four games on the year.

Washburn held onto the 2-0 lead the remainder of the match, as OBU (0-3-2) notched five shots on goal, but was unable to find the back of the net.

Washburn travels to Harding on Sunday for its final non-conference match of the 2026 season.

WASHBURN 2, OUCHITA BAPTIST 0

Ouachita Baptist (0-3-2) 0 0 -- 0

Washburn (3-0-1)            1 1 -- 2

Washburn -- Goals: Haley Thomsen, Leah Henke. Shutout: Lili Everley.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

 No. 4 Washburn University volleyball split its first two matches in the Ichabod Classic on Friday falling for the first time this season in a 3-2 loss to Missouri-St. Louis before sweeping Arkansas at Monticello.

Natalie Hedlund (facing) is congratulated by her Washburn teammates after a kill in Friday's Ichabod Classic. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Ichabods will play two more matches on the final day of the tournament on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m.  

Washburn opened the Missouri-St. Louis match with 25-17 and 25-21 victories before the Tritons came from behind to win 25-23 in the third set and carried the momentum into 25-10 and 15-6 victories in the ensuing two sets.  

The Ichabods led 7-3 early after Shannon Frakes knocked down a kill but Missouri-St. Louis battled right back to tie and take the lead.

Both sides went back and forth until Washburn opened up the set with six straight points, capped by two straight kills for Brooklyn Morrisey.

The final four points of the set went to the Ichabods as they hit over .300 as a team in the opening frame.  

Next set out the Tritons started off with a 5-1 run and it was Washburn that fought back to tie the set at eight.

After multiple ties the Ichabods scored four in a row to go in front 15-12. Missouri-St. Louis came right back to tie the set up twice more before Washburn finished the set with three straight kills, starting with a slash from Natalie Hedlund.  

After an early run from the Tritons they stayed in front throughout the middle of the third set.

The Ichabods landed three kills in a row to tie the set up at 22 after a kill by Emma Siron.

Four of the next five points went to Missouri-St. Louis to take the set and make it a 2-1 match.  

Three aces in the first five points of the fourth set put Washburn in front 4-1.

The Tritons came right back to take a 5-4 lead and never trailed the rest of the set.

An 8-0 run put them up 16-7 and they went on to win 25-10 in the fourth, evening the match.  

A 6-0 run for Missouri-St. Louis put the Tritons up 13-4 in the fifth set and they traded points the rest of the way to win 15-6 and 3-2 in the match.  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University gets another opportunity to show off the No. 4 nationally-ranked Ichabod volleyball team as well as recently renovated Lee Arena Friday and Saturday when Washburn returns home for the Ichabod Classic, the second home tournament in three weeks.

Junior Emma Siron and No. 4-ranked Washburn volleyball will host the Ichabod Classic Friday and Saturday in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Ichabods will play Missouri-St. Louis at 11:30 a.m. and University of Arkansas at Monticello 4:30 p.m. on Friday before playing Southwestern Oklahoma State at 10 a.m. and Drury at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

"It is very unusual and it's the first time it's ever happened here,'' Washburn coach Chris Herron said of the two home tournaments. "We've never done it before.

"But it was hard work, I'm going to tell you that right now because nowdays you've got to tell them you get free hotel rooms and all this other kind of stuff, so it's not easy but we're real fortunate to be able to do it and our field is good.'' 

The Ichabods enter the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record on the year after finishing 4-0 in last weekend's Sioux Falls Classic.

Emma Siron leads the Ichabod offense with 113 kills (4.19 per set) while hitting .289 on the outside. She has started in seven matches and played in all eight while serving a team-high 11 aces and also recording 71 digs and making nine blocks.

The Sedalia, Mo. native has tallied seven double-digit kill matches with three double-doubles. She is 12th in the nation and first in the MIAA with 4.81 points per set while ranking 13th in the nation in kills per set and also leading the conference.

Shannon Frakes leads Washburn with team-high 320 assists (11.85 per set) and is second on the team in digs with 90 (3.33 per set) while also recording 26 kills, 11 blocks and serving eight aces.

The Spring Hill product has three matches with 40-plus assists and has recorded a team-high five double-doubles. She leads the nation in assists per set.

Brynne Topolski is second on the team with 99 kills (3.67 per set) while hitting .318. She has added 56 digs (2.07 per set) along with making 14 blocks, second most on the team.

The Lincoln, Neb. native has recorded double-figure kills in six matches with one double-double. She is third in the MIAA in kills per set while ranking fourth in the conference in points per set. She is also 11th in the MIAA in hitting percentage.

Brooklyn Morrisey is hitting a team-high .350 and has 67 kills (2.39 per set) and leads the team with 30 blocks (1.07 per set). The Lenexa native has recorded two double-digit kill matches and has five or more blocks in three matches. She ranks sixth in the MIAA while ranking sixth in the conference in hitting percentage.

Shawnee Heights product Taylor Rottinghaus, the MIAA defensive player of the week, has played in six matches at libero, recording a team-high 99 digs (4.95 per set). She has two matches with 20-plus digs. Rottinghaus has also added 22 assists with four aces served. The senior ranks third in the MIAA in digs per set.

The Ichabods lead the nation in kills per set at 15.61 and 14.25 assists per set.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University women's soccer hits the road for the first time this season while finishing up its non-conference schedule this weekend against Ouachita Baptist at 3 p.m. on Friday and Harding at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Washburn sophomore forward Leah Henke is the reigning MIAA Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals in last Wednesday's 3-0 win over Drury. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

Washburn has been off for more than a week since defeating Drury 3-0 last Wednesday to remain undefeated at 2-0-1.

The Ichabods graduated several key players off last year's NCAA Final Four team, including All-American Belle Kennedy, and played the Drury game without injured sophomore starter Kate Hinck, but have shown their depth in the early going.

"I feel like we do a good job of teaching and learning the style of play in preseason, so we develop a lot of depth and I feel like anybody can go in at any time and know what to do,'' said senior defender Rilyn Snyder, a second-team All-MIAA pick last season.

Sophomore standout Leah Henke, who was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week, scored a pair of goals against Drury for the Ichabods, who also benefitted from an own goal.

Henke is tied for the MIAA lead with four goals this season and is also first in shots averaging 4.67 per game.

Now the key for the Ichabods to translate their success at home into success on the road.

"It's different because you don't have your fans and your field that you play on every day, your family coming for a lot of people, so I think the mindset that we have is just to go into it and not be victims in this situation at all and go out and attack it still,'' Snyder said.  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Playing behind veteran Washburn University setters Corinna McMullen and Sydney Conner the past two seasons, Shannon Frakes saw spot action, but had to wait her turn to crack the Ichabod lineup.

Junior first-year starter Shannon Frakes has been named the MIAA Setter of the Week the past two weeks for No. 4-ranked Washburn volleyball. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

And after getting that chance, the 6-foot junior is off to a monster start, helping lead the No. 4-ranked Ichabods to a perfect 8-0 start entering Friday and Saturday's Ichabod Classic in Lee Arena. 

"It's just really fun to compete, and just playing some good teams'' said Frakes, a former Spring Hill standout. "And as the competition ramps up it's just exciting, and this is a really fun team.''

Frakes, who played for former WU standout Erica (Cowhick) Book at Spring Hill, has been named the MIAA Setter of the Week the past two weeks to begin the 2026 season.

Frakes helped Washburn go 4-0 in last weekend's Sioux Falls Classic, leading the team and the MIAA with 158 total assists (12.15 per set) as the Ichabods hit over .250 as a team in three of the four matches.

Frakes also registered 38 total digs (2.92 per set) on the defensive end to post a pair of double-doubles, while also serving four aces, slashing 11 kills and making four blocks.

In a three-set sweep over Upper Iowa, Frakes dished out 38 assists while making 11 digs.

On the season Frakes leads Washburn with 320 assists (11.85 per set) and she is second on the team in digs with 90 (3.33 per set) while also recording 26 kills, 11 blocks and serving eight aces.

Frakes has three matches with 40-plus assists and has recorded a team-high five double-doubles. She leads the nation in assists per set while ranking 15th in the MIAA in digs per set.

"I think my teammates have really showed that they have confidence in me, which helps give me confidence and I think we just lean on each other a lot,'' Frakes said.

Frakes played in 20 matches and 30 sets off the bench last season after playing in 15 matches and 25 sets as a freshman before moving into a major role for Chris Herron's Ichabods this fall.

"Shannon was good enough to start for us before this year,'' Herron said. "But I tell this to my teams every year, 'You might be the best athlete, you might be the best whatever, but something about the fit with the team isn't quite right.' And I think the biggest thing with Rinni and Syd were they just had the trust of the team. They had been the setters since they were freshmen, so the team just trusted in them and were comfortable with them.

"It wasn't that they were uncomfortable with Shannon, it's just that they were more comfortable with those two.''

But Herron knew that Frakes was the Ichabods' setter of the future and has not been surprised by her fast start.

"As soon as the season was over last year I told her, 'This is your team now, this is your team,' and she's just run with it,'' Herron said. "She's playing at an All-America level right this second.'' 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Duke Graf

DUKE GRAF, Washburn Rural

Graf, a junior cross country standout, posted a second-place individual finish in Saturday's 11-school Manhattan Invitational at Warner Park as the Junior Blues edged host Manhattan by a 56-67 margin for the team title, while Lawrence finished third with 91 points. Graf, who helped Rural win the Class 6A state title last fall, clocked a five-kilometer time of 17 minutes, 01.2 seconds. 

 Leah Henke

LEAH HENKE, Washburn University

A sophomore forward, Henke scored two second-half goals to lead then-No. 23-ranked Washburn University soccer to a 3-0 non-conference shutout win over Drury Wednesday night in Yager Stadium. Henke, a Wichita native, now has four goals in three-games for the 2-0-1 Ichabods after she was named the MIAA Freshman of the Year and a first-team all-conference pick in 2025.

Kolby Kutscher

KOLBY KUTSCHER, Shawnee Heights

Kutcher, a senior football standout, completed 12 of 13 passes for 221 yards and four touchdowns in his first start as Shawnee Heights' quarterback Friday night, powering the T-Birds to a 56-0 season-opening home United Kansas Conference victory over Turner at Wetter Field. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University volleyball climbed two spots in the AVCA national rankings for the second straight week, moving to No. 4 in the latest poll released by the organization on Monday afternoon.

Washburn volleyball, 8-0 on the season, has climbed to No. 4 in the AVCA national rankings. [File photo/TSN]  

The Ichabods piled up another 4-0 week at the Sioux Falls Classic with three sweeps on the week to improve to 8-0 on the season.

Washburn received 1,005 total points in the poll.

Ferris State moved into the top spot in the nation with 36 first-place votes. Tampa sits at No. 2 with five first-place nods followed by Wayne State at No. 3 with three votes at the top spot.

Concordia-St. Paul and Fresno Pacific sit at a tie for No. 5 with the Golden Bears receiving the final two first-place votes.  

Around the MIAA Nebraska-Kearney moves up to No. 7 while Missouri Western also moves up one spot, to No. 10 in the country. Central Oklahoma falls to No. 22 in the nation while Emporia State enters into the final spot at No. 25. Central Missouri is receiving votes in the poll.  

Washburn is back at home this week for another tournament in Lee Arena.

The Ichabods begin the Ichabod Classic at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, facing Missouri-St. Louis.  

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University men's golf is set to open its fall season on Tuesday morning at The Mule, hosted by Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Mo.

Washburn men's golf will open its 2026 fall season Tuesday in The Mule in Warrensburg, Mo. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

The Ichabods return 11 golfers and bring in two freshmen for the 2026-27 season.

Jacob Fratzel returns for his sophomore season after leading the Ichabods in stroke average at 72.47 as a freshman.

In 12 events Fratzel finished top-five once and notched six top-10 finishes in the 2025-26 season.

Myles Tarvin is back for his junior season and second year as an Ichabod after a year at Missouri-Kansas City.

In 12 events Tarvin had two top-five finishes and two-top 10 finishes last season.

Blake Buessing returns to Washburn for his senior season after averaging 74.95 strokes in seven events last season.

Henry Thompson (Free State) and Max Farber (Bishop Carroll) join Washburn for their freshman season.

 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University and Colorado School of Mines were headed to overtime to settle a hard-fought non-conference contest Saturday before extreme heat conditions forced the game to be suspended, leaving the teams with a 16-16 tie.

Washburn's Nathan Lewis Jr. (4) scored both of the Ichabods' touchdowns in Saturday's 16-16 tie with Colorado School of Mines, including the game-tying score with 1:48 left in regulation. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The deadlock marked Washburn's first tie game since 1977 after a pair of delays, including the final stoppage that ended the contest before the start of the extra session.

"Coach Wat (Zach Watkins) just told us obviously we want to win, but we're still undefeated going up to Northwest (Missouri), which we know is going to be a very tough game at Northwest so we're on to the next one, on to the next week moving forward,'' said Washburn junior linebacker JC Heim, who was credited with 13 tackles.

Saturday's game was originally scheduled for 12 p.m. and switched to 7:05 because of weather concerns before Colorado School of Mines requested the 9:05 a.m. start, the earliest in Washburn program history.

Washburn sophomore quarterback Logan Madden passed for 268 yards and two TDs in Saturday's 16-16 tie with Colorado School of Mines. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Washburn sophomore quarterback Logan Madden, who passed for 268 yards and both Ichabod TDs, agreed with Heim that Saturday was a frustrating day as both teams dealt with the uncertainty.

"It sucks for sure, but we battled all game and I'm proud of the guys for that,'' Madden said. "We just control the controllables. I wish we could have played at 7 p.m., it would have been nice, but I thought the guys did a good job of handling the heat and both sides are just mentally tough teams.''

Washburn, now 1-0-1, took the opening kickoff and put together an eight-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 28-yard touchdown pass from Madden to Nathan Lewis Jr. (Aidan Battle kick) at the 11:40 mark of the first quarter.

Mines (0-1-1) answered with a 43-yard field goal from Preston Kyle on its ensuring possession.

Washburn extended its lead to 10-3 when Battle connected on a 26-yard field goal to end the first half following a 10-play, 80-yard drive.

Mines tied the game at 10 when Joseph Capra found Nick Stone for a 24-yard touchdown pass (Kyle kick) with 8:43 remaining in the third quarter and Kyle drilled a 43-yard field goal as time expired in the quarter to give the Orediggers a 13-10 lead.

Kyle's third field goal of the game, a 29-yarder with 5:34 left in the fourth quarter, pushed the Mines' lead to 16-10.

After forcing a punt, Madden led an 82-yard scoring drive in just 1:12, highlighted by a 47-yard touchdown strike to Lewis with 1:48 remaining.

The extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving the score tied at 16-16.

Washburn defends Preston Kyle's 64-yard field goal attempt at the end of regulation in Saturday's 16-16 tie in Yager Stadium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]1

Mines drove into Washburn territory in the final minute and attempted a 64-yard Kyle field goal at the buzzer, but the kick fell short and to the left, sending the game to what would have been overtime before play was halted.

Prior to the start of overtime the wet globe temperature surpassed the safety zone and the teams were sent to the locker rooms and fans were asked to leave the stadium.

After nearly an hour delay, the game was called.

"I'm proud of our guys,'' Watkins said. "We had a lot of ups and downs in that game. I thought we played really well at times and played below average at times.

"Ending a game that's not a win or a loss is different and difficult, but it's also a non-conference game and we move on to the MIAA play starting next week.''

Madden finished 20 of 35 passing without an interception while Lewis turned in a career performance with six receptions for 141 yards and both Washburn TDs.

Washburn's JC Heim (left) and Daniel LaValley stop a Colorado School of Mines ball-carrier in Saturday's 16-16 tie. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN] 

Defensively, Brody Hayes and Heim led the Ichabods with 13 tackles apiece.

Mines held advantages in rushing yards (147-76) and total offense (361-344) as well as time of possession (36:06-23:54), while Washburn generated 268 passing yards and averaged 5.7 yards per play.

Saturday's tie was the first for Washburn since a 7-7 tie with Missouri Western on Oct. 7, 1977.
 
The Ichabods will open MIAA play next Saturday at Northwest Missouri.

COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES 16, WASHBURN 16 (End regulation)

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- No. 6-ranked Washburn University volleyball closed out a 4-0 performance in the Sioux Falls Classic with a 3-0 sweep over Augustana on Saturday afternoon inside the Sanford Pentagon.

Sophomore Brooklyn Morrisey contributed 11 kills as Washburn capped a 4-0 week in the Sioux Falls Classic with a 3-0 sweep over Augustana. [File photo/TSN]

The Ichabods will return home for the Ichabod Classic beginning next Friday in Lee Arena.  

After winning 25-17 in the opening set Washburn, now 8-0 on the season, battled for a 25-23 win in the second set and carried the momentum into a 25-16 win in the third to sweep the Vikings (6-2). 

Both sides traded punches to begin the first set, with the Ichabods creating separation with a three-point rally to lead 11-8 after Emma Siron and Brooklyn Morrisey teamed up for a block.

Each time Augustana closed in on the lead Washburn responded, delivering the final counter with four straight points, winning the first set 25-17 after Siron slashed a kill from Shannon Frakes. 

In the second set the Vikings led deep into it, controlling an 18-14 advantage.

After that point the Ichabods began an 8-1 run, leading 22-19 after Morrissey and Brynne Topolski made a rejection at the net.

Augustana pulled back within one three times but each time Washburn responded as Siron once again finished the set with a kill, this time to win 25-23. 

The momentum carried over into a 6-0 start to third set for the Ichabods.

The lead grew to 9-1 with back-to-back kills from Morrissey.

The Vikings made a run late but never pulled closer than seven points as Washburn put the set and match away, winning 25-16.  

The Ichabods tallied 42 kills in the match, hitting .255 as a squad while excelling on defense holding Augustana to a .093 hitting percentage as a team with 31 kills.

Digs went in favor of the visitors as well, 59-45, and they also led 40-29 in digs.  

Morrisey had a team-high 11 kills while also hitting .526 and adding five blocks.

Frakes had a double-double with 32 assists and 13 digs.

Both Taylor Rottinghaus and Autumn Gibbs had 13 digs while Siron and Natalie Hedlund each contributed 10 kills.  

Reagan Jansen led the way for the Vikings with 10 kills and had nine digs as well. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

It's probably safe to say that a 9:05 a.m. Saturday kickoff wasn't anywhere near the top of Washburn University football coach Zach Watkins' ideal starting times.

Zach Watkins' Ichabods will be looking for a second straight win to open the 2026 season and a third straight win overall in Saturday's 9:05 a.m. contest with Colorado School of Mines. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But after a pair of schedule changes, that's what the Ichabods were left with and Watkins is confident his team will be ready for the breakfast matchup with Colorado School of Mines in Yager Stadium.

Kickoff was originally slated for 12 p.m. before being changed to 7 p.m. because of the expected extreme heat and finally to 9:05 a.m. to accomodate Mines' travel schedule.

"I shared my preference for game time and I'm not the final decision maker,'' Watkins said. "Obviously we support whatever our administration decides and what they decide to do, but it doesn't matter if it's 8 a.m or midnight you've got to be ready to play the football game and our team will be ready.

"We're a mentally strong team, so we should be in a good spot.'' 

The Ichabods are coming off  a 27-21 road win over Truman last Saturday while the Orediggers are 0-1 this season after opening the 2026 campaign with a 22-20 loss to Western Oregon in Golden, Colo.

Washburn is 13-7 all-time against the Orediggers and will be looking to end a two-game skid against Mines. The Ichabods have won seven of the last 10 meetings with Mines.

The Ichabods improved to 83-47-6 in season-openers with the win last Saturday.

After recording 15 catches for 113 yards in 2025, Ichabod wide receiver Tre Calhoun had seven catches for 117 yards against Truman while place-kicker Aidan Battle scored a career-high nine points against Truman.

Safety Brody Hayes led Washburn with a career-high 10 tackles (five solos) in his first career start while quarterback Logan Madden had career-highs of 38 passing attempts, 28 completions and 328 total passing yards and Nathan Lewis had career highs of nine receptions and 72 receiving yards.

"I told our team I was really proud of them,'' said Hayes, a team captain. "That's a long road trip, especially being the first game and the hotel stay, the long bus ride, the travel and all of that, I think for us to come out and play as well as we did in that first half was good.

"I think that shows how focused and disciplined and what a good job we did and I was happy with it. Obviously you want to finish that game a little better, it got close towards the end, but I was really happy with how we played overall.''

The 446 total yards of offense against Truman was the most by an Ichabod team since recording 547 yards on Nov. 9, 2024 against Central Oklahoma.

Bob Stitt was announced as the new head coach of Mines on Feb. 7, 2025, returning to the school after 10 years away to take over the program that he built into a national contender.

Stitt is 113-66 in his 17th season at Mines and has a 136-81 overall coaching record in his 20th season. Stitt was originally the Orediggers' head coach from 2000 to 2014, winning three RMAC titles, earning the first three NCAA playoff appearances in program history, and compiling a record of 108-62.

Pierce Richards set the Mines program record for receptions in a game against Western Oregon with 18 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown as the favored target of Joseph Capra, who went 30 of 49 for 232 yards and a touchdown.

The Orediggers rallied back from a 16-7 deficit at halftime, sparked by Mo Russolillo's 32-yard scoop and score off Parker Johnson's forced fumble to open the third quarter.

The Wolves held Mines to 41 rushing yards and went ahead on Jordan McCarty's fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Jaydan Burns, one of two scores for Burns on the day.

Colorado School of Mines was selected third in the RMAC preseason coaches' football poll. The Orediggers have 16 returning starters from last year's team and were picked behind defending champion CSU Pueblo and NCAA qualifier Western Colorado.

Washburn put together a strong second-half push in last year's game with Mines but could not overcome a big rushing day from the No. 24-ranked Orediggers, falling 41-27 in Golden after withstanding more than four hours of lightning delays.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

SIOUX FALLS,  S.D. -- No. 6 Washburn University volleyball opened the Sioux Falls Classic with a 3-0 sweep over Black Hills State on Thursday afternoon.

Junior Emma Siron (left) led Washburn with 15 kills in Thursday's 3-0 sweep over Black Hills State. [File photo/TSN]

The Ichabods return to action with two matches on Friday, taking on Upper Iowa at 10 a.m. and Sioux Falls at 7 p.m. on Day 2 of the tournament.  

Washburn (5-0) was relentless on the offensive end, winning 25-14 in the opening set before closing out the match with 25-21 and 25-13 sets to take down the Yellow Jackets (2-3).  

Early on in the first set the Ichabods doubled up Black Hills State 8-4 after a kill by Brooklyn Morrisey.

Throughout the middle of the set Washburn went on a 7-2 run, pushing the lead to 19-12.

The Ichabods offense churned out a .447 hitting percentage as a team in the first set as they cruised to a 25-14 win. 

The Yellow Jackets responded with a 7-4 start to the second set.

Washburn re-took the lead on kills by Emma Siron and Brynne Topolski to lead 9-8. After the lead traded hands twice more it was Siron and Topolski that took over down the stretch, scoring the final four points of the set as part of a 4-1 run to end the set 25-21 and put the Ichabods up 2-0 in the match. 

Washburn jumped in front of Black Hills State early in the third set, leading 14-7 after a 4-0 run and kill by Siron.

The Ichabods continued to pile on offensively, growing the lead to double-digits after Shannon Frakes set up Kennedy Derk for a kill that sparked a 5-0 burst. The Ichabods finished the set hitting .400 as a team to win 25-13.