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Rural's Fredrickson, Seaman's Druse shine in Jerry Beardslee Invitational

By Rick Peterson

TopSports.news

Sometimes athletes tend to ease into a new season, particularly when they're coming off another campaign in another sport, but not Washburn Rural senior standout Alexis Fredrickson.

Washburn Rural senior Alexis Fredrickson (center) won the girls 100-meter dash in Thursday's Jerry Beardslee Invitational and doubled up in the 200 while also posting second-place finishes in the pole vault and 400. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Just a little over a month removed from helping the Junior Blues win the Class 6A-5A state wrestling championship, Fredrickson made her 2023 track and field debut in Thursday's Jerry Beardslee Invitational and competed in the maximum four events while posting a pair of victories and a pair of runnerup finishes.

Fredrickson, a three-time state medalist in wrestling, won the 100-meter dash in 14 seconds while running into a wicked wind, took the 200 in 28.26 and finished second in the pole vault at 8 foot, 6 inches and second in the 400 in 62.00.

Overall, Fredrickson, who will wrestle in college at Oklahoma City University, was pleased with her day.

"We've been training really hard so I'm not necessarily surprised, I'm just glad, honestly,'' Fredrickson said.

Competing in four events keeps Fredrickson busy, but is something she enjoys.

"I enjoy a lot of different races,'' she said. "I enjoy something different about each of them, so I like doing all of them. It does get tiring sometimes, though.''

Fredrickson wants to make the most of her final high school season and said she has mixed feelings about her high school days coming to an end.

"I'm kind of relieved its going to be over soon, but also kind of sad,'' Fredrickson said. "Any time anybody brings it up I'm like, 'Don't say that please.' ''

State champ Druse wins three golds

By her own admission, Seaman senior star Bethany Druse is impatient, particularly when it comes to her speciality, the 800-meter run, with the future Kansas Jayhawk wanting to be in championship form right now.

Returning state champion Bethany Druse of Seaman sets the pace in Thursday's 800 meters run and also posted a win in the 1,600 and anchored the Vikings' 4x400 relay team to a victory. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But Druse, who won the Class 5A 800 title a year ago, is off to another impressive start this spring despite less than ideal weather conditions to open the season.

Running in her second meet of the year, Druse won Thursday's 800 in 2:25.28, took the 1,600 in 5:37 and anchored the Vikings' 4x400 relay to a come-from-behind win in 4:20.01.

The longterm plan for Druse, as it was a year ago, is to run the open 800 as well as legs on the 4x800 and 4x400 relays, but she went to Seaman coach Rick Brading earlier this week to volunteer for extra duty on Thursday.

"Last week I only ran the 800 and the 4x4, which is a total of three laps,'' Druse said. "I felt awful about my 800 time and I think it was because I didn't warm up very well, so I asked coach if I could run the 1,600 to help me get ready for my 800 and he was like, 'Yeah, let's go for it.' ''

It was a move that Druse felt paid immediate dividends.

"I ran two seconds faster (in the 800) than I did last week and I felt better today,'' she said. "Last week my lactic acid kicked in at the 400 and this time it kicked in at the 700, so I feel like it helped.''

Druse, who has career best of 2:15.19, wants to get back to a sub-2:20 mark as soon as possible, but thinks she is close to being where she wants to be at this point in the season.

"I feel about the same,'' Druse said. "I just talked to coach and he said my time was three seconds faster today than it was a year ago, so I feel I'm right on track or just above. I'm just so impatient.''

Other top performers:

• Topeka High senior V'Ante Peoples won the boys 100-meter dash in 11.61 seconds and the 200 in 23.74.

The Trojans also won the 4x100 relay in 43.10 and the 4x400 relay in 3:36.03.

• Highland Park returning 5A state champ Tre Richardson was a double winner while also posting a runner-up finish in the Beardless Invitational.

Richardson, a senior, won the boys long jump at 22 feet, 7 inches and the triple jump at 39-10 while finishing second in his debut in the high jump at 5-8.

• Josh Sulzen-Watson, a Washburn Rural senior, swept the discus and javelin titles on Thursday, posting a winning throw of 143-7 in the discus and a top throw of 166-8 in the javelin.

JERRY BEARDSLEE INVITATIONAL

At Washburn Rural

Griffin's walkoff single gives Seaman a doubleheader sweep over Rural

By Rick Peterson

TopSports.news

After rolling to a 17-7 six-inning win over Washburn Rural in the first-game of Friday's non-league twinbill, Seaman's baseball team failed to capitalize on several opportunities to put the nightcap away.

Washburn Rural senior Ty Weber (right) attempts to put a tag on Seaman sophomore Max Huston in Friday's doubleheader. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Seaman senior Kiernan Meredith bunts the ball during Friday's non-league doubleheader against Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

But after seeing Rural rally from 7-4, 8-5 and 9-6 deficits to tie the game in the top of the seventh, Trent Oliva's Vikings came up with the clincher in the bottom of the seventh, with junior Kaiden Griffin delivering a two-out walkoff single to give Seaman a 10-9 win and a sweep of the home doubleheader.

"We felt like some things weren't going our way,'' Oliva said. "We were ahead after the first inning but it always felt like it was a tie game or we were one down. But we were able to keep the lead the whole time until the seventh and just battled through some adversity the whole game.

"Give credit to Washburn Rural because they put the pressure on us, but we were able to answer the call at the end of the game.''

Washburn Rural was within one strike of forcing extra innings before Griffin put a ball in the hole between first and second to score junior Holden Finley, who walked.

"In that situation (Griffin) has two strikes, with the bases loaded and two outs and the goal there for us is to put the ball in play and see what happens and that's exactly what he did and it went our way that time,'' Oliva said.