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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural's girls golf coach Jared Goehring is stepping down after a 15-year run that included four Class 6A state championships, two runnerup finishes and three thirds while qualifying for state as a team 14 times.

Jared Goehring is stepping down as Washburn Rural's girls golf coach after leading the Junior Blues to four Class 6A state team championships and nine top-three state finishes in 15 seasons. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Goehring, who informed his Junior Blues girls team of his decision on Thursday, plans to continue as the head boys coach at Rural in the spring but cited family factors as his major reason for turning over the reins of the girls program.

Goehring's daughter, Preslee, is a freshman three-sport athlete at Rural and he said that it was hard to juggle all the schedules, particularly with volleyball in the fall.

"I missed a couple of games this year and I don't want to do that,'' Goehring said. "That definitely played a huge factor in this decision, one that I've been kicking around for the last couple of years. With Preslee being in high school now I wanted to be a part of her successes and watch her play and family's the most important thing and continuing to spend time with my immediate family and help out where I can.''

But although Goehring knew he needed to step away from his fall coaching duties, he said he still struggled with the decision .

"I did,'' Goehring said. "I was probably 80 percent certain I was going to do this a year ago and this year's senior class is kind of what ultimately made me decide to come back. Plus, I wanted to see how my daughter adapted to high school and what she fell in love with as far as activities go.

"She's definitely on the right path and we finished on a strong note this year with this senior group, so it's time for a change.''

Goehring's son, Peyton, will be a senior for the Junior Blues' boys team next spring and Jared, who led Rural to the 2015 boys state title and will be entering his 20th season, said he plans to remain in that role for the foreseeable future.

"Springtime is a little bit more relaxed and continuing on in the springtime will fit my schedule a little bit better,'' he said.

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

There's no doubt that the 2025 season has been a tough one for the Washburn University football team, with the 2-8 Ichabods suffering four one-possession losses, including a pair of three-point defeats and an overtime heartbreaker.

Senior Jordan Finnesy (1) is one of 15 Washburn seniors who will play their final collegiate game for the Ichabods Saturday at Missouri Southern. [File photo/TSN]

But Washburn will have the opportunity to finish off the season on a high note in Saturday's 1 p.m. MIAA contest at Missouri Southern. 

"We want to do whatever we can this week to get that win,'' said Washburn standout senior safety Jordan Finnesy. "Not just for the seniors but for the guys who will be going through the offseason. It just leaves a better taste in your mouth and gives you a little bit of momentum going into the offseason and then into next season.

"So it would be big to get a win this week and go out that way.''   

The Ichabods, 1-7 in the MIAA, are coming off a 45-17 loss to Emporia State while Missouri Southern is 3-7 overall and has a matching 1-7 record in the conference after a 44-17 loss at Central Oklahoma last Saturday in Edmond.

 

Sophomore JC Heim leads the MIAA and is second in the national rankings in tackles per game with 12.9 per contest while L.J. Minner Jr. is third in the conference with 9.9 tackles per game, ranking 16th in the NCAA D-II national rankings.

 

Heim's 6.6 solo tackles per game also leads the MIAA and is second nationally. Heim's 130 tackles this season ranks fifth on the Ichabod single-season chart, trailing Derrick McGreevy (131), Grant Bruner (137), current Washburn coach Zach Watkins (143) and Bill Guidetti (152).

Finnesy's 253 career tackles rank 15th on the NCAA D-II active chart and he is 15th on the D-II active solo tackles chart with 158 and 15th on the Ichabod career tackles chart.

Senior Jake Zeller is fifth on the NCAA D-II active punting average chart at 42.2 and he is seventh in total punt yards (7,047). Zeller is second in the MIAA and ninth in the national rankings in punting average at 43.5. Zeller is second on the Ichabod all-time punting average chart at 42.2 and ninth in total yards at 7,047.

 

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No. 2 Washburn men's basketball on the road for back-to-back tests in Central Regional Challenge

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After an impressive start to the 2025-2026 season with a pair of double-digit wins in Florida, No. 2-ranked Washburn University men's basketball will end a layoff of nearly two weeks when it plays back-to-back games in the Central Regional Challenge Friday and Saturday at Pittsburg State.

Sophomore Dillon Claussen is averaging 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds through Washburn's first two games entering this weekend's Central Regional Challenge in Pittsburg. [File photo/TSN]

The Ichabods will face Minnesota State-Moorhead at 7 p.m. Friday before taking on Winona State at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Both WU foes advanced to the NCAA Central Regional Tournament last season, with the Ichabods taking a 93-65 win over the Dragons in the NCAA Central Regional Championship in Lee Arena to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight.

Washburn opened the current season in impressive fashion in Lakeland, Florda, taking a 101-53 win over Augusta, Ga. before rallying from an 11-point deficit in the first half to take an 89-77 win over No. 3-ranked Dallas Bapist.

 

"Going 2-0 was definitely the goal,'' said Washburn 6-foot-8 sophomore standout Dillon Claussen. "We wanted to come back 2-0 and against Dallas Baptist we got down early, but our coaches preach that it's a 40-minute fight, so we stayed with it and got the job done.

"Augusta was a litle short-handed, but DB is definitely a super good team and to be able to beat them like that is big.''

Washburn coach Brett Ballard also felt that the Florida trip was a solid showing for the Ichabods.

"Augusta was great because we got out to a great start and then didn't let our foot off the gas and got to play a lot of guys, so that was awesome,'' Ballard said. "And then Dallas Baptist, although you don't want to dig yourself a hole, it was a really good opportunity for us to see how we were going to react to that with a new team.

"I thought we didn't really ever flinch and loved how we had some guys off the bench come in and help us and then how we just responded to that challenge and rose to the moment. It's early, but I think that's a really positive sign for this team.''   

In Washburn's win over Augusta Ichabod junior newcomer Jeremiah Jones had eight steals and he followed that performance with seven steals against Dallas Baptist, setting a Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic record.

 

Washburn also set a team record at the event with 103 rebounds in two games, recording 53 against Augusta and 50 against Dallas Baptist.

Following the conclusion of the Hall of Fame Classic, Claussen, Jones and junior Jack Bachelor were named to the 10-person all-classic team.

 

Junior Jack Bachelor is averaging 20 points with eight 3-pointers and 13 assists for 2-0 and No. 2-ranked Washburn. [File photo/TSN]

Claussen is averaging 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds to lead the Ichabods, while Bachelor is averaging 20 points with eight 3-pointers and 13 assists.

 

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