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Dylan Willingham closing in on Rural soccer single-season, career scoring records
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
With three state championships, 16 semifinal appearances and 23 quarterfinal appearances, including 18 of the last 20 seasons, the Washburn Rural boys soccer program is one of the most successful in all of Kansas.
Washburn Rural senior Dylan Willingham is closing in on Rural's single-season and career scoring records. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Year after year, it produces some of the best players in the state. Holding any type of record in such a program is quite an accomplishment.
Senior Dylan Willingham is on the verge of establishing himself as the program’s all-time greatest scorer. The next time Willingham puts a shot in the net, he will tie the school record for goals scored at 57. And he needs four goals to tie the mark for scores in a single season.
The Junior Blues have two more games left on the regular season schedule – at Topeka High on Monday, and at Blue Valley North on Thursday – and figure to play several postseason matches after that. The chances are high that Willingham will eclipse both records before he’s done.
“He’s one of the most talented kids to ever come through our program,” said Washburn Rural coach Brian Hensyel. “He has an unbelievable work ethic, wants to get better, super competitive.
“To get these records, he’s going to be up there with some of the great kids that we’ve had. It’s just cool to see a great kid like him, a really good student, be the person who could potentially hold those records.”
Last year’s Centennial League Player of the Year and an All-State first-team selection, Willingham now stands among the best goal scorers around. But it’s been a slow, steady build to this point. He scored just three goals as a freshman despite being a starter. He scored 12 as a sophomore, then 15 as a junior. He has scored 26 times thus far as a senior.
“When he was a freshman, I wouldn’t have thought of him as a goal scorer,” Hensyel said. “He played midfield for a couple of years. Now he’s playing forward. He was just a really good technical soccer player who has turned into a really good finisher.”
Willingham is excelling at scoring, but he doesn’t necessarily think of himself as a scorer.
“I was playing center-mid (my first two years) and I like to be more of a playmaker,” Willingham said. “But scoring goals is a fun thing to do. That’s the role that this team needs for me now, to play forward.”
Hardly a ball hog, Willingham also ranks high on the school list for assists.
“I think I play better as a whole when I just think about having us as a team winning, scoring goals as a team,” Willingham said. “In reality, it doesn’t matter who scores the goal. It just matters that the ball goes in the net.”
Hensyel said Willingham’s personality has helped him reach this point as a player.
“Sometimes when he was younger, he was a little bit tough on himself, if he made a mistake or missed a shot or whatever,” Hensyel said. “But it’s been pretty rare for me to see a team rally around one guy as much as I’ve seen them rally around him. His biggest fans are his teammates. They’re like, ‘We’ve got to get the ball to Dylan! We need to keep feeding him!’ ”
Willingham is chasing the season goals record of 30 set by Austin Halsey in 2014. He needs just one goal to match the career total of 57 held by Halsey and Easton Bradstreet.
“To reach those kind of totals, it means, number one, you’ve got to probably be on the team for four years. And then you’ve got to play a big role for four years,” Hensyel said.
WU soccer stretches unbeaten streak to nine games with 1-1 tie against Hillcats
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sunday was a frustrating day for Washburn University soccer in some respects, with the Ichabods having a first-half goal taken off the board and having to come from behind after Rogers State scored early in the second half.
But in the end Washburn found a way to earn a 1-1 tie at Yager Stadium, stretching its unbeaten streak to nine games.
Washburn freshman Kate Hinck (7) battles Rogers State's Kelsey Hogan for the ball in Sunday's 1-1 tie at Yager Stadium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I thought the performance was really good,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "We out-shot them 17-4 and in the game of soccer it's hard to score goals and a ref takes one away from you it makes a big difference on the game.
"But I'm proud of the mentality and the performance. There's probably 20 minutes in the second half we weren't at our best, but other than that I thought it was a really good performance from us. It's just turning performance into wins, which is really, really hard in soccer.''
Washburn is now 8-2-3 overall and 5-0-2 in the MIAA while Rogers State is 1-5-6 overall and 1-3-3 in the MIAA.
Sunday's game was scoreless at the half after Washburn had a goal ruled out due to a foul on the Hillcat goalkeeper.
Washburn recorded 12 shots in the half, with a shot off the post and two others on goal, and out-shot Rogers State 17-4 on the day, with all of the Hillcats' shots coming in the second half.
But it was Rogers State that drew first blood two minutes into the second half on a free kick that bounced around and eventually found the net.
Washburn would have control of the ball for the rest of the contest and finally pulled even in the 80th minute, scoring from a corner by way of Shaye Taylor, who scored her second career goal.
Washburn will be back at home on Friday as the Ichabods host the Central Missouri Jennies in a 6 p.m. MIAA contest at Yager Stadium.
State girls golf: Seaman's Eckert looking to use familiarity with 5A course to her advantage
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's probably safe to say that nobody in Monday and Tuesday's Class 5A state tournament field has played more rounds at Emporia Municipal Golf Course than Seaman senior Elise Eckert.
Seaman senior Elise Eckert will be shooting for her fourth straight Class 5A state medal this week in Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
After all, Emporia Municipal was Eckert's home course growing up and through her first three years of high school golf before her family moved to Topeka prior to this school year after her junior year at Emporia High.
Now Eckert, who was a three-time 5A state medalist for the Spartans, is hoping to use her vast knowledge of the tournament layout to cap her high school career with a run at the state title.
"I'm so glad that state's at Emporia this year,'' Eckert said. "I know where the ins and outs are of the course for sure. But you can't get too comfortable with any course.
"I've played this course a bunch, but you know there's still new spots you haven't seen that you'll find eventually and you've just got to play that day.''
Eckert followed up her city and United Kansas Conference individual championships with a second-place regional finish last Monday at Shawnee County Club as the Vikings advanced to state as a team with a runnerup finish behind Andover (342-355).
Eckert carded a two-over-par 75 at regionals to finish second behind Regan Dusenbery's two-under 71 while Seaman also got a fourth-place finish from Makenna Stuke (90), a tie for seventh from Kaitlynn Frye (94), a 10th-place finish from Chloe Schmidtlein (96) and a 16th from Molina Quintana (110).
Eckert feels like her game is in pretty good shape entering her final high school state tournament.
"I feel like if I can keep up with what I've been doing right now I think I'll be in pretty good shape for state,'' Eckert said.
Topeka West senior Berlyn Kolean qualified for state as an individual with a 109 while Shawnee Heights junior Lauryn Valdivia qualified for state as an individual with a 112.
State tournaments at all sites are scheduled to get under way at 9 a.m. on Monday and 10 a.m. on Tuesday after the fields are cut to the top six teams and top individuals.
Junior Kailyn Petersen placed third in last Monday's Class 6A regional to lead Washburn Rural to a runnerup team finish. [File photo/TSN]
Class 6A at Hesston
Washburn Rural girls golf will compete in the Class 6A state tournament for the 20th straight season in Jared Goehring's 20 years as head coach, qualifying for the state meet at Hesston Golf Course with a runnerup finish in last Monday's regional tournament at Sim Park Golf Course.
Rural, which has captured four 6A state titles, posted a four-person score of 335 to finish second behind champion Olathe West (328).
Junior Kailyn Petersen led the Junior Blues with a third-place regional finish, shooting a 79, while Taryn Jellison placd fourth with an 83.
The Junior Blues also got a tie for fifth from Lauren Cox (85), an 11th-place finish from Briley Miles (88), a tie for 14th from Peyton Merrick (92) and a 16th-place showing from Ella Taggart (93).
