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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
LAWRENCE -- There are two things you can count on in the springtime in Kansas - the Kansas Relays and a rainstorm. Both occurred on Friday as the 2025 Kansas Relays began at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence.
Seaman junior Ryin Miller won the girls 3,200 meters title Friday in the Kansas Relays. [File photo/TSN]
Several local athletes competed on Friday with many more joining the fray on Saturday.
Highlighting the performance for the city contingent were Washburn Rural's girls 4x1,600-meter relay and Seaman junior distance star Ryin Miller.
The Rural 4x1600 relay was victorious over 22 other schools, with seniors Emily Graf, Payton Fink, Brooklyn Nolte and Rylee Ismert winning in 21 minutes, 21.47 seconds.
The race established a school record for the Junior Blues.
Miller continued her outstanding season with a victory in the girls 3,200 meters in a time of 10:21.78 -- a new personal best this season.e
“I felt really good about the race and I went in with a different tactic,'' Miller said. "I normally like to get out to the lead from the start, but I wanted to switch it up to see how I felt and how it worked.
"I was really happy with it and I think it worked out really well.”
Other Friday highlights:
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod softball team split an MIAA doubleheader with No. 5-ranked Central Oklahoma Friday at Gahnstrom Field, rallying from a six-run deficit in the nightcap for a come-from-behind win.
Washburn softball celebrates Friday night after rallying from a 6-0 first-inning deficit to take a 10-7 win over No. 5-ranked Central Oklahoma. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
After taking a tough 3-2 loss in the opener, Washburn trailed 6-0 after the top of the first in the second game before battling back behind three home runs, including a Jaden LaBarge grand slam, for a 10-7 win over the Bronchos.
The victory secured Washburn's 20th 30-win season and sixth under Ichabod coach Brenda Holaday while WU posted its first win over UCO since a 5-1 win over the Bronchos on April 20, 2019 in Edmond, snapping an 11-game losing streak against the Bronchos.
"First of all, UCO is an incredible program and incredible team,'' Holaday said. "They're No. 5 in the nation for a reason, so to play really good ball against them all day long was really good for us. I thought (pitcher) Sadie Walker was as good as she's been all year long and up and down our lineup we had a lot of kids with big hits for us and when you can share the load you've got a chance to win.
"When you get down 6-0 to a team like that it takes a lot of mettle to come back and I'm just really proud of the fight of the kids.''
In the opener, the Ichabods took the early lead with a solo run in their first at bat when Alexis Tangma doubled to score Ellington Hogle, who walked to lead off the inning.
UCO knotted the score in the fourth with a solo run and took the lead in the fifth, taking advantage of two Ichabod errors to scoring two unearned runs.
In the sixth and seventh innings, Washburn stranded two in each inning but could not push across a run, coming up one run shy.
Washburn out-hit the Bronchos 9-8 in the opener as Tanguma collected three hits while Hogle and LaBarge both had two hits.
Walker turned in a strong pitching performance for Washburn, striking out six Bronchos and giving up just one earned run.
After falling behind 6-0 in the first inning of the nightcap as the Bronchos (41-8 overall, 18-4 MIAA) sent 12 batters to plate, the Ichabods (30-19, 12-10) came back with two runs of their own as LaBarge picked up a two-out single, scoring both Hogle and Makenzie Sais, who singled to start the inning.
Neither team scored again until the third inning when UCO added a run to take a 7-2 lead.
Washburn cut the lead to 7-6 in the bottom of the inning when LaBarge cleared the bases with her grand slam to center, scoring Ashlyn Gaughan, Kaylee Wagner and Erin Boles.
Washburn freshman Kate Dolan is mobbed by her teammates after hitting the first home run of her collegiate career in Friday's 10-7 MIAA win over No. 5-ranked UCO. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
In the fourth, Washburn took the lead at 8-7 after a two-run homer from Wagner, and in its next at bat, Washburn added two more insurance runs when freshman Kate Dolan collected her first collegiate home run with an opposite field shot with two outs on a 1-2 pitch.
Washburn junior Sadie Walker gave up just one earned run in nine innings in Friday's twinbill split with No. 5-ranked Central Oklahoma. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Walker pitched two scoreless innings of relief for her third save of the season after replacing winning pitcher Jenna Sprague, who improved to 8-6 after tossing 42/3 innings in relief.
The Ichabods outhit the Bronchos 13-10 in the second game as Hogle led the Ichabod attack with three hits and Tanguma, Wagner, Boles and LaBarge all had two.
LaBarge tallied a career-high-tying six RBI while Wagner and Dolan each drove in two runs.
Washburn will wrap up the regular season on April 26 hosting Emporia State.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seven Shawnee County standouts have been selected to play in the 2025 Kansas Volleyball Association All-Star Match, which will be played on June 7, 2025 at Washburn Rural (5 p.m. start).
Class 5A runnerup Seaman will be represented in the KVA Match by Campbell Chabot, Ava Esser, Maegan Mills and Kinley Wilhelm.
Cambell Chabot, Seaman
Ava Esser, Seaman
Maegan Mills, Seaman
Kinley Wilhelm, Seaman
Washburn Rural, which advanced to the 6A state tournament, will be represented by Layla Collins and Kate Hinck while Silver Lake will be represented by Ella Bolan.
Layla Collins, Washburn Rural
Kate Hinck, Washburn Rural
Ella Bolan, Silver Lake
Bolan, Chabot, Collins, Esser and Hinck will play for the Blue team while Mills and Wilhelm will play for the Red.
The players selected were nominated by their high school coaches (who must be KVA members) and then recommended by committee members to fill the squads.
KVA ALL-STAR ALL-STAR MATCH
June 7 at Washburn Rural, 5 p.m.
BLUE
Kate Hinck, Washburn Rural; Chloe Traffas, Attica; Dalaina Schutte, Halstead; Campbell Chabot, Seaman; Jordyn Washington, Andover Central; Ayla Klingenberg, Rock Creek; Kennedy Behnke, Ellinwood; Layla Collins, Washburn Rural; Ava Esser, Seaman; Ella Bolan, Silver Lake; Emily Bainter, Hoxie; Prayer Roebuck, Neodesha.
Coaches -- Diana Schutte, Halstead (head); Randy Rockhold, Ingalls (assistant); Austin Isham, Blue Valley Southwest (assistant).
RED
Kinley Wilhelm, Seaman; Bella Holcomb, Andover Central; Hallie Holthaus, Nemaha Central; Bria Dawson, Olathe North; Sophia Thompson, Beloit; Harlee Randall, Flint Hills; Katja Blanchat, Smoky Valley; Maegan Mills, Seaman; Addison Budke, Beloit; Cali Honeyman, Nemaha Central; Samantha Klotz, Royal Valley; Saige Hadley, Lebo.
Coaches -- Brooke Harper, Eudora (head); Jessica Horstick, Blue Valley West (assistant); Susan Steinfort, Valley Heights (assistant).
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University softball is back home Friday to host No. 5-ranked Central Oklahoma in a 4 p.m. doubleheader.
Following the twinbill with the Bronchos, the Ichabods will wrap up the regular season against Emporia State on April 26, with WU celebrating Senior Day.
Senior first baseman Jaden LaBarge leads Washburn softball with seven home runs and a .533 slugging percentage. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods (29-18 overall, 11-9 MIAA) split a pair of doubleheaders last weekend at Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri.
Washburn has already assured itself of an eighth straight winning season and senior first baseman Jaden LaBarge said the goal now is for the Ichabods to do everything they can to put themselves in position to make an extended postseason run.
"As long as our defense stays really focused and hitters can just keep swinging the bat and not swing at pitches outside of their zones I think that we have a really great chance of making it farther than we are expected to,'' LaBarge said.
LaBarge leads the Ichabods with seven home runs and a .533 slugging percentage.
The Bronchos are 40-7 and 17-3, splitting a road MIAA doubleheader with Central Missouri on Thursday.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Robbie Sanders, who starred at Topeka High as a player and spent 13 seasons on the Trojans' coaching staff, had long dreamed about getting the opportunity to guide his own program at his alma mater.
That dream came true Thursday night when the USD 501 school board approved the 1996 High grad as the Trojans' new boys basketball coach.
"It's been a long time coming, but better late than never,'' Sanders told TopSports.news. "It just feels so good to be home. It's like everything has come full circle.''
Robbie Sanders (right) was approved as Topeka High's new boys basketball coach Thursday night after coaching the past six seasons on Ken Darting's staff at Shawnee Heights. [File photo/TSN]
The 47-year-old Sanders earned All-City and All-Class 6A recognition for Bill Bagshaw at Topeka High and played collegiately at Independence Community College and Coe College before embarking on a 19-year coaching career.
After coaching under Mike Henson and Pat Denney at Topeka High, Sanders has been a member of Ken Darting's Shawnee Heights' staff the past six seasons, including back-to-back berths in the Class 5A state tournament the past two seasons.
"I got the opportunity to play at Shawnee Heights (for Topeka High) one time and I got the opportunity to go back there and coach,'' Sanders said. "I've obviously coached at Topeka High before and to be able to step back into this role, it seems surreal. It's really special and I'm just honored and excited.''
Sanders had expressed interest in the Topeka High coaching vacancy twice earlier in his career, but said that everything has worked out for the best.
"The first time, to be totally honest, I had some more growing to do so I understood why they felt they needed to go in a different direction,'' Sanders said. "And the last time it just didn't work out for a lot of different reasons. One of the reasons was my son Jaren was just going into college and he was playing football.
"It just was a huge transition and a lot of responsibility to want to be there for him, but to try to take on all these new roles and everything, so the timing just wasn't right. Thank God that another chance came about and we were ablte to make it happen this time.''
Sanders said that he has learned a lot from coaching under Henson, Denney and Darting as he embarks on his first head coaching job.
"Obviously, coach Henson was my introduction to coaching and the biggest thing that stuck with me from coach Henson was just the everyday skill development,'' Sanders said. "He wanted 25 to 35 minutes every day of individual skill development, working on dribbling, passing and shooting, and that's something that I plan to implement here at the High now.
"Coach Denney is a mentor to me. He's somebody that I'm still really close with and I can run any idea across him and he's just an unbelievable resource, and coach Darting, he just changed the way I looked at everything. He made me understand that winning is attainable if we go about it the right way. If we build it brick by brick, if we start on the defensive end, if we hold these kids accountable, if we set high standards, anything is achievable.
"I've learned so much from all these guys and I would say that my philosophy and style is a combination of everything that I learned from everybody.''
