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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After fighting through a lingering leg injury for nearly nine months, Seaman senior track superstar Ryin Miller chalked up Thursday as a win as soon as she stepped on the Washburn Rural track.
Seaman five-time state champion Ryin Miller (right) returned from an injury Thursday to win the girls 800 meters in the Jerry Beardslee Invitational at Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The fact that she took control on the final lap to win the girls 800-meter run in the Jerry Beardslee Invitational was a bonus.
"I felt good,'' said Miller, a five-time Class 5A state champion. "This injury (IT band) is kind of weird. If I get some speed it doesn't seem to bother me too much and I'm just tired of not racing, so I was like, 'You know what, I'm just going to jump in here, I'm not going to warm up, I'll just do some strides and try to warm my body up without taking a warmup jog and step in and see what happens.' ''
The Arkansas signee ran with Mill Valley junior Audrey Howard through much of the race before taking the lead down the home stretch and pulling away for the win in 2 minutes, 23.65 seconds while Howard was second in 2:25.17.
"I feel really good about it,'' Miller said. "It was a good race. Obviously, eventually I want a lot, lot more of myself, but you have to learn to celebrate the small wins along the way and I've been working so hard this winter and year in just different ways, so I have to come out here and even just toeing the line, I have to be proud of that.''
Just being on the track marked a return to Miller's happy place.
"It means everything to me,'' she said. "I was definitely nervous, but I was kind of reminding myself that it is such a gift to be nervous and it's way better than not being nervous and watching other people be nervous, so I was trying to embrace it and take the load off.
"I was like, 'I have literally nothing to lose, everything to gain. If I start, that's a win,' so I tried to take all the pressure out of it and run and enjoy it.''
Senior Brody Anderson shattered the Seaman school record in the 1,600-meter run by nearly six seconds in Thursday's Jerry Beardslee Invitational at Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Anderson shatters school record
After flirting with the Seaman school record in the 1,600-meter run in the season-opening Topeka High Invitational, Viking distance star Brody Anderson knew that the record was there for the taking in Thursday's Jerry Beardslee Invitational.
And Anderson left no doubt about who is the best metric miler in school history, shattering the previous record by right at six seconds in a winning time of 4:11.94 while winning by nearly 14 seconds.
"I went into today knowing that it was very possible and was there,'' Anderson said. "I didn't know it was going to happen, I didn't want to force anything, but it came natural and felt really smooth and I just shattered it.
"I definitely didn't think it was going to happen by six seconds at this point in the year, but it was a fun jump to take for sure.''
Anderson came back later in the evening to post a second impressive performance, winning the 800 meters by more than three seconds in a time of 1:56.49 and is now a perfect four for four on the season.
Other meet highlights:
• Washburn Rural senior multi-time Class 6A state champion Liam Morrison opened his 2026 season with a sweep in the hurdles races on Thursday.
Washburn Rural senior state champion Liam Morrison (right) won the 110 and 300-meter hurdles in Thursday's Jerry Beardslee Invitational at Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Morrison won the 110-meter highs in 14.43 seconds before coming back later to take a win in the 300s in 38.74.
The Junior Blues also got boys wins from junior Christian Hartman-Babb in the 200-meter dash (22.78) and from the 4x800 relay team (8:38.13).
• Washburn Rural's girls posted wins in two of the three throws in Thursday's meet while also adding a pair of runnerup finishes.
Rural junior Kailyn Petersen won the shot put with a throw of 36 feet, 11 inches and finished second in the discus (121-2) while junior Morgan Ray won the javelin with a throw of 144-4 while her Junior Blue teammate, Katie Smith, was second (120-5).
Washburn Rural senior Emily Graf cruised to a victory in the girls 3,200 meters in Thursday's Jerry Beardslee Invitational at Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• Washburn Rural also got a win from senior Emily Graf, who won the girls 3,200 in 11:25.73 while Seaman's boys won the 4x100 relay in 43.84.
JERRY BEARDSLEE INVITATIONAL
At Washburn Rural
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
After falling 6-5 in game one, Silver Lake baseball responded in game two with a 13-12 victory over Big East League foe Nemaha Central Thursday at Silver Lake.
Eagle sophomore Jaxton Ross secured the win with a throw from left field to gun down the runner from second, halting a potential tie game in the nightcap.
“Jax is one of the hardest workers that we have,” Silver Lake coach Tyler Seele said. “He gets to practice early, stays late, he does all the right things and funny how it works, we had one of our starting outfielders out of town and this was his chance tonight. I'm very proud of him.
"Not even just the throw, all night he had good at bats, a couple RBI base hits and made a couple great plays in that first game in the outfield, a couple plays here in the outfield in that second game and then the throw was on the money. I'm super happy for him because he's earned that moment. I’m very proud of him.”
“When I saw the ball coming towards me, I knew it was my one time to make a play and I made it,” Ross said. “It felt really great, celebrated with all my teammates, it felt really good.”
Silver Lake jumped out to a 6-1 lead after three innings in game two. Dayne Johnson had a two RBI double in the bottom half of the first and the Eagles scratched across four more via the sac fly or scoring on passed balls.
But then the Thunder roared back to reclaim the lead 7-6 after a six-run fourth inning where Silver Lake made a pitching change to hopefully stop the bleeding a little bit, bringing in Miles Kibbe replacing starter Rylan Young.
Seele then made two pitching changes in the fifth but Nemaha Central mustered just one run, as Silver Lake struggled finding the strike zone in both games.
The Eagles rallied themselves in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs as senior Drew Womack brought in three of those five runs on a three-run double.
The Thunder wouldn’t go away, trimming their deficit to just one after a two-RBI double from Charlie Rottinghaus.
The Eagles responded and got those two runs back, Womack again in the clutch with a two-RBI double, pushing the score to 13-10. He also homered in game one to start the scoring for Silver Lake in that eventual loss. He finished with six RBI in game two.
Nemaha Central made it interesting again in the top of the seventh, scoring a run on a sac fly after beginning the inning with two singles.
With two outs, Kendal Berman, shot one into left field, one run scores making it 13-12 but Ross jumped to play the hop on the turf and threw a rocket to home plate on a bounce in time to tag the runner out at home to secure the win.
His teammates mobbed him by third base afterwards.
“Making the biggest play so far for our team and there’s nothing much that I could ask for except that big win,” Ross said.
“That game right there has kind of been a microcosm of our season so far,'' Seele said. "Our guys have been resilient all year. I think we have five wins now and all five of our wins we've been down at some point in the game. Our fight is great right now, we compete at the plate, we're very aggressive at the plate, we're going to get up there and swing it.
"There are a lot of things we have to clean up defensively so we don't get ourselves into those situations, but the one thing I am proud of was how we continue to battle in those up and down games. Really proud of how we battled and ultimately found a way to win.''
GAME 1
NEMAHA CENTRAL 6, SILVER LAKE 5
Nemaha Central 014 010 0 -- 6 7 1
Silver Lake 100 300 1 -- 5 4 1
W -- Macke L -- Ki. Kruger 2B – Nemaha Central: Haverkamp, Heinen. Silver Lake: Johnson
HR – Silver Lake: Womack.
GAME 2
SILVER LAKE 13, NEMAHA CENTRAL 12
Nemaha Central (4-2) 100 612 2 -- 12 9 1
Silver Lake (5-2) 231 052 x -- 13 15 1
W -- Womack L -- Rottinghaus. 2B -- Nemaha Central: Rottinghaus. Silver Lake: Johnson, Womack 2.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Silver Lake softball team, Class 3A state runnersup the past two seasons, are looking to be a contender once again.
The Eagles improved to 7-1 on the season by blasting Big East League foe Nemaha Central in two run-rule-shortened games Thursday.
Sophomore Mariah Kortan had two doubles and a home run in Silver Lake's twinbill sweep over Nemaha Central. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
The Eagles rapped out 18 hits on the day, winning the doubleheader at Silver Lake 12-2 and 15-4.
“I feel like we went out and competed at the plate a little better today,” said Silver Lake coach Nick Hamilton. “We weren’t quite as timid as we’d been the last couple of days. When we get into tight spots, we’ve just got to be willing to play out of them and trust what we’re doing. Trust each other.
“The last couple of years, we’ve had some good hitting teams. I think (this year’s group) has caught on to what that secret is and they’re doing all right. A little more consistency would help, but we’re getting there.”
Senior Riley Mohler pitched a first-game four-hitter in Silver Lake's twinbill sweep over Nemaha Central. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Silver Lake got complete games from senior starting pitchers Riley Mohler and Paige Heiman. In the first game, Mohler permitted just four hits and struck out six batters. In the nightcap, Heiman surrendered six hits and struck out four.
“They’re both good in their own ways,” Silver Lake senior catcher Taylor Swygert, who caught both games, said of Mohler and Heiman. “They both have varieties and diversities when it comes to their strengths and weaknesses. So, they’re both really fun to work with and both really cool girls.”
In the first game, the Eagles took advantage of three Thunder errors in the second inning to grab an early lead and continued to add on. The Silver Lake offense rapped out four doubles in the game, two by sophomore Mariah Kortan. Swygert drove in four runs on two two-run singles.
Leading 7-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the floodgates opened on the Thunder. Five hits and two walks ballooned the score to 12-2, invoking the mercy rule.
In the second game, the Eagles hung a ‘9’ on the board in the second inning and a ‘5’ in the third. Saylor Liggett belted a triple with two runners on base in the second inning. A few batters later, Kortan blasted a three-run homer.
The Eagles have come up short in the past two 3A state championship tournaments, losing to Frontenac both times. Silver Lake graduated five seniors from the team that placed second in last year’s tournament.
Though this team is off to a hot start, Hamilton recognizes every year is different.
“They aren’t going to do it the same way we’ve done it the last two years. They’ve got to find their own way,” the coach said. “We’ve got some young girls, sophomores especially, stepping in to play some. It does help having some girls returning from last year’s state team because they have that experience. But it’s one of those things where we just go on to the next year, reload, and they know the expectations.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After putting up a spirited fight in a 14-11 loss at Division I Wichita State on Tuesday, Washburn returns to MIAA action with an important three-game road series at Missouri Western Thursday through Saturday in St. Joseph, Mo.
Washburn junior third baseman Trenton Barry (4) and the Ichabods will face Missouri Western in an MIAA road series Thursday through Saturday. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods will begin the series at 6 p.m. Thursday, followed by a 3 p.m. game on Friday and a 1 p.m. series finale on Saturday.
Washburn, 12-20 overall and 9-10 in the MIAA, gave a good accounting of itself in Tuesday's 14-11 loss at Eck Stadium to Wichita State, 20-10 on the year, including a five-run rally in the top of the ninth in the three-run loss.
"I felt like we came out right away with a lot of fire and nothing really to lose, playing up a division,'' Washburn junior third basemen Trenton Barry said. "We came out with fire and I think we carried it out. We made our mistakes here and there and that obviously cost us the game in the end.
"But that late run that we had, that showed that fight that we have. We've just got mistakes here and there that we've got to clean up. That's kind of been what the story's been all year and it's all going to be about fixing those and carrying on.''
And Barry, who is hitting .300 with two home runs, a team-high three triples and 19 RBI, said that it's time to get that done, beginning with the Missouri Western series.
"There's not much time to figure it out,'' he said. "Either you do it or you don't and that's going to be your wins and your losses. We showed (against Wichita State) that we are capable of playing with anybody in this country and I feel like we know that now.
"There should be no doubt in our mind going into every day that we should go win the game. We just need to put it all together now.''
Washburn is scoring 7.94 runs per game on the season while opponents are averaging 8.75 runs per game.
At the plate the Ichabods are hitting .288 and have tallied 23 home runs with 169 total walks.
The pitching staff has a 7.29 earned run average with 250 strikeouts across 279.0 innings. The Ichadobds have allowed 350 hits and issued 187 walks.
Washburn has a .964 fielding percentage as a team with 44 errors and 16 turned double plays.
WU's Ian Luce has the longest current hitting streak at 11 games heading into the weekend, the longest hitting streak of any player this season.
Luce is hitting a team-high .404 with 31 runs batted in and has reached base in all 32 games, the only Ichabod player to do so, and has a team-high 18 games with multiple hits.
Levi Risenhoover is hitting .317 and leads the team with seven home runs and 36 RBI.
Brandt Beeby is hitting .319, second-best on the team, in 16 stars.
Former Seaman standout Maclane Finley has thrown a team-high 42.0 innings across his eight starts this season.
He has struck out 31 batters and has a 6.86 ERA and 3-3 record, a team-high in victories. He has thrown into the fifth inning in every start.
Missouri Western fell to 15-17 overall and 10-11 in the MIAA with an 8-3 loss on the road to Emporia State on Tuesday.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Barring a big upset, Seaman baseball was going to sweep Wednesday's United Kansas Conference home doubleheader against city rival Topeka West.
Seaman junior Axton Brewer had a big day at the plate in Wednesday's UKC sweep over Topeka West, including a home run and a three-run double. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But there were still things, in addition to a pair of wins, that Viking coach Steve Bushnell wanted his team to accomplish.
And Seaman was able to achieve each and every one of Bushnell's goals in a 12-0, 20-0 sweep over the Chargers as the Vikings improved to 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the UKC while stretching their winning streak to five games.
Wednesday's routs came on the heels of a 15-0, 11-0 UKC sweep over Turner on Tuesday.
"The big thing was just an opportunity to get on the field and being early in our season, just having an opportunity to run some situational offense and get back in tune with verbal commands and baserunning and things that you work on in practice, but it's not always a live situation,'' Bushnell said.
"So having an opportunity to run bases and just let the hitters get some on-field hacks was important over the last two days and last four games that we've played.''
Senior Cale Rosenberger (8) had a pair of doubles in Seaman's 12-0 first-game win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman sophomore Michael Dobbs and sophomore Carson Anspaugh combined to throw a five-inning no-hitter in the first game while the Vikings lashed out 12 hits and seven extra-base hits, including a home run from junior Axton Brewer.
Senior Cooper Hayes and junior Bryson Fehr combined for a one-hitter in the second game while Seaman batted around twice in the first inning en route to a 14-run first inning and tacked on six runs in the second inning, ending the game after two and a half innings by way of the 15-run spread rule.
Junior Beau Jessop and Fehr tripled in the game while Brewer had a three-run double and Dobbs delivered a two-run double.
"Our pitchers were outstanding for the most part, just throwing strikes and pitching to contact,'' Bushnell said.
