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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's been three years since Wichita West came to Washburn Rural and took a 42-40 upset win over the heavily-favored Junior Blues in the opening round of Class 6A boys sub-state competition
For a brief time Tuesday night it appeared as if Campus might pull off a similar stunner, but after the Junior Blues saw a 17-point lead turn into a one-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, Washburn Rural responded with a clutch performance over the final eight minutes to advance to a sub-state final with a 60-51 victory over the Colts.
Senior Jack Bachelor led Washburn Rural with 14 points in Tuesday's 60-51 Class 6A sub-state semifinal win over Campus. [File photo/TSN]
Alex Hutchins' Washburn Rural boys will play for a Class 6A sub-state title on Friday after taking control down the stretch for a 60-51 win over Campus Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Now 15-5 on the season, Rural advanced to host 15-6 Derby, a 69-52 winner over Wichita West, in Friday's sub-state final.
Senior Jack Bachelor, who paced a balanced Rural scoring attack against Campus with 14 points, remembered the 2020 loss to Wichita West well.
"It was my freshman year and they got us first round,'' Bachelor said. "No game in the playoffs is easy. I knew that and I was like, 'We're taking one game at a time.' People were asking me about Friday and I said, 'We're worried about Tuesday. We've got to prep for Campus and get ready,' because I still had that bad taste in my mouth from freshman year. I knew we had to be ready.''
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Highland Park girls basketball team took an important first step toward a trip to state Tuesday by holding off Leavenworth 53-38 on the Scots’ home floor.
Seeded third in the Class 5A East bracket, the Scots rode a dominant performance by sophomore post Amelia Ramsey to continue the improbable turnaround of the Highland Park girls program.
Sophomore standout Amelia Ramsey scored 27 points and grabbed 27 rebounds in Highland Park's 53-38 Class 5A sub-state semifinal win over Leavenworth Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
It was just three years ago that the Scots could barely field five players. Now, with a roster loaded with underclassmen, they are a game away from a trip to Emporia for the state tournament.
“All along we just told the girls to trust the process,” said second-year Highland Park coach Rob Brown. “One of our goals was to host a sub-state game. And a goal was to win a sub-state game. Now we’re fortunate to get to host a sub-state championship game.”
Highland Park, which improved its record to 18-3, will host Shawnee Heights, the six seed in the East bracket, Friday.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights senior Luke Perkins and Washburn Rural junior Jack Miranda headline the 2023 All-City boys swimming and diving team after combining for four top-four individual finishes in state competition.
The 2023 All-City boys swimming and diving team -- Front, from left: Luke Perkins, Shawnee Heights; Evan Hoobler, Shawnee Heights; Brogan Meier, Washburn Rural; Jack Miranda, Washburn Rural; Will Powell, Washburn Rural; Luke Lemke, Washburn Rural; Cordell Dimick, Washburn Rural. Back, from left: Riccardo Corazza, Shawnee Heights; Ryan Johnson, Hayden; Colin O'Rourke, Seaman; Daniel Ramirez, Seaman; Jaxon Cowdin, Topeka High; Will Stewart, Topeka High;Dylan Gregg, Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The 2023 All-City boys swimming and diving second team -- Front, from left: Grady Johnson, Topeka High; Blaize Appelhanz, Seaman; Stuart Campbell, Topeka High; Thomas Schmidt, Topeka High. Back, from left: Souvish Sinha, Washburn Rural; Branen Moore, Seaman; Eli Wahlmeier, Hayden; Perry Payne, Topeka High; Landon Stuke, Seaman. Not pictured: Truman Brede, Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Perkins capped his prep career with four Class 5A-1A state medals while running his four-year career medal haul to 12 while Rural's Miranda finished his junior season with three medals in the 6A state meet, including a pair of third-place individual finishes.
Perkins, who earned four state medals for the second straight season, posted a third-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly and a fourth-place finish in the 200 individual medley and swam on Shawnee Heights' fourth-place 200 medley relay and sixth-place 200 free relay.
Miranda finished third in the 6A 200-yard freestyle and third in the 500 free in and swam on the Junior Blues' seventh-place 400 free relay.
Heights All-City first-team sophomore Evan Hoobler and senior Riccardo Corazza earned state medals in the 200 medley and 200 free relays while Corazza added an individual medal to his two relay medals, finishing eighth in the 5A-1A 100 free.
Rural junior Brogan Meier earned a 6A individual medal for the second straight year, taking eighth in the 100 free, and was part of the seventh-place 400 free relay along with Miranda, junior Will Powell and sophomore Luke Lemke.
Seaman senior Colin O'Rourke finished fifth in the 5A-1A 100 butterfly while Viking senior Daniel Ramirez took seventh in the 5A-1A 500 freestyle and eighth in the 200 free.
Topeka High sophomore Jaxon Cowdin finished 10th in the 6A one-meter diving event.
All-City capsules:
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
It had been over a half decade since the last time the Rossville girls basketball team had moved past the first round of sub-state.
Junior Emma Mitchell (left) scored a game-high 23 points as Rossville rolled to a 66-14 Class 3A sub-state win over Perry-Lecompton Monday night. [File photo/TSN]
But on Monday night, the Bulldawgs didn't just survive and advance; they decimated Perry-Lecompton on their home court in a first-round Class 3A sub-state contest.
Rossville (15-6) played about as good as a basketball team can in its dominant 66-14 victory.
It was so good that Rossville coach Michael Bell was greeted by a joyous team dumping him with water when he met with the squad after the game.
"I thought we played extremely well today," Bell said. "I thought it was one of the best first halves that we've played in a long time. I'm very happy that we've moved on. It's been a while since we got out of the opening round. We had a great crowd tonight; they were amazing.
"I told the girls in the locker room, 'Yes, everybody is here, and you have eight teams, but you don't know the real feeling until you get to the host site.' They know they have four other teams with a different crowd."
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University baseball team captured its eighth straight victory with a 4-1 MIAA win at Fort Hays State on Sunday afternoon.
The Ichabods will play their next four games at home, starting with a non-conference tilt against Missouri Western at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Falley Field.
Easton Bruce had a homer and a double Sunday as Washburn stretched its win streak to eight games with a 4-1 win at Fort Hays State Sunday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Ike Book (33) went three for five with a run batted in as Washburn completed an MIAA sweep at Fort Hays State Sunday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Fort Hays (7-8 overall, 0-3 MIAA) struggled with its command on the mound to start the game and after recording the first out, walked three-consecutive batters to load the bases. Ike Book knocked in the first run on the first pitch of his at bat with an infield single to give the Ichabods a 1-0 advantage in the first.
Washburn (9-7, 3-0) extended its lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning with RBI singles from Otto Jones and Cal Watkins
