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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural freshman volleyball standout Brynn Anderson and Rural junior soccer standout Brodye Kocher-Munoz have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2025-2026 school year.
Here's a brief look at the accomplishments of Anderson and Kocher-Munoz over the past week.
Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural
BRYNN ANDERSON, Washburn Rural
Anderson has made an immediate impact as a freshman for the Junior Blues, a perennial Class 6A volleyball contender.
An outstanding hitter, Anderson has helped lead Washburn Rural to 16 straight wins and a 21-4 overall record.
After going 5-0 to win the Centennial League championship, Anderson helped the Junior Blues go undefeated to win the Manhattan Invitational on Saturday.
Brodye Kocher-Munoz, Washburn Rural
BRODYE KOCHER-MUNOZ, Washburn Rural
Kocher-Munoz had a big week for Washburn Rural soccer last week as the Junior Blues posted a pair of wins to improve to 10-1-1 on the season.
Kocher-Munoz had a pair of assists and also turned in a scoreless stint in goal in last Tuesday's 2-0 non-league shutout win over Bishop Carroll.
He followed that up with two goals and two assists in Thursday's 7-1 Centennial League victory over Manhattan.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman girls golf coach Julie McLaughlin was quick to admit that the Vikings didn't have their best day in Monday's Class 5A regional tournament at Shawnee Country Club.
Seaman senior Elise Eckert finished second in Monday's Class 5A regional with a 75, leading the Vikings to a second-place team finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But the city and United Kansas Conference champs played plenty good enough to earn a berth in next week's state tournament at Emporia with a second-place regional team finish.
"I think we've got some work to do,'' McLaughlin said. "I think we're a little bit disappointed in the outcome. Andover played a heck of a game today, they did great.''
Seaman senior Elise Eckert will be aiming for her fourth Class 5A state medal in next week's state tournament at Emporia. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Led by senior Elise Eckert's runnerup individual finish with a 75, Seaman posted a four-person score of 355 to finish second behind team champion Andover's 342.
Eckert, the city and UKC medalist, turned in a solid two-over-par round, finishing as the runnerup to Andover's Regan Dusenbery, who carded a two-under-par 71.
"I'm definitely feeling a little better after this, '' said Eckert, a three-time 5A state medalist. "I wasn't playing great this weekend, so I'm really glad that I was able to come out here and play better after working on a lot of stuff this weekend.''
"Elise had a strong round. She was right where we needed her to be,'' McLaughlin said.
Seaman senior Makenna Stuke shot a 90 to finish fourth in Monday's Class 5A regional tournament at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman got a fourth-place tie from Makenna Stuke (90), while Kaitlynn Frye tied for seventh (94), Chloe Schmidtlein was 10th (96) and Molina Quintana placed 16th (110).
"We've got a lot of work to do this week, but we're still fully capable,'' McLaughlin said. "We just did not play up to our ability today.''
Topeka West senior Berlyn Kolean qualified for state as an individual with a 109.
Shawnee Heights finished fourth as a team, with T-Bird junior Lauryn Valdivia qualiying for state as an individual with a 112.
The state tournament will be played Monday and Tuesday at Emporia Municipal Golf Course.
CLASS 5A REGIONAL TOURNAMENT
At Shawnee Country Club
Team scores
Andover 342, Seaman 355, Basehor-Linwood 418, Piper 463, Shawnee Heights 489.
1. Regan Dusenbery, Andover, 71; 2. Elise Eckert, Seaman, 75; 3. Isabel Hawley, Andover, 87; 4. Makenna Stuke, Seaman, 90; 5. Grier Hand, Andover, 90; 6. Aubrey Ziolo, Basehor-Linwood, 93; 7. (tie) Kaitlynn Frye, Seaman, and Maren Nelson, 94; 9. Claire Fitzgerald, Basehor-Linwood, 95; 10. Chloe Schmidtlein, Seaman, 96.
Other Seaman -- 16. Molina Quintana, 110.
Shawnee Heights – 17. Lauryn Valdivia, 112; 21. Elsie Willmann, 120; 24. (tie) Makenna Bryant, 125; 28. Mia Mattox, 132.
Topeka West – 14. (tie) Berlyn Kolean, 109; 24. (tie) Lily Bowen, 125.
Individual state qualifiers -- Georgia Lightfoot, Piper; Berlyn Kolean, Topeka West; Hadley Heim, Piper; Lauryn Valdivia, Shawnee Heights; Kelsey Shull, Emporia.
Washburn Rural girls golf posted a second-place Class 6A regional finish Monday to earn a state berth. [Washburn Rural golf]
Rural earns Class 6A state berth with runnerup regional showing
Monday was business as usual for Washburn Rural girls golf, with the Junior Blues qualifying for the Class 6A state tournament for the 20th straight season in Jared Goehring's 20 years as head coach.
Rural, which has captured four 6A state titles, posted a four-person score of 335 at Sim Park Golf Course to finish second behind champion Olathe West (328).
Washburn Rural junior Kailyn Petersen placed third in Monday's Class 6A regional at Sim Park. [File photo/TSN]
Kailyn Petersen led the Junior Blues with a third-place 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).
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Brody Anderson
BRODY ANDERSON, Seaman
Anderson, a senior cross country standout, won his second straight boys city individual title Saturday at the Shawnee North Community Center while posting his fourth individual victory of the 2025 season. A Class 5A state medalist in cross country and track, Anderson set a course record with a five-kilometer time of 15 minutes, 00.11 seconds.
Madeline Deters
MADELINE DETERS, Topeka High
A senior tennis standout, Deters won her first Centennial League singles championship last Tuesday in Junction City and followed that up with the singles title in Friday's Class 6A regional tournament at Wichita. Deters posted a 6-2, 6-1 final-round win over Emporia's Kali Keough in the Centennial League tournament and took a 6-2, 6-4 win over Junction City's Hannah Micheel in the regional final.
Emily Graf
EMILY GRAF, Washburn Rural
Washburn Rural senior cross country standout Graf won her first city girls individual championship Saturday at the Shawnee North Community Center, leading the Junior Blues to their seventh straight city team title. Coming off a hip injury, Graf clocked winning time of 19 minutes, 18.57 seconds in the city meet.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod soccer team completed an undefeated MIAA weekend Sunday at Pittsburg State as sophomore Sam Searcey scored both goals in a 2-0 shutout over the Gorillas.
Sophomore Sam Searcey scored both Washburn goals in Sunday's 2-0 win at Pittsburg State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn is unbeaten in seven straight games, while allowing just one goal.
"A great team performance from us today,'' Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "We were able to force the game into places we felt comfortable in the first half, and in the second half, we grinded out an important team win.
"I'm so proud of the team for this weekend's performance."
Washburn would break through in the 33rd minute with Searcey's first goal of the day.
Washburn was held to four shots in the half, with two being on goal. Ichabod goalkeeper Lili Everley had one first-half save, as Pitt State had six shots in the half.
Washburn would continue to defend their goal, and in the 84th minute, Searcey would score her second goal of the game and fourth on the year to put away the Gorillas.
Washburn faced 13 shots from the Gorillas, and Everley would record five second-half saves for a total of six on the day.
Washburn heads back home, where the Ichabods will host Northeastern State at 6 p.m. on Friday night at Yager Stadium.
The Ichabods will host Rogers State next Sunday at 1 p.m.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Topeka High star Ky Thomas scored Washburn's lone touchdown in Saturday's loss at Pittsburg State. [File photo/TSN]
The Gorillas (5–2 overall, 4–1 MIAA) struck first midway through the opening quarter with a 42-yard field goal before adding a 17-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jackson Berry to go ahead 10–0.
Washburn (1–5, 0–4) answered early in the second quarter when Logan Madden engineered a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive.
Madden hit Ky Thomas on an 8-yard swing pass to cap the march, trimming the Gorilla lead to 10-7.
Pittsburg State countered immediately with a 75-yard drive of its own, ending in Berry's second rushing touchdown from 19 yards out.
After forcing a Washburn punt late in the half, the Gorillas extended the margin when Berry connected with Jaelon Travis for a 73-yard score with six seconds left before intermission, pushing the lead to 24–7 heading into the break.
Washburn's defense stiffened in the second half, forcing a turnover and limiting PSU to a pair of field goals and a late short touchdown. The Ichabods turned a recovered Gorilla fumble into a 34-yard Battle field goal early in the fourth quarter to make it 24–10, but the hosts pulled away down the stretch.
The Ichabods were limited with time of possession in the game (21:16 to PSU's 38:44).
Madden completed 14 of 28 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown. Thomas caught four passes for 26 yards and a score, while D.J. Bell added five catches for 31 yards and 39 return yards for a team-high 84 all-purpose yards. Chase Allen-Jackman provided the game's longest Washburn play with a 40-yard reception in the first quarter.
Defensively, linebacker JC Heim paced the Ichabods with 12 total tackles, while L.J. Minner Jr. added 10 stops. Defensive end Elijah Clarke-Boyd contributed 1.5 sacks as Washburn recorded two total on the day.
Pittsburg State finished with 481 total yards to Washburn's 170, powered by a 260-26 advantage on the ground. Berry threw for 221 yards and rushed for 29 more with three total touchdowns.
Washburn punter Jake Zeller was strong again, averaging 47.5 yards on six punts with three pinned inside the 20.
The Ichabods who were top-five in the nation in least penalty yards and least penalties called against, were flagged for 108 yards and 10 calls. The Gorillas were called for 12 flags for 143 yards.
