1,196
freshmen
Washburn breaks its freshmen record
Jeremy Ford Washburn Review
jeremy.ford1@washburn.edu
The 2024 fall semester hosted a recordbreaking freshman class at Washburn University for the second consecutive year.
Washburn’s freshman class peaked at 1,196 students with a 27% increase of Shawnee County students largely in part to the Together We Thrive financial aid package.
“We are trying to make sure that the students in our community who didn’t think college was a possibility because of finances can be in our classrooms [and] can be pursuing educational goals and dreams when they otherwise might not have been able to, and that was really our goal,” said JuliAnn Mazacheck, Washburn University president.
Together We Thrive consists of three main scholarships: the Shawnee County Promise
scholarship (up to full tuition), the Shawnee County Thrive scholarship ($4,000) and the Northeast Kansas Advantage scholarship (up to full tuition). These three options have heavily encouraged local students to stay at home and pursue a career through a university. The growing number of new students is a statistical anomaly as many Kansas colleges and universities have seen a decrease in enrollment over the past few years.
“We’ve got an increasingly shrinking amount of 18-year-olds who are available to go to college,” said George Burdick, senior Washburn Student Government Association president.
All four of the Division II schools in the state of Kansas have a decreased enrollment in the past five years, according to the Kansas Board of Regents. However, in the past three years, Washburn is the only school that has
made a comeback and is now seeing positive enrollment numbers and expects those numbers to continue to rise.
And while high enrollment does bring a long list of pros - higher student engagement, more university funding, more learning opportunities and so on - it also has brought some direct negative effects to students on campus.
“We’re wanting to be able to … provide the housing, especially for incoming students, and then if we can’t or if there aren’t enough spaces to provide the housing for people beyond their first year, then we get to communicate with them in plenty of time so that that can find alternative places to live,” Mazachek said.
Housing has been a problem this semester, with all three on-campus residence halls at max capacity and both Kuehne Hall and
Plass now holds student resources
Experience, New Student Orientation and student success coaching. Part of the library will be on the third floor as well as the Student Accessibility Services. The fourth floor hosts more of the library and library offices.
West Hall reverting back to living spaces to accommodate for the high interest of students wanting to live on campus. Since many freshmen choose or are required to live on campus, this means that the Washburn Village may have to house freshmen in the future, making less spots for upperclassmen.
“It is a challenge because we can’t fix that problem immediately,” Mazachek said. “We do have some decisions that we’ll have to make about who gets to live in the residence halls next year.”
As Washburn University navigates the challenges of increased enrollment, the commitment to fostering local talent through innovative financial aid programs like Together We Thrive remains steadfast, ensuring students the quality resources they need for not only a quality education, but a quality experience as well.
Washburn University made a big change on campus this fall with the creation of the Plass Resource Learning Center in the university’s seven year plan.
Plass was formerly the home to the Washburn Law School until it moved to Robert J. Dole Hall in the fall of 2023. With the building being vacant, Washburn decided to renovate the building and place a majority of the student resources in the building.
When plans to renovate the building began in March of 2024, Laura Stephenson, interim vice president of academic affairs at Washburn University, said the project will impact all students in their undergraduate studies because of the multitude of resources available in the building.
The first floor has the Richard E. Shermoen Mathematics Learning Lab, Military Student Success Center, TRIO programs, and the Writing Center as well as classrooms and offices.
The second floor has offices for international programs, Washburn Transformational Experience, Study Abroad, Honors program, First Generation, Career Engagement and Aleshire Center for Leadership and Community Engagement. It also has areas for academic testing, studying, classrooms and part of the library. The third floor houses mostly offices for Academic Advising, First-Year
Plass was originally planned to be completed in three phases with the first phase being done before the fall 2024 semester, however complications with the building required the project to be pushed back.
“I think that one of the things that happened was when they came into the building, it was maybe not in the kind of shape that they thought it would be, particularly behind the walls,” said Steve Hageman, director of First Year Experience. “I think it was just an older building and you couldn’t see it from the outside until you actually got into the building. They ended up having to redo the bathrooms from scratch, which was something that wasn’t necessarily anticipated.”
The building also had accessibility problems amid the ongoing construction that affected some students.
“With the construction, I had to park way further out. I have a knee injury so it’s causing more pain, and there are disabilities you can’t see but they are definitely suffering,” said Yessica Holman, junior pre-law major.
The building just wrapped up its first phase and is now jumping into its second phase. With many more changes coming to campus throughout the next few years, students can expect to make routine visits to Plass for a wide variety of resources, classes and more.
photo by Jeremy Ford
The north doors of Plass Learning Resource Center. Plass holds many student resources and offices, including the library.
Jeremy
photo by Jeremy Ford
Freshmen and more gather in Lee Arena for the annual Convocation event in August. This was Washburn University’s second consecutive year hosting a record-breaking freshman class.
With reporting by Carlee Hess-Burch, Jayme Thompson, Cheyenne Hittle, Lexi Hittle.
graphic by Student Media
The Plass Learning Resource Center is now home to many student resources on campus. Here is a list of what each floor in Plass offers.
photo by Jeremy Ford
The current state of the cafe on the second floor of Plass. This new cafe will replace Study Grounds, which was located in Mabee Library.
Seven year plan brings many changes
Washburn University’s seven year plan includes several physical changes to campus’ composition and its layout.
Benton Hall, which currently hosts the School of Applied Studies, will be knocked down this summer. The SAS will be moving to the building currently known as Mabee Library to house a modern healthcare education facility.
Renovations for Henderson Learning Resource Center will begin May 2025 and last three semesters. Washburn’s plans to vacate the building will reportedly save $1.5 million and shorten the time frame by almost a year. Offices, departments and classes will be spread across campus, with Plass Learning Resouce Center temporarily housing a majority of them. The building will also be renamed to Advisors Excell Hall.
Portions of Lee Arena are currently undergoing renovation and will pause for basketball season. After basketball, Lee will be closed until all renovations are completed. This will cause graduation to be moved to White Concert Hall and have eight different ceremonies over two days.
With reporting by Jeremy Ford
Planetarium returns to service at WU
This September, Stoffer Science Hall reopened its doors to Crane Observatory, one of Washburn University’s oldest and most unique treasures.
The handmade refracting telescope currently holds public viewing sessions that occur Thursdays until the end of the fall semester, which are all open to the public.
Both the observatory and the planetarium are housed and operated by the physics and astronomy department. The department plans to host more viewing sessions in the future as well as some events.
With reporting by Jaema Bordelon
Involve app tracks student participation
Washburn University has started using Invovle, an event check-in app that tracks attendacne in student organizations.
The software is used with Bods Connect, the online hub for all student organizations and their events and meetings. Every student has a QR code already synced to their Washburn Single Sign-On portal through the app. Event hosts are expected to scan these QR codes to track engagement on campus. The data from the app helps determine which programs students are participating in and which ones are worth supporting financially.
All organizations are expected to use the app, and student organizations can be shut down if they don’t scan students in to events or meetings.
Despite the app’s benefits, the check-in system has received some negative feedback. Other software programs have one QR code that students can scan to check themselves into events. With Involve, leaders must scan each student’s individual QR code to check them in. George Burdick, senior WSGA president, gave his thoughts on the matter.
“I do kind of wish that instead of walking around and checking a whole bunch of QR codes, there was just one QR code people could scan. I think that would be useful,” Burdick said.
With reporting by Alijah McCracken
University’s new capstone and wordmark. This
WU finds new identity with rebrand of Ichabod logo
Jami Morain Washburn Review jami.morain@washburn.edu
Last year, the president’s office decided it was time for a more modernized look when it came to Washburn University’s logo, so JuliAnn Mazachek, president of Washburn, enlisted the help of Waltz Petric Advertising Agency and formed a marketing and communications committee.
Lori Hutchinson, executive director of strategic communications and marketing, said the decision is an evolution of the brand, not a revolution.
“We wanted to better unite and unify our brand, trying to integrate Washburn University and Washburn Tech and just emphasize the point that we are many pathways, one Washburn,” Hutchinson said.
The original deadline for the rebranding was July 1, however, the final product wan’t yet ready, so the team has been slowly releasing it instead of doing an unveiling.
“There’s been so much to it, I think maybe even more than we had imagined,” Hutchinson said. “But we’re really grateful that we had the time to really make some thoughtful decisions and to consult a lot of people and to base decisions on a lot of data and input from different stakeholders.”
Hutchinson also said the committee gathered input from students, administrators, faculty and alumni. However, George Burdick, senior president of Washburn Student Government Association, said he hadn’t heard of the rebranding and when WSGA sent its marketing director, Kate Coulter, to one of the meetings, she reported back that it felt like a presentation instead of a discussion on what could be done.
Burdick said that while discussion for the new logo began in October of 2023, WSGA was not informed of the decision until August of 2024.
“We learned about it pretty late as they were like, ‘Ok, we’re going to start rolling this out’ and we were like ‘Ok, this is interesting,’” Burdick said.
Burdick said they were concerned about the new Ichabod because the index finger, or “Ichabod Salute,” was removed and students had said the logo was too corporate instead of human. He also said WSGA was hesitant on whether they wanted to pursue this in case they couldn’t
win. However, they heard other people voice concerns and decided it was their place as representatives of the student body to take action.
WSGA took a poll on Instagram and received over 300 answers from students expressing their opinions on the new Ichabod. They presented the information to the PR team and they were told one of the concerns that they’ve heard is that the Ichabod is a straight, white, cis male, which many students at Washburn would find hard to relate with. They wanted everyone to be able to see themselves as the Ichabod.
Hutchinson said she wasn’t worried about losing the Ichabod’s sentimental value because of the research and surveys Washburn had done.
“We think he looks maybe a little stronger, and we think he really looks like he’s going somewhere because Washburn’s going somewhere. I think we’re making some fantastic moves, and I think he is very representative of who Washburn is, and the good momentum we have going forward,” Hutchinson said.
Hannah Kirby, assistant director of campus visit experience, said she’s not worried about the rebranding erasing Ichabod’s history.
“I think that we’re staying true to our history,” Kirby said. “We’ve always been an open-access institution from our very first day. We always accepted students of color. We have always accepted women. We have never had any admissions requirements based on any of those factors of a student’s identity.”
Hutchinson said the brand is the university’s identity, so they gave students a rebrand with a variety of symbols. Washburn also wants to use this rebrand as a way to convey that education can help put students on their own path.
“We feel like we have something for everybody and to meet them where they are,” Hutchinson said. “So we had to establish that first before we could move on and figure out what best represents us, as far as a visual look.”
The rebrand is expected to be fully released by the end of the semester, however, it is visible on social media now and will gradually appear in the Ichabod Shop and around campus.
Hutchinson said any student groups who want to get in touch or update their logo should email wurelations@washburn.edu or stop by Morgan 119.
Washburn uses Starship to deliver food on campus
Stuti Khadka Washburn Review stuti.khadka@washburn.edu
Starship Food Delivery launched on Washburn University’s campus Oct. 16. Orders gets delivered from the Memorial Union, the Market and Lincoln Hall Dinning on the periphery of campus.
The app allows students and faculty to order food from anywhere on campus. Lance Zach, director of dining services, gave some pointers for signing into the Starship app.
“[Students] can use their dining dollars to order food and stuff,” Zach said. “When you sign in on the app, there are dozens of different campuses, but make sure you look for the Washburn University campus and then you are ready to order.”
The charge for the food delivery is $2.99. As of now, there has been an average of 40 orders through the new delivery system.
“It is much cheaper than what you would get if you did an Uber or if you did one of the other courier delivery services,” Zach said. “The nice thing about ours is as soon as [they] place the order, we get the ticket and normally we have been taking about an average of about three minutes to make whatever they are looking for.”
The robots are run autonomously but can be monitored manually if needed. There are two compartments inside the robot; one is for soft drinks and the other is for food so it can stay cool or hot. There is also a special delivery option from Lincoln Hall which runs at night called a ghost kitchen.
“[Lincoln] has premier hamburgers, premier wings and some other items like fried pickles. These are foods that you cannot get in the cafe,”
Zach said. “We run that till about 9:30 at night for delivery.”
Elliot Weber, freshman pre-engineering major, has been an active user of Starship. As a person who lives on campus, Weber shared how the app is designed in a way where their dining dollars get linked to their account.
“I think it’s helpful in ways where if you live in the LLC and you want dinner but the cafe is closed, you could just order something from Lincoln,” Weber said. “You could be at a park, a bench hanging out with friends and you could just be like ‘Oh, I want a drink. Let me just order that,’ and it will just go where you want it.”
The robot leaves food at the entrance of buildings all over campus or to a specific location by dropping a pin on the map. Once the food has reached the user, it has to be approved by them for the robot to open its compartment.
“It is just making sure that whoever ordered the food gets it ... . It asks you to unlock it so you just open it up and grab your food out of it,” Weber said.
The launch of Starship has been in the works for about seven months, and the app has been receiving positive feedback from its users. Weber hasn’t been having any issues with the app so far.
“The app has had no issue from me. There’s been something I have noticed with the robots. They can spill the drinks pretty easily, but other than that I have a good experience with it,” Weber said.
Photo from Student Media Files.
Graphic courtesy of Lori Hutchinson.
Washburn
particular Ichabod logo features yellow, but this is not a primary school color, only a complementary color.
Washburn enrollment staying steady
At the recent ‘Forever Starts Tonight’ event, Washburn President
JuliAnn Mazachek and Alumni Association
George Burdick
President Marshall Meek announced the launch of the ‘Forever Washburn’ donation campaign, aiming to raise over $250 million for scholarships and campus projects. This initiative reflects Washburn’s commitment to boosting enrollment through enhanced financial support and campus improvements.
Students are already witnessing the benefits of this focus. Increased enrollment has brought more members to campus organizations and a vibrant atmosphere. However, the significant achievement lies not just in rising numbers, but in doing so amid a nationwide decline in higher education enrollment.
Data from the Kansas Board of Regents indicates that over the past five years, most Kansas universities have seen a drop in fulltime student enrollment, with Pittsburg State University and Emporia State University experiencing declines of 14.3% and 24.7%, respectively. Wichita State University and the University of Kansas have been the only KBOR institutions to avoid a decline. In contrast, Washburn has managed a minimal decrease of just 0.9%, a noteworthy feat given state and national trends.
But why is this happening? The reasons for these declines are largely linked to decreasing birth rates, which the Higher Education Demand Index predicts will result in a 13% drop in two-year institutions and a 9% decline in four-year institutions between 2012 and 2029. However, Washburn appears to be positioning itself now more than ever to navigate these challenges, demonstrating resilience compared to many other schools.
While Washburn hasn’t matched the 10% enrollment increase seen at the University of Kansas, it has experienced an 8.1% growth in the past year. This positive trend can be attributed to strategic investments in scholarships and marketing, reinforcing Washburn’s mission as an open-access institution. Although the future remains uncertain, for now, Washburn is riding a wave of momentum that should ensure (and perhaps better) our position to do more for more of our students. Put simply, it’s a good day to be an Ichabod.
About Us
The Washburn Review is part of Washburn Student Media, which includes the Review newspaper, Indigo Magazine and Sapphire Yearbook. Student Media also has TikTok, Instagram and X.
To contact us, go to our website or send us a DM on social media, we’re happy to hear from you!
Student Executive & Editorial Team
Jeremy Ford Review, Editor-in-Chief
Jayme Thompson Indigo, Editor-in-Chief
Cheyenne Hittle
Sapphire, Editor-in-Chief
Mia Anthony
Using your voice at WU Advice from Washburn Organizations
Washburn offers a unique opportunity that if you have a specific idea or see a lack on campus, you can start an organization that focuses on that topic. Utilize Washburn’s reputation; we have a really good relationship with a lot of media outlets.
The main thing is getting involved and finding out what the issues are with the students or the community. But once you find those make a plan and meet people that want to focus on the same message. That can always make a change. “
Students can express their voices by coming to our meetings, it is an open space in which anybody can come in...Firstly, identify your issues, identify your values. Really understanding the issues is very important before you actually go out and do it. “
Get involved in things. Join one of the campus groups that has a cause that you believe in and campus is a great place for that. Especially for undergraduate level, you have the opportunity to get involved with different groups that help. “
Our college days will soon be over FROM THE
I am so incredibly proud to be bringing you all this special semester publication of the Washburn Review! This week, Student Media reporters have been hard at work all around campus to give you the best paper we could put together. We will begin in August and review the semester’s highlights.. And for me, having a newspaper is a big part of storing memories of my time at college.
When I was young, reading the newspaper was something that only my parents and grandparents did. And while I thought it was just to get the simple news and cut out clippings from the week, I realized that it was serving a much bigger purpose. The newspaper was proof that high school football wasn’t the only thing that my small hometown had to offer. There were stories of communities supporting local organizations and businesses and schools giving kids the opportunity to explore the local museums and learn about the history of Kansas. These stories now serve as time capsules for the community that I call home. My family’s fridge was filled with cutouts of each of us kids involved in all kinds of activities: sports, theatre, music, church, you name it. On holidays, we laugh at the stories of me acting a fool on a stage and get sentimental about the photos of each of us with our late grandparents. It’s bittersweet to look back at how easy life used to be. But looking at those clippings is another reminder of how we’ve grown and changed.
Life moves fast, especially in today’s world. It’s hard to keep track of everything that happens in a day when there is so much constantly going on, especially on a college campus. Being a college student is a blessing that many people don’t have. Yes, we are busy with school work. Yes, we stress about finances. Yes, it throws a wrench in your sleep schedule from time to time. But it’s a moment in life you will never want to forget. In college, you will make your lifelong friends and may even find the person you spend the rest of your life with. You may also experience heartbreak, loss, or devastation. Both good and bad, these moents will become part of you forever, and you can use them to make a better you for tomorrow. With all that being said, I am honored to be creating such an impactful project for all members of the Washburn community. The Review team had the privilige of sorting through so many great stories of this semester, and we hope you will find joy in these few memories. Student Media is devoted to covering news that matters to WU and we work hard to not only inform but to also entertain. With multiple publications and an active social media team, we are all so proud to have completed a newspaper. Thank you all for your support, and, as always, SKO BODS!
Jeremy Ford Editor-in-Chief
WSGA President
Illustration by Stuti Khadka
Stuti Khadka Washburn Review stuti.khadka@washburn.edu
Trevor Ottman Chief of Staff
Aaradhya Shah Community and Advocacy Fellow
Jeffrey Jackson James M. Concannon Dean, Professor of Law
James Anguiano Captain
Washburn Student Government Association
Aleshire Center for Leadership and Community Engagement
Washburn University School of Law
Washburn University Police Department
Beware of
photo by Ayva Darmento (top) Students fill their plates with Halloween-themed food before taking a seat to eat. There were “bloody tenders” and “toxic mac and cheese” courses being served as well as many different kinds of candy and drinks
photo by Brenda Andrade
(middle, right) The Washburn Marching Band playing the school song at the Forever Washburn event. The event featured food, a message from Washburn President JuliAnn Mazachek and a live performance from the award-winning band Twice.
photo by Cheyenne Hittle
Antonio Cervantes (left), freshman mass media major, and Tanya Ortiz-Vizueth (right), sophomore mass media major, pose as Cosmo and Wanda from “The Fairly Odd Parents” for Duo Day during Spirit Week. Spirit Week also involved Adam Sandler Day, Class Color Day, Halloween Costume Day and Washburn Spirit Day.
the Bods
Homecoming Parade returns to WU with help from Topeka community
Reid McEvoy Washburn Review reid.mcevoy@washburn.edu
The traditional Washburn University Homecoming Parade has returned after a one-year hiatus.
Eric Grospitch, the vice president for Student Life, explained that there was no Homecoming Parade in 2023 due to a lack of student interest expressed in discussions following the 2022 parade. Instead of a parade, a large Homecoming Tailgate was organized for 2023. However, the lack of a parade made it so students didn’t feel like they got the true Homecoming experience.
This has led to the Homecoming Parade returning for 2024 and it returned with greater involvement from the Topeka community than it has ever had before in its approximately 94year history.
The community involvement included local politicians, the fire department and pet shelters, among many other things.
Taylor Romanchek, homecoming intern and senior mass media major, said that it was “really wonderful” to see so much involvement from the city of Topeka.
Romanchek recognized that Washburn has not always been acknowledged for its role as Topeka’s college, describing the University as a hidden gem.
Romanchek said that the community involvement shows a connection to Washburn and she has greatly enjoyed and appreciated the outpouring of support.
Grospitch explained that there was a new parade route for this year’s parade.
The previous route started at lot seven and ended at 19th Street. He said that while this route started off very well in 2022, after MacVicar Avenue there was a clear drop-off of attendees. The 2024 route started again at lot seven, but turned back into campus with the hope of maintaining more consistent foot-traffic throughout.
A big detractor for the 2024 parade was the weather.
Grospitch said there were discussions about potentially postponing the parade due to weather, but the forecast only got worse throughout the day, so it went on at 10 o’clock the morning of Nov. 2.
The cold rain resulted in a 50% decrease in anticipated attendance, according to Romanchek, but she understood the need for people to stay safe and avoid poor conditions.
Romanchek is still hopeful that the 2024 parade will provide momentum for future parades and parade participation.
She specifically believes that a threshold has been crossed with the involvement of the Topeka community that will have a long-lasting impact on the future.
She is also hopeful that this will be the beginning of new traditions for Washburn and has been encouraged by multiple organizations already figuring out how they want to up their game for next year’s parade.
photo coutesy of Bod Talk
right) Washburn President JuliAnn Mazachek (middle right) stands with the 2024 Top Bods. Senior George Burdick (middle left) received Top Bod, Junior Trevor Ottman (right) received Top Bod runner-up and Junior Mia Terrell (left) received second Top Bod runner-up.
photo by Lauren Kassady
(right) The Dancing Blues perform their routine at the annual Yell Like Hell event Oct. 31. Alpha Phi and Kappa Sigma took first place in the Fraternity and Sororoity competition, the Blue Diamonds took first place in the organization competition and Volleyabll took first in the athletics competition.
photo by Judea Anderson (bottom, left) Kory McFan, freshman, grabs free ducks at the Halloween Movie Night Oct. 30. The Student Recreation Wellness Center held the event and showed “Hocus Pocus” for the movie.
(bottom,
photo by Reid McEvoy
The Washburn University Marching Band plays in theme as they march down 17th Street. The rain was an obstacle but did not stop the show.
photo by Reid McEvoy
An inflatable duck rides through the parade. The float was preceded by a banner for the Sertoma Clubs of Topeka to promote the Great Topeka Duck Race.
Football drops the ball 14-13
Sujal Pradhan Washburn Review sujal.pradhan@washburn.edu
The Washburn University volleyball team added to its five-game winning streak Wednesday, Oct. 30, after beating No. 23 Missouri Western State University in three sets at home.
The Ichabods had a chip on their shoulder coming into the night. Missouri Western had bested them in their last five matchups, and Washburn was finally ready to end the cold streak.
Sophomore Libero Taylor Rottinghaus, who recorded a match-high 26 digs, shared her excitement.
“It’s amazing to not only go out and beat the teams that have beat us the first time around, but to go out and sweep them on our home court just feels amazing,” Rottinghaus said.
“Doing it with this team is absolutely awesome; it’s huge for us. We just went out, we had a fire under our butts, and we just went for it.”
Head Coach Chris Herron also praised the team’s effort.
“I think the biggest thing is that they did it. Missouri Western has beaten us the last four times in a row, so we kind of got that monkey off our back,” Herron said. “Their team is wellcoached and really good. So, yeah, we played well.”
Jalyn Stevenson, senior outside hitter, had a match high 12 kills and two aces Alex Dvorak, junior middle hitter, contributed eight kills and six blocks. Washburn extended their MIAA record to 9-3 and look to find their way back into the MIAA championship.
different,” said Lois Deeter, a sophomore marketing major.
“It’s not like any team sport, because it’s all on yourself, so all the pressure is on you.”
Washburn University added to their list of athletics this fall with a new women’s golf team.
“Adding a women’s golf team has been under Washburn’s radar for quite some time,” said Washburn President JuliAnn Mazachek, courtesy of Washburn Athletics. “The popularity of women’s golf, both on the high school and college levels, is growing quickly, and Washburn is excited to add one more option for female student-athletes.”
The team consists of seven women, and Head Coach Ronnie McHenry has been very impressed with their performance
“We didn’t have many expectations, but now they’ve really raised our expectations for how they play,” McHenry said.
In its fall season, the team was able to place second in its MIAA Preview at The University of Nebraska-Kearney and fifth in the Midwest Classic at Northwest Missouri State University. The team has also showcased some individual success, with sophomore Susana Granados Carrion tying for second in the MIAA Preview and junior Angelina BorgMalec finishing in the top 10 at two different tournaments.
The team enjoys the sport because it requires hard work.
“You can never perfect [golf], and every day it’s a little
Golf is more than a sport to these women. It’s a passion. It is not only an opportunity for them, but also something they enjoy and take pride in.
Although they all love golf, they each have a different story and reason for their passion for the sport. Allie Sullivan, sophomore business major from Peoria, Arizona, explained that she got into playing golf because of her father.
“My dad got me into it when I was super young, and I just started playing more and more,” Sullivan said.
Golf also played a role in this decision for Aliyah North, sophomore biology major.
North came to Washburn after playing golf for a year at Fort Hays State University. Her decision to transfer to WU came from her desire to be back in Topeka.
“Coming back home seemed like it’d be good for me,” North said. “My brother played basketball here at Washburn, so getting to come back and play golf here was like a dream come true.”
The team has performed well thus far on its fall season, and the bar has been raised. They are currently ranked 13th in the region and the top 18 teams go to the playoffs. The spring season will open in February as the team heads to Texas for the first tournament, and it could be make or
break for the Ichabods.
photo courtesy of Gene Cassell, Washburn Athletics
The team is composed of seen total athletes with five women from Kansas, two from overseas and one from Arizona. Every member of the team is completing their first semester at Washburn University this fall.
photos by Morgan Albrecht
Cam Robinson, freshman running back, crosses the endozone to give Washburn University their first touchdown of the game. Washburn missed point-after-attmept which allowed the University of Nebraska-Kearney’s two second-half touchdowns to give them a one point advantage.
photo by Ojashwi Shrestha
Taylor Rottinghaus (white), sophomore libero, high fives Austin Broadie (blue), senior middle hitter, at the net. Rottinghaus had a match-high 26 digs.
Caedan Spencer, senior defensive back, dives for the tackle. Spencer recorded five total tackles.
WU soccer gets championship ring
ayva.darmento@washburn.edu
In the world of collegiate athletics, few moments are as exhilarating as the presentation of championship rings. For the Washburn University women’s soccer team, this moment was particularly special as they received their rings for finishing second in the nation in Division II last year.
The rings symbolize not just a remarkable achievement but also the hard work, dedication, and unity that the team exhibited throughout the season. Head Coach Davy Phillips, reflected on the significance of the rings.
“What the rings mean for me is people recognizing and buying in and working really hard just to be the best player in their role possible,” Phillips said.
The design of the championship rings was a blend between Washburn pride and the player’s own creativity.
The MIAA has a partnership with Jostens, an esteemed ring company, to celebrate championship success and provide a partnership rate. After winning the conference and regional championship, Jostens reached out to give the athletes a tangible item to celebrate their success. After completing fundraising efforts, Coach Phillips included a group of players to make their design ideas a reality.
The rings serve as a reminder of the sacrifices made and the challenges overcome. Cloe Quintana, senior midfielder, expressed her feelings about the rings.
“The rings meant so much to us because we had such a successful season, and we put a lot of work and time and effort and energy into throughout the duration of the season. So getting to see or have that little memory or something to hold on to, to represent the successful season, I guess just meant so much to us,” Quintana said.
The impact of the championship rings extends beyond the physical representation of success. They serve as a motivational tool for the current season, instilling a sense of pride and purpose within the team. Riley Wells, senior forward, noted the feeling coming into the 2024 season.
“I think we came in with a really positive mindset. But we also had to think, this is a new season. We have new players, and it’s just a whole ‘nother story. So it was really a positive thing to come into but something that we are going to leave behind us and carry on with,” Wells said.
This drive for improvement is a common theme among athletes, where past successes fuel future ambitions. The psychological aspect of wearing a championship ring can be likened to a badge of honor, instilling confidence and a sense of belonging among team members.
Coach Philips wishes to emphasize that this is a new year full of new challenges and players.
“We call it the calluses of success. Like your hands are prepared for more hard work because of the calluses that you earned when you worked hard the first time. And then you know how hard you have to work in order to achieve that success again. So all of those things came from doing it right, the tangible knowledge you get from going through an experience and they know they’re capable of doing it again,” Philips said.
photo by Yuri Lima
Sophomore forward Aubrey Tanksley dribbles the ball agaisnt Maryville University Sept. 7. Tanksley played on the 2023 championship team.
Ayva Darmento Washburn Review
photo by Marika Prasai
Belle Kennedy, junior midfielder, rushes the ball to get past her defender. Kennedy took a shot at the goal soon after but missed wide.
photo by Marika Prasai
Viviana Soto-Herrera (left), senior midfielder, and Belle Kennedy (right), junior midfielder, chase after an opposing forward. Washburn’s win over NMSU game them a 11-3-2 record on the season thus far.
photo by Ojashwi Shrestha
Bella Limback (left), junior outside hitter, and Austin Broadie (right), senior middle hitter, come together at the net to prepare for a block. The duo combined for a total of six blocks.
photo by Ojashwi Shrestha
The Ichabods celebrate at the end of the final set. Their victory over Missouri Western State University broke a five-game losing streak to the Griffins.
COFFEE COFFEE
STUDENT
PIZZA PIZZA
SUDOKU CROSSWORD
graphic by Jonas Faria with reporting from Bulat Ochirov