Washburn Rural was the top seed in the 6A sub-state tournament. Their 15 straight years of going to state made them a familiar team in Junction City.
The Junior Blues beat both Wichita Southeast and Wichita Heights in two for the win.
Their squad was stacked with seven seniors this trip.
"It's huge," head coach Kevin Bordewick said. "Every senior class, they don't want to be the ones that drops the ball. They want to be the ones that continues it on."
Even though there has been a history of success at the school, the coach said each class has to work for their trip to state.
"The kids involved," Bordewick said. "It's just their work ethic, their parents and them just understanding that it takes a lot of work. Nothing's given to you you got to earn everything."
While Washburn was seeded first, Junction City was seeded sixth in the tournament. According to head coach Megan Parks, the team had never been to state. They won their first match against the third-seeded Manhattan in three games to take on a red-hot Topeka High team. The Blue Jays won the first match comfortably with a score of 25-6, but their work was not done yet.
"Just stay focused, keep handling business, don't let up," senior Peyton Pender said.
The second match was close in the beginning, but the Blue Jays used their heighth to win it 25-14.
"It finally happened," senior Shanna Witt said. "Everything just fell together. We played together. Everything was just how it was meant to be for our senior year."
