2008 Girls' Softball Team
Back Row: Head Coach Brenda Holaday, Kylie Pease, Taylor Lingard, Jenny Hunt, Kelsey Lewis, Taylor Zordel, Assistant Coach Tara Griffith, Assistant Coach Amanda Rush
Middle Row: Shelby Anderson, Maggie Holmberg, Taylor Lynch
Front Row: Kelsey Warkentine, Laura Woner, Logan Johnson, Ashley Fox, Paige Ladenburger
The 2008 State Championship softball team won the Class 6A Championship in Topeka, Kansas at Hummer Sports Park. This was the only time the 6A State Tournament was played in our hometown, and this team rode the momentum of great crowds while also battling several rain delays. The team defeated Olathe Northwest in the championship game by a score of 2-1 and finished with an overall record of 23-2. During the State Tournament, the team did not allow a single earned run and gave up only one run in three games. They also won the Centennial League and the Regional Championship. This was the second State Championship for the softball program who also won a title in 1995 and went on to win another one in 2014.
Head Coach Brenda Holaday was named the Kansas Softball Coach of the Year in 2008 and Paige Ladenburger was named the Gatorade Player of the Year.
This was a team with remarkable young women who not only excelled on the softball field, but have gone on to become strong professional women in our community. Many of them played more than one sport while at Rural and their ability to multitask, be team players, develop tremendous leadership skills, and build great work ethic has contributed to their adult life and the impact they continue to have on others and in this community.
Four of these players went on to earn their medical doctorate degrees in their chosen field, three became nurses or work in the medical field, two became teachers in USD 437, and four became business leaders. They are wives, mothers, and unbelievable contributors to their families and communities. Seven of the 13 went onto play college ball.
Coach Rush has continued to teach and coach, currently in USD 501, while raising two children with her husband. Coach Griffith was also part of the 2014 State Championship team before going to Shawnee Heights as their head softball coach, where she has won two state titles.
Coach Holaday left Washburn Rural in 2016 after three state championships, and a 351-93 record, 14 Centennial League Championships, and 16 6A State Tournaments, including three State Titles, five 2nd Place finishes, and three 3rd place finishes in her 19 years of coaching at Rural. She was named Centennial League and City Coach of the Year nine times. Holaday took over the reins at Washburn University's softball program before the 2017 season. Her teams have won two MIAA Conference titles, appeared in three NCAA tournaments, and she has been named MIAA Coach of the Year twice.