Free State girls win track title

? Sparked by an individual winner, three relay victories and a school record, Free State High’s girls track and field team won the Blue Valley North Invitational Saturday.

“The girls did very well today,” FSHS coach Steve Heffernan said. “They scored points in 14 of the 17 events, making the win a total team effort.”

Free State’s Sam Frisbie won the high jump with a leap of 5-3, and Lauren Abney set a school record with a second-place toss of 130-5 in the javelin.

The Firebirds won the 1,600 sprint medley and the 4X100 and 4X100 relays.

“The girls are ready to put up some big marks and the KU Relays,” Heffernan said.

Free State’s Adrian Ludwig was named MVP of the boys meet after posting two 1:56 half-miles in under an hour, then anchoring two more relays to top-four finishes.

Ludwig ran on both of the Free State boys’ winning relay teams — the 1,600 sprint medley and the 4X800 relays.

As a team, Free State was fourth with 66 points, well behind first-place Shawnee Mission Northwest (116).

“It was a good performance by our young team,” Heffernan said. “We need to work on keeping our team effort up for the entire meet.”