All of the Sunflower League’s eyes were upon him. And Danny Schneider simply shined.

The Free State High junior was terrific at the Sunflower League cross country meet Saturday at Rim Rock Farm, holding off fierce competition and taking sixth place in the boys 5,000-meter race.

With implications elevating more and more as the postseason nears, so too is Schneider’s running. He was easily the city’s top finisher in the boys race, finishing in a time of 17:05.49.

“I started off probably a little too fast,” Schneider said of his race. “But that’s how the race was going. I had to stay with it.”

Schneider led, but his Firebird teammates weren’t far behind. As a team, the Free State boys finished third behind state powers Shawnee Mission Northwest and Shawnee Mission East. Nick Squier (15th), Aaron Trent (16th) and Jared McDonald (24th) were all in the top 25. SM Northwest’s Tucker Weems won the race in 16:28.21.

“This was probably a B-plus race for us,” FSHS coach Steve Heffernan said. “It wasn’t our best race. But overall, they’re starting to come together real well, and that’s important.”

Lawrence High’s boys finished seventh at league, powered by a 20th-place finish by senior Harry Swartz and a 36th-place finish by junior Drew Vogel.

Much like the Free State boys, though, the Lawrence girls showed tremendous depth in their race Saturday. The Lions took third as a team, led by sophomore Megan Johnson and senior Meg Gentry, who finished 11th and 13th, respectively. Junior Jenni Beasley (21st) also placed in the top 25.

“It sets us up real well for regionals,” said Johnson, who ran a 4,000-meter time of 16:15.93. “I think we’re going to do real well.”

Lawrence High's Megan Johnson runs down the finishing stretch during the Sunflower League cross country meet. Johnson placed 11th Saturday at Rim Rock Farm.

In most meets this year, Johnson and Gentry usually have finished within a few feet of each other. It was no different Saturday. Gentry finished just 13 seconds behind, after the two were neck-and-neck for much of the race.

“We’re like twins,” Johnson said. “She’s always there, and we always push each other. It really helps us.”

In the girls race, the top city finisher was, once again, Free State sophomore Alysha Valencia, who placed fourth with a time of 15:26.12. She aspired to be crowned league champion, but said her strategy just didn’t work well. Shawnee Mission South’s Connie Abbott took first, creating a big gap between her and the pack after the King’s Bridge halfway through the race.

“For some reason, I wasn’t strong today,” Valencia said. “I was just winded. But a race like this will make me work harder.”

The Free State girls finished seventh, led by Valencia, Robyn Lee (27th) and Allison Yoder (30th).

Both Lawrence and Free State now prepare for Kansas Class 6A regionals, which will take place in Emporia Saturday. The state meet is slated for Nov. 1 at Rim Rock Farm.

Free State's danny schneider, left, paces himself during the Sunflower League cross country meet. The FSHS junior took sixth place Saturday at Rim Rock Farm.