Olathe ? Friday’s Sunflower League track and field meet, which lasted seven long hours, came down to two-tenths of a second on the boys side.

Somewhere between the start of Friday’s final race — the boys 4×400 meter relay — and the end four laps later, Shawnee Mission South gained a slight edge of no more than a step to win the race over Free State. The Raiders finished in 3:27.19; the Firebirds crossed in 3:27.39.

That two-tenths of a second gave SM South 10 points in the team standings and 122 on the day, good enough for the title. Free State earned eight, and finished second after scoring 121.

It was as dramatic of a finish as one could possibly fathom, and despite coming up short, FSHS coach Steve Heffernan was thrilled.

“That’s the fastest the mile relay has run this year,” Heffernan said. “For three of those guys, that’s was their fourth race of the day. They still came back and knocked three seconds off their time.”

Senior Ben Marshall was the Firebird anchor in the race, and he blazed to a 50-second lap of pure adrenaline. He gained a good 10 yards on the SM South anchor, but finished just a hair behind.

“I was coming up a little bit on him through the curve,” Marshall said, “and I was like ‘I think I have a chance to get him.’ I pushed it all I got, but he had a kick in the middle of the straight that got me.”

It was an exciting ending to a bittersweet day for FSHS. The girls finished third in the team standings, but the competition took a back seat to the well-being of senior Lacey Baxter.

Baxter, a standout pole vaulter who signed with Nebraska earlier this week, cleared 9-feet, 6-inches during Friday’s competition, but landed awkwardly on her left knee in the pit, severely twisting it. A trainer on the scene said Baxter’s knee ligaments “are significantly stretched, if not torn.”

She was carted from the scene and taken to the hospital, and probably was unaware she still finished third in the event.

Free State High's Samantha Frisbie eases over the high-jump bar. Frisbie won the Sunflower League title after clearing 5-feet, 4-inches Friday in Olathe.

“Losing Lacey is going to take us a little bit to get over,” Heffernan said. “You could tell that everyone has a lot of compassion for her. She has a lot of good friends on this team, and everyone was concerned.”

The Firebird girls scored 115 points on the day, well behind champion Leavenworth’s 179.5 points. Lawrence High’s girls finished eighth with 33.5 points.

The LHS boys took seventh, scoring 53 points.

The Lions’ high point was the performance of the girls sprint medley relay. Liz Beisner, Cara Austin, Abby Schwartz and Megan Johnson cruised to victory, setting a school record in 4:27.30. Second-place Olathe East was four seconds behind.

Lawrence’s 4×400 relay teams also fared well. The girls team took second in 4:15.35, and the boys took third in 3:29.39 in the day’s final race.

“I’m proud of our 4×4’s and the way they competed,” LHS coach Jerry Skakal said. “You want to go home feeling good about yourself.”

The girls sprint medley relay was Lawrence’s only first-place finish on the day, though Sylvester Birdsong (110 hurdles), Ramin Zangeneh (pole vault) and Scott Penny (shot put) each finished second.

Free State took home several first-place medals. Among them:

Free State High standout Lauren Abney heaves the javelin during the Sunflower League meet. Abney won the league title after a throw of 135 feet, 8 inches Friday in Olathe.

l Junior Danny Schneider claimed victory in both the 1,600 meter run and 800 meter run. He also took fifth in the 3,200 meter race, and was the third leg of the 4×400 relay.

l Senior Kelsey Randall won the 100 hurdles in a time of 15.95. She also took second in the 300 hurdles in 49.6 seconds.

l Senior Samantha Frisbie won the high jump in a tiebreaker with a leap of 5-4.

l Senior Lauren Abney won the javelin competition by 13 feet, throwing a 135-8.

• Sophomore Alysha Valencia won the 1,600 meter run in 5:17.19, topping SM South’s Connie Abbott by five seconds.

l The FSHS boys 4×800 meter relay team took first as well, finishing in 8:09.06.

Both Lawrence High and Free State prepare for the Class 6A regional meet next Friday at Hummer Sports Park in Topeka. Those who qualify at Hummer will make reservations for Wichita and the state meet May 28.

The Firebirds, with a pair of top three finishes, are rarin’ to go.

“On the guys side, we had some really nice things happen today, which is exciting,” Heffernan said. “On the girls side, outside of one accident, we continue to solidify our position. Once we get to state, I think we can still make some noise.”