Lawrence High senior Travis Gage decided to mix things up during his final season of high school competition.

After suiting up for the LHS track and field team the past few springs – deciding that sport was a better way to prepare for football season – Gage decided to join the boys tennis team in 2007, returning to a sport he hasn’t played since junior high.

“I decided to pick it back up and go with it,” Gage said. “I like track. It will always have a special place in my heart, but I just thought I’d have a little bit of fun my senior year.”

Although he is a newcomer to the varsity tennis team, Gage already has demonstrated senior leadership. He scolded teammates who wanted to leave early during the Lions’ 8-1 duel loss to Free State last week.

He then celebrated the lone win of that match, Thomas Zheng’s 8-6 victory, by grabbing Zheng and hoisting him in the air.

¢ Haunting lessons: Four years ago, first-year LHS tennis coach Steve Hudson taught the game at Indian Creek Racquet Club, the same facility where current Free State junior Charlie Moffet, the Firebirds’ No. 1 singles player, trained.

“I used to feed him balls,” Hudson said. “Little did I know that I was aiding the enemy.”

Last week, Moffet defeated Lawrence High’s Taylor Seratte, 8-1, during singles play.

¢ Fleet feet: Keep an eye on Lawrence High’s girls 4X800-meter relay team during this week’s Kansas Relays and the Class 6A postseason.

During last week’s Topeka High Relays, the quartet of Kelly Renfro, Kaela Severa, Jennifer Taylor and Kristina Taylor combined to shave more than a second off the Lions’ state-winning time from 2006.

¢ An act of charity: Free State girls basketball coach Bryan Duncan had a difficult time choosing which players would start for his squad Saturday night during the Kansas vs. Missouri High School All-Star Challenge.

He ultimately decided on an easy solution for the Kansas all-stars.

“We had a simple free-throw-shooting contest,” Duncan said. “The first five started the game, and the second five started the second half. From there, we had equal playing time and mixed it up.”

Free State senior guard Lauren Kimball didn’t start Saturday.