March Madness has come to be known for many things.

Buzzer-beaters, bracket-busters and Cinderella stories all have become a huge part of the hoops phenomenon that has taken college basketball by storm during the past two decades.

But for one Free State High athlete, March Madness has a completely different meaning.

Meet Free State High senior Lauren Thames, Firebirds tennis player and aspiring nurse. Thames is participating in a March Madness competition of her own, and this one, just like the Big Dance, has a huge prize waiting for the winner at the end.

“I think it’s really cool that it’s connected to March Madness,” Thames said, “because there’s such great history with March Madness and KU and this is such a great basketball town. I don’t play basketball, but I love to watch it.”

Thames also loves to track her votes on the contest’s Web site, but not nearly as much as her family.

“I probably check it 10 times a day,” she said. “But my dad and my grandpa check it more than me. They’re obsessed with it, and they’re getting everybody they know involved.”

The competition began in late February with more than 1,700 high school seniors hoping to advance out of their states and into a regional round. That field has been whittled down to a final 64, and Thames is still in the running for a $20,000 scholarship sponsored by zinch.com.

She already has advanced past the state voting and the regional round, where she placed among the top three vote-getters in the North 1 region. Now, she’s the No. 3 seed in the East Bracket of the final 64 and is squaring off against No. 14 seed Jennifer Finn of Attleboro, Mass. From here on out, it’s head-to-head voting, with the winner advancing to the next round. The voting for this round begins Wednesday and runs through March 23.

For those who don’t know Thames, user profiles for each of the candidates and a section called “Talent Show,” which displays some of their most impressive creations, are included on the site.

Thames’ “talents” include her MVP award for this fall’s FSHS varsity tennis team, works of art she has created and a photo of her winter formal dress, which she made.

Thames plans to attend Baker University, where she will play tennis and get into nursing.

Should Thames survive this week, she would advance to the second round, which runs March 23-27. Voting for the Final Four takes place April 6-10, and the championship vote runs April 10-15.