Lawrence High senior Jon Cohen, left, and Free State freshman Wilson Hack tee off during the LHS Invitational. Cohen shot a 79 and Hack an 87 on Wednesday at Alvamar.

Four city golfers fired scores in the 70s to lead the Lawrence High and Free State High boys golf teams to top-12 finishes at Wednesday’s Lawrence High Invitational at Alvamar Golf Course.

Free State senior Evan Schmidt was the top local player of the day, firing a 77 to finish in a tie for 11th.

FSHS coach Matt Gudenkauf, whose team also tied for 11th with a score of 326, said he was thrilled to see one of his seniors elevate his game.

“He’s very capable of shooting even better than that,” Gudenkauf said of Schmidt’s 77. “It’s nice to see he’s gotten into a little bit of a groove, and hopefully that will carry into the postseason.”

Not far behind Schmidt was senior Connor Klutman, who shot a 79 and just missed earning an individual medal. Klutman’s score included a 38 on the front nine and added to Gudenkauf’s excitement.

“They’re playing better at the right time,” Gudenkauf said of his two seniors. “Hopefully we can get a couple other guys down there with them.”

Wilson Hack (87), Joey Sakumura (85), Colin Becker (85) and Alex Green (88) rounded out the Free State scorecard.

On the Lawrence High side of the fairway, sophomore Logan Henrichs led the Lions with a 78. Senior Jon Cohen also broke 80 with a 79. Both players shot 38 on the front nine to lead LHS to a 321, good for eighth place in the team standings.

“Jon’s been real consistent all year,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said. “His average is somewhere around 78, and he played to that. I thought we played well. I was very proud of them. A couple guys started out poorly and pieced together a good round, which is part of what you have to do.”

Alex Thompson (80), Tyler Kahn (84), Steve Melton (85) and Scott Friesen (95) filled out the LHS lineup.

Wedd said this year’s tournament came at a great time for the city schools, with regionals right around the corner.

“It was a tough group of teams, probably better than the state tournament because of those 5A schools that were there,” Wedd said.

Wednesday’s event also served as the third and final round of the Sunflower League tournament. With a three-round total of 912, Shawnee Mission East won the league title for the sixth straight year.

LHS and Free State will play their eight-team regional Monday at Meadowbrook Country Club in Prairie Village. With Shawnee Mission Northwest, which took first Wednesday with a 299, and Olathe Northwest (second, 304) both at the regional, it might be tough for both city schools to qualify for state.

“Shawnee Mission Northwest and Olathe Northwest, they’re a cut above everybody,” Wedd said. “We went to state as a team last year, and that left a good taste in our mouths. It’s going to be tough to get back there. Third place in the regional is going to be a dogfight between us, Free State, Olathe East and Olathe South. Whoever gets in is really going to deserve it.”

Added Gudenkauf: “If Wednesday’s tournament would’ve been regionals, we were within five shots of qualifying (for state) as a team. Lawrence High would’ve been the last team in, and we were five shots behind them. Five shots on a course like Meadowbrook, that’s definitely attainable.”

The top three squads at regionals and the top five individuals not on qualifying teams earn trips to state. Teams will tee off at 9 a.m.