Lawrence Free State runner Kiran Cordes, center, holds the 2nd place trophy, surrounded by her Firebird teammates after Kansas 6A state cross country meet Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015 at Rim Rock Farm. The boys team finished in 6th place overall.

After running in the Class 6A state meet on Saturday, Free State High girls cross country runners sat in the team’s tent off to the side of the Rim Rock Farm course. Some were in tears, consoled by their teammates and family members.

The Firebirds were proud of what they accomplished, but it was a little painful to know how close they were to a state championship.

Free State tied for first place with Manhattan, both schools scoring 72 points. But the Firebirds lost the tiebreaker, falling back into second place. It was the second straight year Free State finished second.

Shawnee Mission North took third, one point behind Free State and Manhattan. The tiebreaker is determined by comparing where each school’s sixth runner finishes after tallying up the score for the top five runners, which was a difference of nine spots Saturday.

FSHS junior Emily Venters led the Firebirds by taking third place, and junior Kiran Cordes was seventh.

“It’s really hard to lose on that,” Venters said. “At the beginning of the year, I had no idea that we were even going to have a team to make state. I was like, ‘Well, it might end up being just a couple of individuals going.’ But then, we had this team of freshmen and sophomores. To just get second and barely miss first is awesome.”

Venters, a two-time state champion, was neck-and-neck with Shawnee Mission Northwest sophomore Molly Born, along with two other runners, more than a mile into the race. But Born found another gear in the final mile and won by more than 30 seconds, finishing in 17:58.6. Olathe East’s Kayla Davis finished runner-up.

For Venters, it was a “disappointing” race because she didn’t feel like her usual self.

“There was a certain point in the back loop that I just felt dead,” said Venters, who finished in 18:38.8. “Like, I couldn’t do it anymore. Then I heard my coach, ‘Come on Emily, this is for the team.’ I was like, ‘Oh, gosh dang it. I have to push through.’ It was like two miles to go, and it hurt so bad.”

Cordes, who was sixth at state last year, helped the Firebirds’ team score by passing a few runners in the final stretch.

“That was really motivating,” Cordes said. “Throughout the race, I just felt like I could stay with a group and then try passing them halfway through.”

Free State freshman Julia Larkin was a state medalist, placing 13th, while freshman Sarah Walpole took 29th, freshman Emma Hertig was 33rd, junior Abigail Zenger was 44th and sophomore Alvena Walpole took 48th. All five of them didn’t have much — if any — cross country experience before the season.

Lawrence High freshman Morgan Jones, who was the school’s lone state qualifier, took 45th in 20:41.5.

Free State’s boys cross country team finished sixth at state, led by senior Ethan Donley in third place.

Donley did his best to keep up with Manhattan’s Jackson Schroeder, who finished runner-up, after racing against him last week in regionals.

SM North senior Belesti Akalu won the race in 15:43.

“I had a little bit of an idea of what he was going to do,” Donley said. “I had a feeling that it was going to be kind of similar to last week. I kind of raced him like that last week, so I figured, ‘Just stay with him the whole race.’ He kind of pulled me along.”

Free State senior Tanner Hockenbury took 16th place, while sophomore Avant Edwards was 28th, and sophomore Jared Hicks took 45th.

“It wasn’t the best,” Hockenbury said. “It wasn’t exactly how I wanted to end my season. I’ve been battling shin splints for the past two or three weeks. Overall, it is what it is. I fought hard.”

Donley and Hockenbury were the only returners to the varsity lineup at the beginning of the season, and they were thrilled to see their younger teammates run well throughout the year.

“To have those guys step up and help us get all the way up to sixth place is a great starting point for the kids who come back next year,” FSHS coach Steve Heffernan said. “And it’s a really nice way to finish for the seniors. I know coming back into the season, their expectations for a team finish weren’t that high.”

Class 6A State Cross Country Meet

Saturday at Rim Rock Farm

Girls 5K

Team scores: 1. Manhattan, 72; 2. Free State, 72; 3. Shawnee Mission North, 73; 4. Olathe East, 103; 5. Blue Valley North, 122; 6. Shawnee Mission Northwest, 157; 7. Dodge City, 172; 8. Shawnee Mission West, 210; 9. Wichita Northwest, 233; 10. Wichita North, 257; 11. Blue Valley, 274; 12. Junction City, 301.

Individual results (top 10): 1. Molly Born, SMNW, 17:58.6; 2. Kayla Davis, OE, 18:30.3; 3. Emily Venters, FS, 18:38.8; 4. Gabriela Reyna, WN, 18:51.6; 5. Amber Reed, SMN, 19:18.1; 6. Cameron Gueldner, ONW, 19:19.5; 7. Kiran Cordes, FS, 19:26.1; 8. Lily Strauss, BVN, 19:26.3; 9. Samantha Taylor, SMN, 19:30.5; 10. Yulissa Dela Torre, OE, 19:33.5.

FSHS results: 3. Emily Venters, 18:38.8; 7. Kiran Cordes, 19:26.1; 13. Julia Larkin, 19:44.4; 29. Sarah Walpole, 20:13.4; 33. Emma Hertig, 20:18.0; 44. Abigail Zenger, 20:38.7; 48. Alvena Walpole, 20:44.2.

LHS result: 45. Morgan Jones, 20:41.5.

Boys 5K

Team scores: 1. Olathe North, 97; 2. Olathe East, 109; 3. Shawnee Mission East, 119; 4. Manhattan, 125; 5. Shawnee Mission North, 130; 6. Free State, 136; 7. Blue Valley, 176; 8. Washburn Rural, 188; 9. Garden City, 193; 10. Dodge City, 205; 11. Shawnee Mission Northwest, 227; 12. Wichita North, 230.

Individual results (top 10): 1. Belesti Akalu, SMN, 15:43.4; 2. Jackson Schroeder, MHS, 15:54.9; 3. Ethan Donley, FS, 15:59.6; 4. Nicholas Skinner, OE, 16:15.9; 5. Marcus Tula, GC, 16:24.2; 6. Pierce Flanders, WR, 16:27.4; 7. Alex Akalu, SMN, 16:29.9; 8. Alexander Johnson, ON, 16:32.7; 9. Josiah Heikes, ON, 16:33.0; 10. Joseph Widerholt, BV, 16:36.1.

FSHS results: 3. Ethan Donley, 15:59.6; 16. Tanner Hockenbury, 16:40.6; 28. Avant Edwards, 17:01.0; 45. Jared Hicks, 17:21.8; 63. Grant Alexander Holmes, 17:39.0; 94. William Benkelman, 18:26.5; 100. Calvin Yost-Wolff, 19:19.7.