Free State senior Ethan Donley nears the finish line in first place during the 5k race at the Baldwin Invitational Saturday morning in Baldwin City.

Baldwin City ? Free State High senior runners Ethan Donley and Tanner Hockenbury set a goal of racing at the front of the pack at the Baldwin Invitational on Saturday.

A group of seven runners, including Donley and Hockenbury, ran the first mile in just more than five minutes — a blistering pace. It didn’t matter that the course conditions at the Baldwin Golf Course were muddy. There was no slowing down.

Donley, a state champion in the 800-meters in track last spring, knew he was in position to make a move in the final stretch. In the final mile he pulled away for a victory.

Hockenbury fell behind the pack with about a mile to go before finding another gear and sprinting to second place, helping the FSHS boys cross country team finish third in the team standings. Both Donley and Hockenbury set personal records.

The seniors’ 1-2 finish followed the FSHS girls cross country team winning a team title, led by a victory from junior Emily Venters.

“My strategy has been going out slow and building up faster because I’m always afraid about dying down,” said Hockenbury, who finished in 16:26, topping his PR by 15 seconds. “Today, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t have anything to lose.’ It’s Baldwin, it’s not postseason so I might as well test it out now and see if I can stay up front and keep that. And I did.”

For Donley, who won in 16:20, the victory gives him extra confidence for future meets, including the Kansas University Invitational next week.

“Especially going into Rim Rock, I feel like this is a huge plus,” Donley said. “I feel like I can run it that much faster and not to be afraid of being up there with the front pack.

“I’m just taking more of a strategy through the first mile and two mile. I get to the last 800, I feel like I can win it from that point on.”

Free State sophomore Avant Edwards followed Donley and Hockenbury in eighth place, while sophomore Jared Hicks took 30th, and freshman Grant Holmes was 33rd.

After losing a talented senior class from last season, the Firebirds weren’t sure what to expect from their boys team this season and are thrilled with the early results.

“We’re ahead of where we thought we’d certainly be this year,” FSHS coach Steve Heffernan said. “Tanner in Nebraska, where we took fourth, said, ‘I just didn’t think we’d be this good.’ That’s a fun thing because that’s a lot of energy for them.”

Venters highlighted a strong race for the FSHS girls. Junior Kiran Cordes, sophomore Alvena Walpole and freshman Sarah Walpole all finished inside of the top eight. Freshman Julia Larkin took 12th.

“We’re so excited this year,” Venters said. “We had no idea it was going to be this good of a team. We have so many good freshmen and sophomores, so it’s super exciting. Then we’re all going to be back next year, so hoping for a state title again.”

Venters set the pace with Maize South sophomore Destini Eskridge but separated herself into a big lead around the two-mile mark.

“My plan was just to go out and hang with (Eskridge), not try to lead because I waste more energy when I lead,” Venters said. “So just hang with her and go at a certain point and just push myself.”

Lawrence High’s cross country teams both finished in seventh place. The girls were led by freshman Anna DeWitt, who finished 37th. The muddy conditions made the course tough for DeWitt, and she was also sick.

“I was actually proud of myself because I went out and did it,” DeWitt said. “I got a pretty decent time (22:40), so I’m proud of myself and my team.”

Senior Nathan Pederson led the LHS boys, finishing 26th. Garrett Prescott followed in 37th place.

“I think we made some strides in quite a few places,” LHS coach Brian Anderson said. “We still have some places where we need to work a little bit harder. But we’re starting to make inroads compared to where we were.”

Boys 5K

Varsity team scores: Shawnee Mission East, 56; Olathe South, 64; Free State, 68; Baldwin 82; Maize South, 103; St. Thomas Aquinas, 146; Lawrence, 195; Shawnee Heights, 227.

FSHS results: 1. Ethan Donley, 16:20.09; 2. Tanner Hockenbury, 16:25.97; 8. Avant Edwards, 17:00.97; 30. Jared Hicks, 17:47.99; 33. Grant Holmes, 17:52.74; 51. Calvin Yost-Wolff, 18:36.90; 52. Will Benkelman, 18:47.83.

LHS results: 26. Nathan Pederson, 17:42.41; 37. Garrett Prescott, 17:53.39; 49. Carson Jumping Eagle, 18:36.11; 54. Carter Shook, 18:59.65; 56. Kai Blosser, 19:06.62; 59. Bryce Hadl, 19:18.48; 61. Derek White, 19:26.50; 62. Cole Shupert, 19:33.30; 69. Sebastian Lepage, 20:48.46.

Baldwin results: 3. George Letner, 16:29.01; 12. Jacob Bailey, 17:17.35; 15. Parker Wilson, 17:24.10; 24. Dakota Helm, 17:40.00; 32. Nevin Dunn, 17:52.26; 46. Phillip Carroll, 18:19.05; 48. Jackson Barth, 18:28.97; 53. Max Tuckfield, 18:49.18; 63. Hayden Burkhart, 19:34.31; 66. Jaycee Dighans, 19:53.44.

B team scores: Free State, 67; Olathe South, 71; Shawnee Mission West, 80; Shawnee Mission East, 85; St. Thomas Aquinas, 96; Topeka West, 140; Shawnee Mission South, 172; Lawrence High, 175; Shawnee Heights, 257.

Area results: 1. Alejandro Cabrera, Free State, 18:15.58; 5. Eli Jost, Free State, 18:51.62; 7. Ben Otte, Lawrence High, 18:53.82; 11. Zach Lockwood, Free State, 18:56.56; 14. Josh Waisner, Free State, 18:59.27; 35. Sam Schumann, Baldwin, 19:54.94; 40. Evan Eskilson, Free State, 20:10.18; 43. Raiyan Haq, Free State, 20:16.19; 44. Patrick Oblon, Lawrence High, 20:17.92; 47. Graham Edmonds, Lawrence High, 20:22.47; 48. Gary Schmidt, Lawrence High, 20:26.76; 49. Logan Grose, Lawrence High, 20:29.10; 54. Cameron Stussie, Lawrence High, 20:48.52; 55. Noah Mercer, Lawrence High, 20:50.56; 59. Jordan Schoepf, Lawrence High, 21:15.80; 60. Riley Russell, 21:29.46; 62. Kiefer Smith, Lawrence High, 21:39.32; 64. Matthew Simpson, Baldwin, 21:52.98; 74. Harley Stewart, Baldwin, 23:49.62.

C team scores: Free State, 40; St. Thomas Aquinas, 51; Shawnee Mission West, 70; Olathe South, 74; Shawnee Mission East, 110; Shawnee Mission South, 182; Lawrence High, 233; Topeka West, 246.

Area results: 1. Avery Allen, Free State, 19:10.92; 5. John Walpole, Free State, 19:51.61; 8. Alain Marquez, Free State, 19:55.97; 11. Seth Allen, Free State, 20:02.64; 15. Lochi Sampson, Free State, 20:20.63; 17. Shane Friedrichsen, Free State, 20:23.80; 20. Cooper Simon, Free State, 20:25.01; 31. Finnegan Huerter, Free State, 20:53.09; 33. Trey Melvin, Free State, 21:00.53; 36. Alex Pettit, Free State, 21:07.60; 38. Benjamin Hill, Free State, 21:11.52; 41. Robert Ward, Free State, 21:19.55; 46. Declan Forth, Free State, 21:29.61; 56. Tyler Winsor, Free State, 21;49.01; 58. Micah Burman, Free State, 21:54.74; 59. Dash Spears, Free State, 21:55.05; 61. Evan Stewart, Free State, 21:56.26; 64. Chris Wilkus, Free State, 21:59.79; 66. Quinton Westphal, Free State, 22:02.33; 67. Tom Riggs, Free State, 22:02.77; 71. Noah Gold, Free State, 22:11.08; 72. Jeremiah Seibel, Free State, 22:21.98; 75. John Baska, Free State, 22:31.28; 77. Brian Myers, Lawrence High, 22;42.65; 79. Hunter Rea, Free State, 22:47.89; 81. Chris Blevins, Free State, 22:54.63; 82. Nathan Robbins, Free State, 22:58.09; 86. Ryan Flakus, Free State, 23:13.39; 87. Jake Viscomi, Free State, 23:14.31; 88. Gabriel Kennard, Free State, 23:14.36; 89. Spencer Yost-Wolff, Free State, 23:18.18; 91. Daniel Fasching, Free State, 23:23.31; 93. Brett Carey, Free State, 23:29.47; 94. Christian Spoula, Lawrence High, 23:34.30; 95. Dylan Sommer, Free State, 23:36.09; 97. Milo Schoenen, Free State, 23:38.80; 98. KJ Lashley, Lawrence High, 23:43.04; 100. Spencer Emerson, Lawrence High, 23:48.32; 105. Aaron Reed, Lawrence High, 24:11.02.

Girls 5K

Varsity team scores: Free State, 29; Baldwin, 63; Maize South, 67; Shawnee Mission West, 87; Shawnee Mission East, 100; Shawnee Heights, 161; Lawrence High, 192.

FSHS results: 1. Emily Venters, 18:46.19; 3. Kiran Cordes, 19:51.53; 5. Alvena Walpole, 20:02.39; 8. Sarah Walpole, 20:16.10; 12. Julia Larkin, 20:31.45; 23. Abby Zenger, 21:37.38; 24. Kate Odgers, 21:43.35.

LHS results: 37. Anna DeWitt, 22:40.96; 47. Vera Petrovic, 24:01.70; 49. Lacey Greenfield, 24:24.54; 50. Layne Prescott, 24:28.63; 52. Eleanor Matheis, 25:00.11; 53. Shaye White, 25:16.82; 54. Kim Myers, 26:17.81.

Baldwin results: 4. Addie Dick, 20:00.47; 10. Natalie Beiter, 20:21.15; 14. Mackenzie Russell, 20:35.90; 18. Taylor Cawley, 21:13.02; 19. Daelynn Anderson, 21:14.11; 26. Fayth Peterson, 21:47.78; 40. Hollie Hutton, 22:58.66.

B team scores: St. Thomas Aquinas, 23; Free State, 39; Shawnee Mission West, 72; Baldwin, 117; Shawnee Mission East, 136; Lawrence High, 158.

Area results (4K): 2. Emma Hertig, Free State, 16:39.05; 6. Madelyn Johnson, Free State, 17:34.50; 8. Eyerusalem Zicker, Free State, 17:39.56; 10. Marcela Ellebracht, Free State, 17:42.22; 16. Leah Wethington, Free State, 17:55.36; 17. Bekah Keys, Free State, 17:55.56; 18. Savita Flory, Baldwin, 17:56.14; 19. Sidney Zavala, Free State, 17:57.16; 23. Grace Bradshaw, Free State, 18:16.54; 25. Joy Bradshaw, Free State, 18:26.43; 29. Katie Ahern, Lawrence High, 18:37.96; 30. Ciara Luedecke, Baldwin, 18:46.19; 33. Luisa Pierce, Baldwin, 19:05.18; 34. Jill Dick, Baldwin, 19:09.96; 35. Olivia Wilcox, Baldwin, 19:10.25; 38. Kinsey Jackson, Baldwin, 19:19.07; 39. Olivia Lemus, Lawrence High, 19:20.09; 48. Isabella Hedges, Lawrence High, 20:18.21; 52. Kaitlen White, Lawrence High, 20:43.13; 55. Aimee Neilsen, Lawrence High, 20:56.58; 56. Leslie Grey, Lawrence High, 21;06.52.

C team scores: Free State, 25; St. Thomas Aquinas, 56; Shawnee Mission South, 69; Shawnee Mission East, 85; Lawrence High, 155.

Area results (4K): 1. Christina Craig, Free State, 18:20.69; 3. Sydney Zimmerman, Free State, 18:34.69; 6. Jodi Gore, Free State, 18:57.53; 7. Isabel Carey, Free State, 19:08.13; 8. Hayley Boden, Free State, 19:13.99; 9. Hanna Case, Free State, 19:16.57; 11. Erin Liston, Free State, 19:22.73; 12. Brinna Day, Free State, 19:26.64; 20. Corinne Scales, Free State, 19:58.71; 22. Bella Decker, Free State, 20:05.60; 24. Taylor Mosher, Free State, 20:17.79; 29. Abigail Meier, Free State, 20:41.50; 38. Ashley Giago, Free State, 21;05.91; 40. Kahler Wiebe, Free State, 21:11.59; 44. Caitlin McAndrew-Beckman, Free State, 21:22.20; 48. Meredith Van Feldt, Lawrence High, 21:43.44; 50. Ruby Morris, Free State, 21:46.31; 51. Carolyne Muriu, Free State, 21:51.54; 54. Gretchen Boxberger, Free State, 22:13.62; 56. Laura Crabtree, Free State, 22:21.20; 63. Meghan Strobel, Baldwin, 22;53.84; 65. Molly Reed, Free State, 23:00.49; 69. Jasmine Lowery, Lawrence High, 23:47.04; 76. Jenny Ellebracht, Free State, 25:06.92; 78. April Hodges, Lawrence High, 25:35.70; 81. Jessica Ellebracht, Free State, 26:23.91; 83. Chloe Park, Lawrence High, 27:33.85; 84. Devon Spoonhunter, Lawrence High, 28:50.90.