Today is one of my favorite days of the year.

No, Aug. 17 is not my birthday and it doesn’t mark some other kind of milestone in my life. In fact, it’s not the Aug. 17 part of it that makes today so great. It’s the fact that in a few short hours, roughly every athletic facility in the city will be in use by high school athletes at Lawrence High, Free State, Veritas Christian and Bishop Seabury Academy.

Today marks the first official day of the fall sports season. With it comes the hope and promise of postseason appearances, school records and state titles. Today, anything is possible and these athletes know it.

Journey back with me, if you will, to this time last season. At both the Free State High football field and the LHS gymnasium, the talk focused exclusively on making a run at the state tournament.

Both teams did, with the LHS volleyball team overcoming a rough regular season to make its first appearance at state under third-year coach Stephanie Magnuson.

Like their LHS volleyball counterparts, the FSHS football fellas pushed past a slow start and rolled all the way to the Class 6A state title game, where they lost to Junction City in a hard-fought battle worthy of the big game.

Both dream runs started on that first day in August and it’s almost certain that a few just like that will begin today.

Whether it’s the cross country teams gunning for another strong showing at state, the girls tennis and girls golf teams absorbing first impressions that will go a long way toward determining which singles players and doubles teams will reach the state tournament or the boys soccer teams and girls gymnastics teams figuring out where to start in their quests for that magical season, it all begins today.

Typically, the first few days of practice are reserved for mundane tasks like checking out equipment, going over team rules and introducing the newcomers to the new culture they’re now a part of. Trust me, though, even when sprinkling those kinds of things into practice, coaches and leaders at both schools are making sure that everyone on hand is focused on laying the groundwork for a successful season.

There’s plenty of reason to expect success from the city’s high school teams this fall. Here’s a quick look at a few of them.

Free State football: Although the Firebirds lost a substantial number of players from last year’s runner-up team, several key players return, including senior quarterback Camren Torneden. Blessed with a stacked supporting cast a season ago, Torneden will be looked to for more offense and more leadership for coach Bob Lisher’s team in 2009.

Free State girls cross country: This team, which placed third at the Class 6A state meet in 2008, returns virtually every runner from a deep and talented squad. Leading the way for this year’s bunch will be: Hayley Francis, Morgan Flannigan, Lynn Robinson, Amy Meyers, Hailey Donley and Hillary Yoder. Together, they’ll look to pick up slack for the loss of all-league performer Kyra Kilwein.

Free State gymnastics: This is yet another FSHS squad that returns nearly every contributor from last year’s team. Included on that list is the duo of Drue Davis and Kelcy Bowers, two Firebirds who made serious noise at state. Led by Davis and Bowers and backed by a deep, experienced group, coach Kathy Johnson and the Firebirds are poised for their biggest season ever.

Lawrence High boys cross country: The defending state champions lost a little but return a lot. Nine of the Lions’ top 10 runners from the title team are back. And in senior captain Roy Wedge, LHS returns last year’s individual runner-up and a dynamic leader who is determined to push his teammates to greatness. Last year’s state title was the first boys cross country title in LHS history. It also snapped a 14-year state title streak by Shawnee Mission Northwest. With their gun fully loaded, Wedge and the Lions have their sites set on starting a streak of their own.

Lawrence High volleyball: After a largely forgettable regular season, the LHS volleyball team hit their stride when it counted most — in the postseason. Fresh off a trip to state, the LHS girls return with a vengeance in 2009. Five regulars return to form the nucleus of this year’s team, which will be pushed by the saying that “Getting there was nice, winning it will be even sweeter.”

While my main focus today will be on the new beginnings at Lawrence High and Free State, coaches and athletes throughout the area are jumping into their fall seasons with a swagger in their step and visions of state championships dancing in their heads. Here’s a quick look at a few of the more intriguing stories that get under way today around the area.

Tonganoxie High — By Benton Smith

In Tonganoxie, like most towns, the majority of the local buzz that comes with the start of fall sports is centered on the football team.

Tonganoxie High had a rebound season in 2008, going 5-4 with wins against Prairie View, Osawatomie, K.C.-Wyandotte, Santa Fe Trail and Piper. The Chieftains’ main problem was keeping up with their more talented opponents — three of their four losses were lopsided blowouts.

The ’09 slate for THS features the exact same foes, so it will be interesting to see if the Chieftains can compete with the likes of Perry-Lecompton, Basehor-Linwood and K.C. Ward this time around.

At camp and workouts this summer, Tonganoxie coach Mark Elston was excited about the number of “gamebreakers” the Chieftains have on their roster this fall. Between speed demons DJ Lindsay and Jeremy Carlisle, tough inside runners Austen Holloway and Jeremie Maus and home-run threats Dylan Scates and Shawn Marin, just to name a few, THS has the talent to swing momentum before its opponent knows what happened.

Interestingly, Tonganoxie — a team that ran the ball about six times more often than it passed last year — might be changing its offensive makeup this season.

In volleyball, Tonganoxie went 26-15 and lost in a sub-state semifinal last year. Two big question marks for the team this fall are: 1. Who will replace four-year mainstay and setter Chrissie Jeannin; and 2. Is Molly O’Hagan completely recovered from a nagging back injury?

A deep sophomore class and talented freshman group should help the team stay near the top of the Kaw Valley League as seniors Abby Eisman and Maggie Franiuk look to lead the Chieftains back to state (where THS finished third in 2007).

Out on the cross country trails, Andie Jeannin, Alex Hauk, Sarah Williams and Lauren Hall lead the way for the Tonganoxie girls. For the boys, it will be up to junior Joel Dunning and sophomores Patrick Rachford, Dalton Harrington and Caleb Himpel to step up and replace a solid group of seniors from last season.

The Tonganoxie boys soccer team finished last in the KVL in 2008. If the Chieftains want to turn things around this fall, seniors Mitch DeHoff, Keaton Schaffer, Preston Putthoff, Bret Koch and Andrew Bouza will have to lead the charge.

Baldwin High — By Jimmy Gillispie

Today marks the beginning of another year of the Mike Berg era in Baldwin High football. Year in and year out, Berg’s Bulldogs are near the top of the Frontier League and the race to advance to the Class 4A playoffs.

They are expecting another solid year in 2009. BHS lost a large and talented senior class, but this year’s squad dedicated hours to the weight room, practice field and conditioning this summer.

For the third straight year, Berg encouraged his players to participate in Bulldog Days during the summer. It’s a free exercise program based off Lawrence’s “Red Dog Days.” Through July 18, the BHS players ran at Bulldog Days, then practiced at Baker University’s Liston Stadium.

Because of that, conditioning won’t be a big part of the Bulldogs’ early season practices. Come 6 a.m., they’ll be hitting the field and preparing for their Sept. 4 opener versus Paola.

Eudora High — By Jeff Deters

With fall sports practices beginning today in Eudora, the town becomes even more Cardinal red than before, as they anticipate the first game of the 2009 football season.

Laws Field is always packed for Friday night home games, and coach Gregg Webb’s Cardinals will look to get back into the playoffs after falling one point short last year.

Honorable mention All-State running back Ryan Fisher has graduated, and the Cardinals will look to replace him with a combination of playmakers, including seniors Evan Cleveland and Drew Noble and junior wide receiver Christian Richardson.

One surprise of the 2009 campaign could be how often Eudora passes the ball. While Cleveland played quarterback last year, he is more of a runner. And Noble, who also logged time under center last year, has a strong arm and gives Eudora the ability to stretch the field vertically, as Richardson and Brian Katzfey have enough athleticism to get open deep down field. While Eudora’s offense won’t feature a talent like Fisher in the backfield, the Cardinals still have enough offensive weapons to make for another exciting season. 

Eudora’s first game is against Spring Hill Sept. 4 at EHS.

De Soto High — By Jeff Deters

The De Soto soccer team could be in for quite a ride this fall. The Wildcats won the Frontier League championship for the first time in school history last year and should be the favorites to repeat as league champs this year.

Darren Erpelding’s squad features plenty of speed and scoring ability up front with returnees Jordan Riffel and Brett Hevel. The biggest question mark could be how well Tyler Buffkin plays at goalkeeper, as he likely will be asked to replace school shutout king Tyler Phongsavath, who graduated.

De Soto breezed through its competition last year during the regular season, but was bounced by St. James in the first round of regionals. St. James entered the match with a 4-11 record, but that record was a bit deceiving as the Thunder do not play in a league and scheduled games against bigger schools.

De Soto finished last year (13-2-2) and has a tougher schedule this fall which includes road matches at Free State and Olathe Northwest. Erpelding hopes the added competition will better prepare his team for a deep run in the playoffs.

De Soto’s first match is Aug. 28 at Basehor-Linwood.