Nobody likes to have the title of a “bandwagon fan.” Of course, it’s easy to cheer for the Cleveland Cavaliers now that LeBron is back with them; but the new fans aren’t allowed to celebrate any potential championships as much as those fans who were cheering for the Cavs beforehand.

There are plenty of reasons to jump late to a team’s fandom. Everybody likes to cheer on a winning team. The winning teams are the talk of the town, in newspapers more and on TV more.

And on the flip side, not everyone enjoys jumping on bandwagons. There’s still fans of teams that don’t win on a consistent basis (looking at you Royals fans). As a sportswriter, I think there’s pluses and minuses to covering teams that win a lot and teams that do not. Of course, in high school coverage, I’m more likely to cover teams that are winning.

With that in mind, I’ve created a fans’ guide to cheering for teams before the bandwagon gets full this fall among Lawrence high school sports teams. Now this is all just one person’s opinion. I wish all my predictions came true, but there’s a reason they play the game. Here’s my top-5 teams to jump to:

1. Free State boys cross country — After watching the girls’ cross country team at Free State win a state title last year (and have a solid shot at defending this year), the boys’ team knows the sky is the limit for its cross country program. Not many teams in Lawrence return quite as much talent, as the Firebirds have all seven runners from last year’s state meet (where they finished 6th) back this year: Ryan Liston, Ethan Donley, Thomas Becker, Tanner Hockenbury, Cole Stallard, Curtis Zicker and Connor Ballenger. Some of those returners made great improvements through the spring track season. If they can stay healthy, they could bring home some hardware at the end of October.

2. Lawrence High football — I don’t know if LHS will have the best football team in town this fall (we’ll find out soon in three weeks) but they’re definitely the underdog after last year’s 3-6 record. Though the Lions took their lumps (as coach Dirk Wedd would describe it), the defense is ready to shine this season with a ton of experience and speed. If the Lions’ offensive line pans out, they have the talent to make plenty of noise this fall.

3. Free State gymnastics — The Firebirds won a state championship last year, and return the pieces to do so again. If you weren’t on the bandwagon before (they’ve won two state titles in three years), now is your chance since its the beginning of the season. They return Grace Bartle, who was runner-up at the state meet last year, Haley Johnson and Carrie Howland, while coach Brooke Kissinger has raved about newcomer Callie Hicks.

4. Free State boys soccer — Free State had its ups and downs last season, but with a veteran-laden team of 15 seniors, there’s plenty of experience to win those close and hard-fought games. One of the big problems last year was scoring goals, and that’s been a main emphasis this preseason. If the Firebirds can solve their scoring woes, they have potential to be dangerous when it’s playoff time.

5. Lawrence High volleyball — Though the Lions lost five seniors, including all-league selection Caitlin Broadwell, LHS returns plenty of depth and experience with varsity returners Caroline Dykes, Cienna Sorell, Marlee Bird, Kyleigh Severa, Keeli Billings and Makayla Wagner. Now it’s just about finding the right combinations on the court, and using their depth and experience to surprise this upcoming year.

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Some quick notes on a couple of Lawrence natives:

•After missing most of last season because of injury, former Lawrence High distance running star Grace Morgan, who competes in cross country and track for Kansas University, won the Bob Timmons Dual Classic at Rim Rock Farm on Saturday. Morgan, a redshirt freshman, finished with a time of 18:49.1, which was the fastest finish by a Jayhawk at that meet in four years.

•Former Free State distance runner Stan Skwarlo, who now runs at Wichita State University, finished 36th in his first collegiate race among 49 runners at the Tulsa Hurricane Invitational on Saturday. Skwarlo ran a time of 21:29 in the four mile cross country race.
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As always, feel free to comment, email me, or find me on Twitter @nightengalejr.