Even in the July heat, the Free State boys soccer team is hard at work ahead of the St. Louis-based STL Varsity Showcase, for which the team leaves Friday morning. The showcase will also feature Lawrence High and first-year boys coach Joe Comparato, who also enters this season with high aspirations. Free State coach Joe Waldron, entering his third year in charge of the program, is leaning on five seniors — ...
Big-league dreams became reality for Lawrence native Zach Thornton on Monday when the New York Mets selected the former Free State left-handed pitcher 159th overall in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Thornton entered this year’s draft after finishing his junior season with a 9-2 record and 3.87 ERA through 88 1/3 innings pitched during a one-year stint at Grand Canyon University. Thornton was a ...
Two recent area high school graduates are slated to participate in the 50th all-time Kansas Shrine Bowl on Saturday night at Fort Hays State University. Free State offensive lineman Kaden Lonard and Eudora safety Kale Hammerschmidt will represent their respective high school alma maters with the “East Team” in the annual nonprofit charity football game supporting children’s medical facilities across the ...
It’s pretty evident Lawrence High head football coach Clint Bowen routinely circles the annual LHS Football Draft on his calendar every year. The third-year coach is the first one setting up the stage, setting up chairs and welcoming guests as they arrive. Hosted at 23rd Street Brewery alongside restaurant managing partner Matt Llewellyn, the mock draft serves as a rallying point for all things LHS ...
Senior Spotlight is a summer series highlighting incoming area high school senior athletes. Jack Harvey is another piece of the puzzle for a Baldwin High football team desperate to compete this fall. The Bulldogs, who won seven combined games over the past four years, are a work in progress under third-year head coach Bob Lisher. Baldwin hasn’t posted a winning season since 2013 under Mike Berg ...
A longtime coach wants to do his part for youth baseball and softball in Lawrence. Dirk Wedd spent 40 years coaching football and baseball at the high school and collegiate levels, spending more than half that tenure at Lawrence High School. Five years removed from his coaching career, he is now drafting a preliminary sketch for a facility that could help the city preserve youth baseball and softball. The ...