WRITER: David Rodish

Preview: Lawrence football looks to turn season around by winning rivalry game over Free State

Sometimes, the best way to turn a season around is to beat a rival, and that's what Lawrence High is hoping to accomplish on Friday. Lawrence (0-7) is set to finish its regular season by hosting its crosstown rival Free State (5-2). Despite the winless record, the Lions have a better point differential than the three one-loss teams, showing that the Lions have been in almost every game they’ve played. With ...

Free State linebacker Prescott commits to Nebraska-Kearney

Ethan Prescott’s first college football offer came this past spring from Nebraska-Kearney, which he visited during the school’s spring game. Prescott fell in love with the school, the coaches and the team. As other schools in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association reached out and recruited him, the experience from that first visit at Nebraska-Kearney was hard to top. That gave Prescott the ...

First flag football season provides local girls new opportunities in high school

Two and a half months ago, both Free State and Lawrence’s girls flag football teams started their inaugural seasons. Both teams were hoping at least seven girls would show up, just enough to field a team and allow a few backups while a number of girls played both offense and defense. What ended up happening at the first practice far surpassed either teams’ coaches. “We didn’t have enough jerseys at ...

Kansas guard Jackson bringing leadership, improved skillset to season after missing year with knee injury

Kansas guard Elmarko Jackson had a lot of confidence heading into last year’s men’s basketball season after coming off a season in which he played over 18 minutes per game. Then came the knee injury, a tear of his patellar tendon in his left knee, during the KU basketball camp scrimmage in June of 2024. A year that was supposed to include a jump in his performance and role became a year of sitting on the ...

Two-man game between KU's Bidunga, Peterson grows through preseason practices

A few months before arriving on campus at Kansas, freshman guard Darryn Peterson said he was most excited to play with his center, Flory Bidunga. Now, just weeks away from the regular season, Bidunga and Peterson are building chemistry and a two-man game that the Jayhawks can rely on throughout the upcoming season. “My job is to make him look better, and his job is to make us look better,” Bidunga said. ...

Free State places second in 6A state tennis tournament; Ward wins singles bracket

Olathe — Free State sent four girls to the 6A state girls tennis tournament and came away with all four Firebirds placing in the tournament, leading the Firebirds to a second-place team finish. The highlight came from freshman Eli Ward, who won the singles bracket and finished the season as an undefeated state champion. Ward's season was dominant — she finished 24-0 and never dropped a set. The most points ...