Preps notebook: After tossing no-hitter, Free State’s Ethan Bradford among top local standouts

photo by: Carter Gaskins/Journal-World photos

Lawrence Free State High School pitcher Ethan Bradford (No. 18) throws a pitch against Jefferson City (Mo.) High School Thursday at Hoglund Park in Lawrence. Free State defeated Jefferson City by a score of 1-0.

It was a busy and successful week for local athletes between Kansas Relays and the River City Festival.

Free State senior Ethan Bradford spun a no-hitter, while both FSHS and Lawrence High baseball teams went undefeated this weekend to extend win streaks. In addition, two different school records were broken by the Firebirds and Lions at Rock Chalk Park.

As always, feel free to nominate individual athletes for this notebook via email or on Twitter. With that, let’s look at some of the top area athletes from this past week:

Ethan Bradford, Free State baseball — Despite not knowing until after the last out, Bradford notched his first career no-hitter during a 1-0 win over Jefferson City (Mo.) Thursday night. The senior left-hander struck out eight batters, allowing only two baserunners in his monumental showing. The Firebirds have now won 13 games in a row.

Emily Heinz, Bishop Seabury soccer — The Bishop Seabury junior was on another level during a match between area teams. Heinz scored all four of the Seahawks’ scores during a 5-4 loss to Eudora. BSA goalkeeper Brooke Spurlock recorded an assist on one of the four goals by Heinz, who had 21 goals and four assists last year.

Landon Berquist, Free State golf — To lead Free State’s boy golf team to a top five finish, Berquist shot a 73 at the Seaman Invitational. Berquist finished fourth on the individual leaderboard, while the Firebirds claimed fourth as a team with a 328. Andrew Park also finished in the top 10 for FSHS, netting eighth with a 78.

Reed Wilson, Veritas baseball — In a wild week, Wilson finished with four hits in six at-bats. He recorded two RBIs and scored four runs to help the Eagles go 2-1 this week, which included two double-digit victories. Wilson also earned a win in his lone start, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings to go along with three strikeouts.

Henry Nelson, Bishop Seabury track — As the lone Seahawk to win an event at Little KU Relay, Nelson placed first in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:35.17. Nelson also netted runner-up in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:06.47. It was an impressive showing for the BSA junior in a meet with several 6A teams.

Auna Childress, Free State track — It took just one leap for Childress to net a win and set a school record at the Kansas Relays. On her first attempt, Childress won the triple jump competition with a mark of 40 feet, 9 inches, which was nearly three feet longer than the next highest finisher. The junior Firebird also took eighth in long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 2 inches.

Talisa Stone, Perry-Lecompton track — A few different area athletes found the podium at the Kansas Relays this past weekend. Stone led the way for the Kaws, placing fourth in the high jump. Stone cleared 5 feet, 3 inches on one attempt to come home with some hardware.

Carlos Vasquez, Lawrence High baseball — The Lions won all three games of the River City Festival, extending their win streak to six games. Vasquez had a strong week at the plate, posting a 6-for-9 clip. Vasquez also drove in four batters, recording two walks as well. Vasquez also flashed multiple impressive defensive plays at shortstop.

Lawrence’s sprint-medley team, LHS track — Records are meant to be broken. Lawrence’s sprint medley team of Asjah Harris, Bella Kirkwood, Evann Seratte and Hannah Stewart took down a four-year old record with a time of 4:15.08. They placed fourth in the event at the Kansas Relays at Rock Chalk Park.

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