Free State sophomore Camden Karlin sends a pitch in a game agaisnt Sioux Falls Washington, March 22 at Free State High School.

The first spring sports week is now in the books.

Even though a pair of baseball teams began playing over spring break, this past week marked the beginning for most spring sports. Plenty of local teams started off on the right foot for their respective 2019 campaigns.

Lawrence High girls swim dominated in its first meet of the season and looks poised to be a team to watch this spring. All three city baseball teams were also in action.

Here is a look at how the area teams did this past week:

FSHS baseball claims 2 wins

After dropping a pair of decisions over spring break, Free State’s baseball team got back to .500 with two wins in its home tournament this past weekend.

The Firebirds (2-2) took down Sioux Falls Washington for a 4-0 win Friday before recording a 4-1 victory over Brandon Valley Saturday. Both games featured strong pitching performances by the Firebirds, who allowed a total of eight hits over the weekend.

Cam Karlin spun five scoreless frames in the first game, allowing just three hits and striking out five batters in the process. Mitchell Clark, Creighton Cordova and Cole Burenheide each collected a hit to pace the offense.

Free State junior Jake Baker checks his swing in a game agaisnt Sioux Falls Washington, March 22 at Free State High School.

FSHS again relied on pitching in Saturday’s win, as David Stuart got the nod and allowed one run across four innings. Ethan Bradford tossed three scoreless frames in relief, striking out seven batters and walking one. Colter Maldonado and Cordova each tallied two hits.

Free State plays host to Shawnee Mission East at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

LHS baseball suffers first loss

Lawrence also played two games after competing in its season opener over break.

The Lions scored three runs over the last two innings to net a 7-4 win over Southmoore Friday before ultimately dropping a 6-5 decision to Maize South on Saturday. LHS (2-1) has come out slugging on offense, though, scoring 21 total runs in its first three games of the year.

With the game tied at 4-4 entering the fifth inning, Payton Cummins gave Lawrence a lead that it wouldn’t relinquish via an RBI double. Devin Neal and Hank Dobson each registered a double as well. LHS finished with 10 hits as a team in the win.

Lawrence couldn’t overcome a 6-0 hole in a road loss to Maize South. Still, the Lions showed plenty of firepower in the comeback. Carlos Vasquez, Garrett Romero and Cummins all were credited with an RBI during a late push by LHS. Romero delivered a triple during a three-run effort in the fifth.

LHS travels to Gardner-Edgerton at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Veritas baseball begins 2019 season

The Veritas baseball team began play this season, posting a 1-3 record this past weekend.

Veritas was handed a 14-1 loss by Mill Valley, but responded with a 16-1 victory over Christ Prep. In Friday’s doubleheader at Hoglund Ballpark, VHS suffered a 12-4 loss to Leavenworth and dropped a 9-4 decision against Midland.

Elisha Ferrell threw a no-hitter in the lone win of the week for the Eagles. He pitched all four innings, striking out six batters and walking one. Levi Hawkins and Michael Hull each posted a double in the win, while Tucker Flory smashed two extra-base hits.

LHS girls swim dominate, FSHS notches runner-up

The Lions sent a message with a convincing win at the Emporia Invitational this week.

LHS won seven of the 12 events to score 567 points to finish first out of nine teams. Free State won one event, scoring 374 points to finish as a runner-up. All three relays were won by the Lions in their first meet of the year.

Maddie Dean, Marian Frick, Aubrey Fischer and Madi Heckman netted first in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:54. Frick, Fischer, Jamie Abernathy and Heckman clocked a time of 1:43.14 to win the 200 freestyle relay. Morgan Jones, Fisher, Abernathy and Dean closed out the meet with a win in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:53.55.

Jones netted victories in multiple races, winning the 200-yard freestyle with a mark of 2:02.63. She also won the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:21.45. Dean secured the top spot in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:03.50, while Frick finished first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:10.9.

Kasey Dunn notched Free State’s lone win of the day, finishing first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:01.24. But both the Lions and the Firebirds had plenty of individuals near the top of the leaderboard in every event.

Lawrence will host a swim meet at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, while Free State will travel to Manhattan at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

EMPORIA INVITATIONAL

Emporia High School

Team Scores: 1. Lawrence High, 567; 2. Free State, 374; 3. Manhattan, 325; 4. Andover High, 276; 5. Washburn Rural, 224.5; 6. Topeka-Seaman 194.5; 7. Emporia, 162; 8. Topeka, 106; 9. Andover Central, 93.

LHS/FSHS results

* = State qualifying time in 6A

200 yard medley relay: 1. Lawrence (Maddie Dean, Marian Frick, Aubrey Fischer, Madi Heckman), 1:54; 4. Lawrence (Iris Sherron, Ali Jones, Beth Brandt, Brooke Wroten), 2:04; 5. Free State (Abbey Hossler, Payton Krug, Nora Agah, Richa Joshi), 2:06*; 7. Free State (Haleigh Dahl, Emma Day, Nisa Kay Khosh, Alyna Baker), 2: 16; 9. Lawrence (Grace Shroyer, Mara Manoleseu, Lisa Yang, Ima Rodenbeek), x2:17; 13. Free State (Rudy Benton, Rose Pilakowski, Anotida Chikana, Ana Welton), x2:22.

200 yard freestyle: 1. Morgan Jones, LHS, 2:02.63; 2. Kasey Dunn, FS, 2:03.07; 3. Carmen Braden, LHS, 2:03.93*; 9. Abbey Hossler, FS, 2:20.16; 18. Emmaleigh Hancock, FS, 2:43.94; 21. Emily Esparza, LHS, 2:49.18.

200 yard intermediate medley: 2. Maddie Dean, LHS, 2:21.31; 3. Payton Krug, FS, 2:20.30; 5. Ali Jones, LHS, 2:25.18; 9. Jillian Wilson, LHS, 2:35.78; 13. Nora Agah, FS, 2:42.19; 15. Richa Joshi, FS, 2:46.48.

50 yard freestyle: 2. Jamie Abernathy, LHS, 26.88; 3. Marian Frick, LHS, 27.02; 7. Brooke Wroten, LHS, 27.75; 16. Alayna Baker, FS, 30.58; 18. Emmaleigh Hancock, 31.26; 20. Anna Welton, FS, 31.44, 24. Anna Marburger, LHS, x32.84.

Diving: 3. Eden Kingery, LHS, 192.10; 6. Monica Kimmel, FS, 156.15; 10. Tori Crockett, FS, 109.95; 11. Nancy Mai, LHS, 104.55.

100 yard butterfly: 1. Kasey Dunn, FS, 1:01.24, 2. Aubrey Fisher, LHS, 1:01.43; 5. Nora Agah, FS, 1:10.89; 9. Nisa Kay Khosh, FS, 1:15.98; 10. Jillian Wilson, LHS, 1:21.65; 14. Lisa Yang, LHS, 1:27.06.

100 yard freestyle: 2. Madi Heckman, LHS, 56.32*; 4. Payton Krug, FS, 59.32; 5. Jamie J Abernathy, 59.60; 9. Grace Shroyer, LHS, 1:02.73; 10. Emma Day, FS, 1:03.83; 13. Rose Pilakowski, FS, 1:09.62.

500 yard freestyle: 1. Morgan Jones, LHS, 5:21.45; 2. Carmen Braden, LHS, 5:30.97; 5. Iris Sherron, LHS, 5:46.49; 6. Nisa Kay Khosh, FS, 6:07.17; 7. Haleigh Dahl, FS, 6:10.40; 12. Rudy Benton, FS, 6:51.61.

200 yard freestyle relay: 1. Lawrence (Marian Frick, Aubrey Fischer, Jamie Abernathy, Madi Heckman), 1:43.14*; 3. Lawrence (Brooke Wroten, Ali Jones, Carmen Braden, Morgan Jones), 1:52.27; 6. Free State (Richa Joshi, Emmaleigh Hancock, Emma Day, Kasey Dunn), 1:56.55; 11. Lawrence (Beth Brandt, Emma-Frances Smith, Lillian Wilson-Lewis, Jillian Wilson), x2:05.15; 12. Free State (Alayna Baker, Rose Pilakowski, Nethni Weerasekara, Logan White), 2:05.72; 17. Free State (Addeline Garcia, Savanna Randall, Nikki Shaw, Anastasia Bunting), x2:14.04.

100 yard backstroke: 1. Maddie Dean, LHS, 1:03.50; 4. Iris Sherron, LHS, 1:06.48; 6. Abbey Hossler, FS, 1:09.88; 9. Haleigh Dahl, FS, 1:14.14; 10. Grace Shroyer, LHS, 1:14.74; 12. Anna Welton, FS, 1:16.88.

100 yard breaststroke: 1. Marian Frick, LHS, 1:10.9; 2. Madi Heckman, LHS, 1:10.96; 4. Ali Jones, 1:15.13; 6. Emma Day, FS, 1:24.52; 8. Rose Pilakowski, FS, 1:25.32; 11. Richa Joshi, FS, 1:28.53.

400 freestyle relay: 1. Lawrence (Morgan Jones, Aubrey Fisher, Jamie Abernathy, Maddie Dean), 3:53.55*; 3. Free State (Kasey Dunn, Nora Agah, Abbey Hossler, Payton Krug), 4:05.07; 4. Lawrence (Iris Sherron, Brooke Wroten, Grace Shroyer, Carmen Braden), 4:06.07; 8. Free State (Rudy Benton, Alayna Baker, Haleigh Dahl, Emmaleigh Hancock), 4:35.13; 16. Free State (Nisa Kay Khosh, Nethni Weerasekara, Anotida Chikanda, Anastasia Bunting), x4:57.55; 17. Lawrence (Jillian Wilson, Mya Gilbert, Emma-Frances Smith, Mara Manolescu), x5:04.08.