Free State senior Landon Berquist putts during the first leg of the Sunflower League Championship Monday afternoon at the Lawrence Country Club on April 29, 2019.

After the final leg of the Sunflower League Championship, Free State’s boys golf team secured a third-place finish.

FSHS placed fourth at the Olathe North Invitational Monday afternoon, shooting a 319 team score at the Falcon Ridge Golf Course. Shawnee Mission East (291), Olathe East (297) and Olathe West (315) all finished ahead of the Firebirds in the final leg of the league tournament.

It was enough to help Free State claim a bronze medal in the overall league action with a total score of 956, which marks the team’s highest finish since 2016. Shawnee Mission East (915) won the event, while Olathe East (930) claimed runner-up. Lawrence High finished 12th out of 13 teams with a 1363, which included a 456 and a 12th-place finish at the final leg.

Olathe East’s Daniel Gutgesell was the individual Sunflower League champion, posting a winning score of 224. Free State’s Andrew Park posted the best score among city golfers, carding a 226 to take fourth on the individual leaderboard. Park posted a 75 in the final leg, which was good enough for seventh.

Landon Berquist also shot a 75 Monday, and claimed seventh overall at the Sunflower League Championship with a 230. Dylan Sommer (22nd) and Mitchell Spriggs (27th) joined them in the top-30. Sommer and Spriggs shot 250 and 252, respectively.

Ross Brungardt was Lawrence’s highest finisher in both the final leg and overall. Brungardt took 20th Monday with an 81, which propelled him to 32nd-place finish in league action with a 260 total score.

Olathe North Invitational

Team standings: 1. SM East 291; 2. Olathe East 297; 3. Olathe West 315; 4. Free State 319; 5. Olathe Northwest 319; 6. SM South 331; 7. Olathe South 349; 8. SM Northwest 356; 9. Olathe North 364; 10. Gardner-Edgerton 397; 11. SM West 404; 12. Lawrence 456; 13. SM North 482.

FSHS results: 6. Landon Berquist 75; 7. Andrew Park 75; 29. Alex Gard 84; 31. Nate Pilakowski 85; 32. Dylan Sommer 85; 33. Mitchell Spriggs 86;

LHS results: 20. Ross Brungardt 81; 67. Evan Liakos 117; 68. Mason Hare 122; 74. Mike Williams 136; 75. Austin Pennybaker 137.

Sunflower League Championship

Team standings: 1. SM East 915; 2. Olathe East 930; 3. Free State 956; 4. Olathe West 959; 5. Olathe Northwest 967; 6. SM South 1016; 7. Olathe South 1041; 8. Sm Northwest 1061; 9. Olathe North 1138; 10. Gardner-Edgerton 1168; 11. SM West 1249; 12. Lawrence 1363; 13. SM North 1517.

FSHS results: 4. Andrew Park 226; 7. Landon Berquist 229; 22. Dylan Sommer 250; 27. Mitchell Spriggs 252; 33. Alex Gard 265; 40. Nate Pilakowski 278.

LHS results: 32. Ross Brungardt 260; 56. Austin Pennybaker 337; 59. Evan Liakos 364; 62. Mason Hare 43; 76. Mike Williams 289;

Former Firebird claims league crown

Coleman Houk, a former Free State standout, helped lead the Kansas Wesleyan men’s golf team to a historic feat.

The Coyotes claimed a wire-to-wire win in the 2019 KCAC Men’s Golf Championship race, which marked the program’s first conference crown since the 1970. The last outright title for the team was actually in 1953.

Houk, who graduated from FSHS in 2015, was the overall individual champion in the KCAC tournament. After finishing fourth in the event last year, Houk posted a five-round total of 73-77-74-76-74 (374) to end up one shot ahead of his teammate.

Pavlyak flashes glove

Former Free State outfielder Jacob Pavlyak is still making plays at the collegiate level.

So much so that he was recognized for his defensive prowess. Pavlyak, who is now a sophomore outfielder at Benedictine, was named to the 2019 Heart Gold Glove Team, as the Heat of America Athletic Conference announced its postseason awards Tuesday morning.

Pavlyak was also named to the all-conference second team for his play this spring.

FSHS soccer falls on road

Despite an early goal, Free State’s girls soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to Hayden Monday night on the road.

FSHS went into the intermission with an 1-1 tie before surrendering the go-ahead score in the second half. Kenzie Rorabaugh scored the lone goal of the match for the Firebirds. Free State then suffered an 8-0 loss at Shawnee Mission West Tuesday night.

Free State (2-11-2) will play host to Olathe North at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the regular-season finale.