Free State's Keegan VanPelt serves a ball during a match Tuesday afternoon at LHS on Sept. 10, 2019.

Free State’s girls tennis team will be sending three athletes to the Class 6A state tournament.

One singles player and one doubles team qualified for the final meet of the year for the Firebirds after a strong showing at regionals. FSHS claimed second place as a team Saturday afternoon at Harmon Park Tennis Complex.

Junior Keegan VanPelt netted third place in the singles bracket, finishing the day with a straight set victory against Mill Valley’s Sophie Lecuru. VanPelt will be looking to build on her fifth-place finish in the singles bracket in last year’s state tennis tournament.

Anna Peard and Taylor Veeder punched their ticket to the state tournament in the doubles bracket. The Firebird duo went 2-2 on the day, securing a sixth-place finish to advance in the postseason.

Lawrence High’s Lilli Derby just missed out on qualifying for the state tennis tournament. She went 1-2 in the singles bracket, dropping a match in the consolation bracket that would have advanced her to the fifth-place match.

The 6A state tennis tournament will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Kossover Tennis Center in Topeka.

6A regional meet

FSHS results

Singles

Keegan VanPelt — First round: 6-0, 6-0 win over Isabella Loya of Mill Valley; Second round: 6-2, 6-0 win over Mariana Ochoa of SM South; Semifinals: 6-4, 6-3 loss to Allison Wilcox of SM East; 3rd-place match: 7-5, 6-1 win over Sophie Lecuru of Mill Valley.

Emma Evans — First round: 6-0, 6-0 loss to Sophie Lecuru of Mill Valley.

Doubles

Anna Peard and Taylor Veeder — First round: 6-2, 6-2 win over Olathe West; Second round: 6-0, 6-0 loss to SM East; Consolation bracket: 6-2, 6-7 (9-7), 6-2 win over SM West; 5th-place match: 7-5, 7-5 loss to Mill Valley.

LHS results

Singles

Lilli Derby — First round: 6-1, 6-0 win over Kaitlyn Wrye of Olathe West; Second round: 6-0, 6-0 loss to Ashley Jacobson of Olathe West; Consolation bracket: 6-0, 6-0 loss to Eva Kading of SM East.

Katie Logan — First round: 6-3, 6-2, 10-6 loss to Emma Alexander of SM Northwest.

Doubles

Bella Kirkwood and Ryleigh Leon — Play-in match: 6-3, 6-1 win over SM North; 6-3, 6-0 loss to SM Northwest.

Lana Chieu and Laura Teska — Play-in match: 6-5, 6-1 loss to SM South.

Seahawks earn 1-0 win

Bishop Seabury’s soccer team continues to battle through injuries, but managed to record a 1-0 road win Friday night over Wichita Classical.

Junior Bruce Xu scored the lone goal for the Seahawks. BSA was without starters Julian Almon and Cameren Green in the win. Despite a depleted roster, the Seahawks have now won two of their last three matches.

Beck Oldridge scored three goals in a 4-3 loss to Maur Hill before notching two more scores in a 3-1 win over Cair Paravel last Monday.

Bishop Seabury travels to Atchison on Monday.

Athletes of the week

Cooper Cunningham, Tonganoxie football

It has been an incredible season for Tonganoxie running back Cooper Cunningham.

The THS senior has already accumulated 1,260 yards and 10 touchdowns on 146 carries through six games. The Chieftains are undefeated behind his efforts as a featured back with two weeks left in the regular season.

Cunningham has run for at least 210 yards in five of his six outings, including his previous four games. In a 41-0 win over Spring Hill last week, Cunningham piled up 220 yards and one score on 18 attempts.

Paris Spotted Tail, Lawrence High gymnastics

After a breakout season last year, Paris Spotted Tail has been even better in her sophomore campaign.

Spotted Tail has notched a top-two finish in the all-around rankings in three of her previous four meets. Spotted Tail claimed a runner-up finish in Monday’s meet at LHS, while notching the top spot in the Newton Invitational last weekend.

In both meets, Spotted Tail earned the top mark on the floor routine, which is her best event. Last season, Spotted Tail was a runner-up on the floor in the state gymnastics meet.

Grady McCune, Baldwin soccer

Junior Grady McCune, who is a two-time All-Frontier League selection, scored a pair of goals in Baldwin’s 5-0 win over KC Piper on Thursday.

McCune led the team with 10 scores last year during Baldwin’s run to a 12-5-2 record and becoming regional champions. This year’s squad is just as loaded, however. Baldwin is 9-4-1 on the year, and leading the Frontier League with a 7-1-1 clip.

Baldwin travels to Tonganoxie at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Addyson Meadows, FSHS girls golf

Free State’s Addyson Meadows led the girls golf team to a runner-up finish in the Sunflower League.

Meadows notched fourth place on the individual leaderboard in the final leg of the Sunflower League, which took place Wednesday at Sycamore Ridge Golf Course. She shot a 79, and ultimately earned a second-team selection on the All-Sunflower League team.

The Firebirds will be back on the course in Monday’s regional meet at Lake Shawnee Golf Course.

Emma Boulton, Veritas volleyball

One of the highlights of last week was Veritas’ comeback win over Bishop Seabury.

After dropping the first set, and facing match point multiple times in the second set, the Eagles stormed back to claim a 2-1 win over the Seahawks. Senior setter Emma Boulton was a big reason why, finishing with 20 assists and five kills in the win.