photo by: Chance Parker

Free State junior Ben Shryock has a lead during the 5,000-meter run held at the Baldwin City Golf Course. Shryock placed first at the Free State Invitational Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020.

Free State’s boys cross-country team won the Sunflower League meet in convincing fashion Saturday night at the Olathe District Activity Center.

In a twilight meet that started at 7 p.m., the Firebirds were dominant in the varsity boys competition. Five FSHS runners finished inside the top 15 as individuals to help the Firebirds earn their team title.

The Firebirds’ score was more than 50 points better than runner-up Mill Valley — FSHS had 37 points, while Mill Valley had 94.

FSHS junior Ben Shryock secured the individual title with a time of 15:30.20, and senior Christopher Stone wasn’t far behind, earning a runner-up finish with a mark of 15:32.20. Free State senior Ethan Sharp also ended up in the top 10, taking seventh place with a time of 15:49.70.

Brock Cordova and Jack Keathley-Helms also made big contributions for Free State — Cordova came in 13th, and Keathley-Helms placed 14th. Both of their times were recorded as 16:11.00.

photo by: Photo courtesy of Tasha Keathley

From left to right, Blake Wohler, Brock Cordova, Ethan Sharp, Jack Keathley-Helms, Christopher Stone, Ben Shryock and Carson Marsh pose for a photo after winning the Sunflower League title in the varsity boys race.

Lawrence High’s boys cross-country team was led by junior Jack Ryan, who came in 27th as an individual with a time of 16:27.70.

On the girls side, two Free State runners finished in the top 40 during Saturday’s race. Senior Delaney Rockers finished in 36th place with a time of 20:20.20, and sophomore Ella McCleary placed 40th with a mark of 20:27.00.

Sophomore Natalie Kennedy led the way for Lawrence’s girls cross-country team. She came in 43rd with a time of 20:30.30. Sophomore Lucy Hardy was close behind, taking 46th with a time of 20:33.80.

The Free State girls finished eighth as a team, and Lawrence’s girls team took ninth. Olathe West won the Sunflower League girls title.

Next up is the Class 6A regional meet, which is slated to take place at 10 a.m. this coming Saturday at Frontier Trail Middle School in Olathe.

Sunflower League meet

Girls team scores: 1. Olathe West 50; 2. Olathe North 55; 3. SM East 90; 4. Mill Valley 100; 5. SM North 125; 6. Olathe East 167; 7. SM South 192; 8. Free State 210; 9. Lawrence 256; 10. Olathe South 256; 11. Olathe NW 285.

FSHS results: 36. Delaney Rockers 20:20.20; 40. Ella McCleary 20:27.00; 45. Allison Babbit 20:33.70; 50. Olivia Goeser 20:38.50; 53. Ella Marshall 20:48.30; 54. Stella Mosier 20:50.60;

LHS results: 43. Natalie Kennedy 20:30.30; Lucy Hardy 20:33.80; 52. Maddie DeWitt 20:46.80; 58. Grace Harader-ellett 21:09.90; 65. Eva Ackley 21:35.80.

Boys team scores: 1. Free State 37; 2. Mill Valley 94; 3. Gardner-Edgerton 115; 4. Olathe South 124; 5. SM North 130; 6. Olathe North 159; 7. Olathe East 164; 8. SM East 190; 9. SM South 211; 10. Olathe Northwest 263; 11. Olathe West 278; 12. SM West 281.

FSHS results: 1. Ben Shryock 15:30.20; 2. Christopher Stone 15:32.20; 7. Ethan Sharp 15:49.70; 13. Brock Cordova 16:11.00; 14. Jack Keathley-Helms 16:11.00; 54. Carson Marsh 17:17.80; 61. Blake Wohler 17:31.10.

LHS results: 27. Jack Ryan 16:27.20; 87. Jack Pfeifer 18:25.90; 91. Keat Prescott 18:39.50; 92. Jesse Self 19:01.50.

Eudora sweeps Frontier League meet

Both Eudora cross-country squads came away with Frontier League titles last week.

In addition to winning the team titles, the Eudora squads had plenty of runners who earned all-league honors at Thursday’s meet at Ottawa — eight of them on the girls team and five on the boys team.

On the girls side, Eudora finished with 50 points — 5 points better than runner-up Baldwin. Eudora freshman Sydney Owens posted the team’s best mark of 20:34.36, taking third as an individual.

Two other Eudora runners joined Owens in the top 10. Sophomore Phoebe Fletcher finished in eighth with a time of 21:38.08, and junior Mackenzie Mayer placed 10th with a mark of 21:47.94. In addition, junior Maya Pattison (13th), senior Rachel Pratt (16th), sophomore Liz Mueting (17th), junior Stella Whalen (18th) and freshman Jayla Erpelding (20th) all finished inside the top 20.

Baldwin was led by junior Riley Smith, who notched fourth with a time of 21:03.13. Junior Diana Messick took seventh with a mark of 21:29.77, and junior Jana Landreth took 11th with a time of 21:49.01.

Tonganoxie’s girls cross-country team came away with fourth place at the meet. Senior Kristi Chambers was the top finisher for Tonganoxie, placing 12th as an individual with a time of 21:54.10.

In the boys race, Eudora won by a comfortable margin. The Cardinals scored 49 points as a team, finishing 30 points ahead of runner-up Spring Hill in the team standings. Tonganoxie and Baldwin finished sixth and seventh, respectively.

Tonganoxie sophomore Eli Gilmore was the individual champion in the varsity boys race, claiming the top spot with a time of 17:25.11.

Eudora had five runners finish in the top 15 to take the team title. Freshman Zach Arnold took fifth place with a time of 18:15.86; junior Cody Loganbill took sixth with a time of 18:19.02; junior Traeger Rader came in 11th with a time of 19:11.71; and freshmen Alex Clobes (19:17.28) and Jonas Staples (19:21.97) finished 13th and 14th, respectively.

Baldwin was led by senior Hudson Allen, who posted a top-10 mark at the league meet. Allen took 10th with a time of 19:09.70.

PLHS girls finish as runner-up

Perry-Lecompton’s girls cross-country team claimed a runner-up finish in the Big Seven League meet, and the boys team took third.

The Kaws scored 80 points as a team in the varsity girls competition, which trailed only Sabetha’s mark of 43 points.

PLHS freshman Ryleigh Morgan was the highest finisher for the Kaws, taking eighth as an individual with a time of 23:02.80. Freshman Katie Bartlett placed 12th with a time of 23:53.10, and senior Kassidy Schumann took 13th with a mark of 24:09.10.

On the Perry-Lecompton boys squad, senior James Bartlett placed sixth with a time of 18:26.90. Sophomore Boyd Sollars recorded a time of 18:35.10 to take eighth. Junior Dylan Tucker ended up in 15th with a mark of 19:11.70.

The boys team finished in third place with 72 points. Sabetha won the league title with 28 points, and Hiawatha was a runner-up with 56 points.