photo by: Carter Gaskins

Free State senior Tatum Clopton (16) swings at a pitch in the second inning during a game against Shawnee Mission Northwest Friday night at FSHS on April 9, 2021. The Firebirds recorded a 8-0 win to improve to 4-0 on the year.

Free State’s softball team took control down the stretch in its 13-6 road victory over Olathe West Saturday afternoon.

With the score tied at 4-4 through four innings, the Firebirds (5-0) grabbed the lead for good with three runs in the top of the fifth. They then added four runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to pull away.

Offensively, Free State was led by a four-hit performance from Tatum Clopton. She went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, three runs scored, two doubles and one home run.

Two other players homered for the Firebirds: Kinsey Clopton’s was a solo shot, and Leah Mueller’s was a two-run blast. Jasmine Brixius drove in three RBIs and recorded a double. Georgia Rea also had a double during her two-hit effort. Sara Roszak went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs.

On the pitching side, Tatum Clopton got the start and allowed five earned runs on five hits over seven innings. She finished with 15 strikeouts and zero walks but gave up three home runs to the Owls on a windy afternoon.

Next, FSHS will host Shawnee Mission South at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Free State 13, Olathe West 6

FSHS 2 0 0 1 3 4 3 — 13 14 2

OW 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 — 6 5 2

LHS softball falls at Olathe North

Lawrence High’s softball team gave up three big innings in a 13-3 road loss to Olathe North Saturday afternoon at the Olathe District Activity Center.

The Lions (2-4, 2-2 Sunflower League) surrendered five runs in the first, four in the second and four in the fourth. LHS pitcher Maelee Folks gave up nine earned runs on eight hits, and she recorded two strikeouts and four walks.

Hailey Ramirez scored two of the three runs on a blast in the fourth. Ramirez now has two homers so far this year. Emily Silvers finished with a double and a single. Layla Harjo had two hits, and Folks finished with a double and one RBI.

Next, Lawrence will host Olathe Northwest at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Olathe North 13, Lawrence 3

Line Score

LHS 1 0 0 2 0 — 3

ON 5 4 0 4 — 13

LHS track athletes earn 7 top-3 finishes

The Lawrence High track and field team earned seven top-three finishes at the Olathe Invitational on Friday, which was the team’s first meet away from Lawrence.

Senior Graham Hough won the boys 100-meter run for the second consecutive meet, finishing with a time of 11.12. Amaya Harris had the only other win of the day, placing first in girls javelin with a throw of 122-11.

Mariah Reed finished as runner-up in girls high jump with a 5-00.00, and Avion Nelson took third in boys triple jump with a leap of 42-08.00. Brenna Schwada had third-place finishes in the girls long jump (17-01.00) and the girls 400-meter run (1:01.61). Hough also took third in the boys 200-meter run, clocking a time of 22.59.

Lawrence placed eighth as a team in the girls division and 10th overall in the boys division.

Next, LHS will host a meet at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Olathe Invitational

Girls team scores: 1. Mill Valley 114; 2. Gardner Edgerton 99.5; 3. Olathe North 97; 4. Olathe West 96; 5. Olathe East 79; 6. Washburn Rural 50; 7. Olathe South 42; 8. Lawrence 41; 9. DeSoto 34.5; 10. Olathe NW 32.

Boys team scores: 1. Mill Valley 97; 2. Olathe East 92.5; 3. Gardner Edgerton 87.5; 4. Olathe Northwest 79; 5. DeSoto 69.5; 6. Olathe North 67.5; 7. Olathe South 62; 8. Washburn Rural 54.5; 9. Olathe West 43.5; 10. Lawrence 38.

LHS results and event winners

Girls 100: 1. Ka’Liyah McGinnis, ON, 12.20; 8. Siana King, LHS, 13.13; 10. Bella Kirkwood, LHS, 13.21.

Boys 100: 1. Graham Hough, LHS, 11.12; 22. Jayla Didde, LHS, 12.05.

Girls 200: 1. Ka’Liyah McGinnis, ON, 25.30; 9. Siana King, LHS, 27.42; 11. Bella Kirkwood, LHS, 27.69.

Boys 200: 1. Ethan Reynolds, GE, 22.07; 3. Graham Hough, LHS, 22.59; 20. Elijah Didde, LHS, 24.90; 21. Kyle Watson, LHS, 25.36.

Girls 400: 1. Kennedi Cline, OW, 58.34; 3. Brenna Schwada, LHS, 1:01.61; 7. Siana King, LHS, 1:04.57; 13. Destiny Savannah, LHS, 1:09.25.

Boys 400: 1. Nen Matlock, MV, 50.45.

Girls 800. 1. Bree Newport, OW, 2:26.97; 18. Lucy Hardy, LHS, 2:44.35; 20. Maddie DeWitt, LHS, 2:55.75.

Boys 800: 1. Quenton Walion, GE, 1:59.41; 23. Jack Ryan, LHS, 2:16.02; 24. Winton Anderson, LHS, 2:22.65; 25. Keat Prescott, LHS, 2:23.92.

Girls 1600: 1. Bree Newport, OW, 5:15.61; 7. Natalie Kennedy, LHS, 5:41.97; 13. Lucy Hardy, LHS, 6:00.82; 17. Maddie DeWitt, LHS, 6:11.75.

Boys 1600: 1. Quenton Walion, GE, 4:19.98; 15. Jack Ryan, LHS, 4:53.23.

Girls 3200: 1. Madeline Carter, WR, 11:46.74; 6. Natalie Kennedy, LHS, 12:20.07.

Boys 3200: 1. Logan Read, OW, 9:47.57; 22. Keat Prescott, LHS, 11:18.40.

Girls 100 hurdles: 1. Kaiya McKie, ON, 15.43; 16. Joan Epian, LHS, 19.45.

Boys 110 hurdles: 1. Marquel Russell, WR, 15.52; 18. Van Hutchins, LHS, 20.69.

Girls 300 hurdles: 1. Quincy Hubert, MV, 47.31; 15. Joan Epian, LHS, 54.17.

Boys 300 hurdles: 1. Myles Benefield, OE, 39.93; 19. Van Hutchins, LHS, 48.86.

Girls 4×100-meter relay: 1. Olathe North 49.7; 8. Lawrence (Bella Kirkwood, Siana King, Brenna Schwada, Destiny Savannah), 56.26.

Boys 4×100-meter relay: 1. DeSoto, 43.97.

Girls 4×400-meter relay: 1. Olathe West, 4:11.56.

Boys 4×400-meter relay: 1. Olathe NW, 3:29.59; 6. Lawrence (Graham Hough, Kyle Watson, Jaylon Didde, Colin Sandefur), 3:36.73.

Girls 4×800-meter relay: 1. Olathe North, 9:54.61.

Boys 4×800-meter relay: 1. DeSoto, 8:13.92.

Girls high jump: 1. Jada Ingram, WR, J5-00.00; 2. Mariah Reed, LHS, J5-00.00.

Boys high jump: 1. Tyler Jones, OW, 6-04.00; 9. Ntense Obono, LHS, 5-10.00.

Girls pole vault: 1. Lily Fleetwood, MV, 12-06.00; 9. Caroline Dunlap, LHS, 8-00.00.

Boys pole vault: 1. Garrett Beashore, MV, 13-06.00; 10. Zachary Razak, LHS, 10-06.00; 14. Chase Felmlee, LHS, 9-06.00.

Girls long jump: 1. Lily Fleetwood, MV, 17-07.00; 3. Brenna Schwada, LHS, 17-01.00; 7. Bella Kirkwood, LHS, 16-03.00; 15. Destiny Savannah, LHS, 14-06.50.

Boys long jump: 1. Adrian Dimond, MV, 23-01.00; 5. Avion Nelson, LHS, 21-04.00; 13. Ntense Obono, LHS, 20-06.00.

Girls triple jump: 1. Mayah Martin, OE, 34-04.00.

Boys triple jump: 1. Zsmar Sipple, WR, 43-08.00; 3. Avion Nelson, LHS, 42-08.00; 7. Ntense Obono, LHS, 40-02.50; 17. Braylon Dye, LHS, 28-00.50.

Girls shot put: 1. Kendra Wait, GE, 42-11.00; 24. Olie Proctor-Alberding, LHS, 23-06.00.

Boys shot put: 1. Armando Delatorre, OE, 49-00.25; 7. Dylan Gillespie, LHS, 44-10.50; 9. Noah Smith, LHS, 43-08.00.

Girls discus: 1. Kendall Yarnell, OW, 110-03; 22. Olie Proctor-Alberding, LHS, 61-04.

Boys discus: 1. Zach Sulzen-Watson, WR, 153-02; 8. Noah Smith, LHS, 129-11; 9. Dylan Gillespie, LHS, 129-09.

Girls javelin: 1. Amaya Harris, LHS, 122-11; 19. Jada Big Eagle, LHS, 58-10.

Boys javelin: 1. Ben Gutekunst, OW, 169-01; 5. Ben King, LHS, 154-04; 14. Jude Harris, LHS, 126-09; 21. Ntense Obono, LHS, 115-03.

FSHS distance runner wins multiple events

Also competing for the first time away from Lawrence, Free State’s track and field team won several events at Friday’s meet at William Chrisman High School, including three boys distance running contests.

Ben Shryock was responsible for two of those wins, placing first in the boys 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.78 and in the 1,600-meter run with 4:22.72. Jack Keathley-Helms came in second in the 800-meter run with a mark of 1:58.03.

The relay team of Ethan Sharp, Jake Loos, Carson Marsh and Keathley-Helms won the boys 4×800-meter relay with a time of 8:33.17.

Reese Hulcher earned the only other win of the day for FSHS, finishing first in girls high jump. Isabelle Pro placed third in the girls 3,200-meter run with a time of 12:00.36.

FSHS placed seventh out of 16 teams in the boys division and was eighth out of 20 teams in the girls division.

Next, Free State will compete in a meet at LHS at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Bill Summa Invitational

Friday at William Chrisman HS

Girls team scores: 1. Rock Bridge 109; 2. St. Teresa’s Academy 87.50; 3. Lee’s Summit West 81; 4. Grain Valley 69.50; 5. Liberty North 67; 6. Raytown South 42.50; 7. Park Hill 41; 8. Free State 32.50; 9. LSH Lee’s Summit 32; 10. William Chrisman 30; 11. LSN Lee’s Summit North 25.50; 12. Winnetonka 20; 13. Battle High 17.50; 14. Warrensburg HS 17; 15. Rayton HS 11; 16. Lincoln College Prep 9; 17. Solomon 6; 17. Grandview 6; 19. Fort Osage 3; 20. Truman 2.

Boys team scores: 1. Liberty North 103; 2. LSW Lee’s Summit West 83; 3. Blue Springs South 65; 4. Grain Valley 63; 5. Park Hill 57; 6. Rock Bridge 56; 7. Rockhurst 52; 7. Free State 52; 9. Grandview 46; 10. Battle 40; 11. Warrensburg 34; 12. Truman High 21; 13. William Chrisman 18; 14. Lincoln College Prep 8; 15. Rayton 6; 16. Central 5.

FSHS results and event winners

Girls 100: 1. Zaya Akins, Raytown South, 11.87; 24. Taniyah Cox, FSHS, 13.79; 27. Ashley Mai, FSHS, 13.96.

Boys 100: 1. Logan Pratt, Grain Valley, 10.72; 13. Logan Schwab, FSHS, 11.53; 26. Quez Lee, FSHS, 12.07.

Girls 200: 1. Caleia Johnson, Park Hill, 24.72; 23. Alannah Lohfeld, FSHS, 29.50; 28. Lauren Sinclair, FSHS, 30.09.

Boys 200: 1. Erick Hill, Rockhurst, 21.85; 27. Elijah Sabatini, FSHS, 24.72; 31. Ebuka Ennyinnaya, FSHS, 25.07.

Girls 400: 1. Zaya Akins, Raytown South, 55.56; 21. Ana Holladay, FSHS, 1:07.50; 29. Ta’Mya Douglas, FSHS, 1:10.47.

Boys 400: 1. Elias Ealey, Liberty North, 50.16; 15. Michael Romito, FSHS, 54.39; 24. Roman Jasso, FSHS, 57.98.

Girls 800: 1. Makayla Clark, LSW Lee’s Su, 2:12.63; 23. Olivia Goeser, FSHS, 2:45.07; 24. Sina Boeger, FSHS, 2:47.26.

Boys 800: 1. Ben Shryock, FSHS, 1:57.78; 2. Jack Keathley-Helms, FSHS, 1:58.03; 7. Brock Cordova, FSHS, 2:05.15.

Girls 1600: 1. Amelia Arrieta, St. Teresa’s, 5:17.72; 15. Ella Marshall, FSHS, 5:55.83; 22. Janice Werth, 6:22.13.

Boys 1600: 1. Ben Shryock, FSHS, 4:22.72; 11. Christopher Stone, FSHS, 4:39.59; 12. Brock Cordova, FSHS, 4:39.88.

Girls 3200: 1. Brooke Walker, Rock Bridge, 11:48.79; 3. Isabel Pro, FSHS, 12:00.36; 13. Allison Babbit, FSHS, 12:43.21.

Boys 3200: 1. Matthew Hauser, Rock Bridge, 9:15.17; 13. Ethan Sharp, FSHS, 10:16.26; 25. Jake Loos, FSHS, 10:57.92.

Girls 100 hurdles: 1. Amya Davis, Winnetonka, 14.77; 5. Marrah Spriggs, FSHS, 17.50.

Boys 110 hurdles: 1. Emmanuel Chiteri, Battle HS, 14.89; 10. Cole Wenger, FSHS, 16.39; 16. Yoav Gillath, FSHS, 18.25.

Girls 300 hurdles: 1. Amyah Davis, Winnetonka, 46.77; 7. Marrah Spriggs, FSHS, 51.42.

Boys 300 hurdles: 1. Luke Furnell, LSW Lee’s S, 41.58; 7. Yoav Gillath, FSHS, 44.85; 15. Cole Wenger, FSHS, 46.54.

Girls 4×100-meter relay: 1. Rock Bridge HS, 50.09; 13. Free State (Ana Holladay, Taniyah Cox, Lauren Sinclair, Kenzie Vaughn), 53.75.

Boys 4×100-meter relay: 1. Liberty North, 44.18.

Girls 4×200-meter relay: 1. Lee’s Summit West, 1:44.51; 12. Free State (Lauren Sinclair, Alannah Lohfeld, Ta’Mya Douglas, Miah Cheatham), 1:56.85.

Boys 4×200-meter relay: 1. Liberty North, 1:30.79; 11. Free State (Ebuka Ennyinnaya, Elijah Sabatini, Michael Robito, Roman Jasso), 1:36.27.

Girls 4×400-meter relay: 1. Grain Valley, 4:13.69; 9. Free State (Tiniyah Cox, Miah Cheatham, Samantha Whittlesey, Kenzie Vaughn), 4:32.96.

Boys 4×400-meter relay: 1. Liberty North, 3:28.79; 5. Free State (Anthony Barberena, Jack Keathley-Helms, Emmett Jones, Jackson Barnett), 3:36.68.

Girls 4×800-meter relay: 1. Rock Bridge HS, 9:57.74; 6. Free State (Delaney Rockers, Harper Merrill, Samantha Whittlesey, Isabel Pro), 10:22.12.

Boys 4×800-meter relay: 1. Free State (Ethan Sharp, Jake Loos, Carson Marsh, Jack Keathley-Helms), 8:33.17.

Girls high jump: 1. Reese Hulcher, FSHS, 1.55m.

Boys high jump: 1. Des Tonye Nyemeck, Park Hill, 1.85m.

Girls long jump: 1. Lauren North, St. Teresa’s, 5.17m.

Boys long jump: 1. Erick Hill, Rockhurst, 7.21m; 12. Emmett Jones, 6.17m; 21. Quez Lee, FSHS, 5.83m.

Girls triple jump: 1. Markayla Lottie, Raytown South, 10.62m.

Boys triple jump: 1. Jalen McGee, Grandview, 13.16m; 4. Jerred Willits, FSHS, 12.61m.

Girls pole vault: 1. Keyleigh Reichert, Battle High, 3.30m; 6. Kenzie Vaughn, FSHS, J3.00m; 8. Ashley Mai, FSHS, 2.85m.

Boys pole vault: 1. Weston Edwards, Liberty North, 4.60m.

Girls shot put: 1. Cydney Banks, Lee’s Summit West, 13.43m; 26. Soledad Edison, FSHS, 8.61m; 29. Cameron Vaughn, FSHS, 8.29m.

Boys shot put: 1. E’Lan Moore, LSW, 15.95m; 6. Tyler Gourley, FSHS, 12.79m; 15. Luke Wheeler-Halstead, FSHS, 11.89m.

Girls discus: 1. Jacqueline David, William Chrisman, 40.02; 28. Olivia Ferguson, FSHS, 23.28; 35. Allison Reed, FSHS, 19.86.

Boys discus: 1. E’Lan Moore, LSW, 49.20m; 11. Luke Wheeler-Halstead, FSHS, 36.74m; 23. Preston Tran, FSHS, 30.70m.

Girls javelin: 1. Kayley Lenger, Liberty North, 39.11m; 3. Aubrey Duncan, FSHS, 35.95; 27. Taylor Veeder, FSHS, 21.51m.

Boys javelin: 1. Calen Presser, Liberty North, 45.60m; 13. Titus Birdashaw, FSHS, 38.24; 17. Brian Lane, FSHS, 37.44.

Area athletes in action at Bobcat Relays

During the 20th annual Bobcat Relays in Basehor-Linwood, both Tonganoxie and Bishop Seabury had a number of track athletes perform well on Friday.

Tonganoxie sprinter Natalee Shepard finished as runner-up in both the girls 100-meter run and girls 200-meter run with times of 13.01 and 26.73, respectively. Emma Sunderland finished in second in girls high jump, and Brianna Pollard placed third in girls triple jump.

For the Bishop Seabury girls, Oona Nelson placed third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:38.27. Darby Harris, Summer Hartzler, Hannah Motsinger and Nelson also took second in the distance medley relay with a mark of 14:34.00.

On the boys side, Tonganoxie’s Eli Gilmore won both the 1,600-meter run (4:58.84) and the 3,200-meter run (10:40.85) to lead the way. Dallas Bond also won the 110 high hurdles with a mark of 16.04.

In the field events, Blake Poje placed first in the long jump competition for Tonganoxie with a leap of 20-3.75. Keaton Klamm won the pole vault event by clearing 9-0.00.

The Bishop Seabury boys had two seventh-place finishes. Harrison Hartzler took seventh in the 100-meter run with a time of 11.99. And Luke Velte, Lear Eicher, Hayden Slough and Sam Jackson posted a time of 56.65 to take seventh in the 4×100-meter relay.