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The Free State tennis team stops for a picture after placing second at the Sunflower League tourney. Lawrence High, not pictured, placed third at the tournament.

The Free State and Lawrence High tennis teams placed second and third, respectively, at the Sunflower League tournament on Thursday.

In singles, Free State senior Britton Snyder fought clear to the championship round, where he fell to Shawnee Mission East’s Graham Faris 8-2.

LHS freshman Jack Bauch reached the semifinal, hoping to meet his cross-town rival, but fell to Faris 8-0. Then, Bauch challenged Shawnee Mission West’s Abhiraj Mukerjee in the third-place championship, falling 8-5.

Joining Bauch in singles, LHS senior Oliver Rubenstein won his first match against Olathe Northwest’s Michael Sobczyk, but fell to Free State junior Owen Thompson in the next round. Thompson went on to the seventh-place championship, falling to Olathe Northwest’s Caden Moore 8-3; Rubenstein fell just short of a spot in the ninth-place championship, falling 8-7 to Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Frank Tomasic.

In doubles, Free State junior duo Jake Hedges and Felipe Reina-Salas rolled to the championship round against Shawnee Mission East’s Jake Hanson and George Kahl. Hedges and Reina-Salas played a close match, but ultimately fell to the Lancers 8-7.

Free State doubles team of juniors Will Six and Steven Duan won their opening match against Olathe Northwest (Vanderventer/Wayne), but fell in the next round to Shawnee Mission South (Heaven/Kelley). Then, Six and Duan pushed on to the ninth-place championship with Olathe Northwest (Stewart/Harling), coming up short 8-5 to the Ravens.

On the LHS side of doubles, senior Jack Stutler and sophomore Asher Sikes won both their first two matches but dropped its third round to SM East (Hanson/Kahl). Stutler and Sikes moved on to the seventh-place championship, falling to Shawnee Mission Northwest (Jurani/Hughes).

LHS doubles team of senior Henry Adams and junior Logan Daniels won their opening match against Gardner Edgerton (Lang/Majstorvic) 8-5, falling in their second round of doubles. Adams and Daniels looked to grab a spot in the ninth-place championship, but couldn’t get past Free State (Six/Duan) 8-1.

Free State and LHS’s regional tournament is slated for Thursday at Mill Valley.

Free State swim and dive takes first at Olathe South

The Free State girls swim and dive team took first at the Olathe South meet on Thursday. Also competing on the road, Lawrence High finished third just 19 points behind Olathe South.

Free State won the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard freestyle relay. LHS finished fifth in the 200-yard medley relay, fourth in the 20-yard freestyle relay and sixth in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Individually for the Firebirds, junior Molly Nuckolls placed first in the 200 and 500-yard freestyle; Jocelyn Wilson placed first in the 200-yard medley; junior Liza Engelbrecht placed first in the 50-yard freestyle; senior Samantha Packard placed first in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard breaststroke; senior Bradie Ward placed first in the 100-yard backstroke.

Individually for the Lions, junior Emily Brandt placed first in the 1-meter dive, with teammates juniors Meara Kingery and Sophie Wirth right behind her placing third and fourth, respectively. Senior Paige Unekis placed fifth in the 500-yard freestyle; senior Abi Jones placed sixth in the 100-yard backstroke; senior Lulu Myers-Arenth placed fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Free State, LHS golf takes on Firekeeper

The Free State and Lawrence High boys golf teams competed in the Firekeeper Open on Monday in Mayetta. Among 10 total schools, the Firebirds finished fifth carding a 315 team score; the Lions finished eighth with a 340 team score.

Individually, Free State junior Jack Randall placed third shooting par (72) landing just four strokes behind Shawnee Mission East’s Thomas Gogel in first place. Down the list, Free State sophomore Aiden Graff-Hannah finished 23rd with a 78.

Senior Dallas Ostronic led the way for LHS, carding 80 to tie for 27th with Manhattan’s Owen Kandt. Just behind Ostronic was LHS sophomore Nate Schworm, tying for 34th with an 84 on the afternoon.

Free State and LHS will compete in the third and final round of the Sunflower League tournament on Monday at Lawrence Country Club.

Softball Roundup

The Free State softball team came up just short to Olathe East 6-5 in extra innings on Thursday night at home.

After tying the ballgame at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Firebirds and Hawks went scoreless through three suspenseful frames. Trailing by two runs heading into the bottom of the eleventh, the Free State crossed one baserunner, but never came any closer to O-East.

Junior Elsa Carrillo went four innings for Free State (3-9), allowing four runs on six hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Junior Grace Rothwell, relieving Carrillo in the fifth, finished the game with two runs allowed on six hits, two walks, and four strikeouts.

Carrillo shined at the plate, finishing the day 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. Two more RBIs came from Rothwell (1-for-4) and another from junior Cydnee Price (2-for-6).

Across town, the Lawrence High softball team couldn’t capitalize on a late spark in their 7-2 loss to Gardner Edgerton on Thursday night at home. A two-run homer by sophomore Maddy Crawford cut the Lady Lions to within five runs of the Blazers, but it just wasn’t enough.

Junior Taylor Zeckser, receiving her second consecutive start for LHS (5-10), allowed five runs on six hits and a walk through four innings on the mound. Freshman Sophie Rowley relieved Zeckser in the fifth, giving up two more runs on two hits, a walk and a strikeout.

Alongside Crawford’s late bomb, senior Emme Dye (1-for-3) and junior Charlie Burghart (1-for-3) registered two of LHS’ three total hits.

LHS and Free State meet at Free State for the City Showdown on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.