Preps Notebook: LHS girls, Free State boys track open season with first-place showings

The Lawrence High girls track and field team finished first overall at its first meet of the season, the Topeka West Invitational, on Thursday at Hummer Sports Park.

The LHS boys placed fourth at the meet, just four points behind Emporia.

Individually, senior Natalie Kennedy took first in the 3200-meter run, with junior Emma Roman Nose coming in third. Kennedy and Roman Nose also placed first and second, respectively, in the 2000-meter steeplechase. Senior Joan Epian finished first in the 300-meter hurdles.

LHS newcomer and junior Paige Platt placed first in the girls high jump and second in the girls javelin competition.

The girls 4×400-meter relay team – junior Destiny Savannah, senior Gabrielle Reed, junior Victoria Reed and junior Jaylie Hohman – placed second. The girls 4×800-meter relay team – junior Jaylie Hohman, junior Destiny Savannah, freshman Andie Garrett and junior Cyrenity Hardy – also placed second.

Individually for the boys, senior Tyrell Reed and sophomore Riley Howell placed first and second, respectively, in the 100-meter dash; Maddock Oberzan placed second in the pole vault; and junior Winton Anderson placed third in the boys 400-meter dash.

The boys 4×100-meter relay team – junior Colin Sandefur, Howell, senior Sam Sedo and junior Julian Bachman – placed third, just three milliseconds behind Topeka-Seaman.

LHS hosts its annual meet on Friday at 3:30 p.m.

Free State boys track take first at home meet

The Free State boys track team took first place at the Firebirds’ home meet on Friday. The girls team placed second, just one point behind St. James Academy.

Individually for the boys, freshman Julius Matthews placed second in the 100-meter dash. Free State boys – senior Elijah Sabatini, junior Thomas Henderson and junior Jameson Carter – placed first, second and third, respectively, in the 110-meter hurdles.

The boys 4×800-meter relay team – junior Levi Bates, junior Davis Greenstreet, senior Evan Hanna and senior Jake Hedges – finished first. Additionally, junior Blake Wohler placed first in the 3200-meter run and second in the 1600-meter run, junior Stephen Huffman placed first in pole vault and senior Cason Cregg finished first in the discus throw.

Individually for the girls, first-place finishes include: junior Isabelle Prô in the 3200-meter run, senior Reese Hulcher in the high jump, sophomore Sofia Bourdo in the long jump and senior Aubrey Duncan in the javelin.

Free State will resume action at the LHS invite on Friday at 3:30 p.m.

Free State, LHS swim medal top 3 at Emporia

On Thursday, the Free State and Lawrence High swimming teams captured top 3 finishes at the Emporia March Invite. The Firebirds placed first with 694.5 total team points and the Lions finished third (362.5 total team points) just behind Washburn Rural.

Free State’s 200-yard medley relay team – senior Bradie Ward, freshman Haley Schrader, junior Liza Engelbrecht and senior Samantha Packard – took first place. Individually, Packard placed first in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle, senior Halle McCullough placed first in the 200-yard individual medley and sophomore Gayla Gao placed first in the 100-yard butterfly.

The Lion’s 200-yard medley relay team – senior Abi Jones, senior Lulu Myers-Arenth, sophomore Violet Meinershagen and junior Emily Brandt – finished fourth.

Individually, Myers-Arenth placed third in the 50-yard freestyle. Junior Emily Brandt placed second in the 1-meter dive, just three points behind Emporia’s Allisyn Weiss.

LHS hosts its annual invite on Tuesday beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Free State baseball shuts out Sioux Falls-Roosevelt

The Free State baseball team ran through Sioux Falls-Roosevelt 10-0 on Thursday at home.

Through four innings, Free State freshman starter Ben Graves finished the day with nine strikeouts, no hits allowed and just two walks. Closing for the Firebirds, senior Adam Coup picked up two strikeouts before the game was called in the fifth inning.

Free State senior Brady Kern recorded three RBIs, finishing 3-for-4 at the plate and adding three runs along the way. Three more RBIs came from sophomore Ryan Weishaar (2-for-4) and two RBIs came from senior Tyler Vigna (2-for-4).

Free State next plays on Tuesday at Olathe South with first pitch slated for 4:30 p.m.

LHS softball overpowered in season opener

The Lawrence High softball team fell in both games of Friday’s doubleheader at Manhattan.

Shutout in game one 17-0, the LHS defense committed six errors and couldn’t slow down the Indians at the plate. Manhattan senior Kierra Goos struck out 12 Lady Lions through just four innings, as LHS ended the game without a single hit.

Coming up short 8-5 in game two, LHS made some valuable strides. Taking a 3-0 lead in the fourth, LHS sophomore Harper Dye tripled to set up a three-run homer by sophomore Maddy Crawford. Another home run by senior Hailey Ramirez and an RBI single by junior Taylor Zeckser handed the Lady Lions a 5-1 lead heading into the sixth.

In the sixth, Manhattan caught a much-needed break on five LHS errors and rallied back to defeat LHS 8-5 in a last-minute stand.

LHS resumes action on Tuesday at Shawnee Mission Northwest with first pitch slated for 6 p.m. Free State softball begins its season on Thursday, hosting Shawnee Mission South at 5:30 p.m.

Game two highlights for LHS: Dye 3-for-4, 2B, 3B; Crawford 1-for-3, HR, 4 RBI, Ramirez 1-for-4, HR, RBI; Rowley 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K; Zeckser 1-for-for-3, 3 IP, 8 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 1 K.

Free State, LHS girls soccer drop openers

The Free State and Lawrence High girls soccer teams each dropped their respective season openers on Thursday night. LHS fell to Shawnee Mission North 2-0 at home and Free State dropped its first road test 8-0 at Olathe Northwest.

On Friday, LHS came up short at Topeka 4-2 despite goals scored by junior Rai’ona Helm (assist by sophomore Alise Rathmel) and freshman Stella Comparato on a free kick.

The Firebirds (0-1) host Topeka-Hayden on Monday at 7 p.m. The Lady Lions (0-2) host Gardner-Edgerton on Tuesday at 7 p.m. LHS hosts a team fundraiser Monday at Jason’s Deli on Iowa Street from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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