photo by: Submitted Photo

The Lawrence High golf team stops for a photo at the fifth annual Justin Siler Memorial Invitational on Monday, May 1, 2023 at Lawrence Country Club.

The Lawrence High track and field team placed seventh in the boys and girls events at the Bob Camien and Claudia Welch Invitational last Friday at Seaman High School.

Senior Tyrell Reed won the 100-meter dash (10.47) and junior Paige Platt won the high jump for LHS. Sophomore Riley Howell placed third in the 100-meter dash, just behind Manhattan’s Tanner Dowling-Burnett.

In field events, senior Maddock Oberzan placed third in the pole vault and senior Jerron Shield placed third in the javelin. Senior Lance Bassett and Platt placed seventh and eight, respectively, in the shot put. Freshman Sidra Besson finished fifth in long jump.

On the track, junior Emma Roman Nose and senior Natalie Kennedy placed third and fifth, respectively, in the 1600-meter run, and sophomore Gabrielle Reed finished sixth in the 100-meter dash. The Chesty Lions also took third in the girls 4×400 and 4×800 meter relays.

LHS will travel with Free State to SM North on Friday.

Free State golf places fourth at Justin Siler Invite

The Free State and Lawrence High boys golf teams competed at the fifth annual Justin Siler Memorial Invitational on Monday at Lawrence Country Club. The Firebirds finished fourth carding a team score of 332. LHS finished 11th, shooting 354.

Free State sophomore Aiden Graf-Hannah climbed into the top five, finishing fifth at 8-over (78). Down the list, LHS freshman Andrew Kirkwood tied for 17th, carding an 83.

LHS junior Gunnar Wayenberg, Free State freshman Cash Nelson and senior Jackson Lintecum all tied for 22nd, carding an 84. Also for Free State, sophomore Adam Hemker tied for 35th with an 86, freshman Henry Thompson finished 42nd (87), and junior Jack Randall tied for 57th (94).

For the Chesty Lions, sophomore Nate Schworm tied for 51st (90), and seniors Macade Lewis, Dallas Ostronic and Jack Elsten all tied for 62nd (97).

Free State and LHS return for the third leg of the Sunflower League tournament next Tuesday at Prairie Highlands Golf Course in Olathe.

Baseball roundup

The Free State baseball team rolled past Shawnee Mission South 11-2 on Tuesday at home. The score was tied at 1-1 after the first inning, but then the Firebirds (14-4) rattled off four runs in the second and didn’t look back.

Junior Kyle Graves led Free State on the mound, allowing just two runs on eight hits, two walks and seven strikeouts before senior Jake Chun relieved Graves at the start of the seventh.

Freshman Ben Graves finished 2-for-3 at the plate, including four runs and an RBI. Senior Brady Kern finished 1-for-2, adding another RBI. Sophomore Ryan Weishaar (1-for-3) added a run and two more RBIs.

Next up, Free State travels to Gardner Edgerton Thursday. First pitch is slated for 5:30 p.m.

Across town, the Lawrence High baseball team fell short to Mill Valley 7-4 on Tuesday at home. The Chesty Lions (7-9) trailed by four runs entering the third and never quite dug themselves out of the hole.

Junior Vaughn Wells got the starting nod, giving up all seven runs on seven hits, three walks and three strikeouts through 5.2 innings on the hill. Senior Nathan Blettner relieved Wells in the fifth, before junior Tyson Grammer took over the mound in the seventh.

Trailing 6-2 headed into the bottom of the sixth, senior River Lynch (1-for-2) provided a spark with a two-run RBI. The Jaguars added an insurance run in the top of the seventh, keeping the Lions quiet through the final frame.

Juniors Austin Crawford (2-for-4, RBI) and Cale Paden (2-for-3, 2 R) led LHS at the plate. Senior Dominic Ostronic (0-for-2) added another RBI.

LHS hosts Olathe West on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Free State boys seventh, girls ninth at Trailblazer Track Invitational

The Free State track and field teams placed seventh (boys) and ninth (girls) at the Trailblazer Invitational last Friday at Gardner Edgerton High School.

Senior Michael Romito won the 400-meter dash (00:51:90), with juniors Roman Jasso finishing seventh (00:54:12) and Cameron Stutler right behind in eighth place (00:54:43). Additionally, junior Josiah Moss placed fifth (00:11:29) in the 100-meter dash.

Junior Gretchen Weinkauf placed second (1:01:38) in the 400-meter dash and sixth (00:27:26) in the 200-meter dash. In the 1600-meter run, sophomore Cayman Barnes finished eighth (5:35:36) and junior Isabelle Pro finished 10th (5:45:56).

In the boys 800-meter run, juniors Jake Loos (1:57:88) and Ryan Whittlesey (2:02:74) placed second and eighth, respectively. In the 1600-meter run, juniors Blake Wohler (4:38:31) and Zach Hansen Terry (4:42:46) placed sixth and eighth, respectively.

Senior Elijah Sabatini placed fifth (00:42:83) in the 300-meter hurdles and seventh (00:15:89) in the 110-meter hurdles.

Free State joins LHS at SM North on Friday.