Preps Notebook: Free State, LHS tennis post multiple top 10 finishes at state; Baseball, softball and soccer regionals up next

photo by: Conner Becker/Journal-World

Free State juniors Jake Hedges (left) and Felipe Reina-Salas (right) share a laugh during the state tennis championships in Topeka, Kansas, on Friday, May 12, 2023.

The Free State and Lawrence High tennis teams finished fifth and 12th, respectively, at the state tennis championships on Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center in Topeka.

With 24 total Class 6A schools in attendance, Free State muscled out seventh-place finishes by senior Britton Snyder in singles and juniors Jake Hedges and Felipe Reina-Salas in doubles. On the LHS side, freshman Jack Bauch fought his way toward a top 10 finish (10th) in singles.

Hedges and Reina-Salas, granted a first-round bye, defeated Manhattan’s Landon Ott and Jack Spiegel to earn a spot in the quarterfinal match. Falling short to Blue Valley Northwest in the quarterfinal, as well as the fifth-place semifinal match, Hedges and Reina-Salas walked away in seventh place.

Bauch, falling in the first round of singles to Blue Valley North’s Arjun Reiland, won his next two matches, landing in the fifth-place quarterfinal against Free State’s Snyder. Bauch finished 10th after falling to Washburn Rural’s Mason Casebeer in the ninth-place finale, while Snyder (7th) went on to defeat Olathe South’s Josh Lee in the seventh-place match.

Lawrence High senior Oliver Rubenstein sets up his serve during the state tennis championships in Topeka, Kansas, on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Free State freshman Drew Harrison dropped his first round match to Shawnee Mission East’s Gregor Wiedeman and then fell just one match short of the fifth-place quarterfinal, falling to Dodge City’s Oscar Alvarado. Before defeating Harrison, Alvarado knocked out LHS senior Oliver Rubenstein in the second round of the consolation bracket.

A look at the baseball, softball regional stage

The Free State and Lawrence High baseball teams will each be fighting for a spot in the Class 6A regional championship on Wednesday at Free State.

First up, the No. 10-seeded Chesty Lions (9-11) will take on No. 7-seeded Wichita West (11-9) at 2 p.m. Then, the No. 2-seeded Firebirds (14-6) will meet No. 15-seeded Wichita East (6-14) approximately 25 minutes after the conclusion of LHS and Wichita West.

The regional championship is slated for 25 minutes after the last semifinal round.

In the Class 6A softball regional, Free State and Lawrence High will also be eyeing a seat in the regional championship on Thursday in Garden City.

First up, the No. 10-seeded Lady Firebirds (8-12) will take on No. 7-seeded Wichita North (10-10) at 1 p.m. Next, the No. 15-seeded Lady Lions (5-15) will meet No. 2 Garden City (16-2) approximately 25 minutes after the conclusion of Free State and Wichita North.

The regional championship is slated for 25 minutes after the last semifinal round.

Free State, LHS girls soccer set for regional rematch

The Free State and Lawrence High girls soccer teams are destined to meet again on Monday night at LHS in the play-in game of the Class 6A west regional playoff. Earlier this month, the Lady Lions (1-14) stunned the Lady Firebirds (1-15) with a last-second 2-1 victory at home.

The winner of the play-in match will meet Garden City (11-2-1) in the regional semifinal.

COMMENTS

Welcome to the new LJWorld.com. Our old commenting system has been replaced with Facebook Comments. There is no longer a separate username and password login step. If you are already signed into Facebook within your browser, you will be able to comment. If you do not have a Facebook account and do not wish to create one, you will not be able to comment on stories.