photo by: Val Montanez/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior Bennett Nagel (11) shoots past a Mill Valley defender under the basket on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.

Sub-state assignments have been released for all area basketball teams as the postseason begins.

At the 6A level, Lawrence competes in the 6A East region, while Free State competes in the 6A West.

The Lawrence boys basketball team (6-14) enters as the No. 15 seed against No. 2 Shawnee Mission Northwest (17-3) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Cougars won the prior matchup 65-26 on Feb. 8. A win would move them to the sub-state championship on Friday against the winner between No. 7 Blue Valley Northwest (14-6) and No. 10 Blue Valley West (13-7).

The No. 9 Free State boys basketball team (8-12) also plays on Tuesday in their sub-state bracket. The Firebirds start at No. 8 Wichita East (10-10) at 6 p.m. The Firebirds beat Wichita East 59-55 on Jan. 25. A win would move the Firebirds to the sub-state championship against the winner of No. 1 Derby (19-1) and No. 16 Wichita-Haysville Campus (2-18).

No. 13 Lawrence girls basketball (9-11) will start in sub-state at No. 4 Olathe West (14-6) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Owls beat the Lions 61-40 on Feb. 4. A win would move them to Saturday’s sub-state championship against the winner of No. 5 Shawnee Mission South (13-7) and No. 12 Shawnee Mission East (9-11).

No. 14 Free State girls basketball (3-17) starts at No. 3 Washburn Rural (14-6) on Wednesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. Washburn Rural won the first matchup between the two teams 76-25 on Jan. 3. A win would put the Firebirds against the winner of No. 6 Manhattan (13-7) and No. 11 Maize (5-15).

At the 4A level, No. 4 Baldwin boys basketball (16-4) will host their sub-state, starting with No. 13 Bishop Miege (6-14) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner will face No. 5 Coffeyville-Field Kindley (14-6) or No. 12 Holton (7-13). The No. 9 Baldwin girls (13-7) play at No. 8 Field Kindley (14-6) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs will take on either No. 1 Hayden (18-2) or No. 16 Chanute (4-16) with a win.

No. 15 Tonganoxie boys basketball (5-15) will start at No. 2 Rock Creek (18-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. A win for the Chieftains would put them against No. 7 Hayden (12-8) or No. 10 Independence (9-11). The No. 12 Tonganoxie girls (10-10) travel to No. 5 Labette County (16-4) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. With a win, they’ll move on to No. 4 Fort Scott (16-4) or No. 13 Ottawa (9-11).

No. 9 Eudora boys basketball (10-10) starts at No. 8 Parsons (12-8) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. If the Cardinals win, they’ll face the winner of No. 1 Ottawa (20-0) and No. 16 Labette County (4-16). Eudora’s girls basketball team (No. 2, 18-2) starts by hosting No. 15 Louisburg (5-15) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Cardinals would host either No. 7 Wamego (15-5) or No. 10 Atchison (10-10) with a win.

No. 4 Bishop Seabury (13-5) advanced to the second round of the 1A DI sub-state with a 79-24 win over Wakefield (1-18) on Feb. 25. The Seahawks take on No. 5 Frankfort (14-6) on Monday at 6 p.m. at home.

Tonganoxie wins 4A girls wrestling state tournament

Tonganoxie’s girls wrestling team won the 4A wrestling state championship after scoring 104.0 points in the state tournament on Saturday.

Five wrestlers out of eight qualifiers made the podium. Stella Bradley won the 115-pound weight class with a 39-second pin in the first-place match. Grace Stean was the runner-up in the 170-pound bracket with three pins to reach the championship match, which she lost on a pin.

Mackenzie Colgrove finished fourth in the 145-pound weight class, Autumn Wilson took fifth in the 120-pound weight class and Finley Keller placed sixth in the 135-pound weight class.

The Baldwin girls wrestling team finished 25th with 36.0 points. Canyon Burtis placed fourth in the 105-pound bracket, and Finnley Kellerman took fourth in the 235-pound weight class. They were the only two from Baldwin to qualify for the tournament. The Eudora team finished 45th with 14.5 points after qualifying three wrestlers. Madelynn Arnold was the only placer, finishing sixth in the 140-pound weight class.

Tonganoxie takes sixth in 4A boys wrestling state tournament

The Tonganoxie boys wrestling team finished sixth of 56 teams with 72.5 points in the 4A boys state wrestling tournament on Saturday.

Four of the 10 Chieftains at the tournament reached the podium. Brady Martin had the best finish as the runner-up in the 157-pound weight class. He lost in a close 4-1 sudden victory in the championship bout.

Brodie Starcher won the fifth-place match in the 113-pound bracket in a 7-1 decision. Rowdy Starcher finished sixth in the 106-pound bracket from a pin at the end of the first period. Dax Duffett also placed sixth after two wins to start the tournament in the 138-pound weight class.

Baldwin qualified four wrestlers for the tournament, but none made the podium. They finished with 3.0 points, which was 44th. Eudora’s team brought three wrestlers to the tournament but didn’t finish with any points and tied for 51st.