photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

A pack of runners race in the Prideland Relays on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Lawrence.

The Lawrence and Free State track and field teams sent athletes across the state on Thursday and Friday, as both schools competed in various invitationals.

Lawrence hosts Prideland Relays on Thursday

Lawrence High School hosted its Prideland Relays on Thursday, which saw the Lions compete against six teams including Eudora and Veritas Christian.

The Eudora girls were the runners-up with 52.0 points, while Lawrence scored 19.0. Veritas Christian earned four points.

Edie Siemon scored six points by winning the girls pole vault with a best of 9 feet, 3.0 inches. Bailey Hammerschmidt was the runner-up in the triple jump at 30 feet, 11.5 inches, and Karis Mason finished third at 30 feet, 8.5 inches.

Josslyn Peters won the javelin throw at 111 feet, 0.0 inches, and Avery Hemphill placed third at 105 feet, 0.0 inches.

Addisen Lewis won the 400-meter dash at 1:03.45, and Avery Warren took third at 1:07.42. Tatum Love was the runner-up in the 3,200-meter run at 14:19.36.

Lilly Wright took third in the 100-meter hurdles with an 18.53 seconds, and Hammerschmidt placed third in the 200-meter dash at 28.20 seconds.

The Eudora mixed 4×400-meter relay finished second at 4:16.20.

For the Lawrence girls, Chloe Griffith was the runner-up in the pole vault at 8 feet, 3.0 inches, and Mya Monroe was the runner-up in the long jump at 14 feet, 9.50 inches. Griffith placed third in the 800-meter run at 2:35.48.

Hanna Stelk was the scorer for Veritas Christian, as she scored four points by finishing second in the discus throw at 93 feet, 6.0 inches.

The Lions finished third with 32.0 points on the boys side, while Eudora scored 27.5 and placed fourth. The Eagles scored four points.

Wesley Swann for Eudora took second in the pole vault at 10 feet, 3.0 inches, and Andrew Stapes was the runner-up in the triple jump at 37 feet, 1.0 inch.

Austin Jordan won the discus throw at 143 feet, 0.0 inches. In the shot put, Ethan Winton was the runner-up at 46 feet, 1.0 inch.

David Brunner was the runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles at 19.89 seconds.

For Lawrence boys, Omar Hernandez-Rhea won the pole vault at 11 feet, 0.0 inches, and Lawson Donly was the runner-up at 10 feet, 3.0 inches. Adrick Webb took third in the high jump at 5 feet, 10.0 inches.

Xander Johnson finished third in the 110-meter hurdles at 20.23 seconds, and James Poole placed third in the 300-meter hurdles at 47.38 seconds. Paul Radley took third in the 3,200-meter run at 11:48.43.

Elias Salmeron-Dominguez got all of Veritas Christian’s points on the boys leaderboard by placing second in the 400-meter dash at 53.41 seconds.

Free State track and field competes in Manhattan Varsity Invite

Free State track and field went out to Manhattan on Thursday for the Manhattan Varsity Invite against Emporia, Junction City, Maize, Manhattan and Riley County.

The Firebirds had a lot of success in the girls field events. Jane Cast was the lone Firebird to win an event, as she won the pole vault with a 10 foot, 6.0-inch vault. Fellow Firebird Chloe Voss was the runner-up in the event with a 10-foot vault.

In the long jump, Parker Jones was the runner-up at 17 feet, 19.5 inches. Cast finished fourth in the event at 16 feet, 4.5 inches, and Marygrace Bradford took sixth at 15 feet, 8.0 inches. Taylor Hulcher placed fifth in the high jump at 4 feet, 10.0 inches.

In the races, Peyton Moore led the Firebirds. She took second in the 100-meter hurdles at 17.16 seconds and second in the 300-meter hurdles at 50.02 seconds. Shana Teenor placed third in the 100-meter hurdles and fourth in the 300-meter hurdles, while Dylan Tenbrink finished eighth in both events.

Sydney Brozik placed sixth in the 100-meter dash at 13.27 seconds, and Jones finished fourth in the 200-meter dash at 26.41 seconds while Brozik took seventh at 27.22 seconds. Layla Hafoka took sixth in the 400-meter dash at 1:06.28.

Taylor Hulcher finished third in the 800-meter run at 2:27.74, and Mady Whitney came in fourth at 2:29.23. Amelia Brewer finished eighth at 2:34.96, and Grace Christline finished in ninth at 2:38.95. Eloise Frye made the top 10 with a 2:40.31 time.

Hulcher also placed third in the 1,600-meter run at 5:25.87, while Christline took eighth at 5:50.53.

The girls 4×100-meter relay took third at 51.12 seconds, as did the 4×400-meter relay team with a time of 4:25.79.

For the boys races, Free State’s Devin Ward finished seventh in the 400-meter dash at 54.22 seconds, while Julius Matthews placed eighth at 54.97 seconds. Jonah Frye got fourth in the 800-meter run at 2:07.25, while Connor Plantz made fifth at 2:07.82. Joseph Clossen finished eighth at 2:09.05.

The highest finish for the Firebird boys came from Jasper Hansen Terry, who was the runner-up in the 1,600-meter run at 4:34.11. Van Catloth was the lone hurdler, and he took third in the 110-meter hurdles at 17.03 seconds and fourth in the 300-meter hurdles at 43.57 seconds.

The boys relay teams both finished fifth in the 4×100-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay.

In field events, Brody Migchelbrink took third in the high jump at 6 feet. Michael Harrison finished fourth in the long jump at 19 feet, 10.0 inches, while Eyal Unz took fifth at 19 feet, 9.5 inches and Skyler Hansen sixth at 19 feet, 6.0 inches.

Hansen finished fifth in the triple jump at 39 feet, 1.50 inches, and Harrison took seventh at 37 feet, 5.50 inches. In the javelin, Ollie Crowell placed fourth at 138 feet, 5.0 inches, and Jack Lee took sixth at 121 feet, 9.0 inches.

Four local schools send athletes to Emporia State relays

Lawrence, Free State, Eudora and Veritas Christian were all represented at Emporia on Friday for the Emporia State University Relays.

For the two 6A schools, the highlight came with three event wins, two from Lawrence and one from Free State. Lawrence’s Tyler Dye won the javelin throw with a throw of 203 feet, 11.0 inches. Murphy Nowak placed eighth in the event by throwing 160 feet, 5.0 inches. On the girls side, Nyah Everhart placed 15th with a 94 feet, 3.0-inch javelin throw.

Lawrence’s other win came in the girls 1,600-meter sprint medley, which won with a 4:15.35 time set by Lucy Juelsgaard, Layla Simmons, La’Keyshia Woods and Andie Garrett.

Free State’s winner came via the discus throw, which Sadie Reynolds won with a 148 foot, 8-inch throw. Only two other Firebirds competed in the meet, with Hudson Andrew taking seventh in the javelin throw at 162 feet, 5.0 inches and Savannah Lynch finishing 12th in the javelin at 96 feet, 9.0 inches.

Oliver Schwartz was one of a couple runners-up for Lawrence, as he took second in the 2,000-meter steeplechase at 6:37.13. Joseph Lucas finished second in the triple jump at 45 feet, 4.75 inches.

The Lions did well in the other field events, including Joseph Lucas finishing second in the triple jump at 45 feet, 4.75 inches. Baden Masenthin took fifth in the event at 42 feet, 10.25 inches. Lucas also placed 21st in the long jump at 20 feet, 1.25 inches.

Kenyon Doleman finished seventh in the high jump at 6 feet, 0.0 inches. In the girls event, Hadley Ornes placed 10th at 5 feet, 0.0 inches.

Lawrence ran well in the relays along with the winning 1,600-meter girls sprint medley. The boys 1,600-meter sprint medley finished 11th at 4:23.24, and the boys 4,000-meter distance medley finished seventh at 11:44.26. The boys 4×1,600-meter relay finished fifth at 20:41.72, and the 4×800-meter relay placed 13th at 8:57.22.

Eudora brought a number of athletes to Emporia and ended with several top finishers.

For the boys runs, Cameren Tice placed 10th in the 100-meter dash at 10.80 seconds. Newt Schreiner finished 26th at 19.08 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. Eudora’s boys 4,000-meter distance medley team placed sixth at 11:38.36, and the 4×1600-meter relay took seventh at 20:51.86.

Brady Von Holten finished fifth in the discus throw by throwing 167 feet, 6.0 inches. Brock Long took 16th at 139 feet, 6.0 inches. In the javelin throw, James Janovec came in sixth with a 164 feet, 1.0-inch throw. Alex Gonzalez placed 15th in the event at 153 feet, 4.0 inches.

Cash Schneider finished 20th in the long jump at 20 feet, 2.5 inches, and Colton Bowser placed 12th in the pole vault at 12 feet, 2.0 inches. In the triple jump, Lincoln Votaw came in 11th at 39 feet, 6.0 inches.

Veritas Christian sent two girls to the relays, both competing in races. Liv Maddox finished 12th in the 3,200-meter run at 11:46.61, and Juliana Yaluk-Shults finished 23rd in the 200-meter dash at 26.73 seconds and 29th in the 400-meter dash at 1:03.00.