photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State's offense jogs off the field in celebration after a 35-8 win over Wyandotte High School in the flag football state tournament at Olathe East High School on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Olathe.

Free State senior Sarai Preston’s first love was softball, but it wasn’t her last.

Preston grew up in a sporting house, and that included throwing around the football. Playing flag football was a small consideration before she got to high school with other clubs, but it didn’t work out.

Then, right before her junior year, that opportunity came with Free State.

“I was just going to play softball, flag wasn’t even a thing when I was in middle school,” Preston said. “Then, flag became a thing and I knew I’d love it. I knew I obviously was going to do it.”

Preston and the inaugural Free State flag football team started strong and only got better. The team featured a lot of basketball and softball players who knew each other well, and the Firebirds used that familiarity to grow together as a team. Eventually, the Firebirds managed to make a deep playoff push, going all the way to the semifinal round.

Flag football had long been rumored to be the next sport to be sanctioned by KSHSAA, and that became true in April in a near-unanimous vote. Not only did Preston and the Firebirds help show the desire for flag football but will be able to compete for a state championship this fall.

Having played so many sports growing up, Preston has always wanted to win. But with flag football being a growth sport, winning has greater meaning.

“I want to leave a legacy with this team,” Preston said. “I want our first official year to be our best year and to set the bar for coming teams that we’re going to be a powerhouse team at flag football.”

Preston said the team took things seriously last year, which contributed to their success. This year, that intensity will be amped up even more. The Firebirds have held summer practices a couple times a week and will ramp up once the school year starts. Preston hopes that the extra practice will help the Firebirds go further.

“We’re focusing on the season,” Preston said. “We have a scrimmage. We’re focusing on more drills and are starting to be more serious than we were last year.”

Last year’s team had to learn a lot about the general rules of football, but this year, the team has been able to focus on more specific drills and concepts. Free State coach Adam Barmann’s experience playing and coaching football has helped the Firebirds on the team develop their understanding of the game.

“He’s putting basic football skills into girls flag football,” Preston said. “That’s helped us a lot. We’re playing it like it’s football, not like it’s different. It’s all just football.”

Preston isn’t the first in her family to help pioneer a sport at Free State. Her older sister, Daijah, was a part of the Free State girls wrestling team as it first became sanctioned. Daijah parlayed her wrestling success into a college scholarship, something Sarai is hoping to do as well.

Preston has long wanted to compete in college athletics, she’s become highly interested in finding a college team for flag football. Anytime she sees a school add a flag football program, Preston is reaching out over Instagram to introduce herself and get in touch with coaches.

“I just want to continue my athletics at a higher level, and I’m really enjoying flag so much that I’m trying to jump on that recruiting train,” Preston said. “There’s a lot of schools that have it and I’m still finding out about more.”

Preston has seen a lot of schools on the coasts add flag football, but the sport is growing further into the Midwest. The Heart of America Athletic Conference, which is where Baker and other nearby NAIA schools compete, recently added flag football as a conference, though some schools had already added it.

There’s much to be excited about for Preston, both this year and potentially in the future with this sport. It’s exciting for her to see girls get more opportunities in football, and being a part of it with Free State has made the process that much more exciting. To be an ambassador for the sport both locally in high school and potentially at the collegiate level has only made her love for the sport grow.

“Football is fun, and girls should be a part of it,” Preston said. “I’m really glad that it is.”