Free State junior Auna Childress leaped for a mark of 40-foot-9 on her first attempt of the triple jump to finish in first place in the event early Friday at the 92nd running of the Kansas Relays at Rock Chalk Park. “I thought it was at least like 38 (meters); it was from the 36 board,” ...
Behind a balanced attack, Free State’s boys tennis team took second out of six teams at the Lawrence High Invitational Friday at LHS. The Firebirds scored 16 points as a team, finishing seven points shy of event winner Shawnee Mission East. Lawrence placed sixth in its own meet, scoring ...
Just before the bottom of the third inning, the Free State baseball team huddled near the dugout. After giving up a run in the top of the third, the Firebirds faced an early deficit. Head coach Mike Hill had a message for his team, challenging a squad that hasn’t lost since March 16. And the ...
It was only fitting that Free State senior Ethan Bradford had to make the last out. The ball bounced back to Bradford, who fielded it with ease. He tossed the ball to first base and walked toward the rest of his team with a stoic expression on his face. It was not the anticipated reaction, ...
During warmups, Lawrence High junior Ella Stewart was off by herself. And there is a reason for that. Stewart discovered that she’s been getting too amped up during the discus competition. Her best throws are in warmups. So, as a result, Stewart has started to work on ways to ensure that she ...
After coming above water, Lawrence High teammates Maddie Dean and Aubrey Fischer looked up at the scoreboard during Tuesday’s meet at LHS. One second separated the two of them, with Dean taking first in the 100 backstroke with a 1:03.49. Fischer, who was actually the top seed entering the ...
It would have taken the perfect opportunity for Nick Wood to leave Washburn University. Wood had no intentions of leaving his role as an assistant for Brett Ballard. But a chance to return to the Lawrence community was one he couldn’t pass up. So Wood, who graduated from Lawrence High in ...
It was another strong week for local high school athletes. Free State came out on the right end of two different City Showdowns, claiming a 12-0 win on the softball diamond and maintaining bragging rights on the tennis courts. Both city baseball teams extended winning streaks ahead of the ...
Free State senior Turner Corcoran has made a decision. The four-star offensive tackle, who had double-digit scholarships offers from Power Five programs, announced via Twitter that he was verbally committed to the University of Nebraska. Corcoran was actually in Lincoln, Nebraska this weekend, ...
It was a special day for Free State senior distance runner Anna Riley. She made it into her dream school, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, posted two top 20 times in the 3200-meter run (12:35) and then the 1600-meter run (5:44). Combined, the two races are 12 laps, and 3 miles. In ...
After struggling at the plate for the early part of the season, Free State senior Lauryn Jones gifted her team a lead that it didn’t surrender during the City Showdown Friday night at Lawrence High. Jones smacked an RBI single to left in the top of the second, scoring Maci Miles from second ...
After a back-and-forth battle, the Lawrence High girls soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision at home to Olathe North Thursday night. It was a hard-fought loss by the Lions, who fell to 2-4 after their second consecutive defeat. With senior captain Leslie Ostronic out, LHS shifted its lineup ...
It is too early in the season to be scoreboard watching. That being said, Free State’s baseball team understood the importance of its 5-2 win over Gardner-Edgerton at FSHS. Entering Tuesday night, both the Firebirds (8-2, 6-0 Sunflower League) and the Trailblazers (6-2, 4-1) were the only ...
Sawyer Nickel is used to people knowing his name at local tennis meets. The Free State senior only dropped one game among his three matches, which came against Bishop Seabury junior Grayson Rader, en route to a first-place finish in singles play of the City Series on Tuesday. Rader was the ...
This past week featured a number of stellar performances by local athletes at the high school level. For starters, Free State sophomore Tatum Clopton threw a perfect game to begin the week. On the same night, a FSHS soccer player recorded a hat trick. Two days later, a LHS senior scored five ...
Much has been made about Tatum Clopton’s otherworldly start to the 2019 season. The Free State sophomore tossed a perfect game and a complete game one-hitter through the first four outings. But the Firebirds, who are the defending 6A state champions, have now shown in back-to-back contests ...
As soon as Free State junior Colter Maldonado touched first base, he turned to watch senior Mitchell Clark cross home plate. Maldonado clapped his hands emphatically above his head, and his FSHS teammates quickly swarmed him in celebration. Maldonado had put the finishing touches on a classic ...
Free State High School Associate Principal Steve Heffernan plans to return to a teaching position for the 2019-2020 school year, the Lawrence school district announced in a news release Wednesday. He’ll also continue to coach cross-country. High school administrators can no longer serve ...
Lawrence High senior Anna Chieu fell to the turf in disbelief as her final shot attempt missed just left of the goal. Chieu had three good looks, including one in the final seconds of Lawrence’s 6-3 win over Gardner-Edgerton, to finish off the double hat trick. Gardner-Edgerton goalie Maea ...
Tatum Clopton’s opening act of her sophomore campaign was a thing of beauty. Yet, somehow, the talented Free State hurler had an even better encore. Eight days after tossing a one-hit complete-game effort, Clopton pitched a perfect game to help Free State secure a 1-0 win over Olathe South ...