Free State swept the 4×800-meter relays on Friday at Wichita Northwest in a meet that saw the Firebirds qualify 19 athletes in 13 events for the upcoming state track and field championships at Wichita State.

The girls’ team of Elle Cormaney, Mady Whitney, Greta Barnett and Cayman Barnes won in 10 minutes, 10.72 seconds, while the boys’ team of Jake Hedges, Cristian Wills, Jonah Frye and Grant Lichauer made it in 8:12.92. Both were good for first place.

Some of the athletes involved in the relays had success elsewhere. Lichauer, a junior, took second place in the 800-meter run, just behind teammate Jake Loos for the win. Loos also finished second in the 1,600-meter run to qualify in that event with a time of 4:32.04.

Barnes, also a junior, was runner-up in the girls’ 800 meters at 2:26.91, just 0.15 seconds behind Junction City freshman Anna Fontaine. Barnes also took part in the 4×400-meter relay team that finished second to Junction City with Beatrice Essman, Peyton Moore and Gretchen Weinkauf.

Elsewhere at the meet, Blake Wohler took first place in the 3,200-meter run by a margin of more than 11 seconds, completing the event in 9:29.66.

In the boys’ shot put, junior Parker Moore reached a mark of 49-06 for second place.

Freshmen came through for the Firebirds in the girls’ field events, as Jane Cast cleared 9 feet in the pole vault for second place, Parker Jones took bronze in the long jump with a distance of 17-06.50 and Sadie Reynolds threw the discus 117-04 for fourth.

Stephen Huffman placed fourth in the boys’ pole-vault field by clearing 12 feet, 6 inches.

Jameson Carter narrowly missed out on qualification in the 110-meter hurdles but managed to slip into fourth place in the 300 hurdles with his time of 41.10.