Free State High’s girls basketball team set a school record by winning 16 regular-season games, but starting today, none of those matter to the Firebirds.The No. 2-seeded Firebirds (16-4) will host No. 7-seeded Wyandotte (1-14) at 7 p.m. Thursday at FSHS in the first round of its sub-state ...
Last summer, Lawrence High senior guard Anthony Bonner announced his expectations for the boys basketball team this season. “Nothing less than a state championship, honestly,” he said in June. Bonner has done his best to deliver on his words. He’s averaged 19.8 points per game this year, ...
Park City ? Lawrence High junior wrestler Alan Clothier and Free State freshman Tate Steele both took third place in their respective weight classes at the Class 6A state tournament on Saturday at Hartman Arena. Clothier, a 182-pounder, won by a 6-3 decision in his third-place match against ...
Park City ? The city won’t produce a single state high school wrestling champion this season.Each Class 6A city high school advanced one wrestler to the semifinals of the state meet Friday, but each suffered a one-point loss.Free State High’s Tate Steele fell to Wichita South’s Dallas ...
All it takes is a few plays for Lawrence High’s boys basketball players to find a rhythm on offense. On Friday in the City Showdown, the Lions used their defense to create some momentum. With the help of a few Free State miscues, the Lions guarded tightly and didn’t let up until they could ...
Lawrence High’s and Free State’s girls basketball teams both entered Friday night’s City Showdown with three-game winning streaks, but it was the Firebirds who stayed hot to beat the Lions, 58-45, at LHS.The Firebirds (16-4) took control of the game with an 8-0 run to begin the second ...
Ten weeks after the boys basketball teams from the city’s two public high schools first faced each other, Free State High coach Chuck Law’s confidence in his team’s ability to play Lawrence High straight-up increased tenfold.In three of the four quarters Friday night at The Jungle, ...
One day, a Free State High student will come along and break swimmer Jack Ziegler’s school record in the 50-freestyle, established while winning the state title and helping his school to a third-place finish at the state meet.Some year, the Firebirds also will have a basketball player who ...
It didn’t matter that spots for the state bowling tournament were on the line. Lawrence High senior Ashlee Erickson felt no pressure on Thursday afternoon at Royal Crest Lanes. Erickson rolled 10 straight strikes in her opening game to record her highest single-game total of the season, a ...
Free State High wrestlers have put together one of their strongest seasons in the past decade. They’re not done yet. The Firebirds took second in the Sunflower League and won a regional championship, their best finishes since 2005. Now they’re focused on doing well at the Class 6A state ...
Overland Park ? With her team trailing on the road in the fourth quarter Tuesday night, Free State High sophomore guard Madison Piper had seen her previous seven shots rim out. She hadn’t made a basket since the final minutes of the second quarter. But none of that mattered in crunch ...
Overland Park ? Sometimes scoring is contagious. One guy on a basketball team gets hot, and the others follow suit. Free State High experienced a little of that Tuesday night at Shawnee Mission West. But the Firebirds’ passing turned out just as infectious, as crisp ball movement and open ...
No defense was going to stop Free State High senior guard Weston Hack and junior forward Hunter Gudde on Saturday night. Not with the way they were shooting. The two Firebirds combined for 46 points and 16 rebounds in a 63-47 victory against William Chrisman (Missouri) at FSHS. Hack scored 16 ...
Overland Park ? Free State High’s Tate Steele, Shayn Morris, Cameron Shanks and Isaiah Jacobs won their weight classes, and the Firebirds finished first at a Class 6A wrestling regional Saturday at Shawnee Mission West.Tucker Wilson (160 pounds) and Alan Clothier (182) won for Lawrence High, ...
In Hollywood, a sequel never lives up to the success of the original. That doesn’t apply to Free State High sophomore Jordan Portela, who dominated his competition once again at the Class 6A state swimming and diving championships Saturday. Portela repeated as state champion in the 200-yard ...
Topeka ? Free State High’s Jack Ziegler was top qualifier in the 50 free, teammate Jordan Portela led qualifiying in the 100 butterfly, and both swam on the top 400 freestyle relay team during preliminary rounds of the Class 6A state swimming and diving meet on Friday at Capitol Federal ...
Free State High’s boys basketball team knew what to expect out of Olathe East on Friday night. After suffering a seven-point loss against the Hawks last month, the Firebirds weren’t surprised by anything they saw. But Free State just couldn’t hit enough shots down the stretch in a 52-44 ...
Holding on to a two-point lead entering the fourth quarter, Free State High’s girls basketball players just flipped a switch. There weren’t any magic words said in the huddle. They just knew what this game meant to each other. The Firebird seniors wanted to win on Senior Night, and the ...
Leavenworth ? Free State High sophomore Alex Jimenez and junior Matthew Eagle bowled in the same lanes and traded strike after strike during the second game of their three-game series at the Sunflower League bowling championships on Thursday. Both of the Firebirds rolled strikes for the first ...
When Free State High senior swimmer Jack Ziegler sets his mind on something, he usually finds a way to achieve it. Ziegler spent the offseason working solely on speed, trying to get faster. In the first meet of the season, he achieved one of his goals by breaking the school record in the ...