Free State’s first-year head coach Kevin Stewart wasn’t surprised so many of his players wanted to help. Stewart, who was introduced to the FSHS football team in January, has come to learn about how much pride his players take in the Lawrence community. So when members of the community ...
After winning another state title, Free State’s softball team swept the top Sunflower League awards. Sophomore pitcher Tatum Clopton was named the Player of the Year for her prolific presence in the circle this season. She tossed five shutouts in as many games during the postseason, ...
It was a sensational spring for Free State sophomore Tatum Clopton. Clopton enjoyed her first full year in the circle, helping the Firebirds secure a second consecutive state title. Clopton baffled opposing hitters all year and did not give up a single run in her five postseason performances, ...
With his daughter Tatum dominating on the mound, Aaron Clopton took in this year’s Class 6A state softball tournament from a drastically different vantage point than he saw Free State’s triumph in 2018 — from the Arrocha Ballpark bleachers. Last year, Aaron’s military deployment to ...
WICHITA — On the surface, it looked like an easy title defense by the Lawrence High girls 4x100-meter relay. LHS junior Asjah Harris nonchalantly crossed the finish line in first place, finishing nearly a full second faster than runner-up Olathe North. There was no celebration like last ...
The game-winning hit came Friday. The celebration came Saturday. And it included chants of “Back-to-Back” and approximately 35 million hugs and smiles. For the second year in a row, the Free State High softball team was the one standing in the middle of the field at Arrocha Ballpark, ...
If the severe weather rolling through Lawrence hadn’t forced them out of the dugout, the shellshocked Firebirds may have sat inside Hoglund Ballpark all night. Instead, members of the Free State High baseball team filed out despondently Friday evening with the Class 6A state runnerup ...
Three timely hits in a pair of Class 6A state tournament games on Friday put the Free State softball team 12 outs away from winning its second consecutive state title. But thanks to Mother Nature and unbeaten Washburn Rural, there remains work to be done before the defending champs can hoist ...
Free State senior Malachi Starr is not a fan of losing. So it was business as usual when the FSHS sprinter took home the gold in the 400-meter run with a time of 50.43 at Free State’s regional meet last week. It earned him a trip to the state track meet in an individual event, though he will ...
The deja vu ran wild on Thursday afternoon at Arrocha Ballpark, where the Free State softball team advanced to the Class 6A state semifinals for the second year in a row with a dominant 6-0 victory over Olathe Northwest in Round 1. Same field. Same team. Same result. Even the magic bush ...
The only thing that could have pulled Free State senior Ethan Bradford from the mound was his pitch count. In the final inning, junior Camden Karlin started warming up in the bullpen at Hoglund Ballpark. The Firebirds wouldn’t need him. On the 103rd pitch of the contest, Bradford induced a ...
There will be no surprises when Free State and Olathe East square off in the opening round of the Class 6A state baseball tournament. Both teams know what to expect when they take the field Thursday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark. The clash between a pair of Sunflower League foes figures to be ...
Sure, some of them already own Class 6A state championship rings. But members of Free State High’s softball team know that jewelry they earned in 2018 guarantees them nothing as they try to defend their title this week. The Firebirds enter their very short trip to Arrocha Ballpark at Rock ...
Free State junior Camden Karlin has never wasted an opportunity to get better as a baseball player. When he was in elementary school, Karlin used to bring his glove and a baseball to the bus stop. He would throw about 20 pitches to his dad, who made Karlin play both pitcher and catcher as ...