Free State's girls basketball team lost to Shawnee Mission North on Tuesday night at FSHS on Feb. 18, 2020. Photos by Carter Gaskins/Lawrence Journal-World

It is not always easy to dig deep into the bench at this point in the season, especially during a grinding league battle. Fortunately for FSHS boys basketball coach Sam Stroh, he doesn’t have that issue. Free State needed a total-team effort to push past Shawnee Mission North, 63-45, on ...

Shawnee Mission North drilled a dozen 3-pointers, including seven triples in the first half, en route to a 62-52 victory over Free State on Tuesday at FSHS. The Firebirds have now dropped all six of their contests since upsetting Derby in the semifinals of the Lady Firebirds Winter Classic on ...

Free State sophomore Madyson Gray was one of four area wrestlers to make history this weekend. Based on her performance in the regional meet at Paola, Gray, along with three others, qualified for the inaugural girls state wrestling tournament. The regional meet featuring 20 area girls also was ...

Olathe — Lawrence High junior Trey Medina won the 152-pound weight class at the Sunflower League Invitational on Saturday after pinning Olathe North sophomore Landon Wilkes. LHS finished ninth as a team with 61 points. It was also a successful day for Free State, which finished in sixth ...

Prairie Village — In recent weeks, Free State has upped the aggressiveness of its defense, opting for more backcourt pressure. The Firebirds have been successful to varying degrees, but when it works, Free State has proven to be a tough beat. “We’re trying to have an attack mindset and ...

Prairie Village — Throughout this season, Free State coach Sam Stroh has consistently pointed to the Firebirds’ wins as “team efforts,” as Free State has relied on a productive bench. And in the Firebirds’ 60-46 road win over Shawnee Mission East on Friday night, that came to be true ...

Kris Daniels started the fourth quarter by draining a wide-open 3-pointer. Moments later, he finished a layup through contact, turned towards his teammates, and let out a yell. The momentum of Tuesday’s game at Free State had shifted for good thanks to the Firebird junior. In addition to ...

It’s been an up-and-down season for Free State girls basketball, and Tuesday was very nearly a high point against No. 4 Olathe West. Free State counterpunched Olathe West all night but couldn’t answer the Owls’ fourth-quarter flurry, as the Firebirds fell 66-62 at home Tuesday ...

Moments after stepping away from the podium, Lawrence High senior Emilie Rodman insisted that the rest of the varsity girls bowling team take another photo together. Rodman set her phone on the counter at College Lanes on Tuesday and took a group photo of the six-player squad. All the bowlers ...

Free State’s wrestling team ended up on the wrong end of a dual at Basehor-Linwood on Friday. Basehor-Linwood won seven of the 13 matches, including one by forfeit, en route to a 45-31 victory. Jett Barton, Austin Burenheide and Titus Birdashaw all won their respective open matches for the ...

Almost immediately after collecting his second-place medal for the 50-yard freestyle, Free State junior Reilley Moore had to quickly return to the pool for the 100-yard freestyle. “There’s a break in between the 50 and the 100, so I had time,” Moore said. “But I had to run over — ...

Olathe — It was exactly what Free State’s boys basketball team needed after what transpired just three days earlier. Coming off a 66-45 loss to Olathe East, the Firebirds got back to their old ways with a fitting overtime win. Thanks to timely shots and strong performance on the defensive ...

Olathe — In the closing moments of the third quarter, Olathe South guard Raegan Halliday drove through the Free State defense with her right hand. Halliday lofted a left-handed floater in the lane, which ultimately rattled around the rim before falling to the floor at the buzzer. It was one ...

Both Free State bowling squads came home with runner-up finishes in a home triangular at Royal Crest Lanes on Thursday. On the boys side, the Firebirds posted a team score of 2,323 to finish 73 pins behind Washburn Rural. Warren Williams rolled a series score of 659, which earned him the top ...

Even with a shorthanded roster, Bishop Seabury’s boys basketball team took care of business on Tuesday. The Seahawks jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter before coasting to a 68-13 victory over Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy at BSA. It was an impressive win considering the fact that ...

Free State's basketball teams competed in a doubleheader against Olathe East on Tuesday at FSHS on Feb. 4, 2020. Photos by Carter Gaskins/Lawrence Journal-World

In what felt more like a track meet than a basketball game, Olathe East rolled to a 66-45 victory over the Free State boys team Tuesday. “(Olathe East was) the tougher team, and that wasn’t the team I saw at McPherson,” Free State coach Sam Stroh said. “That wasn’t the team I saw ...

A tough night on offense and a slow start led the Free State girls basketball team to a 50-40 loss to Olathe East Tuesday night. Free State coach Nick Wood said the Firebirds’ mindset wasn’t where it needed to be at tip-off, something he takes responsibility for. “We weren’t where we ...

Four city wrestlers found the podium this weekend at two different tournaments across the state. Lawrence High had a trio of individuals earn a top-six finishes at the SEK Invitational at Chanute on Saturday. The Lions, who scored 43 points as a team, ultimately finished in a tie for 14th ...