Former Kansas linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. has officially retired from football and has taken the first step in what he hopes will be a long and successful coaching career. Dineen, who starred at Free State High before becoming one of the top linebackers in the Big 12 from 2015-18, announced ...
Although she never got to throw a pitch for the Firebirds this season, Free State junior Tatum Clopton has been named the Gatorade Kansas Softball Player of the Year for the second year in a row. Adjusted to account for the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down most spring sports seasons across ...
Plans to tear down Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium have been approved by the Kansas Board of Regents, but the venue may not have hosted its last state high school track meet. The stadium will be empty this weekend, when the 2020 all-classes state track and field meet was supposed to take ...
Friday was supposed to be the start of something historic for the Free State softball team. Winners of back-to-back Class 6A state championships the past two seasons, the Firebirds were poised to make a run for a third consecutive state title and were considered by many as the favorites to ...
Although he has been a LeBron James fan for as long as he can remember, Free State senior Tate Fanshier never really envisioned the two being connected in any way. However, at 7 p.m. Saturday, on every major network in America, that’s exactly what will happen. In association with The ...
The Kansas State High School Activities Association has identified June 1 as the start date for a variety of summer programs, provided coaches follow “all group gathering restrictions and social distancing expectations” outlined by local health officials and school administrators. The ...
The Kansas State High School Activities Association continues to work toward hosting many of its regular summer activities for high school students but does not yet know how or what that might look like. “The biggest question on everyone’s mind, spoken or unspoken, is when do we get to ...
The first four episodes of “The Last Dance” documentary on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls have brought back dozens of childhood memories for Free State boys basketball coach Sam Stroh. But none of them quite stack up to the night he met his idol at a fundraiser in New York City. ...
Free State teammates DK Middleton and Alyus Wisdom revealed the destinations for their basketball futures this week and both will be staying close to home. Middleton, an all-Sunflower League first team selection during the 2019-20 season, announced his commitment to Johnson County Community ...
There is no way of knowing now, but Free State’s softball team seemed poised for a third consecutive state title this year before the 2020 season was canceled due to the threat of coronavirus. The Firebirds brought back plenty of production from a team that went 23-2 a season ago to defend ...
Around this time of year, Free State boys basketball head coach Sam Stroh would normally be sitting down with his players for postseason evaluations. He’d meet with returners to discuss the future and have an exit meeting with his seniors. Thanks to technology, he can still do so, but the ...
After each high school sports season, the Journal-World recognizes outstanding athletes with its All-Area Teams. Because of statewide precautions taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the annual All-Area winter group photos were not able to be taken this year. The teams still were selected ...
Wrestler of the year: Connor Searcy, Tonganoxie The encore by Searcy was perhaps even more impressive. After making history by becoming the program’s first state champion along with another teammate last year, Searcy defended his title to cap off his senior campaign. Searcy went 44-1 and ...
Wrestler of the year: Madyson Gray, Free State Gray became the Journal-World's first girls wrestler of the year after a monumental year in the inaugural season of sanctioned girls wrestling. Gray, a sophomore, became Free State’s first-ever girls wrestling state champion this winter. She won ...
Player of the year: Harper Schreiner, Eudora Emerging as one of the better players in the state, Schreiner averaged 15.6 points per game to go along with an average of 4.2 assists, 4.0 steals and 5.7 rebounds per outing during her sophomore season. Schreiner was named to the All-Frontier ...
Player of the year: Zeke Mayo, Lawrence High Mayo was the best player on the court on a nightly basis during his junior campaign. He was a well-rounded player, leading the Lions in scoring, rebounds and assists this past season. Mayo averaged 16.0 points per game to go along with 6.0 rebounds ...
With his first season as head coach of Free State girls basketball now in the books, Nick Wood made sure to reflect on how both he and the Firebirds performed this past season. “You’re looking at every aspect of our basketball program and looking at how we can improve upon it,” Wood ...
Of all of the unexpected sports ramifications of the coronavirus crisis, learning how people define streaks ranks right up there as one of the wildest. Ever since the NCAA decided to shut down March Madness a little more than a week ago — say that out loud until you believe that it’s been ...
Nebraska freshman pitcher Ethan Bradford was sitting alone in his room when he found out that the 2020 season was no more due to the threat of coronavirus. About two hours earlier, Nebraska’s road series with Wichita State had been canceled just before the team was about to get on the bus. ...
There will not be a spring sports season in 2020. Due to the threat of coronavirus, KSHSAA announced on Wednesday that all spring championships, competitions and festivals for the remainder of this school year were canceled. The announcement came one day after Gov. Laura Kelly closed Kansas’ ...