Free State High state qualifiers, from left, Maya Lee, Dayna Steadman and Emma Evans, show off their regional medals.

Three players on the Free State High girls tennis team have qualified for the upcoming Class 6A state tournament in Wichita. 

At the 6A regional in Prairie Village, the Firebirds’ doubles team of sophomore Maya Lee and senior Dayna Steadman finished fifth overall with a 3-1 record, earning a trip to state. They are 22-8 this season. 

In singles, senior Emma Evans finished the day 2-2, taking sixth place overall and earning a state berth. Her record for the season is now 12-9. 

As a team, the Firebirds finished in third place. 

Lawrence High’s Emily Brandt scored the Lions’ only point at the regional. Seeded eighth, Brandt won her first-round match, 6-1, 6-1, but fell to top-seeded Katie Murphy of Shawnee Mission East in the second round. 

The state tournament will be at Wichita’s Riverside Tennis Complex on Friday and Saturday. 

Three local golfers punch tickets to state

Free State’s Claire Berquist and Emma Stammeyer and Lawrence High’s Rylie Hayden advanced out of a Class 6A golf regional on Monday in Olathe, qualifying as individuals for this year’s state tournament.

Berquist, a junior, finished third overall at the regional, shooting an 82 at Heritage Park Golf Course. Hayden, a senior, was 17th with a 97. Stammeyer, a junior, shot 104 and tied for 20th.

Up next for Berquist, Hayden and Stammeyer is the 6A state tournament on Monday in Emporia.

LHS soccer picks up 2 wins

Lawrence High’s boys soccer team routed JC Harmon 6-1 last weekend and got another win on Tuesday — a 2-0 shutout against Shawnee Mission Northwest.

The high-scoring game on Saturday featured a hat trick by Colin Sandefur, two goals from Cale Scott and one more by Josh Anderson.

The offense was fueled by passing. Scott and Levi Hinson each accounted for two assists; Sandefur and Hunter Glanton each had one.

The Lions followed that up Tuesday with their third victory in a row. Hinson and Sandefur scored Lawrence’s goals in the 2-0 home win over Northwest. Scott had an assist on each score. Goalkeeper Grant Glasgow picked up the shutout.

FSHS soccer wins big, then loses in double OT

There were plenty of goals to go around for Free State soccer on Saturday, when the Firebirds rolled to a 5-1 win over Olathe West.

Joon Chun led the FSHS attack with two goals, and Michael Lickert, Dawson Pfannenstiel and Aaron Neff each scored once. Goalkeeper Ben Barnett had three saves.

Three days later, however, Olathe South sent Free State home with a loss in double overtime.

The Firebirds kept the road matchup scoreless through regulation and one OT period but came up just short, 1-0.

City runners rule the day at hometown meet

Cross country runners from Free State and Lawrence took the top spots in both the girls and boys races at Saturday’s Haskell Invitational.

LHS’ Natalie Kennedy (19:56.6) took first in the girls race, and Free State’s Ben Shryock (15:55.6) won the boys race.

FSHS swept the event in team scoring, with both the girls and boys taking first place. The LHS girls took second and the LHS boys were third at the five-team event.

Olivia Goeser (second, 20:05.1) and Janice Werth (third, 20:09.4) led the Firebirds’ girls squad.

For the FSHS boys, Jack Keathley-Helms took second (16:43), giving the Firebirds the top two spots. Lawrence’s Jack Ryan (16:46.4) finished third.

Cross country rankings

As the season winds down, several local cross country teams are ranked within the top 10 in the state polls. 

This week’s poll put the Free State boys at No. 5, behind Olathe South, Shawnee Mission North, Manhattan and Olathe East. The FSHS girls were ranked No. 7. The Lawrence High girls were in the No. 8 spot, 11 points behind the Firebirds. The LHS boys are ranked 10th. 

Eudora and Baldwin currently have the state’s top two girls cross country teams in Class 4A, and the Eudora High boys are ranked fifth. Tonganoxie sits at No. 8 on the boys side and No. 9 on the girls side. 

FSHS volleyball 3-2 at De Soto

The Free State volleyball team won three matches and lost two at last weekend’s De Soto Spikefest.

The Firebirds swept De Soto and Tonganoxie in pool play but lost to Gardner Edgerton and Blue Valley West, both in two sets.

FSHS finished the busy day by sweeping Kearney (Mo.), 25-9, 25-18.

LHS volleyball 2-1 at Hayden quad

Lawrence High volleyball picked up two wins and a loss on Tuesday at Hayden’s quadrangular in Topeka.

The Lions defeated Hayden and Manhattan but lost to Washburn Rural.

Seabury’s Kim has top-10 finish

Josie Kim finished seventh for Bishop Seabury at this past week’s Matt Gannon Cross Country Invitational in Kansas City, Mo., and the Seabury girls took third in the team standings.

Kim led the way with a time of 23:01.3. Darby Harris (23:46.9) finished 11th and Hannah Motsinger (24:28.4) was 14th.

In the boys race, Seabury’s Hayden Slough (21:22.9) finished 16th.