Former Kansas basketball standout Tyshawn Taylor is no longer a part of Sherron Collins’ Free State High coaching staff.

Taylor recently resigned to focus more of his time on his private lessons and basketball training business. Free State Athletic Director Jered Shaw said Taylor tried to make both schedules work but could not find the time to do so.

Taylor, who joined Collins’ staff with the plan of coaching the sophomore team and being a varsity assistant coached one game as the Firebirds’ head junior varsity coach before resigning.

The Free State basketball program was fortunate enough to have an extra body on staff already, and Cornelius Edwards, who was a member of former FSHS coach Sam Stroh’s staff in the recent past, has agreed to take step into the spot vacated by Taylor.

According to Shaw, the specific roles of all of Collins’ assistants are still being worked out.

Lions, Firebirds split swim meets

The Lawrence High and Free State boys’ swim teams squared off for the second time in a week at Wednesday’s Free State triangular. The Firebirds finished first with 229 points, followed by a runner-up effort by the Lions, with 210.

Free State senior Michael Leonard placed first in diving, followed by two more first-place finishes by junior Dawson Bonnell in the 200-yard medley and sophomore Ari Mattes in the 100-yard breaststroke. The Firebirds’ 200-yard medley team – Bonnell, Mattes, senior Jackson Waggoner and sophomore Sina Kosh – placed second on Free State’s path to the gold medal.

LHS also succeeded in the individual column, including two first-place finishes from senior Maximillian Whittaker in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle race(s); senior Ryan Christian placed second in the 200-yard freestyle; senior Giuliano Lule-Paredes (3rd) and junior Quinn Pleskac (4) posted top-five finishes in the 100-yard butterfly.

The Lions’ 200-yard medley team – Lule-Paredes, Pleskac, junior(s) Jack Tell and Christopher Oral – placed first, beating out their cross-town rivals by just 16 milliseconds. LHS also placed three Lions – Tell (2nd), Oral (3rd) and freshman Hugo Cowardin (5th) – in the top five of the 100-yard backstroke on its way to securing the silver.

Both teams placed in the Top 10 at the Olathe West invite last Saturday. LHS finished sixth with 169 points and the Firebirds took seventh with 122.

Four Lions – Whittaker, Christian, Oral and Lule-Paredes – captured the fourth-place medal in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Lule-Paredes also secured individual awards in the 200-yard individual medley (2nd) and the 100-yard backstroke (3rd.) Christian added to LHS’s team score with a seventh-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle.

The Firebirds’ score was fueled by a second-place finish in the 1-meter dive by Leonard and a fourth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly by Bonnell. Free State’s 200-yard medley team – Bonnell, Kosh, Mattes and King – placed a team-high seventh.

LHS and Free State return to the water on Jan. 6 at the Shawnee Mission District Aquatic Center.

LHS wrestling lands runner-up finish at Eagle Invitational

The Lawrence High wrestling team finished second at the Eagle Invitational on Friday in Colby.

LHS won three consecutive rounds vs. Wichita West, Atchison Community High and Liberal before falling to Pine Creek in the fourth round 51-29. The Lions won their final round of the day vs. Wray 42-36. Sophomore Aiden Carmack led LHS with a 7-0 finish at the invite.

Seniors Jack Elsten, Trevon Swearinger and Tucker Corbin each finished with five or more pins. Juniors Andrew Honas and Harrison Kirkwood each finished with six pins. Freshman Lou Elsten finished the meet with five pins for the Lions.

LHS travels to Silver Lake on Thursday.

Free State girls wrestling places two wrestlers at Olathe Northwest

The Free State girls’ wrestling team landed two wrestlers, Daijah Preston and Ava Corbin, on the winner’s block on Saturday at Olathe Northwest. Corbin medaled second, with Preston grabbing a bronze on the day.

Signing day recap

Free State volleyball seniors Rylee Unruh, Sawyer Thomsen and Reagan Anderson all committed to play at the collegiate level on Wednesday afternoon. Unruh signed with Washburn; Thomsen, a KVA honorable mention, signed with Cal and Anderson signed with Wichita State.

FSHS track standout Aubrey Duncan also signed her letter of intent to join the Oklahoma Sooners track program.

Across town, Lawrence High senior Cole Watson committed to Lindenwood University via Twitter on Thursday morning. Watson was named First Team All-State at tight end, securing competing offers from Eastern Michigan, North Dakota State and South Dakota State.