photo by: Contributed photo

Free State wrestler Drew Streeter controls an opponent during a recent Firebirds' match.

The Free State Varsity Wrestling team ran a split squad last weekend, sending 10 wrestlers to the Joel Rios Open at Shawnee Mission South and 11 wrestlers to the Derby Panther Invitation at Derby High School.

Leading the way for the Firebirds at SM South was 106-pound freshman Drew Streeter, who finished the day with a 4-0 record, recording 3 pins and a technical fall in route to an individual championship.

Other Firebirds who found their way onto the podium included Wyatt Sutton (4th at 120 pounds), D’onte Goodman (2nd at 126), Trey Shanks (2nd at 145), Blaine Larkin (3rd at 182), and Gavin Blanchard (2nd at 195).

Free State’s second squad traveled competed in a very strong field of 12 teams, which included the top-ranked teams in Class 5A and 6A, along with No. 7 Derby (6A), No. 4 St. Thomas Aquinas (5A) and No. 7 Mill Valley (5A).

Junior Eric Streeter won the 138-pound bracket and senior captain Tai Newhouse brought home the title in the 285-pound bracket.

Eric Streeter went 4-0 on the day, with three pins and a 4-2 decision over Bishop Carroll’s Caleb Means in the championship match. Newhouse spent just 2:40 seconds on the mat the entire day, recording four pins in four matches. Other Firebird medalists included Nolan Bradley (2nd at 113), Darius Shields (3rd at 120), Ben Mellenbruch (5th at 152), Matthew Marcum (3rd at 195), and Preston Tran (6th at 220).

The No. 3-ranked Firebirds will travel to Newton this weekend for the Newton Tournament of Champions, which is regarded by many as the the toughest tournament of the season. The field includes 31 teams from three different states.

Lions fall at Seaman duals

The Lawrence High wrestling team recently came out on the short end of five tough dual matches at the Seaman Duals in Topeka.

LHS lost to Hays (48-27), Topeka High (35-34), Basehor-Linwood (42-37), Topeka Seaman (54-25) and Lansing (47-36).

LHS also fell to Basehor-Linwood, 48-31, in a head-to-head dual.

Several Lions wrestlers enjoyed strong individual days at Seaman. Andrew Honas (106 pounds) Kevin Honas (126) and Jack Elsten (120) won all five of their matches and Tucker Corbin won four of five matches at 195 pounds.

Tre Swearinger, Shane Davis, Joey Gadzia, Harrison Kirkwood, Jonathon Marquez and Zander Ragsdale also won matches for LHS at the event.

Free State swimmers win home meet

The Free State High boys swimming team won its four-team home meet on Wednesday night, edging out Manhattan and Wasbhurn Rural 416-350-349.

The Firebirds did not finish first in a single swimming event but had enough strength up and down their lineup to compile enough points to finish on top overall. The Firebirds had the only four divers at the meet, with Elliot Ahlvers and Michael Leonard finishing first and second, followed by Isaiah Wilkins and Elijah Sabatini. In addition, Free State got a second-place finish in the 200 IM from Dawson Bonnell and a second-place finish by the 200 medley relay team of Bonnell, Max Bates, Jackson Waggoner and Sina Khosh.

Bates, Waggoner and Jamie King also finished third through fifth in the 50 freestyle. Jacob Heinz and Jackson Rea also turned in top-five finishes in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly. Bates and Khosh took second and third in the 100 backstroke.

Last weekend, Free State finished 10 points ahead of the Lawrence Lions to take second place with 286 points at a five-team Shawnee Mission North meet.

Free State divers Leonard (212.8) and Ahlvers (207.75) took second and third place in the 1-meter diving, finishing just ahead of LHS’s Keyan Crawford, who took fourth with 197.5 points.

The Firebirds also got a second-place finish from Khosh (5:25:55) in the 500 freestyle.

The Lawrence High boys followed that up with a second place finish at Tuesday’s Shawnee Mission South triangular meet, edging out the Raiders by eight points and finishing behind meet-winner Olathe Northwest.

Lawrence High’s Giuliano Lule-Paredes took first in the 200 IM with a time of 2:07.95 and Maximilian Whittaker took first in the 50 freestyle in 23.3 seconds. Lawrence’s Quinn Pleskac and Maxwell Cowardin helped the Lions sweep the top three spots in the 200 IM.

LHS diver Keyan Crawford also took first in the 1-meter diving competition with a score of 207.45.

Lule-Parades also took second in the 100 backstroke and Ryan Christian took second in the 100 butterfly.

The Lions’ 200-yard medley relay team of Christian, Lule-Paredes, Whittaker and Jack Tell also placed second.

Hoops roundup

The Lawrence High girls basketball team fell at Olathe Northwest, 38-33, on Tuesday night after digging a 17-7 first-quarter hole that set the tone for the night.

“It is so hard to win on the road in the Sunflower League,” LHS coach Jeff Dickson said after the loss. “I am very proud of the way we battled back. We just came up a little short. But this group competes and is very fun to watch.”

LHS senior Layla Harjo and junior Lucy Hardy led the Lions with eight points apiece, while Emma Roman Nose (6), Amaya Marshall (5), Azura Clark (2) and Brynnae Johnson (2) rounded out the scoring.

The loss dropped the Lions to 5-3 on the season and will play Friday at Mill Valley.

In boys action Tuesday, LHS rolled to a 76-46 win over Olathe Northwest on Tuesday to improve to 6-2 on the season. Mike Lewis’ squad also will play at Mill Valley on Friday.

The Free State High girls lost to Olathe North, 58-12, on Tuesday. The Firebirds will play host to Olathe Northwest on Friday.