photo by: Contributed Photo

Members of the Free State tennis team who placed in the top 10 at this week's Sunflower League meet pose for a team photo after the action.

Free State junior George Thornton and sophomore Jake Hedges, the No. 2 seed, were crowned the Sunflower League doubles champions on Tuesday when they defeated top-seeded Shawnee Mission East freshman Jacob Hanson and sophomore George Kahl 8-3 at Shawnee Mission West.

Free State finished second in the team scoring with 65 points, behind Shawnee Mission East’s 80 points. Seniors Minh Vu and Jared Loos, the No. 10 seed, finished in ninth after defeating Olathe South junior Mason Orf and senior Josh Hurlbutt, the No. 12 seed, 8-2.

In singles, junior Britton Snyder finished in sixth place following an 8-1 loss to Shawnee Mission Northwest senior Jovan Ozegovic, and sophomore Felipe Reina-Salas claimed seventh after defeating Shawnee Mission West sophomore Abhiraj Mukerjee 8-3.

Lawrence High finished in 10th in the 14-team event with 24 points. Senior Cuyler Dunn finished in 15th in singles by defeating Shawnee Mission South sophomore John Kelley 8-7 (10-8) and junior Oliver Rubenstein was 18th after an 8-5 loss to Shawnee Mission Northwest junior Frank Tomasic. Seniors Sam Lopez and Joseph Von Feldt were 15th in doubles by defeating their teammates, senior Samuel Micka and junior Ayden Ammann, by default.

Both schools will compete in the Class 6A regional competition Friday at Olathe South.

LHS, Free State win in baseball

The Lawrence High baseball team used a four-run fourth inning to defeat Shawnee Mission West 6-4 at home on Tuesday.

Senior Keyan Crawford drove in a pair of runs in the fourth with a two-out single and junior Brady Edmonds followed with another two-run single to lift the Lions (12-6), who will take on Mill Valley at 5:30 p.m. today at LHS.

Free State’s Maddox Burkitt struck out eight batters and pitched a complete game in a 5-1 victory at Olathe East on Tuesday.

Harrison Juhl had a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh for the Firebirds (12-6), who will face Gardner-Edgerton at home today at 5:30 p.m.

Also on Tuesday, Tonganoxie High defeated Ottawa High 3-0 behind senior Owen Welsh’s complete game, Baldwin/Bishop Seabury lost 2-1 at home to Piper High and Eudora High lost 5-3 at Louisburg High.

Firebirds dominate girls swimming meet

The Free State and Lawrence High girls swimming teams finished first and second in a quad meet held at Olathe South on Friday, the final meet before the Sunflower League championships begin today at the Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center.

The Firebirds, who earned 490 points, won eight of the 12 events and finished second in the other four. Sophomore Liza Engelbrecht was first in the 50-yard freestyle (25.94) and 100 butterfly (1:00.55) and joined junior Silvia Liu, senior Emma Day and junior Bradie Ward to win the 400 freestyle relay in 3:51.88.

Ward, who won the 200 individual medley in 2:17.22, also won the 200 medley relay alongside juniors Halle McCullough, Lolly Hindman and Samantha Packard in 1:54.85. McCullough was first in the 100 breaststroke in 1:09.57 and Packard won the 100 freestyle in 56.62, and they won the 200 freestyle relay along with Day and freshman Jocelyn Wilson in 1:47.44.

Lawrence earned 319 points in the team competition. Sophomore Emily Brandt won the 1-meter diving with 218 points and senior Carmen Braden was first in the 500 freestyle in 5:32.81.

Free State’s Evans wins pole vault at G-E

Free State senior Isa Evans won the pole vault with a jump of 11 feet, 6 inches during the Trailblazer Invitational held at Gardner-Edgerton High on Saturday.

Classmate Ashley Mai finished in fourth with a jump of 10-6 for the Firebirds, who finished third out of the eight teams competing with 94 points. Olathe Northwest won the team competition with 148.5 points.

Junior Aubrey Duncan won the javelin with a throw of 130 feet. Junior Olivia Goeser was second in the 3,200 meters at 12 minutes, 13.59 seconds, junior Reese Hulcher finished second in the high jump at 5 feet and sophomore Harper Merrill was third in the triple jump at 34-3.

Senior Ben Shryock placed third in the 800 meters in 1:59.13 as the Free State boys finished eighth in the team competition with 42.5 points. Gardner-Edgerton scored 146 points to win it.

FSHS, LHS girls soccer stumble; Eudora softball wins big

The Lawrence High girls soccer team lost 5-2 to Shawnee Mission Northwest at home on Tuesday and will return to the field today at 7 p.m. for a road game against Olathe East at the College Boulevard Activity Center. Free State, meanwhile, lost 2-0 at Olathe South on Tuesday and will next face LHS at home on May 10.

Eudora High won 4-0 at Tonganoxie High on Tuesday behind a hat trick from Jayla Erpelding. On Monday, Baldwin High lost 4-0 at Bishop Miege and Bishop Seabury lost 9-0 at Cair Paravel.

Meanwhile, in softball, Eudora High won 13-0 at Louisburg High on Tuesday and Tonganoxie High lost 13-2 and 9-8 in a doubleheader at Ottawa High.