The Eudora High girls cross country team took home the 4A state championship last Saturday for the second year in a row.

Junior Sydney Owens led the Cardinals with her second-place individual finish in 19:51.24, and sophomore Hanna Keltner was right behind her in third place with a time of 20:10.05. The Cardinals had one other runner in the top 15 — senior Phoebe Fletcher, who took 15th — and were the only team with three runners in the top 15.

“It didn’t come easy,” Eudora cross country coach Jim Barnard said. “The kids had an early goal they wanted to do and they put in a lot of miles to get there. It’s a testament to how hard they work.”

Other runners who had big performances were Addison Williams, who led the freshmen by finishing 24th in 21:47.18, and junior Addison Metcalf, who finished 25th, four seconds behind Williams.

Barnard praised his runners for their team spirit.

“All season they always run together and practice together,” Barnard said. “Nobody takes a day off. They are always at those extra workouts and they’re always doing the little intangibles.”

Another area school — Baldwin High — took second in the girls cross country race. The Bulldogs were led by freshman Irelyn Kennedy, who took seventh as an individual in 20:34.62.

Baldwin coach Mike Spielman said the rivalry between the two Frontier League schools is nothing new, and they’ve both been performing at a high level lately.

“It’s been crazy these last few years,” Spielman said. “The last three years, we’ve either been first or they’ve been first. It’s tough because in league, regional, and state you’re seeing the same teams and you have to be on your A-game all the time.”

In the boys race, Tonganoxie senior Eli Gilmore took first as an individual, and Eudora junior Zachary Arnold took second. Baldwin’s highest finisher was senior Caleb Carr, who took 13th. In the team scores, Baldwin finished fifth, Tonganoxie was seventh and Eudora was ninth.

FSHS soccer’s season ends

The Free State High soccer team’s postseason run ended in the Class 6A quarterfinals on Tuesday night with a 4-0 loss to Dodge City.

In the first two rounds, the 11th-seeded Firebirds upset No. 6 seed Topeka High and No. 3 seed Wichita East, both on the road. But unbeaten Dodge City (19-0) was too much to overcome, building an early lead and never giving an inch after that.

The Firebirds finished the season with a record of 8-8-2.

Baldwin soccer in state semis

The Baldwin High soccer team advanced to the state semifinals in 1A-4A soccer with a thrilling 1-0 win over Bishop Ward on Tuesday night. Baldwin had the lead at halftime and held onto it with a strong defensive effort in the second half.

The Bulldogs are now 14-4-1 and will face McPherson (8-11) at 5 p.m. Friday at the De Soto High School Soccer Complex.

Baldwin is one of two No. 1 seeds at the state semis; the other is Trinity Academy (8-9-1), which will take on Bishop Miege (13-5-1) in the other semifinal Friday night. The winners will advance to Saturday’s championship game.