Entering the year with a tall task in front of them, the Free State and Lawrence High boys wrestling teams traveled south for the Newton Tournament of Champions – arguably the state’s toughest regular-season date of the year – to put their squads to the test against over 100 wrestlers.

By the second day, LHS and FSHS were two of eight teams still competing in the backside of their respective brackets. The Lions and Firebirds finished 19th and 20th, respectively, among 30 total schools.

LHS sophomore Lou Elsten (113 pounds) had one the tournament’s best storylines, avenging last year’s loss to Rose Hill’s Trenton Richwine and clawing his way to the finals before falling to Manhattan High’s Ezekiel Witt in the championship match for a 21-1 finish.

Also leading the charge for LHS, senior Andrew Honas (132 pounds) finished his Newton run 20-4 taking fifth-place honors.

Free State struggled through nearly 12 hours of wrestling on the first day. Juniors Grayson Hagen (150 pounds), who finished 24-4 in fourth place, and Otto Reese (138 pounds), who finished 18-9 in eighth place, were the only Firebirds to claim any hardware.

LHS travels to Louisburg on Wednesday. FSHS hosts Junction City for senior night on Wednesday. The Lions and Firebirds will clash at LHS on Jan. 24.

FSHS swimmers dominate on Senior Night

A first-place finish was more than fitting for the Free State boys swim and dive team, passing up Manhattan High (2nd), Lawrence High (3rd) and Turner High (4th) on Senior Night at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center on Thursday.

The Firebirds, on their way to 598 team points, were headlined by senior Dawson Bonnell’s first-place finish (54.89) in the 100-yard butterfly and second-place finish (2:08.79) in the 200-yard individual medley.

Here’s the key highlights for FSHS:

• In the 200-yard freestyle, three Firebirds landed in the top 5: sophomore Owen Carnagey (2nd, 2:03.15), senior Jackson Rea (3rd, 2:04.34), and senior William Webb (4th, 2:09.37).

• In the 100-yard backstroke, three Firebirds landed in the top 5: – junior Sina Khosh (2nd, 59.53), sophomore Ewan Campbell (3rd, 1:03.94), and senior Levi Bates (4th, 1:07.01).

• In the 500-yard freestyle, sophomore Joseph Flachsbarth (5:50.37) and junior Ari Mattes ( 5:57.32) finished third and fourth, respectively.

• FSHS won the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:38.15) and captured second-place finishes in the 200-yard medley and 400-yard freestyle relays.

On the LHS side, the Chesty Lions posted six top-5 finishes and a pair of top-3 relay finishes:

• Senior Jack Tell (1:11.83) and sophomore Alex Oral (1:13.66) placed second and fourth, respectively, in the 100-yard breaststroke. Tell (2:09.74) also placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle.

• Sophomore Hugo Cowardin (5:48.79) placed second in the 500-yard freestyle.

• Senior Luke Velte (53.35) placed third in the 100-yard freestyle.

• Junior Ryan Lane (58.98) placed third in the 100-yard butterfly.

• LHS placed second and third in the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays.

Shot clocks trial run approved for 2024-25 season

The Kansas State High Sschool Activities Association executive board approved a trial run for shot clocks for high school basketball for 2024-25 regular-season games, the organization announced Thursday in a public release.

Schools opting in to the trial run must provide shot clocks for boys and girls contests, as well as submit a short data survey to KSHSAA after each game, the release said.

The trial run will aid KSHSAA’s decision-making regarding the permanent implementation of shot clocks in future seasons.

Honarvar atop state rebounding column

Bishop Seabury star big man Chase Honarvar, averaging 15.4 rebounds per game following a 62-60 loss at Bishop Ward, is the state’s rebound leader heading into the back half of January.

Through seven games, Honavar is averaging 16.6 points per game shooting 49% from the field.

The Seahawks (5-1) travel to the Baldwin Invite on Tuesday.