It is that time of the year again. The area basketball scene will be in full swing this week, with multiple teams slated to compete in tournaments next week. Over half of the area boys basketball programs advanced to the state tournament last year, and many of them have similar expectations ...
It hasn’t been an easy journey for Bishop Seabury senior Henry Nelson, but that didn’t stop him from securing a state title Saturday at the Class 2A cross-country state championship. “The plan was to just go out there, have fun and see what happens,” Nelson said. “The goal was to ...
All in or all out. That has been the motto of the Free State volleyball team since the first day of summer workouts. It is a slogan that was introduced by head coach Jayme Savage when she took over the program after being the team's assistant coach for nine years. And it has helped define the ...
Free State’s gymnastics team came home with some hardware to finish off the 2019 season. The Firebirds placed third at the state gymnastics meet Saturday afternoon at Olathe South after entering the meet in second place. FSHS finished finished inside the top three in all but one meet this ...
Lawrence High senior Deshon Lewis still vividly remembers the chant. During the boys basketball version of the City Showdown this past winter, Free State’s student section broke out in a “Let’s play football” chant. It came two years after FSHS students painted their chests “56-7”, ...
A pair of area girls golf teams and one individual earned a medal during this year’s state tournament, which featured a new two-day format at all levels. Bishop Seabury’s Faith Hedges closed out an illustrious career with a runner-up finish in the Class 3-2-1A state golf tournament at ...
Free State senior Colter Maldonado has had experience playing safety. And that has made the midseason position change much easier. Entering the year, Maldonado was taking a bulk of the reps at quarterback in the first year with Kevin Stewart at the helm. But an injury forced the Firebirds to ...
Behind a balanced effort, Free State’s girls golf team secured a second-place finish at the 6A regional meet Monday afternoon at Lake Shawnee Golf Course. All six players finished inside the top 19 for the Firebirds, who qualified for the 6A state tournament as a team with their runner-up ...
Free State’s girls tennis team will be sending three athletes to the Class 6A state tournament. One singles player and one doubles team qualified for the final meet of the year for the Firebirds after a strong showing at regionals. FSHS claimed second place as a team Saturday afternoon at ...
The cross-country course at Haskell University may have been altered slightly, but that doesn’t mean any runners lost any familiarity. “Honestly it just feels like I know what to expect, which — even if it’s not true — it makes me feel like I have an edge on the competition,” Free ...
The Veritas volleyball team earned a 2-1 win over Bishop Seabury Tuesday night at FSHS on Oct. 8, 2019. Photos by Shane Jackson/Lawrence Journal-World
Even when the Veritas volleyball team was on the verge of losing, senior Emma Boulton wasn’t worried. The Eagles were coming off a two-set loss (25-22, 25-14) to Kansas City East Christian Academy and had even dropped the first set (25-23) in the final match of the triangular against host ...
Free State head coach Kevin Stewart remembers being perplexed the first time he saw film of running back Tyler Bowden. At the time, which was two years ago, Stewart was preparing for the state championship game as the defensive coordinator for Blue Valley North. He was watching film on Derby, ...
Free State’s volleyball team picked up a pair of wins at Shawnee Mission West Tuesday night. The Firebirds swept both of their opponents, taking down Shawnee Mission West (25-17, 25-14) and Olathe West (25-17, 25-14) on the night to stay on a roll. FSHS (16-9) has now won eight of its ...
It was another good week for Lawrence High junior running back Devin Neal. Neal received Athlete of the Week honors by 41 Action News before Tuesday’s practice following an impressive performance against Gardner Edgerton. Neal then netted a scholarship offer from Kansas State on Wednesday, ...
It was an especially long pregame routine for the Bishop Seabury boys soccer team. Due to transportation issues, Bonner Springs showed up 16 minutes late Tuesday afternoon at the Youth Sports Complex. The visiting team was then given its own warmup time, meaning the match didn’t start until ...
Lawrence High head coach Mike Murphy had no doubt that his team would respond. After all, the Lions have had to do so in nearly every match this season. After a pair of offsides stalled Lawrence’s offense on two different scoring opportunities, Wyandotte evened things with a counter attack ...
Free State’s gymnastics team had a new top performer in the third meet of the season. Talia Gay, who won the all-around state title last fall, had finished first or second in the all-around rankings in each of the first two meets. She then suffered an injury early in the Free State ...
It didn’t take long for the group chat to start blowing up. Senior left tackle Turner Corcoran was the first to send a message in the offensive line group chat, which occurred on the same night Free State rolled to a 45-19 win over Olathe West in the season opener. The sentiment across the ...
Keegan VanPelt, Free State’s top singles player, has a clear mission this fall. She placed sixth as a freshman at the Class 6A state tennis tournament two years ago. Last season, VanPelt improved on this finish by claiming fifth. Now she aims to continue that career trajectory while ...