Preparation notebook: Free State sends two players to the state tennis tournament | News, sports, jobs

Photo by: Aaron Clark

Free State singles tennis players Annie Pilakowski (left) and Cami Lee qualified for the KSHSAA State Tournament next week.

Free State singles players Cami Lee and Annie Pilakowski have secured their spot in the state tennis tournament after both placed in the top six of the regional tennis tournament on Thursday.

Lee and Pilakowski, both juniors, placed fifth and sixth, respectively, after entering the tournament with the same seeds following their performances in league tournaments.

Lee started with a win before losing to Heidi Baillos of Olathe Northwest, the eventual third-place finisher. Lee finished the game with wins over Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Abby O’Conner (6-2, 6-0) and Pilakowski (6-3, 6-1). Pilakowski secured her spot with a win over Mill Valley before losing to eventual fourth-place finisher Lindsay Ruder of Olathe West. She defeated Elizabeth Park of Olathe North (6-4, 6-2) to advance to the fifth-place game against Lee.

The Firebirds also sent two doubles teams to the tournament. Zoe Cachiguango-Latta and Taryn Jones were seeded 10th, and the doubles team of Sacia Edie and Sofia Bourdo was seeded 11th. Both teams lost their first game and ended their tournament series.

Competing for Lawrence in the singles were Harper Jay and Morgan Moeckly, with Jay placing 9th and Moeckly placing 14th. Both lost their first round games and ended their seasons.

Lawrence’s doubles teams – Alexa Nauholz and Channing Saint Onge and Ava Lee and Bebel Piepergerdes – competed but lost in the opening round.

Cami Lee and Pilakowski will compete for Free State in the state tournament Oct. 18-19 at Harmon Park Tennis Complex in Prairie Village.

The Frontier League boys soccer heavyweights are both approaching the playoffs with chances at the state title

The Baldwin boys soccer team has a record of 10-1-2 this year with more shutouts than losses.

Over the last two years, the Bulldogs have won 15 games, including the playoffs, and they are on pace to match or exceed that mark this year alone.

In their 10 wins this year, the Bulldogs have won by three goals or more seven times. The team has eliminated its opponent seven times, including six times in a row. Between September 10th and 24th, the Bulldogs did not concede a goal.

However, they are not the only Frontier League team with 10 wins and title hopes. The Eudora Cardinals are 10-2 and are coming off a 1-0 win over Baldwin in Baldwin City. With the regular season quickly coming to an end, the race for the top Frontier League and a top playoff spot is becoming tight.

To conclude the regular season, the Bulldogs play a game against Maur Hill Prep-Mount Academy in Baldwin City, an away game against Spring Hill and a home finale against Louisburg. Baldwin is already coming off a 2-0 win over Louisburg earlier this season.

Eudora will play at De Soto on Tuesday and Spring Hill on Thursday before finishing the season at home against Chanute and the regular season finale in Ottawa.

Free State boys and girls win the cross-country race in Haskell, with Lawrence boys finishing sixth and girls twelfth

Free State won both the boys’ and girls’ races of the Billy Mills Classic at Haskell Indian Nations University on Saturday.

The girls scored 22 points, with all five scoring runners finishing in the top seven. The two non-scorers also placed in the top 10. The boys scored 44 points, with all five runners finishing in the top 20.

Senior Cayman Barnes won the girls’ 5,000-meter run in 19 minutes, 25.90 seconds. Fellow sophomore Brylee Burns took third place at 19:59.60, and sophomore Emery Frye took fifth place at 20:03.30.

Right behind Frye was Elle Cormaney, a senior who finished in 20:09.20. She was the second of four consecutive finishers for Free State. Junior Addyson Tenbrink took seventh place (20:20.90) and junior Julia Velasco took eighth place at 20:25.80. Sophomore Mady Whitney was the seventh finisher for Free State, finishing in the top 10 with a time of 20:35.10.

For the boys, junior Jonah Frye finished second overall with a time of 16:46.10, while senior Grant Lichauer finished two spots behind Frye with a time of 16:57.60. Junior Jasper Hansen Terry also placed in the top 10 with a run of 17:02.20 to secure seventh place.

Senior Austin Drewry placed 13th with a time of 17:13.90, while sophomore Anderson Bateman rounded out the team’s top five with a run of 17:31.80, which was the 18th best run overall.

The Firebirds had three runners in a row finish just outside the team’s top five: junior Stevie Jackson in 20th, junior Kyle Sikes in 21st and senior Dylan Mackie in 22nd.

The Lawrence boys placed sixth with 204 points.

Sophomore Garrett Rhea led the team with a time of 17:53.10, placing 26th overall. Junior Paul Radley placed 46th in 18:45.00 and senior Elliot Paden placed 50th overall in 18:49.90. Rounding out the team’s top five, sophomore Lawson Donly placed 74th at 19:10.30, while freshman Eagan Paden placed 76th at 19:11.50.

For the girls, the Lions placed 12th with 352 points.

Adelaide Chaney, a sophomore, led the team with a time of 25:22.60, and junior Magdalene Ortiz finished nearly 14 seconds later. Junior Natalya Jaimez-Padilla clocked 28:28.90, placing her in the top three for the Lions. Freshman Amelie Gay placed fourth on the team at 29:44.70, and freshman Marisa Soto-Ortiz ran 35:30.60.