Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports

Free State’s Taylor Hulcher heads to the finish line during the Gold Division girls race at the Rim Rock Farm Classic on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Lawrence.

With the Free State girls cross country team graduating three runners who finished 41st or higher at last year’s 6A state meet, the Firebirds looked primed for a rebuilding year in 2025.

But with the help of rising freshmen, including Taylor Hulcher, the team is already seeing their stock rising as they reach the midpoint of the fall season.

Hulcher earned her own 41st-place finish in Gold Division girls race at the highly-competitive Rim Rock Farm Classic her team hosted on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Lawrence.

She clocked a time of 20:15.74 to be the first Firebird to cross the finish line. Four of her teammates joined her in completing the race over the next one minute and 36 seconds, enough to earn Free State a 15th-place team finish. Only seven Kansas schools finished ahead of the Firebirds, with only three of those being 6A squads.

After Hulcher, junior Grace Christline was the next Free State runner to finish the race with a time of 21:00.75, earning her 81st. Freshman Nadia Karapuda took 95th as she crossed at 21:14.94, followed by senior Julia Velasco in 102nd with a time of 21:92.82.

Senior Mady Whitney led the way for the next pack of Firebirds by crossing at 21:51.98 in 112th place. Senior Aleia Kemp followed a little later in 123rd with her time of 22:07.16. Freshman Beau Hulcher rounded out the Free State squad with a time of 22:18.59 in 130th.

In the team’s previous outing, Free State won the Baldwin Invitational on Sept. 20 at Baldwin City Golf Course. Hulcher took second in that race with a time of 20:04.33, a mark that currently gives her 38th fastest time for a girls runner in 6A so far this season. The Firebirds put nine total runners into the top 15 of that race.

Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports

Free State’s Nicholas Johnson runs alongside teammate Jasper Hansen Terry  during an early stretch of the Gold Division boys race at the Rim Rock Farm Classic on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Lawrence.

For the boys team, Free State took third at that Baldwin Invitational with senior Jasper Hansen Terry delivering the top finisher for his squad. Hansen Terry took fourth with a time of 17:10.09.

It ended up being a different Firebird who led the way for their team’s 25th-place finish at the Rim Rock Farm Classic.

Free State senior Nicholas Johnson took 62nd in the team race with his time of 17:15.43. Hansen Terry crossed next in 96th with a time of 17:33.16, 0.35 seconds ahead of junior Anderson Bateman in 98th. There was a bit of a gap before senior Kyle Sikes crossed at 18:10.04 in 148th. Then senior Jonah Frye earned a time of 19:03.44 in 215th before senior Caleb Yang closed things out with his time of 19:08.68 to finish in 220th.

Hansen Terry currently has the best time on the team this season with his 17:06.91 in the Platte City Rumble on Sept. 12 in Ashland, Nebraska. In the same race, Johnson ran his best time this season with a 17:10.05. Their results in that race give them the 61st and 63rd ranked time respectively in the 6A boys field so far this season.

Johnson’s time is just a few seconds off his PR, set in the NXR Heartland Regional Championships as a sophomore. He had competed as a member of the junior varsity squad that year, as the Firebirds fielded a group that earned a regional championship and took second at Sunflower League before finishing fourth at 6A state. 

Hansen Terry still has a sizable amount of time to shave off his best results this season in order to get back to his career PR. He ran a 16:42.41 in regionals last year, followed by his only other sub-17 minute time with a 16:59.50 at that year’s NXR regional.

Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports

Lawrence High’s Andie Garrett approaches the finish line during the Gold Division girls race at the Rim Rock Farm Classic on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Lawrence.

 

LAWRENCE HIGH’S GARRETT RUNS SUB-20 FOR 2ND TIME IN 2 WEEKS, LANDS TEAM’S TOP FINISH AT RIM ROCK FARM CLASSIC 

In her first three season of high school cross country, Lawrence High senior Andie Garrett had only cracked a sub-21 minute time in one race.

Now, Garrett has finished with a time under 20 minutes twice in just a two-week span.

Garrett started this stretch by setting her PR in the Emporia Invitational on Sept. 13 at Jones Park in Emporia. Her time of 19:52.39 was not only a full 40 seconds faster than her best time prior to this season, it was also 30 seconds faster than her first outing of this season. She earned a ninth-place finish in that one.

Garrett was not able to replicate her improvement the next week when the team went to Falcon Heights, Minnesota, for the Roy Griak Invitational, but she also did not let her time of 21:02.50 there spoil her growing confidence.

Instead, Garrett responded by delivering a time of 19:56.32 at the Rim Rock Classic on Saturday, earning her a 33rd-place finish.

Junior Hayley Swart ended up being the only other Lions runner to complete the race, earning a time of 24:04.55 to take 163rd.

Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports

Lawrence High’s Logan Druen tries to hold off a group of runners as he approaches the finish line in the Gold Division boys race at the Rim Rock Farm Classic on Saturday, Sept. 27 in Lawrence.

For the boys team, Lawrence High took 33rd with the Lions keeping a close pack for their top five runners.

Sophomore Logan Druen delivered the squad’s top finish by taking 142nd with a time of 18:07.04. Junior Garrett Rhea finished a little after that  in 153rd with an 18:11.91. Junior Oliver Schwartz crossed soon after with a 18:14.55 for 158th. Senior Conner Popp gave the Lions another runner at 18:27.14 for 172nd, while senior Paul Radley followed him in 177th with an 18:30.81.

From Druen to Radley, the team had its top five runners cross the finish line just 27 seconds apart.

Senior Jake Oldfather rounded out the team’s finishes by taking 224th with a time of 19:14.53.

The previous week, Lawrence finished fourth in the Emporia Invitational. Schwartz led the way with a sixth-place finish 16:47.60. Schwartz had set his PR of 16:17.08 at this same event in 2024. Druen set his PR out on that course this year, finishing with a time of 17:26.10 to take 25th.

Lawrence High will compete in the Seaman Invite on Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Shawnee North Community Center in Topeka. Free State is scheduled to compete again on Oct. 11 alongside the Lawrence squads in the Billy Mills Classic at Haskell Indian Nations University.