Fall Sports Update: Week 3

Football

Last night, the Lancers defeated Olathe North for the first time since 1985, in a lopsided 30-7 game. The Lancers’ senior Connor Rellihan came out big with 207 all purpose yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception.

“It felt good because we haven’t beat them in a few decades,” said Rellihan. “It was good to be able to run our type of offense, unlike last week where we were out of our element. It was fun to play our style and watch everyone play well.”

Lancer fans also got a better look at senior Jordan Darling, after a scrappy game in the rain last week against SM South. Darling looked sharp, throwing for 176 yards, one interception and two touchdowns.

The Lancer defense looked fierce as well, holding Olathe North to just one touchdown, and forcing five turnovers. They will look to keep the win streak going, away against Olathe Northwest next week.

Jake Crandall | The Harbinger Online

Boys’ Soccer

Last night, the boys’ soccer team took on Park Hill South, winning 3-0, and earning a spot in the finals of the KAMO Varsity soccer tournament. The boys’ will play Blue Valley North, this Saturday, 2:30 at Blue Valley District Athletic Complex.

The boys’ won the tournament last year, and after tonight’s win it is the fifth straight win in the tournament over the past two years. This year, in two games the boys have scored 13 goals and have 0 goals against.

Senior Tyler Rathbun already has four goals, scoring one today off of a header assisted by senior Clint Dunn. Dunn scored the second goal- a left foot finesse shot from 20 yards out. Senior Carter Olander got the third on a breakaway, to seal the win.

Now, with two wins under their belts, the boys’ look toward their biggest test yet against BVN. The boys have confidence in their ability to win. So far they have looked good, putting together combination passes, keeping possession and of course- scoring. Coach Kelly has emphasized the importance of not changing anything. If the boys’ continue to do what they have been doing, a tournament championship repeat might be in store.

“We need to stay patient, and focus on possession as much as we can,” Dunn said. “If we do that, I think we can beat anyone. Come

Cross Country

After their first meet at the Johnson County Community College on Monday, the Lancer runners have had a slow start to the season. With girls finishing fourth and boys falling all the way to ninth at the Greg Wilson Classic, the team will look to regroup for the Topeka Invitational tomorrow.

Juniors Hannah Arnspinger and Annie Kuklinski led on the girls’ side for the Lancers, both running under 17 minutes.

Senior Chipper Jorns ran the Lancers’ best time for the boys’ team, finishing the race in 17:36. Senior Joe Bahr was the second boy to finish for the team with a time of 18:32.

Bahr believes that in order for the team to get back to the top they will have to work harder on the weekdays.

“We have tried to emphasize to the new runners how important it is to practice hard and how practice translates to performance,” Bahr said. “I think the message is starting to come across and we are practicing a lot harder now.”

Girls’ Golf

On Wednesday, the girls’ golf team competed in Shawnee Mission South’s Invitational at Deer Creek Golf Course. The team came in second followed by Washburn Rural.

The team shot a team score of 344, losing by 13 strokes. Senior Anne Willman finished second, juniors Annie Foster and Jessica Young came in seventh and eighth respectively.

Anne Willman- 78
Annie Foster- 87
Jessica Young- 88
Sophie Wetzler- 91
Alex Maday- 95
Kelly Tomlin- 106

The next tournament will take place at Alvamar Golf Club on Sept. 13. This event will be the first of three tournaments that will make up  the Sunflower League.

Volleyball

Last night the Varsity team played a quad against Leavenworth, Olathe East and SMNW. The girls went 2-1, defeating Leavenworth and SMNW, but dropping a match to Olathe East.

“Tonight was amazing,”  Senior Elizabeth Arnold said. “We started out slow against Olathe East but then we picked it up and played so well against SMNW and Leavenworth.”

This weekend the girls will compete in their first tournament, MoKan, at Lee’s Summit West. The girls have been placed in a tough pool and will face some of the region’s top teams: St. James, St. Teresa’s and Blue Springs South.

Gymnastics

The girls’ gymnastics team hosted the East Invitational on Sept. 6, taking second place against Lawrence Free State, Shawnee Mission North and Lawrence High School.

Junior Madi Lage and Sophomore Hannah Swanson tied for third on vault. Junior Sarah Gillaspie placed second on uneven bars.

Coaching two teams posed a few problems for Coach Chuck Lundblad at the meet. Because SM East and SM North are separate teams, they are on separate event rotations at competitions. This caused Lundblad to have trouble making it to both performances.

“It was just hectic with one coach and two events at the same time,” Lundblad said. “I feel like i’m letting the girls down on some of that stuff but I can’t help it.”

For a few gymnasts it was their first meet. After two and a half weeks of putting together routines, the gymnasts are starting to see how their skills work in competition, and got a look at the skills that other schools have mastered.

“This meet was to have them figure out what they need to work on.” said Lundblad.

Girls’ Tennis

Sophomores Elizabeth Barnickel and Stephanie Wilcox brought home singles victories for the varsity team in their match against Shawnee Mission West on Sept. 4. Stephanie and Elizabeth Wilcox won their doubles match as well.

Because West only played two varsity girls,  the top three players for East had matches, and the four others – Ellie Waugh, Aiden Epstein, Rebecca Faulkner, and Meredith Shackelford rested.

The girls’ next match is Districts on Sept. 8. They will be playing all the Shawnee Mission schools in a round robin style tournament.

“We are just focusing on Districts right now,” Senior Elizabeth Wilcox said. “We are not overlooking anyone on [Sept. 8].”