Swimming & Diving

The swimming program brings back many returning lettermen from a squad that performed well last season.

Among those coming back is first-team all-state sophomore swimmer Stephen Johnson (pictured far right), who looks to build off a fantastic first season on varsity by going even further and breaking school records.

“My personal goal for this season is to break the school record in the 200 meter freestyle,” Johnson said. “I’ve been working twice a day everyday all offseason, and doing a lot of Saturday morning practices to get better.”

Other returners are seniors Jack Ryan and Chase Odgers, who look to provide quality senior leadership and help get the team back to the state meet.

Senior Izaiah Bowie (right), the only varsity diver, returns for his final season after qualifying for the state meet a year ago.

“My goal is to be first in state by the end of the year,” Bowie said. “I’ve been practicing to get better whenever I’m not at school or work.”

With a lot of young returnees in each program, the season for both of these teams looks promising.
Their first meet is Dec. 2 at the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center against Free State.

Boys Basketball

Looking to back up one of the best seasons and roster in school history can be a daunting feat, but the boys basketball team looks to do that and even more.

“Obviously we had some big names in Anthony Bonner, John Barbee and Ben Rajewski leave, so that’s three of our five starters from a year ago gone, so there’s more opportunities for big players to step up and become leaders,” said senior guard Anthony Harvey (left). “A good chunk of our scoring from a year ago is gone, so it’s time for me to step up and get buckets.”

Returning players from last season include seniors Harvey, point guard and three-year letterman Justin Roberts, forwards Price Morgan and Fred Brou and junior guard Jackson Mallory.

“We definitely want to prove people wrong,” Harvey said. “People are talking about how last year we choked in the title game and how we thought we were better than we really were. We definitely want to make it back to state and hopefully bring back a title because we’ve been working really hard. I feel like we have a real good chance to do so. We’re going to be flying under the radar this year, so we’re going to catch some teams slipping.”

The team’s first game is on Dec. 4 at Emporia.

Bowling

Many leaders from last year’s team will return for the girls’ and boys’ bowling teams this year.

The girls team returns senior Miranda Krom, who represented the team at state, and the boys returns seniors Montez Sanchez and Triston Decker (left), and sophomores Adonis Stanwix and Hunter Krom.

“My personal goal is to average above 200,” Decker said. “The team goal is to improve on last season and maybe to go to state.”

The team will look to build off a successful season last year by replacing a few seniors that played a huge role, but that shouldn’t be a problem with the solid underclassmen, such as sophomore Diamonique Vann and Javier Lemmons and junior Morgan Daniels.

Their first match is on Jan. 8 at Royal Crest Lanes against Free State.

Wrestling

A year after many freshman competed their first-ever season of organized wrestling, a good majority of last year’s team returns as they look to go to bigger and better heights this season.

One of those is senior and three-year letterman Alan Clothier, who has a state title and two third-place finishes to his resume.

“Every year I have the same goal: to go undefeated and be state champion,” Clothier said. “When football season is over, I’m going to get back in the room and grind, sweat and put my heart back into it. I’ll have to lose some weight, but I’ll be ready. I know I have the coaching staff behind me to help me out and get me to where I want to be.”

This season will be a special one to Clothier, who said he will be thinking about former LHS wrestler Reece Wright-Conklin and others who have died since the end of last season.

“This is senior year, so I’ve got to step it up,” Clothier said. “With Reece passing away, that’s a big one, and also some others that were close to me, and Anthony [Harvey]’s dad always talks to me encouraging me to do my best and tells me he believes in me. I just have to go out there and do it for my family and Lawrence High.”

Other returnees who qualified for state a year ago are sophomores Ja’Melle Dye, James Cooper and Carson Jumping Eagle.

The team’s first match is on Dec. 5 at Leavenworth.

Girl’s Basketball

A long, hard-fought season did not end up how the girls wanted it to go, as the team went 7-14 last season.

However, a lot of underclassmen got experience that will help going into year two of Coach Jeff Dickson’s tenure.

“We’re really trying to establish a winning season this year,” said senior forward Alexis Boyd (left). “We made it to sub-state last year but didn’t go any further, so this year we want to win more games and work really hard.”

Team members have been going to Rock Chalk Park together to train for the upcoming season as well as build team unity, getting them closer together and more prepared to work together on the court.

“The three senior girls have been gathering everyone up and going to Rock Chalk to do skill work and pick up games,” Boyd said. “We’re just getting ourselves ready for the season.”

The freshman class this year also looks promising, looking to provide height and depth into the core group returning from last year.

“We have a lot of good incoming freshman, which gave us a lot of size and agility,” Boyd said. “Their cardio is really good, so I think we’re going to run forever.”

The team’s first game is on Dec. 4 at Emporia.