VARSITY Lawrence, Kansas / Issue #1
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Varsity Issue 1
Friday Night Sights 12 / Emily Venters 22 / Anthony Bonner 30 a project of
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Check out our full schedule at jazzercise.com
Jazzercise Lawrence Fitness Center OPEN 7 DAYS - 42 CLASSES PER WEEK
3115 W. 6th St Lawrence • 785-331-4333 jazzercise.com
Limited Time Only
NO JOINING FEE up to $90 in savings
Offer valid for customers who have not attended in six months or longer. Must present this ad to receive offer. Offer expires 12/31/14
It’s not about us, it’s about YOU!
Workout where you BELONG Come join the fun!
Check out our full schedule at jazzercise.com
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Lawrence Jazzercise
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Varsity We’re for scrapbooks & magnets on lockers. We’re for celebrating the experience. We’re for sweat, grass stains & floor burns. We’re for the North Side & the South Side. We’re for Firebirds & Chesty Lions & Eagles & Seahawks. We’re for championships & the limitless possibility of next year. We’re for the athletes that play not for the glory, but for the love of the game. High School athletes in Lawrence… we’re for you.
From Sprained Ankles to Strep Throat
We’re Open!
New Pediatric Practice
Lawrence Pediatrics believes in complete preventive care and Dr. Kirsten Evans has lived in Lawrence since 1989. healingschool for children from birth She completed medical and residency at Theto ageMedical 21. Center and has practiced University of Kansas
pediatrics in Topeka, Kansas City and Virginia, treated children of all ages withmission: a wide variety of illnesses. Dr. Our Evans has workedprovide in private practice, as faculty at The comprehensive pediatric KU Med Center and as a pediatric hospitalist at Storcare for your child’s lifelong mont Vail Health Care. Dr Evans serves as adjunct fachealth. ulty for Saint Louis University and is president Welcome of the Welcome Kansas Medical Education Foundation.
Dr. Kirsten Evans has lived in
to to our our new new practice. practice. .. .open .open to to all! all!
Welcome to 1989. our .new.open alt Lawrence since She new practice. Welcome to our practice. to . .open Kirsten Evans
Lawrence Pediatrics Pediatrics, p.a. Lawrence Lawrence Pediatrics Lawrence Pediatrics
completed medical school and Kirsten E. Evans M.D.,to Ph. D., F.A.A.P.new practice. . .open t Welcome our M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.P. residency at The University of Kansas Medical Center, and has Welcome to our new practice. . .open to all! ,, p.a. p.a. practiced pediatrics in Topeka, Kansas City, and Virginia, treating children of all ages with a wide variety COMPREHENSIVE PEDIATRIC FORpractice, YOUR as CHILD COMPREHENSIVE of illnesses. She has workedCARE in private a faculty PEDIATRIC member at The COMPREHENSIVE PEDIATRIC , p.a. 543University Lawrence Ave / Suite / 785-856-9090 of Kansas MedicalDCenter, and as a pediatric hospitalist at CARE FOR YOUR CHILD , p.a. CARE FOR YOUR CHILD Stormont Vail Health Care. Dr. Evans also serves as adjunct faculty for www.LawrencePeds.com COMPREHENSIVE Saint Louis University president of the Medical Education PEDIATRIC MONDAY - FRIDAY and 8:00is AM - 5:00 PMKansas , p.a. PEDIATRIC COMPREHENSIVE Foundation. CARE FOR YOUR CHILD
Lawrence
Lawrence
Pediatrics, p.a. Pediatrics Lawrence COMPREHENSIVE PEDIATRIC
CARE FOR YOUR CHILD MONDAY -- FRIDAY MONDAY FRIDAY COMPREHENSIVE PEDIATRIC 9:00 9:00 AM AM -- 5:00 5:00 PM PM CARE FOR YOUR CHILD
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FRIDAY NIGHT SIGHTS Free State vs. Lawrence High / September 19, 2014 photos by Emmalee Schaumburg
Alvamar Country Club The Place to Play
For more information, please call: (785) 842-7767 or email: bminnis@alvamar.com
"We draw the line by taking a healthy stand against peer pressure to drink and use drugs.� ~- Lawrence High Youth Coalition www.drawthelinelawrence.com
Emily Venters Sophomore / Free State High School / Cross Country photos by Emmalee Schaumburg
Emily Venters had no intention of being a runner. “Well, I hate to say my parents pushed me into running,” Emily says with a big smile and blushed cheeks. “But they totally did.” Things seem to be working out, despite her initial reluctance to join the cross country team. The Free State High School sophomore has won two state titles and finished in the top-20 of multiple regional races. “I am glad I gave running a shot,” Emily says with no hint of giving her parents any credit for their foresight. “I hated it at first. I mean I really hated it. But now I’m in love with running.” Before running, Emily was a competitive swimmer. That, it seemed, was her passion. “She used to work so hard at swimming,” explains Tricia Venters, Emily’s mother. “I was always so proud of her for the time and dedication she put in the pool. She was determined to be the best. When she realized that that probably wasn’t going to happen it was really heartbreaking for her.” Tricia tells the story of driving home after a swim meet shortly after the conclusion of Emily’s first season of cross country. Emily had swum well, but hadn’t won. Through her tears in the backseat she asked her mom a direct question. “I’m never going to be as good at swimming as I am at running, am I?” Emily asked. “I’ll never forget it,” Tricia says with a bit of emotion in her voice. “We both cried that day. She had invested so much of herself into swimming and had made such big plans. When she realized it wasn’t meant to be, it was very hard.” Emily did what she has always done when faced with a conflict: she fought through it. Giving up the dream of being a champion swimmer was hardly the toughest thing she had done, however. Emily won her hardest battle years before she ran her first race. Four days after her third birthday, Emily was diagnosed with leukemia. For more than two years she fought the disease with early morning chemotherapy treatments. According to her mom, Emily didn’t flinch. “Not once did she complain,” Tricia says with a sense of wonder. “When she had chemotherapy treatments at 5:30 in the morning I felt like she was the parent taking care of me. I was a wreck and she went at it fearlessly. That’s kind of how she attacks everything. She fights to win. She’s my hero.” It was in 8th grade when Emily began to realize that she might have the potential to be an exceptional runner. Her parents had always thought she had a natural stride. Tricia laughs at the idea that she pushed her daughter into running. “When she would play soccer or just run around the yard, it was clear she had a natural running form,” Tricia says. “When swimming didn’t work out, my husband and I encouraged her to run.”
Running wasn’t Emily’s idea of a good time. In fact, she never really thought of herself as a runner. “I mean, I never thought running was much fun,” Emily says with a shrug of her shoulders. “I never really did it much until a few track meets at Southwest (Junior High). I was pretty good. Funny how the more successful I was the more I enjoyed it.” Entering high school, Emily thought she’d give cross country a try. It was a good decision. “We knew that she could be one of our top girls from her 8th grade performances and early in the season she showed that to be true,” says Steve Heffernan, Free State Cross Country Coach. “It wouldn’t be until the end of cross country that we realized that she was beginning to consistently run at an even higher level than that.” According to Emily, she didn’t fully understand her ability during her freshman year. She was cautious during races and hadn’t learned how to win. “I would always try to stay in the pack with the leaders, but I never went out to win,” Emily says. “By the end of the year I knew I could win and I wanted to win. I started to run my own race and that’s when I really started to succeed.” For Emily, starting to succeed meant winning the 2013 6A State Championship as a freshman. “Yeah, that was pretty exciting,” Emily says with a big smile. “I knew going in that if I ran my race I could win. It was neat to accomplish that individual goal, but winning the team championship was the best.” Emily again dominated the field and repeated as individual champion in 2014. Looking toward her junior and senior seasons, she is no longer hoping to stay in the pack. Emily understands she is talented. Her goals are lofty and she also understands how improbable her success is, considering the illness she battled. “I don’t always think about leukemia,” she says with a serious tone. “But sometimes when I’m tired while running it will cross my mind. I’ll tell myself that if I can beat that as a kid, I can push a little harder now.” Emily is an incredibly humble girl, considering she is the best in the state at what she does. While in conversation she makes eye contact and gives thoughtful answers. She smiles when she talks about running and blushes easily. It’s clear her feelings about running have changed in the past few years. “I can’t imagine not running,” she says. “I’m really excited for the future. I think I can get a lot better. I just love the feeling of the air on my face and cadence of my stride. I look forward to running. It’s really like nothing else.” Coach Heffernan says Emily’s future is limitless. “Right now she is still very young in terms of training age,” Coach Heffernan says. “If we can get to a point in her running where she is able to maintain a long period of training with no injuries we will see her running significantly improve from where she is already, and that should be exciting to watch.” VS.
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ANTHONY BONNER Senior / Lawrence High School / Basketball photos by Emmalee Schaumburg
Sebastian Bonner knew early on that his son had something. “He was 3 or 4 and he dribbled with his head up,” Sebastian says of his son, Anthony. “I had been around basketball most of my life and I knew when we was dribbling with his head up that he might have something.” That “something” has lead Anthony Bonner, Lawrence High School’s senior shooting guard, to the top of Kansas 6A basketball. “It’s always been about basketball for me,” Anthony says in his customary casual tone. “Since I was a kid I knew I wanted to play basketball. When I was younger I played other sports, but nothing was like basketball. I love this game.” Anthony’s first memories of the game came at a young age. His dad was coaching local AAU team the Lawrence Kings and Anthony was the honorary ball boy. His early exposure to the game was all it took to get him hooked. “When my dad was coaching the Kings I would go to most practices and games,” Anthony says. “I was a lot younger than those guys, but they let me tag along. Every now and then they would sneak me into some drills.” Sebastian says having Anthony around the older boys was instrumental in the early development of his game. “He would work his tail off to keep up with the older kids,” Sebastian says with a laugh. “Back then he was pretty little, but he had this big Afro, so he was easy to spot. He’d go through warm-ups with the team then sit down on the bench. A lot of the refs would joke with him and ask when he would get into the game. I’m sure he would have played if I let him.” It wasn’t long before Anthony was playing up. In fact, he played up as soon as he could play. “When I was in kindergarten I played with 2nd graders,” Anthony says. “I know it sounds kind of silly, but I think playing with all those older and bigger kids was really helpful. I think it taught me to be tough. I know it helped me be humble.” By 3rd and 4th grade Anthony was really beginning to make strides in his game, and his dad noticed. “He’s always loved the game, that much was clear,” Sebastian says. “Playing with older kids helped him grow as a player at a young age. We had him play with older kids quite a bit but we also always made sure he was playing with his friends and kids in his class.” Anthony made the decision in 7th grade to get serious about basketball. He stopped playing football and started to focus his spare time on developing his game. He spent countless hours in the gym and on the playground shooting. “I’ve always loved to shoot,” Anthony says with a laugh. “My ability to score the ball is the strongest aspect of my game.” Mike Lewis, Head Boys Basketball Coach at Lawrence High School, says those hours shooting have paid off and
Anthony is an assassin. “He is a good shooter, finishes at the rim, can really attack the basket, passes the ball well, and handles the ball in traffic,” Coach Lewis says. Anthony credits a drill called “6-in-a-row” for fine-tuning his shot. “I have to make 6 in a row from both corners, 6 in a row from each elbow, 6 straight 3-pointers and 10 straight free throws,” Anthony explains. “If I miss one I run a ‘down-and-back’ and start over. Man, sometimes I really hate that drill but I know it has helped.” Sebastian says the work Anthony has done on his shot, combined with his size and ball handling skills make him a natural combo guard. After watching Anthony play the past two years, the coaching staff at Colorado State agreed and extended a scholarship offer. “I’m really excited about getting to CSU,” Anthony says. “I really connected with the coaching staff and the players. They made me feel really welcome and wanted. That was important. The coaches understand my game and know what I need to do to improve.” Recruiting isn’t new to the Bonner family. Sebastian played football at Kansas and was well aware of what to expect when schools came calling. “We never pressured him at all,” Sebastian explains. “He was recruited pretty hard by some other schools, but Anthony was comfortable with the staff at CSU. So, I guess we’ll be putting some miles on the car next year.” Though Anthony is excited to play college basketball at the highest level, he has other things to take care of first. “Win a State Championship,” he says emphatically. “That’s the only goal right now. We’re playing really well and our team is tight. We’re focusing on enjoying the ride and taking this as far as we can.” Anthony has a bright smile and engaging personality. He is thoughtful and comfortable with himself. Though he receives praise for his play on the court, he also excels in the classroom. “He is in National Honor Society and has been on the Topeka Invitational Tournament All-Academic Team four consecutive years,” Sebastian says proudly. “And he’s a great teammate. Other kids like playing with him because he doesn’t’ care who scores or who gets the credit. He wants his team to win and he wants each player to be involved.” Coach Lewis says Anthony is a clear leader on the team, even if he isn’t the loudest player. “He can be more vocal, but often times leads by example,” Coach Lewis explains. “He is positive and encourages his teammates. He is very talented and is respected by his teammates. When the ball quits bouncing he will do great things with his life. He is and always will be someone we will think very highly of because of his character.” VS.
Varsity what’s next?
We want to hear from you, Lawrence. What athlete or team should we feature in our next issue? What is the great story from Spring season? Let us know: info@fourbirdsmedia.com / (785) 766-5669.
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