After getting one athlete to the KSHSAA state meet last year, the Iola Mustangs hope to punch a few more tickets to Wichita’s Cessna Stadium in May.

Iola coach David Daugharthy prefers his athletes not put their focus on their times and distances at the first of the season. That can wait.

“Every time we go out there, we’re trying to do our best, but we understand we aren’t always going to hit that mark,” especially at the first of the season, Daugharthy said. “We want our best marks at league — at the end of the season and on to state.”

Sophomore 3200-meter runner Keegan Hill is aiming to make a second appearance at state. As a freshman, Hill finished 15th, and coaches are confident of his chances to place much higher this season.

“He has really turned it on this year,” said Britt Daugharthy, who is the wife of David Daugharthy and specializes in coaching distance runners. She also coaches cross country in the fall.

“Keegan’s been doing some winter track running and he wants to win. He’s so fun to coach.”

Senior Cortland Carson, also a basketball standout, may leave his mark in the hurdles and on the relay team. Carson came up just short of making state in the hurdles last season, but Coach Daugharthy believes he could break through this year.

“Carson might be able to help us in a relay as well as the intermediate hurdles. He could get to that spot. We also have guys in the 4×800 relay that have pieces that I think could maybe get to state,” Daugharthy said.

Freshman sprinter Kevon Loving and Jacoby Hill, a junior, also show promise. Hill, a junior, is a bit of an anomaly. As a first-time high school track competitor, Daugharthy said he noticed his raw athleticism despite still recovering from a serious ACL injury.

For the girls, the Mustangs did not have a state qualifier last season. However, following a few narrow misses at the 2024 regional meet, a few Iola athletes show promise.

“We have a junior thrower, Bethany Miller, she was close to qualifying last year and a sophomore sprinter, Kesha Smith,” Daugharthy said. “I think she missed out by .02 seconds. Those are ones who are on the edge, but we have a lot that show potential and might get there.”

The girls are in a bit of a rebuild. However, following a strong turnout during the first week of practice, Coach Britt Daugharthy feels the girls program can make a turnaround.

“We’ve been trying to get more girls to come out. We’ve really dipped in our distance girls, so having any girls out is so exciting,” Daugharthy said. “A lot of those girls did cross country. I saw them getting faster then, and I look forward to seeing them do it again. It’s fun to see how many of the students are ready. There’s a difference between those who did off-season training and those who didn’t.”