This weekend Allen County — and the rest of the state of Kansas — will turn its attention to Wichita and the Track and Field State Championships.
All six area schools go into the meet with high expectations. Here are the top storylines and top contenders for championships for each team.
IOLA
The Fillies will send two athletes to state with both of them being freshmen.
Neither Elysia Kunkler or Elka Billings are slated to medal based on their seeding times, but with each athlete showing tremendous improvement each time they hit the track, coach Dana Daugharthy may be in for some excitement.
Regardless of what the final places end up being for each of the Fillies, qualifying for state was a big step for each of them and the experience should help in their maturation as they prepare for the next three years.
Kunkler qualified in the 100-meter hurdles, 100-meter dash and long jump while Billings will go in the 800-meter run.
HUMBOLDT
The Cubs are sending 11 athletes to Wichita — the most in the area — but Joe Kline stands above the rest in terms of his state meet expectations.
The senior comes into the meet as 3A’s top 800-meter runner.
Kline’s time of 2:00.22 is the standard the rest of the 3A runners will be shooting at as the senior looks for his first state championship.
Halstead’s Patrick Porch has the second-best seed time coming into Saturday’s race with a 2:01.16.
YATES CENTER
The Wildcats will get things started for the area teams early Friday morning with sophomore Hadley Splechter and junior Colin Bedell running in the 3200-meter run shortly after 8 a.m.
The pair of Wildcats come into the race as the second- and third-seeded runners.
After Spletcher took second at the state cross country meet this fall, the sophomore is hunting his first state championship on the track.
The top-seeded runner is Valley Heights senior Adrian Pishny with a 10:34.
MARMATON VALLEY
The Wildcats are led by high-flying freshman Bailey Griffith.
Griffith has the 2A’s second-best marks in both the triple jump and long jump.
In the triple jump, Griffith has a 35’6” while top-seeded Skyler Saunders of Valley Heights has a 35’10”.
In the long jump, Griffith is even closer. Her 17’2” only trails Heritage Christian junior Kate Allen, who has a 17’3”.
SO. COFFEY CO.
The Titans will be led to state by junior Chonnor Ludolph who seems poised to improve upon his third-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles last year.
Ludolph has battled through a back injury suffered during the basketball season to go into the state championships as the favorite in the event.
Ludolph turned in his best time of the season in the regional meet last week with a 15.76 to move up from second to the top spot.
Ludolph’s top competition figures to be South Gray senior Derrek Berg, who has run a 16.06 this year.
CREST
Lancers sophomore Camryn Strickler and junior Caleb Stephens seem poised to improve on their finishes in Wichita last season, but the busiest Crest athlete this weekend will be freshman Billy Lyda.
Lyda qualified in all three sprinting events and is the only freshman in 1A to qualify in the 200-meter dash or 400-meter dash.
He will be one of only two freshmen in the 100-meter dash.
