PAOLA — Iola High’s track team had to hit the ground running Thursday afternoon, with one of the toughest invitational meets of the season.
The Paola Invitational traditionally fields deep and talented squads, such as the host school, Eudora and Spring Hill, Iola head coach Dana Daugharthy said.
“This is a great opportunity for our varsity athletes because they are forced to push themselves.”
That made the success of athletes such as Jack Adams, Brett Willis and Jesse Taylor all the sweeter.
Adams was a two-time winner on the day, taking home gold in both the 1600- and 3200-meter runs.
He followed a similar strategy in winning both races. Staying with the leaders until the final lap, then kicking into a higher gear as his competitors tired.
“Jack had an exceptional meet,” Daugharthy said, noting he recorded season-best marks in both the 1600 and 3200. “The 3200 was an especially exciting race to watch because there was a group of about five people that ran almost the entire race together.”
By the eighth and final lap, that lead group had dwindled to three, Adams and Iola teammate Jesse Taylor, along with Eudora’s Zachary Arnold.
Adams pulled away slightly down the back stretch and nipped the other two by about 3 seconds. Taylor finished third, although there was a bit of post-race drama when track officials incorrectly recorded his time. Daugharthy challenged the results, and his challenge was upheld.
“Jesse’s performance was strong and he shows a ton of potential as a sophomore,” Daugharthy said. “This is a time that will be pushing towards state qualification.”
Willis, meanwhile, had a busy day at the office.
“Because the meet was running slow in the jumping pit, he was forced to run back and forth between jumping and sprinting,” Daugharthy noted.
Nevertheless, Willis brought home second in the 100 with a season-best time of 11.37 seconds, while finishing sixth in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump.
Willis’s long jump distance of 19 feet, 6 inches, tied him with teammate Kobe Lord. But because Lord’s second-best jump was a bit longer than Willis’s, that gave Lord seventh.
“Kobe did not PR, but he still had a solid meet,” Daugharthy said. “Brett is showing a lot of promise in all of his events. If he hadn’t done so much running back and forth, I think his marks in the jumps would have been better. With time and practice, they will.”
Iola’s 4×800 and 4×100 relay teams each medaled as well. The 4×800, anchored by Jack Adams, placed third. He was joined by teammates Taylor, Eli Adams and Riley Jay..
