CHANUTE — Kendra Taiclet was the fastest girl on the track last Friday night at Chanute High’s Invitational. Taiclet won the three shortest individual races in leading Iola High’s Fillies to a third-place team finish.
Iola and seven other Southeast Kansas League schools competed in Chanute’s track meet just a week away from the SEK League meet. Columbus was the lone league team not at Chanute.
All nine schools come to Iola Thursday for the 2011 SEK League track meet. Field events begin at 3:30 p.m. at Riverside Park.
Pittsburg won the girls’ division at Chanute with 143 points and Chanute was second with 116 points. Iola scored 99 points for third.
On the boys’ side, Chanute rolled up 104 points with Fort Scott in second with 96 and Pittsburg with 82.5 points. Iola High’s Mustangs finished eighth with 39.5 points.
“The Chanute meet was a good preview for the league except for notable exceptions,” said Marvin Smith, Iola head coach. “For us, we only used Maggie Wilson in the pole vault and the 4×100 and Drew Shepherd went to the state forensics competition.”
Smith said other schools, both for the boys and girls, were without certain competitors “we’re sure to see Thursday competing in the league meet.”
Taiclet won the 100-meter high hurdles with 16.2 seconds.
She took the gold in the 100-meter dash in 12.8 seconds and in the 200-meter dash in 27.2 seconds.
Taiclet anchored the Fillies’ winning 4×100-meter relay team. Wilson, Chanel Coyne, Kelsey Larson and Taiclet ran the race in 52.2 seconds.
Iola won the next-shortest race when Larson was the gold medalist in the 400-meter dash in 62.6 seconds. She ended up second in the 200 meters in 27.7 seconds after running 26.7 seconds in the preliminaries.
Wilson went 11 feet for the gold medal in the pole vault event and Breana Stout was third at 7 feet. Coyne placed fifth in the pole vault, clearing 6 feet.
Kirstin McGuffin captured a bronze medal in the javelin with a throw of 112 feet, 5 inches. McGuffin was fourth in the discus with a throw of 103’4” followed by teammate Katlyn Cleaver at 99’3”.
Molly Maxwell placed fourth in the high jump, clearing the bar at 4’8” and Stout was sixth in the event at 4’6”.
The Fillies’ 4×800-meter relay team of Sydney Owens, Abby Works, Jamie Spears and Kristin Linn was fifth in 12 minutes, 37.4 seconds. Stout, Owens, Spears and Works combined for fifth in the 4×400-meter relay race in 5:05.
The Mustangs’ top performance of the meet came in the javelin. Charles Apt finished second with a throw of 158’5” and Ralph Shafer was sixth at 153’3”. Kyle Heffern had a personal-best throw of 133’10” for third in the discus.
Christian Kauth claimed the bronze medal in the 800-meter run in 2:14.5. C. Kauth combined with Apt, Roman Yocham and Mikal Bossell to take third in the 4×800-meter relay race in 9:09.5.
The 4×400-meter relay team of Bossell, Apt, Jacob Harrison and C. Kauth was fourth in 3:45. Yocham was sixth in the 3200-meter run in 11:07.5 and Tyler Powelson ran a personal-best time of 4:59.2 for fifth in the 1600-meter run.
Christian Kauth placed fifth in the triple jump at 38’41⁄2” and Justin Baker was fifth in the pole vault, clearing 9’6”. Adam Kauth took fifth in the 110-meter high hurdles in 17.1 seconds.
Iola’s Taiclet claims four gold medals
