Southeast Kansas League has some of the best high school track athletes in the state. The SEK athletes are coming to Iola Thursday for the annual SEK League Track meet.
All nine league teams with girls’ and boys’ squads will compete for SEK track and field event championships. Then there’s the team championships on the line.
Iola High hosts only its second SEK track meet. The first one was in 2008 — the second year of having the all-weather, eight-lane track at Riverside Park’s stadium.
Field events get under way at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Running event preliminaries begin at 4:30 p.m. Finals for running events start at 6 p.m.
Eagle Eye Timing is providing the electronic timing for running events and scoring the meet.
“We’re excited about having the league schools here again,” said Marvin Smith, Iola High head track coach. “We’re going to see a lot of tremendous athletes from our league.
“We encourage everyone to come out to watch the events.”
There is no admission price for the league meet. The Iola High Booster Club is grilling hotdogs and hamburgers, which will be sold through the concession stand.
Pittsburg High’s boys and the Chanute High girls are out to defend their 2009 SEK team championships.
Smith said the Pittsburg High boys and girls have shaped into the teams favored to win SEK league championships this season.
“Pittsburg’s boys and girls have great depth and score in almost all the events,” Smith said. “Keenan Soles and Mason Stewart are sprinters and jumpers who lead Pittsburg’s boys.
“Pittsburg’s girls have Page Miller, who is tremendous in the distance races and Lauren Ouderkirk in the long jump and hurdles. They put together really good relays.”
Don’t count out Iola High’s Mustangs and Fillies. The Mustangs were just 11 points behind Pittsburg at last week’s Chanute meet. Iola was second in both the boys’ and girls’ standings at the 2009 SEK meet.
Smith talked about Pittsburg’s outstanding athletes but there’s plenty of homegrown SEK talent.
The Mustangs have the two-time defending 110-meter high hurdler in senior Ethan Fulton. He’s also the defending Class 4A high hurdle champion. Ethan also set the SEK meet record in the race last year at 14.4 seconds.
The Mustang 4×800-meter relay team has been the SEK champion three years running. Senior Ryan Weir is out to post a fourth gold medal in as many years on the relay team.
“We’re going to have to come out and run strong because Chanute and Labette County have 4×800 teams equal to ours,” Smith said. “If our boys perform well in all the events, we have a chance to challenge Pittsburg for the team title.”
Ethan Fulton will be joined by his brother, Aaron, in the high hurdles. Aaron Fulton will be contending for top honors in the javelin. The Fulton brothers will be in the long jump.
Senior Seth Browning is Iola’s top 400- and 800-meter runner. Darin Hutton, a senior, was second in the discus and third in the shot put at last year’s league meet.
Junior Drew Shepherd has been consistent in the pole vault this season. Smith said Shepherd should place in the event.
A few athletes to watch for from other SEK schools are:
Chanute
Tray Hodges and Tim Wrestler in the pole vault. Hodges is the defending Class 4A pole vault champion and is the SEK defending champion. Justin Lawrence is a strong 400 and 800 runner and Trevor Summer has been running well in the 3200-meter race.
Fort Scott
Griffin Knopp is the reigning SEK high jump champion. He goes 6’8”in that event and is a strong triple jumper. Colt Bartlett is a thrower who will score points.
Labette County
Matt Weil in the 110-meter high hurdles plus the Grizzlies’ 4×800-meter relay team.
Coffeyville
“They’re loaded with sprinters.”
Independence
Dominique DeBouse has had a strong late-season surge as a 400-meter dash runner and a jumper.
ON THE GIRLS’ side, the Fillies have the SEK champion in pole vault plus the 200-meters.
Maggie Wilson holds the Iola High pole vault mark at 11 feet, 6 inches, set this season. She won the SEK meet last year at 9’6”.
Haley Marchant of Independence also went 9’6” last year for second. Marchant is back this year also.
Iola senior Jazmyne Honeycutt and sophomore Kelsey Larson went 1-2 in last year’s SEK 200-meter dash final. They are both back. Larson was second in the 400-meter dash as well.
“Kelsey has had a great season. She’ll be in those two races plus we’ll have a 4×100-meter relay team with her, Jazmyne, Maggie and Kendra Taiclet,” Smith said.
Taiclet will be in the hurdle races and should score. Wilson and Honeycutt, who was third in the SEK 100 meters last year, will be on the track in the sprinter’s race.
Kirstin McGuffin, a junior, and senior Mindy Powelson are expected to score well in the javelin. McGuffin finished third last year.
Katlyn Cleaver, a junior, was fifth in the discus at last year’s SEK meet. Cleaver has been scoring well in both the shot put and discus events.
Athletes to watch for from other schools:
Chanute
Brooke Sharpe is the SEK champion in the high jump and just signed a letter of intent to compete at Kansas State Univeristy next year.
Ali Aylward is back as the SEK champion discus thrower plus competes in shot put and javelin and the high hurdles. Kaitlyn Dispensa is a strong distance runner for the Comets.
Labette County
Kandi Voorhees is tough in the long distance races. The Grizzlies have a good pole vaulter in Stormy Smith.
Parsons
Marlee Cares is the league’s defending champion in both hurdle races and was second in the 100-meter dash last year.
