Sunflower Sweep!
Whether it was the near perfect weather conditions or athletes peaking at the end of the season, something was in the air Friday night at the Sunflower League Meet as 4 school records were set and six additional top 5 all time OE performances were recorded. As if that wasn’t enough, the boys and girls both collected league team titles in the process. The girls ran away with the team title scoring 143 points to second place Free State’s 86 points while the boys came on strong to overtake Olathe North and SM Northwest eventually winning the team race by twenty points.
The girls 4×800 relay team of Riley Gay, Paige Schick, Natalie Kopplin, and Kelsey Quiring started off the record-setting evening by cutting 5 seconds from the school record. Kelsey’s 2:16 anchor leg was a major factor in the relay team’s win. Brenna McDannold was next in the parade of school records by running a 5:07.9 in the 1600m which is currently the third best time in Kansas. Kaylyn Williams then proceeded to smash her own school record finishing the 300m hurdles in 45.65 seconds. Jacob Schultze completed the evening’s assault on the school record book by blazing a 49.03 in the 400m.
There were several other top 5 all time performances during the evening that are worthy of note. Michael Emley vaulted 13’0” and Kaylyn Williams finished the 100m hurdles in 15.28 to record the second best performances in school history in their events. Kelsey Quiring ran a 2:19.6 800m which makes her the third fastest 800m runner in OE history. Recording times which place them fifth on the top 5 OE lists were Jacob Schultze’s 22.25 in the 200m, Jenny Pinkston’s 60.52 400m, and Jasmine Thomas’s 25.64 in the 200m.
Several relay teams and a couple of individuals also collected league titles. The girl’s entries in the 4×800, 4×100, and sprint medley relays were all victorious as was the boys 4×800 relay team. Collecting individual titles were Sam McReynolds in the 300m hurdles and Jacob Schultze in the long jump.
The quest for state titles gets serious this week as regionals will be contested on Friday at ODAC. The top four finishers in each event will move on to state competition in Wichita on May 25th and 26th. Come on out on Friday and support these talented athletes and remember to patronize the concession stand while you are there as it is a primary source of funds for the track booster club.
