Two of the fastest humans to ever walk the halls of Iola High School met face to face Friday.
Iola’s Brett Willis, who set Iola High’s school record in the 100-meter dash May 28 at the Class 4A state track meet in Wichita, shared stories with Peda Samuel, an IHS legend himself who held the school record since 1984.
Samuel, who lives in South Carolina, was in Iola this week and sought out young Willis to offer his congratulations.
As it turns out, the two speedsters have another common link.
Dan Willis, Brett’s father and a member of the Iola-USD 257 school board, attended high school with Samuel, and actually held the blocks for Samuel at the starting line at various track meets.
