WICHITA — Area athletes wrapped up their athletic year on the state’s grandest stage at the KSHSAA Track and Field Championship in Cessna Stadium last weekend.
Although some failed to meet their expectations, it served as a learning experience for incoming sophomores, juniors and seniors while also serving as a fitting end for a handful of recently graduated seniors.
After qualifying by taking second in the 100-meter dash at the Pomona regional earlier this month, Humboldt High School senior Trevion Franklin failed to qualify for the final race by just over a tenth of a second after stumbling just a few steps out of the starting blocks. He recovered to finish in 11.24 seconds, but it was not enough to break through.
On the girls’ side of the 100-meter dash, Humboldt senior Karington Hall also missed the cut by just over a tenth of a second after completing her run in 12.95 seconds in the prelims. Hall qualified for state after having the fastest time among regional fourth-place finishers following her run in Pomona.
In 1A 100-meter action, Marmaton Valley sophomore Cooper Scharff took 15th with a time of 11.94 seconds. Scharff qualified after taking third at the Eureka Regional.
Crest had multiple distance runners gunning for a state title. In the 4×800 relay senior Gunner Ellington, senior Elijah Taylor, freshman Kole Walter and sophomore Lane Yocham finished 15th. The team qualified after taking second at the Iola Regional earlier this month.
Later that day, Ellington took 15th in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:53.96, less than a tenth of a second from his state qualifying time of 4:53.89 at the Iola Regional.
