Central Plains will be sending a doubles team to the state tennis tournament this week, and LaCrosse scorched the track in a competitve meet last Tuesday.
LaCrosse
The Leopard track team has posted top marks in Class 1A in a variety of events. Tuesday, the boys had to compete against other top-ranked athletes from Moscow, Macksville, and South Gray. The Leopards still came out on top in several events, and broke several meet records in the process.
“It was good for us to be challenged with (Osvaldo Granillo from Moscow) and some of the other kids from southwest Kansas,” said coach Jon Webster. “It showed our kids where we’re at. We had to run in both the prelims and the finals. It was good to see us come out on top in those races.”
Granillo and Morss have the top two times in the 100m dash. Morss edged out the four-time gold medalist by 0.1 seconds in 10.65. Both times would have broken the meet record set in 1997. Granillo had the best 200m dash time, but Morss again won the gold in 21.81, winning by 0.1 seconds again, and taking the top spot in 1A by 0.01 seconds. Granillo finally got a gold medal in the 400m dash. Morss jumped into the top three in 1A in 51.28, edging out teammate Taylor Stull by 0.12 seconds. Stull has the second best time of the year.
With three meets last week, the Leopards had ample opportunity to improve times. Later in the week, Austin Webs and William Storie cracked the top three 1A times in the 300m hurdles. Webs also climbed into the top 10 in the 110m hurdles. Two of the three Leopard relay teams now sit atop the Class 1A field, and the 4x100m team is at third. Stull now sits at No. 2 in 1A in the high jump at 6-7, and Morss has the second best long jump at 21-10.25.
Macksville
The Mustang tracksters had already posted several of the top times in Class 1A. Against tough competition Tuesday at Hodgeman County, Macksville improved on several of those times, climbing further up the 1A ranks.
Peter Penner finished third in the mile in 2:05.40, just over a second behind the first two runners. All three times were top 10 in 1A. Seth Filbert won the mile by 11 seconds in 4:37.50, the third best time in 1A. Henry Penner finished third in 4:48.37. Macksville dominated the 110m hurdles with Adam Oak winning in 14.78, followed by Tanner Tranbarger and Isaac Seibert in second and third. Oak has the second best time in 1A, and the other two times were top 10 in 1A. Oak also won the 300m hurdles in 40.12. He has the best 1A time in that event.
The Lady Mustangs were also successful. Lisa Penner won the mile by two seconds in 5:30.37 to set a new standard in class 1A. The freshman finished second in the 800m run in 2:27.36, the fourth best time in 1A.
Ness City
The Eagle track teams headed to Jetmore on Tuesday to take on some stiff competition in a meet featuring several top Class 1A and 2A athletes. The Lady Eagles finished third with 59 points, and the boys finished fourth with 54 points.
The 4x800m relay team of Jessie Rubottom, Kylie Stoecklein, Taylor Gabel, and Kenzie Stoecklein set a met meet record, winning by 14 seconds in 10:08.12, and smashing the 12 year-old record by five seconds. The 4x400m team of Erin Flax, Allison Seib, Kenzie Stoecklein, and Emily Hahn also set a meet record, winning by seven seconds in 4:11.40, and just breaking the 12 year-old record. Both relay times are tops in Class 2A. Hahn won a bronze medal in the 100m dash in 13.09, just 0.01 seconds from the silver. The sophomore also finished third in the 200m dash in 27.18. Junior Erin Flax took over in the 400m dash, taking the bronze in 1:03.25. Kenzie Stoecklein placed third in the 800m run in 2:28.52, less than a second from the silver. Taylor Dreiling finished fourth in the two mile in 13:50.86.
For the boys, Kyle Schauvliege won the 3200m run by less than a second in 10:27.60, and finished second in the mile in 4:48.37. The senior has top three Class 2A times in both events. Sophomore teammate Carson Dray finished fourth in both events.
Kinsley
The Coyote track teams were also in action Tuesday at Hodgeman County. Both teams finished ninth out of 17 teams. The boys missed eighth-place by just two points, and the girls finished in the three-way tie for ninth, 10 points behind Minneola.
Hayden Petty won the shot put by more than three feet at 51-10.5, improving on his second-best distance in Class 2A. Greg Newsome finished fourth at 43-11.75. Nathan Frame finished fourth in the triple jump at 39-10. Gustavo Chavez finished in a four-way tie for fourth in the high jump at 5-8.
For the girls, Brooke Hattrup won a bronze in the javelin at 105-3, two inches from the silver. Shaylee Meyers placed sixth at 101-0. Haleigh Ebert finished third in the 100m hurdles in 16.60 behind a new meet record. Ebert placed fourth in the 400m dash in 50.11.
Central Plains
The Oilers claimed a regional doubles tennis title last Friday in Russell. Senior Benn Kirmer qualified for his fourth-state tournament, teaming up with freshman Layne Bieberle to take the title. The duo opened the meet with a bye, then defeated Trego. The No. 1 seed team then beat Ellinwood 6-3, 6-1, and topped No. 3 seed Sterling 6-2, 6-1 in the finals for the championship.
Kirmer and Bieberle were the only Oilers to qualify for state on the day. Meritt Hammeke won a match before being shut out by eventual champion and Italian exchange-student Edo Martelli from Sterling, who did not lose a game on the day. Tim Stueder lost his only singles match. The other doubles team also made an early exit, losing to Ellinwood 8-3 in the first-round.
