<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3dfH3D_0t38j2pv00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3dfH3D_0t38j2pv00" width="2048" height="1365" ><figcaption>Lady Panther senior Addy Nicholson is coming off league titles in the 1600m and 3200m runs.</figcaption></figure>Great Bend PostGreat Bend High School will host a Class 5A track and field regional Thursday. Field events begin at 2 p.m. with preliminary races on the track beginning at 5 p.m. The top four finishers from each event will qualify for the Kansas State High School Track and Field Championships held at Wichita State University's Cessna Stadium on May 24-25.Based on regular-season rankings, here are some of the top times and marks among the athletes in competition Thursday:GirlsThe Lady Panthers have won three-straight regional titles. Teams from eight other schools will be pushing to end that streak, perhaps most notably, Salina Central.100m dash: Newton's Mackenzie Sauerwein and Salina Central's Elle Denning are ranked No. 4 and 5 in the class, respectively. Hays also has a pair of sprinters in the top 16.200m dash: Sauerwein is ranked No. four in the class, followed by Denning at No. 7. Hays' Kamryn McCall is ranked No. 11.400m dash: The GB regional will feature four ranked sprinters, led by Valley Center's Laney Hooper at No. 3. Goddard's Leah LaPlant and Newton's Maisie Brubacher are also top-seven sprinters.800m run: Great Bend's power has been in the distance events. Salina Central freshman Kaylie Schultz enters at No. 6 in 5A (2:19.94), with Great Bend senior Eliana Beckham ranked No. 9 (2:20.35). Salina South's Ava Lemaster is ranked No. 11 at 2:21. Lady Panthers Reese Bullard and Sienna Smith could push for the fourth qualifying spot with Bullard's season-best at 2:25.1600m run: Salina Central junior Katelyn Rupe has already committed to North Carolina and ranks No. 15 all-time in Kansas at 4:54.45 this year. Her freshman teammate Schultz is ranked No. 6 in Kansas this spring (5:00.17). Great Bend senior Addy Nicholson ranks No. 14 in 5A (5:21), and Smith has gone as fast as 5:30 this spring.3200m run: Rupe is better in longer races, and her 10:17 at the KU Relays last month ranks No. 6 all-time in Kansas and No. 2 in the state this year. Schultz ranks No. 4 in Kansas at 10:32. Those are the only two ranked runners in the Great Bend field, with Nicholson entering with a season-best 11:46 and Marissa Boone at 11:54.100m hurdles: The GB regional features four of the top 13 hurdlers in 5A this spring, with Salina South's Tamia Cheeks at No. 4 (15.41) and Hays' Lyndi Zimmerman at No. 5 (15.46). Lady Panther senior Sadie Spray has made strides in her return to the event with a season-best of 16.43, which trails fourth-seeded Anai Fernandez of Newton by 0.35s.300m hurdles: Lady Panther senior Kenzie Premer is the reigning three-time state runner-up in the event. With Premer out, the torch falls to Spray, who enters ranked No. 12 in 5A (48.56). She will be the No. 3 seed out of four top-16 hurdlers at the regional. Cheeks and Zimmerman are ranked No. 9 and 10, respectively.4x1: The GB regional features four of the top 13 teams in 5A, led by Hays at No. 5.4x4: Great Bend leads a field of three ranked teams at the regional. The Lady Panthers are ranked No. 9 in 5A (4:10.47) with No. 13 Valley Center clocking in at a best of 4:11.67.4x8: Great Bend's marquee event on the track this season has been the 4x8. The Lady Panther team of Beckham, Bullard, Smith, and Kate Welcher posted a school-record 9:39.52 that ranks No. 3 in 5A and No. 7 all-class this year. Great Bend's season-best is 28 seconds faster than eighth-ranked Valley Center.High jump: Hays junior Katie Linenberger cleared the state bar last May at 5-4 to claim second place behind Great Bend's Valarie Luna, who graduated last year. Spray also cleared 5-4 to finish third in the field. She recently tied that personal best to tie for No. 12 all-class this spring. At the same meet, Linenberger cleared 5-6 to tie at No. 5 all-class. South's Cheeks has also cleared 5-4 this year. The GB regional features seven of the top 15 jumpers in 5A this year. Junior Cassie Ellegood, another state qualifier last year, enters as the No. 4 seed at 5-2.Long jump: The GB regional is again loaded with six of the top 13 jumpers in 5A. Hays freshman Lynsi Kanak and senior Lilian McGrath have each gone further than 17-7.Triple jump: South's Cheeks is ranked No. 2 in 5A at 37-0. The GB regional will feature four of the top 14 jumpers in 5A.Javelin: Lady Panther senior Macy Nachtigal has been the 5A leader for most of the season. Her best throw of 141-4 leads the class by seven feet and ranks No. 5 all-class. Hays' Rylen Harrington is ranked No. 2 in 5A (134-5), and Great Bend will see six of the top-15 throwers in 5A.Shot put: Goddard-Eisenhower's Leah Wilkinson and Stella Kitt rank No. 1 and 3, respectively, in 5A. Wilkinson's top throw of 43-6 ranks No. 5 all-class. The GB regional features five of the top 13 throwers in 5A, with the No. 15 ranking at 36-11. Lady Panther sophomore Allie Gerhart has a best toss of 35-8.Discus: The GB regional is loaded with five of the top six throwers in 5A, all with throws of at least 126-7. Eisenhower's Wilkinson is ranked No. 6 all-class at 140-4. In all, seven of the top 16 throwers in 5A will be in Great Bend. Lady Panther sophomore Kimberly Hofflinger has a season-best of 115-10.Pole vault: The GB regional is again tough with seven of the top 15 vaulters in 5A. Salina South's Bethany Hicklin and Salina Central's Anna Hogeland are ranked No. 1 and 2 in the class, respectively, at 11-1 and 11-0. Great Bend freshman Kayle Baldwin has a best height of 9-0.Boys100m dash: The GB regional features six of the top 16 sprinters in 5A. Valley Center's Tyler Mankse ranks No. 4 at 10.75, and Goddard's Micah Johnson sits at No. 5 (10.78), but both of those times are from April. Hays senior Malik Bah ranks No. 16 but ran a season-best 11-flat last week.200m dash: Five of the top 16 sprinters will be in Great Bend. Manske again leads the way at No. 5 in 22.10, closely followed by Hutchinson's Christopher Lachenmeier. Salina Central's Kamryn Jones is also ranked in both the 100m and 200m dashes.400m dash: The GB regional features just two ranked sprinters at No. 14 and 15. Great Bend's Ramiro Rocho has a season-best of 51.61, which is just half a second slower than the ranked times.800m run: There are no ranked runners at the GB regional. A 1:59.38 was required to crack the top 16 in 5A this spring. Great Bend's Ismael Ramirez and Braylon Moore both have best times of 2:03.1600m run: The GB regional again features no ranked runners. A time of 4:27.60 was needed to make the top 16. Ramirez has a season-best of 4:37.18, and Tavon Stroup has gone as fast as 4:41.41.3200m run: The 2-mile again features no ranked runners in the GB field. A 9:43.55 was good enough for the No. 16 spot in 5A this spring. Stroup has a best time of 10:17.70.100m hurdles: The GB regional will feature three of the top 13 hurdlers in 5A, led by Goddard's Tyson Wallace at No. 7 (14.73) and Eisenhower's Justus Reynolds at No. 8 (14.91).300m hurdles: Wallace and Reynolds are the top-two hurdlers in 5A this spring. Wallace ranks No. 4 all-class at 38.92, and Reynolds ranks No. 6 all-class at 38.97. Hays' Carson Avery is ranked in both 5A hurdle events.4x1: The GB regional features four of the top 11 teams in 5A, and Eisenhower is ranked No. 15 in the class. Goddard ranks No. 7 all-class at 42.47.4x4: Five of the top 15 teams in 5A will be in Great Bend. Hutchinson ranks No. 4 in the class at 3:25.30, closely followed by Salina South.4x8: The Panthers enter with a season-best of 8:25.66 to rank No. 10 in Class 5A as the No. 2 seed at the regional behind Valley Center, ranked No. 9. Salina Central is ranked No. 13.High jump: Great Bend will see two of the top 13 jumpers in 5A. Hays' Kamani Jones ranks No. 2 in the class at 6-6.Long jump: Six of the top 16 jumpers in 5A will be in Great Bend. Hutchinson's Terrell King is ranked No. 3 at 22-9.5. Panther freshman Cooper Ohnmacht is the No. 5 seed at a season-best 22-0.5 to rank No. 13 in 5A.Triple jump: Five of the top nine jumpers in 5A will be in Great Bend. Ohnmacht ranks No. 2 in 5A with his school-record of 46-5.5, which ranks No. 4 all-class. Hays' Jones ranks No. 8 all-class with a season-best of 45-9.Discus: The GB regional will feature six of the top 14 throwers in 5A. Goddard's Matrix Eames ranks No. 2 in 5A at 172-3, which ranks No. 7 all-class. Great Bend's Conner Holliday has a season-best of 139-9 to trail the final ranked thrower in Great Bend by seven feet.Shot put: Great Bend will see four ranked throwers, but Goddard's Eames leads the class by 15 inches at 57-1, the fifth-best throw in Kansas this spring. Javelin: The GB regional features seven of the top 13 throwers in 5A. Newton's Niko Ramos is ranked No. 2 at 189-9, followed by Hays' Dalton Meyers at No. 3 (179-10).Pole vault: The GB regional has seven of the top 15 vaulters in 5A. Salina South's Dylan Brice and Hays' Harley Zimmerman both have clearances at 14-0.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

What to watch: Class 5A regional track and field in Great Bend

Great Bend High School will host a Class 5A track and field regional Thursday. Field events begin at 2 p.m. with preliminary races on the track beginning at 5 p.m. The top four finishers from each event will qualify for the Kansas State High School Track and Field Championships held at Wichita State University's Cessna Stadium on May 24-25.

What to watch: Class 5A regional track and field in Great Bend

Comments / 0