Monday, May 10, 2010

The Big 3 by Carol Swenson

For CatchItKansas.com

The preliminaries are over! We’re done with the invitational’s, the triangular, quads, and relay meets. It is time for the “Big Three” on most teams’ schedules – League, Regional, and State!

For many schools, the ultimate goal is winning “League” and with it the area bragging rights. While they may not have enough quality depth to compete for state meet hardware the title “league champions” is significant and important to teams, coaches, parents, and whole communities.

Surprisingly, the regional meets may not produce the host of season best marks many might expect since the ultimate goal of regional competition is placing in the top four and qualifying for that all important trip to Wichita and the State Championships.

For many prep athletes, “State” is their one opportunity to compete on the biggest stage of their athletic career, knowing they will be competing against the best in their respective class in front of 20,000 fellow athletes, coaches, classmates, parents, and good, old die-hard fans of Kansas prep track and field.

Among the 50 state prep championships across our country, the Kansas state meet is unique. Six classes, over 3,000 boys and girls, competing on a common stage over two, action-packed, compact days – a track and field lover’s paradise!

Getting to see how the best of Class 1A or 2A compare to their big school/city Class 5 and 6A counterparts; 18 events, 150 races on the track, 42 separate field event competitions officiated by 200 track and field-loving volunteers!

The Kansas State Track & Field Championships are a three-ring circus times three! Two field events (discus, javelin) will be going on outside Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium, south of Koch Arena, while inside you will find at times one shot put, two high jumps, two pole vaults, a long jump and a triple jump competition all going on at once in addition to the race being run on the track. It can be a little overwhelming at times to the uninitiated, but the announcing crew will try to help direct your attention to what is happening.

The 2010 State Track & Field Championships on May 28-29 marks a special milestone in the history of the KSHSAA! This will be the 100th running of the Association’s first official state championship. All former state champions, a group that includes 25 living Olympians and several former world record holders, are invited to return for a series of special events this year including Saturday afternoon’s “Parade of Champions”. We hope you can join us as we cheer on another group of young women and men, athletes who will go on to be our next generation of Olympians and world record holders, but even more importantly our future business leaders and educators, farmers and laborers, friends and neighbors!

See you in Wichita!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's so nice to have Carol on CIK - where he belongs! CIK is my only source for high school sports - and now the man who knows so much and who has done so much for track is in the right place. Welcome Carol - I will enjoy following your blog and as always, your top lists!

Senior Chief Jocelyn Bentley said...

It was great finding CatchItKansas. As a previous Kansas runner(Highland Park 1980), I enjoyed reading about Kansas track and field. Keep up the good work.

Swenson said...

Jocelyn still ranks #3 on the All-Time Kansas HS list with a best of 53.9 (converted yard mark) and ran the fastest hand-timed 400 meters in state meet history (54.4) in 1980, a mark that is still superior to the best FAT since.

Lance Lenard said...

As the world's biggest track junkie, I want to thank CIK and Mr. Swenson for their attention to the world's greatest sport.