It’s been a good season, but now it’s time to qualify. By Carol Swenson

Friday will serve up highlight #2 on most Kansas high schools’ track and field schedule! Teams across the state are heading into regional competition, and while it is only Monday as we write this, the forecast sounds like we may get just what every coach and athlete prays for: warm temperatures, sunny skies, and hopefully, lighter than normal winds!

While the important thing this week for the athletes is just being among the top four finishers and therefore qualifying for the “Big Show” next week, fans won’t be lacking for an opportunity to see some of the state’s all-time best compete before Wichita.

My picks for the top marks coming out of last week’s league meets both came on Thursday. Osawatomie’s Brendan Soucie turned in a 1:52.96 (800 meters) at the Pioneer League Meet at Garnett while Gardner-Edgerton freshman Cassie Wait vaulted 12’00” in her home pit at the Frontier League championships.

Wait’s mark tied her for the #7 spot on the all-time Kansas prep list, while Soucie’s mark moved the Trojan senior into the #9 slot. But, those were just the latest of more than a dozen all-time Kansas top 10 marks that have been set to date this spring.

Topping 2010’s performances are three All-Time Kansas Bests:
Kearsten Peoples (Ottawa): 49’11” (Shot Put, April 1st, Ottawa Invitational)
Johannes Swanepoel (Shawnee Mission South): 231’11” (Javelin, April 30th, Seaman Relays)
Macahla Wesley (Topeka West): 11.61 (100 meters, May 7th, Topeka City Carnival)

Swanepoel’s and People’s marks both currently rank #2 on the 2010 national prep lists while Wesley’s performance ranks #10 for races run under all-conditions (i.e., legal and windy).

Other all-time top 10 marks to date this season include:
Boys’ 110m Hurdles – 13.84, Andrew Etheridge (Wichita Northwest) [Equal #3 All-Time Kansas]
Girls’ 100m Dash – 11.72, Abreanna Parker (Tecumseh-Shawnee Heights) [#3 A-T, same race as Wesley’s 11.61]
Girls’ Pole Vault – 12’03”, Jaimie House (ElDorado) [#3 A-T]
Girls’ Triple Jump – 40’03”, Jamillah Bonner (Wichita Southeast) [Equal #3 A-T]
Girls’ Discus – 160’00”, Kearsten Peoples (Ottawa) [#4 A-T]
Girls’ 200m Dash – 24.42, Macahla Wesley (Topeka West) [#7 A-T]
Girls’ Pole Vault – 12’00”, Drue Davis (Lawrence Free State) [Equal #7 A-T]
12’00”, Katie Thurbon (Topeka-Washburn Rural) [Equal #7 A-T]
12’00”, Cassie Wait (Gardner-Edgerton) [Equal #7 A-T]
Girls’ Discus – 157’05”, Alex Hartig (Great Bend) [#7 A-T]
Girls’ Discus – 154’06”, Erica Brand (Shawnee Mission Northwest) [#9 A-T]
Girls’ Shot Put – 46’04”, Alex Hartig (Great Bend) [#10 A-T]

Add to those the following all-time top 10 performers returning from last year (with their 2009 best mark) plus the usual “surprises” we get each year and this year’s regional and state meets shouldn’t be lacking for star-power.

Girls’ 100m Dash – 11.73, Breanna Coleman (Olathe East)
Girls’ 3,200m Run – 10:40.09, Avery Clifton (Topeka-Washburn Rural)
Girls’ 100m Hurdles – 13.82, Breanna Coleman (Olathe East)
14.19, LeTristan Pledger (Kansas City-Washington)
Girls’ Pole Vault – 12’01”, Cara Detmer (Wichita-Bishop Carroll)
Girls’ Long Jump – 19’10.75”, LeTristan Pledger (Kansas City-Washington)
19’08.25”, Abreanna Parker (Tecumseh-Shawnee Heights)
Girls’ Javelin – 151’04”, Hailey Twietmeyer (Cheney)

Regional meets will be held this week at the following sites:
6A – Olathe East, Topeka (Hummer Park), Overland Park-Blue Valley West, Wichita Southeast
5A – Emporia @ Emporia State Univ., Liberal, Kansas City-Washington, Topeka-Seaman
4A – Abilene, Iola, Andale, Tonganoxie
3A – Fredonia, Smith Center, Garden Plain, St. Marys
2A – Burden-Central, Sublette, Seneca-Nemaha Valley, WaKeeney-Trego Community
1A – Greensburg, Mankato-Rock Hills (hosted by the Pike Trail League), Madison, Fort Hays State Univ. (hosted by the WKLL)

Starting times vary some so check those out on the KSHSAA website at http://www.kshsaa.org/TRACK/tfreg.html. You don’t want to miss out on any of the action!