By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A regional title was expected Thursday at Maize South. Great Bend junior Addy Nicholson provided the exclamation point. Running against Class 5A's best in the 1600m run, Nicholson cut exactly 13 seconds off her personal best, beating a 46-year GBHS record for the silver in 5:13.11.
"It was in the back of my mind," Nicholson said, "and I was about halfway through the third lap and coach goes, 'You're going school-record pace!' That's where I knew I had to give it my all and go and finish it."
Several Lady Panthers qualified for state as top-four finishers, resulting in 118 team points. Hutchinson finished second with 72 points, and Salina Central placed third by a point with 69 points.
Other qualifiers and notes:
High Jump: Three Lady Panthers qualified for state in the high jump. Sadie Spray led a trio of Western Athletic Conference jumpers at 5-4 for the gold. Valarie Luna, who is still tied for the state lead, cleared 5-4 for third. Cassie Ellegood qualified in the fourth spot at 5-0.
Javelin: The first state qualifiers came in the throws. Macy Nachtigal added three feet to a career best on her final throw to surpass a Maize South thrower for the gold at 132-4. Kyndall Blessing secured the fourth and final state spot by more than three feet at 121-9.
800m run: Great Bend tried to get three to Wichita. Eliana Beckham trailed briefly but cut two seconds off a personal best for the gold in 2:21.86. Sienna Smith took the silver by 0.01 seconds in 2:26.22. Kate Welcher was in the mix until late, falling off to sixth in 2:32.73 to miss state by five seconds.
4x400m relay: The reigning 5A champion squad ran its best time of the season a week ago at league. Thursday, the same team of Spray, Beckham, Gomez, and Premer cut two more seconds off their season best for the win by nearly two seconds in 4:05.47. That could be a top-10 time in all of Kansas this year.
4x800m relay: The team of Beckham, Ellegood, Smith, and Premer cut 13 seconds off a season best for the win by two-plus seconds in 10:05.22. That would have been the fourth-fastest time in 5A this year. Premer played cat behind her opponent before pulling away late.
4x100m relay: After a third-place finish at state last year, Great Bend grabbed the final qualifying spot by 0.45 seconds in 50.36. Premer, Spray, Luna, and Daizy Gomez teamed up for the win.
3200m run: Rupe and Nicholson again headlined the longest individual event. Rupe won in 11:24.70, followed by Nicholson in 11:43.99, still 12 seconds ahead of the next runner. Marissa Boone finished in a hard-luck fifth in 12:02 to miss state by five seconds.
300m hurdles: Great Bend had an opportunity to get three to state with Hailey Peterson running well. 5A leader AnnaLisa Cullens of Hutchinson ran the state's first sub-45 of the spring for the win in 44.92. Premer grabbed the silver in 46.21, Spray placed third in 46.59, and Peterson placed sixth in 50.68 to miss state by 1.66 seconds.
100m hurdles: With no Premer or Spray in the event this year, Peterson carried the torch. She ran fourth in 17.94 to grab the final qualifying spot by just 0.01 seconds. Cullens won by nearly two seconds in 14.51.
Pole Vault: Katie Kuhlman finished in the hard-luck fifth spot at 9-0, needing to go six inches higher to qualify for state.
Triple Jump: Jordyn Harbaugh missed state by less than half a foot by placing sixth at 32-6.5.