By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Two laps around the track. The best high schooler in Kansas ever to do it was the legendary Jim Ryun, who needed just one minute and 49 seconds to finish the 800-meter run in 1964. Since then, only three other prep runners in Kansas have cracked 1:50. On the girls' side, Shawnee Heights Trisa Nickoley is the only Kansas athlete ever to break 2:07 with her state record in 2004.
Nikee Pool set the Great Bend High School record at 2:19.03 during the 1992 season. She finished second in the 400m dash and the 800m run at the state meet that season. That record stood for 32 years until a pair of Lady Panthers ran under 2:18 during Thursday's Class 5A regional meet at GBHS. Senior Eliana Beckham finished second in the race in 2:17.82, and sophomore Reese Bullard placed fourth in 2:17.92.
"At first, I thought the record was 2:10 so I never felt that it'd even be a question that I could get that," Beckham said while appearing last week on Sports Day on 1590 KVGB and 95.5 FM. "When I found out I could this season, it was just something I felt like it would be great to go out in my senior year with a bang."
Pool's record was originally listed at 2:10, which would have put her in the top three all-time in Kansas. No other historical track records in the state have that time, but Pool's 2:19.03 is recorded in another GBHS record list so the record was recently updated.
Salina Central freshman Kaylie Shultz, who already has the 13th-fastest 3200m time in Kansas history, entered Thursday's race as the favorite with a season-best of 2:19.94. Beckham recently posted a personal-best of 2:20.35, and Bullard entered with a season-best of 2:25.26. That all went on the window in a photo finish.
"I knew I had more in me than a 2:25, but it's more or less going out there and proving that," said Bullard. "Working with Eliana and fighting for it together, we both went out and said we want to prove that we can do this."
A pack of four broke out early in the race, and Shultz held a slight lead over Beckham approaching the gun at 400 meters. Beckham surged into the lead as they crossed the midway point.
"The last 400, I don't think I really got too cocky, but it almost felt like we were slowing down and I really wanted the record," she said. "I just decided to go in the front and she had a kick at the end that neither of us necessarily had."
Bullard also passed Shultz to move in behind Beckham with 300 meters to go. The Lady Panther lead swelled to two meters with 200 meters left to go when Shultz put the pedal down to win the title.
"Personally, as a runner, I like the kick at the end better," Bullard said. "I feel like I normally do better in that. It was different to go out faster and feel that kick in more of the race than just the end. It was cool to go out with Eliana and see what I had left me in."
Being a regional final, the top four finishers would advance to state and the fifth-place finisher was eliminated. Bullard could already see Shultz and Beckham in front of her, and Salina South senior Ava Lemaster made a late move into third. Bullard had no idea who else might be behind her.
"I was scared, so I was just running for my life," she said. "I was like, 'I've got to get there!' You don't really realize how much pain you're in until you're done. You finish and it's like the world is over. It was fun going out there and running so hard and feeling so good about yourself."
The final three state qualifiers in the race were separated by just a tenth of a second. Beckham and Bullard claimed to feel dead at the finish of the race but they still had a race to go: the 4x400m relay. Great Bend led Salina Central by just half a point heading into that final race. A fourth straight regional title was on the line.
Beckham and Bullard were joined by seniors Sadie Spray and Daizy Gomez for the relay. The squad cut nearly six seconds off a season-best for regional title in the 14th-fastest time in Kansas this spring.
"The 4x4 is my favorite event, I would say," Bullard said. "It's the least stressful for me, I have the most fun with it. We both went out and said let's just run this and have fun, and it paid off."
Beckham and Bullard also joined forces with Addy Nicholson and Kate Welcher to reset the school's 4x800m relay record earlier this season. All the Panther state qualifiers head to Wichita Friday and Saturday for the Kansas State High School Track and Field Championships.