By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
With a 27th-place finish at the Chicago Marathon in October, Great Bend High School alum Eric Vazquez also qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team trials. A pair of local families want to help him with that venture. Panther track and field coach Lyles Lashley is preparing his world-famous jambalaya for a fundraiser before Tuesday's Panther basketball games against Buhler.
"Eric made the Olympics trials in the marathon in his first-ever attempt to run the marathon," Lashley said. "In February, he'll travel to down to Orlando. We wanted to ease the burden for him to be able to go down there and not have to worry about money and just concentrate on running. It's not very often you get a guy from Great Bend who has a chance to run at the Olympic trials."
READ MORE: Great Bend grad meets U.S. Olympic standard at Chicago Marathon
The fundraiser, sponsored by Brentwood Builders and hosted by the Great Bend High School Booster Club, will take place from 6-8 p.m. in the Great Bend High School commons. A $5 meal deal includes a bowl of jambalaya, a cookie, and a bottle of water. Free-will donations will also be accepted with 100 percent of proceeds going toward Vazquez's trip.
Marathon runners must finish in two hours, 18 minutes or faster to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team trials. Vazquez finished in 2:17.04 in Chicago to finish 27th out of some 47,000 men and women. The top six finishers in Orlando Feb. 3, 2024, will qualify for the U.S. Olympic team, but they must also meet the Olympic standard of 2:08.10 to compete in Paris next summer.