By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Two teams scored most of the points at Thursday's Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships in Great Bend. Three of the five teams in competition scored 49 points or fewer. Hays scored 103 points for second. The Lady Panthers ran away with the competition with 154 points.
Success began in the field as bouts of rain fell on competitors. Macy Nachtigal won the javelin on a throw of 125-11, followed by Kyndall Blessing with the silver at 118-3. Katie Kuhlman was the first of four pole vaulters to clear the bar at 8-6. That turned into the gold. Kaylea McMullen also cleared 8-6 in a tied for second.
Natalee Daniels placed second in the shot put on a throw of 35-3.5, missing the gold by 15 inches. Jordyn Harbaugh finished second in the triple jump at 33-10 to miss the gold by 10 inches. Rylie Duvall finished third in the discus on a throw of 108-1 to miss the silver by 10 feet. Kimberly Hofflinger followed in fourth at 107-3.
Over on the turf, Valarie Luna cleared the high jump bar at 5-6 for the win by two inches. Sadie Spray cleared 5-2 for the bronze.
Gold medals were the norm for the Lady Panthers on the track. Here's a summary of action:
Luna won the 100m dash by 0.07 seconds in 12.69.
Mackenzie Premer won the 110m hurdles in 16.80, followed by Hailey Peterson in 17.37 for the silver. Premer won the 300s in 47.22, followed by Spray in 49.54, and Peterson in 49.59 for the bronze.
Eliana Beckham won the 800m run in 2:29.96, followed by Sienna Smith in 2:32.34 for the silver.
Addy Nicholson won the 1600m run by 15 seconds in 5:26.98. Marissa Boone placed fifth in 5:54.13. Nicholson won the 3200m run by 20 seconds in 11:59.27, with Boone running third in 12:29.41.
Two of the three Lady Panther relays collected gold. The 4x800 team of Beckham, Smith, Kate Welcher, and Cassie Ellegood won by eight seconds in 10:22.00. The 4x400 team of Premer, Spray, Beckham, and Daizy Gomez posted its best time of the season to win by 10 seconds in 4:07.97. The 4x100 relay ran third.
The Lady Panthers head to Class 5A regional action at Maize South on Thursday.