Free State High runner Hiral Bhakta didn’t need his back cracked Wednesday to break his own school record  but it didn’t hurt.

“It feels great,” Bhakta said after a chiropractor’s procedure alleviated pain in his lower back caused by unaligned disks. “He twists it in different cracking positions. I just didn’t have time.”

But time, especially 16:17.63  a new Firebirds’ record  again was on Bhakta’s side.

Several Firebirds seemed to be mastering their running techniques Wednesday at Haskell Indian Nations University. Free State’s boys and girls each beat Olathe East and Olathe South at the triangular, scoring 124 total points.

“It was a big punch for him,” Free State coach Steve Heffernan said. “He’s really done a lot of work. He’s show it in the last couple of races that he’s in control.”

Firebird freshman Alysha Valencia won her third straight race with a convincing victory in the 3,200-meter event, registering a time of 11:57.49.

The Firebirds had four other girls in the top 10 Â Mallory Richardson finished fourth, Robyn Lee fifth, Allison Yoder sixth and Maggie Brooke seventh.

Bhakta held off teammate Adrian Ludwig for the title. Alex Rock took fifth and Kyle Carter eighth.

Despite his second straight record-breaking run, Bhakta says he must work hard to achieve his final goal at state.

“Today I was just focused the entire race and wanted to get in a good race because I was not really satisfied with my previous times,” he said. “I knew I could run much faster, but my injuries kept me from accomplishing what I needed to.”

While Heffernan said Wednesday’s win was just the shot of confidence his senior needed, Bhakta hopes to return to his winning ways  if his back will allow him.

“It still bothering me,” he said. “But the last two races have felt pretty good.”