Just one measly throw separated Free State High senior Lauren Abney from the javelin title at Friday’s Kansas Relays.

Just eight measly inches separated Abney from her personal best in the javelin — 138 feet, 8 inches.

It ended up being two measly disappointments.

Abney, despite a solid throw of 138-0 in the finals of the high school javelin competition, saw her once-commanding lead vanish on the day’s second-to-last attempt when Maize’s Ulrika Hinson unleashed a toss of 145-5 in her last try. Abney finished second out of 25 competitors.

“I’m happy with it, but I wanted to PR,” Abney said, “and it’s never fun to get second.”

Especially when the last-second second-place finish is a second coming. Last year at the Class 6A state meet, Abney was leading going into the final round of throws, only to see Hinson steal the state title by nine inches on her final attempt.

Hinson and Abney are developing quite a rivalry. Unfortunately for Abney, though, it has been at her expense in the big meets.

“We’re hoping third time’s a charm,” FSHS javelin coach Darrell Andrew said. “We’ll see Ulrika again at state.”

Regardless of the runner-up finish, Abney had nothing to hang her head about. Four of her six throws were in the 130-foot range, a welcome sign of consistency. Not only that, but she also got to see her teammate, Elizabeth Brandt, do a fine job as well. Brandt advanced to finals with a throw of 118-9 and finished in ninth place.

Brandt might be a newcomer to javelin, but no one really could tell.

“Liz did awesome,” Abney said. “This is her first year and her fourth meet. That’s incredible.”

Lawrence High senior Erin Knight also participated in the javelin, finishing 15th with a throw of 112-7.

Among other city prep highlights on the first day of the Kansas Relays:

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• Free State’s Alysha Valencia took fourth in a competitive 3,200-meter race Friday morning. The sophomore actually was leading at the one-mile mark, posting a split time of 5:27, but succumbed to a massive kick by Fort Collins (Colo.) senior Katie Follett. Valencia finished in 11:12.30; Follett won in 10:47.51.
• One day after setting the school record in the hammer throw, Lawrence High sophomore Scott Penny placed 16th in the shot put with a heave of 49-2 3/4. Teammate Nathan Lindsey threw a personal-best 48-5.
• Free State’s boys distance-medley relay team — Ben Marshall, Alex Rock, Danny Schneider and Nick Squier — took fourth out of 37 teams with a time of 10:43.28. LHS finished in 11:47.81.
• Squier later ran the 800 and finished in 1:47.13, good enough for ninth place.

The Kansas Relays conclude today, and several local prep athletes once again will be in action. Among the events to keep an eye on are the girls 100 hurdles with LHS sophomore Amy Magnuson, and the boys two-mile relay, where Free State brings a solid quartet of Rock, Schneider, Squier and Spencer Martin.

The action begins at 8 a.m., when Penny will compete in the boys discus finals.

Free State's Kelsey Randall catches her breath after finishing third in her qualifying heat. She placed 29th in the girls 300-meter hurdles Friday.

Lawrence High's Nolan Kellerman takes the baton from Jeffrey Colter in the 400-meter relay. The Lions finished 25th during preliminaries at the Relays.

Kansas University sophomore Charisse Bacchus hits the sand during the long-jump preliminaries. Bacchus finished second during the event with a leap of 19 feet, 7 inches at the Kansas Relays on Friday morning at KU's Memorial Stadium.