It does not matter how you performed before this day. It does not matter how you could perform in two weeks.

If the city athletes want to qualify for state, they must place in the top four during this afternoon’s 6A track and field regional hosted by Olathe North.

“This whole season comes down to this meet,” Lawrence High coach Jack Hood said. “And it makes or breaks some kids.”

The Free State boys finished first last spring, and the LHS boys took second. But having their athletes reach state means more to the Firebirds than a repeat title.

“We’d like to win the regional,” Free State coach Steve Heffernan said. “But if you were to ask what we’re thinking about all this week, winning the regional is second.”

The city teams feature several athletes who could post state-worthy times during the meet at the Olathe District Activities Center.

One of the most talented units, the Free State boys 4×100-meter relay team, has posted a personal best of 41.9 seconds this year.

That exact makeup of the team, however, is in limbo. Injuries have struck Christian Ballard and Austin Winn, and neither could practice full bore this week.

“The injuries that we have aren’t the things that just go away when you wake up,” Heffernan said. “It will be one those things where we don’t know until the day of because we’re doing a lot of resting and taking it easy.”

Ballard, who pulled his hamstring during the Sunflower League 200 prelims, is the most questionable to participate. Heffernan puts Ballard’s odds at less than 50 percent.

“It’s a little bit of a guessing game,” Heffernan said. “The fact that he’s actually able to jog this week is a good thing, but we’re a ways from just being able to go full speed.”

Keron Toussaint serves as the likely replacement if Ballard cannot go, but despite finishing first in the 200 and 400 last Friday, Toussaint tweaked a hamstring.

The multitude of injuries has forced the Free State team to concentrate on just making state rather than posting a record time.

“I’m just hoping to qualify,” Brian Murphy said.

One of the few healthy sprinters, Brian Murphy has taken precautions with extra stretching, hydration and ice. He also has sat out during his sixth-hour basketball class.

The Lions’ girls 4×400 team of Courtney Barber, Jennifer Taylor, Kristina Taylor and Kaela Severa also had to shuffle the deck. Because Severa plays on the LHS soccer team, Jessica Garcia had to fill in during the Sunflower League meet.

The team, though, did not skip a beat, placing first as Barber and the Taylors set personal records for their legs of the relay.

“Jessica just competed her guts outs,” Hood said. “We ended up winning by, what, 100 yards or something? I mean they just blew everyone off the track.”

The relay serves as the last girls event at regionals, which only further stokes the girls’ competitive juices.

“Everyone’s excited about it,” Kristina Taylor said. “Everyone’s around the track screaming at you. So it makes you run faster to show off.”

Jennifer starts the relay, and Kristina anchors it, and the twins serve as a major reason for the season best time of 4 minutes, 1.5 seconds. Parents and coaches have stopped Hood at meets to praise his girls’ work ethic.

“Some people are wired to accept defeat, and the twins aren’t,” Hood said. “They’re good competitive kids.”

But the Taylor twins, the Murphy twins and other local tracksters face a challenging, weed-out contest this afternoon.

“It’s going to be a very tough regional,” Heffernan said. “We know that.”