Lawrence High senior Kristina Taylor leads the field in a preliminary heat of the 400.

Distance dominated the local scene at Friday’s first day of high school action at the Kansas Relays.

Behind a time that was more than 17 seconds better than her previous best, Free State High’s Kyra Kilwein placed eighth in the 3,200-meter run and anchored the Firebirds’ distance medley relay team to a 13th-place finish, 10 places better than it was seeded.

“It’s the KU Relays, and it’s just so much fun competing against people from Colorado, Nebraska and all these other states,” Kilwein said. “That just pumped me up, and I was determined to do my best. I don’t care if I’m first or last or whatever. Those girls pushed me out of my comfort zone, which is good, and it was a lot of fun.”

Meanwhile, Lawrence High senior Jennifer Taylor roared her way to a fifth-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:20.37.

Taylor, who watched her sister Kristina win her heat and qualify for today’s finals in the 400 earlier in the day, also teamed with her twin in the 4×400-meter relay that capped the high school portion of Friday’s events.

The team, which included the Taylor twins along with Whitney Demby and Courtney Barber, finished second in its heat but missed qualifying for the finals by 1.5 seconds.

After placing 11th at the Kansas Relays in the 800 last season, Jennifer Taylor said her goal was to fare better this time. That her latest effort led to a medal only added to her elation.

“It’s exciting,” she said. “I just wanted to do better than last year, and (fifth) is really good for me.”

Like Jennifer, twin sister Kristina said she was shocked to finish so high in the 400 – fourth in the prelims with a time of 58.66 seconds – considering she faced such stiff competition.

“I was really surprised,” Kristina Taylor said. “I just gave it all I had because I really wanted to make the finals. I basically just go for medals because if you medal at the KU Relays, it’s a big deal.”

Lawrence High senior Andrew Miller nearly added to the Lions’ list of hardware from Day One, finishing ninth in the javelin, one spot out of the money. Miller’s throw of 168 feet was three feet off his personal best and left him with a desire to work harder the rest of the season.

“I definitely wanted to place in the top eight,” Miller said. “And this just shows me I have to work a little harder to get there. But it was nice throwing out here, except for the weather.”

Earlier in the day, distance runners Kilwein and Gabe Moss, of Free State, and Dylan Hedges and Kelly Renfro, of Lawrence High, saw new meet records set in front of them in the 3,200.

Emily Sisson, of Omaha (Neb.) Millard North, and Kevin Williams, of D’Evelyn (Colo.), set meet records in back-to-back races, two of three high school records to fall on the day.

Kilwein led all local finishers with her eighth-place, medal-winning performance, while Moss (9:53.97) placed 12th, Hedges (10:02.19) 18th and Renfro (12:38.98) 21st. Baldwin High’s Heather Garcia, who dominated the Class 4A cross country scene this fall, dropped out of the race early on.

For Free State coach Steve Heffernan, seeing two meet records fall in a matter of 20 minutes was just as exciting as watching his team turn in a surprisingly solid day.

“There are a couple of things we emphasize before this meet,” Heffernan said. “One, this is the best competition we’ll se all year, and it’s a good opportunity for us to see how our kids respond to that. And, two, it’s a great place to catch some great performances. I felt like all of our kids did a great job.”

As for the rest of Friday’s city competitors, Free State senior Shaun James finished three spots out of reaching today’s 400-meter finals with a time of 51.02 seconds, and Brooke Carter finished 17th in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet.

Lawrence High also had three boys relays and another girls relay finish in the top 20. Roy Wedge, Johnathan Gabler, Ben Wilson and Dylan Hedges finished 18th (19:30.68) in the four-mile relay. Wilson, Ryan Marienau, Colton Johnson and Will Pendleton took 16th (1:16.96) in the boys shuttle hurdle relay. And Wilson, Wedge, Will Taylor and David Long finished 18th (11:25.97) in the distance medley.

In girls relay action, Demby, Barber, Kim McDonald and Jessica Garcia finished 13th (1:14.42) in the girls shuttle hurdle relay. Barber also placed 19th in the high jump, clearing 4-10.

Today’s city action will kick off at 10:10 a.m. when the LHS girls line up for the sprint medley. Free State’s first action will come at 12:15 p.m., when the Firebirds join the Lions in the girls two-mile relay.