Free State track and field coach Steve Heffernan knew sophomore distance runner Kain Anderson was on the verge of a breakout performance.

It was hard to imagine, though, that Anderson would turn the Kansas Relays — one of the nation’s most historic track and field competitions — into a personal showcase of sorts.

Free State’s Jordan Griem clears the second hurdle in the 300 hurdles on Friday during the Kansas Relays at Memorial Stadium.

“A year ago, he was running in junior high meets against seventh- and eighth-graders,” Heffernan said Friday at Memorial Stadium. “So he comes here to run against the best in the Midwest, and he really has done a very, very good job.”

With Lawrence High’s Roy Wedge, the reigning Class 6A cross country champion and Kansas Gatorade boys cross country runner of the year, forced to miss Friday’s portion of the meet with a tweaked hamstring, Anderson ensured that local schools were still well-represented in the distance events.

Shaking off the nerves that came with his inclusion in such a high-profile meet –the Relays featured prep teams from six different states — Anderson helped the Firebirds to a third-place finish in the 4X1,600-meter relay and a fourth-place finish in the distance medley, believed to be the two highest distance finishes at the Kansas Relays in Free State history.

His 1,200-meter split of 3:18 in the distance medley, meanwhile, was the fastest in school history, while his 1,600-meter split of 4:32 in the 4X1,600-meter relay was his fastest this season by roughly seven seconds and would have put him in the top eight of last year’s Class 6A state 1,600 finals.

“I think I’m speechless,” Anderson said Friday afternoon. “It’s just crazy. I love running — I love everything about it. And it’s a great experience just to be able to run here.”

That experience, certainly, bodes well for the future of prep distance running in the city of Lawrence, which has remained one of the state’s hotbeds in recent years.

With two more years of both track and cross country (Anderson medaled at last year’s state cross country meet), the goal, Heffernan said, is to use this year’s success as a foundation heading into the next two years.

“Sophomores, technically, are freshmen for us,” said Heffernan, referring to the fact that freshmen in Lawrence don’t typically compete for varsity sports teams until at least their sophomore year. “So to step in here and gain that experience and run intelligently and compete hard speaks volumes to where he’s at right now.”

While Free State enjoyed a number of encouraging performances, however, things went a little rockier for Lawrence High.

In addition to Wedge, who could possibly compete in today’s 4X800-meter relay and 1,600-meter run, LHS girls standout Whitney Demby was out with an injury of her own, leaving the Lions short-handed in some of their strongest events.

“From a coaching perspective, it was good for those kids (that got to compete),” said Lawrence High coach Jack Hood. “We got what we needed out of them. It just hurts us if we don’t run our top guns.”

A pair of area athletes turned in top-eight performances Friday, meanwhile, as Ottawa’s Kearsten Peoples finished first in the girls shot put with a throw of 47 feet, 11.75 inches and Eudora’s Justin Ballock was eighth in the 300-meter hurdles finals (40.49 seconds) and third in the 110-meter hurdles prelims (14.83 seconds).

The meet resumes at 8 a.m. today at Memorial Stadium.