Free State girls dominate regional

Free State's Alexa Harmon-Thomas cruises during the prelims of the girls 100 hurdles on Friday, May 18, 2012, at FSHS.

Bailey Sullivan said she was happy to continue a good week for Free State.

After the girls soccer team clinched a spot in the state quarterfinals Thursday, the girls track team dominated regionals Friday at Free State High School, scoring 126 points, 31 more than second-place Shawnee Mission South.

“That was the most fun I’ve had racing ever,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan helped cap the day by running the final leg in the Free State girls’ final race: the 4X400.

Sullivan also took second in both the 800 and 1600, setting a personal record in the 800 with a time of 2:18.70 — just milliseconds off the school record.

The Free State boys finished fourth with 72 points, while Lawrence High’s boys fell just short of a regional title, placing second with 99 points.

The LHS girls placed fifth in what coach Jack Hood called “easily our best meet of the year.”

Two standout performances came from tired athletes.

Lawrence’s Monica Howard, after running in the 4X800, sprinted back to the finals of the javelin and ended up throwing a personal-record 115 feet, 6 inches to place second.

“My arms were tired from pumping and running, but I guess it worked,” Howard said. “I might have to try it more often.”

Leah Gabler, who wasn’t expecting to qualify for state in the long jump, placed third in the event after running in the same 4X800 race with Howard.

Her jump of 16 feet, 71?4 inches broke her personal record by more than seven inches.

“I was really tired, and I was like, ‘Hey, let’s see what I can do,'” Gabler said. “I jumped, and I was so surprised.”

Lawrence’s Steven Hill won the long jump and triple jump.

His long jump of 21 feet, 6.75 inches set a personal record by almost a foot.

Gari Jones also had a standout meet, winning the 100 and tying for second in the 200.

His 100 time was a new personal record, as he broke 11 seconds for the first time with a 10.83.

“I’ve been at home dreaming, sleeping about it,” Jones said. “I finally did it today. It feels really good.”

Perhaps his best race, though, came in the 4X100 relay. After receiving the baton in sixth, Jones sprinted past four runners to take second.

“Gari Jones carried us all day on the track,” Hood said. “If you could have a better meet than he had, I haven’t seen it out of a Lawrence High runner in years.”

Free State’s DayShawn Berndt also impressed, winning the 400 even though he’d never run the race outside of relays all year.

Because he didn’t have a qualifying time, he was stuck in lane 8 — a location where a runner can’t see where his competitors are because he’s in front of them.

“It’s OK, the beginning part,” Berndt said. “But that second curve, you don’t know where anybody’s at, then they’re all right there.”

Berndt also won the 200 and was part of the 4X400 and 4X800 teams that qualified for state while overcoming a nagging hamstring injury.

“It’s like, ‘Oh well.’ If it’s going, it’s going at State,” Berndt said, referring to his hamstring. “If I’m going out, I’m going out with a bang.”

Free State’s Alexa Harmon-Thomas won three regional championships, the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump, and she was second in the high jump.

LHS senior Blake Hocking swept the shot put and discus, while the Lions’ Matia Finley also won the discus, throwing it 131 feet, 4 inches.

The Firebirds’ Scout Wiebe won the girls javelin with a throw of 121 feet, 3 inches.

The other Free State athletes who earned a trip to state with a top-four finish were: Gabbi Dabney (100 hurdles, high jump), T.J. Cobbs (110 hurdles), Kiara Clark (300 hurdles), Brie Mingus (discus, shot put), Khadijah Lane (400), Lynn Robinson (800, 1600), Kain Anderson (800, 1600, 3200), Stan Skwarlo (800) and the boys 4X400 team of Kyle Freese, Berndt, Skwarlo and Anderson.

Additional state qualifiers for LHS were: Caitlin Broadwell (triple jump), Eric Parrish (triple jump), Noel Fisher (300 hurdles), Rebecca Finley (discus), Alex Ballard (pole vault), Manny Romero (javelin), Philip Gabler (long jump) and the girls 4X800 team of Gabler, Michala Ruder, Riley Shook and Howard, the boys 4X100 team of Darian Wilson, Brendon Maxey, Asaph Jewsome and Jones and the girls 4X400 team of Jensen Edwards, Gabler, Marissa Pope and Alex Hilliard.

Regional Track Meet

Friday at Lawrence (Free State High School)

Team scores

Girls — 1. Free State 126; 2. Shawnee Mission South 95; 3. Shawnee Mission East 83; 4. Shawnee Mission West 71; 5. Lawrence High 59; 6. Leavenworth 48; 7. Shawnee Mission Northwest 44; 8. Shawnee Mission North 30.

Boys — 1. Shawnee Mission Northwest 124; 2. Lawrence High 99; 3. Shawnee Mission East 73.5; 4. Free State 72; 5. Shawnee Mission West 58; 6. Shawnee Mission South 57.50; 7. Shawnee Mission North 42.75; 8. Leavenworth 31.25.

City individual results

Girls high jump — 2. Alexa Harmon-Thomas, FSHS, 5-04; 3. Gabbi Dabney, FSHS, 5-00; 6. Katie Lomshek, LHS, 4-10.

Boys high jump — T10. Ryan Schroeder, LHS, 5-08.00; T10. Gavin Fischer, LHS, 5-08.00. –. Jackson Lockwood, FSHS, DQ.

Girls triple jump — 2. Caitlin Broadwell, LHS, 34-03.25; 5. Bri Martin, FSHS, 32-08.50.

Boys triple jump — 1. Steven Hill, LHS, 44-02.25; 4. Eric Parrish, LHS, 42-07.00; 9. Kyle Freese, FSHS, 40-00.00; 10. Robert Lyan, LHS, 38-10.00.

Girls 4X800 — 2. LHS (Leah Gabler, Michala Ruder, Riley Shook, Monica Howard) 10:10.87.

Boys 4X800 — 4. FSHS (Kain Anderson, Josh Ideus, Stan Skwarlo, Kamp Wiebe) 8:05.07; 5. LHS (Josh Shump, Reid Hildenbrand, Nathan Stringer, Gavin Fischer) 8:12.09.

Girls 100 hurdles — 1. Alexa Harmon-Thomas, FSHS, 14.83; 3. Gabbi Dabney, FSHS, 15.43; 5. Kiara Clark, FSHS, 16.04; 14. Caitlin Broadwell, LHS, 18.33.

Boys 110 hurdles — 3. T.J. Cobbs, FSHS, 15.71; 5. Alex Heath, FSHS, 16.16.

Girls 300 hurdles — 1. Alexa Harmon-Thomas, FSHS, 45.98; 3. Kiara Clark, FSHS, 47.26; 8. Gabbi Dabney, 49.22; 13. Caitlin Broadwell, LHS, 51.52; 15. Katie Lomshek, LHS, 52.40.

Boys 300 hurdles — 3. Noel Fisher, LHS, 42.26; 8. T.J. Cobbs, FSHS, 43.63; 9. Alex Heath, FSHS, 43.73.

Girls discus — 1. Matia Finley, LHS, 131-04; 3. Brie Mingus, FSHS, 125-00; 4. Rebecca Finley, LHS, 119-04; 11. Kelsey Kilburn, LHS, 99-03; 15. Kylie Dever, FSHS, 93-03; 17. Scout Wiebe, FSHS, 89-09.

Boys discus — 1. Blake Hocking, LHS, 160-09; 8. Chase Reiling, LHS, 129-04; 9. Jeffery Moses, LHS, 129-00; 13. Nicholas Hocking, FSHS, 119-04; 14. Josiah Lebrun, FSHS, 116-05; 16. Nate Fiester, FSHS, 102-03.

Girls pole vault — 6. Courtney Huffman, FSHS, 9-00; –. Kennedy Dold, LHS, DQ.

Boys pole vault — 3. Alex Ballard, LHS, 13-00.00; 9. Dan Kreiger, FSHS, 12-06.00; 12. Luke Vogelsang, FSHS, 11-06.00; 15. Josh Hambleton, FSHS, 11-00.00.

Girls shot put — 3. Brie Mingus, FSHS, 35-07.50; 5. Rebecca Finley, LHS, 35-04.50; 7. Matia Finley, LHS, 34-11.50; 8. Kailee Dudlee, FSHS, 34-01.75; 9. Natasha Barhum, LHS, 33-04.50.

Boys shot put — 1. Blake Hocking, LHS, 59-11.50; 5. Jeffrey Moses, LHS, 45-07.50; 14. James Kenney, LHS, 40-10.50; 15. Nicholas Hocking, FSHS, 39-02.50; 16. Josiah Lebrun, FSHS, 38-10.25.

Girls javelin — 1. Scout Wiebe, FSHS, 121-03; 2. Monica Howard, LHS, 115-06; 6. Ellen Kyriakos, LHS, 104-07; 8. Hannah Oberider, FSHS, 102-10; 12. Guinn Toalson, FSHS, 87-03; 13. Brianna Anglin, LHS, 86-02.

Boys javelin — 3. Manny Romero, LHS, 174-10; 8. Luke Werner, FSHS, 160-10; 9. Jordan Columbus, LHS, 157-08; 13. Nate Fiester, FSHS, 129-06; 15. Greg Chamberlain 127-09; –. Tanner Theilen, LHS, DQ.

Girls long jump — 1. Alexa Harmon-Thomas, FSHS, 18-02.75; 3. Leah Gabler, LHS, 16-07.25; 6. Caitlin Broadwell, LHS, 16-04.75; 11. Gabbi Dabney, FSHS, 15-10.00; 13. Bri Martin, FSHS, 15-05.25; 14. Katie Lomshek, LHS, 15-01.50.

Boys long jump — 1. Steven Hill, LHS, 21-06.75; 4. Philip Gabler, LHS, 20-08.00; 5. Robert Lyan, LHS, 20-07.75; 8. Demarko Bobo, FSHS, 19-03.25; 10. Kyle Freese, FSHS, 19-01.75.

Girls 100 — 8. Jensen Edwards, LHS, 13.23; 11. Ana Tuicakau, FSHS, 13.34; 12. Lily Abromeit, LHS, 13.43; 13. Lakeisha Wilson, FSHS, 13.61; 15. Kayla Presswood, FSHS, 13.70; 16. Jasmine Keys, LHS, 13.75.

Boys 100 — 1. Gari Jones, LHS, 10.83; T11. Brendon Maxey, LHS, 11.48; T11. Darian Wilson, LHS, 11.48; 14. Tyler Odell, FSHS, 11.61; 16. Adam Joice, FSHS, 11.71.

Girls 200 — 5. Khadijah Lane, FSHS, 26.74; 8. Jensen Edwards, LHS, 27.72; 11. Lily Abromeit, LHS, 28.19; 13. Kayla Presswood, FSHS, 28.71; 14. Jasmine Keys, LHS, 29.74.

Boys 200 — 1. DayShawn Berndt, FSHS, 22.37; T2. Gari Jones, LHS, 22.60; 11. Seth Maples, FSHS, 23.51; 15. Asaph Jewsome, LHS, 23.98; 16. Brendon Maxey, LHS, 24.04.

Girls 400 — 2. Khadijah Lane, FSHS, 59.31; 6. Alex Hilliard, LHS, 1:03.96; 11. Riley Shook, LHS, 1:06.40.

Boys 400 — 1. DayShawn Berndt, FSHS, 50.00; 12. Seth Maples, FSHS, 54.22; 15. Andrew Baker, FSHS, 55.28; 16. Audie Monroe, LHS, 55.80; 17. Lucas Cooper, LHS, 55.92; 20. Jonathan White, LHS, 1:00.73.

Girls 800 — 2. Bailey Sullivan, FSHS, 2:18.70; 4. Lynn Robinson, FSHS, 2:19.40; 8. Logan Hassig, FSHS, 2:31.00; 11. Brooke Braman, LHS, 2:35.20; 13. Michala Ruder, LHS, 2:40.50; 15. Payton Covert, LHS, 2:43.20.

Boys 800 — 2. Kain Anderson, FSHS, 1:59.02; 4. Stan Skwarlo, FSHS, 2:00.07; 11. Reid Hildenbrand, LHS, 2:04.77; 16. Simon Fangman, LHS, 2:10.22; 17. Cole Stallard, FSHS, 2:11.23.

Girls 1600 — 2. Bailey Sullivan, FSHS, 5:25.33; 3. Lynn Robinson, FSHS, 5:25.34; 6. Grace Morgan, LHS, 5:37.55; 7. Lauren Wethington, FSHS, 5:45.74; 9. Emily McEntire, LHS, 5:50.45; 18. Emily Laughlin, LHS, 6:24.95.

Boys 1600 — 2. Kain Anderson, FSHS, 4:23.99; 12. Chester Lewis, LHS, 4:53.81; 13. Evan Smith, FSHS, 4:55.37; 16. Marcus Jacobs, FSHS, 5:00.52; 18. Keegan Matheis, LHS, 5:21.56.

Girls 3200 — 7. Molly McCord, FSHS, 11:50.58; 8. Grace Morgan, LHS, 11:56.59; 10. Lauren Werthington, FSHS, 12:20.77; 13. Emily McEntire, LHS, 12:47.14.

Boys 3200 — 2. Kain Anderson, FSHS, 9:34.07; 10. Kamp Wiebe, FSHS, 10:01.52; 11. Jon Volkin, FSHS, 10:12.16; 15. Nathan Stringer, LHS, 10:31.88; 18. Chester Lewis, LHS, 10:37.77; 21. Keegan Matheis, LHS, 11:55.74.

Girls 4X100 — 5. LHS (Jensen Edwards, Lily Abromeit, Marissa Pope, Amaiya Reeder) 52.93; –. FSHS (Lakeisha Wilson, Khadijah Lane, Courtney Huffman, Kayla Presswood) DQ.

Boys 4X100 — 2. LHS (Darian Wilson, Brendon Maxey, Asaph Jewsome, Gari Jones) 44.15; 3. FSHS (DayShawn Berndt, Kyle Freese, Tyler Odell, Adam Joice) 44.19.

Girls 4X400 — 1. FSHS (Kiara Clark, Courtney Huffman, Lynn Robinson, Bailey Sullivan) 4:02.34; 3. LHS (Jensen Edwards, Leah Gabler, Marissa Pope, Alex Hilliard) 4:05.19.

Boys 4X400 — 4. FSHS (Kyle Freese, DayShawn Berndt, Stan Skwarlo, Kain Anderson) 3:28.73; 5. LHS (Philip Gabler, Josh Shump, Nick Benton, Gari Jones) 3:29.85.