From left, Free State's Gabbi Dabney, Alexa Harmon-Thomas and Kiara Clark take the top three spots in the 100 hurdles at a regional track and field meet, Friday at FSHS. Harmon-Thomas finished first, Dabney placed second and Clark third as the Firebirds girls team won its regional.

Free State High’s girls track and field team features three of the best hurdlers in the state — Kiara Clark, Gabbi Dabney and Alexa Harmon-Thomas.

The trio left competitors in the dust at the Class 6A regional meet on Friday, sweeping the top three spots in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Their performance helped the Firebirds capture their second straight regional championship at FSHS.

Dabney, who finished second in the 100 hurdles behind Harmon-Thomas and third in the 300 hurdles, said she was happy to qualify for the state meet next week but “I really wanted to get that for our coach, mainly.”

“We never really thought about it until this (meet), until we realized how big this actually is and how this really never happens,” Dabney said. “I’m really excited about the sweep and everything. … I knew it was possible and that it was cool, but I never realized how big of a deal it was, so I have a lot of pride in it now.”

There’s no hard feelings between any of the three hurdlers, who feed off each other in the races.

“Especially in 100 hurdles, it helps me a lot because Alexa always has a really powerful start, so I try to match that and see how that goes for the rest of the race,” Dabney said. “Also in the 300 hurdles, I try to pace myself off them a little bit, but that’s still not my race. But it helps a lot. I like it.”

Dabney also qualified for the state meet in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 2 inches to claim third place. She’s battled injuries this season and hasn’t been happy with her high jumping results until qualifying for the state meet Friday.

Harmon-Thomas also has been dealing with injuries, sidelined for most of the season because of a stress reaction in her leg. It was her first time running the 300 hurdles since winning last year’s state meet.

“I was a little nervous about that,” said Harmon-Thomas. “It’s just great to win my first meet back. In 100 hurdles, I felt a lot better than I did last week. I’ve only practiced once and I’ve raced twice now, so I wasn’t expecting much, but I felt it was a pretty good time considering the circumstances.”

FSHS girls’ distance runners nearly accomplished the same feat as the hurdlers, qualifying multiple runners in each distance race.

Senior Bailey Sullivan won a regional title in the 800 (2:21.37), followed by freshman Emily Venters who took second and senior Molly McCord who placed fourth. Sullivan and Venters immediately turned around after crossing the finish line to make sure McCord qualified for state. McCord was mobbed by some of her cheering teammates afterward.

In the 1600, Venters finished in second place, sophomore Claire Sanner in third and Sullivan fourth. Sanner and Venters took third and fourth, respectively, in the 3200.

“The fact that we had three Free State distance runners through in almost every single distance race is something that we’re really proud of,” Sullivan said. “That’s really cool to just see all of that green out on the track, and it gives us a chance to score a lot of points at state, so that’s really exciting.”

Wiebe sets record

Senior Scout Wiebe set a new school record in the javelin, with a throw of 140 feet, 7 inches.

“I knew coming into the season I had a chance to get it,” Wiebe said. “After my first throw, I was like, ‘I could get this maybe.’ The second throw, I threw 136 (feet), and I just didn’t know if I could get it. Then I finally got it on the third throw.

“I was relieved and really excited at the same time,” Wiebe added. “I’ve wanted to break the record since coming in freshman year, and it’s really exciting.”

Wiebe finished in second place, qualifying for the state meet for the fourth straight year.

Boys finish third

Free State senior Elijah Harvey had a simple question for his teammates after crossing the finish line in the 400.

“Did I catch him?” he asked.

Indeed, Harvey did. He finished in fourth place, qualifying for state, and beating the fifth-place runner by less than 0.2 seconds.

“It was a great feeling, but it was painful,” said Harvey who ran a personal-best time of 50.91. “We were right next to each other the whole last 50 meters. It was just who could push through at the end and fight the hardest. At the last lean, I was able to get in, so it was exciting to hear the results afterward.”

The Firebirds finished in third place, scoring 81.5 points. Senior Trevor Hillis earned a regional title in the pole vault, senior Stan Skwarlo won in the 800 and the 4×800 relay team took a regional crown.

Class 6A Regional

Friday at Free State

Girls team standings: Free State 161.5; Wichita East 104; Manhattan 100; Topeka High 89; Junction City 32; Wichita Southeast 27; Derby 23; Washburn Rural 21.5.

Boys team standings: Manhattan 149.5; Topeka High 85; Free State 81.5; Wichita Southeast 70; Wichita East 64; Washburn Rural 55; Derby 46; Junction City 7.

Girls state qualifiers (top-4) and Free State girls

100 — 1. Raianna Maples, THS, 12.24; 2. Kimani Evans, WE, 12.44; 3. Latiyera Yeargin, THS, 12.54; 4. Arie Burl, WE, 12.89; 10. Brogan Scott, FS, 13.73.

200 — 1. Rainna Maples, THS, 25.33; t-2. Laura Kennard, FS, 26.48; t-2. Maria Cisneros, THS, 26.48; 4. Hannah Gilkey, WR, 26.66; 10. Brogan Scott, FS, 28.62.

400 — 1. Laura Kennard, FS, 59.72; 2. Lakeyshe Durant, THS, 1:00.90; 3. Whitney Holloman, THS, 1:01.17; 4. Deisjambra Bisio, JC, 1:01.27; 7. Emma Barberena, 1:04.39.

800 — 1. Bailey Sullivan, FS, 2:21.37; 2. Emily Venters, FS, 2:22.81; 3. Megan Ochoa, MHS, 2:23.23; 4. Molly McCord, FS, 2:24.63.

1600 — 1. Alaina Schroeder, MHS, 5:03.16; 2. Emily Venters, FS, 5:13.47; 3. Claire Sanner, FS, 5:18.34; 4. Bailey Sullivan, FS, 5:20.88.

3200 — 1. Alaina Schroeder, MHS, 11:18.41; 2. Claire Sanner, FS, 11:24.00; 3. Emily Venters, FS, 11:42.43; 4. Amanda Morgan, WR, 11:45.85; 5. Kiran Cordes, FS, 11:54.03.

100 hurdles — 1. Alexa Harmon-Thomas, FS, 14.61; 2. Gabbi Dabney, FS, 15.14; 3. Kiara Clark, FS, 15.23; 4. Morrigan Crow, DER, 16.09.

300 hurdles — 1. Alexa Harmon-Thomas, FS, 45.53; 2. Kiara Clark, FS, 46.68; 3. Gabbi Dabney, FS, 48.42; 4. Kaitlin Ormsby, DER, 48.76.

4×100 relay — 1. THS, 48.55; 2. WE, 49.41; 3. JC, 50.48; 4. MHS, 50.50; 5. FS (Brogan Scott, Kiara Clark, Marilee Neutel, Laura Kennard), 50.76.

4×400 relay — 1. THS, 4:07.38; 2. JC, 4:08.87; 3. FS (Kiara Clark, Bailey Sullivan, Marilee Neutel, Laura Kennard), 4:09.28. 4. WR, 4:16.81.

4×800 relay — 1. JC, 9:56.23; 2. MHS, 10:04.01; 3. WR, 10:11.76; 4. FS (Molly McCord, Abigail Zenger, Morgan Noll, Marlee Yost Wolff), 10:12.37.

High jump — 1. Matty Mahan, MHS, 5-02; 2. Brittany Richey, WE, 5-02; 3. Gabbi Dabney, FS, 5-02; 4. Andrika Dawn, THS, 5-00; t-6. Natalie Clarke, 5-00.

Pole vault — 1. Tyra Clark, WE, 9-06; 2. Samantha Harmon, DER, 9-06; t-3. Callie Hicks, FS, 8-06; t-3. Vernanderse Joseph, WSE, 8-06; 7. Alyssa Hicks, FS, 8-00.

Long jump — 1. Breanna Eckels, WSE, 18-09.25; 2. Allegra Carson, WE, 18-00; 3. Raianna Maples, THS, 17-07; 4. Precious Posey, THS, 16-09.25; 5. Callie Hicks, FS, 16-05.75; 12. Natalie Clarke, 14-03.75.

Triple jump — 1. Breanna Eckels, WSE, 37-11.25; 2. Allegra Carson, WE, 37-03.5; 3. Whitney Holloman, THS, 35-01; 4. Nicole Ukoefreso, WE, 34-03.75; 9. Bri Martin, FS, 32-05.

Shot put — 1. Astrid Same, WE, 38-04; 2. Natalie Williams, WE, 38-01.5; 3. Stephanie Shanower, MHS, 37-09.5; 4. Kylie James, MHS, 34-02.5; 5. Alexa Harmon-Thomas, FS, 34-00; 7. Hannah Walter, FS, 33-01.5; 8. Hannah Shoemaker, FS, 32-05.

Discus — 1. Stephanie Shanower, MHS, 128-01.25; 2. Kylie James, MHS, 127-01.25; 3. Hannah Shoemaker, FS, 117-10.5; 4. Ja’Chel Wood, MHS, 111-11.25; 8. Kahler Wiebe, FS, 78-01.

Javelin — 1. Andrea Navarro, WE, 148-01; 2. Scout Wiebe, FS, 140-07; 3. Krisha Parmar, WE, 124-08; 4. Antonea Carson, WE, 121-09; 10. Kahler Wiebe, FS, 101-09; 12. Lauren Johnson, FS, 96-03.

Boys state qualifiers (top-4) and Free State boys

100 — 1. Calil Burnett, WE, 10.71; 2. Tre Daniels, MHS, 10.86; 3. Christian Mack, MHS, 10.91; 4. Xavier Harris, THS, 10.93; 6. Avin Lane, FS, 11.19; 9. Isaac King, FS, 11.44; 12. Ronald White, FS, 11.53.

200 — 1. Calil Burnett, WE, 22.30; 2. Tre Daniels, MHS, 22.62; 3. Tyler Odell, FS, 22.78; 4. Xavier Harris, THS, 22.81; 7. Ronald White, FS, 23.45; 9. Isaac King, 23.44.

400 — 1. Walker Shepard, WR, 49.54; 2. Christopher Martin, MHS, 49.83; 3. Ira Hines, WSE, 50.35; 4. Elijah Harvey, FS, 50.91.

800 — 1. Stan Skwarlo, FS, 1:58.21; 2. Thomas LaRoche, WR, 1:58.81; 3. Ethan Donley, FS, 1:59.60; 4. Josue Alvarado, MHS, 2:00.40; 9. Owen Heffernan, 2:07.77.

1600 — 1. Christopher Melgares, MHS, 4:29.95; 2. Isaiah Koppes, MHS, 4:33.42; 3. Michael Melgares, MHS, 4:33.46; 4. Liam Ormiston, DER, 4:36.60; 7. Connor Ballenger, 4:50.54.

3200 — 1. Christopher Melgares, MHS, 9:38.72; 2. Michael Melgares, MHS, 9:46.78; 3. Ryan Liston, FS, 9:47.39; 4. Jack Keeley, MHS, 9:57.28; 5. Thomas Becker, FS, 10:05.77; 11. Tanner Hockenbury, FS, 10:34.98.

110 hurdles — 1. Khalil Austin, THS, 14.73; 2. Christian Hicks, DER, 14.80; 3. Jaylen Dixon, WE, 15.53; 4. DaMaCias Nielson, THS, 15.74; 7. Reuben Wesley, FS, 16.68.

300 hurdles — 1. Christian Hicks, DER, 40.58; 2. Khalil Austin, THS, 40.97; 3. Jaylen Dixon, WE, 41.02; 4. Austin Koch, WR, 41.84; 5. Reuben Wesley, FS, 42.22.

4×100 relay — 1. MHS, 42.15; 2. FS (Isaac King, Avin Lane, Tyler Odell, Ronald White), 42.63; 3. THS, 42.69; 4. WE, 42.96.

4×400 relay — 1. MHS, 3:23.96; 2. THS, 3:25.86; 3. WR, 3:26.89; 4. WSE, 3:31.39; 5. FS (Ian Sellens, Stan Skwarlo, Avin Lane, Elijah Harvey), 3:34.34.

4×800 relay — 1. FS (Ryan Liston, Stan Skwarlo, Tanner Hockenbury, Ethan Donley), 8:03.32; 2. MHS, 8:09.58; 3. WR, 8:11.34; 4. WSE, 8:13.41.

High jump — 1. Joel Long, THS, 6-08; 2. Brandon Fields, WSE, 6-04; 3. Canien Burnett, WE, 6-02; 4. Richard Newman, THS, 6-00.

Pole vault — 1. Trevor Hillis, FS, 15-00; 2. Christian Compton, DER, 14-00; t-3. Jacob Heaney, WR, 13-00; t-3. Caleb Shuey, WE, 13-00.

Long jump — 1. Ira Hines, WSE, 21-06.75; 2. Joel Long, THS, 21-06; 3. DaMaCias Nielson, THS, 21-03.75; 4. Brandon Fields, WSE, 21-03.75; t-9. Azariah LeBrun, FS, 19-06.75; 19. Taylor Krejci, FS, 16-06.

Triple jump — 1. Samuel Livsey, MHS, 44-07.25; 2. Brandon Fields, WSE, 44-00; 3. DaMaCias Nielson, THS, 43-10.75; 4. Jacob Harden, MHS, 43-09; t-6. Azariah LeBrun, FS, 42-05.

Shot put — 1. Charles Collins, WSE, 53-01.5; 2. Colton Wagner, MHS, 52-08; 3. Junior Joseph, WSE, 49-07; 4. Teryn Brown, WE, 47-02.5; 14. Aaron Simon, FS, 35-02; 16. Taylor Krejci, FS, 34-07.

Discus — 1. Brandon Nowlin-Hines, MHS, 159-06.75; 2. Miles Dortch, WR, 141-02.25; 3. Nicholas Hocking, FS, 139-00.25; 4. Junior Joseph, WSE, 138-08; 9. Reid Buckingham, FS, 119-10.25; 10. Andrew Krejci, FS, 117-08.

Javelin — 1. Kavan Mark, DER, 180-08; 2. David Kaufman, WE, 174-06; 3. Lucas Werner, FS, 167-07; 4. Miles Dortch, WR, 161-08; 5. Samuel Fanshier, FS, 146-03; 7. Connor Ballenger, FS, 145-05.