photo by: Shane Jackson

Lawrence High junior Avion Nelson competes in the boys triple jump competition during the LHS quadrangular Friday afternoon on April 2, 2021.

For the second track meet in a row, Lawrence High junior Avion Nelson swept the boys jumping events on Friday — but his performance was even more impressive this time, beating his previous marks in both the long jump and triple jump.

Nelson posted a leap of 21-02.00 in the long jump and a 43-01.00 in the triple jump at LHS’ windy four-team home meet on Friday.

“Overall, I think I did pretty good,” Nelson said. “Better than last week at the Early Bird meet.”

That meet last week at Free State was the first track action in more than a year, and Nelson won the long jump there with a 20-11.00 and the triple jump with a 41-02.00.

Not only were the numbers better in Friday’s encore, but Nelson set personal-best marks in both events. He matched his freshman personal record in long jump on his third leap, and he accomplished a PB on his second attempt in the triple jump.

Both of his victories on Friday came by comfortable margins, as well. Olathe East’s Kejuan Williams finished as the runner-up in long jump with a 20-04.00, and Free State’s Jerred Willits placed second in triple jump with a 41-10.00.

“I honestly didn’t expect that much,” Nelson said of winning all four jumping events to start the season. “I know there are some other good kids. Jerred Willits is pretty good at triple jump, and I know his PR is a lot better than mine. I just outshined him today.”

A lot of Nelson’s early success comes from his own determination.

photo by: Shane Jackson

Lawrence High junior Avion Nelson competes in the boys triple jump competition during the LHS quadrangular Friday afternoon on April 2, 2021.

Nelson placed eighth at the Class 6A state meet in long jump as a freshman, but he finished just shy of qualifying for the final meet in triple jump. Now, Nelson’s primary goal is to make it to Wichita and find a podium in both events.

“I need to work harder at it,” Nelson said. “My freshman self told my junior self now to keep on competing and work harder than I did.”

For Nelson, that training started right after the basketball season ended. Nelson demonstrated the ability to take flight all winter while throwing down big slams for the Lions, who won the Sunflower League title and made it to the Class 6A semifinals.

Once the season ended, though, Nelson immediately turned his attention to track and started working on perfecting his craft.

“I just got into jumping right away,” Nelson said. “That week was a meet, too, and I already knew what I had to do.”

photo by: Shane Jackson

Lawrence High junior Avion Nelson competes in the boys long jump competition during the LHS quadrangular Friday afternoon on April 2, 2021.

Nelson’s contributions to the LHS boys track team go beyond his success as a jumper, though. He is also the second leg on Lawrence’s 4×100-meter relay team, which made its season debut on Friday. The team consists of Zeric Avery, Colin Sandefur, Graham Hough and Nelson, and it posted a time of 44.84 to take second in the event.

The relay unit has a lot of potential — if the runners can put it together by the postseason. LHS only worked on handoffs for a couple of days before Friday, so the relay squad has a lot of room for improvement in that area.

In addition, Nelson took ninth as an individual in the 100-meter dash. He ran a time of 11.69; Hough won the race with a 10.99.

Nelson hopes to go as far as possible in his sprinting events, though ultimately his biggest impact will come as a jumper.

“My goal is to break records and be first in state of all schools,” Nelson said. “I just work hard and keep on competing.”

Lawrence High quadrangular

Friday at LHS

Girls team scores: 1. Olathe East 104; 2. Lawrence 82; 3. Free State 77; 4. Bishop Seabury 11.

Boys team scores: 1. Olathe East 131; 2. Free State 94.5; 3. Lawrence 70.5; 4. Bishop Seabury 2.

Local results (top-10 finishes) for Lawrence, Free State and Bishop Seabury

Girls 100: 2. Bella Kirkwood, LHS, 12.93; 3. Siana King, LHS, 13.01; 5. Lauren Sinclair, FSHS, 13.53; 7. Taniyah Cox, FSHS, 13.66; 9. Jaylie Hohman, LHS, 13.78.

Boys 100: 1. Graham Hough, LHS, 10.99; 5. Anthony Barberena, FSHS, 11.50; 6. Logan Schwab, FSHS, 11.52; 7. Emmett Jones, FSHS, 11.56; 9. Avion Nelson, 11.69; 10. Harrison Hartzler, BSA, 11.73.

Girls 200: 1. Brenna Schwada, LHS, 26.33; 3. Siana King, LHS, 27.23; 4. Gianna Cooper, LHS, 27.78; 5. Bella Kirkwood, LHS, 28.07; 6. Jaylie Hohman, LHS, 28.27; 7. Ivori Jones, LHS, 28.33; 10. Mattie Smith, FSHS, 28.98.

Boys 200: 1. Graham Hough, LHS, 22.59; 4. Harrison Hartzler, BSA, 24.08; 5. Jaylon Didde, LHS, 24.20; 6. Quez Lee, FSHS, 24.36; 8. Kyle Watson, LHS, 24.90; 9. Sam Sedo, LHS, 25.20; 10. Hudson Schuckman, FSHS 25.58.

Girls 400: 1. Alannah Lohfeld, FS, 1:10.73; 2. Hannah Motsinger, BSA, 1:11.35; 3. Grace Harader-Ellett, LHS, 1:12.48; 4. Ava Rivera, FSHS, 1:14.90; 5. Campbell Helling, BSA, 1:15.59; 6. Annabelle Hurst, FSHS, 1:18.13; 7. Olivia Jaramillo, FSHS, 1:25.15.

Boys 400: 2. Colin Sandefur, LHS, 55.97; 4. Kyle Watson, LHS, 56.56; 5. Quez Lee, FSHS, 59.64; 6. Jamie King, FSHS, 1:01.35; 7. Connor Ireland, LHS, 1:01.45; 8. Hudson Schuckman, FSHS, 1:01.99; 10. Kaidon Cordes, FSHS, 1:06.23.

Girls 800: 2. Isabelle Pro, FSHS, 2:33.63; 3. Delaney Rockers, FSHS, 2:37.23; 6. Harper Merrill, FSHS, 2:42.08; 8. Ella Marshall, FSHS, 2:50.26; 9. Allison Babbit, FSHS, 2:52.55.

Boys 800: 1. Ethan Sharp, FSHS, 2:04.98; 2. Brock Cordova, FSHS, 2:05.36; 6. Jesse Self, LHS, 2:13.56; 9. Devon Bontrager, FSHS, 2:18.28; 10. Jake Loos, FSHS, 2:19.01.

Girls 1600: 1. Isabelle Pro, FSHS, 5:38.01; 2. Natalie Kennedy, LHS, 5:49.39; 3. Oona Nelson, BSA, 5:50.52; 4. Delaney Rockers, FSHS, 6:03.88; 5. Allison Babbit, FSHS, 6:08.97; 6. Olivia Goeser, FSHS, 6:10.28; 7. Lucy Hardy, LHS, 6:15.14; 8. Maddie DeWitt, LHS, 6:25.68; 10. Eva Ackley, LHS, 6:39.46.

Boys 1600: 1. Brock Cordova, FSHS, 4:39.77; 2. Ethan Sharp, FSHS, 4:40.31; 6. Jack Ryan, LHS, 5:02.81; 7. Arlo Paden, LHS, 5:03.28; 8. Jake Loos, FSHS, 5:03.29; 9. Jesse Self, LHS, 5:15.24; 10. Keat Prescott, LHS, 5:27.03.

Girls 3200: 2. Natalie Kennedy, LHS, 12:26.44; 3. Oona Nelson, BSA, 12:28.61; 5. Sina Boerger, FSHS, 13:21.98; 6. Maddie DeWitt, LHS, 13:50.55; 7. Janice Werth, FSHS, 14:02.94; 8. Eva Ackley, LHS, 14:45.80.

Boys 3200: 1. Ben Shryock, FSHS, 9:43.98; 2. Christopher Stone, FSHS, 10:13.53; 3. Jack Keathley-Helms, FSHS, 10:19.53; 5. Carson Marsh, FSHS, 10:55.37; 7. Blake Wohler, FSHS, 10:59.95; 8. Arlo Paden, LHS, 11:00.96; 9. Jack Ryan, LHS, 11:08.32; 10. Ryan Whittlesey, FSHS, 11:20.71.

Girls 100 hurdles: 1. Marrah Spriggs, FSHS, 17.33; 4. Joan Epian, LHS, 19.85; 6. Imoleayomitan Okosun, LHS, 21.60; 7. Anivea Douglas, LHS, 22.15.

Boys 110 hurdles: 2. Cole Wenger, FSHS, 16.11; 5. Yoav Gillath, FSHS, 17.44; 6. Van Hutchins, LHS, 21.63; 7. Isaac Outka, LHS, 25.29.

Girls 300 hurdles: 3. Joan Epian, LHS, 54.79; 4. Mattie Smith, FSHS, 56.42.

Boys 300 hurdles: 2. Cole Wenger, FSHS, 44.84; 3. Yoav Gillath, FSHS, 45.35; 5. Thomas Henderson, FSHS, 49.27; 6. Isaac Outka, LHS, 52.64.

Girls 4×100-meter relay (top-three): 2. Lawrence (Bella Kirkwood, Brenna Schwada, Siana King, Destiny Savannah), 52.10; 3. Free State (Ana Holladay, Lauren Sinclair, Ashley Mai, Makenzie Vaughn), 54.54.

Boy 4×100-meter relay (top-three): 2. Lawrence High (Zeric Avery, Avion Nelson, Graham Hough, Colin Sandefur), 44.84; 3. Free State (Logan Schwab, Emmett Jones, Ebuka Ennyinnaya, Jamie King), 46.30.

Girls 4×400-meter relay (top-three): 1. Lawrence (Gianna Cooper, Destiny Savannah, Brenna Schwada, Siana King), 4:19.39; 3. Free State (Taniyah Cox, Miah Cheatham, Samantha Whittlesey, Makenzie Vaughn), 4:34.61.

Boys 4×400-meter relay: 2. Lawrence High (Zeric Avery, Colin Sandefur, Graham Hough, Kyle Watson), 3:44.62; 3. Free State, 3:45.46.

Girls 4×800-meter relay: 2. Lawrence (Maddie DeWitt, Cyrenity Hardy, Lucy Hardy, Natalie Kennedy), 11:12.71; 3. Free State, 11:27.30.

Boys 4×800-meter relay: 1. Free State, 8:22.33; 3. Lawrence High (Winton Anderson, Arlo Paden, Jack Ryan, Jesse Self), 9:15.92.

Girls high jump: 1. Reese Hulcher, FSHS, 5-04.00; 2. Mariah Reed, LHS, 5-02.00; 3. Aubrey Duncan, FSHS, 4-04.00; 4. Olivia Roderick, FSHS, J4-04.00.

Boys high jump: 2. Ntense Obono, LHS, 5-10.00; 4. Colin Sandefur, LHS, 5-04.00; 5. Jakub Jezak, FSHS, 5-02.00; 6. Yoav Gillath, FSHS, 5-00.00; 6. Parker Hippe, FSHS, 5-00.00.

Girls pole vault: 1. Makenzie Vaughn, FSHS, 10-00.00; 2. Ashley Mai, FSHS, 9-06.00; 3. Avery Qualseth, FSHS, 8-00.00; 3. Chaney Finkeldei, FSHS, 8-00.00; 5. Caroline Dunlap, LHS, J8-00.00.

Boys pole vault: 2. Cooper Stone, FSHS, 11-00.00; 3. Zachary Razak, LHS, 9-06.00; 3. Logan Schwab, FSHS, 9-06.00; 5. Tim Huffman, FSHS, J9-06.00.

Girls long jump: 1. Brenna Schwada, LHS, 17-01.50; 2. Bella Kirkwood, LHS, 16-08.50; 3. Gianna Cooper, LHS, 15-04.50; 5. Miri Pickman, LHS, 14-09.50; 6. Destiny Savannah, LHS, 14-05.00; 8. Imoleayomitan Okosun, LHS, 13-09.00; 9. Anna Johnson, BSA, 13-08.00; 10. Emma Evans, 13-01.00.

Boys long jump: 1. Avion Nelson, LHS, 21-02.00; 5. Ntense Obono, LHS, 19-05.50; 6. Jerred Willits, FSHS, 19-04.50; 8. Zeric Avery, LHS, 18-09.50; 10. Ebuka Ennyinnaya, FSHS, 17-08.00.

Girls triple jump: 2. Miri Pickman, LHS, 32-01.00; 3. Makhia Krauase, LHS, 29-01.00; 4. McKayla McGee, LHS, 27-08.50; 5. Emma Evans, FSHS, 27-07.00.

Boys triple jump: 1. Avion Nelson, LHS, 43-01.00; 2. Jerred Willits, FSHS, 41-10.00; 3. Ntense Obono, LHS, 38-07.00; 6. Braylon Dye, LHS, 27-01.00.

Girls shot put: 5. Soledad Edison, FSHS, 27-08.00; 6. Cameron Vaughn, FSHS, 26-04.00; 9. Olie Proctor-Alberding, LHS, 24-05.00; 9. Madison Base, FSHS, 24-05.00.

Boys shot put: 3. Dylan Gillespie, LHS, 45-07.00; 4. Noah Smith, LHS, 43-03.00; 6. Tyler Gourley, FSHS, 42-01.00; 7. Luke Wheeler-Halsted, FSHS, 40-06.00; 8. Ian Shire, FSHS, 35-00.00; 9. Tyler Rasys, FSHS, 32-04.00; 10. Max Childers, FSHS, 30-08.00.

Girls discus: 6. Madison Base, FSHS, 71-11; 7. Allison Reed, FSHS, 70-09; 8. Soledad Edison, FSHS, 65-01; 9. Ruth Mutuku, FSHS, 60-09; 10. Cameron Vaughn, FSHS, 56-09.

Boys discus: 2. Noah Smith, LHS, 133-08; 3. Dylan Gillespie, LHS, 127-09; 4. Luke Wheeler-Halsted, FSHS, 120-06; 5. Harrison Kirkwood, LHS 104-03; 6. Tyler Gourley, FSHS, 94-03; 8. Brian Lane, FSHS, 85-06; 9. Mehkel Hollie, FSHS, 84-10; 10. Cason Cregg, FSHS, 73-04.

Girls javelin: 1. Aubrey Duncan, FSHS, 119-07; 2. Amaya Harris, LHS, 112-10; 3. Taylor Veeder, FSHS, 98-02; 5. Jada Big Eagle, LHS, 81-00; 8. Reese Hulcher, FSHS, 73-01; 10. Carlie Miller, FSHS, 71-03.

Boys javelin: 1. Titus Birdahaw, FSHS, 141-07; 2. Ben King, LHS, 141-06; 3. Brian Lane, FSHS, 135-08; 4. Jude Harris, LHS, 134-05; 5. Ntense Obono, LHS, 125-05; 6. Gordon Fineday, LHS, 118-04; 7. Cason Cregg, FSHS, 113-04; 8. Ian Shire, FSHS, 110-06.