Track Athletes Compete at State
A large contingent of track athletes from St. Francis High School competed in the Kansas State High School Track and Field Meet on Friday and Saturday, May 29 and 30, 2015. The meet, held at Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University, is the largest track meet in the nation. Several St. Francis athletes placed in the competition, and all represented St. Francis well.
On Friday, the first St. Francis athlete to compete was senior Cade Bracelin in the shot put. Cade threw 43' 6.5". The toss placed Cade in 10th position and did not qualify for the shot put finals.
Mckenzie Taylor, junior, competed in the 100 meter hurdles. McKenzie's preliminary time of 17.61 was 14th among the competitors and did not qualify for the finals.
The girls 4 X 100 meter relay team consisting of senior Valerie Wurm, junior Kayla Reed, senior McKayla Taylor, and junior McKenzie Taylor placed 6th in the preliminaries on Friday with a time of 53.24 seconds. The time was good enough to qualify for the finals on Saturday. The team was disqualified on Saturday (handoff out of the zone) and did not place. Zoe Sundstrom and Madi Tice did not compete, but accompanied the team as alternates.
The boys 4 X 100 meter relay team placed 8th in the preliminaries on Friday with a time of 46.00 seconds. The boys earned a 3rd place finish in the finals on Saturday clocking 45.40. The team members included: junior Carl Fabre, sophomore Taylor Rogers, junior Lane Hobrock, and sophomore J.R. Landenberger. Quinton Cravens and Dalton Straub were alternates for the relay.
Emily Elfers, junior, placed 14th in the 300 meter hurdle preliminaries and did not qualify for the finals. Emily's time was 52.69 seconds.
Senior Valerie Wurm competed in the 200 meter dash preliminaries on Friday. Valerie ran 28.09 to place 13th and did not qualify for the finals.
The boys 4 X 400 meter relay team (sophomore Taylor Rogers, sophomore Quinton Cravens, junior Garrett Brunk, and junior Lane Hobrock) placed 11th in their preliminary race on Friday and did not qualify for Saturday's finals. The team combined for a time of 3:38.33. Matt Howell and Justin Pacheco did not compete, but served as alternates.
Friday afternoon, Jude Faulkender, junior, competed in the discus. Jude's best toss was 127' 0". The toss placed Jude in the 11th position and did not qualify for the finals.
On Saturday morning, Valerie Wurm, senior, competed in the girls 100 meter dash finals. Valerie ran 13.01 and placed 8th in the event.
The girls pole vault was closely contested. Three athletes, Dallas Reed of St. Francis, Robyn See of Weskan, and Brooke Ricke of Attica, all tied for first place clearing 9'6". To determine first place, a jump-off was held. Robyn See cleared 10' 0" to win the competition. Senior Dallas Reed and Brook Ricke tied for second, both with a best height of 9' 6".
The boys 4 X 800 meter relay team consisting of senior Matt Howell, freshman Jake Faulkender, junior Justin Pacheco, and junior Jacob McWilliams placed 16th with a time of 9:35.56. Jeremiah Neitzel and Tate Busse served as alternates, but did not compete.
In Saturday afternoon's competition, senior Cade Bracelin earned a 5th place finish in the boys javelin with a heave of 164' 6".
St. Francis placed 29th in the girls team scoring with 8 points. Linn won the girls team championship with 55.33 points. Blue Rapids - Valley Heights placed second with 52, and Cunningham placed 3rd with 48 team points.
In the boys team competition, St. Francis placed 24th with 10 points. Hanover earned the team championship with 74 points. Blue Rapids - Valley Heights placed second with 49 points. Deerfield was third with 36.
CLICK THIS LINK to view complete results from the 1A State Track Meet.
Congratulations to the St. Francis athletes and coaches for a fine season!
