Abby Dunn’s performance at State last year placed her 6th in the finals of the 400m. But her time in the prelims of 59.61 at State puts her fourth in the rankings for 6A in the state of Kansas. Abby has been working hard this winter to perfect her running technique.
Toni Aguiar placed 2nd in the 100m at State and 4th in the 200 at State. Her times give her the number one ranking for 6A in the state in both the 100 and 200. Toni has already signed to compete at Dartmouth next year, but has some unfinished business before she goes.
Abby and Toni were part of the girls 4×4 relay team that placed 3rd at State. They are going to need 2 competitive young ladies to join them on the relay. SME traditionally has a 4×4 team that is known throughout the state.
Abby and Toni both went to State in the Long Jump. Look for their distances to increase this Spring as their jumping technique continues to improve.
Grace Pickell is ranked 2nd in 6A high jump with her pr of 5-5.5. Grace placed 3rd at State in 2011. She is looking forward to competing and has expressed a desire to get involved on the track! I vote hurdles.
David Sosna is ranked 2nd in the state in 6A 110 hurdles with his pr of 15.29. He placed 5th at State last year as a SOPHOMORE. David is ranked 4th in the state in 6A in the 300H going in to the season. David placed 8th in the finals at University of Ark indoor high school meet this winter in the 60m hurdles. Look for David to return to State in May and place in the top three.
Devin Burton is ranked 6th in the 300H. Devin came on strong at the end of the season. If he can get back to where he left off he will be a force to deal with. He is ranked 7th in the 110 hurdles in 6A. Devin competed in the 4×4 at State last season and will be contributing to the State team this season.
Carter Olander 2:06.10 in the 800 last season puts in 8th in the 6A rankings. Carter has been working all winter on his running technique. His rhythm is impressive as well as his speed. Look out 800 runners! Carter is heading to State.
Troy Wilkins is 2nd in the 400 but only by 0.01 seconds to some Olathe dude. He placed 3rd last year in the finals at State AS A SOPHOMORE. The two athletes ahead of him have graduated. His pr is 49.6 in the prelims at State. Troy’s competitiveness will serve him well this season.
Mitch Kaskie is 9th in the mile in preseason rankings. Mitch’s pr in the 1600 is 4:34.72. Mitch missed qualifying to State last season by a very narrow margin. He will not allow that to happen again. Mitch has juggled conditioning and soccer this winter, but will devote it all to track come the end of February.
Adam Simmon’s pr is 4:35.41 in the mile. He placed 6th at Regionals with 4:35.91.
Jake McCoy’s 205.6 at the end of last season in the 800 adds one more weapon to East’s artillery. Jake should be ranked 7th in the rankings. Let’s see what his winter conditioning can do for his times. He will contribute to East’s success.
Senior leader, Evan Nichols had a 203.5 split last year in the 4×800. If you put that split time in to the 6A rankings, Evan comes up 5th. He has been in the weight room and has been conditioning with the KC Flyers this winter to work on his speed and endurance. Evans time should drop drastically this season…he has to stay healthy.
Blake Hill ran a 2:04.19 in 800 last season. Which should place him 6th on the rankings. Blake has a big heart, but a bigger desire to win. Look for Blake to be on the 4×8 again this season.
Alec Bartholimew is 5th in 6A high jump. His pr is 6-0. He jumped 5-10 at State to place him 10th. Look for Alec to return to State this season.
Ben Randolph is ranked 5th in the steeplechase. He ran well last year at KU. He plans to run again this year at KU and improve on his time.
Emma Vickers ran a 102.81 at Regionals last season. She placed 5th just narrowly missing qualifying for State. If Emma can stay healthy she will be turning some heads this season. She could be a key component in the girl’s 4×4 too.
Emily Kerr’s pr in the mile is 5:41.53. She placed 7th at Regionals. Her 2 mile time is 12:33 placing her 9th at Regionals. She has been spotted running in PV this winter. She’ll be dropping time this season.
Chloe Stradinger is primed for a sweet track season. She placed 6th in the 100 hurdles at Regionals. And went to State in the 300 Hurdles. She competed well in her first appearance at State. She will be returning to next year in both events. Emma Pennington and Grace Cantril will be pushing Chloe to be her best. With some good weather to help with hurdle practice these two young ladies could score points for us as well.
Kennedy Burgess has been conditioning since cross-country season ended. Her goal is to contribute to the team in the 2-mile this year. Look for points from Kennedy!
Molly Ross placed 6th last year in Regionals. She threw the discus 101-07 ft. That toss places her 6th in the rankings for this spring.
We have studettes on our girl’s 4×800 team last year. They placed a respectable 8th . Annie Kuklinski, Abbie Quinlan and Kellie Johnson will be looking for a competitive fourth teammate to join them in a return trip to Wichita!
Myisha Heinen threw 110-7 in the Javelin last year. She made her first trip to State. Looking forward to see what Myisha can accomplish!
Kiki Sykes has been working diligently this off-season to improve her endurance and speed. She is a competitive young lady and has the desire to succeed. This year is her year to shine.
Our Pole Vaulters have a hole to fill with the graduation of last years State Champion. But Alic Erpelding and Preston Vaughn are ready to fill the void. Both vaulted 12-00 last season and are excited to show their stuff.
That brings us to sprinters and mid distance runners. Who is going to fill those spots? Connor Relihan ran sprint events last year as well as being a integral part of the 4×100. Conner had a great football season and has spent considerable time in the weight room. No doubt that time will result in better times at the finish line.
Ben Harkey, Jake Libeer and Sam Stewart all had good track seasons in 2012. We are going to need their speed and work ethic to score points in the sprints and to fill out the 4×100 relay.
Our 4×100 placed 5th at regionals only 0.2 seconds off of going to State. The team consisted of Rellihan, Goble, Lewis and Wilkins. Who will be on it come the end of March?
Good 400-meter runners and good 4×400 relay teams are an East tradition. Times will need to be in the low 50s to be competitive. Joe Lewis, Tucker Styrkowicz, Jack Fay, David Sosna, Devin Burton all will be in the running for the 4×400. Last years team placed 3rd in prelims and ended up 7th in finals.
With a team of over 250 people there will be many athlete vying for the varsity spots. Athletes have been working tirelessly in the off-season. Athletes that have been sitting back just waiting for the season to begin. There are seniors that will step up. There are freshman waiting to make a name for them selves. There are Sophomores and Juniors that will contribute to the team. Will you be one of them? We could use your help and dedication.
