Staff writer
Clearing skies after 48 hours of rain allowed the successful completion of the 1A regional track meet Friday at Burlington, hosted by Southern Coffey County High School.
For the second consecutive year, Centre High School junior Theo Kassebaum qualified to participate in the state track meet this weekend in Wichita. She finished in first place in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 16.8 seconds.
Kassebaum narrowly defeated Tia Goertzen of Goessel, who finished just ahead of Kassebaum in the league meet the previous week.
Kassebaum is hoping for a medal at state after just missing it last year with an eighth-place finish. She will run in the preliminaries at 9 a.m. Friday. If she qualifies for the finals, she will compete at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
The regional meet was the final meet for seniors Casey Kristek and Cole Svoboda. Both are three-year letter-winners. Svoboda led scoring for the boys this year with 81.5 points, followed by Kristek with 54.75 points.
Coach Alan Stahlecker said the sprinters ran against a moderate headwind, preventing them from attaining times as good as in past meets.
Regional results
Boys
Casey Kristek: 6. 100 high hurdles, 18.8 seconds.
Cole Svoboda: 8. 400, 56.9; 7. Long jump, 18 feet, 9.5 inches.
Girls
Theo Kassebaum: 1. 100 high hurdles, 16.8; 6. 300 low hurdles, 53.4; 8. Long jump, 14-11.
Cacey Simons: 8. 100, 14.5; 5. High jump, 4-6.