Centre sprinter takes silver
Staff writer
Centre senior Xavier Espinoza capped his high school career at the weekend’s state track meet in Wichita with a silver medal.
Despite ranking outside the top 10 for the 100-meter dash, Espinoza took second with a time of 11.14 seconds and won his heat. His time set a personal and school record, breaking the mark of 11.19 seconds set in 1989.
He also medaled from the slower heat in the 400-meter dash, taking eighth overall.
Espinoza’s silver was the highest place by a Centre athlete since 2005, and the first time ever an athlete medaled multiple times.
Espinoza scored 189 points for the season. He was the second leading scorer on the team as a junior and the leading scorer in his sophomore and senior seasons.
Junior Jensen Riffel ended his 2019 season at regionals with 163 points. This was the junior’s first year in track after participating in Marion baseball the past two years.
Brenna Shields scored 157 points in 2015, the most points scored under Stahlecker until this year. In 2012, Theo Kassebaum scored 155 points.