Heading to state
Staff writer
The Marion High School track team members qualified for the state championships — placing in the top four — in 18 different events Friday at its regional track meet in Fredonia.
The Warriors boys team won the meet with 105 overall points and the girls team placed second with 77 points.
The Warrior jumping and throwing teams were especially dominant.
Jumps
Warriors qualified in six different jumps events.
Tylor Neil won the triple jump with a leap of 43 feet and placed third in the long jump, 19-9, following teammate Drew Maddox who placed second, 19-11.5.
“I like it,” Neil said of competing with Maddox in the long jump. “Drew always pushes me.”
Monica Spachek set a personal record by almost a full foot to place third in the triple jump, 33-6.5. Whitney Gordon placed second in the high jump, 5-0.
Then there was Julia Zeiner. Zeiner has almost reached a mythical status. On Friday, whispers circled through the crowd.
“That’s the girl from Marion. She can jump 39 feet in the triple jump.”
“That’s the girl from Marion,” said a group of girls as they watched Zeiner run the hurdles. “She doesn’t even have to jump; she can just step over the hurdles.”
Zeiner has been dominant over the course of her senior campaign.
In her previous two meets, the Mid-Central Activities Association Meet at Halstead and the Hesston Invitational, she won all four of her events: the long jump, triple jump, 100-meter hurdles, and 300 hurdles.
Zeiner is undefeated in the long jump this year. She won the event Friday with a leap of 17 feet, 10.25 inches.
She has placed in every meet in the triple jump. The only meet where she didn’t win the event was the Nightingale Invitational at Halstead. She won the event on Friday, 37-10.5, even though she did not jump in the finals. Jumps Coach Deana Thierolf saved Zeiner’s legs for the two hurdle events later in the day.
Zeiner easily won the 100 hurdles, with a time of 15.29 seconds, and the 300 hurdles, with a time of 46.50.
At this point, it is more surprising when Zeiner doesn’t walk away with a gold medal from any event. Zeiner, however, is confident, not cocky.
“I know if I do my best, I should win,” Zeiner said, “but, I don’t go into something thinking I’ve won it.”
Thierolf said it was good for Zeiner to be known as “the girl from Marion.”
“It’s nice to be known as one of the best,” Thierolf said.
But, Thierolf also believes that Zeiner will improve when she reaches Kansas State University next year.
“She’s only going to get better,” she said. “Right now, we have her playing volleyball and basketball. When she can start focusing on one sport, I’d like to see what she’s going to pop with when she hits the college level.”
This will be Zeiner and Neil’s fourth trip to Wichita to compet at the state level.
The two experienced jumpers coach and encourage each other during a meet.
“They’re just like twins,” Thierolf said. “They help each other and coach each other.”
Neil dabbles in coaching for the other Warriors as well. He said he was going to try to get Spachek to conquer her personal best in the girls triple jump final.
Thierolf said Neil is a student of the game. Thierolf said he works hard studying film of other great jumpers and works relentlessly on his own technique.
“Tylor really studies his event,” Thierolf said. “He’s going to be a great coach some day.”
For Spachek, Gordon, and Maddox this will be their first state competition.
“They perform big all the time,” Thierolf said of all her jumpers.
Throws
Another Warrior athlete and first-place winner at Fredonia, receiving “student of the game” status from the Marion coaching staff, was Nick Klenda.
“He’s a true champion,” Marion discus coach Dick Schwartz said. “He’s been looking at films; he has books on (discus). He’s a super person, a lot of desire.”
Klenda anchored a strong throwing unit for the Warriors Friday, winning the discus with a throw of 165-5 and placing third in the shot put, 47-1.5.
Klenda is a reigning state champion in the discus and has yet to lose the event in his senior season, but he expects the competition to take a major step up at state.
“This isn’t really a tough regional,” Klenda said. “Smith Center has like eight people throwing over 145 in the discus. Three people went over 145 here.”
Parker Ash, who placed fourth in the shot put, and javelin throwers Sheldon Boone, 157-4, and Colten Johnson, 147-7, will join Klenda at state. Boone and Johnson placed second and fourth, respectively, at Fredonia.
Johnson also won the pole vault with a jump of 12-6.
Klenda, who is headed to Emporia State University next year to compete in the discus and possibly hammer throw said the Warriors need to work on timing — “Especially with rotation in the shot put,” Klenda said of his own effort — and form.
“We can’t really do anything else,” he said to improve. “Rest mostly.”
other qualifiers
Boys 4x800 – 1. Eric Vogel, Jordan Hett, Patrick McCarty, and Ryan Jones, 8:47.47.
Girls 4x100 relay – 3. Erin Meierhoff, Gordon, Danae Edwards, Kristen Steinborn, 53.59.
Girls 4x800 – 3. Jaclyn DeForest, Bridget Lundy, Spachek, and Meierhoff, 10:54.42.
DeForest – 3. 3200, 12:56.96.
Hett – 3. 3200, 10:28.34.
Randy Regnier – 3. Pole vault, 12-0.
Boys 4x100 relay – 4. Maddox, McCarty, Johnson, and Neil, 46.48.
Dillon Richmond – 4. Pole vault, 11-6.
Vogel – 4. 800, 2:10.