FILLIES ATHLETES STATEBOUND

Breanna Stout earned her trip to the upcoming state track meet the hard way.
Despite suffering from a back injury she sustained earlier in Friday’s Class 4A Regional Track Meet, Stout still topped all comers in the pole vault.
Stout cleared 9 feet, even while wincing noticeably after each attempt.
“My back hurts, but I know I can do better at state,” Stout said.
Stout will be Wichita for the state meet, which begins Friday.
She will be joined by teammates Emery Driskel and Ashley Campbell, both of whom qualified in multiple events at the 4A regional, hosted by Iola at Riverside Park.
Campbell qualified in the short sprints, the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes, while Driskel has plenty of hurdling in her future. She qualified in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.

THERE was plenty of drama for all three Fillies qualifiers.
Stout injured her back early Friday, on her first javelin throw.
Even then, Stout threw the javelin a career-best 122 feet, 7 1/2 inches. She declined to throw in the finals because of the injury, which meant she could not improve upon her fifth place finish, thus sacrificing a chance to throw in Wichita. (Only the top four finishers qualify for state).
“This is her first year to throw, and she has improved every meet,” Iola track coach Marv Smith said.

DRISKEL SET a pair of personal records in her hurdles races, finishing in second at 100 meters and fourth at 300 meters, although she injured her foot in the 300, which may limit her practice time this week, Smith said.
Her improved time in the 100 hurdles was by a literal step by step process, Smith explained.
“One week ago, she ran four strides between hurdles and alternated lead legs at the league meet,” smith said. ‘We simply had not had enough good practice sessions to get her to three steps between hurdles.”
Much of the credit goes to assistant coach Vicki Snavely, who worked extensively with Driskel in the run up to regionals, Smith said.
“Emery may have placed, but would not have qualified if she had run her  four-stride pattern. We have two very happy girls” — Snavely and Driskel — Smith said.

CAMPBELL’S day started on a rough note when she struggled off the starting line in the 100 finals.
“Her start was terrible,” Smith said. “I was standing at the 30-meter mark and she was in last. Her last 50 meters must have been super.”
As Campbell walked toward her coach following the race, he was ready to offer a pep talk.
“I said, ‘Hey, you just have to put that race out of your mind,’” Smith said.
“Marv, I qualified!,” Campbell bellowed in response.
“I really did not believe it until it was announced,” Smith said.
Campbell wound up in fourth at 13.2 seconds.
She added a pair of third place finishes in the 400 at 1:03.75 and in the 200 at 27.07 seconds.
“Not her best races,” Smith said. “She ran tight and robotic. She can go faster.”

IOLA’S Abigail Taylor ran a strong 1600-meter run, but was relegated to fifth with a time of 5 minutes, 38.76 seconds.
“This was a tough race,” Smith said. “Southeast Kansas is loaded with distance standouts. She would have qualified at two other regionals. This was the hardest working, most dedicated girl we have had in a long time. It is such a shame she will miss the state meet.”
Taylor finished ninth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:34.84.
“Her time was excellent, but so was the field of runners,” Smith said.
Several other underclassmen showed their stuff at regionals, but will not advance to state, Smith noted.
“With our freshman class to go with Campbell and Driskel in the sophomore class, we should be OK next year,” Smith said. “Breanna is our only senior. We have loved what she has given us.”
The Fillies finished fourth as a squad with 42 points, three points better than Chanute. Paola, the defending 4A girls champion, won the team title with 147 points. Pittsburg was second with 85 and Coffeyville third with 48.

100-meter dash: 4. Ashley Campbell, 13.14
200-meter dash: 3. Campbell, 27.07
400-meter dash: 3. Campbell, 1:03.75; 8. Olivia Bannister, 1:09.03
800-meter run: 9. Abigail Taylor, 2:34.84; 17. Mikaela Platt, 2:49.13
1600-meter run: 5. Taylor, 5:38.76
100-meter hurdles: 2. Emery Driskel, 16.57; 9. Cassie Delich, 19.32
300-meter hurdles: 4. Driskel, 50.16; 11. Delich, 55.98
4×100-meter relay: 9. Iola (Driskel, Breanna Stout, Delich, Platt) 55.06
4×400-meter relay: 9. Iola (Driskel, Campbell, Taylor, Delich), 4:31.35
Pole vault: 1. Stout, 9’
Long jump: 15. Bannister, 13’8 3/4”
Shot put: 8. Darci Collins, 32’9 1/2”
Discus: 14. Jessica Oakley, 88’; 16. Collins, 78’9”
Javelin: 5. Stout, 122’7 1/2”