Athletes aplenty were on display Tuesday at the Iola Middle School Track Meet.
With 22 schools and more than 1,000 athletes descending upong Iola’s Riverside Park, Tuesday’s meet is one of the largest in the state.
Iola’s eighth-grade squads — boys and girls — took home team trophies, while the IMS seventh-grade boys took third behind Independence and Girard. The IMS seventh-grade girls, meanwhile, took sixth.
Humboldt’s seventh-grade girls finished ninth and the boys 13th, while the eighth-grade girls finished ninth.
Marmaton Valley’s eighth-grade girls finished in fourth overall, while the seventh-grade girls took eighth. The eighth-grade boys finished in a tie for 19th.
Individually, Iola’s Elysia Kunkler topped all comers in four events. She won the 100- and 400-meter dashes, and the 100-meter hurdles. She also teamed with Elka Billings, Ella Taylor and Nissa Fountain to win the 4×100-meter relay. Iola’s Isaac Badders was a three-time gold medal winner, in the 100- and 400-meter dashes and in the long jump. Christian Lindsey won the seventh-grade boys high jump. Dan Foust brought home gold in the 100-meter hurdles for Iola in eighth-grade boys action. Averie Sharon won the 1600-meter run among seventh-grade girls.
MARMATON Valley’s Kaylee Becker had a day to remember as well. She won the seventh-grade girls 100- and 200-meter dashes. Marmaton Valley’s Bailey Griffith won the eighth-grade girls long jump a meet record jump of 15-5.
Local results follow:
Boys
Seventh grade
Team results — 1. Independence, 81.5; 3. Iola, 52; 13. Humboldt, 12
100 meters — 1. Isaac Badders, Iola, 13.0
200 meters — 6. Christian Lindsey, Iola, 28.01
