WICHITA — When you’re going up against the best in Class 5A on the biggest stage — the state track and field championships — sometimes things just don’t go your way.
That was the case for a vast majority of Great Bend High School athletes on Saturday at Cessna Stadium on the Wichita State University campus, where it was an overcast and drizzly day.
“It’s been a really hard day for everybody,” said Great Bend junior Matt Moyd, who secured a third-place finish in the 110-meter high hurdles. “The weather has been really bad and the track is so soft that it’s just hard to get a good grip on it and run.
“But I tried to make it the best that I could. I still got third, so I’m happy with that. Next year, I know I’m going to come back and I know I going to win those hurdles. That’s going to be my race.”
Moyd, who had a season best of 15.03 seconds at the regional meet last week, finished with a time of 15.24 on Saturday.
“My best would have won it,” Moyd said.
Hays’ Adam Deterding, who finished second to Moyd at the regional at Friends University last week, won the gold in a time of 15.14. Cole Kretchmar of Andover Central took second (15.16), followed by Moyd.
“I thought Moyd ran a really good race and it was tight at the end, like we thought it would be,” Great Bend head coach Bo Black said. “For him to get third was a good finish.”
Sophomore Chris Burley finished in fourth place in the pole vault, clearing a personal-best 14 feet. He went out on 14-6. Teammate Simon Sullivan cleared 13-6 and went out on 14-0.
“We’re really happy with Chris Burley, getting fourth place in the pole vault at 14 feet,” Black said.
In the 4x100 preliminaries on Saturday morning, Great Bend, featuring Sheldon LeShore, Alex Reed, Darion Yager and Moyd, qualified for the finals after posting a time of 44.12 for fourth place.
But the foursome finished in eighth place.
LeShore also entertained hopes of vying for a state crown in the 100, but he failed to make the finals after posting an 11.64 in the preliminaries. Moyd clocked 11.44 and also didn’t make the finals. The final qualifying time was Kevin O’Connor of McPherson (11.32).
“(Collectively), the whole day was a little disappointing,” Black said. “But at the same time, we’re competing at the highest level within the state.”
Reed capping his prep career with a three-peat as state champion in the 400 dash, clocking 48.73, helped wipe away some of the overall disappointment. Reed was also a third-place finisher in the 200, clocking 22.32.
“But our star shined when it needed to,” Black said of Reed. “He made the track meet. It would have been a little disappointing without that.”