WICHITA — Ellinwood High School’s girls’ 4x800-meter relay team entered the Class 2A state track and field meet with the best time in 2A.
On Saturday at Cessna Stadium, the relay team, which consisted of Jenna Snell, Brooke Tanning, Michelle Klepper and Becca Strecker, took second place behind the relay team from Bennington.
“The girls were very disciplined to get second,” Ellinwood head coach Lyles Lashley said. “They just got beat by a better team. Bennington ran very well. If our girls ran their fastest time this season, I still don’t know if we could have beat them.”
Lashley said that his team did all right at the state meet.
“We had a decent meet,” Lashley said. “The ones that had been there before competed well. The ones that hadn’t been there before had that deer in headlights took.
“But they will have a chance to get back to state, and they will have experience under their belts next time.”
Snell claimed a bronze medal on Friday in the 3,200-meter run on Friday at Cessna Stadium. She crossed the finish line with a time of 11 minutes, 46.86 seconds.
She also took seventh place in the 1,600 with a time of 5:40.
Paulina Montoya also competed in the 3,200, finishing in ninth place with a time of 12:41.58.
Klepper took fourth place with a time of 2:26.19 in the 800 run. Strecker, who also qualified for the 800, took eighth place.
Sophie Hayes finished in 15th place overall in the 300 hurdles, clocking in at 52.44. In the 100 hurdles, Hayes finished in seventh place.
Brooke Panning did not qualify for the final heat in Friday’s preliminary race of the girls’ 400 dash. She finished with a time of 1:03.52.
Amanda Tucker struggled, finishing in 13th in the shot put and fouling out in the discus on Friday.
Ellinwood’s girls’ 4x100 relay team, Chelsea Day, Sophie Hayes, Oma Thomas and Becky Elsen, finished in 15th overall with a time of 54.68.
Senior Jacob Christiansen took 15th overall in the boys’ shot put with a throw of 41 feet, two inches on Friday.
Eagles’ freshman Pedro Montoya finished in eighth place in the 3,200 run on Friday with a time of 10:17.88.