Jacy Quade will be bidding for her second consecutive Class 5A regional track and field championship in the discus today, as regional competition takes place in Salina at Salina Stadium.
The meet, featuring high school teams from Great Bend, Andover, Andover Central, Hays, Newton, Salina South, Salina Central and Valley Center, starts at 3 with the field events. Track preliminaries begin at 4:30 and finals start at 6.
 “When it’s comes to the regional track meet, the job for a lot of kids like Jacy is very simple,” Black said of the GBHS senior. “It’s a meet that’s set up to qualify you for the big one, and she’s got a great opportunity this week to get better and perform.
“She’s always fun to watch. She’s had a great track season and a great high school career. We’re looking forward for her to qualify this weekend and competing one last time at state.”
Quade peaked early in the season and has keep an even keel throughout. In the season opener at the Junction City Invitational on March 30, Quade established personal bests of 38 feet, 10 inches in the shot put and 130-3 in the discus.
Last week, at the Western Athletic Conference meet in Dodge City, Quade became a two-time conference champion, winning the shot put (37-5) and the discus (127-5).
A year ago, at the regional meet at Friends University in Wichita, Quade became a regional champion with a heave of 127-10 and also qualified for the state meet in the shot (36-10 ½).
“She’s set some really big goals for herself, and this is just a stage that can set that scene up for it next week,” Black said.