By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
CANTON – It was a busy Friday for the Canton/Galva track/field athletes as they were split amongst two meets with most of the team competing at the Lyons Invitational while six traveled to Wichita to compete at the Shocker Pre-State Challenge Classic.
At the prestigious Shocker Pre-State Challenge Classic, six Eagles competed with athletes from all six classes across Kansas (Classes 1A-6A).
In the Elite Division which featured athletes from all classes, junior Mimi Craig earned an eighth-place finish in the shot put while senior Tyson Struber finished 15th in the 200 meters.
Among the regular divisions where the Eagle athletes competed with other from classes 1A to 3A, two Canton/Galva participants earned top three medals as senior Christian Darrah finished third in the 3,200 meters with his season best of 10:46.25 while sophomore Lane McMannis placed third in the 300-meter hurdles with his personal best time of 43.28.
Senior Darrah and Morgan Becker ran and placed fifth and fifteenth respectively in the 800-meter race while McMannis finished ninth in the 110 hurdles. Struber also ran in the 100 meters and placed sixth.
Darrah, Struber and McMannis were joined by junior Tanner Koehn to earn a seventh-place finish in the 4×400 meter relay.
In Lyons it was a bit of a rough go for the Eagles as only three Eagle boys earned any medals with sophomore Wyatt Collins placing sixth in the discus, and junior Isaiah Patton grabbed two fifth place medals, one in the high jump where he had a personal best of 5’8”, and the 100 meters which he ran for the first time this season.
According to Eagle head coach Tina McMannis, “we had several athletes show improvements at Lyons as freshman Brayden O’Hara in the shot put, junior Preston Minson in the discus, sophomore Brinley Becker in the long jump, and senior Ethan Alkire in the 400 meters all recorded personal best efforts.”
Concluding her reflections on the busy day at two events, coach McMannis added, “It’s been a whirlwind start to the season, but our meet schedule will slow down a little now so we can begin looking at where we are and what we need to do to prepare for the second half of the season.”
Next up for the Canton/Galva track team will be a meet at Moundridge on Tuesday, April 12 and in a recent announcement, the Eagles found they would travel to Washington County on May 20 for the State Regional Track Meet at the end of the 2022 season.
EAGLE TRACK/FIELD AT SHOCKER PRE-STATE CHALLENGE:
LADY EAGLES:
Shot Put – Elite Division: 8. Mimi Craig 32’7”.
EAGLE BOYS:
200 Meters – Elite Division: 15. Tyson Struber 24.38.
110 Meter Hurdles: 9. Lane McMannis 18.06.
300 Meter Hurdles: 3. Lane McMannis 43.28.
100 Meters: 6. Tyson Struber 11.84.
800 Meters: 5. Christian Darrah 2:10.07; 14. Morgan Becker 2:16.67.
3,200 Meters: 3. Christian Darrah 10:46.25.
4×400 Meter Relay: 7. EAGLES 3:50.98 (Tyson Struber, Tanner Koehn, Christian Darrah, Lane McMannis).
EAGLE TRACK/FIELD at LYONS INVITATIONAL:
LADY EAGLES:
Team Scores: 1. Larned 129; 2. Little River 119; 3. Macksville 80.33; 4. Russell 46.33; 5. Lyons 42.33; 6. Ellinwood 39; 7. St. John/Hudson 38; 8. Central Plains 30; 9. Pratt Skyline 8; 10. Chase 2; 11. LADY EAGLES 0.
100 Meters: Brinley Becker 14.48.
200 Meters: Brinley Becker 29.87.
Long Jump: Brinley Becker 14’5.75”.
EAGLE BOYS:
Team Scores: 1. Macksville 118; 2. Russell 83; 3. Larned 72; 4. Little River 62; 5. Ellinwood 59; 6. Lyons 46; 7. St. John/Hudson 40; 8. Central Plains 38; 9. Pratt Skyline 33; 10. EAGLES 5; 11. Chase 0.
100 Meters: 5. Isaiah Patton 12.31; Jaden Ediger 12.65; Nathanal Erskin 13.34.
200 Meters: Nathanal Erskin 26.7.
400 Meters: Ethan Alkire 58.90.
Shot Put: Wyatt Collins 34’2.25”; Preston Minson 23’.5”; Brayden O’Hara 20’5.5”.
Discus: 6. Wyatt Collins 98’4”; Preston Minson 82’8”; Brayden O’Hara 45’8”.
High Jump: 5. Isaiah Patton 5’8”.
Long Jump: Nathanal Erskin 15’11”; Ethan Alkire 15’2.5”.
Triple Jump: Isaiah Patton 34’11.5”.
(William is a free-lance writer covering McPherson County Activities – he can be reached at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)