By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Wednesday's Junior Blues Invitational at Hummer Sports Park was the third track and field meet of the season for most of Arrik White's Washburn Rural teammates, while White was making a belated season debut.
But the Rural senior, an All-City pick in cross country, was just happy to be back on the track, and even happier to be winning.
Coming off a stress fracture in his left leg that sidelined him for about two months, White won the boys 1,600 meters by nearly 20 seconds in a time of 4 minutes, 48.3 seconds and also ran a leg on the Junior Blues' winning 4 x 400 relay (3:48.5).
"Leading up to (the 1,600) I was super nervous because my first (track) race in two years, I was like, 'It's going to be intense,' '' White said. "But then in the middle of it I kind of got into a groove and felt like I was where I wanted to be for the amount of training I've had.''
Coming off a stress fracture, Washburn Rural senior Arrik White made his season debut Wednesday with a win in the 1,600-meter run in the Junior Blues Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
White still isn't quite 100 percent physically, but the Rural senior has also felt a sense of urgency to return to action.
"I saw last week at Olathe a few of the guys I'd be racing with at regionals, they were doing pretty well, so I know I have to get to that spot pretty quick,'' White said. "I have faith in myself, but it will definitely be mentally challenging.''
White thought Wednesday was a good start in the right direction.
"I'll take it,'' said White, who has signed to run collegiately at Allen Community College. "It's always going to be in the back of my mind where I could have been if I hadn't gotten hurt, but after seven, eight weeks off, for me to be at a 4:48, I'll definitely take it.''
Washburn Rural used Wednesday's meet as a varsity competition while several other schools in the field used the meet as a combined varsity/junior varsity meet.
Other highlights:
• Washburn Rural senior Marquel Russell won three boys individual events, sweeping the 110-meter and 300 hurdles while also winning the long jump.
Russell won the 110s in 16.4 seconds and the 300s in 42.7 while winning the long jump at 19-11.75.
• Rural senior Zach Sulzen-Watson swept the boys shot put and discus titles, winning the the shot with a throw of 46-4.50 and the discus with a best of 155-8.
• Lillian Ziegler and Jada Ingram, Washburn Rural teammates, both cleared 5-2 in the girls high jump, with Ziegler winning on fewer misses.
Zeigler, a senior, also won the long jump at 15-2.50 while Ingram, a freshman, won the 200 dash in 27.1.
JUNIOR BLUES INVITATIONAL
GIRLS
Pole vault -- 1. Jone, Washburn Rural, 7-0; 2. Fredrickson, Washburn Rural, 6-0; 3. Miller, Washburn Rural, 6-0.
Javelin -- 1. Smith, Washburn Rural, 90-10; 2. Lesmeister, Seaman, 80-4; 3. Valdivia, Hayden, 76-6.
Discus -- 1. Petersen, Washburn Rural, 112-2; 2. Smith, Washburn Rural, 88-4; 3. Anderson, Washburn Rural, 87-11.
Shot put -- 1. Smith, Washburn Rural, 31-11; 2. Salmans, Washburn Rural, 26-10.50; 3. Desch, Hayden, 26-8.50.
High jump -- 1. Ziegler, Washburn Rural, 5-2; 2. Ingram, Washburn Rural, 5-2; 3. Kelly, Topeka High, 4-8.
Long jump -- 1. Ziegler, Washburn Rural, 15-2.50; 2. Phillips, Shawnee Heights, 14-11; 3. Tomlinson, Shawnee Heights, 14-4.50.
Triple jump -- 1. Zapata, Emporia, 31-4.50; 2. Crouch, Emporia, 28-0.50; 3. Rinehart, Shawnee Heights, 27-2.
4x800 relay -- 1. Washburn Rural, 10:43.1; 2. Emporia, 12:57.8
100 hurdles -- 1. Fox, Washburn Rural, 19.3; 2. Beach, Washburn Rural, 19.3; 3. Beck, Seaman, 19.6.
100 -- 1. Phillips, Shawnee Heights, 13.0; 2. Anderson, Shawnee Heights, 13.1; 3. Bray, Washburn Rural, 13.3.
1,600 -- 1. Hurley, Washburn Rural, 6:21.6; 2. Heiren, Emporia, 6:24.7; 3. Smith, Washburn Rural, 6:30.7.
4x100 relay -- 1. Washburn Rural, 53.1; 2. Shawnee Heights, 53.6; 3. Topeka High, 56.5.
400 -- 1. Bray, Washburn Rural, 64.0; 2. Carter, Washburn Rural, 64.6; 3. Wright, Washburn Rural, 67.0.
300 hurdles -- 1. Fox, Washburn Rural, 56.1; 2. Beach, Washburn Rural, 56.3; 3. Jones, Seaman, 59.7.
800 -- 1. Christensen, Washburn Rural, 2:47.9; 2. Sampson, Seaman, 2:52.8; 3. Zuniga, Topeka High, 2:53.6.
200 -- 1. Ingram, Washburn Rural, 27.1; 2. Anderson, Shawnee Heights, 27.8; 3. Phillips, Shawnee Heights, 28.2.
3,200 -- 1. Bird, Washburn Rural, 12:38.4; 2. Gutierrez, Washburn Rural, 13:47.6; 3. Cannon, Seaman, 14:27.3.
4x400 relay -- 1. Washburn Rural A, 4:22.1; 2. Washburn Rural B, 4:45.9; 3. Washburn Rural C, 4:51.8.
BOYS
Pole vault -- 1. Goering, Washburn Rural, 12-0; 2. Mercer, Washburn Rural, 11-6; 3. Ahlf, Washburn Rural, 11-6.
Triple jump -- 1. Jones, Shawnee Heights, 36-2; 2. Osburn, Washburn Rural, 35-1; 3. McEwan, Washburn Rural, 34-11.50.
Long jump -- 1. Russell, Washburn Rural, 19-11.75; 2. Jones, Shawnee Heights, 17-11.75; 3. Jueneman, Washburn Rural, 17-7.
High jump -- 1. Shonka, Washburn Rural, 6-0; 2. Tibbetts, Washburn Rural, 5-8; 3. Shahid, Shawnee Heights, 5-6.
Javelin -- 1. Hahn, Shawnee Heights, 147-6; 2. Keyes, Shawnee Heights, 135-7; 3. D'Agata, Shawnee Heights, 122-7.
Shot put -- 1. Z. Sulzen-Watson, Washburn Rural, 46-4.50; 2. Thomas, Topeka High, 42-5; 3. Wettengel, Washburn Rural, 42-0.
Discus -- 1. Z. Sulzen-Watson, Washburn Rural, 155-8; 2. Ashwill, Washburn Rural, 116-3; 3. J. Sulzen-Watson, Washburn Rural, 108-5.
4x800 relay -- 1. Washburn Rural A, 9:25.5; 2. Washburn Rural B, 9:32.5; 3. Topeka High, 10:04.4.
110 hurdles -- 1. Russell, Washburn Rural, 16.4; 2. Aguilar, Washburn Rural, 18.1; 3. McIntyre, Topeka High, 18.38.
100 -- 1. McDaniel, Shawnee Heights, 11.4; 2. January, Shawnee Heights, 11.5; 3. Hahn, Shawnee Heights, 11.5.
1,600 -- 1. White, Washburn Rural, 4:48.3; 2. Johnson, Washburn Rural, 5:07.5; 3. Stallbaumer, Seaman, 5:07.7.
4x100 relay -- 1. Shawnee Heights A, 46.6; 2. Shawnee Heights B, 46.6; 3. Topeka High A, 47.3.
400 -- 1. Mitchell, Washburn Rural, 54.4; 2. Steinman, Washburn Rural, 56.0; 3. Roney, Washburn Rural, 58.3.
300 hurdles -- 1. Russell, Washburn Rural, 42.7; 2. Hidalgo, Topeka High, 45.9; 3. Ingenthron, Washburn Rural, 47.0.
800 -- 1. Vargas, Shawnee Heights, 2:16.4; 2. Store, Shawnee Heights, 2:17.7; 3. Stanick, Shawnee Heights, 2:18.0.
200 -- 1. Santiago, Washburn Rural, 23.7; 2. January, Shawnee Heights, 23.7; 3. Mack, Topeka High, 24.4.
3,200 -- 1. Applehanz, Seaman, 11:13.2; 2. Stalllbaumer, Seaman, 11:33.6; 3. Lloyd, Hayden, 11:55.4.
4x400 -- 1. Washburn Rural A, 3:48.5; 2. Washburn Rural B, 3:56.5; 3. Washburn Rural C, 4:01.3.
