WICHITA — Three Bearcat athletes took their skills to the next level, vying for a top finish at the KSHSAA State Track and Field Championship Meet at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium May 26 and 27.

Junior Riley Stone was able to stand on the podium Saturday, finishing fourth in the 100meter dash in the 3A division with a time of 11.13.

“It felt great,” Stone said. “I was happy with how the season ended.”

Stone’s biggest goal throughout the season was to make it to state. Once he got there, he hoped for a top-eight finish. He ran two races — preliminaries and later in the day, finals. The preliminary race required “focus” according to Head Coach Nick Rodriguez.

“Making it out of the prelims was a challenge,” Rodriguez said. “There were two false starts and so he really had to be focused on what he had to accomplish to get to finals.”

Stone was able to put distractions aside to secure a big win at state, achieving both his goals and setting himself up for a strong senior year.

Other state competitors were senior Byron Johnson and junior Kylan Turnipseed. Johnson, who also competed at state for cross country, placed 14th in the 3,200meter run. His finishing time was 11:01.73.

“It felt good to make a comeback after surgery,” Johnson said.

Earlier in the year, Johnson had knee surgery that prevented him from running most of his senior track season.

“Being able to compete in my last high school season was awesome,” he said. “It was lots of fun and I’m glad I got the opportunity to still run.”

The race was a difficult one. Rodriguez described it as fast-paced and spread out.

“It was a heck of an achievement to just get to state with all the challenges he faced this year,” Rodriguez said.

The third track and field athlete was javelin thrower, junior Kylan Turnipseed, who placed 12th. She threw 113 feet, 6 inches.

Turnipseed said she was proud knowing how far she made it and she enjoyed watching other impressive throwers in her division. She still has multiple goals for her senior year, hoping to “compete better as an overall season, make it to state again and place better than sixth.”

Rodriguez said he is also looking forward to Turnipseed’s senior year.

“She has struggled a bit the last few meets, but she is a very capable javelin thrower ,” he said. “Don’t count her out next year; she will be back.”

The state competition marked the end of track and field season. Johnson is signed to run cross country and track with Fort Hays State University in the fall. Stone and Turnipseed will strive for their final year at state, hopefully taking other athletes with them along the way.