GARDEN CITY — On May 19 the Ellsworth Bearcat track team headed to their regional meet to try to qualify athletes for the state competition.

To qualify, runners and throwers had to place in the top four in their division. Three individual athletes placed: junior Kylan Turnipseed in the javelin, junior Riley Stone in the 100-meter dash and senior Byron Johnson in the 3,200-meter run.

The boys’ 4x400 meter relay was close behind with a fifthplace finish. The team consisted of Stone and juniors Josh Rodriguez, Will Cravens and Wyatt Pelzel. They finished with a time of 3:34.86.

“The regional meet is always one of the most difficult meets to compete in,” Head Coach Nick Rodriguez said.“There are so many quality athletes in the state of Kansas.

Turnipseed finished fourth with her throw of 112 feet, 10 inches.

“I know she was disappointed with her throw,” Rodriguez said, “but she gets to work on the event and will make her second trip to the state meet.”

Stone placed second in his sprint, running a personal and season best with his time of 11.06. He was previously a member of the boys’ 4x400 relay team that qualified when he was a freshman. He is hoping to place in the top eight at the state level.

“My favorite part of regionals was hyping up the relay teams,” he said,“and I felt like I ran pretty well.”

Johnson finished fourth in the 2-mile. It was only his third race of the season. He was fresh from a knee injury and surgery that benched him for the majority of the season. His recovery process involved starting slow and building endurance.

“It was a long process, but it feels good to be back,” Johnson said.

The patience paid off and he qualified for the state meet with his time of 10:36.97.

“I knew I would have to do something special to make it,” Johnson said of his regional race. “I look forward to just being (at state). I’ve never been for track and I’m excited for the experience.” The state competition is tomorrow and Saturday in Wichita at Cessna Stadium.