Coleman’s three first-place finishes lead Olathe East girls to team title

Source: The Star

ALLISON LONG | The Kansas City Star

Olathe East’s Breeana Coleman stayed in front of teammate Chelsey Borders and won the Kansas 6A 200 on Saturday. Coleman also finished first in the 100 and 100 hurdles.

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WICHITA | Olathe East junior Breeana Coleman has had her fair share of disappointments at the Kansas 6A state track meet.

Take last year, for instance, when Coleman finished third in the 100-meter hurdles, fourth in the 100 and fifth in the 200, despite being one of the top two seeds in each event.

But whatever struggles she may have had in the past were quickly forgotten Saturday on the final day of this year’s meet at Cessna Stadium. Coleman won three individual events and ran the anchor leg of the Hawks’ second-place 400-relay team in leading Olathe East’s girls team to the state title for the second year in a row.

“It was an awesome effort on her part,” said Olathe East coach Mike Wallace, whose team won with a score of 95 points, 36 more than second-place Leavenworth.

Olathe East, which shared the team title with Leavenworth last season, led with 37 points heading into Saturday. Much of that had to do with standout performances Friday by senior Ashley Reid, who won the high jump, and senior Courtney Reinke, who won the triple jump.

But Coleman, who had to run four events on Saturday in temperatures that hovered in the mid-to-low 90s, played a large part in bringing the title home by winning the 100-meter dash (12.03), 200-meter dash (24.93) and 100 hurdles (14.30).

“I felt a lot of pressure entering today,” Coleman said. “I guess everyone was expecting me to win.”

•PAOLA BOYS TAKE TITLE: Olathe East wasn’t the only Kansas City-area team to win a state title. After years of near-misses, Paola’s boys finally won the 4A title with a score of 66 points.

The Panthers, who finished second in 2007 and third in 2008, were led by senior Joe Stephens, who won the 300 hurdles and finished second in the long jump, triple jump and 110 hurdles.

Stephens hoped to win all four events but said he’d gladly take the team title instead.

“The last two years we’ve come so close to winning it, and we finally did,” Stephens said. “It’s awesome. I’ll never forget it.”

Paola was also led by junior Luke Wilson, who was second in the discus and shot put, and senior Antonio Smith, who finished second in the 200.

•RECORD EFFORT FOR LEAVENWORTH IN RELAY: Leavenworth’s girls failed in their bid to win the team competition for the fifth year in a row, but that didn’t keep them from making a little history.

The Pioneers’ 400 relay team of senior Bayzell Davis, senior Karina Expose, sophomore La’Quecia Parker and senior Lashada Sims not only won the event in 6A for the second year in a row — and the third in a row for the school — they also broke their own state meet record of 47.55, which they set last year, with a time of 47.27.

“It was a good ending,” Davis said. “In our last meet running together, we were able to break our own record. We can have that forever.”

Etc.•Washington sophomore Le’Tristan Pledger followed up a record-setting performance Friday with another solid effort on the second day. Pledger, who won the long jump on Friday with a mark of 19-10 3/4 — longest in the history of the state meet — won the 100 hurdles and was second in the 100 and 200.

•Olathe South senior Michael Hollembeak won the 6A boys high jump by clearing 6 feet, 10 inches. With the victory, Hollembeak became only the second high jumper since 1982 to win titles in two different classes. He won the 4A high jump last year for St. James Academy.

•Blue Valley West junior Sarah Buschmann won a gold medal for the third year in a row when she finished first in 6A girls long jump at 18-5 1/2 . Buschmann also finished third in the triple jump, which she won in 2007 and 2008.

•Storm Simons defended her 6A girls 300 hurdles title by turning in a time of 44.02, the fastest time in Kansas this year. She also won the 400 in 57.28.

•Bonner Springs senior Jonathan Walker won the 5A boys 110 hurdles (14.59) for the second year in a row.

•The KC area produced several individual first-time champions on Saturday: Olathe North’s Adonis Saunders (100 and 200-meter dash), Sumner’s Tyler Sloan (300 hurdles and 100-meter dash), SM Northwest’s Erica Brand (discus), Bishop Miege’s Anna Church (800), Piper’s Danyelle Cole (200), Lawrence’s Chebon Dawes (shot put), Blue Valley North’s Landon Rosevear (pole vault), Olathe North’s Robert Saunders (300 hurdles), De Soto’s Jamel Townsend (long jump) and Oskaloosa’s John Thurston (300 hurdles).

•The KC area also produced several relay champions on Saturday, including SM East’s girls (1,600-meter and 3,200), Olathe East’s boys (3,200), Olathe North’s boys (400), St. Thomas Aquinas’ girls (3,200), Tonganoxie’s boys (1,600), Piper’s boys and girls (400) and Maranatha’s girls (3,200).

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2009-05-30 21:56:01