Last year's high school graduation losses have painted a
whole new picture for Kansas' class 1A track and field teams this year.
Both team champions - South Gray on the boys side and
Centralia on the girls - have bid farewell to key seniors, opening the door to
a handful of teams to chase their own state championship dreams.
South Gray, in particular, seems to have come back to the
pack. Last year, the Rebels scored 93 points to win the 1A boys state title by
a whopping 28 points over Olpe (which is now a 2A school), but key losses give several teams a shot at
taking the title away from South Gray this year.
Among those teams are Pike Valley, which returns senior Lane Peters, who won the 100 and 200 meter state titles a year ago. Fellow senior
Cole Strickler was a top six finisher in both of those events, and both Peters
and Strickler are among the state's best long jumpers in class 1A.
Add distance sta...