Salina South High School - Preener Yearbook (Salina, KS)

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214 track

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ME' ,. Track Total surprise is defined in a dic- tionary as the feeling or emotion caused by something happening ung expectedly. Salina South's track teani did exacdy that.'They sur- prised the majority of supporters, not to mention critics. Going into the season the running situation seemed to be depleated. The outlook was to soon change with several Hrst year successes. After jumping to a slow start with some bad weather meets, and a few badlneaksinjudQng,Soud1peaked their season by capturing the 4A Re- gionals track title. South gathered five first place finishes and either broke or tied 3 school records. This effort sent 14 of the 21 participants to the State meet where our speed, ex- ceptional for a 4A school, proved no match for the statewide depth. Jed Blankenship placed fourth in the half mile, and Dan Gilbert finished sixth in the high hurdles. Mike Coburn churned to a fourth place for South in the two mile run. Virgil Thomas's hopes of some hardware were dashed by eagle eyed judges clauning a 4 step lane infraction. Virgil would have received a rewarding second place finish in the quarter mile. Reviewing all the highs and lows of the year, one can look at some proud runners and coaches Iiead coach Chuck CuHey sunnned up the year by saying, a super effort, the best I have ever seen. I'm not going to for- get it and I'm sure the people who saw it aren't going to either. 1. Senior Tim Pivonka long jumped to success as one of South's elite four year lettermen. 2. Senior Larry Hunt grasped success in the 220 in his first year at South. 3. Salina's first track meet was a rather frigid outing with cold weather gear not uncommon as shown by Coaches Culley and Tate. 4. William Owens was a double winner in the regional meet in the 100 and 220 yard dash. track

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..' .,-rr' A.. ' 'P7f m., of-H ,,,,-, D.. ,,,- f yawn--' v,,.,..::..1 1. Dan Gilbert's superior form is evident as he passes a competitor in the 120 yard highs. 2. William Owens surprised many rivals in the CKL as one of South's fastest sprinters. 3. Jun- ior middle distance runners were an awesome pack, sometimes led by half miler Joe Strat- ton. 4. Running under distance coach Andy Deckert, Rocky Pfeifer will retum next year to plague South's competition. 5. Coaches Deckert and Suttle observe senior Fred Dye's superior jumping ability. 6. The stress of the weight workouts show their wear on some jun- ior weight men. 7. Dane Johnston has com- pleted his relay handoff to Reggie Robinson. 8. Reggie easily takes the tape for first place. 9. Exhaustedly, he drops in a happy victory col- lapse. track