Manhattan High Track and Field is heading to Regionals with momentum.

At the Centennial League tournament in Junction City Friday, both boys and girls teams placed first, totaling 204 points and 191 points respectively. In addition, numerous athletes set new school records, including senior Vinny Malone in high jump, senior Elijah Strawn in pole vault, and junior Harli Omli in the 200m.

For Strawn, the record marked a huge step forward this season, as he had been struggling at previous meets.

“The past four to five meets were rough performance wise… I wasn’t quite getting heights that I was happy with,” Strawn said. “[But] that changed with [the League tournament] when I hit a PR and school record of 14’6.”

Along with pole vault, various other events are peaking at the right time heading into the postseason. Some notable first place finishes at the League meet include Omli in the 100m, 200m, and 400m; junior Talon Huff in the 110m hurdles; sophomore Jorryn Hall in shot put; and senior Lucas Holdren in the 3200m.

A few weeks prior, both teams competed at the Seaman relays. Out of 23 teams, the boys finished first with 111 points and the girls finished second with 75 points, one point behind first.

As the teams prepare for Regionals, the focus will be on quality practices and reps.

“[Our team focus will be to] encourage one another off and on the track,” Omli said. “[We want to] take every practice as seriously as we can and most importantly go out and believe in our training.”

Top 4 finishers in every event qualify for the State competition which is held at Cessna Stadium at Wichita State University. With positive results heading into the final weeks, the team hopes they can improve upon their third place finish at State from last year.

“Our greatest emphasis [during the postseason] is holding each other accountable and building each other up,” Strawn said. “We have a great shot at winning State this year, we just need to stay in shape and make it there.”