Marion sent 12 athletes to compete in 13 events at the 2013 state track and field championships at Cessna Stadium in Wichita Friday and Saturday.
The Warriors? performances were capped by four bronze medals; in all, Marion claimed 11 top-10 finishes.
The Marion boys tied for 10th place among 43 teams with 26 points. Salina-Sacred Heart won the meet with 82 points, followed by Phillipsburg (50) and Beloit (49).
?We were very pleased with the results,? coach Grant Thierolf said. ?All of our boys? team brought home medals in their events, which is great for them and us.?
The boys? team earned two bronze medals.
James Jones finished third in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 6 inches. The 4×800 team of Tyler Neufeld, Patrick McCarty, Brody Carroll and Jordan Hett earned a bronze medal with a time of 8:13.37.
?The boys? 4×800 just ran lights out, cutting almost 20 seconds from their best time of the year,? Thierolf said. ?Tyler started us off with a great run, and then the three seniors just finished the race with everything they had.
?Patrick, Brody and Jordan finished their track careers with a school record and with a great final day. What a way to go out.?
Jones earned fifth place in triple jump with a leap of 43-5.
?James Jones proved he is one of the best jumpers in the state with a third in the long jump and a fifth in the triple,? Thierolf said. ?He and Kyle (Palic) can be at the top of the medal stands next year as they continue to improve.?
The 4×400 team of McCarty, Neufeld, Carroll and Jones placed fifth in 3:31.80 after qualifying with a preliminary time of 3:34.22 with Seth Snelling running in place of McCarty.
?The boys? 4×400 was fun to watch,? Thierolf said. ?We ran Seth Snelling in the prelims, and he ran a nice split that allowed us to get to the finals.?
Hett placed sixth in the 3,200 with a season-best time of 10:11.48.
Kyle Palic finished eighth in both of his events: discus (146-3) and javelin (165-7).
Snelling claimed eighth in the pole vault (11-6).
?Seth Snelling started us off with a good vault,? Thierolf said. ?He will continue to get better as he works in the weight room in the next two years.?
The Marion girls, meanwhile, finished 21st with 12 points. Garden Plain won the meet with 411?2 points.
The Warrior girls earned two bronze medals. Alicia Maloney placed third in the pole vault with a height of 10-0.
?Alicia Maloney had another big day in the vault,? Thierolf said. ?She and Kirsten (Hansen) give us some great points in that event, and they will both get better as they work at that very tough technical event.?
The 4×400 team of Katey Ehrlich, Hansen, Kelli Hess and Marshelle Mermis placed third in 4:14.43 after qualifying with a preliminary time of 4:13.27.
?The girls? 4×400 ran very well and set the bar very high for next year,? Thierolf said. ?Katey, Kirsten, Kelli and Marshelle will want to lower their school record, and it will be fun to watch them progress.?
Hansen tied for ninth in the pole vault (8-6).
Warrior athletes who participated in preliminaries but did not qualify for finals were: Mermis in the 400 with a ninth-place finish (1:01.75, just 0.27 seconds from qualifying) and the 200 (27.80, 12th); and Ehrlich in the 300 hurdles (50.22, 11th).
