By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

In his 12 years as the Oakley head track and field coach, Randall Rath has never seen a girl like freshman Dayna Kuhlman.

"There is not an event that I don't think she can't do and place at state in," Rath said. "Since I've coached here I haven't seen a girl that can be in as many track events as her."

Results-wise, Kuhlman is the state's most talented freshman, regardless of classification. She is possibly the most versatile athlete in the state.

"It has been tough for her to decide what four events to do," Rath said.

On Friday, Kuhlman, the brother of Fort Hays State University sophomore wrestler and five-time high school track medalist Shawn Kuhlman, could qualify for state in all four of her events, the 100-meter hurdles, 400 meters, 800 meters and triple jump.

She will be one of the top athletes at the Class 2A Regional Championships in Hill City, a meet that features defending Class 1A champion Atwood (which moved up to 2A) and Class 2A champ Osborne.

The field events start at 3 p.m., while running finals start at 6 p.m.

Several of the state's individual top athletes headline the field, including Atwood's senior trio of Macy Migchelbrink, Sara Miller and Laura Wolters, all defending Class 1A champs. The big three generally have won eight or nine events at a meet this spring and could take home a similar haul Friday and could lead Atwood to a team title Friday.

Ellis junior sprinter/jumper Whitney Taylor, Plainville senior distance runner Aubrey Frederking and Osborne seniors Demi French and Sarah Waugh are also among the leaders in the sprints and jumps.

The boys' side yields La Crosse junior hurdler Marshall Musil, Atwood junior distance runner Drew Basgall and Smith Center's Braden Wilson and Colt Rogers in the discus and pole vault, respectively. From outside the area, Wichita-Collegiate, Syracuse and Johnson-Stanton County also have several top individuals.

"You look at the competition this year, I wish we were back to 1A," Terry said with a laugh. "It is going to be a lot tougher this year, but we are ready for the challenge I believe. ... It is going to be a tremendous regional."

Kuhlman, who has battled hip flexor problems all season, is also one of the top competitors. She has the area's -- and 2A's -- top 800-meter time (2:22) and holds the No. 2 seed in the 100 hurdles, 400 meters and triple jump.

In the hurdles and triple jump, Kuhlman trails Atwood's Migchelbrink, the defending Class 1A champion in the 100 meter hurdles and a Fort Hays State University signee. Migchelbrink is the top-ranked athlete at Hill City in all four of her events, the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, long jump and triple jump.

The two athletes, similar in their versatility and talent, competed at the Northwest Kansas League meet last week. Kuhlman won the triple jump while Migchelbrink beat her in the hurdles.

"Kuhlman has really come along and she is a fantastic freshman," Terry said. "She is kind of like Macy. There is so many things she can do."

The multi-talented Kuhlman could compete, and compete well, in more than just her four events she'll have on Friday. Rath said Kuhlman is "really good" in the 200 meters, but can't run that event, because the 800 meters and 200 meters are run back-to-back. Kuhlman has also high jumped five feet, which would tie her for the No. 3 regional seed.

"She is a very quiet person, is very talented and an extremely hard worker," Rath said.

The 5-foot-8 Kuhlman plays volleyball for the Plainsmen and was also the leading rebounder for the 19-4 squad that reached the Oberlin sub-state finals. Kuhlman, though, has grown up with track all her life.

She went to multiple track meets to see her two brothers, Jeff and Shawn, run. She also started to run track in the fifth grade and that's when she started to develop her versatility.

"It was pretty cool seeing all of their races and I was hoping I would be as good as them, but I don't think that will ever happen," Dayna said Tuesday night. "I just tried all of the same events and I did a lot of practice to see which ones I was best at."

She entered this spring with two goals: to earn a varsity letter and reach the state meet in at least two events. Those two goals should happen, especially after a spring working with Rath.

"He is a great inspirational person and he always gives me courage to try different things as best as I can," Kuhlman said.

Kuhlman's problematic hip flexors on both sides of her body, though, gave her difficulty for most of the season.

"She couldn't get out of the blocks with the injury," Rath said. "It just has been kind of frustrating for her. Now she is starting to feel that she can run without pain and we have been able to jump her the last two weeks."

Improved health and Rath's coaching have helped Kuhlman drop 14 seconds in the 800 meters this spring, half a second in the hurdles and another two seconds in the 400 meters, including running a season-best and NWKL-winning time of 60.46 in the 400.

On Friday, Kuhlman will see Osborne's French in the 400, Migchelbrink in the triple jump and hurdles, and Wolters and Frederking in a stacked 800-meter field.

Wolters is the defending Class 1A champion and has split two 800-meter runs with Kuhlman this season, including a victory by .04 seconds -- "by a nose," Terry said -- at conference last week. Frederking finished second in Class 2A at state last year and won the 1,600 meters and 3,200 meters.

The trio could finish 1-2-3 (in any order) at regional and sweep the top three places at state next week.

"It is going to be a real fight between those two, you throw in Frederking too, wow, what a race it is going to be," Terry said.

For Atwood, Miller, the defending Class 1A discus champion, will throw against Taylor, a former 2A discus champ. Miller beat Colby's Lissa Mazanec, the returning Class 4A runner-up, at conference last week for the first time in six years. The duo is considered the classifications' top two throwers and each can throw at least 128 feet. Miller has the best throw in Class 2A this spring at 137-4.

"It ought to be a real fight between them," Terry said. "She is capable of throwing it in the 140s and Taylor with that leverage, is capable of throwing it in the 140s, too."

On the boys' side, Atwood's Basgall carries the top rank in the 1,600-meters (4:38.1), 800-meters (2:02.7) and the fifth-best seed in the 3,200-meters. He was second in the 1,600 and 3,200 in Class 1A last season for the state champion Atwood team. At state, Basgall will also likely run on a relay, either the 1,600 or 3,200-meters.

"He is just a special kid," Terry said. "He is our leader. ... There are just a lot of different possibilities that we can go with him."

He'll be joined by teammate John Binning, who has signed to play football at Garden City Community College, but is being recruited by the Hutchinson CC track team. Like Kuhlman and Migchelbrink, Binning, a senior, has a unique skill set. He is first in the shot put (54-3 1/2), fourth in the discus and fourth in the 200 meters. He is also on the final leg of the 400-meter relay that ranks fifth entering the regional.

"He can run pretty well for a big guy," Terry said.

Taylor leads Ellis into meet

The Railers are led by Taylor, a discus champion her freshman season and the defending 200-meter title winner. She won two events last week at the MCL meet, but said she "didn't have a good day." A better day Friday could vault Taylor into four state titles at Wichita. She holds the top 2A time and is one of two runners in any classification to break 12 seconds in the 100-meters when she used a great start to run an 11.9 earlier this spring. In the 200, Taylor's season-best of 25.8 is second in Class 2A to Peabody's Lauren Pickens' time of 25.2.

Taylor was third in the high jump at conference and jumped four inches lower than her season-best of 5-4, the area's top mark and tied for the best leap in Class 2A. Miller and Taylor are well ahead of the field in the discus and will likely go 1-2 at state.

Junior Haley Wolf, one of the MCL's top distance runners, holds the No. 2 rank in the 3,200-meters (12:34.6) and the third spot in the 1,600-meters (5:47.6). Wolf didn't qualify for state in those events as a sophomore after she qualified her freshman year. She also ranks fourth in the pole vault.

Redmen continue to roll

The Redmen, especially on the boys' side, continue their dominance. Smith Center, led by Wilson and Rogers, finished second at MCL last week. Wilson, a Kansas State University football signee and third at state last season in the discus, had a knee injury for part of the spring before he uncorked a throw of 164-6 at conference, the best 2A throw all season and the area's top mark by nearly 10 feet. Wilson also has the best triple jump in the area, but head coach Roger Barta confirmed Wednesday night that Wilson's knee is OK, but the senior will only compete in the discus.

"We don't want to take any chances," Barta said.

Rogers is on the Redmen's 400-meter relay team that ranks first in the area (43.5). As an individual, Rogers has a chance for a rare quadruple. As a running back, he was on Smith Center's 13-0 state title football team.

In wrestling, he didn't lose for the second straight year, won his second straight individual title and second team title. He could win his fourth state title this spring in the pole vault. Helped by a new pole, Rogers achieved his season goal and jumped 13-6 at MCL, a foot higher than his season best and the top jump in Class 2A.

"Coach Brock Hutchinson does a real good job with him and (Colt) worked his way up on the new pole," Barta said.

Rogers also ranks second to Musil in the 300-meter hurdles.

Senior Drew Joy is ranked first in the 100-meters, second in the 200 and third in the long jump, while junior Joe Osburn is tied with the top high jump result (6-0).

On the girls' side, Barta said the coaches are "pretty pleased" with freshman Sara Timmons and Whitney St. Clair, who are 1-2 in a competitive javelin field. The top eight girls are within 16 feet of each other and Atwood's Miller, a returning state qualifier in the javelin, ranks eighth.

Up a class

The Leopards are another team that moved up to Class 2A from 1A and enjoyed success, especially with the boys' team. Musil, an elite football prospect already receiving Div. I scholarship offers from Kansas and Missouri, was third in Class 1A in the 110-meter hurdles at state last spring.

This year, he has the region's best 110-meter hurdle time (15.0). It's also one of the state's top marks - only Bennington's Lawson Montgomery is under 14.8 among 2A runners. He is also first in the 300 hurdles with the 20th best time in the state and third in Class 2A (40.4). Junior Corey Torrez is first in the 200 and 400 and ranks in the top five in the classification. La Crosse is also first in the 1,600-meter relay. Seniors Mike Powell and Andrew Hollis are second and third, respectively, in the shot put.

Defending champs contend again

The Bulldogs, defending Class 2A champions on the girls' side, could contend for regional titles on both teams after a first-place finish by the girls and a strong third-place showing by the boys last week at the MCL meet.

Relays is the name of the game for Osborne. The Bulldogs have the top relay times in the girls' and boys' 3,200-meter relays, the girls' 400-meter relay and the girls' 1,600-meter relay.

Individually, senior Martin Hojda has the second best time in the 3,200-meters and paces the Bulldogs' 3,200-meter relay. Sophomore Jon Eickenberg and junior Issac Sumpter are among the leaders in the 400-meters and 800-meters, respectively.

On the girls' side, senior Demi French, who won two conference events last week "looked like the old Demi," according to head coach Kenny Ubelaker. French, who took third in the 400 meters last spring, has the top 400 time in the regional. Waugh and sophomore Emily Girard are top competitors in the jumps and hurdles and run on the relays with French.

Host advantage?

The host Ringnecks enjoyed plenty of success at state last season. But the top-tier talent in Class 2A has pushed some of Hill City's top athletes, especially those in the field events, to lower ranks. Senior Sara Goetz was eighth in the shot put last year with a throw of 33-6Ôªø 3âÑ4. This season, her best mark of 35-8Ôªø1âÑ2 stands sixth in a deep field. Senior Kelsi Griffin was fourth in the long jump at state last spring with a leap of 16-1Ôªø 3âÑ4. She has improved to 16-10, but has the No. 3 seed behind Migchelbrink and Waugh. However, a third place showing at regional could also yield a third place showing at state.

On the boys' side, junior Dylan Vap leads the field in the javelin (169-1), while senior Kenny Slattery is second (20-3) inthe long jump.