It was another step forward this season for the Helias boys and girls track and field programs.
The last step begins today when the Crusaders and Lady Crusaders take part in the Class 4 state championships at Adkins Stadium.
“We’ve really battled each and every week, doing a lot of great things,” Helias coach Phil Pitts said. “We’ve taken a good positive step this season.
“I’m excited to see what we do this weekend.”
Helias will have competitors in nine total events -- five for the Lady Crusaders, four for the Crusaders.
“Every coach gets greedy, you always want more,” Pitts said. “But we’ve taken a great step in the right direction. We had about 10 kids last year, this year it’s double that. That’s a big positive. It’s something we can build on.”
Helias will run in seven preliminary events today.
It starts at 11:10 a.m. with Matthew Malmstrom running the boys 110-meter hurdles. Malmstrom will also run the 300-meter hurdles at 3:15 p.m.
“He’s phenomenal,” Pitts said. “He’s got a chance to win a state title in both hurdle events. He takes a lot of pride in catching people.”
The finals in both events will be run Saturday.
Malmstrom is also the anchor leg in Helias’ 4x400-meter relay, that will run at 5:45 p.m. today looking for a top-eight finish to advance to Saturday’s final.
The Lady Crusaders will have competitors in four events today.
Mikah Edwards will run in two individual events -- the 400-meter dash at 2:50 p.m. and the 200-meter dash at 4:50 p.m.
“She just keeps getting better and faster and I’m excited to see what she can do at state this weekend,” Pitts said. “She’s a competitor, she doesn’t back down from any challenge.
“Anything you put in front of her, she’s willing to go give it a shot.”
Edwards could also run in Helias’ 4x100- and 4x200-meter relays.
“There are a lot of things we can do if we need to, because eight races in one weekend is a lot,” Pitts said. “The best thing about it is we are deep in the relays with a lot of talented girls.”
The finals in all four events will be held Saturday.
Isabelle Struemph will also run today in the 200-meter dash preliminaries for the Lady Crusaders.
Helias advanced in two finals-only events to be run Saturday.
At 10:30 a.m., the Lady Crusaders will run in the 4x800-meter relay.
“That’s been an awesome group this season,” Pitts said. “We’ve had to make some changes in the group this season to make things fit, but we’ve got five girls who can run it, run it well and give us a chance to finish on the podium because they are all so competitive.”
At 2:40 p.m., Noah Voss will take part in the 800-meter run for the Crusaders.
“Noah is a someone who pushes himself all the time and he earned his place at state,” Pitts said.
Helias has nearly doubled the amount of state qualifiers it had last year.
“It’s a sign that we’re making progress,” Pitts said. “There’s a lot of excitement in the track program right now and we want to continue to build on that.”
That excitement level could be boosted if the Crusaders and Lady Crusaders have success at state.
“If we do what we’re supposed to do, we should end up with a lot of kids on the podium getting medals,” Pitts said. “The team points will fall where they fall. We’ve got a chance to finish in the top 10 in the state on both the boys and girls sides, it’s just a matter of us running our best races.”