“It’s awesome,” Free State High’s Tay Ogunnowo said after placing fourth in the 100-meter dash Saturday at the Kansas Relays. “The crowd it’s real nice to see everybody out here watching us run. You don’t usually get a crowd this big.”

The announced crowd of 10,500 was the largest since 19,200 fans witnessed the Kansas Relays in 1983.

Although Saturday’s showing wasn’t his all-time favorite track memory Ogunnowo confessed that came when he ran a personal-record time of 10.43 earlier this season the senior speedster said the Relays experience certainly ranked near the top.

“It’s definitely different,” Ogunnowo said. “It’s real exciting just to run with these guys.”

Casey Wilson/Journal-World Photo

In addition to finishing fourth in the 100 in 11.03, Ogunnowo also ran the first leg of Free State’s fourth-place 4X100 relay, teaming with fellow seniors T.K. Peterson, Jake Lawrence and Ogunnowo’s twin brother, Kenny.

“It was a real good race,” FSHS coach Steve Heffernan said. “They still have some improvements to make, still a few things to work on handoff-wise, just learning how to be really good sprinters.

“We have fast guys, but there’s still some who need to learn to sprint.”

The 4X100 team wasn’t the only Free State relay that picked up where it left off on Friday.

Free State’s boys 4X400 relay team was battling for third place before its anchor leg took a spill just short of the finish line, finishing eighth. The girls 4X800 relay consisting of Heather McCullough, Jackie Dubois, Joyia Chadwick and Betsy Lee finished third in 9:54.98.

“We were the first ones from Class 6A,” said Chadwick, who also competed in the triple jump Saturday. “That just shows how we’re going to end up as a team. We have a really good shot at winning state.”

Saturday’s medal was the second of the Relays for Dubois, Chadwick and Lee, who also placed second in Friday’s distance relay.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” Chadwick said. “This hasn’t been here for the last two years because of the (Memorial Stadium) renovations. None of us on the team has run in the Relays before. So I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s great.

“I’m really, really happy that we got medals. I think our team is putting on a really good show.”

FSHS senior Alyssa Humbarger put on a show of her own in the shot put.

“I’m real happy with Alyssa Humbarger,” Heffernan said. “She’s really been in kind of a slump so throwing 40-foot-6 was an exceptional day. I think that was the biggest surprise of the day.”

On her third and final attempt to reach the finals, Humbarger managed a toss of 40-61/2, a Free State record.

“It took me awhile,” Humbarger said. “I was stuck right below 40 feet and I finally made it over that barrier. I’m pretty happy with it.”

Although she finished seventh, Humbarger is looking at the big picture.

“It was more about the distance,” Humbarger said. “The thing is, none of these girls will be competing in our regionals or league or state.”

And state, after all, is Free State’s ultimate goal.

“I think our kids have done real well,” Heffernan said, “just getting some exposure to big-meet pressure situations like that. I think we weathered the storm more or less. I know some of our kids would have liked to have done better, but I’m real pleased.”

Lawrence High didn’t have any competitors Saturday.

Ottawa senior Rachel Goetz led the sparse contingent of area athletes.

Goetz, who was the area’s only individual participant Saturday, threw the discus a whopping 129 feet to earn fourth place. She also was 13th in the shot put after a throw of 37-1.

Baldwin’s boys 4X800 relay team was timed at 8:23.10, good for 15th place, while the Ottawa girls were 19th in the same event. Ottawa’s boys 4X400 relay was sixth.