Massive regional performances, including several school records, ignited the Durant High School track and field team as they qualified for state in eight different girls events as well as 11 for the boys.
Three DHS records went by the wayside and the Lions also placed third in the overall team standings of the regional event at Owasso.
That large group of competitors moves on to the Class 5A State Meet slated for this weekend at Western Heights in Oklahoma City.
Leading the charge for the Lady Lions was Bailey Cross, who won the regional championship and also broke her own school record in the pole vault with a gold medal jump of 10 feet even.
Avery Sager qualified in three separate individual events, breaking her 3,200-meter school record for the fifth time in the process with a time of 11 minutes, 48.05 seconds to place third. She also punched her state ticket in the 1,600 meters with a fifth place time of 5:33.83 as well as in the 800 meters as she placed sixth in 2:29.27.
Emma Sherrer checked in with a state qualifying toss of 110 feet, 9 inches in the discus with teammate Dasia Lewis also reaching the state threshold with a fourth place effort of 107 feet, 9 inches.
The Lady Lion 800 relay unit of Ava Anderson, Xakayla Cox, Kaitlen Rush and Samiah Clegg was a wild card qualifier with a fourth place time of 1:46.29 as was the 3,200 relay squad of Judi Free, Brooklyn Hill, Laynee Emert and Caitlyn Ortega as they finished sixth at 10:42.62.
Other regional placers included Leah Robison, who was sixth with a personal best 19.37 seconds in the 100 hurdles and also checked in sixth in the 300 hurdles at 53.43. Cox contributed a sixth-place mark of 12.86 seconds in the 100 meters.
A pair of regional championships spurred the Durant boys team as Damien Almos won the 110 hurdles in 15.53 seconds and K.J. Lowey took the 800-meter crown in a time of 2:00.80. Teammate Zach Ervin was also a wild card state qualifier in the event with a personal best mark of 2:02.32.
Lowery was also the regional runner-up in the 1600 meters at 4:36.82 with Ervin checking in sixth with a 4:41.93. Rylan Avery added a state qualifying run of 40.46 seconds in the 300 hurdles in placing third.
Field event state qualifiers were topped by Conley Tiffie in the discus as he threw a personal best 143 feet, 6 inches to claim runner-up honors with Caleb Simpkins also punching a state ticket in fourth place at 140 feet, 7 inches.
Chris Hix reached the state event with a fourth place heave of 46 feet, 8.75 inches in the shot put and Josh Bull also qualified in the pole vault with a personal best jump of 11 feet, 6 inches. Hector Tormos pitched in a sixth place leap of 9 feet, 6 inches as well.
The Lions’ sprint relay (400 meters) squad of Avery, Boston Browder, Jaythyn Edmundson and Aiden Polk broke a 69-year old school record with a third place sprint of 43.23 seconds that pushed them to state along with the other Durant relay units as well.
In the 800 meters the same grouping qualified with a fourth place mark of 1:30.98. In the 1,600 relay Avery, Edmundson and Browder teamed with Lowery to take third in 3:28.30 and the 3,200 unit of Lowery, Ervin, Kason Ford and Carter Kemp was third with a time of 8:24.93.