Craig Banman set a Class 1A met record in the 400 meters and led Goessel to second place overall at the state track and field meet this weekend in Wichita.

It was assumed if Goessel was to win a team trophy, points would have to come from someone other than Banman.

Banman finished second in the 100-meter with a time of 11.31 seconds. He then won the 400 in 48.29 seconds. He also won the 200 in 22.37.

“We talked about the state record in the 400-meter dash during the week,” Banman said. “I just run hard and see what happens.”

Goessel won the 4x100-meter relay despite a slight bump in the first exchange between Cameron Stultz and John Berkholz. A good exchange between Berkholz and Weston Hiebert gave Goessel a lead heading into the next 100 meters.

“I felt my leg muscle cramp up in the last 10 meters,” Hiebert said.

The exchange to Travis Fensky went well. Fensky leaned, and a photo-finish gave Goessel the victory with a season-best 44.78.

Although he had the second fastest qualifying time in the preliminary heat in the 300-meter hurdles, Hiebert’s cramp doomed his chances. Stultz was needed to step in as an alternate.

With one event remaining Goessel was 14 points behind and tied for second. All three teams qualified for the 4x400 relay.

Berkholz kept the Bluebirds among the leaders after one lap. Stultz then held his own.

Austin Unruh passed one runner, and the two teams tied for second were leading the last event of the day. 

Unruh made the exchange to Banman five meters behind the leaders and it now was his task to run down an excellent 400-meter sprinter.

 By the 200-meter mark, the runners were shoulder-to-shoulder with Banman on the outside. As the runners entered the final 100, Banman took the lead. He won by several steps with a time of 3:28.62 to help capture second place overall.