Spotlight shines on Johnson County-area athletes at Kansas Relays

When Blue Valley Southwest High School sophomore Noah Green awoke Saturday morning, he said he stepped outside and noticed the warm weather and a slight breeze.

“It’s going to be a fast day today,” he later recalled thinking.

Fast, indeed.

Green won one of the most competitive races at the Kansas Relays in Lawrence, the 110-meter hurdles, completing the race in 14.05 seconds.

An athlete who has owned the top time in Kansas for much of the season broadened his reign.

“It boosts my confidence a lot,” he said. “The expectation was everyone out here was going to be fast, and this is a fast track. I know now I can compete with everyone around the nation, so it’s a big confidence booster.”

Green wasn’t finished. He also served as the anchor for the Blue Valley Southwest 4 x 400 relay, which won the Sunflower event Saturday at Rock Chalk Park.

The Kansas Relays crowned a host of other winners from the 913 area on Friday and Saturday.

St. Thomas Aquinas put together a convincing victory in the boys 4 x 1,600-meter relay, crossing the finish line in 18 minutes, 0.51 seconds for a 14-second winning margin.

Shawnee Mission Northwest sophomore Molly Born won the girls 3,200-meter run with a time of 10 minutes, 28.16 seconds.

Shawnee Mission North senior Jazmin Williams captured the girls 300-meter hurdles title Friday.

Shawnee Mission North won the boys distance medley relay on Friday, a tight race in which the top three placers were less than two seconds apart.

Blue Valley Northwest senior Hannah VanBuskirk won the girls high jump Saturday.

Blue Valley captured the girls 4x400 Sunflower relay.

Bishop Miege edged Leavenworth in the boys 4x100 Sunflower relay, and Shawnee Mission East took the girls race.

This story was originally published April 28, 2016 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Spotlight shines on Johnson County-area athletes at Kansas Relays."