Track and field

Coverage of state high school meets.

Chandler senior Jalen Milligan jogged to a stop after running the 100meter hurdles on Friday, and almost immediately turned around to head back toward the starting line.

Only a few short races remained before she’d be back in the blocks for the 100-meter dash.

It wasn’t yet 2 p.m. at the Class 3A state track meet at Frank McNabb Field, and Milligan was already preparing for her third event of the day, working hard to catch her breath before the most challenging of her four events.

“Shot put is probably my worst event, but the 100 is always tough,” Milligan said. “It’s right after the hurdles, and it’s one of the most competitive races. It’s always super-close.”

But that’s life when you compete in a unique array of events, the way Milligan does. This is the second-straight year she’s qualified for state in the 100, 100 hurdles, long jump and shot put, and Wichita State signed her to be a heptathlete, where she’ll compete in seven running and field events.

Friday turned out to be a day of near-misses for Milligan, who finished one spot short of a medal, taking seventh in the shot put with a throw of 35- feet

5¼-inches. That left her 7 inches away from a medal.

Her 100 time of 12.85 seconds left her in ninth, her best time of the year, yet still one spot — or four one-hundredths of a second — away from advancing to Saturday’s final.

That leaves Milligan with two more events on Saturday. She qualified sixth for the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.99, and she’ll compete in the long jump, where she’s one of four girls in the class to jump longer than 17-feet this season.

Recently recognized by Foot Locker as one of 20 recipients of a $20,000 scholarship as part of their scholar-athlete program, Milligan was picked for the award for her work on the track, in the classroom and in the community.

Last year, she founded a program called the Exchange Zone, which accepts donated sports equipment to be given to athletes in need of gear.

“I clean it up and give the equipment to kids who can’t afford them, or lost their equipment in a fire, or something like that,” Milligan said. “That way, kids get to try a sport that maybe they’ve never got to play before.”