EAGLE - Wednesday Walton has two recurring dreams when it comes to her goal of winning the 300-meter hurdles at the state track and field meet.

There is the dreary image that haunts the Post Falls High senior and there's the pleasing vision Walton hopes to see become reality on Saturday when she wraps up a fine high school career in the 5A meet at Eagle High.

"I dream every night of winning the 300 hurdles," Walton said. "I have two dreams - one is of a false start, the other is with me winning the race."

Walton posted the best overall time in Friday's prelims with a season-best run of 44.88 seconds in the 300. She also put forth a strong effort in the 100 hurdles as her time of 15.16 seconds was second best among the two heats.

Another strong day of running by Walton could cause nightmares for competitors. Walton, who said she has landed a scholarship to attend Idaho, is looking to end her prep career in style after steadily improving her performances at the state meet.

As a sophomore, Walton placed seventh in both the 300 and 100 hurdles. Last year, she was fourth in the 300 and sixth in 100. And now she's a strong contender to win a state title or two as a senior.

Walton doesn't consider herself a strong sprinter so it makes sense that she prefers the 300 - "if you make a mistake, you have time to make it up," Walton explained. She figures to get strong competition from Eagle senior Allison Jeffries and Coeur d'Alene sophomore Kaitlyn Gunnerson in today's final.

"I feel great and I feel ready," said Walton, who received a nasty cut on his left knee during the 300 when she brushed one of the hurdles. "Kaitlyn Gunnerson is a great runner. She really pushes you."

Another person looking to nab a state crown - or two - is Lake City sophomore Maddison Ward, who placed second in both the 100 and 200 meters during the prelims.

Ward posted season-best times of 12.20 seconds in the 100 and 25.02 in the 200. She dominated her heat in the 100 and she used a strong finishing kick in the 200 to move up to second in that heat.

"I felt like I really pulled more out of myself than I have over the season," Ward said. "I really felt something click that hadn't clicked yet."

Ward attributes part of her strong finishing ability to a conditioning level bolstered by playing soccer.

"I really like the 200 just because it's longer," Ward said. "My stamina helps me toward the end."

Among other 5A girls, Gunnerson qualified for both the 100 and 300 hurdles, posting the third-best time (15.25) in the 100 and the fourth (45.96) in the 300.

Others to qualify for today's finals were Coeur d'Alene junior Brittany Tackett (fourth in the 200 in 25.79 seconds), Coeur d'Alene freshman Emily Calahan (sixth, 400, 1:00.33) and Coeur d'Alene sophomore Victoria Goetz (sixth, 100, 12.60).

Coeur d'Alene's 4x800 meter relay quartet of junior Madison Sumner, senior Joslyn Duran, sophomore Krista Story and junior Jaycee Rade placed third in 9:27.66, more than 15 seconds behind Rocky Mountain, which set a state mark with its time of 9:12.07. Coeur d'Alene sophomore Josie Brown placed sixth in the 3200 in 11:25.50 and Post Falls senior Danielle Failor was fourth in the high jump at 5-0.

Among 5A boys, Lake City junior Chris Baker qualified for both the 100 (third, 10.96) and 200 (third, 22.17). Coeur d'Alene junior Addison Johnson (fourth, 22.53) and Post Falls senior Bret Davide (seventh, 22.60) also qualified for the 200 finals.

Davide (fifth, 50.46 seconds) also qualified for the 400 as did Lake City sophomore Jerry Louie-McGee (eighth, 50.98).

Coeur d'Alene junior Samuel Lee qualified for both the 110 meter hurdles (fourth, 15.02) and the 300 hurdles (fifth, 40.41). Post Falls seniors Keenan Marianno (sixth, 15.29) and Trent Hammond (eight, 15.44) are also in the finals.

Lake City sophomores Kyler Little (fifth, 9:43.61) and Jake Finney (seventh, 9:49.73) were among the top eight in the 3200.

In the high jump, Post Falls senior Chandler Smith placed fourth at 6-4 and Lee was sixth at 6-2. In the long jump, Coeur d'Alene senior Makenzie Baker placed fifth at 22-4. In the shot put, Coeur d'Alene senior Jeremiah Hazaard was fifth with a throw of 49-8 1/2.

Among 4A boys, Lakeland junior Michael Olsen had the second-best 110-meter hurdles time (15.52).

In 4A girls, Lakeland senior Jordan Ward had the fifth best prelim mark in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.95 seconds. Ward will attempt to win the state high jump title for the third straight year today.

Centennial (46) and Rocky Mountain (31) lead the 5A boys team competition with Coeur d'Alene a distant seventh with 11 points. Lake City (eight) is tied for ninth and Post Falls (seven) is tied for 11th.

The 5A girls team lead is held by Capital (24) with Mountain View (23) close behind. Coeur d'Alene (nine) is tied for 10th, Post Falls (five) is in 14th and Lake City (two) is in 17th.

Kuna (24) leads the 4A boys competition and Rigby (30) leads the 4A girls. Sandpoint is fourth on the girls' side with 18 points and seventh in the boys' competition with 12.