BOISE - Maddison Ward already has a double-double shining out from her list of track and field accomplishments.

The Lake City High senior is aiming to repeat the feat when this year's state meet wraps up at Dona Larsen Park today.

Ward displayed she is ready to defend her titles in the 5A girls 100 and 200 meters by turning in the fastest times in both events - 12.36 seconds in the 100 and 24.98 in the 200 - in Friday's prelims. Ward is the two-time defending champion in the 200 and the recipient of heavy praise from Lake City coach Kelly Reed.

"I've coached high school athletics for 25 years and she is without question the best athlete I have coached, male or female," Reed said. "She is an absolute freak, athletically."

Lake City senior Quinn Mitchell was the highest-placing local, taking second in the discus at 52 feet, 5 3/4 inches.

"It was a huge day for Quinn," Reed said. "52-5 is an outstanding throw, and with four throws over 50 feet, he was solid from start to finish. The kid from Eagle went 52 feet on his first throw, but Quinn continued to improve on the rest of his throws. He definitely competed well."

Reed added that the steady downpour of rain during the event wasn't ideal for throwing.

"It was an absolute disaster," Reed said. "It was a little windy and the exact opposite of ideal throwing conditions. But Quinn handled himself and the elements well."

Ward doesn't just want to repeat as champion in the two events, she also has her sights on the state 200 record held by Mountain View's Kyli McSpadden (24.80 in 2012). She nearly eclipsed it last season when she turned in a time of 24.82 seconds in much hotter conditions.

She also gets motivated by the sea of different faces she sees at the state meet.

"It's nice coming down and racing people you don't normally race," Ward said. "You get that adrenaline buildup and that's what really helps me kick it into high gear - racing people you normally don't,

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especially in that 200 because Madison Lung (of Boise High) was super close to me at state last year and I know she is going to be good competition."

Ward turned in her stellar efforts last season after recovering from a broken left leg suffered during soccer season. She again suffered a hardship by breaking an arm playing soccer during the summer and there are times the injury bothers her while in the blocks.

In fact, there were two false starts called in the 100 before Ward actually got to head down the track and she didn't get the least bit fazed by the delays.

"I can't feel these fingers so starting will affect it and my hand will give," Ward said. "I was kind of glad somebody false-started. I saw her false start out of the corner of my eye in the 100 so I'm not even going to get out of my blocks. It was kind of good because my hand was giving out."

The hand might be giving out but the legs never do. Nor does the work ethic and the tenacious approach.

"There's no question about it. She just continues to amaze me," Reed said. "She's just very track savvy from the way she approaches warmups to the way she approaches the start of the race. You can see the four years of experience in her, that's for sure.

"She is incredibly gifted and takes her craft seriously."

Coeur d'Alene senior Kaitlyn Gunnerson also is in position to win two events. She is the favorite in both the 100 and 300 hurdles after registering the best prelim times in each event - 14.71 in the 100 and 44.63 in the 300.

Gunnerson is the defending champion in the 100 hurdles (14.63) and finished second in the 300 (44.72) last year.

"I'm kind of taking it like any other meet, just going out there and perform my best and hope the best comes from it," Gunnerson said. "Rankings don't mean anything. They don't really mean much because anything can happen race day because you never know. I'm going in optimistic and hoping to do well."

Coeur d'Alene senior Victoria Goetz placed the third in qualifying for the 400 (58.02). Goetz finished second at last year's state meet and posted school-record times on both days.

Among boys, Lake City senior Kyler Little gave a strong effort in the 3,200. He placed third (9:24.65) behind Rocky Mountain's Michael Slagowski (9:20.90) and Capital's Drew Schultz (9:23.11).

"Kyler just competes," Reed said. "He is a warrior."

Lakeland senior Jeremy Frisk posted the second-best qualifying time in the 4A 200 (22.56).

The weather played havoc on the morning festivities and heavy rain interrupted some of the field events.

Two events - the 5A boys pole vault and 4A girls high jump - were postponed until later in the day due to the deluge and some of the other 10 events encountered delays but were concluded prior to the start of the running events.

Other area athletes to earn medals on Friday were Lake City's Stephanie Wright (fourth in the 5A girls pole vault at 11 feet), Post Falls' Kim Reynolds (fifth in the 5A girls shot put at 36-10 3/4), Coeur d'Alene's 5A girls 4x800 relay team (fifth at 9:59.75) and Lakeland's 4A girls 1,600 sprint medley relay team (sixth at 3:45.25).

"I can't feel these fingers so starting will affect it and my hand will give," Ward said. "I was kind of glad somebody false-started. I saw her false start out of the corner of my eye in the 100 so I'm not even going to get out of my blocks. It was kind of good because my hand was giving out."

The hand might be giving out but the legs never do. Nor does the work ethic and the tenacious approach.

"There's no question about it. She just continues to amaze me," Reed said. "She's just very track savvy from the way she approaches warmups to the way she approaches the start of the race. You can see the four years of experience in her, that's for sure.

"She is incredibly gifted and takes her craft seriously."

Coeur d'Alene senior Kaitlyn Gunnerson also is in position to win two events. She is the favorite in both the 100 and 300 hurdles after registering the best prelim times in each event - 14.71 in the 100 and 44.63 in the 300.

Gunnerson is the defending champion in the 100 hurdles (14.63) and finished second in the 300 (44.72) last year.

"I'm kind of taking it like any other meet, just going out there and perform my best and hope the best comes from it," Gunnerson said. "Rankings don't mean anything. They don't really mean much because anything can happen race day because you never know. I'm going in optimistic and hoping to do well."

Coeur d'Alene senior Victoria Goetz placed the third in qualifying for the 400 (58.02). Goetz finished second at last year's state meet and posted school-record times on both days.

Among boys, Lake City senior Kyler Little gave a strong effort in the 3,200. He placed third (9:24.65) behind Rocky Mountain's Michael Slagowski (9:20.90) and Capital's Drew Schultz (9:23.11).

"Kyler just competes," Reed said. "He is a warrior."

Lakeland senior Jeremy Frisk posted the second-best qualifying time in the 4A 200 (22.56).

The weather played havoc on the morning festivities and heavy rain interrupted some of the field events.

Two events - the 5A boys pole vault and 4A girls high jump - were postponed until later in the day due to the deluge and some of the other 10 events encountered delays but were concluded prior to the start of the running events.

Area athletes to earn medals on Friday were Lake City's Quinn Mitchell (second in the 5A boys shot put at 52 feet, 5 ? inches), Lake City's Stephanie Wright (fourth in the 5A girls pole vault at 11 feet), Post Falls' Kim Reynolds (fifth in the 5A shot put at 36-10 3/4), Coeur d'Alene's 5A 4x800 relay team (fifth at 9:59.75) and Lakeland's 4A girls 1,600 sprint medley relay team (sixth at 3:45.25).