Varsity Track and Field

With Cessna Stadium’s days numbered, we relive some great memories at a storied venue

The Kansas high school state track meet is one of the biggest sporting events in the region.

It is the only state track meet in which every classification gathers at one location, and it has seen some of the most outstanding individual performances in the country.

And since 1970, Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium has been its host venue.

That run appears to be coming to an end. Although the state track meet will return to the same ground on the WSU campus, the Kansas Board of Regents approved in April a plan to replace the stadium with a smaller, multi-purpose venue. There is no public timeline yet for when that work to take place.

For now, The Eagle is sharing some of the top high school performances through the years at the venerable stadium. These feats were selected with the help of Kansas high school sports experts and historians.

Cessna’s amenities aren’t what they were in the 1970s, but it has long accommodated the state track meet almost to perfection.

This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 10:09 AM.

Hayden Barber
The Wichita Eagle
Wichita Eagle preps reporter Hayden Barber brings the area updates on all high school sports while adding those hard-to-find human-interest stories on Wichita’s student-athletes.
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