WAMEGO, Kan. — Atchison’s Andre Harris thinks three first-place medals is enough.

He even said so as he came in fourth in the 400-meter dash at the Class 4A regional track and field tournament on Friday.

After winning the long jump and 100-meter dash on his own and then taking first as last leg of the 4x100-meter relay, Harris was exhausted.

Not bad for a rookie.

“I’ve never done track in high school. This is something different, and I’m starting to love it,” said Harris, who had the shortest qualifying jump in the preliminaries before recording a personal best 21 feet, 7 3/4 inches in the long jump — all in his first appearance at regionals and after nearly not even being able to take the bus. “It was skeptical if I was going to get to come. I got to come, so I was just going to do my best. This whole last bye week I’ve just been working hard to get here. I didn’t want to waste my time.”

Harris’ finish in the 100-meter dash, though it was not a personal best, was 11.18 seconds — good enough to beat the rest of the field.

“I was just looking forward to the 400,” Harris said, “and they threw me in the 4-x100 at the last second.”

Harris was tabbed for the 4x100-meter relay team when teammate Tyler Newkirk was in the triple jump finals. Harris took his position as the last leg and finished off a team-best 40.34 time.

“It’s tough to single people out. Obviously, we have some individuals who do real good,” said head coach Jim Bartlett, who had several first-place finishers. “I’m just real pleased with everything that’s gone on. I’m just thrilled to death.”

Bartlett, who will take 10 athletes to state next weekend, added that Harris’s performance is not surprising if you’ve ever seen him play any sport.

"We've always known that he's an athlete," Bartlett said. "He'll always be out there in front — whether it's football, basketball or track. He's got a lot of talent."

Senior Paige Peltzer started things for AHS, winning the high jump in dramatic fashion.

Peltzer and one other jumper outlasted the field as the two lone competitors to clear the 5-foot-2 mark. When the bar moved up to 5-foot-4 however, neither could leap over it after four attempts apiece.

The bar was moved down the 5-foot-3, and both Peltzer and her competitor cleared it easily.

When the bar was then upped to 5-foot-4 again, however, Peltzer just looked away and repeated one thing to herself.

"I know I can make five-four. I have a lot this season. On my last jump, I said to myself, 'It's just five-three. Just pretend it's five-three or five-two,'" said Peltzer, who cleared her personal best mark after her opponent scratched — winning the regional high jump for the second straight year. "I'm relieved. Now my goal is to try to get five-six at state, at least."

Other first-place finishers included Kyle Downing in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Downing set a school record in the event.