ENCINITAS - Little Mary Lacy was huffing and puffing after she won the 75-yard dash in 9.56 seconds Wednesday at Paul Ecke Central Elementary. But the second-grader said she was ready to go again. "I could probably run that race 75 more times," Mary boasted.

The play field at Paul Ecke Central was abuzz with athletics as students participated in the school's annual track meet. The event combined standard sports with some family picnic-type competitions. The youngsters hurled softballs, shot baskets and long-jumped as far as their growing legs could leap. Along the chalked lines of a 100-yard sprinting track, about 50 parents gathered to cheer their favorite gunny-sack and three-legged racers.

Debi Bell, PTA co-president and track meet coordinator, said children had been practicing for the event recently during gym classes. Thirty parents pitched in to make the meet possible, she said.

Second-grader Heather Ulrich crosses the finish line first in the 50-yard dash at the Paul Ecke Central School track meet Wednesday in Encinitas.

At the distance toss, Jeff Anderson smiled and raised his camera to photograph his 9-year-old son, Jeffrey, throw a softball. "He's pretty competitive," Anderson said. "He likes this kind of stuff." Jeffrey is a shortstop on the Indians Minor A Little League team. He said he liked the track meet "because we don't have to do work on math."

As for fourth-grader Anthony Vail, "I just like throwing the ball," he said. One of Anthony's classmates, Nicholas Kritselis, said he likes being physical "so you can get stronger at stuff."

Luis Morena was pumped after winning his heat in the 50-yard dash. "I thought I was going to be last!" he said. Second-grader Cassidy Wehsener was the first in her heat to shuffle a gunnysack across the finish line. "I just did it," she said, catching her breath. "I was nervous because I fell right before the finish line?"