Moment of the Year: Standout performances lead to Buhler's third boys track title

Varsity Kansas has introduced a new series, Moment of the Year. The series will highlight the top moment or performance from the 2017-18 high school sports season for each of the Wichita-area schools. And now, the Buhler Crusaders.

Only a handful of the hundreds of athletes had the day Braden Rose had.

Rose won two individual state championships at the 2018 Kansas high school track and field meet as Buhler went on to win its third boys track title in school history. Rose was the catalyst, but the Crusaders showed their depth, too.

Rose won the Class 4A javelin with a 194-foot, 4-inch heave, holding off Clay Center's Peyton Lane. And in the shot put, Rose won again with a 54-2.75 toss. He beat Tonganoxie's Cole Sample by a touch over 3 inches.

Coach Willie Atkins said Rose had a all-time performance for a Buhler athlete.

Atkins stressed that he was not alone. In the 110-meter hurdles, Clay Eckert beat out McPherson's Tyson Stites, who came in as the favorite after preliminaries.

In Eckert's final high school race, he won an individual state title with a 14.8-second sprint. He edged Stites by 7 hundredths of a second. Eckert's family was watching by the finish line, and when he cross first, they were sent into an emotional frenzy.

Brendan Webb and Ryan Neill were the Crusaders' other point-earning athletes. Together, they brought in 11 points. Buhler beat out KC Piper by 13 for the title.

The Crusaders' title was their first since 2012. After the championship was clinched, Atkins said it didn't matter how much time passed between them.

"They're all awesome," he said.

The Buhler boys were one of four Wichita-area track and field teams to win titles in 2018.

Other key moments

• Buhler's baseball team clinches a spot in the Class 4A-Division I tournament after a 7-5 win against McPherson, the No. 1 seed and Crusader rival.
• The Crusaders' girls cross country team wins its regional meet.

This story was originally published June 19, 2018 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Moment of the Year: Standout performances lead to Buhler's third boys track title."