Track and field: Sprinter Kalli Anderson makes spectacular debut at Newton Invitational

Kalli Anderson said she felt she had let her Newton teammates down by missing the first two track and field meets of the season with a slight hamstring tweak.

All is forgiven after Anderson made a spectacular season debut at the Newton Invitational on Monday, beginning by running a 12-second flat 100-meter dash (the fastest time registered in Kansas by nearly two-tenths this season), then returning to reunite the defending state championship 400 relay team in a winning 48.59 performance, and ending her night by sweeping the sprints with 25.46 in the 200 (the second-fastest time in Kansas this season).

Not bad for her first meet.

“I’m just happy to be back with my teammates and it feels good to be back out here,” Anderson said. “To be able to come back and do the sport I love, this is just amazing.”

Her teammates agree.

Anderson is the dynamite Newton uses to start its 400 relay. Even though she’s the fastest in the open 100, Newton coach Tad Remsberg prefers Anderson to start the relay because she is so explosive out of the blocks. On Monday, her teammates were reminded of just how fast she was.

“I think that’s very intentional from our coach because she always gives us a huge lead,” said Taylor Antonowich, the second leg Anderson hands off to. “She gives me that big lead and a lot of confidence going down that backstretch.”

Although Newton’s time on Monday, 48.59 without any kind of push, wasn’t as fast as the relay team was hoping, their confidence is taken to a new level when all four — Anderson, Antonowich, Jen Andres, and Savannah Simmons — are running together.

“It’s so big to have Kalli back starting the race for us,” Simmons said. “We know if she gets a good start, then we pretty much have the race.”

Not only did the relay win the Class 5A championship last season, but they also set the meet record with their winning time of 48.16. And they were actually somewhat disappointed they didn’t run faster, as their season-best time from last season, 47.83, ranks them as the No. 8 all-time fastest relay team in Kansas.

They believe on the right day with the right competition and the right conditions they are capable of challenging for the fastest time in state history, 47.27, ran by Leavenworth in 2009.

“We’re still staying hungry,” Antonowich said. “We want to get back and win the title again and we want to improve on our record. We really want to break 48 at the state meet this year.”

Anderson was also pleased with her open events, as she used the push from Simmons and Andres in the 100 and then accelerated past them in the final 40 meters to finish with a winning time of 12.00. She followed that up by owning the curve in her 200 race, which allowed her to go 25.46.

Simmons (12.37) and Andres (12.43) finished second and third in the 100, while Andres (26.20) was runner-up in the 200 and Simmons (1:01.63) won the 400.

“It was a pretty amazing day and a great way to start,” Anderson said. “My teammates were obviously a huge factor for me. They both ran amazing and then Jen ran a great race in the 200. I was really hoping to be an 11-something in the 100 today, but a 12-flat, I can work with that.”

Ochoa runs PR in hurdles — It’s not surprising to Remsberg that Jerik Ochoa is beginning to take off in the hurdles as a sophomore.

“He’s one of the best technique hurdlers I’ve had in my time here,” Remsberg said. “Now he’s just a little bit stronger than he was a year ago and he’s got a little more footspeed. But he’s just so aggressive over the hurdles and really works at it, so it’s not surprising to me.”

Ochoa logged his personal-best time on Monday in title-winning performances in title-winning performances in the 110 hurdles (15.10) and 300 hurdles (44.10). Ochoa was most proud of the winning 110 hurdles time, which is the fifth-fastest time posted this season in Kansas.

“I really worked on leaning into the hurdle and getting lower over the hurdle,” Ochoa said. “Last week I didn’t do very well, so I wanted to come back today and show what I can do. I’ve really been working at it and running a 15.1 feels great.”

“What impressed me about his race was that he didn’t panic,” Remsberg said. “He got to the middle of the race and kept getting better and better and that’s real unusual for someone that young.”

Ochoa said it was his goal to break 15.2 this season and has already achieved that in his third meet. He hopes to continue on his success on Friday at the Pre-State Challenge at Wichita State.

“I’m really excited now to see what I can do and I just love attacking the hurdles,” Ochoa said. “I try to pick out the best guy in my race and keep up with him and try to beat him if I can. Confidence is major in the hurdles and I think this will help. You just have to attack every hurdle and fly as fast as you can.”

Barrett and Harris push each other in triple jump — McPherson’s Elle Barrett has a target on her back after winning both the long jump and triple jump championships in Class 4A last season.

On Monday, Barrett received a challenge in both events but once again came throrugh with winning performances in the long jump (17-6¼) and triple jump (37-1). Newton’s Maggie Remsberg set a season-best (17-3) in the long jump to finish runner-up, while Newton’s Kailey Harris also set a season-best mark in the triple jump (37-0¼) that is also the seventh-best mark in Kansas this season.

“It’s always fun competing against people that are better than you because it really helps you push yourself,” Harris said.

Although Harris, who won the high jump by clearing the bar at 5 feet, just missed her career-best mark of 37-2 in the triple jump, breaking the 37-foot barrier this early in the season was encouraging.

“It’s good to know that the stuff we’re working on is really helping and the drills we are doing work,” Harris said. “Most of the stuff we do is very technical and not a lot of people focus on it because they don’t think it matters, but it really does. Every little inch matters.”

Other standout performances — Newton’s Maggie Remsberg lowered her season-best time in the 100 hurdles to 15.28 in a title-winning performance, which moves her up to a tie for the third-fastest time in Kansas this season...Kade Remsberg, Maggie’s older brother, once again swept the sprint titles with an 11.00 in the 100 and a season-low 22.29 in the 200. Remsberg has the fourth-fastest 100 in Kansas this season and the fourth-fastest 200 in the state. He also helped the Railers win the 400 relay title in 44.15 with a superb second leg...The Buhler boys 1600 relay team of Ryan Neill, Cody Ely, Dylan Morrell, and Hunter Popkey won the race in 3:32.27 without any kind of push. The time is the fourth-fastest in Class 4A this season...Newton’s Landon Moore, who also anchored Newton’s winning 400 relay team, landed a mark of 20-7½ on his final attempt in the finals to force a tie with McPherson’s Andric McGill. Moore won first place based on the tiebreaker of next-best jump. He also won the triple jump with a mark of 43-2¾...Buhler’s Bradon Rose won the discus (147-8) and the javelin (167-7) and improved his season-best marks in the process.

Newton Invitational

Girls

Teams: Newton 206, Kapaun 149½, Buhler 121½, McPherson 83, North 69.

100: Kalli Anderson, Newton, 12.00; 200: Kalli Anderson, Newton, 25.46; 400: Savannah Simmons, Newton, 1:01.63; 800: Megan Bartel, Newton, 2:39.48; 1600: Gabriela Reyna, North, 5:28.32; 3200: Gabriela Reyna, North, 11:42.29; 100 hurdles: Maggie Remsberg, Newton, 15.28; 300 hurdles: Carly Allan, Buhler, 52.97; 400 relay: Newton (Kalli Anderson, Taylor Antonowich, Jen Andres, Savannah Simmons) 48.59; 1600 relay: Kapaun Mt. Carmel (Leanna Steiner, Savannah Gooslby, Ciarra Valadez, Maddie Byrd) 4:23.05; 3200 relay: North (Ashley Guevera, Yulissa Cervantes, Gabriela Reyna, Abigail Meza) 10:50.63; High jump: Emma Wondra, Kapaun; Kailey Harris, Newton, 5-0; Pole vault: Alyssa Wheeler, Kapaun, 9-6; Long jump: Elle Barrett, McPherson, 17-6¼; Triple jump: Elle Barrett, McPherson, 37-1; Shot put: Brooke Lachenmayer, Newton, 37-0; Discus: Amanda Dorrell, Newton, 105-10; Javelin: Sophie Frisch, Kapaun, 111-4¼.

Boys

Teams: Newton 201, Buhler 167, McPherson 116, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 110, North 66.

100: Kade Remsberg, Newton, 11.00; 200: Kade Remsberg, Newton, 22.29; 400: Ryan Neill, Buhler, 52.23; 800: Robert Crandall, Kapaun, 2:08.18; 1600: Garrett Mick, Newton, 4:41.77; 3200: Adam Hernandez, Kapaun, 10:29.35; 110 hurdles: Jerik Ochoa, Newton, 15.10; 300 hurdles: Jerik Ochoa, Newton, 44.10; 400 relay: Newton (James Harris, Kade Remsberg, Kelby Lawrence, Landon Moore) 44.15; 1600 relay: Buhler (Ryan Neill, Cody Ely, Dylan Morrell, Hunter Popkey) 3:32.37; 3200 relay: Kapaun (Robert Crandall, Charles Adams, John Crandall, Michael McGreevy) 8:38.51; High jump: Andric McGill, McPherson, 6-2; Pole vault: Josh Jantzi, Newton, 12-6; Long jump: Landon Moore, Newton, 20-7½; Triple jump: Landon Moore, Newton, 43-2¾; Shot put: Jackson Forest, Newton; Brendan Webb, Buhler, 50-0; Discus: Braden Rose, Buhler, 147-8; Javelin: Braden Rose, Buhler, 167-7.

This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 5:50 AM with the headline "Track and field: Sprinter Kalli Anderson makes spectacular debut at Newton Invitational."