Kansas high school girls state track: Andale dominates field events with 3 champions
The Andale girls track and field team’s annual assault on the team standings began with a flurry on Friday, with the program well on its way to claiming another Kansas high school team state championship.
Through just three field events, Andale — winner of the last four Class 4A girls team titles — had already racked up 52 team points. That was 32 more than any other team, with another wave of points expected Saturday. Andale produced state champions in all three events: Lexi Horsch (high jump), McKenzie Fairchild (discus) and Annabeth Baalmann (pole vault).
“We love our state champions, but our recipe has always been to nickel and dime you here and there,” Andale coach Tyler Ryan said. “We just keep coming at you in different events and have a ton of kids that are willing to work hard.”
Ryan gave credit to previous head coach Greg Smarsh, who set the standard of excellence in Andale. Baalmann, who won her second straight pole vault title by clearing 11-0, said there is pride wearing the Andale uniform.
“We really embrace the team aspect of the sport,” Baalmann said. “Our coach always tells us that no one person can win a state championship, it takes everyone doing their part. We have a lot of respect coming from Andale, but it takes hard work. You’re not going to just show up and win. You have to put in the hard work and that’s what we do.”
But with expectations comes pressure, like for returning state champions such as Fairchild, who has goals of sweeping all three of the throws this weekend. On Friday, she accomplished the first step by defending her title in the discus with a throw of 130-1.
“I did feel like there was a lot of pressure on me to do it again,” said Fairchild, who enters with the No. 1 mark in 4A in shot put and javelin. “On that last throw (of 130-1), I was just relaxed. There was nothing to lose, so I just relaxed and took a deep breathe and just let my body do the work.”
Andale not only had three state champions on Friday, but also scored points with all three of its entries in discus (Emery May was runner-up, Jessa Jarmer was fifth) and in the pole vault (Claire Rowland was runner-up, Mary Meyer was sixth).
It’s not uncommon to talk to an Andale state champion and the first thing they mention is how their 10 points will help the team.
“It means a lot because I know my coach is going to be really happy with me,” said Horsch, who finished fifth at state last season.
Ryan said another difference in Andale is the quantity and quality of his assistants, which tallies seven deep: Mark Schmidt (pole vault), Robbie Spexarth (javelin), Steve Rangel (distance), Jeff Ast (discus), Mike Blasi (shot put), Kaylie Bergkamp (high jump) and Stephanie Ryan (long, triple jump).
“We have eight coaches on our staff and we get over 100 kids out just about every year,” Ryan said. “You really see the value of having that many coaches and so many individuals who are passionate and knowledgeable about their events. I tell the kids all the time that I feel like we have the best coaching staff in the state of Kansas, so be sure to take advantage of it.”
Chaparral’s Matte Swartz wins 3A girls high jump
Matte Swartz has already made herself at home at Cessna Stadium, where she won her second straight Class 3A girls high jump championship on Friday.
The future Wichita State high jumper once again cleared 5-6 to win to close out her career at Chaparral with a second state title.
“It’s such a good transition to have my last high school jump here,” Swartz said. “It kind of sucks the (WSU) coaches and athletes couldn’t be here because they’re at (national qualifiers), but I’m so excited for next year. This is kind of like my home now, so it’s so cool to be able to do my last high school meet here.”
Chaparral coach RoseAnn Teel said it has been a true joy to watch Swartz jump over the years, as her PR of 5-8 was the top in 3A this season and second-best in Kansas.
“It’s a thing of beauty to watch her jump,” Teel said. “Sometimes it’s hard for me to coach because I get caught up just watching her and how graceful she is, instead of critiquing her. To me, she’s just a thing of beauty.”
Andover Central’s Brittany Harshaw wins 5A girls high jump
Brittany Harshaw is scheduled to move to Omaha next season to start her Division I basketball career on the Creighton women’s basketball team.
But before she turns her focus to basketball solely, Harshaw made sure to make her final track and field meet count. The Andover Central senior won the Class 5A girls high jump by clearing a personal-best mark of 5-6.
“It’s cool to go out senior year like this, it’s very special,” Harshaw said. “I think it’s good to play multiple sports because it helps you in different areas and it helps you become a better athlete overall.”
After watching Great Bend’s Valarie Lund clear 5-6 on her third and final attempt, Harshaw said the adrenaline of facing the do-or-die moment in her third and final attempt helped her in the PR performance. Harshaw won the tiebreaker by clearing every jump on her first attempt prior to 5-6.
“There was definitely a lot of adrenaline when she cleared it,” Harshaw said. “I knew I had to make it happen, so that helped I think. Also having the support from my coaches and my teammates, they were so supportive and that helped.”
Harshaw also qualified for Saturday’s finals in both of her events on the track, advancing with the eighth-fastest time in the 300 hurdles and also running a leg on Andover Central’s 400 relay, which also qualified with the No. 8 time.
Newton’s Hayley Loewen wins 5A girls triple jump
As the top returner from Class 5A girls triple jump competition a year ago, Newton senior Hayley Loewen had expectations on Friday and met them by winning the state championship with a mark of 35-11¼.
“There was a lot of hard work and determination that went into this,” Loewen said. “It was just a lot of fun to win this. It’s a great way to end my senior year.”
Loewen was in control of the competition after his first jump, which would have been good enough to still win the title. While her final mark fell short of her PR of 37-1, Loewen was just happy to win after finishing fourth last season.
“It was just complete joy,” said Loewen, who has signed to jump at Mid-America Nazarene. “That’s the only way to describe it to finish a great season with a great finish like that.”
Hutchinson’s Sarah Schwartz wins 6A girls long jump
After coming up short of her goals of winning state last year, Hutchinson’s Sarah Schwartz was motivated to not let that happen again in her final state meet.
After spending most of the season with the No. 1 long jump (19-1) in Kansas, Schwartz capped off her senior year with the Class 6A state championship with a mark of 18-4½.
“It felt really good to be on top of the podium after getting third last year,” Schwartz said. “I really had to train a lot to get here.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 7:34 PM.
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