Kansas high school state track champions: Kapaun’s Lillian Harris sweeps 5A sprints
It was an intimidating experience for Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Lillian Harris to run at her first Kansas high school state track and field meet at a packed Cessna Stadium last year.
But that experience in the finals last year prepared her to excel on the big stage in her junior season, as Harris became a two-time state champion by sweeping the short sprints in Class 5A on Saturday.
Harris ran a personal-best time of 11.89 seconds to win the 100-meter dash race, then doubled up later in the day by winning the 200-meter dash title in 26.14.
“It was kind of scary here last year, so to come back this year and win was just unreal,” Harris said. “You could tell by my face after the race that I was shocked.”
Harris gave credit to her father, who trains her year-round, for the drastic improvement this season. She finished with the third-fastest time in all classes in the 100.
“I had a better mindset this year and I pushed myself harder than before,” Harris said. “I could really tell the benefits of those workouts my dad gave me. I think when I ran 11.99 last week, it really boosted my confidence and helped me for this week.”
Collegiate’s Jaden Mitchell wins Class 3A boys 100
For years now, Collegiate track and field coach Clark Ensz has been hearing about the talent of Jaden Mitchell.
And for years, Ensz has been left wondering. Only because the pandemic wiped out his freshman season, then injuries have plagued him the last two years at Collegiate.
“We’ve had some pretty good sprinters recently, but I kept hearing stories for a couple years now, ‘Just wait until you see Jaden,’” Ensz said. “So I was really interested to see what he could do.”
Mitchell returned from a back injury two weeks before the state track meet and gutted through the pain to qualify. The wait was worth it.
Mitchell not only broke 11 seconds in the 100 for the first time all season, but he was the surprise winner of the 3A title and dropped his time so significantly, down to 10.63, that he tied the state meet record set in 2003 by Riley County’s Jordy Nelson, who went on to become a Super Bowl champion with the Green Bay Packers in the NFL.
It was just the third meet of the season for Mitchell, who finished the season winning every single one of his 100 races.
“I wasn’t really expecting this,” Mitchell said. “I just wanted to come out here and see if I could do something and I’m impressed with myself. I ran a really fast time.”
Ensz pointed out a strong tailwind aided every sprinter on Saturday, but he’s confident that Mitchell can go even faster when he is 100%. Mitchell admitted he was not close to fully healthy after winning the race.
“He really does have the ability to go faster,” Ensz said. “I don’t think we’ve seen his best yet. If he can get truly healthy and really work at it, it’s going to be a lot of fun to see just how far he can go.”
Maize’s Bryce Cohoon wins Class 5A boys 100
Even with a hip flexor injury that prevented him from running full speed, Maize junior Bryce Cohoon was able to top a fast field to win the 5A title in the 100 with a personal-best time of 10.57.
Cohoon said his father, who works as a chiropractor, was key in remaining healthy enough to perform at such a high level at state.
“Before the race, it was hurting a little, but once I got up to the starting line and the adrenaline kicked in, I really didn’t feel anything,” Cohoon said. “I don’t know if I’ve always dreamed of this, but it’s definitely something that felt like it could become a reality and it did today.”
Cohoon said it was key to start well against a field that included two others that broke 10.70 in Kansas City Piper’s Divante Herrig-Brittain and Andover’s Tayton Klein.
Clearwater’s Hayley Trotter wins Class 4A girls 800, 1600
It’s been a stellar past year for Clearwater’s Hayley Trotter, who won a state track title in the 800 last year, then the 4A state cross country title in the fall before adding two more gold medals to her collection at this year’s state track meet.
“This is extremely special to me,” Trotter said. “I’m incredibly blessed with such a great support system and my teammates cheering me on, it just makes everything a lot easier.”
Trotter defended her title in the 800 with ease, winning in a time of 2:22.27 to finish two full seconds ahead of the pack. She also added the 1600 title to her resume, pulling away from Chapman’s Elyssa Frieze down the stretch to win in a PR time of 5:10.03.
“I told myself to just sit and then kick,” Trotter said. “We took out pretty fast, so I just told myself to hold on and then wait to have the kick at the end.”
Andale’s Riley Marx wins Class 4A boys discus
It was an unusual feeling for Andale junior Riley Marx to feel the pressure of needing to deliver a personal-best mark to win a state championship.
He had always worked ahead in the first three state titles of his career, which included his second straight 4A javelin title on Friday. But on Saturday, Marx was behind in the 4A discus competition.
“I was kind of nervous, but I just went up there telling myself I could do this,” Marx said. “I knew I could do it, even though I’ve never done it in a meet before. But I’ve done it in practice and I know how many reps I’ve put in.”
Sure enough, on his final throw, Marx let fly a five-foot PR throw of 162-1 to leapfrog Paola’s Caden Rhamy for the lead. Marx had to survive a nervous final moment when Rhamy also delivered a PR throw, but his mark of 160-0 was just shy of Marx.
“This one feels fantastic, honestly it’s a better feeling than the javelin,” Marx said. “In javelin, I was hoping for something other than a state title. But in discus, I kind of struggled at the beginning of the year and it’s been a constant build-up to this point. I’m pretty happy with myself on that one.”
Wellington’s AnnaLisa Cullens wins Class 4A girls 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles
Repeating as a double champion was a sweet feeling for Wellington junior AnnaLisa Cullens, who once again won the 4A titles in the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles.
“It feels pretty good, just a blessing,” Cullens said. “My focus is all about doing better than what I did last time. Make sure if you’re going to go out there, do it with a purpose.”
When Cullens is running with a purpose, no one has been able to catch her at the state meet to date.
She broke the 39-year-old state meet record in the 100 hurdles with her PR time of 14.29, which improved her career-best time and was the 13th-fastest time in Kansas history in the event.
And even with a foot injury that prevented her from sprinting fully over the last hurdle, Cullens still managed to run the fastest time in Kansas this season in the 300 hurdles with a PR of 44.43.
Bishop Carroll wins Class 5A boys 3200 relay
Bishop Carroll senior Carson McEachern delivered one of the more impressive anchor legs in a 3200 relay race, driving a comeback that saw him win the Class 5A boys 3200 relay race for Carroll in a time of 8:04.61.
It was the second-fastest 3200 relay time at the state meet in all classes, topped off by a 61-second final lap by McEachern to win the race over DeSoto (8:07.91) and Mill Valley (8:08.47).
Trent Zimbelman also delivered a crucial leg as the second runner, taking Carroll from eighth place to second during his 800 stretch clocked at 1:58. Gunnar Leonard and Connor McKinney were the other two runners on the relay.
Andale wins Class 4A boys 1600 relay
Putting the finishing touches on the team’s sixth team championship in the last nine state meets, the Andale boys captured the 1600 relay title to close out the meet.
The relay team consisted of Gage Prosser, Zach Winter, Matthew Seiler and Nathan Seck, which finished with a winning time of 3:26.26, which edged out Eudora by a little more than a second.
Andale finished with 101 team points, 30 more than second-place Chanute, to capture its first team title since 2019.
Kapaun’s Sophia Gimino wins Class 5A girls javelin
Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Sophia Gimino made it 2-for-2 in her career at the state track and field meet, winning the Class 5A girls javelin championship for the second straight season.
Gimino surged in front of the pack with her fifth throw of the competition, as her mark of 129-1 held up by 11 inches over Kansas City Piper’s Kylie Brockman. Gimino was in third place entering the fifth round.
While the mark in the windy conditions was off her season PR of 141-0, which was No. 7 mark in Kansas this season, it was a slight improvement on her state-winning throw from last season.
Kapaun’s Luke Brock wins Class 5A boys 1600
Running behind teammate Henry Thengvall for the first three laps, Kapaun senior Luke Brock delivered a 62-second final lap to win the 5A boys 1600 race in a season-best time of 4:21.69.
Thengvall led the race for three laps, as Brock and Aquinas’ Ashton Higgerson were both on his hip. Brock’s kick in the final 200 meters won out, while Thengvall finished third.
Kapaun’s William Doolittle wins Class 5A shot put
After winning the Class 5A discus title and finishing runner-up in the shot put at last year’s state meet, Kapaun’s William Doolittle flip-flopped those positions at this year’s state meet.
He added a shot put championship under his belt with his winning throw of 55-5½, which was more than two feet better than the rest of the field.
Doolittle was eight inches away from becoming a double state champion, as he finished runner-up in the discus on Friday with his throw of 170-7.
Sedgwick’s Ryan Stucky wins Class 2A boys 800
The 2A boys 800 race came down to the kick and Sedgwick senior Logan Stucky had the superior one.
Stucky came from behind to pull out the win in the final straightaway, finishing with a winning time of 2:01.21 to barely edge out Chase County’s Cooper Schroer in 2:01.50.
It was a stark improvement on Stucky’s performance from last year’s state meet, where he finished seventh in the 2A boys 800.
Garden Plain’s Logan Albers wins Class 2A boys 300 hurdles
It came down to a photo finish, but Garden Plain senior Logan Albers emerged victorious in the 2A boys 300 hurdles race.
Albers was in the lead going over the final hurdle, but Plainville’s Anders Dewey made a late charge to create some anticipation for the times to be finalized. When they were, Albers (41.77) had just edged out Dewey (41.79) at the line.
Albers also finished with a medal in the 110 hurdles (16.05) and on Garden Plain’s 1600 relay team (fifth).
Heights’ Grant Pierce wins boys wheelchair races
One of the top high school wheelchair racers in the country, Heights junior Grant Pierce added more hardware to his collection at the Kansas high school state track meet.
Even though his speciality is distance races, Pierce was still able to put up impressive times in the 100 (16.00) and 400 (56.42) to win the state titles.
McPherson’s Seth Madron wins Class 4A boys high jump
McPherson senior Seth Madron took control of the 4A boys high jump competition early and never let go, winning the gold medal after being the only competitor to clear 6-6. He was perfect on his four attempts before that, as well.
Madon’s season-best mark of 6-8 was the seventh-best in Kansas this season. He finished fourth place in the 4A high jump at last year’s state meet.
Hesston wins Class 3A boys 1600 relay
Hesston didn’t have a single runner in the open 400 finals, but the Swathers didn’t need one to put together the fastest 1600 relay in 3A this season.
Hesston entered with the fastest qualifying time and backed it up in the finals on Saturday, winning the 3A title in a time of 3:28.50 with relay members Max Werner, Cavan Fuqua, Tyler Rewerts and Cason Richardson.
Hesston’s Caryn Yoder wins Class 3A girls 100
Hesston senior Caryn Yoder successfully defended her title in the Class 3A girls 100 and broke the state meet record in the process.
Yoder shaved more than two tenths off her season PR to win the gold in 12.16, which just edged out the record of 12.17 set in 1990 by Cheney’s Tonya Jopp.
Cheney wins Class 3A girls 400 relay
The Cheney girls 400 relay team of Amy Wright, Brynn McCormick, Reagan Ayres and Lacy Luehrs won the Class 3A state championship with a time of 49.99.
Inman’s Harrison Brunk wins Class 2A boys 200
It was a busy day on the track for Inman junior Harrison Brunk, who captured a gold medal in the 2A boys 200 race with a winning time of 22.74.
Brunk also finished third in his other open event, the 100, then ran a leg on Inman’s 400 and 1600 relay teams that both finished in second place. Brunk ran the anchor on both relays and was joined by his brother, Eli, Tanner Heckel and Dawson Mannebach on the relays.
Kingman’s Avrey Albright wins Class 3A boys 400
After picking up the 400 race for the first time as a junior, it’s safe to say Kingman’s Avrey Albright has found his niche.
Albright entered the state meet with the fastest time in 3A and lowered that time even further with his championship-winning run of 49.43, as he became the only runner in the 3A field to crack 50 seconds in the event.
Albright also picked up a medal in the 100 (seventh) and as a leg on Kingman’s 400 relay (sixth) and 1600 relay (fourth).
Hutchinson Trinity’s Bean Neal wins Class 2A boys 110 hurdles
After failing to even reach the finals of the Class 2A boys 110 hurdles race last year at the state meet, Hutchinson Trinity senior Ben Neal did more than just make it to Saturday in his final year.
Neal won the state championship in a time of 15.48, edging out Belle Plaine’s Julian Ramirez (15.54) for the title. He had entered the race with the fastest time in 2A this season.
Smoky Valley’s Abby Rose, Gracie Lambert, Breanna Peters win Class 3A girls titles
Abby Rose had proven to be one of the state’s fastest quarter-milers this season and finished off her season as a state champion in the event, winning the 3A title in the 400 with a time of 57.86.
Rose also added another gold medal on the Smoky Valley 3200 relay team, which won the race for the second year in a row.
The Vikings didn’t have to crack 10 minutes like they did last year, but the team of Keira Mullen, Sophia Fruits, Rose and Gracie Lambert won by more than 16 seconds over the field in their time of 10:03.48.
Lambert went on to win the championship in the open 800 with a time of 2:21.21 that won by more than four seconds over the field. She also delivered an 800 split of under 2:23 to anchor Smoky Valley to the relay title.
Smoky Valley won its second straight team championship, this time in 3A with a team score of 82.5 that also featured a third individual champion in Breanne Peters, who won the title in the 200 with her time of 26.51.
Eureka’s Ashley Singhateh wins Class 3A girls 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles
No one in the Class 3A came close to catching Eureka sophomore Ashley Singhateh in either of her hurdles races.
She dropped her season-best time by nearly three full seconds in the 300 hurdles to win the 3A title in 44.88, which finished as the third-fastest time in the state this season. Singhateh also shaved nearly five tenths of a second off her season PR to win the 100 hurdles championship with a time of 14.86, then
The improvement moved her up to the sixth-fastest time in Kansas this season, while she won her race by nearly five tenths of a second. She finished fourth in the race last year and entered with the fastest time in 3A this season.
Berean Academy’s Andrew Harder wins Class 2A boys 1600
One year after missing the medal stand entirely in the 2A boys 1600 race, Berean Academy junior Andrew Harder is the state champion in the event this season.
Harder improved his state time by 20 seconds to win the 1600 race on Saturday in a time of 4:39.49.
Caldwell’s Keiondra Smith wins Class 1A boys 300 hurdles
After finishing runner-up in the 110 hurdles, Caldwell junior Keiondre Smith wasn’t about to let that happen again in the 300 hurdles.
Smith blazed to a new personal-best time of 40.71 to win the 1A title in the 300 hurdles, as he was the only runner to break 41 seconds in the event.
Smoky Valley wins Class 3A boys 3200 relay
After watching the girls team bring home the 3200 relay title, the boys team made it a clean sweep for Smoky Valley in the 3200 relay.
The relay team of Tytus Reed, Justice Gardner, Garret Huffman and Lukas Apel won the race in 8:25.65, holding off a late charge by Wichita Collegiate in second place at 8:25.94 to win the title.
Attica’s Tamara Lozoya wins Class 1A girls pole vault
Attica senior Tamara Lozoya finished off her career with her second straight championship in the 1A girls pole vault.
After winning the title by clearing 10 foot last year, Lozoya improved on that mark and cleared 10-6 on her first attempt to win the championship this season. Her season PR of 10-9 was the 11th-best mark in Kansas this season.
This story was originally published May 29, 2022 at 2:46 PM.
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