Tyus Wilson of Stering cleared 7-2 to break the class 2A state record in the high jump Saturday during the state championships at Wichita State University. He also took three attempts at 7-4 but failed to clear the bar at that height. He remains the No. 1 jumper in the United States with a season-best 7-3. (Kansas MileSplit photo by Alex Walters)
The following is the live update posted by Kansas MileSplit during the class 1A/2A Kansas State Track and Field Championships at Wichita State University's Cessna Stadium. This is our bonus coverage of many of the great moments and athlete from this year's meet. Click here for a wrapup of the 1A/2A state championships.
8:00 a.m.
Alright...we are underway with several field events kicking off the third day of state championship competition in Wichita.
The 8 a.m. field events schedule includes 1A girls pole vault, triple jump and shot put; 2A girls javelin; 1A boys discus; and 2A boys pole vault and long jump.
If you're looking ahead, Sterling's Tyus Wilson -- the No. 1 high jumper in the United States currently with a season-best of 7-3 -- is scheduled to compete in the 2A boys high jump at 10 a.m. Expect a great battle between Wilson and West Elk's Devin Loudermilk, who has cleared 6-10.5 this season.
And Max Blaufuss of Olpe, the No. 1 javelin thrower in Kansas this season and No. 5 in the United States, competes at 10 a.m., as well. His season best is 208-4, which is better than the current class 2A state record of 202-2, so we could see that record go down today, as well.
Running events begin at 11 a.m. with the 3200 meter finals.
8:58 a.m.
No results from early field events yet, but the 1A girls pole vault is down to two competitors: Tamara Lozoya of Attica and Lauryn Dubbert of Beloit-St. Johns. They've both cleared 10-0 but now have both missed their first attempts at 10-6. If neither is able to clear 10-6, we could have a jump-off since neither has a miss in the competition prior to 10-0.
9:00 a.m.
In the 2A boys long jump, Doug Brown of St. Mary's Colgan is the leader, now at 21-10.25 -- one-half inch better than Ethan Edington of Lyndon. They're taking their second attempts in the finals. Tyus Wilson of Sterling sits in third place, but it looks like he has already passed on his fifth and sixth attempts -- perhaps to get ready for his main event: the high jump (which begins at 10 a.m.).
9:02 a.m.
Okay, sorry about the cliff-hanger there. Back to the 1A girls pole vault and both Lozoya and Dubbert have missed all three attempts at 10-6. Let's see if they are planning to move the bar to 10-3 for a jump off that will decide the 2021 state champion! We'll get back to that event soon (promise!).
9:04 a.m.
Landry Zoeller of Blue Valley entered state as the No. 1 ranked triple jumper in class 1A girls. She seems to be holding serve, as she's in first place -- seven inches better than the rest of the field -- with just one jump to go.
Emma Seidl of Solomon just leap-frogged Ja'Asia Stafford of Wallace County for first place in the 1A girls shot put. Seidl fouled on two of her first three attempts, and barely made finals. In her first throw of finals, she launched the shot put 39-10.5. Stafford's best so far is 38-5.5. One more throw to go for each.
And Emma Yungeberg of Valley Heights seems to be unbeatable in the 2A girls javelin. She's at 144-0, just under 22 feet better than the second place thrower -- Alissa Keith of Hill City. Yungeberg also has a 137-4 in the books, and fouled on a third attempt.
Casey Helm of Madison is in first place after the prelims of the 1A boys discus. He's ranked No. 1 in class 1A in that event, with a season best of 182-4. Today, his best is 164-10, just seven inches better than Ridge Estes of Bucklin. Finals are underway in that event.
9:12 a.m.
So, no jump-off in the 1A girls pole vault! They have declared Attica's Tamara Lozoya and Beloit-St. John's Lauryn Dubbert as co-State Champions, both clearing 10-0. A part of me was excited for a jump-off, but you know, sharing a state title is pretty cool, too!
It's the first event to go official, so we declare Lozoya and Dubbert the first state champions of this year's 1A/2A meet.
9:18 a.m.
Now it's the boys' turn for drama in the pole vault. In class 2A boys, Nate Hein of Hillsboro and Tristen Porter of Wichita County have both cleared 13-6. Hein passed all the way to 13-0 and cleared that on his first attempt, while Porter needed a second attempt at that height.
Porter entered state with the No. 1 ranking at 13-9, while Hein's season-best is 13-6. But Hein will win the state title based on fewer misses if neither clears 14-0. Watching this one closely...
9:21 a.m.
Looks like we've got a state champion in the 1A girls triple jump. Kanyon Olberding of Jackson Heights did it in thrilling fashion, soaring 35-6 on her last jump of the competition to pass Landry Zoeller of Blue Valley, who was just a half-inch less at 35-5.75.
9:24 a.m.
Things are moving fast now as results from the 8 a.m. field events are becoming final. The showdown in the 2A boys pole vault is over. Nate Hein of Hillsboro and Tristen Porter of Wichita County missed all three attempts at 14-0, so Hein will be the state champion on fewer misses. Really, it came down to the fact that Hein made his first attempt at 13-0, while Porter needed a second attempt at that height.
Other state champions now in include Doug Brown of St. Mary's Colgan in the 2A boys long jump (22-0.5) and Emma Seidl of Solomon in the 1A girls shot put (40-0.25).
9:45 a.m.
They are not messing around at this year's state meet. The 1A girls high jump -- scheduled for 10 a.m. -- is already getting started. And the much-anticipated 2A boys high jump -- featuring U.S. No. 1 Tyus Wilson of Sterling and Kansas No. 2 Devin Loudermilk of West Elk -- is minutes away.
The 2A girls javelin just went final and Valley Heights' Emma Yungeberg is the state champion. She had five throws that were further than the second place finisher. Her winning throw was 144-0.
1A boys discus is almost done; Ridge Estes of Bucklin is up, trailing leader Casey Helm of Madison by 7 inches.
9:53 a.m.
Tremendous effort by Ridge Estes in the 1A boys discus. On his final throw of the competition, he tossed the discus 164-3 -- identical to his first throw of the day -- but is still seven inches short of Casey Helm of Madison, who is the state champion. Helm survived on a day that he was less than his best. His winning throw of 164-10 is 18 feet shorter than his season best. But that gold medal shines just as brightly, nonetheless!
10:38 a.m.
Update in the 2A boys high jump -- one that everyone is (or should be) watching! Three competitors remain at 6-4. Devin Loudermilk of West Elk is the leader right now. He entered the competition at 6-0 and has not missed at three heights. Nathan Hawk of Valley Falls survived third attempts at 6-0 and 6-2, then made his first jump at 6-4. Sterling's Tyus Wilson has not yet jumped; he's passed through 6-6 and is expected to enter the competition at 6-8.
10:45 a.m.
Six girls remain in the class 1A girls high jump, all having cleared 5-0. Only Kayla Peters of Elyria Christian has cleared 5-2 so far -- no else has attempted that height yet.
Class 2A's No. 1 ranked Lauren Schutter of Wabaunsee is the early leader in the girls long jump. She's at 16-7.75. They're heading to the finals in that event.
Kelton Buettner of Hamilton leads the 1A boys triple jump. He jumped a career-best 43-11.75 on his second attempt int he prelims, and leads Hanover's Emmitt Jueneman (42-7.5). Top-ranked Alec Carlson of Pawnee Heights has started slow; he's in sixth place at 41-6.75, but has made finals. His season best is 44-6.5.
10:53 a.m.
Okay, the 2A boys high jump has reached the tipping point. Nathan Hawk of Valley Falls went out at 6-6, leaving only West Elk's Devin Loudermilk and Sterling's Tyus Wilson in the competition -- the two best jumpers in Kansas. Wilson entered the competition at 6-8, which he promptly cleared on his first attempt. Loudermilk followed suit.
However, Loudermilk has now missed two attempts at 6-10 while Wilson cleared that height on his first attempt.
10:55 a.m.
Things move quickly when you're down to two competitors...and now just one! Loudermilk missed his third attempt at 6-10, so Tyus Wilson is the class 2A boys high jump champion -- his third title (he likely would have won four except for last year's cancelled state meet).
Everyone knows there's still drama in this event, however. Wilson is ranked No. 1 in the United States with a jump of 7-3, tied with Kamyren Garrett of Lawrence Central (Indiana). But first, he'll have a chance to go after the class 2A state meet record of 7-0.25 held by Hoxie's Travis Baker (1999).
If he gets that, then he can set his sights on the all-class state record of 7-3.25 set by Jason Archibald of Garden City in 1995. If he clears that height, he'd also move ahead of Garrett for No. 1 all by himself.
11:00 a.m.
The drama in the high jump is stealing the show from what's about to happen on the track. The Class 1A girls are lining up for the finals of the 3200 meter run. Here we go with four distance races to kick off the action on the track; including prelims and finals, there are 56 track events in the class 1A/2A meet today.
11:04 a.m.
Tyus Wilson misses his first attempt at 7-2 in the 2A boys high jump. Interesting that he didn't first try to beat the class 2A record. He cleared 7-0 on his first attempt.
11:06 a.m.
It's a two-girl race in the finals of the 1A 3200 meter run. Emma Weiner of Golden Plains and Jaycee Vath of Lincoln have exchanged the lead through four laps -- each leading two laps. Vath is the two-time defending champion in this event, and a three-time state cross country champion. They are literally shoulder-to-shoulder with three laps to go.
11:08 a.m.
Wilson clears 7-2 on his second attempt!! A roar from the crowd. This is extremely exciting. Let's see where he puts the bar now -- does he go for 7-3, or put it at 7-3.25 to tie the all-class record?
11:12 a.m.
Meanwhile, Lincoln's Jaycee Vath surged on lap 7 and has opened a three-second lead on Weiner. And it looks like she will hold that lead to the finish. Her winning time is 11:26.47 -- a career best and her third state title in the 3200 meter run. Weiner ran a gutsy race and settles for silver, 11:41.74.
11:15 a.m.
Tyus Wilson has opted for 7-4, and he has just missed on two attempts. Lots of excitement and anxiety in the air. EVERYONE wants to see him lift his body over this bar.
11:16 a.m.
But...it's not to be. Wilson thrills the crowd, but he can't quite get over 7-4. He's still the state champion at 7-2, and class 2A record holder.
11:21 a.m.
The class 1A girls high jump also has gone final. Rayne Erickson of Decatur County is the state champion, clearing a career-best 5-6. She gave it a shot at 5-7, but missed all three attempts. Brynna Hammeke of Central Plains, No. 1 in class 1A going into this meet, finished as runner-up with a jump of 5-4.
The 2A girls long jump just went final with Lauren Schutter of Wabaunsee winning in dramatic fashion. She jumped a 17-1.5 on her last jump in the competition to overtake Maliyah Soto of Horton -- who had grabbed the lead one round earlier on her fifth jump.
The 10 a.m. field events all seem to be wrapping up at the same time: Kelton Buettner of Hamilton wins the 1A boys triple jump (43-11.75); and Emma Yungeberg of Valley Heights follows up her win the javelin with a win in the 2A girls shot put (40-11).
11:29 a.m.
Back on the track, Stanton County sophomore Chesney Peterson led from start to finish to win the 2A girls 3200 in 10:47.92. That's the fastest time among any Kansas girl at any of this year's state meets, and just eight-tenths of a second off the best time run at any meet in Kansas this season.
Her effort over-shadowed two very strong races by Erin Hammeke of Ellinwood (11:16.43) and Alysia Wagner of Kansas City Christian (11:20.20). All three are scheduled to compete in the 1600 and 800 later today.
11:38 a.m.
They are tightly packed in the class 1A boys 3200 meter finals. Eight runners within two seconds of each other at the 1600 mark, all running under 5:00 for the first half. The division's top time in the event this season is 10:16.46 by Jackson Heights' Daniel Little, so there are a lot of runners sticking their necks out right now. Little is in the pack, but Nolan Redeker of Olpe has led all of the first five laps.
11:41 a.m.
Sprint to the finish in the 1A boys 3200! Nolan Redeker of Olpe has led the entire way, but the pack is chasing. Caleb Eilert of Beloit-St. Johns pulls away from the rest, but he can't catch Redeker, who wins his first-ever state title in 9:53.67 -- a career best by 24 seconds. Redeker finished with laps of 1:17, 1:16, 1:14 and 1:08 as he slowly powered away from the pack. Eilert gets under 10 minutes; he finished in 1:11 for a time of 9:59.19; and Daniel Little gets third at 10:02.51. All of those times are career bests; seven runners in this race ran faster than the previous season best in the division.
11:47 a.m.
And we've now finished all of the 10 a.m. field events. Arden Rex of Garden Plain is the state champion in the 1A boys javelin with a throw of 182-8. His teammate, Will Tice, is the runner-up at 176-6, a career best that came on his final throw and moved him from ahead of Kansas City Christian's Noah Hill.
And in the girls 1A discus, Toree Slavik of Thunder Ridge gets the state championship with a throw of 117-11. Kaelyn Means of Stockton is the runner-up at 115-11.
11:57 a.m.
A big upset in the class 2A boys 3200 meter run. Asher Brown of Remington is the state champion after running a 31 second PR to win in 9:50.13. He wins a finish-line sprint against Gabriel Friess of Hoxie (9:50.29) and Kamryn Golub of Stanton County (9:50.35). Thank you FinishLynx for sorting out that finish!
No. 1 ranked and previously undefeated Wyndom Giefer of Trego Community -- who also was the undefeated cross country champion last fall -- led early but faded to fifth place in 10:00.69.
Brown had just the sixth best time in class 1A entering this year's meet, but it didn't matter as he bided his time and then struck down the homestretch. What a great race!!
Addi Heinson of Kiowa County lit up the preliminary round of the 1A girls 100 when she clocked 12.29 to break the state meet record for class 1A. The previous 1A state record was 12.30 by Kelly Pakkebier of Logan (1985) and Beverly Heier of Grinnel (1983).
It's not a big surprise; Heinson has a season-best of 11.99 and there was a pretty good chance that record was going down today. She'll have a chance to take it even lower in the finals, which are scheduled for 2:42 a.m.
A couple big surprises in the prelims of the 100 meters. Trevyne Brown of Trego Community failed to advance to the 2A boys final. He had the No. 2 time in the division coming in to the state meet of 11.00, but ran 11.62 in the prelims to finish 11th.
In class 1A, top-ranked Brayden Perez of Beloit-St. Johns, who has a season-best of 10.74, clocked 11.61 in the prelims and finished 12th. He won't run in today's finals, either. Class 1A No. 4 Jonny Robles of Coldwater also just missed out, finishing ninth in the prelims.
1:10 p.m.
A close call for class 1A girls top-ranked 200 meter runner. Marley Little of Kiowa County finished fourth in her preliminary heat, but she's still fast enough to grab the seventh-qualifying spot into today's finals. She's be running from lane 1, though, which gives her a lot of girls to look at and chase.
There were no other surprises in the girls 200 qualifying rounds.
Tyler Good of Lincoln, ranked No. 2 in the 1A boys 200 meter run this season, failed to make the finals. He ran nearly a second slower than his season best of 22.46, and finished 12th. Brayden Perez of St. Johns-Beloit bounced back from his disappointment in the 100 and qualified for the finals in the 200.
Everything went according to plan for the top contenders in the 100 hurdles (girls) and 110 hurdles) boys. Doesn't seem to be any unpleasant surprises in those events for those who had top times coming into this meet. Finals for the hurdles begin at 2:26 p.m.
1:42 p.m.
Many of the 12 noon field events are wrapping up. Several Kansas athletes who were ranked No. 1 heading into their events today were able to hold serve, including
* Anne Baliel of Marion, 2A girls pole vault, 10-6.
* Max Neeley of Dighton, 1A boys pole vault, 13-6.
* Macy Hammerschmidt of Victoria, 1A girls long jump, 16-9.25.
* Casey Helm of Madison, 1A boys shot put, 55-4.5.
* Todd Palic of Marion, 2A boys discus, 152-5. He won by just four inches over Keegan Lott of Atchison County (152-1) and five inches over Harlan Obioha of Hoxie (152-0).
Torrance Lovesee of Bluestem was ranked No. 2 in the 2A girls triple jump but was able to win with a jump of 36-8. It was a close competition with Myiah Logue of Moundridge (36-6.25) and pre-meet favorite Lily Brown of St. Mary's-Colgan (36-2.75).
1:57 p.m.
It always amazes me when an athlete from Hanover wins some of the more technical running events in track -- such as the 100 hurdles. Hanover doesn't have a track to practice on. So it's pretty cool to watch Ceegan Atkins of Hanover take the girls 1A 100 meter hurdles title in a time of 15.61. Her start was fantastic and she had a two meter lead halfway through. Kaylee James of Hodgeman County and Regan Ast of Ingalls closed the gap on the last two hurdles but couldn't quite out-lean Atkins.
James won the silver medal at 15.66 and Ast the bronze at 15.79. Great race!
2:02 p.m.
A great photo finish in the 1A boys 110 meter hurdles. Ethan Salmans of South Gray went toe-to-toe with pre-race favorite Kelton Buettner of Hamilton and won a lean at the tape. Salmans, running out of lane 5, was clocked at 14.91 while Buettner, in lane 4, was timed at 14.92. Great sportsmanship by these two great athletes after the race.
Just before that race, Allison Catlin of Garden Plain dominated the 2A girls 100 meter hurdle finals. She won in 15.65; Landrea Sears of Sedan was second in 16.09.
In the 2A boys 110 hurdles, Coulton Chan of Kansas City Christian overcame a slow start -- he was in fourth place at the fifth hurdle -- to win 15.09. He didn't catch Northern Heights' Leo-Trey Rathke until the ninth hurdle, then leaned for the line. Rathke was the runner-up in 15.20. Sterling's Tyus Wilson, state champ in the high jump and third in the long jump earlier today, was third in this race, 15.33.
2:14 p.m.
Okay, so the sprint champions are being crowed -- this is for the unofficial title of Fastest Girl and Fastest Boy in each division. And Garden Plain's Brooke Hammond is far and away the fastest in class 2A girls. She just smoked 12.27 to win by seven-tenths of a second -- a huge margin in the 100 meter dash.
Addi Heinson of Kiowa County won the 1A girls 100 in 12.59 just before that. In the prelims, Heinson set the 1A state record at 12.29. Heinson is the top contender in the 200 and 400 later today. She's got the first of what she hopes will be three gold medals.
In 1A boys, Bryson Turner of Madison fought off Jeremiah Duncan of Blue Valley for the state title. Turner was clocked in 11.44 while Duncan was runner-up at 11.48.
And the class 2A Fastest Boy goes to...Isaiah Bates of Pleasanton, who seemed to hold his sprint form together in the last 20 meters and edged a diving Ethan Abell of Oakley. Bates was time in 11.28 while Abell finished in 11.32.
2:27 p.m.
Time to catch up with the field events that began at 2 p.m. Max Blaufuss of Olpe, (pictured below) the No. 1 ranked javelin in Kansas regardless of classification, has won the 1A boys javelin state championship. Blaufuss had a season-best of 208-7; he wasn't quite able to match that, but his best of 199-10 was good enough to get past Devan McEwen of Lebo (191-3). Blaufuss had four throws in the competition that were farther than anyone else could muster.
No other 2 p.m. field events are done yet; most have not even reached the final rounds.
(Kansas MileSplit photo by Alex Walters)
2:33 p.m.
We're halfway through the meet, so let's look at some team scores.
Madison leads the 1A boys team race with 35 points, while Olpe is second at 28 and Hamilton third at 21. 9 of the 18 events have been scored so far.
With 10 events scored in 1A girls, Kiowa County and Blue Valley (Randolph) are tied at 21. Doniphan West has 19.5 and Golden Plains is at 18.
In 2A boys, Kansas City Christian leads with 28 points, while Garden Plain is at 27 and Sterling at 23. Pre-meet favorite Trego Community has had some misfortune throughout the morning, and currently sits in 24th place with 7 points. Nine events have been scored in 2A boys.
And in 2A girls, Garden Plain is building a big lead. They've got 45 points, while Blue Valley (Randolph) has 25 and Berean Academy is at 21. Pre-meet favorite Stanton County sits in fourth with 18, but don't count them out. They've got some firepower coming up in the next 2-3 hours. Nine events have been scored in 2A girls so far.
2:40 p.m.
Emma Weiner of Golden Plains earns a hard-fought win over one of class 1A girls best distance runners over the past four years. She finishes in 5:26.24 to beat Lincoln's Jaycee Vath in the finals of the 1600 meter run. Vath -- a two-time state champion in this event -- finished in 5:28.70. Weiner's strategy to hug the rail paid off as she forced Vath to run on heroutside shoulder the last two laps. Weiner's win also moves Golden Plains into first place in the team standings after 11 events.
2:48 p.m.
No one can stay with Stanton County's Chesney Peterson in the distance events. She burst out to a 69 second first quarter in the finals of the 2A girls 1600 and continued building her lead. She crosses the line in a career-best 5:00.72 for her second gold medal today, which is also A NEW STATE MEET RECORD IN CLASS 2A! The previous 2A record was 5:00.95 by Janet Haskin of Onaga.
Peterson also set a career-best in winning the 3200 meters earlier.Alysia Wagner
of Kansas City Christian (5:19.52) and Erin Hammeke of Ellinwood (5:22.35) finished second and third, reversing their finishes in the 3200 meters.
2:57 p.m.
Kick of the day in the 1A boys 1600 meter run. Reagan Bales of Osborne drops a 62 second quarter in the last lap to erase a two-second deficit to Jackson Heights Daniel Little and win the race in 4:30.32. Little controlled the pace for three laps and looked to be in control until Bales unleashed his mighty kick. It's the first state title for Bales, a senior who was fifth as a freshman, and second as a sophomore.
3:02 p.m.
Another wild finish in a 2A boys distance race. This time, it's Gavin Brady of Ell-Saline who closes in 1:03 to win the 1600 meter run in 4:32.49. He beats the 3200 meter champ, Asher Brown of Remington, whose 1:04 closing lap wasn't enough; Brown was the runner-up in 4:34.26. Corbin Ricke of Spearville also closed in 1:04, and was a half second behind Brown, 4:34.86.
3:07 p.m.
The 1A boys high jump is down to two competitors. Tucker Uhl of Coldwater and Vance Shewey of Meade have both cleared 6-8, and both have missed their first attempts at 6-10. This one should be over soon. If neither clears 6-10, Uhl will be the state champion -- he's been clean all the way through the competition. Shewey has four previous misses, including two at 6-8.
3:11 p.m.
Things changed very quickly. Uhl missed his second attempt at 6-10, then Shewey lit up the crowd when he cleared 6-10. So those four misses don't matter now. Uhl just took his third attempt and...he misses. So in a matter of minutes, he went from being in control of the event to second place. Vance Shewey of Meade is the 1A boys high jump state champion. We'll wait to see if he takes his shots at 7-foot.
3:13 p.m.
Kiowa County narrowly misses the class 1A state record, clocking 50.87 to win the 1A girls 4 X 100 meter relay. The current record is 50.44 by Frankfort in 2019. Kiowa County takes over the lead in the team standings; they're now up by 3 over Golden Plains, with 12 events in the books.
3:19 p.m.
Vance Shewey of Meade took a shot at the class 1A state record in the high jump, but was unable to clear 7-0.25 on three attempts. He still gets the state title, and 6-10 is pretty awesome.
3:22 p.m.
Garden Plain's girls just won the class 2A 4 X 100 relay. They now have 59 points after 11 events and they've stretched their lead to 31 over pre-meet favorite Stanton County. It could still be close by day's end, but Garden Plain is in a pretty position right now.
3:24 p.m.
If we're reading the event cards right, we're going to have another tie for the state championship in the girls high jump. This time, it's the 2A girls that will have co-champions -- Becca Hammersmith of Trinity Catholic, and Adie Manville of Jefferson County North. They were both clean from 4-8 through 5-2. Five girls were still in the competition at 5-4, but all five missed three times. We'll wait for meet officials to confirm the results, but it looks like we've got two girls sharing the state championship, just like we did in the 1A girls high jump this morning.
3:33 p.m.
Jack Haukap (52-5.75) and Luke Hillman (47-6.25) of Garden Plain have posted a 1-2 finish in the 2A boys shot put. Haukap's win was not a surprise -- he was the top seed heading into today's championships -- but Hillman was third at regionals and his career-best before today was 42-9.75. So, he threw nearly five feet further than he had ever thrown before to nab the silver medal.
Even better for their team, the 18 points moves them into first place in the team standings with 45 points. They're 17 points ahead of Kansas City Christian, which has 28. That's after 11 scored events.
3:38 p.m.
Another state title for Kiowa County's Addi Heinson. This time she picks up the 1A girls 400 meter title in a very good battle with Decatur Community's Rayne Erickson and Satanta's Sicely Jackson. Heinson wins in 57.60, followed by Erickson (58.22) and Jackson (58.69). Those are career best times for Heinson and Erickson.
Heinson will try to make it 3-for-3 when she runs in the finals of the 200 later today. Her win gives Kiowa County a 13 point lead in the team standings in what has been a back-and-forth battle with Golden Plains.
3:51 p.m.
An important update to the 2A girls high jump results: Adison Manville of Jefferson County North is the state champion, and Becca Hammersmith of Trinity Catholic is the runner-up. They will not share the title. They both cleared 4-8, 4-10, 5-0 and 5-2 on their first attempts, then missed all three attempts at 5-4.
The difference was that Manville entered the competition at 4-6, and made that height on her first attempt. Hammersmith passed at 4-6 so never had the attempt. That, folks, is the slimmest of margins in a high jump competition.
3:55 p.m.
The 1A boys long jump just finished up. Kelton Buettner of Hamilton wins the state title in a dramatic way -- he jumped 21-11.25 on his last attempt, moving him all the way from fifth place and denying a 1-2 finish by Hanover's Colin Jueneman and Emmitt Jueneman, who had led for nearly the entire competition. Colin settles for the silver medal at 21-7.75 and Emmitt gets the bronze, 21-0.25.
Arden Rex of Garden Plain was clutch on his last jump, too. He won the 2A boys triple jump when he marked 44-4 on his last attempt, moving him just one-half inch ahead of Carson Linnens of Hillsboro (44-3.5).
Brooklyn Staab of Plainville led nearly the entire competition, and won the 2A girls discus with a throw of 130-9. She beat Emma Yungeberg of Valley Heights (126-10), who was trying for her third gold medal of this meet.
Just one more field event still out there -- the 1A girls javelin where three girls are separated by about three feet with two throws remaining. We'll get to that one soon...
4:08 p.m.
Another huge win for Garden Plain's girls. Brooke Hammond won the 400 meter dash, pushing their team total to 72 points, 34 ahead of Blue Valley, and 44 ahead of Plainville and Stanton County. 14 events have been scored. We feel pretty comfortable saying that no one's going to challenge Garden Plain the rest of the way.
4:18 p.m.
Brooklyn Jones of Lebo and Lauren Brummet of Lakeside rallied from behind in the 1A girls javelin to take the top two spots. Jones wins the gold medal with a final throw of 129-11 -- which moved her from third to first. Brummet had taken the lead from Osborne's Gracie Riner with a throw of 129-2 in the fifth round, but then was overtaken by Jones. Riner settles for bronze at 128-8.
That event just went final. It's the last field event of this year's 1A/2A championships.
UPDATE ON THIS (4:45 p.m.) -- Apparently Lauryn Dubbert of Beloit-St. Johns had not finished her throws in the finals. And she -- like Jones and Brummet -- has a flair for the dramatic! On her very last throw, she popped 132-11 to take away the state title from Jones. Lauryn Dubbert of Beloit-St. Johns is the state champion in 1A girls javelin; Brooklyn Jones (129-11) and Lauren Brummet (129-2) place second and third.
4:20 p.m.
Can we just give Garden Plain's girls the gold trophy now? Allison Catlin just won the 2A girls 300 meter hurdles in 46.07, edging a hard-charging Emily Jensik of Republic County (46.51). Catlin earlier won the 100 hurdles and ran the opening leg of the team's state winning 4 X 100 relay. Three gold medals and a team championship is a pretty good day!
Catlin is scheduled to run the anchor leg on Garden Plain's 4 X 400 relay, which has the top time in class 2A this season.
4:26 p.m.
An event we missed a little earlier: Kaylee James of Hodgeman County out-ran a very good field in the 1A girls 300 meter hurdles. James won in 46.57 to beat out six girls under 48 seconds: Regan Ast of Ingalls (47.00), Ceegan Atkins of Hanover (47.77), Lauryn Dubbert of Beloit-St. Johns (47.87), Catherine Bowman of Bucklin (47.89; and Kylin Rudzik of Meade (47.89).
4:30 p.m.
Wow this meet schedule is ROCKING!! We've just started the 1A girls 800, which was originally scheduled for 6 p.m. Right now, it's just after 4:30 p.m. I think this is a credit to the professionalism of Heartland Timing of Hays, Kansas; it is difficult to time these types of meets where precision is everything. They're not only doing it, but they're doing it fast; fast enough to make up nearly 1 1/2 hours on the original meet schedule. Pretty incredible!
4:33 p.m.
Kelton Buettner of Hamilton has had a remarkable state meet. He just won the 1A boys 300 hurdles (39.87) to go along with state titles in the triple jump (43-11.75) and long jump (21-11.25), and a second place finish in the 110 hurdles (14.92). Those are all career-bests for the senior. Pretty great way to cap a high school career....
4:40 p.m.
Chesney Peterson of Stanton County completes the Distance Triple. She wins the 2A girls 800 in 2:16.80, adding that gold medal to wins earlier today in the 3200 and 1600. Her times in all three events will rank in the top 3 among all Kansas girls who ran at the state meet over the past three days.
Folks...she's only a sophomore!
Just prior to Peterson's win, Elle Williams of Doniphan West won the 1A girls 800 in 2:22.85. Williams anchored her team's winning 4 X 800 relay earllier in the meet, too.
4:46 p.m.
In the boys' 800 meter runs, Reagan Bales of Osborne added the class 1A 800 title to the 1600 gold medal he won earlier. Bales (1:59.53) held off Hanover's Jacob Jueneman (2:00.86) down the final stretch.
Cody Zimmerman of Oakley clocked 1:59.19 in the 2A boys 800 to win his first-ever state title. Earlier, Zimmerman anchored Oakley's 4 X 800 team, running 2:00 to pull his team up to a sixth place medal.
5:00 p.m.
Just a couple more events to go, so let's look at the team scores:
Hanover has just taken over the lead in the class 1A boys standings. They've got 45 points to Madison's 42, and Hamilton is in third at 41. Colin Jueneman of Hanover has the No. 2 time from the prelims into the finals of the 200. Bryson Turner of Madison has the No. 6 time into the 200 finals. Hamilton does not have any runners in the 200 finals, nor does fourth place Olpe.
So, the 1A boys 200 meter final has huge implications for the team title.
Madison and Hamilton do not have a 4 X 400 relay running today. Hanover's 4 X 400 relay is seeded No. 9.
In short, Hanover is looking really good for a class 1A boys state championship.
Kiowa County is hanging on to a six point lead over Hodgeman County, but Addie Heinson is entered in the 200 meter finals. Okay, check that: As we write this, Heinson wins the 200 (25.62) and now Kiowa County's lead is 16 with just one event to go. So, crown Kiowa County as the class 1A girls state track and field champions.
Garden plain will win the class 2A girls state crown. That's been pretty certain for a couple hours now. Going into the 200 meter finals, Garden Plain has 85 points, while Stanton County and Blue Rapids are tied at 38.
And it will be a sweep of state titles for Garden Plain. The boys' squad has 63 points while Kansas City Christian is at 34 and Wichita COunty has 33. The fight is on for second place as Hillsboro has 32, Hoxie 30 Oakley 29 and Sterling 25.
5:06 p.m.
Garden Plain's Brooke Hammond (25.65) and Haidyn Thompson (26.75) just posted a 1-2 finish in the 2A girls 200 meter finals, giving that squad another 18 points toward the winning total. They've now got 103.
5:08 p.m.
Madison's Bryson Turner may have just lifted his team to a state championship. Turner placed third in the 200 meter finals for 6 team points, and Madison now is at 48. Hanover's Colin Jueneman placed seventh for two points, but it's not enough to stay ahead of Madison. So, now the team score is Madison 48, Hanover 47. Hamilton is done scoring. Olpe is in fifth place with 38 points, but would have to win the 4 X 400 relay (they're seeded 14th) to salvage a tie for the team title.
Hanover has a 4 X 400 relay, but they're running out of the slower heat 1. They are seeded ninth in the 4 X 400 relay, and they'll have to finish sixth or higher overall to catch Madison for the 1A boys state championship.
5:20 p.m.
Hodgeman County is trying to hold on to the second place trophy in 1A girls. They had 35 points entering the 4 X 400 relay, where they are the No. 2 seeded team, but they've fallen to eighth place in their heat. Golden Plains, at 31 points, needs a fourth place or better...but they couldn't get it. Golden Plains comes in tenth (no points).
Hanover, with 30 points, needs a fourth place to tie for second...and they can't get it either, finishing seventh (two points gets them to 32). Doniphan West had 29.5 points and their tie for fifth place in the 4 X 400 relay will move them to 32.5 points -- but it's 1 1/2 points short of the third place trophy.
There were a lot of scenarios taking place in that race.
Oh, by the way, Kiowa County's Addie Heinson crushed a 58 second lap on the anchor leg, and Kiowa County caught Burlingame and Central Plains for the win in the 4 X 400 relay. That's four gold medals for Heinson today, and by far the most electric runner we saw in class 1A today.
Bottom line: Kiowa County wins 2A girls, Hodgeman County second, and Beloit-St. Johns and Decatur Community tie for third.
5:35 p.m.
Stanton County has just won the 2A girls 4 X 400 relay (4:11.83). That's a huge win because it vaults Stanton County into second place in the team standings with 48 points. They were tied with Valley Heights heading into the final relay; Valley Heights finished third for six points and will settle for third as a team with 44 points.
Chesney Peterson anchored Stanton County's winning team. That gives her four gold medals today, to go with her individual wins in the 800, 1600 and 3200.
5:40 p.m.
One more team race to decide, and it's a whole lot less complicated. Hanover's boys are one point behind in the team standing. They have a 4 X 400 relay team; Madison does not. If Hanover finishes eighth, they tie for the state title. If they finish seventh or higher, they are the state champs.
Here we go...
5:43 p.m.
Hanover is doing what they need to do. They have a three second lead in heat 1. They need to put up a fast time and hope it stands up against the higher-seeded heat 2. At the finish, Hanover wins heat 1 with a time of 3:33.64 -- six seconds ahead of Jackson Heights. Hanover's time is 7 seconds better than their seed time of 3:40.47; and it's not far off Macksville's top-seeded time of 3:33.07.
So, this pendulum is swinging again...Hanover is looking pretty good to pick up at least a couple points.
Heat 2 is underway....and through three laps, it's looking like Hanover could actually win this event -- having run out of heat 1, no less! Beloit-St. Johns fights off Macksville for the win in 3:33.05.
Beloit-St. Johns wins the event, but Hanover places second overall and they will win the 1A boys state championship!
What a ride. Of note, many of you may know this, but Hanover does not have a home track. They practice many days on grass fields and rural roads. This is a tremendous victory for Hanover!
5:53 p.m.
Let's review the final team scores for the teams that made the podium:
Class 1A girls -- Kiowa County 64, Hodgeman County 35, Beloit-St. Johns 34, Decatur Community 34.
Class 2A girls -- Garden Plain 108, Stanton County 48, Valley Heights 44.
Class 1A boys -- Hanover 55, Madison 48, Hamilton 41
Class 2A boys -- Still in progress...we'll get to that one soon!
6:00 p.m.
Final scores for 2A boys: Garden Plain 73, Kansas City Christian 44, Oakley 37.