I say it every year, and I'll say it again: 3A Never disappoints. A chaotic regional at Buhler saw Beloit's girls upset Smoky Valley, while Southeast of Saline & Council Grove both took down Wichita Collegiate & Trinity. It was a wild weekend with so many good teams in the same region. It was all about setting yourself up for success this week.
The teams that did? Southeast of Saline's boys, Phillipsburg's girls, Scott City's boys, and Beloit's girls.
The ones that didn't? Wichita Trinity's boys, Smoky Valley's girls, Wichita Collegiate's boys, and Hesston's girls.
This will be a remarkably close team battle that could come down to the 4x400 on both sides.
Most of the teams vying for a spot on the podium hold at least one athlete that scores highly in multiple events. For Beloit, it's Tatum Seyfert and her brother Grady Seyfert in the throws. Each of them are heavily favored to win the shot and discus. Grady puts the 3A shot put record in serious danger, already throwing beyond the meet record this season. He is also just 5 feet away in the discus. Tatum, just a sophomore, will be a huge part of Beloit's team score.
Additional elite throwers in 3A include Norton's Janessa Ruder and Wyatt Hammond in the javelin, and Osage City's Landon Boss in all three events. Goodland's Lindsey Cure is elite in the javelin and also brings in points in the hurdles. Her brother Linkon Cure will also headline the hurdles.
Council Grove's Ethan Burton rounds the turn in the 3A 200m at State in 2022
(Photo from Council Grove eTrailblazer)
Marysville has a star in the distance events in Silas Miller. He will be in action in the 800, 1600, 3200, and 4x800. Gold medals are possible in both the 4x800 and 3200. With 3A taking the morning session, he should have plenty of rest for day 2.
Speaking of distance runners, Wichita has quite a few of them. Will and CJ Meyer represent Collegiate, while Sam Ferguson, Ian Carroll, and Caleb Tofteland carry the torch for Trinity. Above them all, though, sits Trinity's Clay Shively in the 1600 and 800. With the way the Knights have played their cards, it's clear that Shively will be attacking the 4:00 barrier in the 1600. Of all 300 races at the state meet, this is the one you don't want to miss.
For the girls, Smoky Valley's Breanne Peters could be the athlete of the meet. She qualified in the 100, 200, Triple Jump, and Pole Vault, and could realistically win all four. The sprints could be tough, though, with Hesston's Ashley Lehman factoring in as well.
Prairie View rules the distance events with Bree Allen. Marysville's Brynn O'Neil has a shot to take her down in the 800, though.
Eureka's Ashley Singhateh will be one to watch in the hurdles. She also qualified in the 100 and 4x100 relay, and was a major highlight at last year's meet.
For Phillipsburg, their team hopes lie on Heather Schemper. She qualified in the 100, 200, 400 and 4x400. She could score upwards of 30 points across those four events, and will be another highlight all weekend long.
Lastly, we can't forget about the jumps, with Norton's Dean Clark leading the way for the boys in both horizontal jumps. Additionally, Rachel Van Gorp looks like a solid bet in the girls' long jump for Olathe Heritage Christian.
3A Action begins with the boys high jump at 8:00 AM on Friday, May 26th.