5A felt a little strange this year without the St Thomas Aquinas distance squad putting up crazy points. St. James Academy was happy to do the bidding, though, claiming victory with both their boys and girls.
5A Boys
When you score 14 times, it's hard not to win. When you're looking in the mirror, though, it can be tough to know who's real. Kapaun Mt Carmel and St James both qualified the majority of their athletes in the running events. St. James had just 11 points in the field, while Kapaun scrounged up 6.
The rest of the time they just traded blows on the track.
It almost felt like a dual meet at times, with each team often having more than one finalist. Your opponent was going to score, so you just had to cancel it out or score more. Back and forth it went until the 4x400. St James led by just half a point, 58.5 to 58. Aquinas, despite having just 1 athlete score in their typical distance dominance, was still hanging around with 55. St James & Kapun were the top two seeds in the 4x400, and Kapaun had won the prelims. St James left no doubt, leading the whole race. Kapaun had a slow start but came back to take second.
Final Score: St James 68.5, Kapaun Mt Carmel 66.
Among major individuals was Aquinas senior Alex Waldie. He completed the rare 400-800 double, dominating both events. Joe Loughman was a major scorer for the Saints, too, winning the javelin.
Kapaun Mt. Carmel had just 1 individual champ, with Luke Brock winning the 1600 for the second year in a row.
The Topeka schools were well-represented, with Tre Richardson (Highland Park) winning the 100 & long jump, and taking 2nd in the triple and 4th in the 200. Alesecio Batson (Topeka West) was the one to beat him in the triple jump. Jackson Esquibel (Shawnee Heights) and Lenny Njoroge (Topeka West) had a legendary battle in the 3200, with Esquibel coming out on top.
Luke Holthusen (Bishop Carroll) was a hurdle highlight, winning the 300m race and taking 2nd in the 110 to Jayden Henry (Piper).
Bryce Cohoon was a double-champ, anchoring the Maize 4x100 and winning the 200.
Out in the field, Tyson Ruud (Basehor-Linwood) cleared 7 feet, but couldn't quite take home the 5A record, missing with some good-looking jumps at 7' 2".
Bryce Barkdull (Andover Central) cleared 17' 1" to become the new state record holder in the pole vault, defeating his brother's mark from a year ago.
Lastly, Jamale Williams (Lansing) was a double-winner in the shot put and discus throws, dominating the 5A fields within.
5A Girls
This one was all St James Academy. A great regional weekend set them up for success. They had 22 scoring opportunities, just one shy of Andale's crew in 4A. They scored in every running event except the 200, and had multiple scorers in all three distance events. Nobody won an individual title for the Thunder, but their depth on the track was proven with victories in all 3 relays.
Like the boys, Kapaun Mt Carmel was similar, with tons of scorers on the track. It just wasn't enough to match the depth of St James. Lillian Harris was the leader for the Crusaders, winning the 100, 200, and 400.
Great Bend was just 1 point behind Kapaun in third. They had strong finishes in the high jump (First & Third) and 300 hurdles (Second & Third). Makenzie Premer & Mersadie Spray were the hurdlers, and Valarie Luna & Spray were the jumpers.
The distance events were headlined by Katelyn Rupe (Salina Central) and Isabella Ross (Blue Valley Southwest). Rupe destroyed the 3200, while Ross took down Seaman's Bethany Druse in the 800. The two met in the middle for a clash in the 1600, where Ross had the better kick.
McKinlee Walker was great in the 100 hurdles for Andover. Annalisa Cullens (Hutchinson), usually a sound hurdler, tripped over a hurdle early and was out of the competition before she could get going. Cullens came back in the 300 hurdles, though, destroying the field to gain redemption.
Cullens wasn't the only Hutchinson athlete to strike gold. Azariah Dawes won the long jump by 2.25 inches in a close competition. Aiyanna Green also won a tight shot put battle by 3 inches.
Ella Capling (DeSoto) capped off a great season as one of the state's best triple jumpers, winning that event by a foot and a half. Meanwhile, Mariyah Noel (Bonner Springs) finished a great year of discus throwing with a 5A title.
Andover Central claimed gold in the pole vault on the girls side, too, with Reagan Housley. Lastly, Olivia Vanderweide (Basehor-Linwood) emerged victorious in the javelin throw.