Photo by Rick Peterson, courtesy of KSHSAA Covered
After four years of hard work, the class of 2023 has completed their high school careers. Kansas MileSplit has selected an elite group of seniors to highlight in our "Senior Salute" summer series. Across all six classes and eighteen events, we will release seven articles featuring an individual senior, and three videos featuring a pair of seniors linked in some way. After fighting through a COVID year as freshmen, and embracing the releases of the next generation of 'super' spikes, the class of 2023 has seen it all. Now, it's time to look back on the remarkable careers of Kansas' best.
Starting off this series is Max Neeley, a graduate of Dighton, a 1A high school in West-Central Kansas. Neeley has results dating back to 2017, his 6th grade year. Competing for Dighton middle school, the youngster tried his hand at a handful of events, including the 100 & 200 hurdles and the high jump. His legacy, though, was in the pole vault. His dad & coach, Steve, was a vaulter at Emporia State, and grandpa did it for Oklahoma.
Obviously, not every junior high meet sends in results, but thanks to Quinter for being ahead of the curve back in 2017 and sending in results for 2 of these meets. Submissions like this allow us to look this far back into Max's career.
By 7th grade, Neeley was already pole vaulting. He cleared 8 feet to win in Atwood, then climbed 6 inches higher to place 2nd at Quinter. He also added 6 inches to his high jump, knocked over 2 seconds off both of his hurdle races, and tried his hand at the 400m dash.
Over the next offseason, Max got to work, making the decision to focus in on track, and specifically the pole vault. In February of his 8th grade year, he made the 200-mile trek to Wichita for an indoor meet, where he cleared 10-6 and 4-11 in the pole vault & high jump. Three months later, he was the Northwest Kansas MS League champion in both events. He had raised the bar to 12-0 and 5-5 during the outdoor season. He was officially a prodigy.
His freshman season in 2020 was cancelled, and he wasn't able to attend any indoor meets beforehand, so he would make his high school debut as a sophomore. After over 22 months without competing, Max Neeley won his first high school vault at 14 feet. He also competed in the high jump & javelin that day at Cimarron, but he would go on to focus on vault the rest of the season. That proved to be a good idea. In early May, he took his first loss to South Gray's Brady Deges. Deges now competes for Fort Hays State, and scored for the Tigers in the pole vault at this year's MIAA Championships. Neeley had his heights set even higher, though, and defeated Deges to win the regional & state titles in 1A. With two years left of high school, Neeley had now cleared 14-3 and had little trouble with the competition.
As a Junior, Max decided it was time to pick his other events back up. After a quick indoor tune-up in Lawrence where he cleared 13-9.25, Max became a 3-event show (often 4 if you count relays). At the season opener, he had a new PR of 5-10 in the high jump, and finished his first 300-meter hurdle race at 47.25. That time would drop another second-and-a-half a week later, and reach 45.09 by season's end. His best meet came at the 1A Regional in Winona. He cleared 15-feet for the first time in the pole vault, qualified with his teammates in the 4x100, and snuck into state by placing 4th in the 300 hurdles and high jump. A week later, he won title #2 in the pole vault, placed 11th in the 4x100, 13th in the high jump, and did not run the 300 hurdles.
As a senior, Neeley competed in another indoor tune-up in Lawrence, clearing 14 feet in a loaded field to take 6th. After that, he didn't lose. His 2023 season was magical, clearing 15 feet seven times, going 10-0 in the vault and 6-0 in the high jump. He also won a 110 hurdle race early in the year. His final high school PRs were 15-7 in the pole vault & 6-4 in the high jump.
Moving forward, Max is headed to Emporia State, just like his father. He may even be able to wear some of his old high school gear, as both teams are known as the Hornets. He will surely see his old rival, Brady Deges, as ESU and Fort Hays St are both in the MIAA Conference. With three men's and three women's All-Americans in the pole vault last month, Neeley will face some stiff competition in Division II's toughest league. If his past is any indication, though, he's certainly up for the challenge.