Photo by J. Hobson
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.
Up next is a recent graduate from Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Overland Park: Alex Waldie. Unlike some of our other senior salutes, Waldie doesn't have years of results dating back to before he could walk. Instead, he burst onto the scene in 2021, following the pandemic.
His earliest results are in the fall of 2020, where he competed for the Saints' JV team. Being the top JV runner at Aquinas isn't anything to scoff at. Waldie won the Eastern Kansas League JV race by 20 seconds at 17:18, a solid mark for most schools.
It was on the track that spring, though, that he shined. In the 1600, his best race came at league, where he finished second to teammate and multi-time 5A champion Logan Seger. In his first season of high school track, he was already a sub-4:30 miler. At regionals, though, he opted for the 3200, where he was just 1 spot out of qualifying for 5A state, running 9:46.
On the XC course the next fall, Waldie worked his way onto the varsity squad, running 16:58 at regionals to help the Saints qualify. At state, the team won the 5A crown to extend their legendary streak. The spring of 2022, however, was what changed everything.
Between XC and Track that junior year, Waldie changed event groups. Out with the long-distance training, and in with middle distance. Starting in 2022, Alex Waldie was officially a 400/800 runner. Initially, he ran the mile to start the season, but his relay splits told the story. Some rumors floated around about a 1:50 4x800 split. In May, he finally opened the floodgates. A pair of 49-second 400s solidified his presence in the sprint world. Then, in his first 800, he dropped a 1:52 bomb at league. He went on to win 5A regionals in both events, and was crowned 5A Champion in the 800. His 400m final was blazing, running 48.47 in a loaded field for third place.
Waldie exiting the blocks in the 400m final at Rock Chalk Park
(Photo by J Hobson)
Bypassing the cross country season, Waldie came into his senior season ready to roll. Opening with a pair of easy wins in March and a couple 200m races in early April, he had all the rust knocked off before the Kansas Relays. On Friday at KU, he qualified for the 400 finals and clenched 4th in a legendary 800 race against some of the state's all-time greats. On Saturday, he came back in the 400m final to win a 3-way battle down the homestretch over Mill Valley's Nen Matlock and Mount Ayr (IA) stud Ryce Reynolds.
At the Shawnee Mission North Relays, he was headed for a rematch clash against Wyatt Haughton (SM East) and Clay Shively (Wichita Trinity) in the 800, but when the other two backed out, he won the prestigious meet easily. Once again, he went on a tear in May, winning all six of his races, including the 5A Championship in both events. He left no doubt in the 400, crushing the field by over a second in 47.96. Later that day, he pulled away in the 800 to win in 1:54.
He had achieved sub-48 in the 400, and the only barrier that remained for Alex Waldie was the 1:50 mark in the 800. In a last-ditch effort in the HOKA Festival of Miles, Waldie went for it. It took everything he had, but the competitive environment allowed him to shine. 1:49.97, just a sliver under the barrier that is reserved for only the highest-caliber half-milers. In fact, you can count on one hand the number of Kansans in that club. A legendary finish to an all-star high school career.
