Recap: Kansas Outdoor Track and Field Week 3
Another exciting week in the books, take a read below of some of the highlights in Week 3.
Girls
Blue Valley North High School delivered an outstanding performance in the 4x400m relay at the Harry McDonald BV Relays, clocking in a time of 3:53.71. This time established them as the fastest team in the 4x400m relay this outdoor season. Over the past two years, Blue Valley North has consistently demonstrated their strength in the 4x400m relay, winning the 6a State Championship in 2022 and 2023. Their Week 3 performance not only solidifies their strength but also sets a new school record! Keep an eye out as they progress through this outdoor season.
Adryana Shelby of Wichita Northwest High School dominated the 200m dash, 100m hurdles, and 300m hurdles at the Maize South Invitational. Despite taking on the challenge of three events, she won all of them! Shelby grabbed a PR in the 200m (25.73) and claimed the state lead in both the 100m hurdles (14.20) and 300m hurdles (43.80). Shelby has a highly successful resume already under her belt, including winning the 6A State championships in the 300m hurdles in 2023 and 2022, and placing second in the 100m hurdles in both years, her impressive season opener shows she is trending toward great achievements again this season. It will be exciting to witness her progression throughout the rest of the season.
Ryin Miller of Seaman High School had an outstanding day of racing at the Lansing Invitational ! Not only does she now lead the state this season in both the 1600m and 3200m, but she also became one of the fastest girls in Kansas history. With her impressive time of 10:26.64 in the 3200m, she ranks as the 4th fastest Kansan ever. Additionally, her performance of 4:53.37 in the 1600m makes her the 7th fastest, according to Milesplit rankings. I had the opportunity to interview Miller after her third-place finish in the cross country 5A State Championships. She mentioned that she didn't expect to excel in high school, but simply just running more has led to significant improvements. As a sophomore, Miller has a bright future ahead this season and beyond.
Addie Cline has shown consistent improvement in the early weeks of this outdoor season, and her Week 3 shot put performance has moved her to the number one spot in the state rankings. With a shot put throw of 44 feet and 11.5 inches, she took home a PR and set a new school record in the process. Cline has represented Olathe West well, qualifying for the 6A state meet in both discus and shot put since her freshman year. Her best performances include placing 3rd in discus in 2023 and 3rd in shot put in 2021. With her impressive resume and consistent progress, she has great potential for high placements again this championship season.
Breana Garret-Tillemans of Campus High School had a busy day at the GBHS Jack Bowman Invitational, competing in three separate events. Her standout performance of the day came in the 400m race, where she clocked in an impressive time of 57.67, earning her the third spot in the state rankings as of Week 3. This time marks a significant improvement for her, she has consistently run 59-60 second 400m races in the past two outdoor seasons. In addition to the 400m, she also participated in the 200m dash and 300mh, winning both with PRs. Her 200m dash final time was 25.72, following a prelim performance of 25.57. Furthermore, she achieved a PR in the 300mh with a remarkable time of 47.61. In this single meet, she secured three gold medals, three PRs, and three top 10 standings in Kansas.
Boys
As I began to look over the impact of Week 3 on the state leaderboards, I noticed that each relay event had seen a new leader. The Maize High School Invitational proved to be a remarkable day for Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School, as they secured the top spots in both the 4x800m and 4x400m relays. Their 4x800 squad's performance of 8:09.31 just dipped under Bishop Carroll High School's leading time of 8:09.65 from Week 2. Not content with just one state lead, they went on to dominate the 4x400m with a time of 3:24.07. Another relay event that saw a lead change was the 4x100m run by Wichita East High School, clocking in at 41.95. Although just shy of their school record set in 2022 with a time of 41.79 at the State Championships, it still marked a significant performance.
However, Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School's success in Week 3 was not held to relay events alone. Junior Jack Guthridge secured two PRs along with two state leads. His speedy 10.52 in the 100m prelims was followed by a 10.59 in the finals. Guthridge, already a multiple-time State qualifier, showcased significant improvement compared to the previous year. Guthridge displayed his range by posting an impressive 48.45 in the 400m. His teammate, Nathan Thengvall, came close to breaking the 50-second mark with a time of 50.16 and a second place performance. Thengvall will be running for Kansas University next year, he still has great opportunities to make further marks and achievements to finish out his high school career.
The depth of talent at Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School was evident across all events. From Daniel Enriquez's impressive double of 2:00.93 in the 800m and 4:26 in the 1600m run to Will Niederee's victory in the 3200m with a time of 9:47.22. Even in the hurdles, Dawson Grabendike put on a great performance, securing second place in both the 110m hurdles (14.73) and the 300m hurdles (40.20), achieving personal records in both events. The dominance extended to field events as well, with Jackson Daniel excelling in both the discus and javelin, achieving a PR in the discus with a throw of 144 feet and a quality javelin throw of 166-03.
Jalil Cooper of Wichita Northwest High School made a great mark in Week 3 as the first boy to break 22 seconds in the 200m dash this outdoor season. His exceptional performance in the 200m shot him to the number one spot in the state rankings. At the Maize South Invitational, he showed off remarkable speed by also achieving a PR in the 100m dash, clocking in at 10.70 seconds. Cooper's impressive start to the outdoor season follows a strong indoor track season. He secured the top spot in Kansas for the 60m dash with a time of 6.87 seconds, along with a PR of 22.13 seconds in the 200m dash. With such a strong beginning to the season, Cooper emerges as an exciting athlete with great potential for the rest of the season.
Jayden Henry of Piper High School continued his impressive streak with another outstanding week of racing in Week 3. I previously mentioned Henry in the Week 2 recap, highlighting his state-leading time of 14.28 in the 110m hurdles and his significant improvement from the previous season. At the Bobcat Relays, Henry showcased an impressive time of 14.10 seconds in the 110m hurdles, reaffirming that his stellar performance from the previous week was not a fluke. His teammate, Shinji Pollard, also delivered a strong performance, finishing closely behind with a time of 14.89 seconds. Pollard is also a talented hurdler with a PR of 14.70 from last week's ESU HS Relays.
A new state leader has emerged in long jump, this would be Trey Thomas from Blue Valley Southwest. Thomas grabbed a PR and set a new school record with an impressive jump of 22 feet and 10.5 inches at Harry McDonald BV Relays. This jump marks a significant milestone for Thomas at this stage of the season.Last outdoor season Thomas finished fourth at the 5A State Championships. Since then, the three long jumpers who placed ahead of him have graduated. With this outstanding performance in Week 3, Thomas continues to show great potential for a promising season ahead.