The weather for last weekend’s KSHSAA State Track & Field Championships wasn’t the usual hot, windy days we’ve come to expect for late May and the state meet, especially Saturday’s cool, damp conditions. And while the cooler temperatures and light winds were welcomed by the distance runners, most of the sprinters probably would have preferred a little warmer temperatures. The light winds though gave validity to the abilities of the state’s sprinters and many of the early season sprint times they may have posted under windy conditions. For those folks that like the “crash-and-burn” action of NASCAR, the 300-meter Hurdles had to be to their liking as Saturday’s finals looked a little like a NASCAR race with the number of crashes (i.e., falls) taking place. But when you step away and look back on the meet, despite the lack of meet records (only three), it was a good meet with almost every event being competitive to the final stride, jump, or throw.
With the cool temperatures on Saturday, the fact that only one track record was set and the other two meet records came in girls’ field events should not be a big surprise. Friday afternoon, Elizabeth Herrs (St. George-Rock Creek, JR) bettered Belleville’s Kayla Wilkinson’s record in the 3A javelin by seven feet, throwing 147’4” without much wind. The only new track mark came on Saturday when Morgan Burns ran a legal wind 10.66 to bettering Tim Lira’s (Wellington) Class 4A mark from 2002. Later on Saturday, Megan Smith (Olathe South) wiped the 29-year old 6A shot put record of Manhattan’s Pinkie Suggs’, tossing the iron ball 48’2”.
Two young ladies came away with the title of “The first” as Lauren Pickens (Peabody) and Jaimie House (ElDorado) earned places in state meet history. They are the first individuals, boy or girl, to sweep the 100/200/400-meter dash combination and the pole vault, respectively, four straight years.
Talking about four-year sweeps, it is interesting to note that in the 101 years of the boys’ state meet only seven (7) times has an boy won an event all four years of their high school career. Matter of fact, it has been seven individuals doing it in seven different events. The last boy to complete a four-year sweep of an event was Lane Boyer (Fredonia), who won four straight 3200-meter titles from 2004 through 2007.
Meanwhile, in the 40 years of the girls’ championships, the four-year sweep has occurred an amazing 62 times. Thirteen (13) girls have concluded their prep careers with four-year sweeps in more than one event, topped by Pickens, as noted above, Trisa Nickoley (Shawnee Heights), and Jackie Stiles (Claflin), each of whom won four back-to-back titles in three different events, all on the track:
Pickens – 100, 200, 400; Nickoley – 400, 800, 1600; Stiles – 800, 1600, 3200.
Other girls with more than one four-year sweep are: Sandra Myers (Little River) – 100 & 220 yards; Brenda Beecher (Ellis) – 100 & 200; Nicole Grose (Bern) – 100 & 200; Courtney Bruna (Marysville) – 100 & 200; Janet Treiber (Labette County) – 1600 & 3200; Cris Hall (Chanute) – 100 Hurdles & High Jump; Jennifer Gruver (Scott City) – 100 Hurdles & Long Jump; Lindsay Eck (Beloit-St. John’s) – 100 Hurdles & Long Jump; Andrea Holloway (Russell) – Shot Put & Discus; Jacquelyne Leffler (Allen-Northern Heights) – Shot Put & Discus.
We need to make note that Alex Reed (Great Bend, SR) concluded his prep career by adding his name to the list of three-year winners in the boys’ 400 while Mandy Wilson (Rossville, JR) also picked up her third straight win in the girls’ 400, and she has a senior year to look forward to. Two others concluding their careers with at least three wins in an event were Tyler Sloan (KC Sumner Academy, SR), with three wins in the 300m Hurdles, and
Le’Tristan Pledger (KC Washington, SR), who wrapped up her state meet career with four wins in the 100m Hurdles, three in the Long Jump, plus two titles in the 100m and one at 200 meters.
Seven athletes left Wichita with three individual, 2011 championships. They were:
Reid Buchanan (Manhattan, SR) – 800, 1600, 3200
Morgan Burns (Trinity-Wichita, SR) – 100, 200, 400
Blake Wilkey (South Haven, JR) – 110 Hurdles, 300 Hurdles, Long Jump
Le’Tristan Pledger (KC Washington) – 100, 100 Hurdles, Long Jump
Heather Ruder (TMP-Marian, SO) – 800, 1600, 3200 (2nd straight distance sweep with two years to go)
Taylor Kisner (Victoria, SR) – 100, 200, 400
Pickens (noted above with her fourth straight 100/200/400m sweep)
Defending championships from 2010 were:
6A Boys – Buchanan, 1600m; 5A Boys – Reed, 400m; Macauley Garton (Mill Valley), Javelin; Hays, 4x800m; Joe Fisher (Valley Center) moved up to 5A from 4A and won a second straight 100m title; 4A Boys – Garrett Griffin (Louisburg), Javelin; ElDorado – 4x800m; 3A Boys – Adam Larson (Riley County), 1600; Sione (John) Siale (Chaparral), Shot Put & Javelin; 2A Boys – Isaac Miller (Washington County), Shot Put; Mitchell Savage (Washington County), Javelin; Bennington, 4x400m; 1A Boys – Moscow, 4x400m & 4x800m.
6A Girls – Alyssa Kelly (Blue Valley West), Long Jump; Megan Smith (Olathe South), Shot Put; 5A Girls – Le’Tristan Pledger, 100 Hurdles & Long Jump; Danielle Berry (Salina South), High Jump; Danie Plank (Gardner-Edgerton), Javelin; Shawnee Heights, 4x100m; 4A Girls – Molly Milbourn (ElDorado), 3200; Tyler Sloan, 300 Hurdles; Jaimie House, Pole Vault; Nicole Kinser (Hugoton), Triple Jumper; KC Piper, 4x100m; Baldwin, 4x400m; 3A Girls – Imani Fenner (Independent-Wichita), 100 & 200; Mandy Wilson (Rossville), 400; Heather Ruder, 800, 1600 & 3200; Mindy Wilson (Rossville), 300 Hurdles; Tina Lui (Independent-Wichita), Triple Jump; Marissa Cox (Central Heights-Richmond), Shot Put; Rossville, 4x400m; 2A Girls – Pickens, 100, 200 & 400; Mariah Jones (Ell-Saline), Triple Jump; Dani Winters (Plainville), Discus; Bennington, 4x400m, 4x800m; Jenna Farris (Lincoln) moved up to 2A from 1A and won second straight 3200m; 1A Girls – Erin Merklein (South Barber), 100 Hurdles; Ashley Shearer (Cunningham), High Jump & Triple Jump (her third win the TJ) ; Melinda Davis (Bucklin), Pole Vault.
Looking at it this way, a little cool weather with heavy, damp air on Saturday didn’t appear to lessen too many performances! Just think, the 2012 KSHSAA State Track & Field Championships are less than 52 weeks away!
With the cool temperatures on Saturday, the fact that only one track record was set and the other two meet records came in girls’ field events should not be a big surprise. Friday afternoon, Elizabeth Herrs (St. George-Rock Creek, JR) bettered Belleville’s Kayla Wilkinson’s record in the 3A javelin by seven feet, throwing 147’4” without much wind. The only new track mark came on Saturday when Morgan Burns ran a legal wind 10.66 to bettering Tim Lira’s (Wellington) Class 4A mark from 2002. Later on Saturday, Megan Smith (Olathe South) wiped the 29-year old 6A shot put record of Manhattan’s Pinkie Suggs’, tossing the iron ball 48’2”.
Two young ladies came away with the title of “The first” as Lauren Pickens (Peabody) and Jaimie House (ElDorado) earned places in state meet history. They are the first individuals, boy or girl, to sweep the 100/200/400-meter dash combination and the pole vault, respectively, four straight years.
Talking about four-year sweeps, it is interesting to note that in the 101 years of the boys’ state meet only seven (7) times has an boy won an event all four years of their high school career. Matter of fact, it has been seven individuals doing it in seven different events. The last boy to complete a four-year sweep of an event was Lane Boyer (Fredonia), who won four straight 3200-meter titles from 2004 through 2007.
Meanwhile, in the 40 years of the girls’ championships, the four-year sweep has occurred an amazing 62 times. Thirteen (13) girls have concluded their prep careers with four-year sweeps in more than one event, topped by Pickens, as noted above, Trisa Nickoley (Shawnee Heights), and Jackie Stiles (Claflin), each of whom won four back-to-back titles in three different events, all on the track:
Pickens – 100, 200, 400; Nickoley – 400, 800, 1600; Stiles – 800, 1600, 3200.
Other girls with more than one four-year sweep are: Sandra Myers (Little River) – 100 & 220 yards; Brenda Beecher (Ellis) – 100 & 200; Nicole Grose (Bern) – 100 & 200; Courtney Bruna (Marysville) – 100 & 200; Janet Treiber (Labette County) – 1600 & 3200; Cris Hall (Chanute) – 100 Hurdles & High Jump; Jennifer Gruver (Scott City) – 100 Hurdles & Long Jump; Lindsay Eck (Beloit-St. John’s) – 100 Hurdles & Long Jump; Andrea Holloway (Russell) – Shot Put & Discus; Jacquelyne Leffler (Allen-Northern Heights) – Shot Put & Discus.
We need to make note that Alex Reed (Great Bend, SR) concluded his prep career by adding his name to the list of three-year winners in the boys’ 400 while Mandy Wilson (Rossville, JR) also picked up her third straight win in the girls’ 400, and she has a senior year to look forward to. Two others concluding their careers with at least three wins in an event were Tyler Sloan (KC Sumner Academy, SR), with three wins in the 300m Hurdles, and
Le’Tristan Pledger (KC Washington, SR), who wrapped up her state meet career with four wins in the 100m Hurdles, three in the Long Jump, plus two titles in the 100m and one at 200 meters.
Seven athletes left Wichita with three individual, 2011 championships. They were:
Reid Buchanan (Manhattan, SR) – 800, 1600, 3200
Morgan Burns (Trinity-Wichita, SR) – 100, 200, 400
Blake Wilkey (South Haven, JR) – 110 Hurdles, 300 Hurdles, Long Jump
Le’Tristan Pledger (KC Washington) – 100, 100 Hurdles, Long Jump
Heather Ruder (TMP-Marian, SO) – 800, 1600, 3200 (2nd straight distance sweep with two years to go)
Taylor Kisner (Victoria, SR) – 100, 200, 400
Pickens (noted above with her fourth straight 100/200/400m sweep)
Defending championships from 2010 were:
6A Boys – Buchanan, 1600m; 5A Boys – Reed, 400m; Macauley Garton (Mill Valley), Javelin; Hays, 4x800m; Joe Fisher (Valley Center) moved up to 5A from 4A and won a second straight 100m title; 4A Boys – Garrett Griffin (Louisburg), Javelin; ElDorado – 4x800m; 3A Boys – Adam Larson (Riley County), 1600; Sione (John) Siale (Chaparral), Shot Put & Javelin; 2A Boys – Isaac Miller (Washington County), Shot Put; Mitchell Savage (Washington County), Javelin; Bennington, 4x400m; 1A Boys – Moscow, 4x400m & 4x800m.
6A Girls – Alyssa Kelly (Blue Valley West), Long Jump; Megan Smith (Olathe South), Shot Put; 5A Girls – Le’Tristan Pledger, 100 Hurdles & Long Jump; Danielle Berry (Salina South), High Jump; Danie Plank (Gardner-Edgerton), Javelin; Shawnee Heights, 4x100m; 4A Girls – Molly Milbourn (ElDorado), 3200; Tyler Sloan, 300 Hurdles; Jaimie House, Pole Vault; Nicole Kinser (Hugoton), Triple Jumper; KC Piper, 4x100m; Baldwin, 4x400m; 3A Girls – Imani Fenner (Independent-Wichita), 100 & 200; Mandy Wilson (Rossville), 400; Heather Ruder, 800, 1600 & 3200; Mindy Wilson (Rossville), 300 Hurdles; Tina Lui (Independent-Wichita), Triple Jump; Marissa Cox (Central Heights-Richmond), Shot Put; Rossville, 4x400m; 2A Girls – Pickens, 100, 200 & 400; Mariah Jones (Ell-Saline), Triple Jump; Dani Winters (Plainville), Discus; Bennington, 4x400m, 4x800m; Jenna Farris (Lincoln) moved up to 2A from 1A and won second straight 3200m; 1A Girls – Erin Merklein (South Barber), 100 Hurdles; Ashley Shearer (Cunningham), High Jump & Triple Jump (her third win the TJ) ; Melinda Davis (Bucklin), Pole Vault.
Looking at it this way, a little cool weather with heavy, damp air on Saturday didn’t appear to lessen too many performances! Just think, the 2012 KSHSAA State Track & Field Championships are less than 52 weeks away!
