Eight Weeks Out⏰
Let the countdown begin
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Garmin Clipboard is the perfect coaching app that lets you access all of your tools in one place. Whether it’s building or scheduling workouts that load directly onto your athletes’ devices, or analyzing your team’s metrics, sleep, and performance trends. Clipboard is continually adding new features. This week the “Assistant Coach” feature is set to launch. All it takes is three taps for the Head Coach to invite their Assistant Coach to be a part of their team. Your entire coaching staff will soon all have access to the same information, making sure that everyone is on the same page. This feature will hit first on iOS and will follow closely on android.
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Kansas Throwers Shine at the Texas Relays🎽
Princeton bound thrower Casey Helm out of Madison High School has built a lengthy résumé since last spring, netting two state titles and a record of 24-6 between the shot and disc. In his first outdoor meet of the 2022 campaign, Helm took his talents to Mike A. Myers Stadium, where he finished 2nd in the discus, and 3rd in the shot put. His throw of 186’ 6” in discus puts him 5th in the nation, while his toss of 58’ 8.75 in the shot put has him sitting in the top 20 at 18th. The defending 1A state champ will look to dominate another season, as he looks to successfully defend both titles.
Mckenzie Fairchild, the best javelin thrower in the nation, as of right now, started off her outdoor season with a strong performance in the event, out-throwing the next best finisher by twenty-seven feet! Fairchild’s throw of 169’ 4” was more than enough for the victory, a personal best, and the nation’s best throw. After finishing runner-up at state a year ago, Fairchild already looks to be one of the top throwers across the country.
Fairchild isn’t the only javelin stud at Andale, as her teammate Riley Marx brought home a runner-up finish on the boy’s side. Marx, just a junior, finished with a distance of 189’ 4”, the 10th best mark among high schoolers in the nation this year. This is only his second outdoor season, and he already has a state title in the javelin and discus, and most certainly looks to add to his medal count this spring.
Wildcats Pick Up Pair of Victories in Austin 🥇🥇
Less than three weeks ago, the Texas Longhorns took down the entirety of the NCAA at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, winning the men’s Distance Medley Relay in a time of 9:25.20. This past Saturday, the men of Kansas State took down a thirteen team field in Austin, including the hosts. Travis Hodge, Kyle Gale, Kyle Johnston and Noah Stevenson together ran 9:42.04, edging out Princeton and Texas A&M to win the DMR at the 94th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. The Longhorns didn’t have their same squad from nationals, but there lead off and anchor were present, but were no match for the Wildcat quartet. #HornsDown
Still feeling the momentum from her All-American finish a few weeks ago, Kassidy Johnson didn’t miss a beat in her outdoor debut, winning the 1500m in 4:20.29, the 16th fastest time in the nation. Johnson virtually ran the race by herself, as the next finisher was four seconds behind. I don’t think she was too disappointed either, coming in only one-hundredth of a second away from her career best way back in 2019. Keep an eye out for Johnson as she’s set to be an athlete on a mission this spring.
Top Dogs Heading into the Season🐶
Every year there are the select athletes across the state that look as if it is there state title to lose, instead of theirs to win. That’s no dig on the state’s athletes in any way, but instead praise of the talent of the top performers in the sport. Whether it’s on the track, the runway, or the ring, there’s a good number of athletes that I believe enter as the favorites to win some state titles.
Anjali Hocker-Singh is only a sophomore at Olathe North, but already has three state titles to her name, and two state runner-up finishes as well. On the grass, Hocker-Singh claimed the 20’ and 21’ state titles, along with the 3200m title in 2021. She sports PR’s of 2:17.31 in the 800m, 4:58.94 in the 1600m, and covered 3200m in 10:33.91. She’s sitting just over .500 in terms of wins and losses in her young career, but seven of those losses were at a national or regional meet such as Eastbay or Nike Cross Regionals. Hocker-Singh finished second to Riley Beach in the 1600m last year, but Beach has since started her collegiate career at Iowa State, making the Olathe North sophomore the top returner. In the 800m, the field returns six out of the eight medalists from 2021, including the reigning champion, Shawnee Mission East’s Grace Meyer. It’ll be a dogfight between that pair and the field, but Hocker-Singh owns a quicker personal best, but don’t count on Meyer to hand over the title that easily.
Chesney Peterson, a Stanton County junior has been one of the most dominant athletes in recent memory. Peterson has raced 47 times in high school, and has only lost five in total. Her number of state titles is actually higher than her number of losses, as she’s won 6 total, made up of five individual (20’ & 21’ XC, 21’ 800m, 1600m, & 3200m) and a relay title in the 4x400m. Peterson hasn’t lost a race since May 01, 2021 at the Trials of Miles Qualifier in Leavenworth, but her most previous defeat before that was November 02, 2019. Since then, she is 39-1 and currently is in the midst of a 21 race, unbeaten streak (Bryce Hoppel who?) and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. The Stanton County standout will look to defend all three of her individual titles, along with her team title in the 4x400m.
I touched on them in the beginning, but the trio of Casey Helm of Madison and the Andale duo of Mckenzie Fairchild and Riley Marx, but keep an eye out for all three of them over the next two months. Fairchild is the reigning champ in the 4A discus, and the top returner in the javelin and shot put after a pair of runner-up finishes last year. Helm is the only returner in the 1A shot put after winning the event a year ago, along with being the reigning champion in the discus as well. Marx won both javelin and discus a year ago, and will look to defend both titles in May.
In the hurdles, a junior from Wellington, Annalisa Cullens is the defending 4A champ in both the 100mH and the 300mH, running way under 15 in the 100mH, roughly eight tenths of a second ahead of the runner-up, and 1.7 seconds ahead of the next finisher in the 300mH. Cullens is sporting a 20-3 in the hurdles last season, and looks to improve on that already impressive record.
Over the last three years of their career, Tanner Lindahl, Tanner Newkirk, and Sawyer Schmidt have split 4A state titles among the trio. In 2018, Lindahl took down all of 4A to win the cross country title, while Newkirk and Schmidt finished 2-3 in the 3200m in 2019, and then Schmidt beat Newkirk in a 2-4 finish in the 1600m. In fall of 2019, Newkirk and Lindahl went 2-3 in state cross country. The 2020 track season was nonexistent during the pandemic, but sports made a reappearance that fall, as Newkirk held off a deep 4A field, including current state record holder Micah Blomker, but took down the field, as Lindahl finished 3rd and Schmidt took 6th. Our most recent track & field season saw Schmidt win both the 1600m and 3200m, as Lindahl finished 4th and 2nd behind him. This past fall, Schmidt took down the other two, taking first at the Wamego Country Club, with Lindahl and Newkirk finishing 2-3. Honestly if I had to choose who I thought was going to win, I couldn’t give you a straight answer. Schmidt has shown great form since the cross country season, going 8:54.53 in the 3k and 4:02.51 in the 1500m, as Lindahl opened up his outdoor season with a 4:32.03-9:35.53 double in the 1600m and 3200m. I can say that Newkirk had the craziest indoor season, going 8:32.33 in the 3k, and 9:06.12 in the two mile. Last week, the Hayden senior dropped a 9:18.14, and that was after going out in a 58. Overall, I think all three men who are all slated to run Division I next fall, will each have a chance to win a state title in two months, and I think it’s going to be super fun to watch.
In the sprints, KaLiyah McGinnis and Jeremiah Smith juniors from Olathe North and Shawnee Heights are some of the top names in the sprints. McGinnis, runner-up in both the 100m and 200m a year ago, comes into 2022 as the top returner in the 100m, but sits behind reigning champ in the 200m, Kennedi Cline of Olathe West. Smith comes into the outdoor season as the top returner and reigning state champion in the 100m, 200m, and the 110mH. Last week Smith ran the state’s fastest time in the 110mH, beginning his junior year with a strong effort.
Dylan Sprecker, a Trojan from Southeast of Saline comes into his senior campaign as the reigning 1600m and 800m champion, fueled by the momentum from his cross country state title last fall. Sprecker ran 4:17.65 and 1:55.29 in the 1600m and 800m last spring, and looks to get even faster as he charges into the 2022 season. Last week at the Saline County Invitational, the Pittsburg State commit opened up the year in 4:28.88 and 2:00.71 in the 1600m-800m double. In terms of returners, Sprecker is the top one from 800m-3200m, three seconds ahead of the next man in the 800m, twelve seconds ahead of 2nd in the 1600m and eighteen seconds ahead in the 3200m. I’m always a fan of an upset, but in this case, I don’t think Sprecker looks to let anyone in 4A, or the state, come between him and more state titles.
After one of the fastest cross country seasons in state history, two distance names on the men’s side are leading the way in both 5A and 6A. Logan Seger, the St. Thomas Aquinas senior and Purdue commit returns for his final season ranked first in the 1600m and 3200m. His 4:16.85 in the 1600m came at the Eastern Kansas League meet, with his 9:09.07 coming last year at the state track meet. Seger already has two state titles to his name, one in cross country last fall and the other in the 1600m last spring. Two weeks ago, Seger started off his track season with a 5000m at the Texas Distance Festival, running 15:12.18l in a stacked field. His 6A counterpart Micah Blomker is the fastest high schooler to ever run a cross country 5k in the state of Kansas. Just a sophomore, Blomker already boasts PR’s of 4:16.01 and 9:15.32 in the 1600m and 3200m, along with a state record 5k time of 14:49.30 on the grass. Last year, Blomker finished 4th and 2nd in the 1600m and 3200m, but is the fastest returner in the 1600m, and second in the 1600m behind Ben Shryock. Shryock, similar to Sprecker of Southeast of Saline has a huge amount of range, owning PR’s of 1:56.42, 4:16.29, and 9:15.01 in the 800m, 1600m and 3200m. Make sure to keep an eye out for him as well, as he’ll battle with Blomker for the top spot in 6A. Seger looks to add more state medals to his trophy case, but will have to fight off his teammates Colby King and Ashton Higgerson to do so.
National Qualifiers x NAIA
The NAIA season is already a few weeks in, and there is already a high number of qualifiers for the outdoor championships in Gulf Shores, fifty to be exact. The list of qualifiers will surely get longer, and I’ll make sure to keep you all updated as new athletes punch their ticket to the national championships.
Baker
Justin Moore — 100mH
Ben Gutekunst— Javelin
Hunter Krom — Javelin
Jacob Cofer — Half-Marathon
Elizabeth Ibidunni — 100m
Val Aceves-Power — Half-Marathon
Brooke Allen — Half-Marathon
Jackie de la Fuente — Half-Marathon
Benedictine
Madison Sutton - Discus
Friends
Marcquiece Cade — 110mH
Isaac Campbell — Shot Put
Caroline Giles — 3000mS
Kortney Schutt — Discus
Kortney Schutt — Hammer
Kansas Wesleyan
Tony Kinser — High Jump
Austin Hess — Half-Marathon
Tabetha Deines — 800m
Tabetha Deines — 1500m
Stephanie Martinez — Half-Marathon
McPherson
Brett Oden — McPherson
MidAmerica Nazarene
Gage Hiebert — Javelin
Nick Allen — Javelin
Kylar Brown — 100m
Victoria Lotz — Discus
Ottawa
Andrew Sprague — Discus
Andrew Sprague — Shot Put
Jacob Ludwick — Javelin
Laurel Barber — Javelin
Saint Mary
Corey Lyons — 400m
Luke Skinner — 800m
Luis Perez — 800m
Perez, Vazquez, Cooley, Neidig — 4x800m
Brendan Briody — Half-Marathon
Jared Stark — Half-Marathon
Dylan Stoltzfus — Half-Marathon
Brayden Myers — Half-Marathon
Tommy Baker — Half-Marathon
AJ Bohon — Half-Marathon
Alyssa Armendariz — 1500m
Maddy Walter-Sherrett — 1500m
Walter-Sherrett, Aguilar, Campbell, Gregg — 4x800m
Jayda Cooper — Long Jump
Lexi Inscho — Half-Marathon
Kate Madsen — Half-Marathon
Southwestern
Meseret Elgin — Half-Marathon
Sterling
Corrssia Perry — 100m
Corrssia Perry — 200m
Sydney Wilson — High Jump
Tabor
Cannon, Owens, Sanford, Mason — 4x100m
Vance Shewey — High Jump
We can officially say that the state track & field championships are next month! In roughly eight weeks, athletes from all across the state will compete at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kansas, taking part in the biggest track meet in the nation. Until then, we can only hope for long throws, fast times and higher/farther jumps! I’ll do my best to keep everybody up to date on the best performances and the top stories in the state, but if I miss it, please feel free to let me know! If you’re not doing anything today or tomorrow, I recommend that you go find yourself a track meet to enjoy. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you next Friday!