Records, records, and more records🥇
Shawnee Mission North Relays and a couple of a conference championships
SM North Relays
After years of hearing about how amazing the Shawnee Mission North Relays are, I finally had the chance to check out the action for myself, and boy it didn’t disappoint. State records, school records, state leads—it had it all.
Plus, my hot dog was pretty good, and I only spilled my Dr. Pepper on myself once, so an evening full of wins! With the amount of elite performances, 154 to be exact, there are definitely going to be marks, times, and performances that deserve to be talked about, so I definitely encourage you to go check out the results for yourself and make sure you’re up-to-date on everything that happened on Friday.
To keep things condensed but with some elaboration, here are the top ten performances of the Shawnee Mission North Relays, in no particular order.
Bryce Barkdull - A year ago following the state meet in Wichita, Ashton Barkdull, former Andover Central record holder and current 17-10.5 vaulter at the University of Kansas, said “He’s going to beat my record, no doubt. In two years, it’s his.” Ashton was referring to his younger brother Bryce, who at the time had just finished runner-up to his older brother. Flash forward a year, and Bryce Barkdull is the greatest pole vaulter in the history of the state. 17-6.25. Let that sink in—the highest vault in state history, breaking a record that had stood for forty-three years, AND the first time someone has cleared seventeen feet since 2011. Only a junior, Barkdull has already surpassed his brother’s marks from his high school days, and now is on the national stage with the second best mark in the country this year, and the top junior as well. Ladies and gentlemen, Bryce Barkdull, the best to ever vault in the state.
Olathe West 4x800m - What... Can... They... Not... Do... But seriously, this is incredible. Three-time defending cross country state champions, and two-time defending state champions in the 4x800m, have broken the state record that they’ve broken three times since last May. Keep in mind, the school has only had its door open since 2017, and they’ve already put together a resumé that some schools aren’t even close to, ones that have been open since the 1970’s. Let’s start with the 4x800m, because obviously. The same four girls that broke it at this meet a year ago, did so again, just fourteen seconds faster. The quartet of Kate Miller, Bree Newport, Paige Baker and Charis Robinson executed the fastest 4x800m I’ve ever witnessed in person, and the eighth fastest time in the country so far this season. Miller got them started with a 2:16, while Newport dropped a 2:14, putting them at roughly 4:30 at the halfway mark. Baker handed the baton to Robinson 2:19 after getting it from Newport, and the Nebraska-Kearney signee brought them home in 2:12, with a huge smile on her face down the entirety of the homestretch. Three out of those four girls also ran AND won the 4x400m to close out the meet, running the second fastest time in the state this season. Just for kicks, Robinson (2:12.82), Newport (2:14.78), and Miller (2:16.01) all ran the open 800m not too long before, all nearly replicating their legs of the relay. Another flex, but Baker also ran the 3200m, placing third in 11:18.47, while teammate Kalyn Willingham won in 11:15.87. That’s dominance in its purest form.
Alex Waldie - On the same track a year ago, St. Thomas Aquinas senior Alex Waldie shocked the stands and the state after splitting a 1:50 in a tight-knit battle between Olathe Northwest and the Saints, with the Ravens winning 7:53.24-7:53.25, in what was a thriller of a race that saw Waldie take the lead after getting the baton roughly four seconds back. This time around, Waldie is one of the best 800m runners in the state, and to no one’s surprise, gave the crowd a show. Waldie ran 1:52.28, the third fastest time in the state so far this season, and one of the top fifteen fastest performances in state history. Waldie has also dabbled in the 400m during his short track career, and is in a great position to win a pair of titles later this month, leading 5A in both the 400m and 800m.
Olathe North 4x100m - Simply put, these guys are fast. Like really fast. The squad of Michael Canseco, Christian Harris, Eli Wyatt and Jason Parrish put together a three-tenths of a second victory over Blue Valley North, as the Eagles became the first and so far only team to dip under forty-two seconds in the relay this season. 41.92 is the sixth fastest time in the state over the last ten years, and Olathe North remains one of the few programs to run sub-forty-two over that same span, doing so multiple times. Olathe North finished runner-up in the relay a year ago by just three-hundredths of a second, and it looks like they’re in pretty good shape to leave Wichita with a gold this time around.
Haughton v. Shively - The two best runners in the state, and two of the greatest to ever do it in Kansas history, went head-to-head for the second time this season, but this time around had a different result. In the full mile, Shively made his debut in the event a week later than he was expecting, but did just what we knew he was capable of. Shively pulled away from Haughton over halfway into the race, and put just over three seconds between him and the 6A champ. 4:07.92-4:11.58 was the final result. In what was their last matchup of the Kansas season, it sure lived up to the hype. The two will hopefully meet again at the HOKA Festival of Miles, maybe even the Metro Mile the week after? Heck, why not both? Both boys are respectively at the top of their class from 800-3200, and both have the range to tackle all three if they choose to do so.
Tyson Ruud - If you watched him play basketball over the winter, you’ll know that he has no problem with his vertical. Luckily for us, he can high jump just as well as he can dunk! For the future Ichabod and the current state leader, it was business as usual for Ruud as he jumped his way to his fifth victory this season, as he’ll look to extend that through the remainder of the post-season. The Basehor-Linwood star cleared 6-11 to win the event by two feet, elevating himself into a tie for the 16th best mark in the country this outdoor season. In total, Ruud has won his five competitions by a total of nearly fifteen feet, with the runner-up coming within two feet just once.
Blue Valley North Relays- Just like they have all year, the Blue Valley North relay teams showed up and showed out, winning the 4x100m by a hefty margin, as well as finishing runner-up in the 4x400m. Audrey Brown, Ella Shafer, Alli Kneller and Delia Gregory ran both a 6A and state leading time of 48.13, seven-tenths of a second faster than any other school in the state. A series of clean handoffs and strong legs from start to finish made it quick and easy, as the team eventually pulled away during the third leg. The 4x400m was another impressive feat, as the same four girls took the line again and finished just under a second behind Olathe West. 4:00.87 is just .03 seconds behind their season best from April, but before long I’m sure they’ll have a time in the range of 3:5_. _ _.
St. James 4x800m - Dating back to my high school racing days, St. James is a name I grew familiar with, because there was always someone in their uniform running fast, and typically they weren’t alone! The Thunder are back on top and did so in one of the biggest meets of the year, running the most impressive time of the year. John Jacobson, Andrew Hartegan, Michael Bianco and Ty Roshau put on a clinic last Friday, holding off Olathe East and Rockhurst to win in exciting fashion and give the crowd a show. The Thunder went back and forth with the Hawks and Hawklets, but held on for the win and now own the best time in both Kansas AND Missouri, and of course, the top time in 5A by over twelve seconds.
Val Galligan - One medal is nice, and two is pretty cool. But three runner-up finishes in all three throwing events is a heck of a feat, and is consistently solidifying her title as one of the best throwers. In the discus, she threw a PR of 129-10, following that up with 139-0 in javelin, another PR, and 41-1 shot put. As of now, Galligan has the second best mark in 6A in the discus, behind her teammate, and the top mark in javelin, while sitting in second behind another teammate in the shot put. Galligan is pretty consistent, and will most likely be on the podium three times in a few weeks.
Paige Mullen - She’d finally had enough of 5:00! After back-to-back races resulting in a frustrating result, the girl to beat in 6A hammered the latter stages of the 1600m, pulling away and winning in 4:55.18! It had been a long time coming for Mullen, who is currently having one of the best distance seasons in the state. Her shiny new 1600m PR pairs nicely with her 6A lead of 10:30.55, and her 2:17.78 that came later on Friday night is a nice cherry on top. With three weeks of the Kansas season left, Mullen is atop 6A, and it’ll be hard for anyone to close the gap on the Pittsburg State signee.
St. Mary Double Triple Crown 👑👑👑
First off, what even is a ‘Triple Crown’? For track & field fans, it’s a term that refers to a singular program winning the cross country conference championships, and both indoor and outdoor track & field conference titles as well. Hence, the ‘triple’. It’s not done often, but it’s not uncommon.
That is, unless you’re St. Mary.
Throughout the last decade, the Spires have accumulated thirty-one KCAC titles among their cross country and track & field programs. If you don’t know, that’s a lot, and it’s actually 45% of the possible conference titles to be won in that span. What began as a distance heavy program and a cross country powerhouse, has turned into a distance heavy track program, complimented by a strong showing of depth across the board in other track and field events. In 2023, they are just the second ever KCAC program (Friends 2012) to complete the triple crown on both the men’s and women’s side during the same season. For the men, it was their second straight triple crown, and the first in school history for the women.
As far as the meet itself went, It was a relatively smooth path to victory for the Spires in Hillsboro, as the men racked up 202 points for a sixty-five point margin of victory, as the women totaled up 184.5 points to win by 37.5 points. The women took care of business by scoring in thirteen events, and crowing conference champions in the 100m, 800m, 5000m, 10,000m, 4x100m and the 4x800m. The men had individual titles in the 400m, 1500m, 5000m, 10,000m, 3000mS, triple jump, and relay titles in both the 4x400m and 4x800m, scoring in seventeen events.
As it stands, the Spires already have twenty national qualifying marks, with fifteen of them being an automatic ‘A’ standard, as we head into a week that will have a good amount of NAIA “last chance meets.”
Tinch 4 Bowerman🏆
“The most outstanding male and female NCAA track & field athlete(s) in the nation”
The Bowerman is the award in collegiate track & field. It’s the MVP, the Ballon d’Or, the best in the business. Olympians, world record holders, gold medalists are just a few titles that past Bowerman winners have collected since 2009, setting the standard for just how truly talented each winner is, only adding to the prestige of the award.
For the men, two of the last three have been hurdlers, with Grant Holloway of Florida winning in 2019 and Trey Cunningham of Florida State winning the most recent award. Cordell Tinch is a hurdler himself, and after this weekend, he has made an incredibly strong case for himself. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Over the weekend, Tinch finally caught the attention of the track & field community, though in my opinion he has been deserving of this recognition since the indoor season. Nonetheless, people know who he is, and the more he competes, the more he becomes a household name.
The reason for all this talk about the Pittsburg State star? As of now, he’s the only man in the world that has run under 13.00 in the event, regardless of conditions. As of May 9, his wind-aided mark of 12.97 sits just ahead of the reigning back-to-back world champion Holloway. Besides the fact that it’s almost halfway through the month of May, and Tinch is the fastest man in the world, he’s also doing stuff neither Holloway or Cunningham did during their collegiate careers. Granted, Holloway did go 12.98 (.08) and Cunningham ran 13:00 with no wind at all, which are both obviously incredible and historic marks, so don’t let anything I say sway you into thinking I’m attempting to take credit away from either of those two.
Wind or no wind, what Tinch ran on Sunday was fast. Scratch that, it wasn’t fast, it was blazing. It was the second fastest all-conditions best in the event in collegiate history. He also joins Holloway and Renaldo Nehemiah as the only three collegians to ever run under thirteen seconds, regardless of wind. He also ran 13.07 in the preliminaries, which means he currently owns two of the fastest times in NCAA history. For any doubters of Tinch’s resumé, I’ll let you decide. Should we talk about his second all-conditions Division II mark in the long jump, or the second highest mark in Division II this season in the high jump?
We’ll keep it simple and stay in order for your sake! In the horizontal jumps, Tinch leaped 27-0.5 (3.2), which is the seventh best mark in the world this year, again, all conditions. But I’ve heard that the more wind at your back the harder it is to keep your footing and routine on track, but that could also be entirely false. But fingers crossed it’s true! In the high jump, Tinch’s “worst” event, he cleared 7-1.75, which makes him tied for second in Division II, and 14th overall amongst collegians.
I’m not too familiar with the history of athletes outside of Division I getting recognized for the Bowerman at any point during the year, except for the one week last March that Ashland’s Trevor Bassitt was on the watch list.
This all comes down to one thing. If Cordell Tinch, two-time NCAA DII record holder, two-time national champion (for now) and one of the fastest men in the world, is left off any more Bowerman lists this season, then the award itself is not living up to its own description.
Another season, another Gorilla MIAA title
The MIAA is the toughest conference in all of Division II, and you can’t change my mind. (Sorry to any fans of the RMAC, but it’s true) Regardless of sport, the MIAA is tough, gutting, and you have to be the best of the best to win. Luckily for the four in-state schools in the MIAA, they do just fine in the gauntlet.
Over the weekend, Kansas schools in the MIAA won 35% of the conference titles, winning them everywhere they could. The sprints, jumps, throws, relays, multis and distance events were truly dominated by them. The main talk of the meet was obviously Pittsburg State’s Cordell Tinch, but he got his own snippet of the newsletter so we’ll leave it at that.
As far as team titles go, the men repeated as outdoor champions, putting up a whopping 184.5 points to take out Missouri Southern by nearly eighty points. In the 4x100m, Makai Blades, Xavier Carmichael, Dre’shaun Sanders and Tevin Wright-Rose ran one of their best times of the season, winning in 39.97. L.J. Kiner won another conference title in the triple jump, jumping 51-1. The Gorillas scored in eighteen events, and as far as I know, the most out of any team at the meet. Granted, I didn’t check to see how other teams fared, but just trust me on this one.
On the women’s side, the indoor conference champions were dethroned by Northwest Missouri State, by less than four points, 137-133.5. Though they lost the team battle, Pitt State still had a handful of conference champions. Auna Childress reigned supreme in the triple jump, earning a mark of 42-11, with Kyla Davis also winning the pole vault with a clearance of 13-5.75. Madison Reese and Mattie Flanagan added titles in the javelin and heptathlon, as Reese threw 150-9 for gold and Flanagan totaled 5419 in her first multi of the season.
Fort Hays State was the next finisher in the team scores on both sides, as the men put up 79.5 points for 6th and the women placed third with 108. Washburn finished 7th on both sides, as the men scored 67 and the women had 70. Emporia State finished 9th and 10th, with the men finishing with 44.5 and the women with 23.
Here are the other in-state conference champions from Fort Hays State, Washburn and Emporia State!
🐯 Lyric Holman — 200m
🎩 Lily Johnson — 1500m
🐯 Regan Hodsden — 5000m
🎩 Shanice Hutson — Discus
🐯 Philip Landrum — 100m
🐯 Ryan Stanley — Pole Vault
🎩 Braden Rose — Discus
🐯 Nolan Churchman — Decathlon
In Division II, there is just one meet left in their season, and that’s the mother of all meets, the outdoor national championships. I don’t know the entry limit for each event at nationals, but I’ll send you off with a list of all in-state athletes who have hit the NCAA DII provisional mark AND sit in the top twenty-five.
🎩 Jordan Dale — High Jump (7th)
🎩 Alessandro Di Gregorio — High Jump (23rd)
🎩 Josh Hopkins — Long Jump (5th)
🎩 Braden Rose — Discus (12th) & Hammer (12th)
🎩Isabella Hohl — 100m (5th)
🎩 Rachael Mayberry — Pole Vault (6th)
🎩 Tassilyn Bolin — Pole Vault (20th)
🎩 Kim Smith — Long Jump (16th)
🎩 Shanice Hutson — Shot Put (15th)
🎩 Ilaria Villa — Discus (18th)
🎩 Paola Castaldi — Hammer (23rd)
🎩 Naiuri Krein — Heptathlon (15th)
🐝 Travis Morrison — Shot Put (4th)
🐝 Brooks Lowe — Javelin (8th)
🐝 Aren Trost — Decathlon (22nd)
🐝 Abigael Reid — 400mH (24th)
🐝 Megan McManis — Pole Vault (20th)
🐝 Alyssa Conway — Hammer (7th)
🐝 Holly Brockmeier — Javelin (24th)
🐯 Philip Landrum — 100m (11th)
🐯 Trever Medina — 800m (17th)
🐯 Hayden Albright, Landrum, Ethan Lang, Churchman — 4x400m (16th)
🐯 Ryan Stanley — Pole Vault (3rd)
🐯 Kolgan Ohl — Hammer (4th)
🐯 Nolan Churchman — Decathlon (4th)
🐯 Lyric Holman — 100m (10th) & 200m (23rd)
🐯 Mattie Rossi — 110mH (20th) & 400mH (4th) & Heptathlon (10th)
🐯 Taylor Savolt — 400mH (6th) & Decathlon (24th)
🐯 Holman, Reba Mader, Savolt, Rossi — 4x400m (19th)
🐯 Rhyann Brown — Javelin (2nd)
🐯 Addie Berens — Javelin (4th)
🦍 Xavier Carmichael — 100m (6th) & 200m (22nd)
🦍 Tevin Wright-Rose — 100m (9th)
🦍 Dre’shaun Sanders — 200m (22nd)
🦍 Braylen Brewer — 400m (6th)
🦍 Sam Tudor — 400m (18th)
🦍 Matthew Oglesby — 10,000m (25th)
🦍 Cordell Tinch — 110mH (1st), Long Jump (1st) & High Jump (2nd)
🦍 TJ Caldwell — 110mH (4th)
🦍 Daylin Williams — 110mH (5th)
🦍 Wright-Rose, Sanders, Makai Blades, Carmichael — 4x100m (3rd)
🦍 L.J. Kiner — Long Jump (4th) & Triple Jump (1st)
🦍 Tudor, Bailey Stone, Nizar Alarahshun, Brewer — 4x400m (9th)
🦍 Christian Carter — Long Jump (23rd)
🦍 Treyvon Ferguson — Triple Jump (8th)
🦍 Konner Swenson — Shot Put (15th) & Hammer (9th)
🦍 Cole Sample — Hammer (22nd)
🦍 Caleb Calvin — Javelin (3rd)
🦍 Hunter Jones — Decathlon (3rd)
🦍 Doug Brown — Decathlon (23rd)
🦍 Taniya Looney — 100m (3rd) & 200m (22nd)
🦍 Erica Schamel — High Jump (6th)
🦍 Allary Liberatore — High Jump (14th)
🦍 Mattie Flanagan — High Jump (23rd) & Heptathlon (6th)
🦍 Kyla Davis — Pole Vault (2nd)
🦍 Auna Childress — Triple Jump (1st)
🦍 Nakiya Marshall — Decathlon (7th)
🦍 Abby Lasiter — Hammer (17th)
🦍 Madison Reese — Javelin (7th)
🦍 Rylee Garrett — Javelin (18th)
Sunflower State Highlights🌻
Stanton County’s Chesney Peterson yet again broke her own school record in the 800m, running 2:10.64 to lower her state lead, which is the 4th fastest time in state history. Peterson heads into the postseason with the best times in the state in the 800m, 1600m and 3200m, as she looks to defend her four state titles from 2022.
Topeka-Hayden’s 4x400m ran another state lead, lowering their season best to 3:23.64. Finn Dunshee, Jake Muller, Liam Stegman, and Jensen Schrickel broke their own school record again, as they remain the top relay in the state, regardless of class.
Wichita Northwest junior Adryanna Shelby overtook the state leads in both the 100mH and 300mH, setting PR’s in both. Shelby ran 14.03 in the 100mH for top time in the state, along with a 45.06 in the 300mH. It was a season best in the 300mH by nearly two seconds. Later this month, Shelby is set to defend her 300mH title and avenge her runner-up finish in the 100mH.
A pair of relay records highlighted a great day of competition in Goddard for the ladies of Andale, as they set school records in both the 4x100m and the 4x400m. Camryn Winter, Maddie Schrandt, Taya Orth and Betsy Reichenberger were the group for the 400m relay, while Ava Steven joined Reichenberger, Winter and Schrandt to do it again in the 1600m relay, breaking a record that had stood since George ‘The Ice Man’ Gervin led the NBA in scoring (1978) Their time of 3:58.84 is a state lead, among all classes, while their 48.91 is the
Landon Boss was on a mission in Wellsville, as the Osage City senior won the discus, shot put and javelin, setting PR’s in both the discus and shot. His mark of 56-6 in the shot is the 3rd best mark in 3A, while his 172-8 in discus puts him in second, and he also sits second in the javelin with a throw of 193-3. Boss is a returning medalist in all three events, and the defending champion in the javelin.
Kansas State alumni Laura Galván broke her own Mexican national record in the 5000m, running 14:49.34 to take 3rd at the Sound Running ON Track Fest in Walnut, CA. I couldn’t find the exact number of national records she owns, but I’m pretty sure may take up an entire hand if you were to count it, or at least it’s close.
Wichita-Trinity Academy junior Clay Shively announced his verbal commitment to Northern Arizona University, the three-time defending cross country national champions. Shively is joining one of greatest cross country programs in NCAA history, who has won six out of the last seven national titles. Shively still has his senior year left where he’ll undoubtedly get faster.
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