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All 2015 State Track Champs
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State Champion that is something that was announced at Cessna stadium in Wichita multiple times and many of those times a Northeast Kansas area athlete or athlete’s was being honored for winning a State title in track and field.
Twenty three State titles were captured by area athletes at the 2015 Kansas High School State Track and Field competition with 27 athletes accounting for those state titles.
Your area 2015 Kansas High School State Track and Field State Champs are:
Elijah Smith (Valley Heights)
Valley Heights Mustang senior, Elijah Smith was arguably the top individual performer in any class at State by winning four gold medals, as he became only the 10th Kansas boy to accomplish that feat at State in a single competition and the first since 2004.
Smith started his final high school State track meet in impressive fashion as he set a new State record in the triple jump with a mark of 48’09.75, winning the event by over four feet giving him a three-peat in the triple jump. Elijah also three-peated as State champ in the 110 meter hurdles after posting a time of 14.94 to win the gold and took first in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 39.56, winning by over one second. The long jump title was once again Smith’s also in Class 1A as he repeated as the long jump champion with a leap of 28’08.50, winning by over a foot. Smith’s performances helped Valley Heights finish second as a team in Class 1A at State track.
The four gold performance gives Smith nine golds at State track in his high school career as he now looks to the future and competing at the college level at Butler Community College next year.
Sidney Blackburn (Valley Heights)
Valley Heights Mustang senior, Sidney Blackburn went out on top in the discus as she successfully defended her Class 1A title.
Behind a toss of 123’04, Blackburn repeated as State champ in the discus and improved upon her State mark as a junior by over 10 feet in the process. Not only did she compete in the discus but Sidney also took 10th in the javelin (113’00) and 11th place in the shot put (33’02.50), while helping the lady Mustangs finish second as a team in Class 1A at State track.
Kayla Smith (Valley Heights)
In just her first State track meet Valley Heights Mustang freshman, Kayla Smith made quite an impression following in her brother’s (Elijah Smith) footsteps.
Smith leapt to State titles in both the triple jump and long jump in Class 1A posting marks of 17’04.75 and 36’00, respectively as just a freshman to take the gold in each event. The freshman’s top notch performances didn’t stop there as she sprinted to a fourth place finish in the 100 meter dash (12.82) and teamed up with three other Mustangs to take fourth in the 4x100 meter relay (52.91), helping the lady Mustangs finish second as a team in Class 1A at State track.
Bradie Schmitz (Axtell)
Improving upon the previous year is always a goal of each athlete and capturing a State title is another, both were accomplished by Axtell Eagle junior, Bradie Schmitz as she raced to a State title in the Class 1A 400 meter dash.
With a time of 1:00.21, Schmitz won the 400 meter dash State title and improved upon her fifth place showing in the same event as a sophomore. The junior also competed individually in the 800 meter run just missing out on a medal, finishing ninth with a time of 2:32.36, while also competing on the Eagles 4x400 and 4x800 meter relay teams. The 4x800 squad brought home fifth place with a time of 10:45.16, while the 4x400 quartet took eighth place.
Darrian Turner (Centralia)
From fifth place a year ago as a junior to a State title as a senior in the Class 1A 200 meter dash that is what Darrian Turner was able to do behind a time of 22.86.
The Panther speedster also competed in the 100 meter dash and 4x100 meter relay for Centralia and on top of his State title in the 200 placed fifth in the 1A long jump. A leap of 20’04 earned Turner another trip to the podium at State track in his senior year.
Kourtni Hubert (Clifton-Clyde)
Winning one State title is hard enough but repeating that is not an easy task and Clifton-Clyde sophomore, Kourtni Hubert has accomplished that goal in her first two years in high school.
Hubert came into the 2015 State track competition as the defending champion in the 1A javelin and this year she improved her State mark by nearly 10 feet, while setting a new State record with a toss of 141’06 to repeat as State champ. The performance is even more impressive as the sophomore won the State title by over nine feet. She also picked up a sixth place finish in the shot put behind a toss of 34’08.
Hanover Boys Relay Teams
It was a clean sweep in the relays for the Hanover Wildcats as they won the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 meter relay State titles on their way to a Class 1A team State title.
This started for the Wildcats on Friday with the quartet of Matthew White, Evan Zabokrtsky, Andrew Bruna and Preston Jueneman setting a State record in the 4x100 meter relay prelims with a time of 43.30. While the team of White, Trey Loshe, Zabokrtsky and Preston Jueneman also qualified Hanover for the finals in the 4x400 meter relay on Friday with another State record fastest prelim time, 3:25.10.
On Saturday in the finals an injury occurred to Zabokrtsky and Devin Jueneman stepped in both the 4x100 and 4x400 and the Wildcats didn’t miss a beat breezing past the competition with times of 43.85 and 3:30.61 to win the State titles in both events.
The 4x800 was won the tandem of Loshe, Paden Pralle, Michael Jueneman and Adam Zarybnicky as they notched a time of 8:31.15 to take the gold.
Preston Jueneman (Hanover)
The Hanover Wildcat senior, Preston Jueneman not only was part of the boys 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay State title teams for the Wildcats but he won his own State title in the 1A 400 meter dash.
Behind a time of 50.27, Jueneman captured the State title in the 400 meter dash improving upon his third place finish in the same event as a junior at State. As if the three golds Jueneman was a part of wasn’t enough hardware for the Hanover senior he also raced to a time of 22.89 to claim second place in the 200 meter dash.
Linn Girls 4x100m Relay Team
With three of the four runners from the previous year’s State championship 4x100 meter relay team back the Linn girls were coming in confident and that confidence paid dividends as they repeated as State champs.
The quartet of Karysn Smith, Kendra Bargman, Brooke Diederich and Kesiah Thalmann posted a time of 51.56 to repeat as the 4x100 meter relay champs. The top performances didn’t stop there for the Linn girls as eight medals were earned helping them edge Valley Heights for the Class 1A team State title.
Dylan Hodgson (Washington County)
Washington County Tiger senior, Dylan Hodgson has enjoyed a decorated career on the track and in cross country and he added to his medal count in his final State track meet.
Hodgson who won the 800, 1600 and 3200 meter runs as a junior in Class 2A was able to repeat as the 3200 State champ in his senior year after posting a time of 9:41.61, while taking second place in the 800 (1:59.67) and 1600 (4:22.79). In the 1600 Hodgson just missed out on repeating as State champ by .13 seconds. Dylan’s performances helped his team take second at State track in Class 2A, just 1.5 points shy of a team State track title.
Hodgson is set to continue his running career at the University of Kansas next year.
Erin Alexander (Washington County)
Repeating as State champ was in vogue at the State track meet and Washington County senior, Erin Alexander was one of many athletes to accomplish that feat.
With a mark of 39’09.50 in the shot put Alexander repeated as the State champion and won the event by over two feet. The Tiger senior added a fourth place finish in the discus to her State track performance, while helping the lady Tigers finish fifth as a team in Class 2A at State track.
Meagan Garrett (Sabetha)
To win once is impressive, to repeat as State champ is phenomenal but to three-peat as a State champ is dominate and that is what Sabetha Bluejay senior, Meagan Garrett has been in Class 3A track winning her third high jump title this year.
Garrett who had won the State track title the last two years with 5’04 marks, posted that same height at State and claimed the State title by two inches. Early this year multiple times Garrett set a new school record for Sabetha with a leap of 5’06.
Emily Garnter (Hiawatha)
All year it’s been top flight marks by Hiawatha Red Hawk junior, Emily Gartner as she has dominated that competition and she didn’t it again as the highest level in high school in Kansas.
With a toss of 138’10, Gartner brought home the gold in Class 3A in the discus winning the State title by over eight feet and improving upon her third place State performance at State as sophomore. The Red Hawk junior added a fourth place medal to her State track performance that coming in the shot put (38’03). During the year Emily put herself in the record books for Hiawatha in both events setting new marks the shot put and discus at Hiawatha.
Jacob Koelzer (Nemaha Central)
After competing at the 1A level the previous year at State with Baileyville-B&B, the now Nemaha Central junior, Jacob Koelzer took on 3A competition at State track this year and put his name at the top.
A leap of 21’04 brought home the gold for Koelzer in the 3A long jump, while he picked up a pair of silver medals in the 100 (10.73) and 200 (22.57) meter dashes and competed on the Thunder’s 4x100 meter relay team. Koelzer was .01 second off of having two State titles as he was just edged out for first in the 100 meter dash.
Shaylyn Stallbaumer (javelin)
On the cusp of a State title last year in the girl’s 3A javelin, finishing second place, Nemaha Central Thunder senior, Shaylyn Stallbaumer made it back to State and looked to capture that title this time around and that she did.
A toss of 143’09 picked up that State title for Stallbaumer as she took the gold by over five feet in the javelin. The Thunder senior added a bronze medal in the shot put also after posting a toss of 38’06.50, while helping the lady Thunder finish fourth as a team in Class 3A at State track.
Andrae McGaughy (Riverside)
After missing out on qualifying for the finals in the 110 meter hurdles, Riverside Cyclone senior, Andrae McGaughy was not going to let his final time at State track end so quickly and he qualified for the 3A 300 meter hurdle finals and worked past the competition to win the State title.
With a time of 40.25, McGaughy grabbed the gold in the 300 meter hurdles and improved upon his fourth place finish at State as a junior. The Cyclone senior also competed in the 4x100 meter relay for Riverside at State track.
Josef Smith (Marysville)
Going from 13th place to State champ in a year is an impressive feat and that is what Marysville Bulldog senior, Josef Smith accomplished.
With a time of 4:35.03, 16 seconds faster than his State time as a junior, Smith captured the 1600 meter run 3A State title. A fourth place finish was also earned by Smith at State track as he posted a time of 10:08.99 to place fourth in the 3200 meter run in Class 3A.
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