Throwers put up big marks in Kansas

State Meet Highlights

 
In Kansas, all six classifications vie for titles on the campus of Wichita State University. This is a state with a long and storied history in track and field and the records are some of the most difficult in the entire country. The state put its stamp in the throws nationally with Willie Morrison of Leavenworth picking up where Kord Ferguson left off in 2014 as a dominant figure nationally. And Keiryn Swenson threw US#5 in the javelin.

Top Performances:

 
- Michael Melgares of Manhattan won a Class 6A double in the distances, winning the 1,600 in 4:22.20 and the 3,200 in 9:17.17.

- Austin Stephens of Olathe East won the Class 6A 110 hurdles in 14.33 seconds (2.5w).

- Junior Jacqueline Darby of Olathe-South won the Class 6A sprint double with wind-aided times of 12.09 and 25.03.

- Omawumi Omare of Blue Valley South won the Class 6A 400 meters in 56.66 seconds.

- Freshman Molly Born of Shawnee Mission Northwest made a big splash in the Class 6A distances races, winning the 1,600 (5:07.43) and the 3,200 (10:51.27).

 
- Junior Breanna Eckels of Wichita Southeast won the 6A long jump with 18-8.50.

- Senior Keiryn Swenson of Maize won the 6A javelin with US#5 162-5. Swenson will play basketball and be on the track team at Arkansas.

- Willie Morrison of Leavenworth was the standout athlete in Kansas this year with New Balance Nationals titles indoors and out in the shot put. He won the Class 5A shot put with 69-4.50 and the discus with 185-5.

- Jared Belardo, a senior from Leavenworth, won the Class 5A long jump with 24-2.50 and the triple jump with 48-8.

- Creighton Sanders, a junior at Wichita Heights, won the Class 5A javelin with US#9 204-11.

- Stuart McNutt of Blue Valley West, a Foot Locker finalist in cross country, won the Class 5A 3,200 meters (9:31.43) and was second in the 1,600 (4:25.83), finishing behind Mill Valley’s Kurtis Alan Loeven (4:25.17).

- Kadin Remsburg, a sophomore at Newton, doubled in the Class 5A 100 (10.76w) and 200 (21.85w). Joseph Reagan of Topeka Seaman, who owned these events for three years straight, was injured and unable to defend his titles.

- Kelly McKee of Lenexa-St. James Academy won Class 5A titles in the triple jump (39-3.50) and long jump (18-1.50) to help her team win the state title. She missed the 2014 state meet with a stress fracture in her back. Teammate Jenna Gray threw US#21 145-5 to win the javelin.

- Payton Roberts-Parker, a junior from Newton, won the Class 5A shot put with 45-4 and also won the discus with a toss of 131-8.

- Christina LeMunyon of Blue Valley West won the Class 5A pole vault with a clearance at 12-9, which broke the meet record. She took three attempts at 13-3.

- Freshman Aarika Lister of Leavenworth dashed to Class 5A titles in the 100 (12.04 3.1w) and 200 (25.04 2.4w) meters.

- Jordyn Harmon of Emporia swept the Class 5A hurdles with 14.53w in the 100 and 44.62 in the 300.

- Isiah Taylor of Parsons cleared 6-10 and took three attempts at 7-0 on the way to winning the Class 4A boys high jump.

- Jacob Greenwood of Osawatomie, a junior, won three events in Class 4A: the 200 (22.38), the 110 hurdles (14.62) and the 300 hurdles (38.85).

- Riley Osen, a junior from Winfield, won the Class 4A 1,600 (4:19.77) and 3,200 (9:43.98).

- Alexia Stein from Baldwin threw US#22 47-1.50 to win the Class 4A shot put and also won the discus with 142-8 to help her team win the team title.

- Sophomore Cailie Logue of Girard won the Class 4A 1,600 (5:06.38) and 3,200 (10:55.89) and also placed second in the 800 (2:20.81).

- Senior Kalei Matthews of Independence won the Class 4A 100 (12.20 4.5w) and 200 (25.40 2.2w) sprints double. She also ran on the winning 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. Her twin sister Shalei won the triple jump with 37-4 and had a hand in both relay wins.

- Sophomore Jewel Bolden of Collegiate won both the 100 hurdles (14.75) and the long jump (18-4.50) in Class 3A.

- Stuart Lennemann from Phillipsburg won the Class 3A titles in the 100 (10.72 4.2w) and the 200 (22.16 1.9w).

- Brett Thompson from Erie threw 201-7 to win the Class 3A javelin competition. He finished the season at US#10.

- Junior Gabrielle Lavington of Cheney won the Class 3A shot put with 45-10.25. Lavington led the state in the event this year.

- Shaylyn Stallbaume from Nemaha Central won the Class 3A girls javelin with US#25 143-9.

- Silver Lake sophomore Alexandra Ferguson led her team to its first ever Class 3A state title with victories in the 400 (56.40) and the 800 (2:19.56). She also ran legs on scoring relays in the 4x400 and 4x800.

- Sophomore Kyler True of Olpe won the Class 2A 800 (1:57.33) and the 1,600 (4:22.66) and also placed second in the 3,200 (9:45.04).

- Elijah Smith of Valley Heights won four Class 1A titles and tied the all-time state record with nine career gold medals. Smith went a state-leading 48-9.75 in the triple jump (nwi) and he also won the long jump (22-8.50), 110 hurdles (14.94, 4.4w) and 300 hurdles (39.56).

- Kortni Hubert of Clifton-Clyde, a sophomore, threw a Class 1A record (US#31) 141-6 to win the javelin.

Top Teams:

The Lawrence girls knocked off two-time defending champion Lawrence Free State 63-56 to win the Class 6A state championship. The Olathe East boys repeated their title with 62 points, a five-point margin on runner-up Manhattan.

In Class 5A, Tecumseh-Shawnee Heights edged out Leavenworth 76.50 to 75 for the boys title and Lenexa-St. James Academy won the girls championship. In Class 4A, Andale's boys won their third straight championship and the Baldwin girls won for the fifth time in six years.

Top Competition: There was a really good showdown in the Class 5A boys 300 hurdles between a senior and a freshman. The senior, Rasheed McAlpin of Shawnee Heights, got the victory with US#68 37.74 and the freshman, Noah Green from Blue Valley Southwest, was right there with him with US#79 37.80. They were the top two 300-meter hurdle performances in Kansas this year.

Record-breaker: Willie Morrison took shot put a step past where Kord Ferguson went with it in 2014 and took down the all-time Kansas record held by Clint Johnson of Shawnee Mission South since 1980. Morrison completed his season with a best of 70-2 to break Johnson’s record of 69-1.50.