WICHITA — The athletic season came to a roaring end as multiple area athletes medaled at the KSHSAA State Championships Friday and Saturday.
The high schoolers battled heat and intermittent delays due to thunderstorms throughout the competition, but that did not stop a handful of athletes from registering several top 10 finishes.
Iola High School juniors Austin Crooks and Keegan Hill finished this season leaving Iola fans plenty to look forward to next year. Crooks took seventh in the triple jump with a 42’-6” leap Friday. Hill matched Crooks for Iola’s top finish Saturday, taking seventh in the 1600-meter run with a blistering time of 4:28.28, three seconds off the school record. He also took 12th in the high jump with a 5’ 10” leap.
In Iola girls’ action, future Allen Community College track athlete Mahailie Genoble wrapped up her high school career with a 14th-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles. Fellow senior Bethany Miller, who will attend Grinnell College with plans to play basketball and compete in track, concluded her high school career with a 14th place finish in discus with a 97’ 10” throw.
The Crest Lady Lancers also had a pair of top 10 placers. Junior Hanna Schmidt took ninth in the long jump after a 16’-3” leap. Senior Kinley Edgerton, a future volleyball player for Manhattan Community College, secured a 10th place finish in the javelin after a 16’-3” throw.
Humboldt was also well represented at the state meet. Senior Laney Hull took 16th in the high jump thanks to a 4’-8” leap. She also took 18th in the 300-meter hurdles after a 52.89 second run. Sophomore Willow LaCrone finished 14th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.36 seconds, and junior Jean Yumba took 14th in the shot put with a 34’-10.25” throw.
Making his state debut following last week’s regional championship, Humboldt sophomore Ty Shaughnessy took 17th in the javelin. After several delays due to lightning, he cleared 139’-9”. Junior Emmitt Carson took 13th in the pole vault but did not register a height.
In 1A boys action Marmaton Valley senior Todd Stevenson wrapped up his high school career with a 17th-place finish in the long jump with a 19’-9” leap. Three Rivers League rival Xander Fuller, a Crest junior, finished the same event 18th after an 8’-1.25” jump. Dagan Barney, an MVHS junior, took 17th in discus with a 127’-10” throw.
Sophomore Marcus Cummings, Yates Center’s only state qualifier, took 17th in his state debut. He finished the 110 meter high hurdles in 17.93 seconds.
Complete results:
Boys
High jump (3A): 12th: Keegan Hill, Iola, 5-10
Long jump (1A): 17th, Todd Stevenson, MVHS, 19-9; 18th, Xander Fuller, Crest, 18-1.25
Triple jump (3A): seventh, Crooks, Iola, 42-6.
Javelin (2A): 17th, Ty Shaughnessy, HHS, 139-2
Discus (1A): 17th, Dagan Barney, MVHS, 127-10
