40 GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES TO WATCH IN 2023
 
 

RAEGAN BECKER, CENTRALIA

Becker was one of six Class 1A girls high jumpers to clear 5 feet, 4 inches last year, but the only one to hit that mark at the State Outdoors. After finishing third at state as a sophomore in 2021, Becker moved to the top of the podium last year, winning by two inches over a trio of other jumpers with her 5-4 state mark.
 

 
LILY BROWN, PITTSBURG ST. MARY’S COLGAN

Brown posted a career-best 37 feet, 6.75 inches in the triple jump to win the Class 2A state title in that event, knocking off two reigning champs at the time. Brown finished six inches better than 2021 1A champion Kanyon Olberding while the 2021 2A champion Lauren Schutter took third. Brown also finished as state runner-up in the high jump as she cleared 5-2. She also took second in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.54.
 

 
OLIVIA COOPER, OLATHE NORTHWEST
 
Cooper won the Class 6A state title in the 100-meter hurdles last year with a time of 14.95. She earned a sizable victory over state runner-up Adryanna Shelby of Wichita Northwest. Expect to see these two juniors keep battling in hurdles for a long time as Shelby won the 300-meter hurdles event. Cooper finished seventh in that race.
 

ANNA CULLENS, HUTCHINSON
 
After monopolizing the Class 4A state hurdles titles at Wellington the past two seasons, Cullens transferred to Hutchinson for her senior year and has immediately made her mark. She set Salthawk school records in the 100-meter hurdles (14.30) and 300-meter hurdles (45.67) at the season-opening Newton Invitational. Cullens not only defended her 4A titles at the State Outdoors last May, she finished her junior season leading all classes in the 100 hurdles (4A meet-record 14.29) and 300 hurdles (44.39). She also finished fifth in the 4A 100 and third as part of Wellington’s 400-meter relay team.
 

BETHANY DRUSE, SEAMAN

The top 800 runner in Class 5A the past two seasons, Druse finally got the state title to go along with that distinction last year. After getting caught in a pack early in the 2021 800 at state and finishing a disappointing fifth, Druse bolted to the lead quickly last year and never looked back to win by more than a second in 2 minutes, 19 seconds. She posted a season-best of 2:15.19 last year, which ranked third in the state overall and was a school record. She also was on Seaman relays that finished seventh and eighth at state and is a three-time state medalist in cross country.
 

MCKENZIE FAIRCHILD, ANDALE
 
Fairchild impressively bookended her junior track and field season with a 2022 national high school-best javelin throw of 169 feet, 4 inches at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays last March, then completed a title sweep of the Class 4A discus, shot put and javelin at the State Outdoors in May. Her Texas Relays throw ranked fifth all-time among Kansas girls. The Texas A&M signee and three-sport standout led Andale to its fifth consecutive 4A girls team title with winning throws of 163-3 (javelin), 130-1 (discus) and 40-3.25 (shot put). Fairchild also won the 2021 4A discus title with a personal-best throw of 140 feet.
 

 
SHELLAMAE FARMER, HOISINGTON
 
Farmer saved her best for last at the 2002 State Outdoors, clearing 11 feet, 6 inches to win the Class 3A pole-vault title by a foot over Smoky Valley’s Breanne Peters. Both came into the state meet with the top regional height of 10-6, although Farmer cleared 11-0 at three regular-season meets, including her victory at the Central Kansas League championships. Now a junior, Farmer has finished first in the pole vault in all but two meets in her career. Her state clearance was not only 3A’s best last season, but tied for third in all classes.
 

ELYSSA FRIEZE, CHAPMAN

After running in the shadow of former teammate and multi-time state champion Taylor Briggs in 2021, Frieze grabbed the spotlight for herself last year as a sophomore. She posted the fastest time in Class 4A in the 3,200 when she won the title at the State Outdoors, posting a mark of 11 minutes, 6.88 seconds to win by nearly 24 seconds over Eudora's Hanna Keltner. Frieze also finished second in the 1,600 to double-state champion Hayley Trotter of Clearwater. Frieze had a best of 5:07.55 in the 1,600 during the season. Frieze also is a standout tennis player and finished third at the Class 4A state meet in singles in the fall.
 

VAL GALLIGAN, OLATHE NORTHWEST

Galligan set her PR at state last year with a throw of 137 feet, 7 inches. In her first season competing in high school track, Galligan had only cracked 120 feet one other time, when she threw 126-2 at the Sunflower League meet two weeks before. That mark still just put her as sixth best in 6A before her best throw at state put her 10 feet ahead of the next best marks from Shawnee Mission Northwest’s senior twins Shelby and Jordan Sogaard.
 

SOPHIA GIMINO, KAPAUN MT. CARMEL
 
Gimino enters her senior season as the two-time reigning champion in the Class 5A javelin. In a closely contested battle last May, Gimino’s best throw of 129 feet, 1 inch edged Piper’s Kylie Brockman (128-0) and Basehor-Linwood’s Olivia Vanderweide (127-11) for the top spot. Her victory came on the heels of a personal-best 141-0 that won the Greater Wichita Athletic League title. Gimino, who also finished eighth in the 300-meter hurdles at state, took the 5A javelin title in 2021 with a throw of 128-5. Gimino plans to continue her track and field career at West Point.
 

MACY HAMMERSCHMIDT, VICTORIA

Hammerschmidt defended her Class 1A state championship last year in long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 8.75 inches, her best mark of the year.  She went undefeated in the event last year as a junior. She also placed second at state to Kiowa County’s Addi Heinson in the 100 with a 12.12. As a sophomore, she won the 1A title with a leap of 16-9.75.
 

LILLIAN HARRIS, KAPAUN MT. CARMEL
 
Harris, a senior, delivered at the State Outdoors last May, winning her first Class 5A titles with a sweep of the 100 and 200 meters. She ran a personal-best 11.89 seconds to capture the 100, then posted a time of 26.14 to take the 200. She just missed a third gold as part of the Crusaders’ 1,600-meter relay, which took the runner-up spot, just .12 behind Great Bend. Harris was fifth at state in the 100 and seventh in the 200 as a sophomore.
 

 LEXI HORSCH, ANDALE
 
After tying for fourth in the Class 4A high jump as a sophomore, Horsch added to Andale’s state gold-medal haul last season with a winning attempt of 5 feet, 2 inches – 2 inches off the personal best she set earlier last spring at the Valley Center Invitational. The Hutchinson Community College signee also earned her second regional title last season after finishing second in the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division IV meet.
 

KALIYAH JORDAN, OLATHE NORTH

Jordan won the 100- and 200-meter dashes in Class 6A last year, never giving state runner-up Damiya Richards of Olathe East a chance to catch it. Her time of 11.60 in the 100 meter set her PR, albeit with the wind assist. Jordan had previously finished as the state runner-up in both of those events as a junior in 2021.
 

 
GILI JOHNSON, MANHATTAN

Johnson was the top triple jumper in the state last year, all classes, soaring 39 feet, 9.5 inches during the regular season to lead Shawnee Mission Northwest's Olivia Pixton by 6.5 inches. The two battled for the title at the State Outdoors as well and though neither came close to touching their season bests, Johnson still prevailed to win her first Class 6A title with a mark of 38-2.75. Johnson also finished third in the long jump with a best of 17-6 at state, just below her season-best of 17-11.
 

BROOKLYN JONES, LEBO

Name the sport and Jones shines in it for Lebo. She helped lead the volleyball team to the Class 1A Division II state championship in the fall and then helped the basketball team to a 25-1 mark and state runner-up finish in March. But track might be her best sport, one she will continue in college as a Kansas State signee. Jones was the Class 1A state javelin champion last spring, throwing 132 feet, 11 inches at state to win by a mere five inches over Central Plains' Lauren Oeser. Jones' best mark of the season was a 143-4 that ranked fourth overall in the state.
 

MAGGIE KAUK, PAOLA
 
Kauk edged out two seniors last year to win the Class 4A state title in long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 10 inches. She also took third in the triple jump with a mark of 36-1 and took fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.73.
 

EMERY KEEBAUGH, OTTAWA
 
Keebaugh won her second straight Class 4A state title in triple jump with her leap of 38 feet, 4 inches at state last year. Her best mark was two feet ahead of state runner-up sophomore Iniya Hinman of Parsons. Keebaugh also took seventh in the long jump.

 

ADRIENNE LOCKE-GARCIA, OLATHE NORTHWEST
 
Locke-Garcia finished her junior campaign with a first-place finish in the Class 6A shot put with a throw of 40 feet, 7.5 inches. Her best throw at state put her nearly two feet ahead of state runner-up Teuila Ilailio of Manhattan. Locke-Garcia also took sixth in the discus, setting her PR with a throw of 116-2.
 

 
BRENNA LYNN, BASEHOR-LINWOOD

Lynn ranked No. 2 in the entire state last year in the javelin when she popped off a season-best throw of 146 feet, 6 inches during the regular season, a mark that only trailed Andale's McKenzie Fairchild – the top javelin thrower in the nation. But Lynn should have some serious motivation for her senior season after a disappointing state meet where she mustered only a best of 117-0 and finished sixth. She's one of two standout javelin throwers for the Bobcats with senior teammate Olivia Vanderweide coming off a third-place state finish with a throw of 127-11, just off her season best of 132-2. Lynn also had a top-10 mark in the state in the discus at 133-7 and took fourth at state in that event.
 

PAIGE MULLEN, SHAWNEE MISSION NORTHWEST

Mullen won the 3,200-meter state title last season, edging out state runner-up Olivia Bakker of Blue Valley West by less than a full second with a time of 10:39.99 to 10:40.63. That victory denied Bakker the distance running triple crown. In those races that Bakker won, Mullen took sixth in the 1,600-meter race and seventh in the 800-meter race.
 

MARIYAH NOEL, BONNER SPRINGS

Noel won a state championship in the Class 5A discus last year, setting her PR with a throw of 134 feet. But Noel will need to keep pushing herself in the event if she wants to repeat during her senior year. Her top state throw had a sizable margin of four feet ahead of the state runner-up in Margo Todd of Spring Hill, but Todd is only a freshman and one of the top seven placers in 5A discus last year graduated.
 

NAKAELA O’HAIR, ELKHART

O’Hair capped an undefeated season in pole vault with a Class 2A state championship, clearing 10 feet, 6 inches. She began her junior season by vaulting 9-7 at the Meade Invitational last year, then broke her own record twice, setting the Hi-Plains League record at 10-6. She became HPL champion for the first time in her career, then captured a regional championship.
KANYON OLBERDING, JACKSON HEIGHTS

After winning the Class 1A triple jump state title in 2021, Olberding and Heights moved up to Class 2A last season and found herself in dogfights for not only the title in that event but the long jump as well with Wabaunsee's Lauren Schutter – a two-time state champion – and Pittsburg Colgan's Lily Brown. Olberding couldn't conquer either of the two to bring home a state title, but gave both all she had in taking second in each event despite posting season bests. Olberding went 17-3.25 in the long jump to finish behind Schutter's 17-6.5 and then went  37-0.75 in the triple jump to finish behind Brown's 37-6.75.
 

KAITLYN OTROSZKO, OLATHE SOUTH

Otroszko won the state championship in Class 6A high jump last year, earning the edge over four other jumpers that cleared 5 feet, 4 inches by accomplishing the leap on her first attempt. Of that group of four, only state runner-up Reese Hulcher of Free State returns to challenge Otroszko as both seniors look to complete their high school careers in the top spot for high jump.
 

 
BREANNE PETERS, SMOKY VALLEY
 
Peters raised her career state medal count to six last season with four top-six finishes, including a victory in the Class 3A 200 meters. Peters’ winning time of 26.51 edged Phillipsburg’s Heather Schemper by .26. The Viking junior also finished second in the 3A 100 (12.31) and pole vault (10-6), and sixth in the long jump 16-6.25. Peters was third at state in the pole vault and sixth in the 100 as a freshman. She set a personal best in the long jump of 18 feet in Smoky Valley’s opening meet, the McPherson County Early Season Invitational.
 

 
CHESNEY PETERSON, STANTON COUNTY
 
Peterson joined the legendary Jackie Stiles to become just the second girl in Kansas track and field history to sweep the four distance races at state, winning 2A titles in the 400 (1:00.15.), 800 (2:18.70), 1,600 (4:54.00) and 3,200 (10:52.65) last year. The 1,600 time was a personal best and set a Class 2A meet record. Her other personal records are 57.52 in the 400, 2:10.78 in the 800 and 10:45.05 in the 3,200. She was named 2022 Kansas Gatorade Female Track and Field Athlete of the Year. As a sophomore, Peterson won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 and also ran a leg on Stanton County’s champion 1,600 relay team. Peterson is also a three-time state cross country champion. She has signed with the University of Tennessee.

 

AARION PICKENS, LEAVENWORTH

Pickens established herself as one of the top shot put throwers in the state last year as a sophomore, becoming one of just nine throwers to top 41 feet. Though Pickens couldn't hit her season-best mark of 41 feet, 9 inches at state, she easily captured her first Class 5A state title. Her throw of 38-6.25 was just more than a foot better than runner-up Taryn Warren of Great Bend.
 

VICTORIA REED, LAWRENCE

A state medalist in the Class 5A 100 as a freshman in 2021 for Topeka West, Reed transferred to Highland Park last year and became a state champion. The speedy sprinter showed a bit of staying power in winning her 5A state title, taking the crown not in the 100, but the 400 where she blew away the field to win by a second and a half in 58.04, Her prelim time of 57.74 ranked fifth in the state overall and Reed also placed sixth in the 200. She'll move up to Class 6A this year after transferring to Lawrence prior to this season.
 

JENESSA RUDER, NORTON

Ruder was the Class 3A javelin state champion last year as a sophomore, winning the title on a throw of 141 feet, 10 inches. She was also the regional and Mid-Continent League champion in javelin, setting a personal record at 142 in the regional meet at Phillipsburg. It was a huge year of improvement for Ruder, who didn’t qualify for state as a freshman. Her personal record of 142 ranked sixth on last year's state honor roll. 
KATELYN RUPE, SALINA CENTRAL
 
Rupe, a sophomore, quickly established herself as one of the state’s top distance runners last spring, posting quality times throughout the season on the way to winning Class 5A titles in the 1,600 and 3,200. It was a bit of an unconventional path for the Mustang, who elected to play tennis instead of run cross country in the fall as a freshman due to a district policy limiting her participation to one sport. At the State Outdoors, she got the double with times of 5:08.08 in the 1,600 and 10:47.60 in the 3,200. Rupe highlighted her first cross country season with a 5A state victory in October at Lawrence’s Rim Rock Farm, winning by more than a minute. She opened this track season with a distance sweep at the Saline County Invitational, clocking a personal-best 5:03.96 in the 1,600.

 

 
MADDIE SCHRANDT, ANDALE
 
Another of Andale’s multi-sport standouts, Schrandt earned triple gold at last year’s State Outdoors with victories in the Class 4A 200, 400 and 1,600-meter relay. She led the Indians’ 1-2 sweep with Betsy Reichenberger in the 200 with a time of 26.21. Schrandt was tested by 2021 champion Delaney Wright of Louisburg in the 400, but won in 59.09 before anchoring Andale’s 1,600-meter relay to a winning time of 4:09.89. Schrandt also took third in the 400 at state as a sophomore. 
 

ADRYANNA SHELBY, WICHITA NORTHWEST
 
Shelby made a big leap from her freshman to sophomore season, emerging as one of the state’s top hurdlers with a Class 6A title in the 300-meter hurdles and runner-up finish in the 100 hurdles. The Northwest junior set a personal best of 45.26 in the 300 hurdles preliminaries before winning the final in 46.66 – an improvement on her fourth-place finish as a freshman. After setting a PR of 15.01 to win the Greater Wichita Athletic League 100 hurdles title, Shelby was second to Olathe Northwest’s Olivia Cooper at state.
 

ASHLEY SINGHATEH, EUREKA
 
Singhateh helped the Tornadoes finish second in the Class 3A team competition at the State Outdoors with a hurdles sweep last May. She won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.86 and the 300 hurdles in 44.88, and added a third-place finish in the 100 (12.44). All three times were personal bests. The victories were part of a sister act, as the now-graduated Abby added a win in the 3A shot put. Ashley also won Tri Valley League titles in the 100, 200 and both hurdles events. 
 

TOREE SLAVIK, THUNDER RIDGE

Slavik became a two-time state champion in discus last year, launching a personal-best throw of 134 feet, 4 inches to capture the 1A title. The throw ranked fifth in all classes on the final state honor roll.  She won the discus title with a 117-11 as a sophomore. Also a basketball and volleyball standout, Slavik will continue her track and field career at the University of Nebraska-Kearney next year.
 

JA’ASIA STAFFORD, WALLACE COUNTY

Stafford won the Class 1A shot put state championship last year as a sophomore with a throw of 38 feet, 11.25 inches, edging Osborne’s Grace William’s 36-6.75. She was also the regional and Northwest Kansas League champ in shot put. Her best throw of the season was 40-5. Stafford was runner-up at state as a freshman with a throw of 38-5.5.

 

HAYLEY TROTTER, CLEARWATER
 
Trotter will try to punctuate a stellar cross country and track career on the oval this spring before heading off to compete collegiately at Nebraska. The two-time Class 4A cross country champion notched her second state title in the 800 meters last spring, winning in 2:22.27. She also won her first 1,600-meter title, posting a time of 5:10.03 to outduel runner-up Elyssa Frieze of Chapman by more than eight seconds. Trotter’s best time of 2:12.36 in the 800 ranks 12^th all-time in Kansas. 
 

RACHEL VAN GORP, OLATHE HERITAGE CHRISTIAN

More acclaimed as one of the top volleyball players in the state who has led Heritage Christian to three straight state championships, Van Gorp can more than hold her own on the track as well. The leaping ability that she displays in volleyball was on full display at the State Outdoors as she easily soared to the Class 3A state title in the long jump with a mark of 18 feet, 8.25 inches that was nearly a full foot and a half better than runner-up Eva Peschel of Marysville (17-4). It ranked as the second-best jump in the state last year behind Hutchinson's Sarah Schwartz's 19-1 and tops at the state meet. Van Gorp also flashed her speed, taking third in the 200 and fourth in the 100 at state and holds the school records in both events (12.55 in the 100, 26.15 in the 200).
 

 
EMMA WEINER, GOLDEN PLAINS

The junior will look to add to an already decorated distance runner career. She won the Class 1A state title in the 3,200 last year with an 11:53.14 after winning the 1,600 as a freshman in 5:26.24. She was runner-up in the 1,600 last year and placed second in the 3,200 as a freshman. Weiner is also a two-time state champion in cross country, notably winning the race with a broken fibula as a sophomore.

 

 
LANDRY ZOELLER, BLUE VALLEY-RANDOLPH
 
Runner-up in the Class 1A triple jump in 2021 to Jackson Heights' Kanyon Olberding, Zoeller saw Olberding and Heights move up to 2A last season and took advantage of the opportunity. Zoeller was 1A's top triple jumper all season and upheld that distinction at state, going 37 feet, .25 inches to win by 7.75 inches over Golden Plains' Breanna Rath, who also returns this season. Zoeller also took fifth in the long jump with a 16-10 after being the top 1A performer in that event going into the state meet with a season-best of 17-9.