When Ethan Burton saw Council Grove’s upgraded track schedule for the 2023 season, the senior sprinter admitted, he was downright giddy.
 
Coming off a junior season where he broke the Braves’ school records in the 100 and 200 and posted top-four finishes at state in those events, he was ready for a bigger challenge. And with the addition of the ESU High School Relays to start the season and the Shocker Pre-State Challenge a week later, Burton was getting exactly what he wanted.
 
“Normally we hit the smaller meets and it kind of feels like those bigger meets really help you perform at your best because you have to perform at your best to win,” Burton said. “Elite competition. Elite results.”
 
Safe to say, Burton has risen to the challenge he desperately sought.
 
After finishing second to Maize standout Bryce Cohoon – last year’s Class 5A 100 champion and 200 runner-up – in both races at Emporia State, Burton made a huge statement in Wichita. Running the in Elite 100 and 200, Burton swept both titles.
 
He won the 100 in 10.86 seconds, just .01 off his career best, and then added the 200 title in 22.33. In both races, he beat Wichita Collegiate’s Jaden Mitchell, the defending Class 3A state champion and 2023 3A leader in the 100.
 
“I’d be lying if I said he hasn’t been in my head a little bit,” Burton said of Mitchell, who has a season-best of 10.80 in the 100, but ran an 11.09 at the Shocker meet. “Last year, I raced him at regionals and beat him there, but at state I didn’t run my best and he got me. It was definitely nice to see where he’s at and where I’m at. Where my best competition is at.”
 
The showing in Wichita was a bit of redemption for Burton, who left Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium a bit disappointed after his performance at last year’s State Outdoors. He finished fourth in the 100 at the state meet behind Mitchell and Southeast of Saline teammates Michael Murray and Chase Poague and then was runner-up in the 200 to Burlington’s Ty Anderson by .20 seconds.
 
Even though his junior season saw him break Council Grove’s school record in the 100 (his 10.85 at state topping Brent Smitheran’s 10.9), tie the 200 record of 22.4 (held by Bobby Reddick) and help the 400 relay to a school record as well with a 43.78, he wasn’t satisfied in the least.
 
“I didn’t finish where I wanted to or felt like I should have in the 100,” Burton said. “When I left last year I had a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. It felt pretty good to go back there and get the right vibe going there.”
 
A motivated Burton has produced a big senior school year. In the fall, Burton helped Council Grove’s football team to arguably its best season in school history as the Braves went 7-3 and hosted and won its first playoff game in program history. He earned first-team All-2A honors and is a Missouri Western football signee.
 
He then helped Council Grove’s powerlifting team to the Class 2A state title, winning a state championship in the hang clean with a 300-pound lift.
 
In just three meets this spring, Burton has already broken the tie he had for the 200 record, running a 22.14 in his runner-up finish to Cohoon at ESU, which is the second-fastest mark in the state to Cohoon’s 21.83. In addition to sweeping the 100 and 200 in Wichita, he swept both titles at Tuesday’s Royal Valley Invitational and also teamed with Jace Goodman, Ahmed Mansaray and Loup Charlier to break the Braves’ 400 relay record with a 43.73.
 
 His sights are set on getting his times down to a 10.6-10.7 in the 100 and sub-22 in the 200. Oh, and a pair of state titles in those events in May.
 
“I’m just a good weather meet away,” Burton said. “My mentality going into this season is just on a different level from last year and all those things have helped me gain confidence. Last year I went into the season just hoping to make it to state. Now I want to win it all.”
 
Council Grove coach Derron Reddick doesn’t mince words when he calls Burton the best sprinter in school history. And he should know since his dad, Bobby, set the standard when he was in high school.
 
“He is the best sprinter we’ve ever had,” Reddick said. “I think the big difference for him this year in track has been his evolution in his confidence and in the weight room. You can tell just by looking at him now, he stands out as someone that’s put in the work in the offseason.
 
“He’s always had a great kick there at the end of his sprint race, but his block starts were his weakest point. Now that may be the strongest portion of his race. He’s turned a lot of weaknesses into his strengths and in the first two meets, you saw that. At state last year, he was running people down. Now he’s getting out front in the lead early. He’s really evolved a lot.”
 
Burton wasn’t Council Grove’s lone winner at the Shocker meet. Kodi Downes won the men’s 2,000 steeplechase with a 6:43.36. Evan Carr won the 1A-3A triple jump with a 41-9.
 

 
TRACK AND FIELD
 

• Doniphan West’s Claire Cole set a pair of school records at the Atchison Invitational last Friday. She broke her own school record in the 300 hurdles with a time of 48.72, topping her previous best of 48.82. With a leap of 35 feet, 8.75 inches, Cole broke the old school mark of 35-8.25 set by Kenzie Blevins in 2013. Cole also won the high jump at 5-2 and was second in the 100 hurdles.
• Records were falling in Atchison as Holton’s Brayden Peek broke the Wildcats’ 31-year-old record in the 400 with a 50.87. The previous school record was a 51.10 set by Monte Carlson in 1992. Peek, a sophomore, ranks 10^th in the state this year and has the third-best time in 4A, and he also won the high jump at the Atchison meet with a 6-2 clearance.
• Running against mostly bigger schools at the Riley County Freezin’ Falcon Meet, Washington County’s Addy Goeckel swept the girls’ hurdle titles. She won the 100s in 16.08 to break her own school record by .01 seconds. She also won the 300s in 49.6. The Tiger girls also got wins from Lillee Richard in the pole vault with a career-best 9-6 and Jesse Hoover in the javelin with a 113-2. Payton LeDuc added a win for the boys in the javelin with a 155-0 throw.
• Hiawatha’s foursome of Felix McCartney, Camden Bachman, Jordan Hodge and Riley Gibbs took second in the elite 3,200 relay at the Pre-State Shocker meet last week, posting a time of 8:24.27 that is the best in Class 3A this season.
• Shawnee Heights’ Jackson Esquibel set a pair of school records at the Lansing Invitational last Friday. Esquibel broke a 34-year-old school record in the 3,200 with a time of 9:31.56, taking .34 seconds off the old mark of 9:31.9. He also set the 1,600 record with a 4:23.37, .68 seconds faster than the previous record.
• Royal Valley’s Samantha Klotz broke the Panthers’ 25-year-old school record in the long jump with a leap of 18 feet, 1 inch at the Royal Valley Invitational. The jump was a personal-best by nearly a foot for Klotz and is the fourth-best in the state overall this season. Royal Valley’s old school record in the event was a 17-7.5 set by Sara Murray in 1998.
• At the Nemaha Central Invitational on Tuesday, Centralia’s Raegan Becker broke her own school record in the high jump with a winning clearance of 5-4.5, topping her old record by a half inch. Her jump is the fourth-best in the state this year.

 
 
SOCCER
 

• After going 9-6 last season, Piper is off to a 7-1 start and picked up a huge win on Tuesday with a 1-0 victory over previously undefeated Seaman. The win avenged a season-ending loss to the Vikings in last year’s regional semifinals, which the Vikings won 6-2. Piper has won six straight since a 2-0 loss to 6A Shawnee Mission Northwest to start the season and has been led by Ella Buff, who has 9 goals and 2 assists after getting just 4 goals all of last season.
• Seaman had opened the season 6-0 before falling to Piper on Tuesday. The Vikings had picked up big wins over Manhattan (3-1) to start the season and Cair Paravel (3-2) and Shawnee Heights (2-1).
• After going 1-1-1 in its first three games, Cair Paravel has won six straight to improve to 7-1-1. That included a championship in the Red Division at the Wichita South Titan Classic with the Lions beating Wichita Southeast 3-0 in the championship match. Through six games, sophomore Zahra Friess had scored 12 goals while Katherine Keys and KellyAnn Chada each had five goals.
• Washburn Rural secured a big win in its quest to run its Centennial League title streak to 10 in the last 11 years, beating Manhattan 3-0 on April 6. The Junior Blues are 6-1 overall with the lone loss coming to 5A power Blue Valley Southwest, 2-0 – the only goals Rural has allowed this season.

 
 
GOLF
 

• Santa Fe Trail’s Lane Workman won the title at the Manhattan Invitational, firing a 73 to win by two shots over Washburn Rural’s Andrew Burdett. Manhattan won the tourney title with a 318, edging Rural by one shot.
• In his first high school tournament, Manhattan freshman Cade Cochran fired a 75 at the Washburn Rural Invitational at Wamego Country Club to tied for seventh. Shawnee Heights’ Alex Valdivia carded a 74 and tied for third, three shots behind Olathe West’s Nick Nickloy and Blue Valley Northwest’s Dominic Matteoni, who posted 71s.
• Valdivia had won the title at Heights’ home meet on April 4, shooting a 77 to win by three shots over Hayden’s Tagen Rodriguez, who had a career-low 80. Heights won the team title with a 336.
• Silver Lake’s Bryce Badsky won the title at the Sabetha Invitational, shooting a 73 to win by four shots over Sabetha’s Roman Scoby. Scoby led a 2-3 finish with teammate Cullen Wikle as the Bluejays won the team title with a 330, 23 shots better than Hayden.
• Centralia’s Drew Gibbs took the title at the Frankfort Invitational with an 80, three shots better than Onaga’s Eli Oliver. The Buffaloes won the team title with a 347 with Oliver leading a 2-3-4 finish with Konnor Nider and Graham Valburg.

 
 
SWIMMING
 

• Leavenworth picked up three state-qualifying relay times in its first meet of the season as Chloe Thompson, Alyssa Stenerson, Alex Howell and Liz Howell made the cut in the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle relays. Thompson added state-qualifying times in the 200 and 500 freestyles and Alex Howell added state times in the 500 freestyle and 100 backstroke at the Pioneers’ second meet.
• Topeka High’s Brianna Devlin posted the highest six-dive score in Class 6A in winning the event at the Topeka High Invitational on April 5. Devlin posted a score of 241.45.
• Seaman’s Avery Walz won the 500 freestyle at the Topeka High meet with a time of 5:20.06 that ranks fourth-best in 5-1A this season. Walz also ranks No. 2 in 5-1A in the 200 individual medley with a season-best of 2:10.65 and third in the 100 breaststroke at 1:08.45. Sister Tauren Walz won the 200 IM at the Topeka meet in 2:16.17, which is seventh-best in 5-1A this season.
• Washburn Rural’s Makenna Pritchard won the 100 freestyle at Topeka in 57.42, and ranks fifth in 6A overall with a previous time of 55.38.