Whenever Bryce Barkdull begins competing in the pole vault, all eyes are on the Andover Central senior standout.
 
As the all-time best in Kansas history in the event, that’s bound to happen. People want to see what’s going to happen next.
 
That attention was perhaps even heightened just a bit at last week’s Kansas Relays in Lawrence. For starters, his cheering section had some increased numbers with his older brother Ashton and his University of Kansas pole vault teammates – Bryce’s future teammates as well after signing with KU earlier this year – there to show their support.
 
But there was also some curiosity from track enthusiasts – and perhaps even Barkdull himself -- as to how he would respond to a stunning performance in his previous meet. At the Shocker Pre-State Challenge in Wichita a week earlier, Barkdull pulled his own shocker.
 
He passed until the bar reached 16 feet and then promptly missed on all three of his attempts to no-height at the meet.
 
“It was bad,” Barkdull said. “It really set me back. I was more angry at myself than anything. That I couldn’t push through a cross wind. I should have been able to jump at a decent level, but I just wasn’t prepared. That was my fault. It was all mental. I need to be able to get out of my head and push through and have a good day.”
 
Apparently the old adage that “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” applies to Barkdull. Not only did he bounce back at the KU Relays, but did so in record-setting fashion.
 
With conditions ideal – both from a weather and competition standpoint – Barkdull didn’t disappoint, treating his future teammates and other fans that had gathered on the west side of Rock Chalk Park to a show.
 
Battling fellow 17-footer Caelan Harland of Macon (Mo.), Barkdull reached new heights in his illustrious career. He cleared 17 feet, 7 inches on his third attempt to win the title, set a new personal and Kansas all-time best record and also took down the KU Relays record of 17-5.25 set by former World and American record holder Joe Dial of Marlow (Okla.).
 
Barkdull missed on all three attempts to clear 18 feet for the first time in his career, but was nothing but ecstatic about his performance.
 
“Today was about redemption,” he said. “It was all mental. I just needed to get out of my head, push through and have a good day.
 
“Today I just wanted to stay healthy and stay pain-free, maybe set a new PR. It was a great day, great tailwind and jumping with my friend Caelen, it was overall a great day. Great conditions to PR. It was just so awesome jumping in front of the KU vaulters as a future Jayhawk. It was so much pressure, but so much fun.”
 
Just as he did at the Pre-State Challenge, Barkdull waited until the bar was at 16 feet (16-1.25, technically) to join the competition. By that time, the field was down to just him and Harland, who came in at 15-7.25 and missed his first attempt before clearing his second attempt easily and then getting over 16-1.25 on his second attempt as well.
 
If there was any lingering mental hangover for Barkdull, it didn’t show. He easily cleared his opening 16-1.25 height and then cruised over 16-7.25 on his first attempt, too.
 
The bar then went to 17-1 and Harlan was the first to get over, clearing the height on his second attempt. Barkdull matched his rival, also getting over on his second attempt. 
 
Harland’s presence at the meet certainly forced Barkdull to be on top of his game and was something the Jaguar relished.
 
“The first time I jumped against him was at Pittsburg State, an indoor meet my sophomore year,” Barkdull said of Harland, who he joined at an indoor meet in New Mexico in February that saw three vaulters clear 17 feet, along with Texan Dyson Wicker. “He’s been a 16-footer since two years ago and we’ve both been climbing up to the top ranks. It’s been really fun jumping together and we’ve become closer. It’s really fun to jump with him.”
 
Harland missed on all three attempts once the bar was moved to 17-7. Barkdull missed on his first two attempts at the height, the second of those misses seeing the bar just barely fall off as Barkdull narrowly clipped it.
 
Sometimes, that’s the one shot a vaulter or jumper can get at a never-before-reached height. But Barkdull ensured that wasn’t the case this time, and despite clipping the bar on his way up and over, it stayed on the standards and he had his clearance to improve his PR by almost an inch.
 
It also was the top high school vault in the United States this year, topping Samuel Abati of San Antonio (Texas) Reagan by an inch.
 

 
“I was on a new pole and if I lined it up right, I could get over the bar,” said Barkdull, who emphatically pumped his fist after he hit the mat on his clearance. “I had top put a very good attempt at it and honestly, it was exhilarating. It was a little lucky as I hit the bar on the way up and way down, but it was just the right pop to get over it and it was a great attempt.
 
“I just needed my redemption from that barely missed bar. I couldn’t wait. I saw a good tailwind coming and I was like, ‘OK, let’s go. We need to take this.’ I got it together and got it done.”
 
Barkdull never really got off a good attempt at 18-1, but feels the new threshold isn’t far off. He’s spent much of the season battling a balky right knee that had hampered his conditioning and his take-off.
 
“I need to get back to conditioning,” Barkdull said. “We’ve got the Shawnee Mission North Relays in two weeks and that should be a really fun meet. I’m making Caelan go to that meet, too. Should be a lot of good competition. I’ve got two weeks to get in good shape to not be tired for my biggest bars. That’s the goal.
 
“It just means we’ve got a lot left in the tank.”

OTHER BOYS TRACK AND FIELD STANDOUTS

• Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Jack Guthridge won the 400 meters Saturday at the Kansas Relays with a time of 47.57 – the eighth-fastest time in Kansas track and field history and best in the state this season by 1.60 seconds. Guthridge also shares the top time in the state this spring with Seaman’s Aaron Merritt in the 100 (10.52) and leads the 200 in 21.25. At the KU Relays, he also teamed with Daniel Enriquez, Will Niederee and Nathan Thengvall to set a school record in the distance medley relay. The Crusaders posted a time of 10:19.98 to finish third and were the top finishing team from Kansas. Enriquez, Niederee, Tim Rowell and Andrew Guyer also set a school record in the 6,400-meter relay, finishing seventh in 18:05.73.

• Central-Burden senior Ben Long won the 300-meter hurdles in a school-record time of 41.7 seconds at Caldwell’s Border Queen meet on April 16. Long also finished second in the 110 hurdles in 16.37, a hundredth of a second behind Oxford’s Noel Gardea.

• Andale junior Cooper Marx posted the No. 2 all-time hammer throw in Kansas on Friday on his way to a sweep of three field-event titles at the Clearwater Invitational. Marx’s winning throw of 193 feet, 10 inches trails only the 200-3 posted by Wichita Homeschool’s John Talbert in 2007. Marx also won the shot put by 4 feet with a throw of 50-7.5 and took the discus title with a toss of 150-5.

• Ell-Saline senior Brogan Rowley matched his career-best high jump, clearing 6-10 on Monday to win the Saline County Invitational title. Rowley, the Class 2A leader, tied Maize’s Alan Hanna and Blue Valley Southwest’s Kaleb Tesmer for the top height in Kansas this spring.

• Wichita Northwest senior Jalil Cooper posted Class 6A’s fastest 100-meter time this season, winning the Campus Invitational on Friday in 10.60. Cooper also won the 200 in 22.04.

• Circle senior Blake Logan re-set his school record in the 3,200 with his 17^th place finish at the Kansas Relays, running 9:23.68.

• Hutchinson Central Christian junior Jayden Linscheid tied a 42-year-old school record in the high jump on Tuesday, clearing 6-5 at the CKTL meet in Burrton.
 
 
GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD STANDOUTS

• Salina South junior Tamia Cheeks won four events at a meet for the second time in four days Monday, taking the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles, high jump and triple jump titles at the Saline County Invitational. Cheeks, who swept the same four events at the Buhler Invitational on Friday, won the 100 hurdles in 15.89, the 300s in 48.95, the high jump in 5-2 and the triple jump in 35-5. Cheeks’ teammate, senior Aunisty McNeal, claimed a trio of field-event titles, winning the discus (116-5), shot put (33-9.5) and javelin (96-7).

• Smoky Valley senior Breanne Peters won four events Friday at Halstead’s Conrad Nightingale Invitational, including a personal-best 11 feet, 9 inches in the pole vault. Peters, last year’s Class 3A runner-up, posted the third-best vault in Kansas this spring, trailing only Mill Valley’s Makenna Payne and reigning 3A champ Shellamae Farmer of Hoisington, who cleared 12-0. Peters also won the 100 in 12.41, the 200 in 26.12 and the triple jump in 36-2.5.

• Campus senior BreAna Garrett-Tillemans won four events Friday at the Campus Invitational, re-setting her school record in the 300 hurdles with a time of 45.68. Garrett-Tillemans also won the 100 in 12.33, the 200 in 25.63 and anchored the Colts’ 1,600 relay to a time of 4:11.32.

• Caney Valley junior Taylor Thibault set a school record in the discus with her winning throw of 116-7 on Thursday at the Fredonia Relays.

• Hutchinson Central Christian sophomore Jessa Losew increased her personal best in the high jump to 5-7 on Tuesday in the CKTL meet at Burrton. Losew’s mark matches Lakin’s Aryn Michaelis for the second best in Kansas this season behind Lawrence’s Paige Platt, who cleared 5-8.