For someone who had never won a state championship during an otherwise stellar first two seasons, Payton Wurtz came into her junior year at Wabaunsee with somewhat of a target on her back.
 
The expectation, from many, was that with the graduation of Stanton County’s Chesney Peterson, the mantle of Class 2A’s premier distance runner would be passed on to Wurtz.
 
For good reason. In each of her first two cross country and track seasons, Peterson had been just about the only thing standing between Wurtz already wearing that title. As a freshman and sophomore, the Charger standout finished runner-up to Peterson in state cross country twice and in track had logged six runner-up finishes in eight state track events – five of those coming against Peterson.
 
With Peterson now running for Tennessee, the natural assumption was that Wurtz would begin stockpiling gold medals of her own.
 
“I definitely felt that pressure during cross country season,” Wurtz said. “I think that for me, my junior year has been the biggest mental and physical struggle I’ve ever had to face. During cross country, I got injured and that didn’t help matters. And then I feel like I had such a spiritual block around me that I wasn’t able to push past.
 
“I was just struggling to figure out who I was.”
 
Thanks to a transformation this spring, Wurtz not only found out who she was, but also found herself where many expected her to be – atop the podium at the State Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
 
Wurtz not only secured the first gold medal of her career, but came away with three of them.

"To be standing here fully rooted in the lord and with three gold medals is the best feeling,” Wurtz said after winning the Class 2A 800 and anchoring the Chargers’ gold-medal 1,600 and 3,200 relays. “I can’t thank my team, my coaches and my family enough for just everything they’ve done to support me.”
 

 
Even though Wurtz had a cross country season most would dream of, winning four of her six races going into state, it was still a labored effort. She battled injuries that kept her from approaching her times as a junior and it caught up with her a bit at state when she slipped from two straight runner-up finishes to a fifth-place showing.
 
While she was able to physically heal heading into the spring track season, mentally she was still not where she wanted to be. Seeking her identity, Wurtz found it in multiple places.
 
For starters, she turned her life over to God, entrusting him to help her find her way.
 
“I felt the pressure slowly slipping away the closer I drew my heart to God,” Wurtz said. “When I stepped on the track this weekend, I didn’t feel like I had to live up to (Peterson)) or any expectations that people had. I knew that I was my own person.
 
“And she actually helped me through a lot of this. She’s been a great mentor and is such a great person.”
 
She also took a different approach to how she wanted her junior track season to look. For her first two years, Wurtz had focused primarily on individual events, running each and every distance from the 200 to the 3,200, setting school records across the board, earning state runner-up finishes twice in the 400, 1,600 and 3,200 and top-four finishes in the 800.
 
But as a junior, just as she put her trust in God, she also put her trust in teammates. Instead of concentrating solely on those individual events she’d for the most part dominated in the past, she found strength in joining her teammates on the Chargers’ 1,600 and 3,200 relays.
 
“For so long, I thought it was just me and that it was only about me and track wasn’t really a team sport,” said Wurtz, who gave up the 400 and 3,200 this spring and concentrated solely on the 800 and 1,600 in addition to the relays. “As I started running through this season with those girls, they really showed me what hard work looks like and they gave me something to run for. In return, I was getting more confident and myself.” 
 

 
Wurtz teamed with seven different Charger teammates to continuously re-write the school records in the 1,600 and 3,200 relays.
 
Joined by freshman Grace Zeller on both relays, the duo teamed with senior Alexus Ford and freshman Talen Orton on the 1,600 all season with the foursome running a 2A all-time state record of 4:00.69 late in the season that ranked sixth overall in the state this year behind four 6A teams and a 5A one.
 
In the 3,200 relay, Wabaunsee used multiple combinations that included Wurtz, Zeller, Ford, junior Isabelle Stuhlsatz, senior Sophia Castillo and freshman Adalynn Miller throughout the season, knocking more than 30 seconds off the school record in that event going into the year.
 
The latter of those got Wurtz’s triple crown day going in a big way. The Charger foursome of Zeller, Miller, Stuhlsatz and Wurtz dominated the 2A 3,200 relay, breaking the 10-minute barrier for the first time this season with a 9:56.14 that gave them a 12-second win over Sacred Heart.
 

 
With her first state gold in hand, Wurtz went after her first individual titles at state and got it done in the one event in which she hadn’t posted a runner-up finish at past state meets. After a fourth-place finish in a deep 1,600 field, Wurtz struck gold in the 800, posting a career-best 2:16.16 to finish two-plus seconds ahead of Smith Center freshman Madison Howland, who snagged state titles in the 1,600 and 3,200.
 

 
Wurtz then closed out the state meet with her third gold in the 1,600 relay, teaming with Zeller, Ford and Orton to win in 4:03.43, six-plus seconds ahead of runner-up Inman. The final victory also helped Wabaunsee secure a a third-place finish in the 2A team standings and a state trophy.
 
An emotional Wurtz embraced her relay teammates after that final race, the magnitude of her accomplishments and the culmination of her year-long journey hitting her all at once.
 
“It’s truly a blessing to be where I’m at right now,” Wurtz said. “I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without them.”
 

 
WASHINGTON COUNTY EASILY DEFENDS 1A TEAM TITLE
 
Returning every member of last year’s Class 1A state championship team, Washington County wore the tag of overwhelming favorite to bring home the title again this spring.
 
And the Tigers wore it well.
 
Getting four event champions – one more than a year ago – Washington County left no doubt about who the best team in 1A was this season. The Tigers finished with 59 points, four more than last year, and beat runner-up and Twin Valley League rival Clifton-Clyde by 11 points for the crown.
 
“I love the atmosphere our track team gives,” said junior Addy Goeckel, who led the charge for the Tigers for the second straight year with a pair of individual state titles. “I think our school really supports us nicely and on our state sendoff, going down main street, there were double the amount of people that were there last year. It made me so happy and so proud of me and my teammates.”
 
“We came in with a goal,” senior Lillee Richard said, “and we were going to reach it. Whatever it took.”
 
A year ago in sweeping the Class 1A hurdle titles, Goeckel was pushed in a big way in the 100 hurdles before cruising to a fairly easy victory in the 300s. On Saturday, the script was somewhat different.
 
Once again Goeckel had to contend with South Gray’s Kylie Stapleton for the 100 hurdles crown. A year ago, she nipped the Rebel standout by a mere .02 seconds to win in 15.42. And with Stapleton qualifying first for the finals this year with a 15.77, a little off her 1A-leading time of 15.23, Goeckel knew the challenge would be great.
 
But once again, she answered the call. Goeckel pulled away in the middle of the race and held off Stapleton to defend her title, this year winning by a comfortable margin of .33 seconds with her time of 15.48.
 
“Sometimes there’s a lot of doubt when you’ve been on the top and you’re not sure you’re going to stay there,” Goeckel said. “But I persevered and got it done. My plan was just to run the best that I can and even though I didn’t get my best time, I felt like I attacked the hurdles much more competitively in the finals than I did in the prelims.”
 

 
In winning the 300 hurdles title last year, Goeckel cruised to a win of more than a second and a half over Twin Valley League rival Claire Cole of Doniphan West. She didn’t have that same cushion this year, but still had no trouble defending her title, winning in 46.31 with Ness City’s Taegin Liggett second in 47.00.
 
In that race, Goeckel also got to celebrate a third-place finish by freshman sister Anna, who missed out on making finals in the 100s.
 
“Anna helped me push myself every single day,” Goeckel said. “(Her running hurdles as well), that was mom’s idea. I guess she thinks hurdles are in the Goeckel blood. I’m not sure it is, but we do it.”
 
With four state gold medals and one season to go, it’s safe to say hurdling is in the blood.
 

 
Washington County got its team title defense started with an individual title defense by Richard in the pole vault.
 
Last year’s state champion with a clearance of 10-6 and winning on misses over Quinter’s Mia Briggs, Richard had a healthy dose of competition in trying to win a second straight, going into the state meet tied for the 1A lead with four others – Bucklin’s Tristan Stout and Sydnie Jones, Onaga’s Lillie Weiser and South Gray’s Jacee Deges – who all had a season-best of 10-6.
 
While Richard passed until the bar reached 10 feet, the field wasn’t exactly trimmed by the time she entered the competition. In fact, when she made her first attempt at 10-0, clearing it, Richard was one of eight vaulters still left in a tight competition with Stout, Clifton-Clyde’s Jordan Fahey, Briggs and Bucklin’s Whitney Scott all perfect up to that height.
 
And when the bar went to 10-6, there were still eight vaulters left with Richard, Stout and Fahey still without a missed attempt on the day.
 

 
“It was really tough,” Richard said. “There were a lot of great vaulters in 1A this year and winning wasn’t going to be easy.”
 
The 10-6 height, however, thinned the crowd quickly. All eight of the vaulters missed on their first attempts. Richard got a leg up, making her second attempt – a clearance that ultimately decided the title.
 
Only Trout was able to join her with a clearance at 10-6, getting over on her third try. Neither could get over at 11 feet, giving Richard her second straight title.
 
“It was mentally tough this year but I pushed through and reached my goal,” Richard said. “It was mentally trying to get everything together with my body and doing what I wanted to do. I’m very pleased with how I jumped. It was a good way to end my senior year.”
 

 
Goeckel and Richard were joined as event champions by junior teammate Jesse Hoover. A year ago, Hoover was one of the favorites in the 1A javelin going into the state meet, holding the 1A lead by nearly seven feet.
 
But an off day by Hoover and a career day from Macksville’s Mayce Russell – who set the 1A meet record with a throw of 144-3 – made for a somewhat disappointing showing for Hoover, who finished fourth.
 
“I didn’t throw my best so I was disappointed in myself,” Hoover said. “It make me work so much harder this year and all week in practice I was like, ‘I got it. I got it.’ I had to buckle down and get it.”
 
To get the title this year, Hoover had to beat Russell, who was back after her record-setting performance a year ago. In addition, Northern Heights’ Jaitlyn Johnson held the 1A lead this season with a best of 129-4.
 
Despite not coming close to her career best this season, Hoover rose to the occasion. She uncorked a throw of 131-0 on her first attempt to put a solid mark out there and apply pressure to the field. Nobody could catch her.
 
Johnson fouled on all three attempts in prelims while Russell managed just a best of 129-3, that coming on her final throw. By that time, Hoover had improved her lead to a 132-9 as she claimed her first state title.
 
“I was pleased I could get it out there and get off to a good start on my first throw,” Hoover said.
 
Hoover and Addy Goeckel teamed with Kiersten Tholstrup and Alyssa Jueneman to add a sixth in the 400 relay and both Goeckels joined Tholstrup and McKenzie Baker for a runner-up finish in the 1,600 relay.
 
A repeat in hand, Washington County can already entertain thoughts of going after a three-peat next year. Richard and Tholstrup were the only two seniors on this year’s state team.
 
“I’m excited for next year already,” Hoover said. “I think we have a lot of potential to do it again.”
 
 

 
BELOIT’S SEYFERT GETS COVETED 3A SHOT PUT RECORD
 
On the best shot put throw of her high school career, Tatum Seyfert never expected to experience some agonizing moments.
 
But as she waited to hear her official mark on her final toss in Friday’s Class 3A shot put competition, that’s exactly what she was feeling. Seyfert had been told she’d thrown far enough to top the 3A meet record, but the longer it took to get the official mark, the more anxious she began to get.
 
“Oh my goodness!” Seyfert said. “They were just taking so long I was nervous it wasn’t going to be a record. I was like, ‘Oh, are you kidding me!’”
 
As agonizing as the wait might have been for the Beloit junior, it was well worth it. After initially being credited with a throw of 46 feet, 2 inches, the official measurement came back with a 45-11.25, just enough to end the agony and break the meet record of 45-10.25 set by Cheney’s Gabby Lavington in 2015.
 
Up to that point, Seyfert was a bit frustrated with her state performance for the second straight year. When she won her first state crown a year ago, Seyfert came into the meet with a season best of just under 45 feet and hoping to challenge Lavington’s mark. Instead, she only managed a best of 42-6.
 
This spring, Seyfert delivered a PR throw of 45-7 at the Trojans’ home Beloit Relays in late April, but once again was coming up well short of that at state. Through her first five attempts at state, Seyfert’s best was a 44-2.75, that coming on her opening attempt.
 
“My first throw, it was looking pretty good,” she said. “But then the next few were pretty rough, so I wasn’t sure I could get the record or not.”
 
With the title well in hand with Nemaha Central’s Cami Dalinghaus her closest challenger at 40-7.5, Seyfert put everything she had into her final attempt. And when she let it go, she knew.
 
“I could tell from the flick off my hand that it was going to go,” she said. “I’ve hit a couple of those in practice, but hadn’t had one unleash yet in a competition. Hearing 46-2 was really cool and in my head just knowing I got the record.”
 
Even though she accomplished her goal of getting the record, Seyfert said the official measurement did leave her wanting more, coming so close to joining the 46-foot club.
 
“It’s more annoying than anything knowing I’m that close,” Seyfert said. “That’s my goal now.”
 
Seyfert was unable to defend her state title in the discus taking second to Osage City’s Lexi Boss. The two had jostled for the top mark in 3A most of the season with Boss coming into state with the best mark at 144-6 to Seyfert’s 142-6 and the competition was nearly as close with Dalinghaus also jumping into the mix. 
 
Dalinghaus held the lead going into finals with a 132-9, but Seyfert overtook her with a 135-10 on her first finals throw. Boss immediately answered that with a 138-6 to take the event lead and then improved to 139-4 on her second attempt of finals to secure the victory.
 

 
LIKE A BOSS: OSAGE CITY JUNIOR FOLLOWS FAMILY FOOTSTEPS
 
There’s a lot to live up to being a Boss athlete in Osage City.
 
And Lexi Boss certainly doesn’t mind trying to achieve the lofty standards set by her family members.
 
Her father, Lucas, starred at Osage City in multiple sports before playing football for Emporia State. Her mother, Kate (DeBaun), also was a multi-sport standout and is the all-time leading scorer in Indians’ girls basketball history.
 
And older brother Landon, rewrote Osage City record books in football, basketball and track. In the latter, he captured back-to-back Class 3A state titles in the javelin, winning the second of those titles last spring.
 
“He’s one of the greats,” Lexi said. “I’ve looked up to him a lot. He’s been good at everything and so I’m, ‘He’s this and I just need to go a little harder!’ He’s really pushed me to get better.”
 
After this weekend, Lexi can hold her own when the family starts reeling off their athletic achievements. After being a medalist in both the discus (second place) and javelin (eighth place) a year ago, she joined her brother as a state champion on Friday at the State Outdoors.
 
Finishing runner-up to Beloit’s Tatum Seyfert in the Class 3A discus a year ago, Boss flipped the script this year, dethroning the Trojan standout to earn her first state title. Boss, the 3A leader in the event this spring going into state, backed it up with a winning throw of 139-4 to beat Seyfert by three and a half feet.
 
Each had thrown over 140 feet during the regular season – Boss with a season best of 144-6 and Seyfert a 142-6.
 
“It’s been a rewarding season,” Boss said. “From the beginning, I got some good marks and then I started hitting bigger marks, got the school record. Every time I hit one I felt grateful and proud of the hard work I put in.”
 
The 3A field was as deep as any at state and after the prelims, neither Boss nor Seyfert had the event lead. Instead, Nemaha Central’s Cami Dalinghaus held it with a 132-9 prelim throw while teammate Zoey Sudbeck sat second with a 127-10. Boss was right behind with a 127-3 while Seyfert sat fifth at 124-5.
 
But things picked up in the finals. Seyfert struck the first blow, throwing 135-10 on her first attempt of finals. Boss, however, had an immediate answer, going 138-6 on her first finals attempt to take over the event lead.
 
“I was a little nervous, but I kept telling myself, ‘God’s got this,’” Boss said. “I just had to dial in.”
 
Seyfert never topped her first finals throw but Boss put an exclamation point on the title with a 139-4 on her second finals attempt, cementing her first state title.
 
It could be a chore to keep that crown next year. Not only are Seyfert and Dalinghaus both back, Boss’ biggest threat could come from someone she’s even more familiar with. Younger sister Kaelyn.
 
As an eighth-grader this year, Kaelyn threw 132-11 in the discus – a mark that ranked No. 3 in the nation for middle schoolers this spring. She also was No. 2 in the nation in the turbo javelin.
 
“She will be great competition,” Boss said. “It will be great to throw with her next year. She’ll push me to be my best and I’ll push her to be her best. She’ll be pushing me. I can’t let her beat me.”
 
Boss also finished seventh in the javelin with a 125-1.
 

 
MANHATTAN’S PELLANT BLAZES WAY TO 6A 100 RECORD
 
While a higher-than-allowable wind put a little damper on the bevy of record-breaking times posted during Saturday’s 100-meter races, the Class 6A girls caught a break from those conditions.
 
Which made their performances perhaps the most impressive of the sprint session.
 
With an allowable tailwind of 1.3, the 6A girls turned in the fastest 100 race in state meet history as the top-three finishers all broke the meet record of 11.79 set by Olathe North’s Kaliyah McGinnis in 2022.
 
Leading the charge was Manhattan’s Hanna Pellant, who in the morning prelims had tied McGinnis’ meet record, leading a 1-2 qualifying effort with teammate Harli Omli right behind in 11.96.
 
The Indian duo couldn’t quite duplicate the 1-2 finish in the finals as Olathe East’s Damiya Richards slid in between the two for a runner-up finish. It made for a thrilling finale as Pellant won with a blazing-fast time of 11.59 – a mark that ranks No. 6 all-time in state history.
 
As fast as Pellant was, she barely pulled out the win. Richards was just .03 seconds back in second in 11.62 (eighth-best all-time) and Omli was third in 11.70 (11^th all-time).
 
“I wasn’t expecting (to win) at all,” Pellant said. “I was going against some really good competition and everyone was so fast, so I was definitely nervous. I just gave it everything I had and I’m super-happy with the results.”
 

 
Omli also came away from Wichita with a meet record. In Friday’s 200 prelims, Omli posted a time of 23.95 that topped the old 6A meet record of 24.20 set by Wichita Southeast’s Christal Mosley in 2017.
 
But Omli couldn’t add gold to her record as Blue Valley North’s Delia Gregory pulled out a narrow victory in Saturday’s finals with Gregory winning in 24.31 to Omli’s 24.49.
 
Gregory also denied Omli a second straight state title in the 400, breaking Mosley’s meet record of 54.26 with a 53.92 that ranks No. 3 all-time in state history. Omli also broke Mosley’s time in her runner-up finish in 54.21.
 
Omli didn’t go home without a gold medal, though. She and Pellant teamed with Aylani Barron and Sarah Oberreuter to win the 400 relay in 47.90. Pellant also took fourth in the 200.
 

 
CHAPMAN’S FRIEZE OVERCOMES NERVES, LOADED FIELD FOR THIRD 4A 3,200 TITLE
 
As a multi-time, multi-sport state champion, Elyssa Frieze has not only been in plenty of big-time situations, but thrived in them.
 
But that doesn’t mean she’s not a little human.
 
“I came in today a little nervous,” the Chapman standout said of her meet-opening Class 4A 3,200 race on Friday at Cessna Stadium. “A little more than usual.”
 
There were plenty of reasons for that somewhat unexpected anxiety. For starters, Frieze had a title to defend. Two actually, with Frieze capturing the 4A 3,200 title each of the past two springs.
 
But to pull off a three-peat, Frieze was facing a field that included seven of the top-eight placers in last year’s 3,200 race. That included 2023 runner-up Brett Jacobson of Circle, who was less than two seconds behind Frieze a year ago, 2024 4A leader Hanna Keltner of Eudora, who was third last year, and Keltner’s teammate, Sydney Owens, who was fourth last year and won the 4A cross country title in the fall.
 
“Last night, I just sat in our hotel room and told myself, ‘Oh my gosh, tomorrow I’m really going to have to go for it,’” Frieze said. “It was so stacked. … Those races are always so fun to win rather than not having any competition.
 
“But I’d never lost in the two mile and I just thought, ‘Oh my god, it would be awful if I lost now.’”
 
Frieze channeled her nerves into positive energy when she hit the track Friday morning. She bolted out to the lead on the first lap and held it until Keltner pulled ahead with one lap remaining. But panic never set in and Frieze turned on the gas with about 200 meters left and out-kicked Keltner – who came back to win the 1,600 on Saturday – to win her third straight crown.
 
Frieze finished in 11:18.14 while Keltner crossed in second in 11:20.60.
 

 
“My deal this year was I was going to get out and whoever stayed with me stayed with me,” Frieze said. “I had a feeling I could out-kick them, but I obviously had to work really hard down the home stretch. I saw (Keltner) was running the 800 and that kind of startled me and I was like, ‘OK, she’s got some wheels, too.’
 
“At the 200 meters, I just had to go. It was the last time I’m ever running the two mile. I wasn’t going to give it up.”
 
The three-peat in the 4A 3,200 put the perfect capper on a senior season that saw Frieze capture her first Class 4A state singles championship after posting three top-five finishes in her first three years.
 
“I told my dad at the start of this year I wanted this to be my best athletic year,” said Frieze, who also finished runner-up to Keltner in the 1,600. “He said, ‘Well, it’s hard to do that.’ Well, I wanted to win state in tennis and win state in track because that’s never been done in our school. I don’t know how many people can win a state tennis title and win the two mile.”
 

 
FLINT HILLS LEAGUE RIVALS WILSON, SLADE EACH GET THEIRS WITH 2A THROWS TITLES
 
Almost all season long, Madelyn Wilson has been chasing Emma Slade.
 
The Flint Hills League rivals – Wilson throws for Chase County; Slade for Mission Valley – spent the entire season jockeying for position as Class 2A’s top thrower in the shot put. Wilson struck early blows, throwing 38 feet to start the season and then 39-3.75 midway through only to see Slade answer with a 39-11 at the St. Marys Invitational in late April.
 
When they finally went head-to-head, it was the battle most anticipated. At league, Wilson saw Slade snatch a narrow victory, throwing 37-6.75 to Wilson’s 37-1.25. The following week at regionals, more of the same as Wilson took the event lead in prelims with a career-best and school-record 40-8.5 only to see Slade come back in the finals with a career-best 41-7 on her last throw to again win the head-to-head showdown.
 
“Back and forth all the time; it just pushes you,” Wilson said. “It’s just a drive that’s there.”
 
Given one last chance to knock off her league rival at the State Outdoors, Wilson finally got her woman. And this time it was the Bulldog sophomore turning the tables on Slade.
 
Slade took the Class 2A shot put lead in prelims with a throw of 39-1.75 to lead Wilson by a quarter inch going into finals. And when Slade improved that to 39-8.75 on her first throw of finals, Wilson seemed destined for a third straight runner-up finish to the Viking.
 
But on her final attempt of the competition, Wilson came up with a 40-3 to snatch away the event lead. She did have to sweat out one final throw from Slade.
 
“I was sitting over there with my hands clasped saying, ‘Don’t do it. Not today,’” Wilson said.
 
Slade only managed a 37-9.75 on her final attempt and the title was Wilson’s.
 
“It’s about time,” Wilson said. “I said, ‘We’ve got to get it today. Today’s the only one that matters.’
 
“I saw it fly and it flew a little further than I thought it was going to. It just felt really good.”
 
The title had even more meaning for Wilson. Her mother, Rachel (Goetz) Wilson was a Division II national champion shot putter for Emporia State, but never won a high school state championship during her prep days at Ottawa.
 
“I had to at least get the high school one,” Wilson said.
 

 
After taking runner-up in the shot put on Friday, Slade did get a state title of her own on Saturday. The Class 2A leader in the discus as well, ranking fourth overall in the state, Slade had no trouble capturing the title in that event.
 
Five of her six throws were long enough to win the competition and she finished with a best of 138-3 that gave her a nine-foot victory over defending champion Natalee North of Ellis.
 

 
TWIN VALLEY RIVALS WURTZ, JUENEMAN EACH SNAG TWO GOLDS
 
Something had to give when Clifton-Clyde’s Sevy Wurtz and Hanover’s Anna Jueneman lined up against each other in Saturday’s Class 1A 200 race.
 
Namely, the debate about which of the Twin Valley League stars was the true sprints champion in Class 1A.
 
Wurtz had already laid her claim, capturing the 100 title early in the day with Jueneman coming in fourth. Jueneman had done her part as well, taking her second straight 400 crown in dominating fashion with Wurtz not in that field.
 
In the 200, the showdown was on. And though neither had posted the fastest qualifying time in the 200, they had their sights set on not just the title, but each other.
 
“It’s always fun because she always gets the 100 and I get the 400,” Jueneman said. “It’s kind of like the tiebreaker. The 200 is more my race – the 100 is definitely hers.”
 
“I want to get her so bad in that one,” said Wurtz, who finished runner-up to Jueneman in the 200 at both league and regionals as well as two other regular-season meets.
 
Make it another. Jueneman powered her way through a strong headwind to take the last showdown of this season, winning the 200 title in 25.86. Wurtz, who had qualified just sixth, was second in 26.28.
 
Both were in jovial moods after the race, friendly rivals in multiple sports. And they had reason to be as well as each came away with double-gold showings.
 
In addition to taking the 200 title, Jueneman had no trouble defending the 400 crown she won a year ago. The Wildcat junior was the lone 1A runner to break a minute in the finals, clocking a 58.61 that was well ahead of another TVL rival, Centralia’s Tatum Kramer, who was second in 1:00.03.
 
“I like saying the 200 is more my specialty, but it’s probably the 400,” Jueneman said. “I love it. You have to know how to run that race. You have to want to and know how. You can’t sprint that whole race. I get out to a good start and then coast on the back stretch. You can probably tell, when I hit that 200, that’s when I go.”
 

 
Wurtz admitted she wanted no part of that race. Which given her abilities elsewhere makes sense.
 
After taking third in the 100 a year ago as a freshman, Wurtz moved up to the top of the podium as a sophomore. And nearly got a record in the process.
 
With an allowable tailwind that most of the 100s didn’t have, Wurtz, blazed her way to a 12.37 that gave her a .22-second win over Ness City’s Taegin Liggett, who was second a year ago as well. It was also just .07 seconds off the 1A meet record of 12.30 shared by Logan’s Kelly Pakkebier (1985) and Grinnell’s Bevery Heier (1983).
 
“Coming in ranked first last year and getting third was a real motivation for me,” Wurtz said. “That was a great race.”

Wurtz also turned last year’s heartbreak in the long jump into gold this season. A year ago, she came up just a half inch of the state title with Victoria’s Macy Hammerschmidt winning with a 17-7.75 to Wurtz’s 17-7.25.
 
Saturday, she saw Wheatland-Grinnell freshman Aliviah Ball put together a big prelim performance to take the event lead by nearly a foot over Wurtz with a 17-10.75 topping three jumps in the 17s while Wurtz only managed a 17-0.75.
 
But on her second jump of finals, Wurtz, the 1A co-leader this year with South Gray’s Kylie Stapleton at 17-11, mustered a career-best leap of 18-1 to get her first title in that event as well.
 
“I came in late because of my other races and saw there was a good jump so I knew I had to beat that,” Wurtz said. “I came out with my best of the year so I was proud of that.”
 
Wurtz also teamed with older sister Shea, Jessica Osterman and Lillian Steinbrock to finish third in the 400 relay as Clifton-Clyde finished runner-up in the Class 1A team standings.
 

 
NORTHERN HEIGHTS’ MCCRORY DOMINANT AGAIN IN STATE DEBUT
 
It didn’t take long for Northern Heights’ Ellei McCrory to announce her presence as one of the state’s premier distance runners as a freshman this year.
 
In the fall, McCrory turned in an impressive showing in running away with the Wamego Invitational title early in the cross country season and then was even more impressive in her return to the Wamego Country Club course for state, blowing away the Class 1A field to win by nearly 50 seconds in 18:30.7.
 
Any questions about whether her skills would translate to the track this spring were answered in a hurry as well. McCrory more than held her own in running the fastest-ever 1A time in the 3,200 at the KU Relays with a 10:48.98.
 
Taking on a Class 1A 3,200 field that included two-time reigning champion Emma Weiner of Golden Plains, McCrory proved she’s in a class on her own once again. Leading from start to finish, McCrory cruised to the 3,200 title in 10:59.37, more than 26 seconds ahead of Weiner, who was second in 11:26.89.
 
“There were some jitters for sure, but I was focused on running my best because I know my pace and everything,” McCrory said. “I’m just at peace knowing that no matter how I run, my family is proud of me and Jesus loves me.”
 
McCrory said the KU Relays experience was beneficial, even in finishing 11^th overall in the race – fifth among Kansas runners.
 
“That was really fun, such great competition, and I ran really fast,” McCrory said. “I was hoping to meet those times again at state, but that’s OK. It just gives me more to look forward to next year.”
 
McCrory fell just short of the 1A state meet record in the 3,200, a 10:57.30 set by Grinnell’s Jacque Struckhoff in 1983. McCrory also came up well short of Struckhoff’s 1A meet record in the 1,600, a 5:02.80, but still dominated that race as well, posting a winning time of 5:10.00 that was 11.50 seconds faster than runner-up Laney Reiff of Elyria Christian.
 
McCrory missed out on the triple distance gold, taking fourth in the 800, seven seconds behind champion Kylie Stapleton of South Gray. She also ran the anchor leg on Heights’ 3,200 relay which finished ninth.
 
 
OTHER NORTH CENTRAL GIRLS CHAMPIONS
 

 

• Qualifying nearly a full second ahead of the field, Burlington’s Keely Hoback didn’t quite have that same margin in the Class 3A 100 hurdles finals on Saturday. But she wasn’t far off, racing to a 14.99 to win by .80 seconds over Wellsville’s Ellie Strain. Hoback also teamed with Alexa Ratzlaff, Olivia Lyons and Haylei Potter to win the 400 relay title in 49.34, .52 seconds ahead of Hoisington.

 

 

• Clay Center’s Lauren Smith was a double-gold champion in Class 4A, turing in a dominating performance to take the 800 title. Smith, the 4A leader in the event all season, finished 2:14.47 to win by more than five seconds over Baldwin’s Kami Moore. Smith also anchored the Tigers to a win in the 1,600 relay, teaming with Tovah Catlin, Boston Craig and Janae Wolf to win in 4:04.26, more than three seconds ahead of McPherson.

 

 

• It only took one jump for Emporia’s Paige Newland to become a state champion for the first time. On her opening attempt of the 5A triple jump, Newland soared 37 feet, just shy of her season best of 37-1.5. Newland never topped it and dodged a late leap from 5A leader Beatrice Wiley of St. James Academy, who went 36-9.5 on her first jump of finals. Newland also finished fifth in the long jump.

 

 

• Junction City’s Lorna Rae Pierce took control of the Class 6A 3,200 about midway through the race and never looked back to win her first state title. Pierce finished in a career-best 10:40.00 to beat Olathe North’s Anjali Hocker Singh – the four-time 6A cross country champion – by nearly seven seconds. Pierce nearly pulled off a second title, leading the 1,600 through three laps before slipping to third in 5:03.78, nearly three seconds behind champion Bree Newport of Olathe West. She also took sixth in the 800.

 

 

• West Franklin’s Hope Crabtree backed up her spot as the 3A leader in the 300 hurdles, taking her first state title in the event. Crabtree topped the field by more than a second in qualifying and then posted a season-best 45.05 in the finals to run away with the title, winning by a second and a half over Cimarron’s Taegan Eskam (46.79).
• After qualifying sixth in the 3A 1,600 relay, Silver Lake plugged softball players Kaibryn Kruger and Ali Gerber into the mix with Ella Bolan and Ava Rottinghaus. The combination was golden as the Eagle foursome cut nearly six seconds off their prelim time and pulled out a thrilling victory, edging Holcomb by just .26 seconds for the title with a winning time of 4:06.64.