CLASS 1A BOYS TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES TO WATCH IN 2025
 

 
BRADY CARLSON, PAWNEE HEIGHTS

Carlson’s busy junior season was highlighted by a state runner-up effort in triple jump. He recorded a mark of 42-11.75 to take second to Northern Valley’s Kenton Thalheim (45-6). Carlson added a sixth-place medal in the long jump (20-8.50). He was the triple jump champion in the regional meet at Greeley County with a personal-best leap of 44-6.5. Carlson also competed in javelin and high jump last season. He placed seventh at state in the high jump as a sophomore in 2023.
 

 
BROCK DETERDING, KIOWA COUNTY

Deterding delivered one of the best performances in the Class 1A meet last season, leaving Wichita with first-place medals in the 100 and 200 and also helping Kiowa County win the 1,600 relay. He clocked a 10.83 in the 100 and a 22.66 in the 200. Deterding went undefeated in all his meets in the 100 last season and won every 200 except for the season-opening Pratt Invitational. The senior’s personal bests (10.75 and 22.03) both came at the Skyline Invitational last season. He was the state runner-up in the 100 as a sophomore.
 

 
CALEB DURST, LEBO
 
Durst can make a strong argument that he’s the best distance runner in Lebo history, a claim he can back up as not only the school-record holder in the 5K, but also as a two-time Class 1A state cross country champion. He added to that resume in track last season. Already a two-time Lyon County League champion in the 3,200 as a freshman and sophomore, Durst showed off some versatility by winning the 800 and 1,600 at league league year. He competed in the distance triple at state and after taking fourth in the 3,200, Durst came back to win the 1,600 title with a 4:27.34 that was just off his career-best of 4:25.89. Durst also took seventh in the 800 at state. He’s finished top nine at state in the 3,200 three times in his career and has signed with Missouri-Rolla to run cross country and track.
 

 
ETHAN GASCHLER, PALCO

A Northwest Missouri State signee, Gaschler will aim to close out his high school career as a double champion in shot put and discus. He is the reigning shot put champ after throwing a personal-best 56-11.75 last May. Gaschler took third at state in discus last year with a 160-9. As a sophomore, he was runner-up in the discus and took third in the shot put. Gaschler helped the Logan-Palco basketball team go undefeated in the regular season this past season. 
 

Haselhorst matched his personal-best in the high jump by going 6-2 at the state meet, good for runner-up honors. He added a seventh-place showing in the 200 with a 23.34. Haselhorst also competed in the 400 prelims at state but did not qualify for the finals. He was the Central Prairie League champion in the high jump in 2024. At the Stafford meet early last season, Haselhorst won the high jump, 200 and 400 titles and was runner-up in the triple jump.
 

 
NATE MEYERS, ROCK HILLS

Meyers missed out on a state long jump title by two inches last year. He settled for runner-up honors after recording a leap of 21-6. Axtell’s Brandon Schmelzle was the champion with a 21-8. Meyers is a two-time Northern Plains League champion in long jump and won the event in five meets last year. He set his personal-best mark of 22-5 as a sophomore in the NPL meet before going on to take third at state.
 

CARTER OLSON, FRANKFORT
 
Olson is coming off a breakout season in the 100 a year ago, not only earning his first state berth in the event but finishing the season as the Class 1A state runner-up. He broke 11 seconds twice, running a school-record 10.92 in the regional prelims and then clocking a 10.96 in the Class 1A state finals that left him second to Kiowa County’s Brock Deterding, who finished in 10.83. Olson did come away from Wichita with a gold medal in hand, running the lead-off leg on Frankfort’s state champion 400 relay, which set a school record with a 43.61 at the state meet. Olson helped Frankfort finish fourth as a team at state and will challenge Deterding for the 100 title again this year with the Maverick returning to defend his crown.
 

   
LANE LOISEAU, FRANKFORT
 
Another one of Frankfort’s speed merchants, Loiseau is the Wildcats’ school record-holder in the 200 with a 22.76 run at last year’s Class 1A regional. He was just off that time with a 22.97 at state that left him third in Class 1A and he also took fourth in the 100 in 11.16 with teammate Carter Olson finishing second. That duo also led the Wildcats’ 400 relay to a state title with Loiseau serving as the anchor and bringing it home in a school-record time of 43.61 that was just .31 off the 1A state meet record. Loiseau also ran on Frankfort’s state-qualifying 1,600 relay.
 

 
IAN MELENDEZ, SPEARVILLE

Melendez was a surprise state champion in the high jump last season as a sophomore. In his first season competing in the event, Melendez upped his personal record by three inches at the state meet by clearing 6-5 to win the title. His only other first-place showing in the high jump came in the Dighton Invitational. Melendez went 5-10 in his first two meets last season before gradually hitting his stride. He was the SPIAA champion in the long jump (22-1) last season and won five other meets in that event but did not qualify for state. 
 

 RYAN SRAMEK, RAWLINS COUNTY

Sramek placed in three events at the state meet last year, taking third in the long jump (21-3), fourth in the 200 (23.01) and eighth in the 100 (11.38). He was the Northwest Kansas League champion in both the 200 and the long jump and was runner-up in the 100. Sramek was also the regional long jump champion at Greeley County with a personal-best 21-9. He put together a tremendous football career for the Buffaloes, rewriting the school’s record book.
 

 
BRANDON SCHMELZLE, AXTELL
 
After securing seven state medals in his first two state appearances, Schmelzle had a somewhat bittersweet performance at state as a junior last spring. He captured the first individual state track title of his career, winning the long jump with a leap of 21-8, two inches ahead of Rock Hill’s Nate Meyers. But he failed to medal in his other three events, the 100, 200 and triple jump after being a two-time medalist in the 200 and triple. Schmelzle did help Axtell win its second straight Class 1A team title and will look to bounce back individually this year to help the Eagles in their bid for a three-peat.
 

 
LANDON SCHMITZ, AXTELL
 
If not for a late stumble over the final hurdle in the 300 hurdles, Schmitz might have come away from the 2024 state meet with a pair of state titles. Leading the race going into the final hurdle, Schmitz lost his balance as he landed and the brief stumble allowed Quinter’s Bradley Bogert and Osborne’s Sam Kendig each to slip past him to relegate him to a third-place finish. Earlier in the day, Schmitz had claimed the 110 hurdles title, winning in 15.19, .35 seconds ahead of Bogert. Schmitz also teamed with Eli Broxterman, Lucas Talbot and Rilyn Buessing to place third in the 1,600 relay and sixth in the 400 relay as the Eagles captured their second straight Class 1A team championship.
 

GAVIN THALHEIM, NORTHERN VALLEY

Thalheim earned a pair of top-five state finishes as a sophomore last year. He took fourth in the javelin with a throw of 160-10 and tied for fourth in the pole vault, clearing 13 feet. Thalheim tried his hand at five different events (pole vault, javelin, discus, 200 and 400) throughout the course of last season. He notched first-place javelin finishes at the Kaser Relays in Osborne and the Triplains Invitational and also took first in pole vault at the Logan Invitational by clearing a personal-best 13-7.
 

 
WILL WEGERER, CUNNINGHAM
 
Wegerer, a senior, nearly ran the table in the pole vault last season, winning all his competitions except for a second-place finish to Andale’s Rylan White at the Shocker Pre-State Challenge. Still, Wegerer set Cunningham’s school record at that mid-April meet, then topped it three more times, including at the 1A state meet, which he won at 15 feet. Wegerer’s personal best came a week earlier at the Kiowa County regional, when he cleared 15-1. After leading Cunningham to state runner-up finishes in football and basketball, Wegerer enters his final track and field season as a heavy favorite to defend his pole vault title in 1A.
 

KADEN WESELOH, KIOWA COUNTY

Weseloh’s junior season was highlighted by a third-place showing in the pole vault (13-6) at state. He also ran a leg on Kiowa County's state-champion 1,600 relay team. Weseloh was the SPIAA champion in pole vault and also won the Skyline, Kiowa County and South Gray invitationals in that event. Weseloh’s personal-best mark is 14-1, which was set at the Bucklin Red Ace Relays last season. He also competed in the 200 prelims at state but did not make the finals. As a sophomore, Weseloh took seventh at state in the 400 and was 10th in the pole vault.