WICHITA – As recently as a week before the State Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Andale junior Rylee Meyer ran the 100 meters fast enough to believe she could take down the Class 4A meet record.
 
But believing and doing are different things. So when Meyer ran 12.06 to win her second straight state title and erase former Piper speedster Danyelle Cole’s previous gold standard of 12.12 set in 2010, her reaction was flavored with a bit of surprise.
 
“It was very shocking, actually,” said Meyer, who collected three other top-three medals to help Andale regain the 4A girls team trophy after Eudora won it last year. “I felt pretty proud about it, though. I wanted to break that when I first stepped on to the track.”
 
The Indians are accustomed to high-level performances at state, and Meyer did her part, particularly in the sprints. She added a second-place finish in the 4A 200 behind Abilene senior Renatta Heintz, running a personal-best 25.13 to finish .17 behind the winner.
 
The versatile Meyer was one of two individual champions for Andale, which scored 91 points to win its seventh 4A team title in the last eight state meets. Sophomore Addy Orth added a victory in the javelin, edging her senior sister Taya with a personal-best throw that produced her first win of the season.
 

Meyer was one of three girls to set 100-meter meet records in their respective classes, joining Hesston’s Ashley Lehman (3A) and Ness City’s Taegin Liggett (1A).
 
“I had a feeling I was going to run well just because I had a bunch of good athletes pushing me,” said Meyer, who improved on her winning time of 12.34 a year ago. “When I finished, it kind of felt like (a record).”
 
Meyer provided big moments in her other specialties throughout the season, reaching 18 feet, 5.5 inches in the long jump at Great Bend’s Jack Bowman Invitational to set a PR and tie a 4A season best prior to state. She ran a personal-best 44.95 in the 300-meter hurdles at the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail IV meet to trail only Clearwater’s Madison Williams, the eventual three-time 4A champion in the event.
 
But Meyer gained her greatest momentum before state in the 100, running 11.84 to win her home regional.
 
“I feel getting under 12 seconds was probably the biggest achievement of my career to this point,” Meyer said. “That was a big accomplishment.”
 
Meyer also made significant strides in the long jump this season. After missing the finals by one spot a year ago, she finished second this year to Wellington’s Dru Zeka, who set a 4A meet record with her winning leap of 19-0.75. Meyer jumped 17-3.75.
 
Prior to her 200 final showdown with Heintz, Meyer finished third in the 300 hurdles to league counterparts Williams and Kenzy McArtor of Clearwater, who finished 1-2 in the event for the second straight year.
 
“My running events went very well,” Meyer said. “I felt like I could have jumped better, but other than that, I was pretty proud.”
 

In the javelin, the Orth sisters carried on Andale’s strong tradition in the event, although not exactly like the season’s results leading up to it would have suggested.
 
Taya Orth came in as the 4A leader at 136 feet, hitting that mark at regionals while Addy’s best of 129-7 came in a runner-up finish at the same meet. Taya Orth grabbed the early lead with an opening throw of 132-11, but it turned out to be her best.
 
Addy Orth took the lead on her second attempt, which went 134-5. After advancing to the finals, she headed inside Cessna Stadium to compete in the triple jump, where she finished ninth.
 
When Addy returned to the javelin area after the other finalists were done, she discovered her lead had held up.
 
“I was surprised,” Addy Orth said. “I thought Taya was going to throw one way out there. It wouldn’t have surprised me if she had won.”
 
Instead, Taya Orth finished runner-up for the second consecutive year, a result that left her fighting back tears. She insisted, however, that all was good with little sister.
 
“I wouldn’t have wanted to lose to anyone else,” Taya Orth said. “I knew we needed the points as a team. To go 1-2 was the goal all season.”
 

THREE DOWN, ONE TO GO: LITTLE RIVER’S OLANDER CONTINUES PURSUIT OF 1A TRIPLE JUMP CAREER SWEEP
 
In winning her first two Class 1A triple jump titles, Little River’s Havana Olander hardly had to break a sweat worrying about the competition she was facing.
 
As a freshman, she posted the longest triple jump in the state with a 38-7.25, winning by more than a foot over Marmaton Valley’s Janae Granere. Last year, Granare was once again her biggest competition, but still was more than a foot and a half behind Olander, even with the Little River standout going nearly a foot less to win her second title with a winning mark of 37-10.5.
 
Seemingly on her way to another smooth sailing title run this year as a junior, Olander got a big-time eye-opener just before regionals. Sitting tops in Class 1A with her early-season mark of 37-9.25, Olander suddenly found herself bumped from that spot by Hanover sophomore Gracie Bruna, who set a two-plus-foot PR with a massive leap of 39-1.5 at the Twin Valley League meet.
 
Just like that, Olander had some pretty serious competition for the first time at the state meet.
 
“It was a crazy good jump,” Olander said of Bruna’s mark, which easily surpassed her previous season best of 36-8. “She and the Clifton-Clyde girl (Sevy Wurtz) are both just really good athletes. It just goes to show that anyone can win this.”
 
Anyone can, but nobody has been able to beat Olander in Wichita. Even with Bruna’s big mark, the Redskin junior was still the one to beat in Saturday’s triple jump competition and just as in the previous two years, nobody could.
 
Olander came up just shy of her sophomore state-winning mark with a best of 37-9.5, but that was enough to prevail of a trio of Twin Valley League jumpers with Bruna second at 37-2, Onaga’s Lillie Weiser third at 36-9.25 and Wurtz fourth at 36-7.
 
The third straight title puts Olander on track to become just the fourth girl in state history to accomplish a career sweep of triple jump titles. Ottawa’s Emery Keebaugh joined that group last year with Liberal’s Dahlia Ingram and Pratt-Skyline’s Michelle Egging the only previous two to do it.
 
“Ever since freshman year, I thought it would be cool to do it all four years,” Olander said. “It means a lot to get my third, but it’s definitely pressure for next year.”
 
Olander set the bar for the field to chase this year right away, getting her state-winning mark on her first attempt. She wound up posting three more jumps that would have also won her the title, showing off the consistency that’s made her the top jumper in 1A throughout her career.
 
Bruna put herself in striking range with a 37-1.75 on her third preliminary attempt and then came just short of hitting 37 feet again until going 37-2 on her final attempt. Weiser and Wurtz each got jumps in the upper 36s with Weiser having a best of 36-9.25 and Wurtz – the 1A long jump champion for the second straight year -- a 36-7.
 
“I was hoping to jump 38, that’s what I was trying for,” Olander said. “But I was happy with what I jumped.”
 
It may take a 38 or longer to win next year as the fourth title may very well be the toughest of them all. Bruna, Weiser and Wurtz all will be back next year as well with eight of this year’s top-nine finishers all underclassmen.
 

‘PASSING OFF THE BATON’: WICHITA TRINITY’S HEIN SWEEPS 3A 1,600, 3,200
 
Prairie View’s Bree Allen remembers being the younger runner giving chase to the proven veteran.
 
It started during Allen’s freshman cross country season, when she finished second to former Southeast of Saline standout Jentrie Alderson at the Class 3A state meet. When Alderson graduated, Allen entered her time as 3A’s top runner.
 
The age gap has been closer between Allen, a senior, and Wichita Trinity junior Emily Hein. But the dynamic has been much the same – an underclassmen inspired by a champion.
 
Hein made up that ground at each of the last two state cross country meets. And in Allen’s final state track meet, Hein did what she had yet to do on the oval, winning the 3A 1,600 and 3,200 meters to unseat Allen, the 2023 and 2024 champion in both.
 
“There’s always going to be somebody there ready to fill in that spot,” said Allen, a Kansas State signee who finished second to Hein in both in her final high school meet. “Jentrie was right there before me and I got to fill in that spot my sophomore and junior years, and now I kind of feel like I’m passing off the baton to Emily.”
 
Allen ran 3A’s top time in the 1,600 prior to state at the Shawnee Mission North Relays, the same meet where Hein ran a 3A best in the 3,200. But in their final head-to-head duels at state, Hein prevailed in both with comfortable margins.
 
Hein, a second-place finisher to Allen in both a year ago, won the 3,200 on the meet’s opening day in 11:05.39, nearly 13 seconds ahead of Allen’s 11:18.10. The following day, Hein won the 1,600 in 5:07.16, ahead of Allen’s 5:14.29.

“Bree is just one of the sweetest people I know,” said Hein, the 3A cross country champion each of the last two falls after Allen won as a sophomore. “Competing against her has just pushed me to get myself to be better.
 
“I watched her do so well for a couple years, and I was just like, ‘I want to be like that.’”
 
Hein was well off the 3,200 PR of 10:43.19 she ran at Shawnee Mission North, but she controlled the pace to win handily. In the 1,600, her winning time was just off the 5:05.08 she ran last year in a runner-up finish to Allen.
 
“I’d been sick for a couple weeks, so I just wanted to do my best and put my best out there,” Hein said. “That’s about all I could do.”
 
The effort earned the respect of Allen, who shares a mutual admiration for Hein.
 
“Emily is a great competitor,” Allen said. “It’s been so awesome just to have somebody with me in 3A. All the girls have done such a wonderful job and specifically Emily, who is one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever met.
 
“I wouldn’t necessarily call it a rivalry like some people do, but I love that competitive aspect, and she’s just been so great to get to meet and compete against. She’s pushed me to do my best.”
 

STERLING’S KILGORE SHAKES OFF WORRIES, SETS RECORD IN 400 THREE-PEAT
 
Demons can lurk for even the best of runners, as Sterling junior Julia Kilgore discovered after her preliminary dash in the 400 meters on the state meet’s opening day.
 
“I was pretty nervous going into the meet,” Kilgore said. “I ran like 58.1 and the girl from Stanton County ran .01 faster than me.
 
“I was like, ‘Oh gosh, I’ve got a target on my back.’ I was felt a lot of pressure because I wanted to three-peat.”
 
Perhaps running a little scared served Kilgore well. The Black Bear standout cracked 57 seconds for the first time, running 56.40 to set a Class 2A meet record and win her third state 400 title. Kilgore bested runner-up Dylan Kraus of Marion, who ran 57.71, and the preliminary leader Hannah Canny of Stanton County, who took third in 58.09.
 
“I did not expect what happened today at all,” Kilgore said after the finals. “I crossed the finish line and hoped that was at least in the 57s or low-57.”
 
Instead, Kilgore eclipsed the previous 2A record of 56.58 set by Peabody-Burns’ Lauren Pickens in 2010. She joined Hesston’s Ashley Lehman (3A) and Blue Valley North’s Delia Gregory (6A) as girls meet-record setters in the 400 on the meet’s final day.
 
Kilgore fell victim to a record-setter in her other final, as Ellinwood freshman Reagan Wirtz ran 24.98 to win the 200. Kilgore, last year’s champion in the event, finished second in 25.50.
 
“I ran against her for the first time at regionals and she was tough,” said Kilgore, who also took second to Wirtz in the meet at Hill City. “I was pretty confident going in, but she’s awesome. I look forward to running against her again next year.”
 

ARKANSAS CITY’S PERDUE DEFENDS 5A HIGH JUMP TITLE, ADDS RELAY CROWN
 
Three clean attempts were all it took for Arkansas City senior Kinzie Perdue to defend her Class 5A high jump title.
 
Perdue wasn’t able to match her winning height of 5 feet, 4 inches at last year’s state meet, but she collected her second gold in the event with no misses through 5-2, where runner-up Allison Saunders of Andover Central and Lansing’s Halle Laincz, the third-place finisher, also bowed out.
 
“Last year, I wasn’t expecting it at all,” Perdue said of her initial title. “I was so happy to get a PR. And then this year I just worked so hard to get my school record and I wanted to defend my title, and it ended up working out for me.”
 
Perdue collected Ark City’s school record in April at the Shocker Pre-State Challenge, clearing 5-6.25. While she didn’t soar to that height again, she won six more competitions, including the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail II and Andover regional titles.
 
“I’ve kind of been all around on heights, but just being consistent at those lower heights has really helped.”
 
Perdue made it double gold in her final state meet, teaming with fellow seniors Kierslynn Waggoner and Saliyah Johnson, and sophomore Khalyiah Evans to win the 5A 400-meter relay in 48.72. While it wasn’t their best time, it was efficient work for the Bulldog quartet.
 
“We started with this group about three meets ago,” said Perdue, who added a seventh-place finish in the 200. “We just worked really hard in practice and kept getting better each meet.
 
“We’ve come up short the past two years so it just finally feels so good to get the win. Three of us are seniors, and it’s great to go out with a bang.”
 

HUTCH CENTRAL CHRISTIAN’S LOSEW, BARNETT ADD ONE LAST 1-2
 
The 1-2 sweeps of high jump competitions have been common for Hutchinson Central Christian’s Jessa Losew and Belle Barnett.
 
So it only made sense for the duo’s last high school competition to go that way.
 
A year after a hamstring injury derailed her state meet, Losew, a junior, returned and won the Class 1A high jump with a personal-best 5 feet, 8 inches. Barnett, a senior, matched her winning height of 5-6 from last year’s meet and finished second.
 
Both had emotional responses to their peak clearances. For Losew, whose 2024 state meet ended in tears during the high jump, the victory had extra meaning.
 
“If you would have asked me how my high school career would go, this is not what I would have expected,” Losew said. “But how the Lord has used it to shape me and be a witness to others through it has been really amazing. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
 

Barnett, who also finished sixth in the long jump and seventh in the 100 meters, made a similar reaction to last year’s state meet when she cleared 5-6. A look of disbelief ensued, as she cupped her hand over her mouth.
 
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Barnett, who cleared the height on her third attempt, just like last year. “I was like, ‘No way that just happened.’ I’ve only hit that one other time this year, so it was a blessing to get it.
 
“But I knew Jessa was going to get 5-8. I’m really happy for her.”
 
Losew matched the state’s best clearance for all classes this spring on her second attempt. She then raised the bar to 5-9 to try to break the 1A meet record of 5-8.5 set by Goessel’s Vanessa Schmidt in 1992, but came up short.
 
The duo finished ahead of Wheatland-Grinnell sophomore Aliviah Ball, who took third for the second straight year at 5-4. It also marked the end of a three-sport run for the Cougars.
 
“She hit some beautiful PRs last year and it really just pushed us both to be better,” Losew said of Barnett. “I know we’ve loved to push each other in practice whether it be volleyball, basketball or track.
 
“It really amazing to have teammates who can push you and she leads by an amazing, humble spirit. I look up to her most on the team.”

 

 
 OTHER SOUTH CENTRAL KANSAS GIRLS CHAMPIONS

• Newton senior Mackenzie Sauerwein duplicated the three medals she won at last year’s State Outdoor, this time with her first state victories. Sauerwein won the Class 5A 100-meter title in 12.32, edging St. James Academy’s Beatrice Wiley by .03 Sauerwein had an even closer margin of victory over Wiley in the 200, running 25.23 to win by .01. Sauerwein and fellow senior Anai Fernandez, sophomore Ady Klug and freshman Delaney Fuller teamed to finish fourth in the 400-meter relay.

 

 

• Remington junior Emily O’Brien ran a personal-best time of 15.20 to win the Class 2A 100-meter hurdles by .14 over Hoxie’s Camryn Gourley, the top qualifier for the finals. Gourley flipped the script on O’Brien in the 300 hurdles, edging the Bronco by .21 in 45.74 after O’Brien posted the top preliminary time. Still, O’Brien’s time of 45.95 was a PR. She also teamed with senior Annie Entz, junior Sheyenne Pinkston and sophomore Abigail Taylor to take sixth in the 400 relay.

 

 

• After coming close in the high jump and 100-meter hurdles, Andover Central junior Allison Saunders ran a personal-best time of 43.70 to win the Class 5A 300-meter hurdles. Saunders held off Bishop Carroll sophomore Lauren DeGroot, who finished in 43.76. Saunders took second in the high jump to Arkansas City’s Kinzie Perdue and second to Piper’s Nora Turney in the 100 hurdles in 14.96 after setting a PR of 14.92 in the prelims.
   

 

• Andover Central sophomore Annalise Vitosh set a meet record of 22.61 in winning the all-class girls 100-meter wheelchair dash. Vitosh edged Wichita Heights junior Isabel Einwich, who finished in 23.58. Einwich was a double-gold winner, taking the mixed 1,600-meter all-class (5:37.03) and girls 400-meter all-class (1:22.89) titles.

 

• Already with the title in hand by one-quarter inch, Larned senior Kaylee Hagerman saved her best for last, reaching a personal-best 18 feet, 4.5 inches on her final attempt to stretch her margin to 7.5 inches over Halstead freshman Annie Williams. Williams jumped 17-9.25 on her lone non-scratch attempt and couldn’t overtake Hagerman, who atoned for a fall a day earlier during her preliminary leg of Larned’s 400-meter relay.

 

 

• Hutchinson senior KeiRre Martinez won a tightly contested Class 5A long jump, reaching 17 feet, 6.5 inches on her penultimate attempt to edge runner-up Paige Newland of Emporia by 2 inches. Three other competitors surpassed 17 feet, but couldn’t match Martinez, who set her personal best of 18-1 a week earlier in winning the Great Bend regional.
   

 

• Stella Kitt became Eisenhower’s second straight Class 5A shot put champion, throwing 41 feet to win by 6.25 inches over runner-up Kimberlee Scott of Basehor-Linwood. Kitt, a fifth-place finisher in the event last year, followed fellow Tiger Leah Wilkinson, who won the 2024 title with a throw of 41-9. Kitt, a senior, set her personal best with a winning throw of 42-8 in mid-May at the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail II meet.

 

• Wichita Collegiate used a strong anchor leg from junior Ellie Howell to pull away in the Class 3A 3,200-meter relay, defeating runner-up Norton by nearly 7 seconds. Howell teamed with senior Macy Beran, junior Savannah Vess and sophomore Alegra Fazio to finish in 9:46.49.

 

• Inman held off Heart of America League rival Moundridge to win the Class 2A 400-meter relay. The Teutons’ quartet of senior Katie Nichols, sophomores Brooklyn Black and Leah Black, and freshman Olivia Brunk backed their top preliminary time with a finals run of 50.03. Moundridge finished in 50.99.

 

• Moundridge’s 1,600-meter relay team of senior Avery Schrag, junior Cammi Unruh, sophomore Halle Hecox and freshman Baylee Schriner posted a comfortable victory in Class 2A, running 4:05.25 to win by more than 4 seconds over runner-up Wabaunsee. The Wildcats were second to Wabaunsee in the preliminaries.