Tatum Seyfert couldn’t hold back the emotions as she made her way from the discus ring to her father, Casey, following her final throw of the Class 3A competition at the State Outdoors Track and Field Championships.

The tears were coming. And so was a long, emphatic hug between father and daughter.
 
Winning the event was nothing new for the Beloit standout, who previously had claimed the 3A title in the event as a sophomore in 2023.
 
But after seeing Osage City’s Lexi Boss snatch the crown from her last year and knowing no field in any event at this year’s state meet was going to be tougher to top than the 3A girls’ discus field, the magnitude of getting back on top hit Seyfert hard.
 
And rightfully so.
 
“That was definitely my main focus,” Seyfert said of getting back her discus state title. “I was so nervous for it, but I was also so hungry for it. I think that paid off.”
 

 
Her title in the discus Friday morning set the stage for her third straight Class 3A shot put title, which Seyfert delivered in record-breaking style for the second straight year on Saturday morning.  Her double-gold performance and a strong showing by her fellow Trojan throwers helped propel Beloit to the Class 3A girls team title.
 
Beloit scored 44 of its 74 points in the three throwing events, getting multiple placers in each including three too-eight finishers in the discus. The Trojans also racked up big points in the pole vault with three top-eight placers and got 67 points overall from the field events in winning the program’s first state title since 2016.
 
While a second straight shot put state meet record might seemingly be the highlight of Seyfert’s weekend – and make no mistake it ranked pretty high – it was clear that her discus title ws the crowning jewel.
 
When she won the title as a sophomore, Seyfert out-dueled fellow sophomore Boss, winning by just over five feet with a throw of 141-2. Last year, Boss flipped the script and got the title as Seyfert threw just a 135-10 while Boss went 139-4 for her first title.
 
Even with both back for a final showdown this year, they knew it was far more than a head-to-head battle. Class 3A was the class of the girls discus honor roll all season with the top four throwers in the state coming from 3A as well as the No. 6.
 
Going into state, Seyfert ranked third in the pecking order. Boss held the overall state lead when she threw 158-6 in mid-April, the seventh-best throw in state history. That throw came only days after Nemaha Central’s Zoey Sudbeck, who finished fourth at state in 2024, had taken the state lead with a throw of 151-8.
 
Seyfert’s best during the season was a 149-2, putting her just ahead of a 146-6 from Nemaha Central’s Cami Dalinghaus, third at state in 2024, while Boss’ younger sister, Kaelyn, also was lurking with a season best of 141-11.
 
That depth made this year’s state competition as fierce as it could possibly be.
 
“There are so many good throwers in 3A this year,” Seyfert said.
 

 
Seyfert’s first throw of the day, however, served notice that she was going to be tough to beat. Even if it didn’t count.
 
Hoping to put a big mark out early, Seyfert saw her initial throw land out of bounds. Though it wasn’t measured, it was estimated to be well over 150 feet and gave Seyfert the vibes she needed.
 
“I had the power behind it so that definitely helped,” she said. “Seeing that it could go that far, I was like, ‘OK, I can do it.’ I just had to pull it in a little bit.”
 
Though she couldn’t quite go that far with her counting throws, Seyfert followed her fouled attempt with a throw of 144-1 that gave her the event lead by just under two feet over Boss, who had thrown 142-5 on her second attempt immediately before Seyfert threw.
 
Even with a solid mark in hand, Seyfert wasn’t sure it would be enough.
 
“At first, I thought, ‘Oh gosh, this is going to be blown out of the water,’” Seyfert said. “But when I did hit it, I was proud of myself. It’s been a big goal to get up there because I’ve been sitting in the low 140s for a while now.”
 
Turns out, it would have held up. Boss never got back over 140 in her final four throws, settling for a runner-up finish. Neither Sudbeck nor Dalinghaus could find their way into the 140s with Sudbeck finishing fourth at 134-4 and Dalinghaus taking fifth at 130-11. Prairie View’s Mary Jane Britz, who had entered with a season best of 131-6 jumped up to third with a PR 135-10.
 
Seyfert, meanwhile, finished off her series strong, improving to 146-7 on her final preliminary throw and then clinching the title with a 147-7 on her second throw of finals.
 
“It means so much to get it back,” Seyfert said. “Last year, I don’t want to make excuses, but I tend to do better when I have (the shot put and discus) broken up into two days. They were both on the same day last year and I think I was just worn out. I don’t want to blame it on that because I don’t want to take anything away from (Boss). She had a great day and she deserved to win it.”
 
While Seyfert was getting back her title, her Beloit teammates also were having big days. Sophomore Samantha Thompson threw a career-best 128-6 to finish sixth while fellow senior Cassandra Thompson added a 122-11 on her final attempt to jump up to an eighth-place finish.
 
In the shot put competition to start Saturday’s action at state, Beloit had its eyes on a 1-2 finish with senior Addison Budke ranking only behind Seyfert – the state’s overall leader – in the 3A rankings. The duo had gone 1-2 at state as sophomores in 2023 but last year finished 1-3 with Nemaha Central’s Dalinghaus slipping in between them.
 
“Last year we went 1-3 and we were proud of ourselves,” Seyfert said. “But this year, we definitely wanted to go 1-2.”
 

 
There was little question Seyfert would do her part, having set the state meet record last year on her way to a second straight state title, throwing 45-11.25. Coming into the meet with a state-best 47-0.5 on her resume this year, she was more than four feet ahead of Budke’s season best of 42-5.25.
 
Seyfert’s opening throw of 43-5.75 was more than enough to win her third title, but her sights were set higher. She improved to 44-4 on her second attempt and then to a 45-0.25 on her fifth throw. With the her three-peat in hand, Seyfert let it all out on her final attempt and though she didn’t quite hit her season best, she pushed her state-meet record to a 46-4.25.
 
“I really wanted to get a PR, but I definitely wanted to push that record out there farther,” Seyfert said. “So getting that was good. I wanted so bad to push it further and I’m so glad it happened on the last one.
 
“It’s not something that just happens,” Seyfert said of the three-peat. “My dad’s my coach and I’m grateful for him. He’s spent a lot of time with me and made me who I am. It’s sad it’s all over, but I’m grateful for everything I’ve done.”
 

 
Budke also did her part, taking the drama out of whether she would return to the runner-up spot pretty early. Her second throw of 42-2.75 put some initial heat on Seyfert, and though she never bettered it, it held up for second place even as three other throwers found their way over 40 feet.
 
“I’ve improved so much,” said Budke, who threw just 38-7.5 in taking second as a sophomore before getting over the 40-foot plateau last year as a junior. “I just tried to get one out there as soon as I could. I tried to push myself and my coach and Tatum push me so much. They’re very helpful.
 
“I’m very grateful for her. She is one of my role models. I look up to her and I love her.”
 
The competition was the swansong for the life-long friends with Seyfert off to throw at Oklahoma State and Budke headed to Kearney to continue her volleyball career after finishing at the state’s No. 2 all-time kills leader. It’s a journey that began many years ago and drove each throughout their careers.
 
“It’s been so much fun,” Seyfert said. “We’re best friends and I think this had only grown that friendship.”
 
“I loved pushing Tatum and having her push me,” Budke added. “Competing against and with each other has been so much fun.”
 
Budke also added a fifth-place finish in the javelin while teammate Autumn Lorenz finished second, throwing 135-8 to come in behind Osage City’s Kaelyn Boss, who won with a 136-11.
 
Beloit also had three placers in the pole vault with sophomore Bently Pruitt taking third, senior Ashlyn Loomis taking fifth and sophomore Zayda Purvis tying for eighth. The Trojans also got field point from Brecken Boudreaux, who finished third in the long jump, a half inch away from a runner-up finish, and Sophia Thompson, who was third in the high jump.

Dakota Gray led the Trojans on the track with a third-place finish in the 100 hurdles.

 

HEY NINETEEN: WELLINGTON’S ZEKA SURPASSES 48-YEAR-OLD LONG JUMP RECORD ON WAY TO TRIPLE GOLD
 
Wellington’s Dru Zeka knew there was something unique about her third attempt in the Class 4A girls long jump competition on Friday afternoon.
 
“All I noticed was my landing was different,” said Zeka, the Crusaders’ sophomore standout. “I wondered if that helped or made it worse. It ended up being good.”
 
Without a doubt. The buzz started immediately among long jump officials, who measured Zeka’s attempt at 19 feet, 0.75 inches. That surpassed her previous best by 7 inches and erased the 4A meet record of 18-7.25 first set by Ottawa’s Julie Wilson in 1977 and matched by St. Thomas Aquinas’ Marti Cisper in 1984.
 
Zeka’s long jump highlighted a fabulous Friday in which she also defended her 4A high jump title with a personal-best clearance of 5-8, equaling the top mark in the state this spring.
 
In between, the versatile Zeka posted the top preliminary time in the 4A 400 meters, setting the stage for an even better time in Saturday’s finals of 57.44 – a personal best that produced her second state title in as many years in that event.
 
More than 30 Kansas girls have surpassed 19 feet in the long jump, with six going past 20 feet. But for Zeka, who set her previous best of 18-5.5 in late April at the Clearwater Invitational, the jump that produced a victory by nearly 2 feet over runner-up Rylee Meyer of Andale wasn’t one she saw coming.
 
“The long jump was a big surprise,” Zeka said. “I didn’t know for sure if I was going to win coming in. To accomplish what I did, I feel really good about myself.”
 

 When Zeka initially learned of the distance, she bounded over toward teammates to celebrate.
 
“I heard the officials mumbling as they were measuring it,” Zeka said. “I was like, ‘Is that a joke?’ They have to be reading it wrong. I was super surprised.”
 
Perhaps she shouldn’t have been. It’s been a banner year for Zeka and the Crusaders, who won the Class 4A basketball title in March. While Zeka’s older sister, Britt, and Val Norwood were All-4A first-team standouts, Dru also earned honorable mention as Wellington finished 24-1.
 
The good vibes and success carried over to the spring, as Zeka’s three individual state golds raised her career total to five. She exited state as the owner or co-owner of four school records, sharing the high jump mark with J’Lynn Ledesma, a 4A champion in 2008.
 
Zeka’s winning mark of 5-8 in the high jump raised her PR by 1 inch from her winning height in early May at the Circle Invitational. She needed it, too, as McPherson freshman Ellie Herrera stayed in the competition with Zeka after both cleared their first attempts at 5-6.
 
Zeka made it a four-medal state meet, teaming with senior Presley Metcalf, junior Claire Ginter and sophomore Addy Wilson to finish seventh in the 400-meter relay. The placing erased some of the disappointment of the 2024 state meet, when an errant exchange between Zeka and Ginter prevented Wellington from advancing through the preliminaries.
 

The Crusaders ran 49.67 on Saturday, just .09 off their school record set earlier this season.
 
“Even though we didn’t place well, we still ran really well,” Zeka said. It’s a good group of girls and it was a fun race.”
 
With her field event work completed Friday, Zeka turned all her attention to the track on Saturday. She won her final race – the 400 – by 1.51 seconds over fellow sophomore Kylee Frazee of Rock Creek.
 
Zeka also cut nearly a second off her winning time in the 2024 state meet.
 
“I’m a little worn out,” Zeka said after making her final descent from the medal stand. “But it’s worth it.”

 

RELISHING THE COMPETITION, WASHINGTON COUITY’S HOOVER TURNS IN RECORD-SETTING 1A JAVELIN TITLE DEFENSE
 
Spending the entire 2025 track season sitting atop the state honor roll in the javelin should have Jesse Hoover in a rather comfortable position as she headed to Wichita to defend the Class 1A state title she won a year ago.
 
After all, with three throws over 151-plus during the season, including a best of 158-0 at the Royal Valley Invitational, Hoover’s marks were well above the 132-9 it took to win her first title last spring.
 
Instead, the Washington County senior went into Friday’s 1A javelin competition with little room for error. The next-best thrower in the state for the bulk of the season had been Hodgeman County’s Kalyn Washburn, a 1A challenger who was the only other thrower in the state this season to top the 150-foot mark this spring.
 
That came at Washburn’s regional meet at Kiowa County and gave the Longhorn plenty of momentum and Hoover plenty of competition to keep her crown. And the Tiger senior wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
 
“I was so excited,” Hoover said. “I was like, ‘When I saw her throws, I was like, ‘Dang! We’ve got some competition this year. We’ve got to go after it. It was a lot of motivation for me to come here and perform. It was so awesome to see 1A so competitive this year.”
 
The competition brought out the best in Hoover as well. She finished her career not only with her second state title, but also a state record, throwing 154-7 on her last attempt to win by 16 feet over Washburn.
 
“There were a lot of nerves, yes,” Hoover said. “But coming here knowing I had those other throwers right there pushing me, I had to perform well.
 
“This one means so much more just because it’s my last year, I got the state record and I threw good and competed well. It meant a lot to me.”
 

 
It’s not like Hoover hadn’t had strong competition in past state meets. In fact, she had a nice little rivalry with Macksville’s Mayce Russell that brought out the best in both of them.
 
As a sophomore in 2023, Hoover went into the state meet as the Class 1A leader after throwing a career-best 144-7 at regionals. But she had an off day at state, throwing just a best of 129-1, and Russell enjoyed a career day, throwing 144-3 to set the 1A state meet record.
 
While neither thrower was able to reach their 2023 marks last spring, their battle for the title was even tighter. This time, Hoover prevailed, throwing 131-0 on her first attempt and improving to 132-9 to beat Russell by three and a half feet.
 
With Russell having graduated last May, there wasn’t an obvious heir apparent to take on the rival role this year. Washburn did finish third at state last year at 128-11 but had only had one mark better than that all season, a 139-2 at the Dighton Invitational.
 
And quite frankly, Hoover wanted someone to fill Russell’s void.
 
“There was really no one there for a while,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I would throw well if I didn’t have good competition.”
 
A month into the season, Washburn’s rise began to catch her attention as the Longhorn popped a 140-2 and then a 144-11 and then a 145-7 to close the gap on Hoover’s state lead.
 
“When I saw that, I knew I had the competition and I’d have to perform,” Hoover said.
 
Unlike a year ago, Hoover didn’t take command of the event right away. Her first throw of 124-9 put her in a tie for third with Satanta’s Cameron Ross, who had thrown a season-best 140-9 in the regular season, behind Twin Valley League rival Josie Haverkamp of Centralia, who had a PR 129-9, and Tipton’s Carlie Brummer (127-6).
 
By the time she made her second attempt, she’d fallen to fourth with Ross improving to 133-1 on her second attempt. At that point, however, Hoover took control.
 
She finished prelims with throws of 142-10 and 142-9 and then began finals with a 143-11, putting her just four inches away from Russell’s state-meet record. On Hoover’s fifth throw, she got the record, throwing 147-1.
 
“Knowing what that record was all year long and being here when it got set, I knew I had to go after it,” Hoover said. “I knew I could throw that well because I have all season. I just had to live up to it and perform.
 
“My first three throws it was just, ‘Just get to finals. Relax. Don’t do anything crazy or hurt yourself.’ When the finals came around, it was ‘All right, it’s your time to perform.’”
 

 
Hoover wasn’t done putting on a show. With the record and her second straight title already in hand after Washburn’s final attempt maxed out at just a 138-7, she let it all out on her final throw of the meet.
 
This time, she put a mark out there that very well could stand for some time. Her 154-7 not only demolished the record she had just set by seven and a half feet, it also would have broken the state-meet records in Class 2A (151-1) and Class 3A (152-8).
 
“I was able to relax and I felt so free,” she said. “I was just able to let it fly. It felt amazing coming out of my hand, my arm, coming out of my plant. Everything was amazing and it was flying good. I was excited to see what the mark was.
 
“I wanted to get over 150. That was my goal for the day because I’ve done it before. I was just so thankful God was with me to get it out there.”

 

ELLIS’ NORTH GETS DISCUS TITLE BACK, ADDS SHOT PUT CROWN IN LEADING RAILERS TO 1A TITLE
 
When Natalee North found out Ellis was dropping down to Class 1A for the 2024-25 school year, she admits she wasn’t necessarily enthused about the move.
 
“It was more kind of sad,” she said. “Because there were so many girls (in 2A) I had competed with and we’d grown up competing together. So it was not being with them.”
 
At the same time, North knew the change of scenery could be good. Had she been in 1A last year, North would have won her second straight state discus title.
 
A state champion in the 2A discus in 2023 when she won by five feet with a 125-11, North had to settle for a runner-up spot last spring despite improving to 129-1 at state, seeing Mission Valley’s Emma Slade, who had dropped down from 3A, swoop in and take the title with a 138-3. North’s throw would have won 1A by more than a foot.
 
“It was just the circumstances of having (Slade) drop down and take that position,” said North, who will join Slade at Fort Hays State next year.
 
Then again, it wouldn’t have mattered really what class North competed in this year. One of the top overall throwers in the state – third-best overall in the shot put and fifth-best overall in the discus going into state – North left little doubt in sweeping the 1A shot put and discus titles as a senior.
 
On Friday’s opening day of the state meet, the Ellis standout threw 138-1 to win the 1A discus title by nearly nine feet over Clifton-Clyde’s Calyn Baker – a mark that would also have won 2A by a similar margin and every other class by 3A and 6A. 
 
She came back on Saturday to win the shot put title with a throw of 40-7.75, more than one and a half feet over Hodgeman County’s Blake Dansel. That mark also would have won nearly two feet and all but 3A and 5A.
 
“My mom’s always online looking at where I’m at,” North said. “I’ve been improving and hearing my name throughout the state and seeing it up there, it’s like, ‘Wow, I’m up there with those girls?’ It’s exciting and winning two state titles to go with it is just amazing.”
 
North finished the season undefeated in the discus, including a win at the Shocker Pre-State Challenge in the Elite Division.
 
Her success in that event has been in place for some time as North consistently threw in the 120s as a sophomore on her way to a the state title, making a huge jump from her freshman year when she topped out at 111-2.
 

. 
North won discus titles at seven meets as a sophomore and six as a junior. Shot put crowns during that span were a little tougher to come by, getting two each season. But as she began to climb, shooting up into the 38-foot range in last year’s regional and state meets, she began to take aim at the Railers’ school record of 39-7, set by Erin Groff in 2010.
 
But her fixation on it proved to be a hindrance more than a help.
 
“Throughout the season and definitely toward the back half, I was chasing the school record and felt like I was losing it a little bit,” said North, who opened the year with a PR 38-11.5 at the Russsell Invitational but then only topped that mark once over the next six meets with a 39-5.5 at the Kaser Relays in Osborne in late April. “I was too focused on wanting to take it. But once I cleared my head, I had a huge pop.”
 
That pop was a 42-7 at regionals, which came right after hitting the 40-foot barrier the previous week at the Mid-Continent League meet where she threw 40-8.75. North’s 42-7 moved her to the 3 spot on the state honor roll behind eventual three-time Class 3A state champion Tatum Seyfert of Beloit and eventual 5A champion Stella Kitt of Eisenhower.
 
With Dansel and Baker also both having gone over 40 feet this season, North didn’t have much room for error to get her first state shot put title. But she threw down the gauntlet right away with an opening throw of 40-7.75, immediately answering a strong starting toss of 39-0.5 by Dansel.
 
Neither was able to improve on their opening marks with Dansel never throwing better than 38-6.25 on her final five attempts. North had five more throws of 38-6 or better, but just missing getting back over 40 with her final two throws in the high 39s.
 
A focused pursuit of a record at state also didn’t quite work out for North, who had hoped to break the 1A meet record in the discus. Her season best of 143-10 that ranked only behind four 3A throwers in the state this year, was well beyond the existing 1A meet record of 140-3 set by Cuba-Hillcrest’s Hope Harris in 2004.
 
And Ellis’ school record also was within reach, set at 144-2 by Whitney Taylor in 2009.
 
But after thrower better than 140 feet at three meets this season, North couldn’t hit that mark at state with her best being a 138-1. That was well ahead of Baker’s runner-up mark of 129-3.
 
“I was chasing a number and didn’t quite get it,” North said. “But I got two titles so I can’t really be too disappointed. That’s a great accomplishment and I’m so excited.”

North's double-gold performance also helped her to a third title as Ellis captured the Class 1A team title. The Railers, who also got a double-gold performance from 1,600 and 3,200 champion Avery Boydston, finished with 58 points to edge Clifton-Clyde by eight points for Ellis' first team title since winning the 2009 Class 2A title.