CLASS 1A BOYS TRACK ATHLETES TO WATCH IN 2026
 

GAVIN ALLOWAY, OTIS-BISON

Alloway broke Otis-Bison’s triple jump record with a leap of 44-4.25 and owns a personal-best of 22 feet in the long jump. He finished third at state in both events last season. Alloway also was a regional champion in both the long jump and triple jump and claimed a Central Prairie League title in the triple jump. He has opened his senior season undefeated in the long jump and triple jump.
 

KALEB ARNOLD, OLPE

Arnold popped onto the scene as a distance runner to keep an eye on as a freshman when he finished fourth at state in Class 1A in the 3,200 and fifth in the 1,600. He endured a bit of a sophomore slump with his times at state considerably slower and leading to Arnold not making the medal stand in either of those races. But that only lit a fire and despite running a limited schedule as a junior, Arnold didn’t lose a 3,200 race. He was at his best when it mattered most, posting a career-best time of 9:50.87 to capture the 3,200 state title by two and a half seconds over South Barber’s Joshua MacKinney. Arnold also placed third in the 1,600 with a 4:32.40, which was five seconds off his career best of 4:27.76 run earlier in the season.
 

CAEDMON BRIDGES, QUINTER

Bridges closed his junior season with a runner-up finish in the discus at state, throwing 171-3 to break a school record. He placed eighth at state as a sophomore. Bridges is the reigning Northwest Kansas League champion and also won the discus at the Dighton, Quinter and Ness City meets while finishing runner-up at regionals. He has signed to throw at Pittsburg State.

 

MALIK CARSON, CHASE 

Carson turned in a strong freshman season, highlighted by a sixth-place state finish in the 100 (11.28) and a seventh-place showing in the 200 (22.97). He was the Central Prairie League champion in both events and league runner-up in the long jump, an event he hopes to qualify for state in this season. Carson enters his sophomore season with his sights set on the school records in the 100 and 200.
 

BAYLOR CHILDRESS, ELKHART

Childress is a contender for a 1A shot put title after finishing runner-up in the event at state as a junior. He threw 54-10.25, trailing Palco’s Ethan Gaschler (58-8.75). Childress was a regional champion in both the discus and shot put and placed seventh at state in the discus. As a sophomore, he finished eighth at state in the shot put. He has already set personal-best marks this season in the shot put (59-4.50) and discus (165).
 

ELI GAEDDERT, GOESSEL

Gaeddert has established himself as one of the top distance runners in Goessel history and still has two track seasons to further cement his legacy. Last year was a bit of a breakout one on the track for Gaeddert. He won the 1,600 seven times during his sophomore season and added another six wins in the 3,200 and one in the 800. Spending most of the season running in the mid-10-minute range in the 3,200, Gaeddert hung with a fast pace at the state meet and turned in a time of 9:54.67 that not only placed him fourth, but trimmed a whopping 14 seconds off his previous career best. Gaeddert also placed fifth in the 1,600 in 4:34.58, just off his career-best time of 4:29.41 run earlier in the season at the Moundridge Invitational that was within a second of a school record set in the 1970s. Gaeddert has already made noise this year, capturing the Class 1A state cross country title in the fall, becoming Goessel’s first-ever state cross country champion where he holds every school record except time by a senior, which he will get next year.
 

BROXTON GALL, NESS CITY

Gall is the reigning 1,600-meter champion after clocking a 4:29.51 to edge Lebo’s Caleb Durst by 0.04 seconds. He owns Ness City’s school record in the 800 at 1:59.72. Gall was a regional champion in both the 800 and 1,600 and ran a leg on Ness City’s record-setting 3,200 relay team. He won all but one of his races in the 1,600 and finished 12th at state in the 800. Gall has signed to run at Fort Hays State.

 

OWEN HAMMOND, NORTHERN VALLEY 

Hammond is the reigning Western Kansas Liberty League champion in both hurdles events. He placed seventh at state in both and also qualified for state in the high jump. Hammond has qualified for state in each of his first three track seasons. He earned his first state medal as a sophomore with an eighth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles.
 

JACK HERD, SOUTH CENTRAL

Herd, a four-sport star, captured a javelin state title in his first season of high school track last year. After finishing second at his first meet, he went on to win every other meet, capping his junior season with a state-winning throw of 196-5. He has shattered the school javelin record multiple times and recorded a personal-best 211-7 at the Minneola meet this season. Herd also is competing in the shot put and could run a leg on South Central’s 400 relay team. Baseball is his primary sport this spring. He helped the Timberwolves win an Eight-Player Division I football title last fall and finish runner-up in basketball.
 

EDWARD HORINEK, BELOIT-ST. JOHN’S

Horinek completed his tremendous basketball career with a state championship last month and now looks to defend his 1A triple jump state title. He won state with a mark of 45-9.50. Horinek took first in the triple jump in nine of the 10 meets he competed in last season, setting a personal best of 46-0.75. He also added a seventh-place finish at state in the long jump. Horinek has opened his senior season with three wins in the triple jump and two in the long jump.
 

JOSHUA MACKINNEY SOUTH BARBER
 
MacKinney, a junior, has developed into one of Class 1A’s top distance runners. He ended the 2025 high school season with a runner-up finish to Olpe’s Kaleb Arnold in the 1A state 3,200 and took seventh in the 1,600. He collected a third state medal as part of South Barber’s seventh-place 3,200 relay team. MacKinney owns the Chieftains’ record in the 3,200, running 9:46.87 at last year’s South Barber Invitational. His distance relay also set a school record. MacKinney’s PR in the 1,600 is 4:37.89, which he ran at state. MacKinney, the reigning Heart of the Plains champion in the 3,200, enjoyed a strong cross country season as well, finishing fourth at the 1A state meet.
 

IAN MELENDEZ, SPEARVILLE

Melendez followed up his 2024 state high jump title with a third-place finish last season at 6-2. He also added a state runner-up finish in the long jump, recording a 21-11.25. Melendez was a regional champion in the long jump and won four other meets in the event last season. His personal best in the high jump is 6-5, which he cleared to win his title as a sophomore, and his top mark in the long jump is 22-1.75, set last season. Melendez is coming off a strong senior season on the basketball court.

 

JEREMIAH MILLER, LINCOLN

Miller earned a pair of top-five state finishes in the hurdles last season. He took third in the 300-meter hurdles with a personal-best 40.62 and added a fifth-place finish in the 110 hurdles (15.95). He was the Northern Plains League champion in the 300 hurdles and runner-up in the 110 hurdles. Miller’s twin brother, Xavier, took fourth in the 400 last year. The Miller brothers helped lead Lincoln to a state runner-up finish in football last fall.
 

LOGAN SANDMANN, AXTELL

The 6-foot-6 Sandmann has been a key figure on Axtell’s basketball teams that captured the Class 1A Division II state championship in 2025 and finished runner-up this March and also chipped in points to help the Eagles’ track team win its third straight Class 1A state title last spring. Last year was a breakout year both in basketball and track as Sandmann went from a top clearance of 6-0 in the high jump his freshman year to ranking among the best in the state overall when he went 6-7 at the mid-April Frankfort Invitational. Sandmann was undefeated in the high jump going into state and nearly finished that way as he and Hutchinson Central Christian’s Jayden Linscheid were the last two standing. But neither could get over the bar at 6-6 and Sandmann had to settle for a runner-up finish after needing two attempts at 6-4 while Linscheid cleared on his first attempt at that height. Sandmann also competes in the javelin and discus and if he can qualify for state and add points in those events it will help Axtell’s bid for a four-peat team championship.
 

LANDON SCHMITZ, AXTELL

As good as Schmitz’s sophomore season was, the Eagle hurdling standout couldn’t help but think about what might have been. Already having won the 110 hurdles title at state, Schmitz was in position to complete the hurdles sweep, leading the 300s going into the final hurdles. But Schmitz clipped the last hurdle and stumbled and wasn’t able to recover in time, settling for a disappointing fourth-place showing. Last year as a junior, Schmitz left no doubt and was flawless in his execution at state. He successfully defended his 110 hurdles title, winning by .28 seconds over Bucklin’s Lucas Kirk. He then came back and won the 300 hurdles title that had eluded him in 2024, turning in a 39.36 to beat Kirk by .70 seconds. Schmitz also helped Axtell’s 400 and 1,600 relays to state titles as the Eagles won their third straight Class 1A team championship in dominating fashion. Schmitz holds Axtell’s school records in the 110 hurdles (14.72) and 300 hurdles (38.69) and also is part of Axtell’s record-holding 400, 800 and 1,600 relays. He’ll be the leading figure as Axtell goes for the four-peat this spring.
 

KINGSLY SMITH, WAKEFIELD

One of only two state qualifiers for Wakefield a year ago, Smith was the Bombers’ only state placer and came away with a pair of state medals. He ranked among the top throwers in Class 1A when he threw 55-4 in the shot put at regionals and throwing 170-6 in the discus at the Wheat State League meet. He wasn’t quite able to match those throws at state, but his 51-5.75 in the shot put earned him a third-place finish and his 160-9 in the discus tied him for fourth. He’ll be one of the top returners in both events this year in Class 1A. Smith’s size (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) makes him a somewhat unconventional candidate for the sprint events, but his athleticism allowed him to fare well in running the 200 and 400 a year ago, taking third in both at the league meet.
 

GAVIN THALHEIM, NORTHERN VALLEY

Thalheim is a three-time state qualifier who has earned a pair of medals at each of the past two state meets. He was state runner-up in the javelin last year with a throw of 170-4 and placed eighth in the pole vault, clearing 12-6. As a sophomore, Thalheim finished fourth at state in both events. He was the Western Kansas Liberty League champion in the javelin and pole vault last year.
 

SKYLER THIMESCH, CUNNINGHAM
 
While Cunningham’s Will Wegerer ended his high school career as a two-time pole vault champion, Thimesch got in on the fun with his teammate at last year’s state meet. He finished second to Wegerer with a personal-best clearance of 14-6, a height that established him as a contender to follow Wegerer to the top of the medal stand. With Wegerer around, Thimesch didn’t win any pole vault competitions last spring, but cleared 14-0 or better on four occasions, including a runner-up finish at the Heart of the Plains meet. Thimesch, a senior, also advanced to state in the 200, but missed qualifying for the finals by one spot. He is the reigning HOPL 100 and 200 champion, and has run personal bests of 11.47 and 22.49 in those events.
 

KARSYN WRIGHT, WESKAN

Wright is one of the top contenders in the Class 1A 100 and 200 after those events were hit hard by graduation. The multi-sport standout placed fourth at state in the 100 and 200 and was sixth in the 400. Wright also was a regional and Western Kansas Liberty League champion in all three races. His personal bests are 10.90 in the 100, 22.55 in the 200 and 50.86 in the 400. Wright holds the school record in all three events.
 

DYLAN WARK, GOLDEN PLAINS 

Wark is the reigning Western Kansas Liberty League champion in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. He took ninth in the 1,600 at state with a personal-best 4:40.55. Wark also is a standout football and basketball player for the Bulldogs.