There were no newcomer nerves this time for Frontenac’s Reece Franklin. No long gaps between state titles to try to close.
 
And until Franklin had her second Class 3A high jump title secured, there were no missed attempts either.
 
Competing against many of the same finalists she did last year in her State Track and Field Championships debut, Franklin produced the same outcome, clearing the bar on her first five attempts and winning her second career championship with a jump of 5 feet, 6 inches.
 
Franklin, a sophomore who became the Raiders’ first individual state track champion in 27 years last season, stayed unbeaten in the event for her career with her 10^th victory this season.
 
“That’s my favorite event,” said Franklin, the lone competitor to clear 5-6. “Last year, I came in with no confidence at all. This year, I’ve got a lot more confidence in myself and I know I can go out there and jump my best.”
 

While Franklin came up two inches shy of her personal best and winning jump in last year’s meet, she still managed to prevail against five fellow medalists from the 2025 meet. Lakin junior Aryn Michaelis, a fifth-place finisher a year ago, shared the runner-up spot with Colby senior Brittany Swartz at 5-4.
 
“It means a lot,” Franklin said of topping the familiar field. “It was something that that made me want to compete more. It’s just great competition. I knew I’d have probably go out there and jump my best to win.”
 
Franklin’s top clearance matched her winning height from six other meets this season. She went 5-8 at the season-opening Pitt State Relays and again at the Girard Invitational. That gave her pre-meet hopes of taking a shot at a 14-year-old 3A meet record of 5-10 set by Rossville’s Shannon Parr, but Franklin was stymied at 5-8.
 
Still, Franklin produced a big smile when her title defense was official.
 
“Last year, I had some misses but this year it was cleaner,” Franklin said. “I got over them all easily until 5-8.”
 
Franklin, who won four events at the Fredonia regional, earned her second state medal in the triple jump. After jumping a season-best 36-11.25 at regionals, Franklin, last year’s state runner-up in the event, took fourth with a leap of 36-7.75.
 

PARSONS' HINMAN-MITCHELL GOES UNDEFEATED WITH 4A JAVELIN TITLE

Braelyn Hinman-Mitchell knew exactly where her competition for the Class 4A javelin state title came from.
 
“There were some Andale girls who had some higher numbers than mine,” Hinman-Mitchell said. “I was definitely nervous about them.”
 
For good reason. Since 2019, a thrower from Andale has captured the 4A girls javelin title every year except 2024 when Labette County’s Riley Bebb cracked the stranglehold and got the crown.
 
A year ago, the Indians went 1-2 in the event while Hinman-Mitchell finished a distant fifth.
 
This season, however, the Parsons had improved considerably and won every meet going into state, throwing a career-best 142-8 at the Southeast Kansas League meet, a mark that was third-best in 4A going into state behind Clay Center’s Halle Koppes (149-0) and Andale’s Kinley Spexarth (144-10).
 
Dipping to a 129-4 at regionals, Hinman-Mitchell’s mark was sixth-best among 4A throwers at regionals. And when she opened with a 122-9, she was sitting fourth.
 

 
But Hinman-Mitchell threw 137-7 on her second attempt and 139-10 on her and took the event lead into finals by more than two feet over Andale’s Abbey McNeal. She then threw 140-1 on her second throw of finals and finished with a 140-7, winning by more than two feet over Spexarth, who threw 138 on her final attempt.
 
“They made me work for it,” Hinman-Mitchell said. “I think I threw pretty good, but I thought I could have thrown better. I thought I was going to have to go out and show out, which I think I did. It’s an accomplishment because I really worked hard on my technique this year.”
 
Hinman-Mitchell was one of two state champions for the Vikings.
 
Ayanna Robertson, who finished runner-up at state a year ago in the triple jump, got the title this season. Trailing Andale’s Sydney Waltner by 2.75 inches after two jumps, Robertson delivered a career-best jump of 37-8 on her third attempt of prelims and that was good enough to win the title.
 
Waltner finished second at 36-9.5 and Robertson had two other jumps in the finals that were long enough to win as well.
 
 
OTHER SOUTHEAST KANSAS STATE CHAMPIONS
 

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• A state title in the Class 1A high jump looked like somewhat of a longshot for Sedan’s Riley Hubert, who had come into the state meet as the favorite after clearing 5-6 during the regular season. But when she missed her first two attempts at 5-2 and three of her fellow competitors cleared on either their first or second attempt, Hubert was up against it. But Hubert came through on her final attempt at 5-2 and when she got over on her second attempt at 5-4 and no one else got a clearance, the title was hers.

 

 

• Northeast-Arma’s Brooklyn Jackson captured the Class 2A shot put title, throwing 38-5.75 to win by a half foot over Berean Academy’s Claira Wiebe. Jackson threw 38-3.50 during prelims and was the lone thrower over 36 feet going into finals. But Wiebe put a little heat on Jackson when she threw 37-10 on her second attempt of finals. It wasn’t enough and Jackson answered with her winning mark for her first state title after placing just 10th at state in 2025.

 

 

• St. Mary’s Colgan ran away with the title in the girls’ Class 2A 3,200 relay as the foursome of Mary Rose Boshee, Alli Karleskint, Gillian Wilbert and Mari Gilmore finished in 9:47.90 to win by nearly nine seconds over Northern Heights, which finished in 9:56.53.