The Class 3-2-1A State Wrestling Championship is my favorite KSHSAA event throughout the yaer. Right up there in a close second is the 6-5-4-3-2-1A track & field championshipsl, scheduled for this weekend at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium.
A two-day long event, the Track & Field Championships highlight the best all-around athletes the state has to offer all in one place, competing for the right to be called a state champion.
Aside form soaring temperatures and a seemingly inevitable thunderstorm delay or two, the weekend is a much-anticipated workloaded for myself and like-minded reporters. We get a chance to see up close and personal the triumph and heartbreak of winning a prestiguous state title as an individual competitor. Once in a while, we get the opportunity to share in the glory of an area school claiming a team title as well, like we did last season with both the boys and girls from Atwood.
This year, there are several stories on the agenda to be told. Both reporter Conor Nicholl and I are hard at work this week, compiling a list and filtering through all of our area’s qualifiers to find the best stories to be told for this Thursday’s preview edition of the HDN.
That being said, I had the opportunity to watch the Class 1A regional competition in Hays over the weekend and was more than impressed with what I saw heading into the finale. There were also a few surprises thrown in that I didn’t expect.
No. 1 — I haven’t seen a runner in a while like Ness City sophomore Colton McNinch. While his times aren’t the greatest in the area in both the 1,600 and the 3,200, they are best or among the best in Class 1A heading in. His win in the 1,600-meter run (the worst of his two events) was nothing short of awesome as he made a charge at the end that not many runners would have left in the tank. On top of that, I made the comparison to Fort Hays All-American and current track & field/cross country coach Jason McCullough. To me, he looked an awful-lot like the former Tiger runner. While McCullough didn’t agree in the phsyical similarity, he didn’t argue McNinch’s running ability, and was equally as impressed.
No. 2 — The Ness City boys’ team win was a bit of a shocker as they earned some points from some non-qualifiers to earn the regional title. Congrats to the Eagles, though a team trophy in Wichita is a little out of reach without a couple more. Still, expect McNinch to claim at least one crown.
No 3 — Victoria freshman Taylor Kisner got her prep career started off on the right foot by qualifying for state in three events, three of which were among some solid competition in Class 1A. Probably the most impressive was Kisner’s run in the 100m dash, right up there with Triplains senior Kara Gfeller, last year’s fifth-place finisher in Class 1A.
No. 4 — Expect another state javelin championship for Palco senior Rachel Belisle. Belisle made it look easy by tossing her season best throw of 134 feet, 1 inch on her first attempt on a gorgeous day outside Lewis Field Stadium.
No. 5 — St. Francis senior Ted Crabtree has the best vault out of all the 1A regionals heading into the finale, and the second best ouf of all the regionals, regardless of class. His attempt at 14-6 in Hays just missed, but look for Crabtree to be right back up there in Wichita, provided a good weather day.
Other thoughts on the upcoming meet
It never fails. For all the reporters and workers heading to the meet, remember this. The elevator at Cessna Stadium will no doubt fail about two hours into the first day, and we will be braving the long stair climb for a couple days. It’s the only time of year when you’ll see old, out-of-shape reporters looking a little more tired than the athletes on the track.
Thunderstorms are of course in the forecast for this weekend, so don’t forget your umbrellas and possible a change of a shirt or two, and expect some delays. Last year’s 2-hour delay or so probably is the worst, but is no match for the weather taking a title away from Hays High School (assumption) a few years back.
See you all in Wichita.