The Sumner Academy girls’ 4×100-meter relay posed together after the race. The team placed 5th in class 5A with a time of 50.21 seconds. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
by Brian Turrel
Sumner Academy senior Janae McKelvy concluded her stellar track and field career at the 2022 KSHSAA state meet this weekend in Wichita.
McKelvy led the Sabres with medals in three events — 5A girls’ 100-meter hurdles, high jump and the 4×100-meter relay.
Junior Kylie McCleary looks ready to pick up McKelvy’s leading role next year. McCleary earned medals in the girls’ 200-meter dash and the 4×100-meter relay. She also ran in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash, but didn’t break through to the medal round.
Sophomore Myleah Brown and junior Kylah Burdette rounded out the Lady Sabres medal-winning relay team.
Junior Terry Rowe III competed in the boys’ high jump and freshman Sommyr Moore in the boys’ long jump, but both were eliminated in their preliminary flights.
Junior Kylie McCleary showed off her medals after the awards presentation. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Several thousand fans packed the stands of Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium for the KSHSAA state track and field meet, one of the largest in the country. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Senior Janae McKelvy cleared the bar in the girls’ high jump. McKelvy placed 8th with a jump of 5-feet, 0-inches. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Senior Janae McKelvy crossed the finish line of the girls’ 4×100-meter relay. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Sophomore Myleah Brown ran the opening leg of the girls’ 4×100-meter relay. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Junior Terry Rowe III competed in the 5A boys’ high jump. Rowe finished 12th with a jump of 5-feet, 10-inches. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Freshman Sommyr Moore prepared for landing in the boys’ long jump. Moore finished 16th with a jump of 18-feet, 8 1/2-inches. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Senior K.J. Smith jumped in the finals of the 3A boys’ long jump at the Kansas state track meet Saturday in Wichita. He placed third with a top jump of 22-feet, 3/4-inches. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
by Brian Turrel
Bishop Ward High School took a small but successful contingent to the KSHSAA state track and field meet in Wichita this weekend.
Despite a taped-up left quadriceps, senior K.J. Smith completed a jump of 22-feet, 3/4-inches to place third in the 3A boys’ long jump.
The Cyclones’ boys’ 4×100-meter relay team also earned a medal, placing fifth with a time of 44.47 seconds. Jashaun Holliday, K.J. Smith, Antonio Robinson, and Javon Roach ran in the preliminaries, with Ezekiel Hernandez swapping in for Smith in the finals.
Senior Antonio Robinson sprinted out of the blocks in the first leg of the boys’ 4×100-meter relay. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Senior K.J. Smith jumped in the finals of the 3A boys’ long jump. He placed third with a top jump of 22-feet, 3/4-inches. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Senior Javon Roach crossed the line in the finals of the 3A boys’ 4×100-meter relay. Bishop Ward placed fifth with a time of 44.47 seconds. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Bonner Springs track coach Heather Campbell, center, posed with sophomore McKenzie Campbell, left, and Mariyah Noel after the awards ceremony at the KSHSAA state track meet in Wichita on Saturday. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
by Brian Turrel
Bonner Springs track coach Heather Campbell already had one unforgettable memory from the Kansas state track and field meet, winning gold medals for Garden City High School in the shot put and discus in 1999.
She has another after this weekend. Campbell’s daughter McKenzie, a Bonner Springs sophomore, placed third at state in the 5A girls’ shot put, and McKenzie’s teammate Mariyah Noel won first place in the girls’ discus throw.
Making the event even more special, as a previous gold medalist Heather was able to sign up to present medals for the events she won, and in front of the thousands of applauding track and field fans in Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium, she awarded the medals to her own student-athletes.
The 5A girls’ shot put was held Friday morning, and McKenzie threw 37-feet, 3-inches on her second throw to reach the finals, bettering her previous personal best by over a foot. In the finals, she was narrowly edged out for second place by Taryn Warren of Great Bend. Aarion Pickens of Leavenworth won the event with a throw of 38-feet, 6 1/4-inches.
In Saturday morning’s discus throw, Noel, last year’s 5A girls’ discus champion, kept the crowd — and her coach — in suspense whether she could repeat.
Sitting below the cut line after two of three throws in her preliminary flight, Noel hit 123-feet, 11-inches to jump to second place and into the final round.
In the finals, the Bonner Springs junior set the top mark with her first throw, only to see it passed immediately by Spring Hill’s Margo Todd at 130-feet, 8-inches. On the third throw of the finals, Maize South’s Kieran Burke also topped Noel, pushing her down to third place.
Noel met the pressure head on, hitting her best throw of the meet when she needed it most, 134-feet, a Bonner Springs school record. Todd had one throw remaining to surpass her, the crowd holding its breath, but she fouled on the attempt, ceding the gold medal.
The Braves also brought home medals in the 5A boys’ 4×100-meter relay and girls’ 100-meter hurdles.
Junior Jenna Knight finished 6th in the preliminaries of the 100-meter hurdles, then turned on the jets in the finals to jump to 2nd, with a time of 15.68 seconds.
The boys’ 4×100-meter relay team of Alex Amayo, Kahliek Rainey, Jacob Jones, and Noah Doss finished third with a time of 43.02 seconds, bested only by Piper and De Soto.
Junior Mariyah Noel threw in the 5A girls’ discus and won the event with a school record throw 134-feet, 0-inches. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Junior Jenna Knight placed second in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.68 seconds. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Sophomore McKenzie Campbell threw in the girls’ shot put. Campbell placed third with a distance of 37-feet, 3-inches. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Senior Noah Doss crossed the finish line in the boys’ 4×100-meter relay. The team placed third with a time of 43.02 seconds. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Senior Alex Amayo sprinted out in the first leg of the 4×100-meter relay. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Senior Cooper McWilliams competed in the boys’ high jump. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
Junior Mariyah Noel got a hug from coach Heather Campbell as she received her medal for winning the girls’ discus throw. (Photo copyright 2022 by Brian Turrel)
