Rain, Rain Go Away...State Meet Goes Another Day

The 2019 Kansas Track and Field State Championships were just a couple events from completion Saturday when another damaging storm came rolling through Wichita. So for the second straight day, the Kansas State High School Activities Association sent everybody home and to safety, choosing to wait until Sunday to complete this year's meet.

It was a wise decision. Storms pounded Cessna Stadium shortly after the meet was suspended, leaving just some of the 200 meter finals and all of the 4 X 400 relays left to compete. There were also a few field events yet to be completed, as well.

Those events will resume at 10 a.m. Sunday. KSHSAA says admission to Cessna Stadium will be free on Sunday for the completion of the meet.

The abrupt halt to Saturday's events came after spectators witnessed some remarkable performances, notably:

*  Marshall Faurot of Scott Community won state titles in the 110 hurdles, high jump and pole vault, where he took three shots at the All-Class record of 17-0.25. On his second attempt, he appeared to have cleared the bar before nipping it on the way down. He did get the class 3A record of 16-1.

* Jacy Dalinghaus of Nemaha Central struck gold in the javelin, discus and shot put, leading her team to an insurmountable lead regardless of Sunday's events.

* Smoky Valley's Timmy Lambert claimed the title as Fastest Boy in Kansas, winning the 100 meters in a class 3A record time of 10.55. Lambert also won the 200 in 21.97, and anchored his team's winning 4 x 100 relay. Newton's Kalli Anderson is the Fastest Girl in Kansas, winning the class 5A 100 meters in 11.81; she later also won the 200 in 24.85, just before the storms rolled in.

*  Three Kansas athletes took a shot at 7-foot-0 in the high jump; none of them made it, but it definitely had the crowd hyped. Brady Palen of Beloit-St. Johns won in class 1A (6-10.5), Tyus Wilson of Sterling won in class 2A (6-10), and Hunter Jones of Nickerson won in class 4A (6-10).

* Chapman senior Aaron Modrow and sophomore Taylor Briggs swept the 3200 and 1600 meter runs on Saturday. For Modrow, it's the first track and field state titles in his career, while Briggs is now 6-for-6 in cross country and track and field in her young career. Yates Center's Hadley Splechter, Lincoln's Jaycee Vath, Central Christian's Collin Oswalt, and St. James Academy's Sarah Murrow also swept their respective 1600 and 3200 meter titles. Splechter also won the 800 meters.

*  Jaleel Montgomery of Wichita West won a thrilling race against Hutchinson's Tayezhan Crough in the 110 hurdles. Crough was the defending champion, but Montgomery got the cleaner run this year, finishing in 14.17 to Crough's 14.39.

* The much-hyped class 6A 100 meter showdown between Wichita South's Deron Dudley and Wichita West's Xavier Sellers went to the defending champ, Dudley. The senior trailed Blue Valley West's Nevan Tebb-lolar out of the blocks, but made up the gap by 70 meters to win in 10.61. Tebb-lolar was razor-close, finishing second in 10.63. Sellers seemed to pull up just before the finish and was seventh at 10.97.

*  Nemaha Central pulled a 1-2-3 sweep in the girls' javelin. Dalinghaus was the winner, followed by teammates Hannah Scott (134-8) and Hannah Mocke (130-3). Andale also pulled off a 1-2-3 sweep in the girls pole vault with Jaden Eck (12-0), Jayden Cates (11-6) and Aspen Liby (11-0).

Here's a look at how team races are shaping up heading into Sunday:

CLASS 1A: Northern Valley's boys have 45.5 points for a slim lead over Hanover. Northern Valley has the top seed into Sunday's final, while Hanover is No. 3. Lincoln's girls lead pre-meet favorite Kiowa County by 10 points, but Kiowa County still have discus thrower Sabrina Thomas (seeded No. 3) and a 4 X 400 relay on Sunday. Lincoln does not have a 4 X 400 relay team.

CLASS 2A: Maranatha Christian holds a slim one-point lead over Rossville, six points over Meade and Hillsboro, and eight over Stanton County in the boys team race.  Only Maranatha and Stanton County have teams in the 4 X 400 Sunday. In class 2A girls, Garden Plain will win the team title; the squad currently has 63.5 points to 47 for last year's champion, Bennington.

CLASS 3A: Scott Community has 85 points to Smoky Valley's 50 in the boys' race, and Nemaha Central has 72 to Cheney's 51 in the girls' race. Nothing left to decide here.

CLASS 4A: Piper is ahead 59-47 in the boys' chase, but the class 4A pole vault is yet to be completed. Andale has three of the top four vaulters in class 4A in that event, so has a very good chance to erase the deficit. Both teams also have 4 X 400 relays that will compete Sunday. Andale's girls have a comfortable 35-point lead over Piper with only the 4 X 400 relay left.

CLASS 5A: Bishop Carroll's girls are holding on to slim hopes here. They trail pre-meet favorite St. James Academy 77-67, but have a triple jumper, javelin thrower and a 4 X 400 relay left to compete. St. James Academy, however, also has a 4 X 400 relay - which is ranked No. 1 in class 5A. Bishop Carroll's boys won't have to worry; they're 19 points up on DeSoto, which has just a 4 X 400 relay to compete.

CLASS 6A: Lawrence's girls have done their work - they lead 78-57 over Olathe Northwest, and still have a 4 X 400 relay to compete. That event essentially serves as a victory lap as Lawrence will successfully defend the class 6A girls state crown. Perhaps the most intriguing team race on Saturday is class 6A boys where Gardner-Edgerton leads with 56 points, followed by Manhattan (51.5), Mill Valley (45), and Blue Valley West (42). All four teams have a 4 X 400 relay to go, while Gardner-Edgerton and Blue Valley West each have two runners left to compete in the 200 meters.

Kansas MileSplit will have the complete wrapup and final team scores after the completion of the meet on Sunday. Results of all events, as well as Live Results on Sunday, are available at https://live.athletic.net/meets/3650