Kansas high school boys state track: Barkdull brothers put on a championship show

Ashton and Bryce Barkdull have spent countless hours training in the pole vault together over the past year.

The Barkdull brothers turned the Kansas high school state track and field meet into their own family show, as they were the final two remaining vaulters to decide the Class 5A boys pole vault championship.

And they put on a show indeed: Bryce, just a sophomore, cleared 15 feet for the first time, while Ashton, a senior committed to KU track and field, successfully defended his pole vault title and broke the 5A state meet record in the process with his personal-best vault of 16 feet, 7¼ inches to move into No. 6 all-time in Kansas history.

Making the setting even more special for the family was that their father, Ryan, was their coach and they each produced their career-best vaults at Cessna Stadium, the same place where Ryan was a two-time All-American in the pole vault.

“That was a lot of fun,” Ryan said. “I really enjoyed seeing both of my kids compete against everyone else and then against each other there at the end. You can’t ask for anything better.”

Ashton had command of the crowd like no other competitor on Friday, thriving off the slow clap and build-up to each one of his vaults.

After clearing the bar to break the 5A state meet record, Ashton celebrated wildly, jumping up and down on the mat and even completing a back flip.

“This was my dream coming into this season,” Ashton said. “I’ve been setting goals all throughout the season and falling a tad short. I’m just really proud and so happy for my brother to come out and do as well as he did.”

By clearing 15 feet as a sophomore and finishing runner-up in the pole vault, Bryce is already well ahead of schedule. He says he works hard every day to be like his older brother, who has become one of the most well-rounded track and field athletes in Kansas.

On top of winning his second straight pole vault title on Friday, Ashton is a title contender in both the 100 and 200 open races.

“He just has insane speed,” Bryce said. “He’s so naturally fast and that’s my main competition. That’s what I have to work toward to try to get faster. Competing against him every day pushes me a lot.”

Ryan said he believes both of his sons make the other better.

“I think the younger brother really pushes the older brother and keeps him honest,” Ryan said. “He’s only a sophomore, so I think (Ashton) wants to set that bar really high so he doesn’t take it from him. It pushes him to work even harder.”

It was a friendly competition on Friday, but now that Ashton is moving on to Lawrence, Bryce is already focused on his next goal.

“My goal now is to beat his record,” Bryce said. “I’m trying to go for all of his records.”

Ashton laughed when he heard that comment, but it was one he expected.

“I’m going to enjoy this record for maybe two years and I’m willing to bet he breaks it and I can’t wait for that,” Ashton said.

While Ashton had a later start in his pole vault career and has other events he competes in, Bryce has a head start in training and is a specialist in the pole vault.

He’s chasing his older brother, but he’s also chasing the greatness of his father, who has his own portrait on WSU’s track and field complex.

“I look up to him as my idol,” Bryce said. “I want to try to be the best vaulter that I can to be and I know I can do it. I know I can get there. I just have to put in the same work that he did. I know he worked so hard to make 18-7 and I want the same thing for me. I want to be just like him.”

Andover’s Tayton Klein wins 5A boys long jump

It could be the start of a special weekend for Andover senior Tayton Klein. If the first day of the state track and field meet is any indication, it certainly will be.

Kleon won his first of a potential four golds on Friday, dominating the Class 5A boys long jump competition to win the championship with a PR jump of 24-1¾.

It was the first time Klein had cleared 24 feet, as he set a PR in his final two attempts of the competition to win by 19 inches. He was less than an inch off the 5A state meet record.

“Every jump I kept thinking, ‘I’ve got three more jumps as a Trojan, I’ve got two more jumps as a Trojan,’” Klein said. “I just kept pushing harder and it showed with my distance.

“I’ve had a goal of breaking into the 24s for a long time and once I did it the first time, it felt like I had broke through a plateau. Now I feel like I can go even further.”

Klein, a KU decathlon recruit, will be in the mix for three events on Saturday: the 100, 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles. Klein smoked both of his preliminary hurdles races on Friday, qualifying with the fastest time in the 110 hurdles (14.86) and 300 hurdles (38.24).

“I couldn’t have pictured (Friday) going any better,” Klein said.

Maize South’s Blake McCormick wins 5A boys javelin

The motivation was there for Maize South senior Blake McCormick after watching Arkansas City’s Lance Blubaugh throw a personal-best mark to overtake him in the Class 5A boys javelin title race.

Just moments after falling behind, McCormick unloaded his own PR throw of 189-9, a mark that ultimately edged Blubaugh by 25 inches for the championship. Blubaugh did bounce back to win the 5A discus championship with a PR throw of 171-3.

“Last week at regionals we did the same thing, where he threw a PR and then I came back with my own PR,” McCormick said. “I wasn’t really thinking of anything. I was just concentrating on, ‘I have to throw it further than him.’”

McCormick, who tacked on nearly four feet to his previous best, added another medal to his collection on Friday with a fourth-place finish in the discus with a PR throw of 157-11.

“It feels great after all of the hard work I put in during the summer and even during football season,” McCormick said. “It just feels really good.”

Andale’s Riley Marx wins 4A boys javelin

There was no surprise on Friday when Andale junior Riley Marx won his second straight Class 4A javelin championship.

The only question was how far would he go? The answer was 206-5, which was 26 inches short of the 4A state meet record and three feet short of Marx’s season-best throw.

“The most important thing is that I got my team 10 points,” Marx said. “We’re looking for that team title, so we need all of the points we can get. I expected to win and I wanted to beat myself and maybe that state record, but I was just short. It was a good day, but I think I could have done better.”

Marx can help score even more points for his team on Saturday, as he enters with the second-best mark (156-11) in the 4A boys discus.

Rose Hill’s Carter Wagner wins 4A boys triple jump

Rose Hill senior Carter Wagner was down to his final triple jump attempt of his high school career, one last chance to go for gold.

Sitting in fourth place before his final attempt, Wagner knew he needed to produce the best triple jump mark of his life and he did just that, clearing 44-6 to win the Class 4A state championship.

“I really had to put it all out there,” Wagner said. “I knew that was the last jump of my high school career, so I had to put it all into that last jump.

“It feels great, honestly. You don’t know what you can do until you do it.”

It was a nine-inch improvement on Wagner’s previous personal-best and topped his previous-best in the competition by 19 inches, moving him up from fourth place to first place on the final attempt.

Wagner is even better in the high jump, where he enters Saturday’s event with the best mark in Class 4A this season at 6-9. He is signed to jump at Emporia State in college.

Garden Plain’s Will Tice wins 2A boys javelin

After surprising himself with a second-place finish at the state meet last year, Garden Plain’s Will Tice challenged himself to do even better in the javelin in his final season.

Tice completed the mission by moving up to the top spot on the podium at the Class 2A state meet, winning the javelin title with a throw of 178-5.

“It’s kind of bittersweet because I had high expectations,” said Tice, who has signed to throw collegiately at Fort Hays State. “I’m glad to win, but I didn’t reach my goal of hitting 200. I know it’s there, but just not today.”

Tice’s season-best throw of 184-1 was a top-10 mark in the state this season.