Kansas high school state girls track: Andale’s Maddie Schrandt pulls off 4-for-4 golds

It’s hard to stand out on the Andale girls track and field team, a program that just won its sixth straight team state championship.

But on a team of champions, senior Maddie Schrandt reached rarefied air with her final performance at the Kansas high school state track and field championships at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium this past weekend.

Not only did Schrandt successfully defend her Class 4A titles in the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes, but she also ran a leg on Andale’s winning 400-meter and 1600-meter relay teams — completing the rare 4-for-4 gold-medal performance.

“It doesn’t even feel real to me,” said Schrandt, who ended her career with eight gold medals. “There’s been so many people I’ve looked up to since I was little that have come through Andale. Now that I get to be here and do this, it’s just unreal to me.”It’s all too real for Andale coach Tyler Ryan, who had the bittersweet emotions running through him this past Saturday after watching Schrandt compete for the final time. He was overjoyed to see her pull off the feat, but saddened to realize it was the last time she will wear the Andale uniform.

Schrandt’s evolution into a state sprinting champion is a tale common to Andale athletes: a little natural ability and a lot of hard work.

“Maddie really showed she was going to be something special during the middle of her junior year,” Ryan said. “And then she just kept getting better and better and better. She never complained, always worked hard and is just an awesome kid to work with. We wish we could keep her around here for a couple more years.”

It was a busy weekend for Schrandt, who had to run four preliminary races on Friday and then four finals in the span of about four hours on Saturday. She prepared throughout the season with the state meet schedule in mind, learning tricks here and there to conserve energy and what to eat (chips, crackers, grapes) to replenish energy.

Schrandt made it look effortless on Saturday with dominant wins in both of her open races, as her long strides matched with her smooth running motion was too much for competitors to catch. Schrandt ran a career-best time of 57.94 seconds to win the 400 again, then pulled off the sweep in the 200 with a time of 25.70.

But the victories Schrandt cherished the most were the ones she won with her teammates on the 400 and 1600 relays.

Joining the 400 relay gave Schrandt her first chance at a four-gold weekend, as she ran the second leg on the relay that won the 4A title for the third straight year in a time of 49.24. She was joined by senior Camryn Winter, sophomore Taya Orth and junior Betsy Reichenberger.

But the most special was the 1600 relay, Schrandt’s specialty, as she has been the relay’s title-winning relay for three straight years. Schrandt once again teamed up with Winter and Reichenberger, while they were joined by sophomore Ava Steven this year to win the title in a time of 4:01.96.

Schrandt, who is signed to play beach volleyball at Missouri State, couldn’t think of a better ending to her track career — winning her final race, winning another team title and winning four gold medals.

“It’s such a cool ending because our relay has been together for a long time,” Schrandt said. “I’ll never forget this. Since I knew it would be my last time, I’ve been trying to appreciate it more this weekend. I really wanted to finish it off that way, so this was really special.”

Another senior who has cemented her place as an all-time program great was McKenzie Fairchild, who swept the 4A throwing events for the second straight year. A seven-time individual state champion, Fairchild easily won competitions in the shot put (42-4), discus (138-1) and javelin (157-3).

The only time Fairchild didn’t win the gold at state (her freshman year’s state meet was wiped out due to the coronavirus) was when she finished runner-up to her older sister, Katelyn, who is currently a standout thrower at Texas A&M.

“It’s been a really special run because obviously track runs in my family,” Fairchild said. “It’s our love and passion and honestly it made me so happy that both of our teams won too. This weekend was incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever had this much fun at a track meet.”

A shoulder injury prevented Fairchild, who is set to follow her sister to Texas A&M as a javelin thrower, from chasing record marks in her final state meet, but her performances were still impressive. Her personal-best throw in the javelin of 169-4 still ranks No. 5 all-time in Kansas history.

But even with her three-gold performance on Saturday, Fairchild was more impressed by the performance of Schrandt, who has been her teammate in all three sports (volleyball, basketball, track) the last three years.

“Maddie puts in so much hard work and is truly one of the hardest-workers and kindest people you’ll ever meet,” Fairchild said. “I’m super proud of what she did. Honestly, she has helped lead this team like no other and I’m super proud she was able to end like that.”

It was another dominant state meet from Andale, which won its sixth straight Class 4A team championship by more than doubling up the next-closest team — Andale won with 129 team points, while Clearwater was second with 64.

While Schrandt and Fairchild helped win all seven of Andale’s gold medals, there was no shortage of other athletes who played a part in racking up the points. Senior Emery May took fifth in discus and eighth in shot put, while freshman Rylee Meyer was third in 300 hurdles and fifth in long jump. Other individual medalists included junior Grace Rowland (second in triple jump), junior Jojo Cutler (second in pole vault), senior Jenna Kuepker (second in javelin), Orth (fourth in long jump), Reichenberger (fourth in 200), senior Claire Rowland (fifth in pole vault), senior Lexi Horsch (fifth in high jump) and senior Kyrie Kerschen (seventh in javelin).

Northwest’s Adryana Shelby successful defends 300 hurdles title

No one can catch Wichita Northwest junior Adryana Shelby in the 300 hurdles.

For the second straight year, Shelby won the 6A title in the event — this time lowering her career-best time to 44.45 to finish as the fastest time in the 300 hurdles in Kansas this season.

Shelby and Olathe Northwest junior Olivia Cooper traded wins in both hurdles events. While Cooper (14.38) edged Shelby (14.89) for the 100 hurdles title, Shelby (44.45) returned the favor in the 300 hurdles to Cooper (45.88). It was the second straight year that the duo split the titles.

Shelby also was a state qualifier in the 200, where she just missed out on finals with a time of 25.94 in the preliminaries.

Clearwater’s pair of double champions spur second-place team finish

Clearwater’s second-place finish in the 4A team standings was the result of one stellar career ending and one launching.

Hayley Trotter has cemented her spot as one of the best athletes in school history, as she successfully pulled off her second straight double to win the 4A gold medals in the 800 and 1600. The Nebraska distance runner signee finished her career as a five-time state champion on the track and two-time state champion in cross country.

“I’m really thrilled with how it all ended up,” Trotter said. “It’s been a fantastic four years. Me and the girls on our team chemistry is just really strong. We worked really hard and it’s been the best four years I could possibly ask for.”

Trotter had little issue winning either race, as she beat the field by three seconds in both the 800 (2:17.98) and 1600 (5:12.63). Her career-best time in the 800 (2:12.36) from last season stands as the 12th-best time in Kansas history.

“I’ve put in a lot of work and I’ve had a lot of bumps along the way,” Trotter said. “I’m just blessed to be here and to have created the relationships that I’ve created through this sport.”

While Trotter was a defending champion, Clearwater sophomore Madison Williams became a first-time state champion on Saturday — twice.

Williams won the 4A gold medals in both hurdles races, winning the 100 hurdles in a time of 14.87 and the 300 hurdles in a personal-best and school-record time of 45.13.

Afterward, Williams gave credit to teammate Kenzy McArtor, who took fifth in the 100 hurdles and fourth in the 300 hurdles, for pushing her all season in practice.

“It’s really special since I’m only a sophomore and having my teammate on the podium with me,” Williams said. “I think (running together) helps both of us a lot. We’re always doing the same things in practice and in workouts, so it’s a lot of fun to compete with her on the track and in practice.”

For the second straight year, Williams picked up a medal in all three of her individual events (she also took third in the 200) and in a relay. This time, Williams teamed up with Trotter, McArtor and Kynlee Martin to take second in the 1600 relay in a time of 4:10.00.

Williams, Trotter and McArtor helped Clearwater score all 64 of its team points, which was second only to Andale, which won its sixth straight 4A team title.

Andover’s McKinlee Walker takes final step as 100 hurdles champion

After threatening in the 100 hurdles the last two years, Andover junior McKinlee Walker completed her ascension in the event as a first-time state champion on Saturday.

Walker won the 5A gold medal by nearly a full second with her time of 14.44 in the 100 hurdles. She finished second in 5A as a freshman, then tripped in the finals last year at state.

Walker also added another state medal in the high jump, where she finished eighth after clearing 5-0.

Rose Hill’s Kate Dare goes from not qualifying to state champion

After not qualifying for state in the 100 last season, Rose Hill senior Kate Dare ended her career on top of the podium in that very race.

Dare completed a bounce-back season in the strongest fashion, winning a league title, a regional title and finally a state title when she collected the 4A gold medal with a personal-best time of 12.44.

She was actually trailing in the first-half of the race, but began to build steam and was neck-and-neck with Louisburg’s Emma Lohse through the finish line. A final lunge in the final five meters gave Dare (12.44) a photo-finish victory over Lohse (12.46).

Dare took fourth in the 100 finals as a sophomore, as part of a four-medal performance in her debut state meet, but only ran a leg on Rose Hill’s state-qualifying 400 relay team last year. She finished her senior year as a three-time state qualifier, winning the gold in the 100, then barely missing finals in the 200 and also running a leg on the Rockets’ 1600 relay team that missed finals.

Andover Central’s ascends to top of podium in 5A pole vault

It wasn’t long ago that Andover Central didn’t even offer pole vault as an event.

Now the program has pumped out three individual state champions in the pole vault, as senior Reagan Housley became the school’s first female state title winner in the event on Saturday.

It’s been a steady climb for Housley, who took eighth at state as a sophomore, third last year, then won the 5A gold medal by clearing 11-6.

Housley also finished with the best mark in Kansas this season with her personal-best clearance of 11-10.

Hutchinson’s Annalisa Cullens finds redemption in 300 hurdles title

Trying to pull off a title sweep in the hurdles in a higher classification was the goal for Hutchinson senior Annalisa Cullens, a transfer who had won the 4A titles in both the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles the last two years at Wellington.

The dream ended in heartbreaking fashion, as Cullens stumbled over the second hurdle and tripped over the third when she was out to an early lead in the 5A 100 hurdles race.

But Cullens didn’t allow that to affect her in the 300 hurdles. In fact, it motivated her. Cullens showed her resilience to win her third straight state title in the event with a winning time of 45.43 to beat the field by more than a full second.

It was an emotional victory for Cullens, who ended her career as a five-time state champion in the hurdles, as she immediately crouched down after crossing the finish line with emotion overcoming her.

Hesston’s Ashley Lehman guts it out to win 400 title

It was a shoulder-to-shoulder race between Hesston’s Ashley Lehman and Phillipsburg’s Heather Schemper to determine the winner in the 3A 400 race.

In the end, Lehman had one final burst left to push past Schemper to finish off a career-best time of 56.33 to win the gold medal. Her time was less than two tenths of a second off the 32-year-old 3A state meet record held by Linda Shea (56.37) of Minneapolis.

Lehman, a freshman, had quite the debut at her first state track meet. She registered a top-four finish in all four of her individual events, winning the gold medal in the 400, the silver in the 200 (25.85), the bronze in the pole vault (11-0) and a fourth-place medal in the 100 (12.62).

Berean’s Lillie Veer moves to the top of the podium in 2A javelin

Not only did Berean Academy senior Lillie Veer end her career on top of the podium, she also delivered a career-best mark of 129-3 to capture the 2A javelin title.

Veer had four throws that would have won the gold medal, but her toss of 129-3 was a six-foot improvement on her qualifying mark. Veer had previously finished third at state in the javelin the last two years.

Veer, who also won a state title in basketball this winter, wrapped up a decorated career as a relay runner at Berean. She picked up a state medal in the 1600 relay and 3200 relay all three years, as she teamed up with Flora Morgan, Anna Powell and Addelyn Turpin to take fourth in the 3200 relay (10:19.42) and ran with Morgan, Powell and Leah Entz on the 1600 relay (4:16.25) that took sixth this year.

Bishop Carroll’s Jade Link repeats as wheelchair champion

For the second straight year, Bishop Carroll sophomore Jade Link swept the all-class wheelchair races.

She lowered her time in both races, as she won the 100 in 22.62 and the 400 in 1:19.03, shaving 14 seconds off her winning time from last season in the same event.