By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
They may or may not be wearing the colors of Kansas colleges, but several Kansas athletes have represented the state well at the NCAA Div. I State Track and Field Championships this week in Austin, Texas.
The men's high jump Friday evening featured two of Kansas' best high jumpers in recent years, both now jumping for the University of Nebraska. Sterling's Tyus Wilson, a freshman in Lincoln who is tied for No. 3 all-time in Kansas at 7-3, tied for fourth with a top height of 7-1. Husker senior Michael Hoffer, a Shawnee Heights graduate, tied for 14th at 6-11. Wichita State junior Brady Palen, a Beloit-St. John's graduate, placed 18th at 6-11.
The javelin competition Thursday evening featured the two best throwers in Kansas high school history. Andale's Katelyn Fairchild finished third in the competition with a top throw of 190-2 for Texas A&M. Olathe North's Dana Baker, now at Duke, placed 15th on a throw of 168-3. Baker, in 2018, became the only Kansas high school thrower with the IAAF-approved javelin to break 180 feet. Fairchild's sister, Mackenzie, a three-time gold medalist thrower in Class 4A this spring, will join Katelyn at Texas A&M next year.
The men's javelin competition also featured a top-five national finisher from Kansas. Manhattan's Sam Hankins reached 224-6 in 2019 to rank No. 4 all-time among Kansas high school throws. Wednesday he threw 249-11 to place fifth for Texas A&M. Baylor took the bronze at 257-1.
Thursday's women's 10,000m run featured three of the top-four 3200m runners all-time in Kansas high school history. Lawrence Free State's Emily Venters, now a senior at Utah, led part of the race and played a key role in stretching out the race near the finish. She placed second in 32:47.70, eight seconds from the title. Iowa State senior Cailie Logue, formerly of Girard and ranked No. 2 all-time in Kansas, placed sixth in 33:06.86. Molly Born, ranked No. 1 all-time in Kansas and now a sophomore at Oklahoma State, finished 13th in 33:54.16.
Andover's Tayton Klein won two Class 5A hurdle golds, a long jump gold, and the 100m dash bronze at the KSHSAA State Championships in 2022. Now a freshman at the University of Kansas, Klein was sitting in the No. 10 spot of the decathlon after the completion of five of the 10 events. He did not finish the final 1500m run, dropping to 20th overall. He finished with 6,753 points to miss the top-10 by nearly 1,000 points. Texas junior Leo Neugebauer scored 8,836 points to win the gold by 206 points with a new NCAA record.
Kansas had ties in the men's pole vault competition Wednesday. Zach Bradford, a former standout at the University of Kansas, finished third for Texas Tech with a top clearance of 18-4.5. Sophomore Clayton Simms, a Louisiana native, placed fifth for the Jayhawks at 18-4.5.
Kansas State University's Emma Robbins, a junior from California, placed fourth in the hammer with a top throw of 229-3. She missed the bronze by just more than five feet.