Photo by Adam Vogler
Northern Heights’ Jacquelyne Leffler lets loose on her final throw of the Class 3A shot put competition on Saturday at the State track and field meet at Cessna Stadium in Wichita. The throw won the event for Leffler.
WICHITA — Northern Heights senior Jacquelyne Leffler was down to her final shot put throw in high school, and it might have been the biggest one of them all.
She was hurting. She was under pressure. She was in second place.
At the State track and field meet on Saturday, Leffler — the three-time defending champion in the shot in Class 3A — was battling a wrist injury to her throwing hand that kept her from being her normal dominant self. Few throwers in Class 3A had managed to ever keep close with Leffler, but on this day, Norton’s Hayli Bozarth had ripped off a throw of 44 feet, 1 1/2 inches to take the lead in the event with one throw left.
After Bozarth failed to better her top mark of the day, Leffler stepped into the ring with her three straight titles in the event and the chance to become just the second girl in state history to win both the shot put and the discus four straight years on the line.
“I wasn’t nervous,” Leffler said. “All the reps that I’ve had in the offseason and during the season, I knew I’d be fine. It was just a matter of putting everything together, putting everything in the back of my mind and throwing big.”
Whether she was truly feeling the enormity of it all or not, Leffler made it a moot point with her final attempt of the day.
She let loose on her last throw, and as soon as it hit the ground, she raised her arms in the air in a rare display of triumph.
44 feet, 7 1/4 inches.
And just like that, the State title was hers once again.
“It was a lot of pressure, I’m not going to lie,” Leffler said. “Pressure just gives me adrenaline, and that’s just what I run on, complete adrenaline.”
After a moment away by herself to say a small prayer, Leffler took the time to reflect on her accomplishments.
Coupled with her four straight State titles in the discus, which she completed on Friday, Leffler joined Russell’s Andrea Holloway as the only girl in Kansas history to win both events four years in a row.
Photo by Adam Vogler
Olpe’s Bradley Argabright crosses the finish line after placing second in the Class 1A 800-meter run on Saturday at the State track and field meet in Wichita.
She’ll leave with the third-best mark in state history in the discus (162-4) and the seventh-best mark in the shot (46-9 1/2), as well as State meet records in both events.
Of all her titles, her fourth State title in the shot put might have been the hardest to come by considering the circumstances.
In the days before the State meet, she was practicing the shot put when she realized she was throwing the boys’ 10-pound shot and not the girls’ 8-pounder. The oversight caused her wrist to be in pain at the State meet, but in the end, she walked away with two more titles — just like she had the previous three years.
“I see myself as just another thrower out doing what they love,” Leffler said. “It’s all about heart, and if you have the heart, it’s going to happen.”
The area saw two other titles on Saturday, with both coming in Class 2A action, as Flinthills’ 4x800 relay team of Jacob Ritter, Logan Fullerton, Ethan Eisenbarth and Grant Vogt took first in a time of 8:23.51, while Lyndon’s Andrea Hoke won the girls javelin with a throw of 132-11. Hoke also placed sixth in the shot put (36-6 1/2) and 14th in the discus (104-11).
Chase County’s Alec Wold turned in a nice day in the sprints, as he finished third in the 100-meter dash (11.20) and sixth in the 200 (24.03).
Photo by Adam Vogler
Olpe’s Katelyn Henderson, right, battles down the homestretch with Hilary Callaway of Rock Hills at the end of the Class 1A girls 1,600-meter run on Saturday. Henderson finished second in a time of 5:31.66, less than a second behind Callaway.
Other top-5 performances for the area in Class 2A included: Lyndon’s boys 4x400 relay, fourth (3:34.47); Flinthills’ Carley Dunham, fifth in the 800 (2:24.28); Chase County’s Julie Dorneker, fifth in the 1,600 (5:35.68); Lyndon’s Keene Niemack, fifth in the 400 (51.81); and Flinthills’ Ethan Eisenbarth, fifth in the 110 hurdles (15.87).
In Class 1A, Olpe’s Katelyn Henderson capped her breakout freshman season with a runner-up performance in the 1,600-meter run and an 11th-place showing in the 800.
Henderson very nearly added to her State title in the 3,200 from Friday, as she took the lead in the 1,600 with less than 200 meters to go, but could not hold off Hilary Callaway of Rock Hills down the stretch. Callaway won by less than a second over Henderson, who finished in a time of 5:31.66.
“I think maybe I should have started my kick a little sooner. I could’ve gotten a little further away, and then maybe she wouldn’t have caught up,” Henderson said. “I’m just going to have to train a lot harder next year.”
Olpe also got a second-place finish on the boys side, as sophomore Bradley Argabright finished second in the 800-meter run. He, too, was passed down the homestretch after he had taken the lead late in the race, and he finished second in a time of 2:01.10 behind South Gray’s Clyde Redger (2:00.45).
“That’s what I’ve done all year — try to beat them to the corner and then hold them off,” Argabright said. “But, Clyde’s a good runner, and he knows how to run that race. He held on with me, and then he just passed me. I’m proud with what I did, though.”
Madison’s Morgan Stout and Waverly’s Kale Hamm each had big days as well, as both placed in the top 10 in three events.
Photo by Adam Vogler
Madison's Morgan Stout competes in the Class 1A girls 200-meter dash on Saturday at the State track and field meet. Stout took fifth in the event.
Stout’s best finish came in the 200-meter dash, as she placed fifth in a time of 27.62 seconds. She also came in seventh in the triple jump (34-1 1/4) and eighth in the 100 (13.07).
Hamm, meanwhile, placed fourth in the 300-meter hurdles (40.88) and the high jump (6-2), and he also finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles (17.17).
Other top-5 performances for the area in Class 1A included: Olpe’s boys 4x800 relay, third (8:30.08); and Olpe’s girls 4x800 relay, fifth (10:28.64).
State Track and Field
Area Results from Saturday
Class 1A
GIRLS
100-Meter Dash
8. Morgan Stout, Madison 13.07
200-Meter Dash
5. Morgan Stout 27.62
400-Meter Dash
6. Shelby Woods, Waverly 1:01.19
800-Meter Run
Photo by Adam Vogler
Chase County’s Alec Wold, center, leans across the finish line at the end of the Class 2A boys 100-meter dash finals on Saturday at the State track and field meet in Wichita. Wold finished third in the 100 and fifth in the 200.
11. Katelyn Henderson, Olpe 2:33.00
13. Kelsey Camien, Olpe 2:39.56
1,600-Meter Run
2. Katelyn Henderson 5:31.66
10. Sharon Zeller, Olpe 5:45.23
4x800 Relay
5. Olpe 10:28.64
15. Waverly 11:23.52
Long Jump
11. Julie Gifford, Waverly 14-7 3/4
Triple Jump
7. Morgan Stout 34-1 1/4
14. Jessica Schmidt, MdCV 30-2 1/2
BOYS
800-Meter Run
Photo by Adam Vogler
Chase County’s Julie Dorneker crosses the finish line after competing in the Class 2A girls 1,600-meter run on Saturday at the State track and field meet in Wichita. Dorneker placed fifth in a time of 5 minutes, 35.68 seconds.
2. Bradley Argabright, Olpe 2:01.10
1,600-Meter Run
8. Aaron Thomsen, Hartford 4:50.42
16. Dustin Droege, Burlingame 5:09.10
110-Meter Hurdles
8. Kale Hamm, Waverly 17.17
300-Meter Hurdles
4. Kale Hamm 40.88
4x400 Relay
7. Olpe 3:37.86
4x800 Relay
3. Olpe 8:30.08
11. Burlingame 8:49.97
12. Madison 8:50.93
High Jump
4. Kale Hamm 6-2
12. Joel Bevitt, Burlingame 5-8
14. Chris Restoff, Waverly 5-8
Pole Vault
14. Zach Fox, Madison 10-6
Shot Put
15. Cory Smart, Burlingame 42-10
16. Jared Maxwell, Waverly 39-8
Discus
12. Michael Zabel, MdCV 124-0
Javelin
9. Henry Ott, Madison 155-1
Class 2A
GIRLS
800-Meter Run
5. Carley Dunham, Flinthills 2:24.28
1,600-Meter Run
5. Julie Dorneker, Chase County 5:35.68
10. Jenny Neuenschwander, Lyndon 5:52.45
16. Renee Simon, Flinthills 6:12.17
4x800 Relay
15. Flinthills 10:51.07
Shot Put
6. Andrea Hoke, Lyndon 36-6 1/2
16. Morgan Tastove, Lebo 29-11
Discus
14. Andrea Hoke 104-11
Javelin
1. Andrea Hoke 132-11
16. Riley Tanner, Chase County 95-1
BOYS
100-Meter Dash
3. Alec Wold, Chase County 11.20
6. Jesse Filburn, Lyndon 11.42
200-Meter Dash
6. Alec Wold 24.03
400-Meter Dash
5. Keene Niemack, Lyndon 51.81
800-Meter Run
10. Dylan Filburn, Lyndon 2:05.72
12. Logan Fullerton, Flinthills 2:07.48
1,600-Meter Run
7. Jacob Ritter, Flinthills 4:47.03
110-Meter Hurdles
5. Ethan Eisenbarth, Flinthills 15.87
4x400 Relay
4. Lyndon 3:34.47
8. Flinthills 3:39.86
4x800 Relay
1. Flinthills 8:23.51
Long Jump
14. Keene Niemack 17-11
Comments
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)