Photo by Adam Vogler
The Emporia High boys track and field squad celebrates on the awards stand after capturing the Class 5A State Championship on Saturday at the State track and field meet at Cessna Stadium in Wichita. The Spartan boys won the team title by two points over Bonner Springs, 70-68.
WICHITA — With the weight of the Emporia High track and field team’s State Championship hopes bearing down on him in the form of Schlagle’s Raymond Newton and Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s Shane Torgler, there was no way Mark Kolmer was going to get passed.
Entering the 4x400 relay — the last event of the State track and field meet at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium — the Emporia High boys were deadlocked with Bonner Springs at the top of the team standings with 68 points. Since Bonner had no entry in the 4x400, all the Spartans had to do was finish seventh or better, and the school’s first State Championships was theirs.
And while it was close — the quartet of Taylor Euler, Jacob Davies, Tyler Tilton and Kolmer entered the 4x400 finals seeded seventh out of eight teams — Kolmer held off Newton’s and Torgler’s late charges down the homestretch on the anchor leg of the relay to lock up a sixth-place finish and the Class 5A State team title.
“I could feel them coming,” Kolmer said. “But we had a lot of faith in each other, and we just wanted to wrap it up and put it together — this good track meet we’ve had. We wanted to claim what’s ours — the 5A State championship.”
While the dramatics of the 4x400 performance wrapped up the first State title ever for the Emporia High boys, it was the monster effort of two seniors that put them in position for a shot at the title in the first place.
Photo by Adam Vogler
Emporia High’s Mark Kolmer sprints toward the finish on the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay.
Davies and Brandon Childs proved to be the workhorses for the Spartans, as each came away with a pair of State titles and a third-place finish, accounting for 52 of Emporia’s 70 points. Emporia’s other points came from Caydrick Bloomquist’s second-place finish in the pole vault (8 points), Kolmer’s runner-up showing in the javelin (8) and the 4x400 team (2).
Childs did most of his damage on Friday, as he won the triple jump and the high jump to vault EHS into the team points lead. He came back on Saturday morning and added a third-place finish in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 2 inches before giving way to Davies.
Davies began his scoring streak by winning the 1,600-meter run. He then finished third in the 400 and before he successfully defended his 800 crown with a come-from-behind performance.
“Me and Brandon, last year, when we left, we were like, ‘Hey, we can come back and we can really do some damage next year,’” Davies said. “We’d been talking about it all week. We’re just really excited. This is our last go-round, and we just put it all on the line. Brandon did his part on Friday and (Saturday) morning, and I didn’t want to let the team down. I figured, ‘Hey, Brandon’s done his part. I have to do my part.’”
Though he was seeded fourth, Davies’ victory in the 1,600 was made all the more possible when the field went out at a slower-than-expected pace, which allowed Davies to use his superior kick in the last 200 meters to blow past the field, winning in a time of 4:30.84.
Photo by Adam Vogler
The members of the Emporia High boys track and field squad take a celebratory lap around the track at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium — site of the State track and field meet — after the Spartans captured the Class 5A State title on Saturday. Emporia High won the team trophy by a two-point margin over Bonner Springs, 70-68.
He nearly came back to win the 400 — he admitted he simply ran out of track at the end — but rebounded with his most impressive showing of the day in the 800.
After getting boxed in less than 200 meters in, Davies spent the rest of the race playing catch-up with the leaders before Topeka West’s Derrick Perry tried to distance himself from the pack with 300 meters left.
Perry’s strategy nearly worked, as Davies had to begin his kick earlier than usual, but Davies still managed to catch up with and pass Perry with about 30 meters left, prompting Perry to joke after the race, “Why you got to do that to me, Jacob?”
“Derrick’s raced against me enough to know that I’m coming in the last 100, so he put it on with 300 left, and I was expecting it,” Davies said. “I knew he was going to try something to get away. I just had to start my kick earlier, and I really had to turn it on there in the last 100.
“I really wanted this one more than any of the other races.”
Davies’ victory in the 800 put the EHS boys back in the team points lead, but Bonner Springs’ Jonathan Walker won the 200-meter dash to put the two teams in a tie at 68 points heading into the 4x400 relay.
Photo by Adam Vogler
Emporia High’s Jacob Davies churns toward the finish of the 1,600-meter run on Saturday at the State track and field meet. Davies won the 1,600 and the 800 to help the EHS boys capture the State title.
It made for a nerve-wracking half hour for the Spartans, especially the members of the relay team.
However, Kolmer said, no one person felt more pressure that the other because “we had so much faith in each other.”
“Everyone just sat down and knew what we had to do. We knew we just had to run hard,” he said. “We just had our minds on beating one person. That’s all we had to do. ... We were pretty confident.”
That confidence paid off in the form of a sixth-place showing in the 4x400 — EHS finished .16 seconds ahead of Schlagle and .36 seconds ahead of Kapaun Mt. Carmel — and the Spartans took home the team title because of it.
On the girls side, Emporia just missed out on a couple more titles after Friday saw Michaela Reynolds win the 3,200-meter run and Samantha Kraft win the girls pole vault — which she did with a State meet record clearance of 11-2.
The closest EHS got to a title on Saturday came from freshman Sarah Kolmer in the triple jump.
Kolmer appeared to have the event won when she leaped to a distance of 36-11 1/4 on her final jump, which put her in first place. But the previous event leader, Mill Valley’s Katie Bauer, responded on her last attempt, as she too hit 36-11 1/4, meaning the title would be decided on both girls’ second-best jump.
And because Bauer’s next-best leap of 36-11 bested Kolmer’s second-best distance of 36-9 3/4, Bauer won the event title.
“That just proves that you have to jump all your jumps as best as you can, and I obviously didn’t, and she won,” Kolmer said. “I’m pretty satisfied, but I’m upset I didn’t win.”
Photo by Adam Vogler
Emporia High freshman Sarah Kolmer hits the sand as she competes in the triple jump at the State track and field meet on Saturday in Wichita. Kolmer finished second in the event.
Earlier, Reynolds couldn’t add to her 3,200-meter title from the day before with a victory in the 1,600-meter run, as she finished third in the event in a time of 5:18.15. Hutchinson’s Emilee Morris won in a time of 5:03.85.
Also, in the girls 800, Jenna Stanbrough came in ninth (2:24.86).
The Emporia High girls finished sixth in the team standings with 43 points, while St. Thomas Aquinas took the title with 72.5 points.
There will be a pop and cookie party at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Emporia High School to recognize the EHS track and field team's accomplishments.
Class 5A State Meet
Results from Saturday
Emporia High
BOYS
800-Meter Run
1. Jacob Davies 1:56.57
1,600-Meter Run
1. Jacob Davies 4:30.84
4x400 Relay
6. Emporia (Euler, Davies, Tilton, Kolmer) 3:28.35
4x800 Relay
10. Emporia (Tilton, Delmott, Wayman, Anliker) 8:28.72
Javelin
2. Mark Kolmer 181-8
Long Jump
3. Brandon Childs 21-2
9. Andrew Heerman 19-11
14. Brian Dorsey 18-4
Shot Put
15. Troy Pierce 43-5 1/4
GIRLS
800-Meter Run
9. Jenna Stanbrough 2:24.86
1,600-Meter Run
3. Michaela Reynolds 5:18.15
Triple Jump
2. Sarah Kolmer 36-11 1/4
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