By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman junior star Bethany Druse posted a pair of individual wins in Friday's Joe Schrag City Invitational track and field championships.
But Druse's most important feat may have come in the meet-ending girls 4 x 400-meter relay.
Druse, Seaman's anchor runner, took the baton in fourth place but picked off the three runners in front of her one by one while clocking a 59-second split as the Vikings rallied for a win in 4 minutes, 15.31 seconds to put a capper on their city team championship by a 146-134 margin over Washburn Rural.
Seaman girls track and field poses for a team picture after winning the title in the Joe Schrag City Invitational Friday at Hummer Sports Park. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"That's exciting,'' Druse said of the team championship. "(Coach Rick Brading) said that there was going to be a real good chance that we could win, but we had to work for it.
"We had our team spread in a wide variety of events, so that really helped bring the team score together.''
Druse had earlier won the 1,600 in 5:23.31 and the 800 in 2:19.96 before teaming with Taylie Heston, Jaida Stallbaumer and Taylin Stallbaumer to win the 4 x 4.
Junior Bethany Druse won the 1,600 and 800 meters and anchored the winning 4 X 400 relay as Seaman captured the girls team title in Friday's Joe Schrag City Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman sophomore Taylin Stallbaumer swept the girls 100 and 300-meter hurdles and won three gold medals overall in Friday's Joe Schrag City Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Taylin Stallbaumer, a sophomore, was also a triple gold medalist, winning the 100 hurdles in 16.25 and the 300s in 49.21 to go with the win in the 4 x 4 while the Vikings' foursome of Heston, Anna Becker, Leah Spurlock and Savannah Sampson won the 4 x 800 relay in 10:31.13 and Ally Trier won the javelin with a personal-record throw of 132 feet, 10 inches.
Seaman posted top-three finishes in nine events and top-six finishes in 17 of 18 events.
"When there's 18 different events you know that even if on paper it looks like you could win, anything can happen at a meet,'' Brading said. "Kids drop batons,kids fall down, issues happen, but our kids in almost every area exceeded what we thought they would so we had a good meet.''
Runner-up Rural, which had won the previous four city titles, got wins from Raegen Petersen in the discus (115-7) and from Payton Fink in the 3,200 meters (11:37.61).
• Highland Park sophomore Victoria Reed was a double individual city champ, winning the long jump at 16-7.50 and the 100 in 12.49 while also finishing second in the 400 (58.72) and taking third in the 200 (26.37).
• Shawnee Heights won four events on the day, with Molly Busenitz winning the pole vault (9-0), Taylor Rottinghaus taking the victory in the 400 (58.18), Ta'Mijha Nichols winning the 200 (25.78) and the T-Birds taking the 4 x 100 relay (50.73).
• Other city champions included Hayden's Jadyn Paige Falley in the shot put (35-4), Topeka West's MaKinsey Jones in the high jump (5-2) and Silver Lake's Kaibryn Kruger in the triple jump (33-9).
Joe Schrag City Invitational
At Hummer Sports Park
GIRLS
Team scores
Seaman 146, Washburn Rural 134, Silver Lake 109.5, Shawnee Heights 84, Hayden 79.5, Topeka West 78, Highland Park 37, Topeka High 7.
Individual results
Pole vault -- 1. Busenitz, Shawnee Heights, 9-0; 2. Liedtke, Shawnee Heights, 8-0; 3. Estudillo, Washburn Rural, 8-0.
Shot put -- 1. Paige Falley, Hayden, 35-4; 2. Wilkerson, Topeka West, 32-9; 3.Cassie, Silver Lake, 32-6.50.
Discus -- 1. Petersen, Washburn Rural, 115-7; 2. Domann, Seaman, 103-4; 3. Paige Falley, Hayden, 102-7.
Javelin -- 1. Trier, Seaman, 132-10; 2. Emperley, Shawnee Heights, 120-6; 3. Lesmeister, Seaman, 118-0.
Long jump -- 1. Reed, Highland Park, 16-7.50; 2. Brooks, Topeka West, 16-2.50; 3. Kruger, Silver Lake, 15-8.50.
Triple jump -- 1. Kruger, Silver Lake, 33-9; 2. Jones, Topeka West, 33-5.75; 3. Phillips, Topeka West, 32-1.50.
High jump -- 1. Jones, Topeka West, 5-2; 2. (tie) Ossola, Silver Lake, and Worley, Washburn Rural, 4-10.
4 x 800 relay -- 1. Seaman (Heston, Becker, Spurlock, Sampson), 10:31.13; 2. Silver Lake, 10:36.30; 3. Washburn Rural, 10:53.37.
110 hurdles -- 1. T. Stallbaumer, Seaman, 16.25; 2. J. Stallbaumer, Seaman, 17.03; 3. McCaffrey, Silver Lake, 18.03.
100 -- 1. Reed, Highland Park, 12.49; 2. Nichols, Shawnee Heights, 12.54; 3. Brooks, Topeka West, 12.96.
1,600 -- 1. Druse, Seaman, 5:23.31; 2. Fink, Washburn Rural, 5:24.79; 3. Carter, Washburn Rural, 5:25.44.
4 x 100 relay -- 1. Shawnee Heights, 50.73; 2. Seaman, 51.72; 3. Washburn Rural, 51.96.
400 -- 1. Rottinghaus, Shawnee Heights, 58.18; 2. Reed Highland Park, 58.72; 3. Hilleberg, Hayden, 61.78.
300 hurdles -- 1. T. Stallbaumer, Seaman, 49.21; 2. Reid, Hayden, 52.29; 3. Steiner, Seaman, 52.65.
800 -- 1. Druse, Seaman, 2:19.96; 2. Carter, Washburn Rural, 2:30.31; 3. Bird, Washburn Rural, 2:30.33.
200 -- 1. Nichols, Shawnee Heights, 25.78; 2. Rottinghaus, Shawnee Heights, 26.11; 3. Reed, Highland Park, 26.37.
3,200 -- 1. Fink, Washburn Rural, 11:37.61; 2. Phelps, Topeka West, 12:23.84; 3. Gerber, Silver Lake, 12:34.18.
4 x 400 relay -- 1. Seaman (Heston, J. Stallbaumer, T. Stallbaumer, Druse), 4:15.31; 2. Washburn Rural, 4:17.79; 3. Shawnee Heights, 4:18.21.
