Washburn Rural boys ride depth to sixth straight Joe Schrag City championship

By Rick Peterson

TopSports.news

Washburn Rural's boys track and field team displayed quality in Friday's Joe Schrag City Championships, with the Junior Blues winning four events on the day.

But it was depth where Keith Wetzel's Junior Blues really shined, posting top-three-finishes in 11 of 18 events and top-six placings in 16 of 18 events en route to their sixth straight city title by a 174-118 margin over Seaman.

Washburn Rural's boys track and field team poses with its Joe Schrag City track and field championship trophy after winning its sixth straight city title. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

"Our depth did play a factor, a big role tonight in getting us some fourth, fifth, sixth-place points that adding up over the course of 18 events really helped us a lot,'' Wetzel said. "I think our boys got better today.

"We had some good marks, both in the field and on the track as well. I think we took another step forward and I think I did our girls (second to Seaman) did as well.''

Washburn Rural got wins from Jamond Lane in the shot put (48 feet, 9 inches), Josh Sulzen-Watson in the discus (159-10), Collin Rausch in the pole vault (12-0) and Davin Johnson in the 800 meters (2 minutes, 00:55 seconds) to lead the way Friday.

And though the Junior Blues have bigger meets coming up over the next three weeks, Wetzel said the city meet is one that the team looks forward to every year.

"We put an emphasis on the city title and wanting to be the champion in the city,'' Wetzel said. "It means something to us. It means something to our kids and it's good to go home with the trophy.''

Other boys meet highlights:

Highland Park senior Tre Richardson was a double champ in Friday's Joe Schrag City Championship, winning the long jump and the triple jump. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]

• Coming back from a hamstring/quad injury, Highland Park senior star Tre Richardson recorded season-bests in the long jump and triple jump, taking city titles in both events by more than a foot

Richardson had a best jump of 23 feet, 00.50 inches in the long jump and went 46-8 in the triple jump.

"I felt great,'' Richardson said of his injury. "It didn't bother me at all.''

The defending Class 5A 200 meters champion, Richardson didn't run that event Friday, easing back into competition with his jumping events, and plans to run the 100 and 200 and compete in the long jump and triple jump in next Friday's United Kansas Conference meet at De Soto.

"I just got cleared yesterday to do the meet today,'' Richardson said.

Richardson said its been hard watching from the sidelines, but said he feel like he's ready for crunch time over the next three weeks.

"I didn't really want to go to practices and watch because I couldn't really do anything, but I came to support the team and now that I'm back it's better,'' he said.

Hayden senior Jake Muller re-set his school record in the 300-meter hurdles Friday night, winning his second straight city title in the event. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

• Already the Shawnee County leader in the 300-meter hurdles, Hayden senior standout Jake Muller improved his best in that event Friday night, clicking off a win in 39.19 seconds.

Muller, a former Class 4A state champ, and returning 5A state placer Jordan Garvin both went under the 40-second mark in the city meet, with Garvin posting a season-best of 39.82 seconds. 

Muller's 39.19 bettered his own school record with his second straight city title in the 300s.

• Hayden bettered its state-leading (all classes) time in the 4x400 relay, with Finn Dunshee, Muller, Liam Stegman and Jensen Schrickel posting a school-record winning effort of 3:23.64.

The Wildcats won the city title in the event for the second straight season while Schrickel won his second straight city title in the 400-meter dash in 50.54 seconds and Dunshee won the 100 (time unavailable due to a timing system malfunction). 

Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel and Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge run one-two in the 1,600 in Friday's city meet. Esquibel won the 1,600 and Njoroge the 3,200. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

• Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel and Topeka West senior Lenny Njoroge, two of the top distance runners in Class 5A, split their races Friday night.

Esquibel won the 1,600 meters in 4 minutes, 23.09 seconds while Njoroge came back to post a 12-second-plus win in the 3,200 in 9:26.55.

• Topeka High's foursome of V'Ante Peoples, Jaziah Mack, Logan Murray and Malachi Murph won the city title in the 4x100 relay in 42.87 while Murph and Peoples finished second in the 200 dash.

Murph won in 22.64 and Peoples was second in 22.69.

• Other city champions included Shawnee Heights' Alex Dittman in the javelin (175-1), Topeka West's Alesecio Batson in the high jump (6-2), Seaman's Aaron Merritt in the 110 hurdles (14.92) and Seaman's Brody Anderson, Joseph Budge, Bryce Cochran and Ethan Geiger in the 4x800 relay (8:28.09).

JOE SCHRAG CITY TRACK AND FIELD

At Hummer Sports Park

BOYS

Team scores

Washburn Rural 174, Seaman 118, Hayden 102, Shawnee Heights 93, Topeka High 64, Topeka West 58, Silver Lake 46, Highland Park 22.

Individual results

Shot put -- 1. Lane, Washburn Rural, 48-9; 2. Miller, Seaman, 48-9; 3. Hawks, Washburn Rural, 45-8.

Discus -- 1. Sulzen-Watson, Washburn Rural, 159-10; 2. Dawkins, Shawnee Heights, 146-7; 3. Reimer, Topeka West, 140-1.

Javelin -- 1. Dittman, Shawnee Heights, 175-1; 2. Sulzen-Watson, Washburn Rural, 174-4; 3. Otting, Hayden, 166-11.

High jump -- 1. Batson, Topeka West 6-2; 2. Johnson, Silver Lake, 6-2; 3. Parker, Shawnee Heights, 6-0.

Long jump -- 1. Richardson, Highland Park, 23-0.50; 2. Schrickel, Hayden, 21-8; 3. Parker, Shawnee Heights, 21-5.

Triple jump -- 1. Richardson, Highland Park, 46-8; 2. Batson, Topeka West, 45-6; 3. Razzano, Silver Lake, 41-10.

Pole vault -- 1. Rausch, Washburn Rural, 12-0; 2. Wedl, Shawnee Heights, 10-6; 3. Litton, Washburn Rural, 10-0.

4x800 relay -- 1. Seaman (Anderson, Budge, Cochran, Geiger), 8:28.09; 2. Washburn Rural (Olsen, Buesing, Chooncharoen, Fink), 8:33.08; 3. Shawnee Heights (Sutton, Deitcher, Hanson, Staniec), 8:46.09.

100 hurdles -- 1. Merritt, Seaman, 14.92; 2. Muller, Hayden, 15.84; 3. Berg, Seaman, 16.15.

 100 -- 1. Dunshee, Hayden, NT; 2. Peoples, Topeka High, NT; 3. Merritt, Seaman, NT.

1,600 -- 1. Esquibel, Shawnee Heights, 4:23.09; 2. Njoroge, Topeka West, 4:24.98; 3. Dial, Washburn Rural, 4:36.70.

4x100 relay -- 1. Topeka High (Peoples, Mack, Murray, Murph), 42.87; 2. Hayden, 43.15; 3. Washburn Rural, (Shahid, Osburn, Thompson, Heim), 43.64.

400 -- 1. Schrickel, Hayden, 50.54; 2. Roeder, Topeka High, 51.40; 3. Roney, Washburn Rural, 51.72.

300 hurdles -- 1. Muller, Hayden, 39.19; 2. Garvin, Shawnee Heights, 39.82; 3. Morrison, Washburn Rural, 40.51.

800 -- 1. Johnson, Washburn Rural, 2:00.55; 2. Anderson, Seaman, 2:01.30; 3. Moore, Seaman, 2:02.75.

200 -- 1. Murph, Topeka High, 22.64; 2. Peoples, Topeka High, 22.69; 3. Schied, Silver Lake, 22.95.

3,200 -- 1. Njoroge, Topeka West, 9:26.55; 2. Esquibel, Shawnee Heights, 9:39.20; 3. Dial, Washburn Rural, 10:14.67.

4x400 relay -- 1. Hayden (Dunshee, Muller, Stegman, Schrickel), 3:23.64; 2. Washburn Rural (Thompson, Roney, Badger, Morrison), 3:30.30; 3. Shawnee Heights, 3:31.88.