By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights boys shined the brightest at their home track and field invitational on a windy Friday afternoon.
The T-Bird boys racked up six first-place medals, leading to a first-place team finish with a score of 156.
Shawnee Heights junior Jeremiah Smith won three gold medals in Friday's Shawnee Heights Invitational, leading the T-Birds to the team title. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior speedster Jeremiah Smith led Shawnee Heights with three first-place medals, while the strength of Maddox Moten earned him two first-place finishes.
“I thought our day went well despite the elements outside,” Shawnee Heights coach John Oshel said. “Our team has competed well and the meet has been moving along perfectly. It’s hard telling with the 30 MPH winds who has specifically stood out, but I thought the team did a great job competing today.”
Shawnee Heights took first place by the slimmest of margins, edging Emporia by a single point.
“Under the conditions, I thought we competed well,” Emporia coach Randy Wells said. “The wind has had a factor in the events today. I think adapting and dealing with the adversity will benefit our team, especially with state around the corner. The events moving as quick as they are today is a benefit to the teams competing today.”
Hayden's Jadyn Paige-Falley finished second in the shot put (above), won the discus title and finished second in the javelin in Friday's Shawnee Heights Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Hayden senior distance star Tanner Newkirk posted a 29-second win in the 3,200 meters in Friday's Shawnee Heights Invitational. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Hayden boys and girls were both able to take third-place finishes on Friday night. Jadyn Paige-Falley, Joe Otting, Jensen Schrickel, Jake Muller and Tanner Newkirk were able to take gold in various events.
“Overall, it’s been a pretty good day,” Hayden coach DeJuan Gardenhire Jr. said. “I thought we handled ourselves well with the speed of the meet. Today was a pretty fast meet. A lot of kids are doing four events today with only about five or 10 minutes to truly recover.
“I’m proud of how well they have handled the events.”
The Shawnee Heights girls posted a fourth-place team finish.
The sprinters did particularly well for the T-Birds. Taylor Rottinghaus took a first-place finish in the 400-meter dash and Ta’Mijha Nichols earned the gold in the 100.
Shawnee Heights alumnus Ryan Hahn has been a key in the turnaround for West Franklin High School, which competed in the invitational.
West Franklin, a 3A school, was considered the underdog in the invitational. While the boys finished fifth, the girls took a second-place finish.
“It’s neat to come here and see the competition,” Hahn said. “We really wanted this meet today. We were anxious when the meet was in question because of the weather. We want to be the ones to step up and face the big schools with faster athletes. I’m proud of our team and the way we’ve competed with the best today.”
Shawnee Heights Invitational
GIRLS
Team scores
Emporia 158.50, West Franklin 113, Hayden 105, Shawnee Heights 96.50, Bishop Miege 92, Ottawa 89.
Individual results
Shot put -- 1. Olson, Bishop Miege, 35-08.00, 2. Paige-Falley, Hayden, 33-10.00, 3. Keebaugh, Ottawa, 32-09.00.
Pole Vault – 1. Bailey, West Franklin, 9-00.00, 2. Gajewski, Bishop Miege, J9-00.00, 3. Busenitz, Shawnee Heights, 9-06.00.
Discus -- 1. Paige-Falley, Hayden, 108-03, 2. Calahan, Bishop Miege, 105-07, 3. Dials, Ottawa, 92-06.
Javelin -- 1. Ficken, Ottawa, 120-11, 2. Paige-Falley, Hayden, 106-05, 3. Emperley, Shawnee Heights, 104-05.
Long jump -- 1. Keebaugh, Ottawa, 16-10.00, 2. Shivley, Emporia, 16-00.00, 3. H. Walters, West Franklin,15-09.00.
High jump -- 1. Telfer, Emporia, 4-10.00, 2. Coffman, Shawnee Heights, J4-10.00, 3. Jordan, West Franklin, 4-08.00.
Triple jump – 1. Keebaugh, Ottawa, 37-04.00, 2. Shivley, Emporia, 34-11.50, 3. Telfer, Emporia, 32-03.50.
4 x 400 relay – 1. Shawnee Heights, 4:24.47, 2. West Franklin, 4:30.10, 3. Bishop Miege, 4:31.17.
100 hurdles -- 1. Key, Bishop Miege, 15.70, 2. Crabtree, West Franklin, 17.22, 3. Eng, Emporia, 17.53.
100 -- 1. Nichols, Shawnee Heights, 12.13, 2. McCallop, Bishop Miege, 12.17, 3. Hillebert, Hayden, 12.88.
1,600 -- 1. Bailey, West Franklin, 5:50.09, 2. Willhite, Emporia, 5:55.78, 3. Sheffy-Harris, Emporia, 5:56.92.
4 x 100 relay -- 1. Bishop Miege, 51.61, 2. Hayden, 52.90, 3. West Franklin, 53.17.
400 -- 1. Rottinghaus, Shawnee Heights, 1:00.24, 2. Hillebert, Hayden, 1:04.81, 3. Haltom, Shawnee Heights, 1:05.54.
300 hurdles -- 1. Crabtree, West Franklin, 49.53, 2. Cooper, Emporia, 51.61, 3. Reid, Hayden, 53.77.
800 -- 1. Bailey, West Franklin, 2:36.78, 2. Bird, Ottawa, 2:40.63, 3. Willhite, Emporia, 2:43.63.
200 -- 1. McCallop, Bishop Miege, 27.12, 2. Rottinghaus, Shawnee Heights, 27.18, 3. Nichols, Shawnee Heights, 27.88.
3,200 – 1. Sheffy-Harris, Emporia, 12:38.08, 2. Curtis, Emporia, 13:40.79, 3. Huffman, Ottawa, 13:52.52.
BOYS
Team scores
Shawnee Heights 156, Emporia 155, Hayden 139.5, Bishop Miege 93.5, West Franklin 81, Ottawa, 58.
Individual results
Shot put -- 1. Moten, Shawnee Heights, 50-10.00, 2. Etzel, Shawnee Heights, 47-05.00, 3. Otting, Hayden, 46-08.00.
Discus -- 1. Moten, Shawnee Heights, 141-03, 2. McConnell, Hayden, 139-07, 3. Saleshi, Bishop Miege, 134-11.
Javelin -- 1. Otting, Hayden, 143-04, 2. Cummings, Hayden, 142-00, 3. Clevinger, Ottawa, 138-07.
Long jump -- 1. Schrickel, Hayden, 21-08.50, 2. Funk, Hayden, 20-10.50, 3. Faulkner, Bishop Miege, 20-04.50
High jump -- 1. Abarca, West Franklin, 5-10.00, 2. Proehl, Emporia, 5-08.00, 3. Anderson, Emporia, 5-08.00.
Triple jump – 1. Leeds, Emporia, 40-05.50, 2. Cole, Bishop Miege, 38-07.75, 3. Abarca, West Franklin, 38-03.25.
4 x 800 relay -- 1. Shawnee Heights, 9:03.35, 2. Bishop Miege, 9:15.20, 3. Hayden, 9:31.39.
110 hurdles -- 1. Smith, Shawnee Heights, 14.23, 2. Muller, Hayden, 15.30, 3. Obermeyer, Emporia, 15.69.
100 -- 1. Smith, Shawnee Heights, 9.72, 2. January, Shawnee Heights, 10.50, 3. McDaniel, Shawnee Heights, 10.85.
1,600 -- 1. True, Emporia, 4:50.62, 2. Bailey, West Franklin, 5:06.88, 3. Amis, Hayden, 5:14.39.
4 x 100 relay -- 1. Bishop Miege, 45.23, 2. Hayden, 45.39, 3. Emporia, 45.51.
400 -- 1. Jackson, Emporia, 53.87, 2. Spellman, Emporia, 54.44, 3. Rech, Emporia, 54.47.
300 hurdles -- 1. Muller, Hayden, 40.95, 2. Garvin, Shawnee Heights, 41.93, 3. Obermeyer, Emporia, 44.40.
800 -- 1. True, Emporia, 2:11.38, 2. Benz, Shawnee Heights, 2:11.40, 3. Staniec, Shawnee Heights, 2:11.63.
200 -- 1. Smith, Shawnee Heights, 21.82, 2. January, Shawnee Heights, 23.10, 3. McCallop, Bishop Miege, 23.65.
3,200 – 1. Newkirk, Hayden, 9:34.30, 2. Esquibel, Shawnee Heights, 10:03.40, 3. Rochford, Hayden, 10:51.78.
