By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Not even a nailbiting loss in the Class 5A 4x100-meter relay could put a damper on the best weekend of Seaman senior star Aaron Merritt's track career.
Seaman senior Aaron Merritt (middle) won Class 5A titles in the 110-meter hurdles and the 100 dash Saturday in Wichita. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Seaman senior Aaron Merritt (middle) wins the 100-meter dash in Saturday's Class 5A state meet at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman got nipped by United Kansas Conference rival De Soto in the 4x100 (42.39 seconds to 42.50), but Merritt was still all smiles after his 28-point day.
"We ran an awesome race,'' Merritt said of the 4x100 relay. "It was a (personal record) for us even. We were in it fourth and got second, so nothing to complain about there.''
And the silver in the relay was Merritt's only non-gold on the day, with the future Kansas Jayhawk winning state championsips in the 110-meter hurdles and 100 dash.
Merritt had finished second in the 110s to Piper senior Jayden Henry in the UKC and regional meets, but turned the tables Saturday morning, winning in a time of 14.48 seconds while Henry finished third behind Merritt and Kapaun Mt. Carmel junior Dawson Grabendike.
"I knew winning today was just whoever was feeling the best today,'' Merritt said. "We're back and forth all season, had no clue who was going to win, and I was just best today so that's what happened.''
After running the prelims in the 100 earlier, Merritt ran a blistering 10.32 in the final to post his second win of the day.
"The 110s, I feel like is my primary, so I was completely focused on that and as soon as I got done I was completely focused on the 100,'' Merritt said. "The prelims of the 100 warmed me up and I felt good after winning the gold for the 100.''
Merritt's 10.32 easily eclipsed the 5A meet record of 10.50 set by Independence's Danny Williams in 1981, but Merritt's time won't be recognized as a record because Saturday's wind was above the allowable limit.
"I was hoping for like a 10.4 and to get the meet record, that would be really cool, but 10.3 blows my mind,'' Merritt said. "It's crazy.''
Merritt's final event of his high school career was the 4x100 relay, teaming with Peyton Holmes, Bryce Cochran and Jacob Anderson for the runnerup finish.
"I'm very happy with everything that happened,'' Merritt said. "I couldn't have ended it on a better note.''
Hayden senior Finn Dunshee (middle) won 3A titles in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and ran on the Wildcats' winning 4x400 relay team. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Dunshee caps prep career with three-gold performance for team runnerup Wildcats
Hayden senior Finn Dunshee's future plan at this point is to focus on academics in college, studying biology at the University of Dallas.
And if Saturday was Dunshee's final go-around in competitive athletics, it was a special one.
The Hayden football and track star won Class 3A state titles in the 100 and 200-meter dashes and also teamed with Liam Stegman, John Strickland and Jensen Schrickel to win the 4x400 relay while also teaming with Stegman, Jackson McGivern and Schrickel to finish a close second in the 4x100 relay.
After setting a 3A state meet record in the preliminaries of the 200 on Friday (21.43) Dunshee came back on Saturday to win the 100 title in 10.60 seconds and the 200 in 21.99.
Dunshee's time in the 100 surpassed Jordy Nelson's record time of 10.63 set in 2003, but Dunshee's time will not be recognized as a record because Saturday's wind was above the allowable limit.
"It's been a great day,'' Dunshee said. "I got a good time in the 100, I was real happy with that, and broke the record (Friday) in the 200 so the goal today was just to finish in first. That was great and I'm real happy with that.''
Hayden finished second in the 4x100 relay in 42.52 seconds and won the 4x400 relay in 3:26.01 to cap a second-place finish in the 3A team standings.
Hayden junior Jensen Schrickel was a triple gold medalist in the Class 3A state track and field meet. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Schrickel, a junior, also won three gold medals on the weekend, adding the 400 and 4x400 relay titles on Saturday after winning the 3A long jump championship on Friday.
Schrickel and Dunshee led the way as Hayden finished second to Holcomb, which won by an 80-61 margin.
Washburn Rural senior Josh Sulzen-Watson won the Class 6A state javelin championship with a throw of 188-7 after finishing third in the discus. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Rural's Sulzen-Watson takes 6A javelin title
By his own admission, Washburn Rural senior Josh Sulzen-Watson isn't a big fan of the javelin throwing area outside Wichita State's Cessna Stadium.
But the Junior Blues star may have to change his opinion, at least a little, after winning Saturday's Class 6A javelin championship with a winning throw of 188 feet, 7 inches.
"I don't really like this runway, to be honest with you,'' Sulzen-Watson said. "It has like a little sponge thingy at the front and when you plant in it you don't really get much traction, so I was working on trying to stay either left or right of that so I could stay on the runway.
"And it also didn't help that I was off the runway (at the back end) for my runup so it was challenge.''
But despite those annoyances Sulzen-Watson ruled the day, taking the lead on his first throw in the finals and holding on to win by a foot over Mill Valley senior Aiden Stroebel.
"I feel great,'' Sulzen-Watson said. "I've been working for this all season and it finally paid off.''
Sulzen-Watson's win in the javelin came after a third-place finish in the discus earlier in the day with a throw of 162-3.
Washburn Rural's 4x400 relay team was atop the victory stand after winning the Class 6A state title in 3:19.56. [Washburn Rural Athletics]
Junior Blues end meet with 6A relay championship
After waiting out a weather delay Saturday night Washburn Rural's foursome of senior Shane Jueneman, sopomores Liam Morrison and Draden Chooncharoen and junior Isaiah Terry ended the Class 6A state meet with state title in the 4x400 relay in 3:19.56.
The Junior Blues won by more than a second over runnerup Olathe West (3:20.93).
The 4x400 win helped Washburn Rural wrap a fourth-place team finish in 6A, just two points behind third-place Wichita East (49-47).
Morrison also posted a fifth-place finish in the 110 hurdles (15.07) and an eighth-place finish in the 300 hurdles (41.82) while Terry finished fifth in the 400 dash (50.13).
Other highlights Saturday:
Shawnee Heights senior Jackson Esquibel (left) finished second in the Class 5A 1,600 in 4:19.11. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
• After winning the Class 5A state title in the 3,200 on Friday, Shawnee Heights star Jackson Esquibel finished a strong second in Saturday's 1,600 in a time of 4:19.11.
After finishing third in the 1,600 at regionals, Esquibel was the runnerup Saturday to UKC rival Palmer O'Connor, who won in 4:18.77.
The Kansas State signee, who also won the 5A cross country championship last fall, won the 3,200 and finished second in the 1,600 for the second straight season.
Shawnee Heights junior Payton Berry-Briggs finished third in the 5A 200 in 22.27.
• Other Shawnee County boys individual state medalists on Saturday included Silver Lake's Evan Scheid, fourth in the 3A 200 (22.73) and sixth in the 100 (11.05); Washburn Rural's Cody Ingenthron, sixth in the 6A 110 hurdles (15.20); Seaman's Holmes, sixth in the 5A long jump (21-4.25); Silver Lake's Jared Johnson, tied for seventh in the 3A high jump (6-0); Hayden's Stegman, 8th in the 3A 400 (53.74) and Seaman's Tad McGee, eighth in the 5A high jump (6-0).
• Silver Lake's 4x400 relay team of Joel Miller, Allen Lees, Eli Ferguson and Scheid finished fourth in 3A in 3:30.82.
Hayden's team of Zach Moore, Connor Baldwin, Jonah Stewart and Aiden Amis finished seventh in the 3A 4x800 relay in 8:27.73.
