By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The final day of the 2026 Kansas state track and field championships got underway on Saturday morning with the final track preliminary races as the 100 meters started at 8:30 a.m. on the campus of Wichita State University and due to two lengthy weather-related suspensions, the meet finally concluded around 11 p.m. Saturday night.
The marathon final day of competition produced three local boys state champions, with Washburn Rural junior Christian Hartman-Babb winning the Class 6A 100-meter dash, Seaman senior Brody Anderson winning the 5A 800 and Rossville sophomore Landen Lewis earning the title in the 2A javelin.
Seaman senior Brody Anderson ended his high school career with the Class 5A state 800 meters championship Saturday night in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Anderson capped his outstanding track and cross country career for the Vikings with his first career state title after finishing second to Kapaun Mt. Carmel star Daniel Enriquez in the 3,200 and 1,600 earlier in the weekend.
After finishing finished second in the 3,200 meters Friday morning, Anderson finished second to Enriquez again in the 5A boys 1,600 meters with a time of 4 minutes,12.48 seconds.
Following Saturday's first weather delay, the duo faced one another again in the 800 meters.
In a race where 15 of the 18 runners had qualifying times under two minutes, the competition was going to be at a high level.
Anderson didn’t go immediately to the lead and after the first 400 meters, sitting in fifth place.
“I went into the race trying to play it tactical to see how the field spread out before I made my move, rather than taking the race from the lead like I did in the 3,200 and 1,600 races,'' Anderson said. "After 400 meters, I was trapped against the rail, but I found a gap and took off and never looked back.”
He came all the way back and won the race in a personal best time of 1:52.08, finishing ahead of junior Nathan Webb of Valley Center (1:52.78) and Enriquez (1:52.99).
All three of the runners broke the state meet record in 5A, but it will be Anderson’s name that goes into the record books.
“It feels amazing to wrap up the last race of my high school career with a victory and state title,'' Anderson said. "I’m so grateful for all of my coaches and family that helped me reach this point.”
Washburn Rural junior Christian Hartman-Babb won the Class 6A 100-meter dash and finished second in the 200 Saturday in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Hartman-Babb was the first local state champion with his victory in the 6A boys 100 meters.
He finished the final in a winning time of 10.59 seconds after qualifying early on Saturday morning with a time of 10.63.
Hartman-Babb returned later after the first weather delay for the 6A boys 200 race, where he finished second to senior Nicolas Cabral of Olathe East by only 0.003 seconds (21.397 to 21.400).
The third local state champ was Rossville's Lewis, who won the 2A javelin title with a throw of 181 feet, 9 inches.
His championship throw came on his fourth attempt, which was 18 feet further than any of his other attempts during the competition.
Lewis had a long wait for his title, with the 2A event originally scheduled for Friday evening before being pushed back to Saturday by weather. Then the event was delayed further by Saturday's inclement weather before finally being contested.
Saturday's other Shawnee County medalists:
Washburn Rural senior Morgan Ray finished second in the Class 6A javelin event for the second straight season Saturday in Wichita. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
• Washburn Rural senior Morgan Ray was the 6A runnerup in the girls javelin for the second straight season, finishing second with a throw of 145-1.
Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe posted a second-place finish in the Class 6A 1,600-meter run on Saturday in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
- Washburn Rural senior Brooks Kehoe was also a 6A runnerup, finishing second in the 1,600 in a time of 4:22.04.
Hayden junior Sofia Harper was the Class 4A runnerup in the 400-meter dash on Saturday in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]- Hayden Sofia Harper medaled in the 4A girls 400 meters, finishing 2nd, with a time of 59.43
- Silver Lake’s boys 4x100-meter relay team of Thomas Fisher, Owen Rottinghaus, Joel Miller and Braxton Rupp posted a second-place finish with a time of 43.14.
- Silver Lake senior Kailyn Hanni medaled in the 3A girls javelin, finishing third with a personal-best throw of 129 feet, 7 inches after helping the Eagles win the 3A state softball championship earlier in the day.
- Shawnee Heights senior Jason Slay medaled in the 5A boys 400 meters, finishing third in a time of 49.51.
- Silver Lake’s boys 4x400 relay team (Jake Workman, Owen Rottinghaus, Thomas Fisher and Joel Miller) medaled in the 3A race, finishing third in 3:28.56.
- Silver Lake junior Ali Gerber medaled in the 3A girls 400 meters, finishing fourth in a personal-best time of 58.75.
- The boys 4x400 relay team from Shawnee Heights (Xavier Fisher, Dallas Owens, Mason Haas and Slay) posted a fourth-place 5A finish in a time of 3:25.32.
- Washburn Rural freshman Alyson Hinck was a medalist in the 6A girls 800 meters in her first state meet, finishing fifth in a time of 2 minutes, 18.43 seconds.
- Rossville junior Charles Chance was a medalist in the 2A boys shot put, finishing fifth at 48 feet, 7 inches.
- Seaman junior Jack Esser finishing fifth in the 5A boys high jump with a jump of 6-2.
- Shawnee Heights freshman Tanesia Johnson qualified in the 5A girls 100 meters with a time of 12.40. In the finals she finished sixth in a time of 12.37.
- Shawnee Heights sophomore Sam Garner was a medalist in the 5A boys discus, finishing seventh with a throw of 153-8.
- Cair Paravel Latin senior Lucas Marichal medaled in the 2A boys triple jump, finishing seventh with a personal-best leap of 42-9.25.
- Silver Lake senior Kayleigh Kruger medaled in the 3A girls discus, finishing sixth with a personal-best throw of 120-3
- The Washburn Rural 4x800 relay team of Hinck, Clara Dillon, Kenzie Maddox and Emily Graf medaled with an eighth-place finish in a time of 9:44.80.
- Silver Lake's Miller medaled in the 3A boys 400 meters, finishing seventh in 51.13.
- Highland Park senior Termaine Savage medaled in the 5A boys 400-meter dash, finishing sixth with a time of 50.43 seconds.
- The girls 4x400 relay team from Silver Lake (Kinley Weber, Jaylie Whitehead, Karys Deiter and Gerber) medaled in the 3A race, finishing fifth with a time of 4:09.64.
