The Cardinals track and field team took home eight individual league titles and second-place team finishes for both the boys and girls at the Frontier League championship Thursday.
Both the boys and girls finished behind Spring Hill, which is a 5A school and won’t compete against Eudora next week. The strong performances across the board left head coach MaryJo Swann with lots of pride and excitement as the team looks to regionals.
“They’re just such a great crew,” Swann said. “They show up and work hard. Everywhere we’ve been this season, they’ve had to work through some adversity … I see a really impressive set of teammates who are constantly picking each other up. They’re fun kids to be around, fun athletes who give their best, and I couldn’t ask for more than that.”
Thursday featured nearly six hours of events, with many Cardinals athletes competing in multiple. Swann said their ability to keep pushing late in the day showcased their mental toughness.
Junior Addy Hemphill was one of the Cardinals who found themselves busy all day. She competed in the 100-meter dash, 4×100-meter relay, triple jump and long jump. She took home a top-three finish in all four and a league title in the long jump.
She’s able to compete in multiple events thanks to her coach and teammates, she said.
“I use my teammates,” Hemphill said. “Even though they may not be in the same event as me, I can talk to them and they help me. Everyone is eventually in their head at some point during this sport, so everyone understands it.”
On the javelin runway, the biggest competition for senior Kole Manley and junior Nate Steinlage was each other — and the record books.
Steinlage set a school record on his first throw, letting out a roar of approval after seeing his javelin sail 197 feet and 7 inches.
But that record wouldn’t stand for long. With his fifth throw, Manley launched his javelin 200 feet and 6 inches to swipe the school record and claim a meet record at the same time.
“It’s a tremendous help because we get to work together every day in practice,” Manley said. “He’s always pushing me to be my best, and I’m always pushing him to be his best. So it always gives each other someone to chase.”
Freshman Brynn Deterding snagged wins in the girls 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles. Senior Zach Arnold won the boys 3,200-meter run. Senior Sophie Whalen won the girls 400-meter dash. Sophomore George Hagan won the boys triple jump.
After spending the whole season chipping down their time in the boys 4×100-meter relay, the team of freshman Cameren Tice, senior Matthew Magette, senior Derek Lehmann and senior Adrion Seals now boast a school record and league title.
But Seals said the team isn’t quite satisfied yet.
“We just all want to put each other in a position to do our best,” he said. “If we keep that up, we can do really good things at state.”
Those high hopes can be found up and down the Cardinals roster as they look ahead to regionals.
Swann said she’s hoping the team can compete for regional championships and qualify a strong group for state.
“We should do very well at regionals and hopefully will qualify through a lot of our athletes and just have a great time at state,” she said. “I’m looking forward to taking a lot of kids.”
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
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