WINFIELD, Kan. — Buhler’s girls ran away with the AVCTL Division III track and field championship Thursday at Winfield High School, while the Crusader boys came up just short of a league title.
The Buhler girls scored 203 points to finish well ahead of second-place McPherson, which had 114. Winfield was third with 69, followed by Mulvane with 62, Circle with 55 and Augusta with 46.
McPherson won the boys team title with 168 points, edging Buhler by five points. The Crusaders finished second with 163, followed by Winfield with 73, Circle with 65, Mulvane with 55 and Augusta with 33.
Buhler’s girls were led by a dominant day in the sprints, hurdles, distance events and pole vault. Jenna Lackey won the 200 meters in 26.59 seconds and finished second in the 100 in 12.55, just behind teammate Sofia Spies, who won the 100 in 12.45. Spies also finished second in the 200 in 26.76.
The Crusaders also won the 400 relay in 49.39.
Corbin Starkweather led a Buhler sweep in the girls 1,600, winning in 5:25.13. Isabella Friesen was second in 5:28.50, and Isabella Rivera was third in 5:32.27. Starkweather also won the 800 in 2:23.65, with Friesen finishing second in 2:26.07 and Laney Reiff taking fifth in 2:31.95.
Buhler also swept the top three spots in girls pole vault. Lackey won at 11 feet, 6 inches, Sabella Regier was second at 10-0, and Khloe Blackwell was third at 9-0.
In the hurdles, Aaliyah Leving finished second in the 300 hurdles in 49.07 and sixth in the 100 hurdles. Bayleigh Miller took third in both hurdle races, running 16.91 in the 100 hurdles and 50.56 in the 300 hurdles. Caiyra Heinlein added a second-place finish in the 100 hurdles in 16.88 and was fourth in the 300 hurdles.
Buhler’s boys had several individual champions. Garrett Gleason won the high jump at 6-2, the long jump at 20-1.75 and the 200 in 22.46. Zach Friesen won both hurdle races, taking the 110 hurdles in 14.67 and the 300 hurdles in 40.97. Max Harmony won the pole vault at 14-0, and Jacob Miller won the javelin with a throw of 172-1.
The Crusaders also had strong depth in the boys field events. Dexter Fleeman was second in the high jump at 6-0, Kodie Applegate was second in the pole vault at 12-6, and Cody Jones was fourth at 10-0. Carthrae Courson was second in the triple jump at 39-5.50, Dontrell Willard-Trass was third at 38-6, and Bishop Holmes was fifth at 38-2.
McPherson’s boys used a balanced performance to win the team title. Caden Wenderott swept the boys throws, winning the discus at 161-6 and shot put at 54-6. The Bullpups also won the 4x800 relay in 8:31.38, the 4x100 relay in 43.02 and the 4x400 relay in 3:30.72.
McPherson’s Caleb Muehler was second in the boys 1,600 in 4:34.96 and second in the 800 in 1:59.35. Tripp Pelzel was third in the 800, while Kayden Friesen was sixth. Jayren Stutzman added a runner-up finish in the boys 100 in 10.95 and was second in the long jump at 19-8.50.
The McPherson girls were led by wins from Andi Buschbom in the long jump at 17-0.75, Cayla Weimer in the triple jump at 32-10.25 and Karsen Burris in the javelin at 118-3. McPherson also won the girls 4x400 relay in 4:15.50.
Cayla Weimer also finished second in the high jump at 4-11, while Audrey Weimer was fourth at 4-8. Adri McLeod finished third in the 100 and 200, and McPherson took second in the girls 4x100 relay in 51.13.