Sisters lead Valley Center to state track
ANDALE — There’s a running joke among the Wedekind sisters that Morgan is the golden child, while Madison, her twin, is the silver child, and Karlee, a senior, is the bronze child.
The topic amuses Karlee and Madison, while Morgan merely smiled when told of the exchange Friday night at the Class 4A track regional in Andale. It’s a subject that causes her discomfort.
“We pretty much know Morgan is the fastest,” Madison said, shrugging her shoulders.
Morgan, a freshman at Valley Center who is the reigning 4A cross country champ, qualified for next week’s state meet at Cessna Stadium in the 800, 1600 and the 3200 relay. Morgan and Madison finished second and third in the 800. Morgan was disappointed, though, when she had to drop out of the 3200 with a right knee injury in order to keep herself strong for state.
But in the 3200 relay, all three can shine together. The sisters, along with sophomore Lindsey Luna, won the relay in 10 minutes 26.91 seconds, nearly 11 seconds faster than Andale.
“I didn’t think we’d get to do it together (this season),” Karlee said. “I thought it would be me and Morganæ.æ.æ. I made Madison do it. Right after basketball she was thinking about it, and I talked her into it. I told her, ‘Think how fun it will beæ.æ.æ. we could go to state. Wouldn’t it be cool?’æ”
The sisters play other sports together _ Karlee and Morgan ran cross country in the fall, while Madison played golf; all three played varsity basketball; and Morgan and Madison play soccer, but Madison was in track and soccer this spring, only practicing track three times until soccer ended.
The girls are somewhat different. Madison is goofy and an extrovert, Morgan is more serious and quiet, and Karlee’s personality is a combination of the two.
Competing in track together has brought the trio closer because of all the time spent at meets and practices. The 3200 relay is important to them because it’s Karlee’s last season and they want her to go out strong.
“Today was a very relaxed day, it was about getting everybody qualified,” Valley Center coach Daniel Smith said. “.æ.æ. This season they’ve been breaking our school record every other meet we’ve run. What they haven’t done yet is gone under 10. Their best time is 10 minutes, 3 seconds.”
They likely will need to get under 10 minutes to have a chance at the 4A title.
A trio of wins _ El Dorado’s Molly Milbourn was barely breathing hard following her 3200 victory (in 11:24.97), which followed wins in the 800 (2:23.65) and the 1600 (5:11.75).
“Overall I’m feeling strong right now,” said Milbourn, a junior who won the 4A 1600 and 800 in 2009. “I’m looking forward to the state meet next week. I was trying to hit my times that I’ve been hitting all
year. I wanted to qualify and feel good about my times.”
Exciting finish _ The boys team title came down to the 1600 relay when Mulvane won in 3:24.88. That gave the Wildcats 89 points, edging Andale, which finished with 82. The girls team title was less
exciting — Andale dominated, scoring 142 points, while second-place El Dorado had 67.
Mulvane was helped by Evan Landes, who won the 1600 (4:35.59) and the 3200 (10:06.05). He was also part of Mulvane’s second-place 3200 relay team (8:28.27).
“In the 4 by 800, in my split, I didn’t do that great,” Landes said. “I was pretty tired. I gave my best effort in the 1600 and wanted to at least qualify. When coming around to the 800, I could feel myself kind of catching up… so I wanted to do it. But because I was running the 3200 (later), I wanted to conserve my energy.”
A big relief _ The primary goal for Wellington’s Cassie Wiley in the long jump was to get to the finals. It was a goal that might seem odd considering she won the long jump (16-9).
However, it’s understandable if you take into account the fact that Wiley scratched on all four attempts in 2009 and failed to advance to the regional finals..
“Today on the first one, I scratched,” Wiley said. “‘Oh crap, it’s going to happen again.’ But it ended up pretty good. I stayed calm and whipped it out pretty good.”
Wiley also won the high jump (5-2).
The races to watch _ With Valley Center’s Joe Fisher in the 100 and the 200 field, they were the races to watch because he has the state’s fastest times in both events — 10.3 in the 100, 21.6 in the 200.
Throw in the defending 4A champion in Wichita Trinity’s Morgan Burns in the lane adjacent to Fisher, and these were the races you did not want to miss.
They didn’t disappoint. Fisher won the 100 in 10.85, while Burns finished in 10.98. Fisher won the 200 in 22.03, while Burns was second in 22.22.
Burns didn’t leave empty-handed — he won the 400 in 49.51.
Flying high — When Andale’s Andrew Rowland competed in the pole vault in the 2009 regionals, he fell on the runway right in front of the mat. He had deep bruises and was concerned he wouldn’t be able to compete at state.
He did, finishing sixth.
Friday he was feeling just fine as he went 14 feet to win the pole vault. His sister, Emily, a freshman, going 11 feet to finish second to defending champion Jaimie House of El Dorado.
The pole vault is a popular topic among the Rowlands, especially because their older sister, Abby, also vaulted.
“We talk about it like every night,” Emily said.
„øCircle’s Alex Gardinier, the reigning 4A javelin champ, won it with a throw of 179-2. He also won the long jump (21-7) and finished second in the triple jump (42-½) behind Cheney’s Hunter Veith (42-8).
„øCheney’s Hailey Twietmeyer won the javelin with a throw of 132-8. She finished second in the shot put and discus. Clearwater’s Shelbie Serpan won the discus (125-2).
„øMaize South’s Hannah Grubbs won the 100, finishing in 12.97 to edge Andale’s Jeffi Holman (12.98). Holman won the 200 in 26.82.
Girls
Team — 1. Andale 142; 2. El Dorado 67; 3. Maize South 53½; 4. Pratt 52; 5. Circle 51; 6. Valley Center 47.5; 7. Clearwater 47; 8. Ulysses 32; 9. Cheney 28; 10. Wellington, 27½; 11. Kingman 24½; 12. Hugoton 19; 13. Mulvane 13; 14. W. Trinity 6; 15. Rose Hill 1.
100 hurdles—1. Behny, Andale, 15.72; 2. Tjaden, Clearwater, 15.87; 3. H. Grubbs, Maize South, 16.06; 4. Hoover, Pratt, 16.07. 100—1. H. Grubbs, Maize South, 12.97; 2. Holman, Andale, 12.98; 3. Simon, Andale, 13.24; 4. Allen, Mulvane, 13.27. 3200 relay—1. Valley Center, 10:26.91; 2. Andale, 10:37.01; 3. El Dorado, 10:40.44; 4. Ulysses, 10:49.02. 1600—1. Milbourn, El Dorado, 5:11.75; 2. Mo. Wedekind, Valley Center, 5:35.69; 3. Becker, Pratt, 5:38.30; 4. Poynter, Maize South, 5:39.89. 400—1. Staats, Pratt, 59.09; 2. Lindstrom, Circle, 1:00.30; 3. R. Grubbs, Maize South, 1:00.60; 4. Ast, Andale, 1:00.98. 400 relay—1. Andale, 50.41; 2. Maize South, 51.66; 3. Pratt, 51.73; 4. Valley Center, 51.85. 300 hurdles—1. Tjaden, Clearwater, 46.64; 2. H.Grubbs, Maize South, 47.32; 3. Burden, Circle, 47.7; 4. Hoover, Pratt, 48.11. 800—1. Milbourn, El Dorado, 2:23.65; 2. Mo. Wedekind, 2:29.69; 3. Ma. Wedekind, Valley Center, 2:29.79; 4. Allen, Mulvane, 2:30.45. 200—1. Holman, Andale, 26.82; 2. Kinser, Hugoton, 26.85; 3. Botello, Pratt, 27.1; 4. R. Grubbs, Maize South, 27.16. 3200—1. Milbourn, El Dorado, 11:24.97; 2. Becker, Pratt, 12:30.52; 3. Meierhoff, Ulysses, 12:42.57; 4. May, Andale, 12:56.0. 1600 relay—1. Andale, 4:09.42; 2. Circle, 4:10.24; 3. El Dorado, 4:11.06; 4. Pratt, 4:13.71. Shot Put—1. Britton, Ulysses, 38-11 ½; 2. Twietmeyer, Cheney, 38-5; 3. Govert, Kingman, 38-1 ½; 4. Serpan, Clearwater, 36-2. Pole vault—1. House, El Dorado, 12-0; 2. Rowland, Andale, 11-0; 3. Leckliter, El Dorado, 10-6; 4. Schauf, Andale, 10-0. High jump—1. Wiley, Wellington, 5-2; 2. Eck, Andale, 5-0; 3. (tie) Bohm, W. Trinity, 4-10 and Wartick, Circle, 4-10. Javelin—1. Twietmeyer, Cheney, 132-8; 2. Govert, Kingman, 113-1; 3. Orton, Andale, 110-1; 4. McCormick, Valley Center, 108-6. Long jump—1. Wiley, Wellington, 16-9; 2. Kitchen, Circle, 16-7; 3. Simon, Andale, 16-6; 4. Reh, Pratt, 16-2. Discus—1. Serpan, Clearwater, 125-2; 2. Twietmeyer, Cheney, 124-11; 3. Britton, Ulysses, 121-7; 4. Akin, Clearwater, 109-1. Triple jump—1. Kinser, Hugoton, 36-6.25; 2. Vaughn, Andale, 34-11; 3. Eck, Andale, 34-5; 4. Kitchen, Circle, 33-10.
Boys
Team—1. Mulvane 89; 2. Andale 82; 3. Pratt 57; 4. W. Trinity 56; 5. Circle 45; 6. Cheney 38; 7. El Dorado and Clearwater 29; 9. Ulysses and Rose Hill and Valley Center, 27; 12. Hugoton and Augusta and Wellington 24; 15. Maize South 20; 16. Kingman 14.
100—Fisher, Valley Center, 10.85; 2. Burns, W. Trinity, 10.98; 3. Tipton, Andale, 11.38; 4. Seidel, Pratt, 11.46.
3200 relay—1. El Dorado, 8:19.39; 2. Mulvane, 8:28.27; 3. Ulysses, 8:35.88; 4. Andale, 8:41.40. 110 hurdles—1. Bradley, Wellington, 15.56; 2. Southard, Pratt, 15.73; 3. Jarnagin, Ulysses, 16.01; 4. Maydew, Pratt, 16.16. 1600—1. Landes, Mulvane, 4:35.59; 2. Alstrom, Cheney, 4:37; 3. Jimenez, Hugoton, 4:37.79; 4. Martin, Andale, 4:38.63. 400 relay—1. W. Trinity, 43.55; 2. Andale, 43.75; 3. Mulvane, 44.41; 4. Pratt, 44.74. 400—1. Burns, W. Trinity, 49.51; 2. Dobbs, Mulvane, 51.62; 3. Mi. Swank, Pratt, 51.93; 4. Shaffer, Rose Hill, 52.57. 300 hurdles—1. Kaye, W. Trinity, 40.18; 2. Jarnagin, Ulysses, 40.73; 3. Nickelson, Clearwater, 40.79; 4. Horsch, Andale, 41.0. 800—1. Martin, Andale, 1:59.90; 2. Alstrom, Cheney, 2:02.83; 3. Fay, Circle, 2:03.22; 4. Jiles, El Dorado, 2:03.6. 200—1. Fisher, Valley Center, 22.03; 2. Burns, W. Trinity, 22.22; 3. May, Mulvane, 23.13; 4. Melichar, Andale, 23.22. 3200—1. Landes, Mulvane, 10:06.5; 2. Jimenez, Hugoton, 10:15.31; 3. Anders, Wellington, 10:17.84; 4. Nightengale, El Dorado, 10:21.91. 1600 relay—1. Mulvane, 3:24.88; 2. Pratt, 3:30.83; 3. El Dorado, 3:31.24; 4. Andale, 3:31.60. Shot put — 1. Smith, Augusta, 47-5; 2. Rayl, Wellington, 47-2; 3. Bowman, Clearwater, 46-11½ ; 4. Knoblauch, Kingman, 45-9½ . Pole vault—1. Rowland, Andale, 14-0; 2. Ungles, Andale, 12-6; 3. Baalmann, Andale, 12-0; 4. Hughes, Mulvane, 11-6. High jump — 1. Budda, Augusta, 6-2; 2. Guillory, Mulvane, 6-0; 3. (tie) Mays, Rose Hill, 5-10 and Graber, Maize South, 5-10. Javelin—1. Gardinier, Circle, 179-2; 2. Gifford, Hugoton, 162-6; 3. Pote, Andale, 160-0; 4. Southard, Pratt, 149-9. Long jump — 1. Gardinier, Circle, 21-7; 2. Hostetler, Pratt, 20-11½; 3. Gray, W. Trinity, 20-3 ½ ; 4. Rinke, Clearwater, 20-2. Discus—1. Knoblauch, Kingman, 162-02; 2. Paddock, Rose Hill, 149-10; 3. Ma. Swank, Pratt, 143-0; 4. Goldsmith, Cheney, 142-9. Triple jump—1. Veith, Cheney, 42-8; 2. Gardinier, Cicle, 42-0½ ; 3. Rinke, Clearwater, 41-7; 4. Brown, Circle, 41-6.25.