photo by: Chris Duderstadt

Free State's Bo Miller strides down the runway during the Class 6A boys javelin competition on Friday, May 25, 2018, at Wichita State's Cessna Stadium. Miller finished third with a throw of 198 feet, 10 inches.

WICHITA — The Lawrence High duo of Hunter Krom and Harrison King and the Free State tandem of Bo Miller and Nathan Spain have always enjoyed sharing the same javelin runway, and they got to do it one last time at the high school level on Friday at the state track and field meet at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium.

After posting some of their best marks of the season, all four area javelin throwers ended up on the awards podium. Between Krom, King, Miller, Spain and Lawrence High’s Baylee Unruh and Amaya Harris, six area javelin throwers earned medals at the state meet.

“State gives me a lot of good vibes and just a lot of adrenaline,” Krom said after finishing second with a personal-best throw of 204 feet, 4 inches. “Everything feels so much better during state.”

“It’s magical,” Miller chimed in.

For the second straight year, Krom was the state runner-up to Manhattan’s Samuel Hankins — who won the boys competition with a throw of 212 feet, 1 inch. In 2017, Hankins edged Krom by 8 inches on his final throw to win the state title, but the Lawrence High senior didn’t have any regrets this go-around after leaving it all out there one last time.

“It’s great knowing that we can represent Lawrence and just do big things here,” Krom said.

Finishing right behind Krom was Miller with a throw of 198 feet, 10 inches. The third-place finish at state was just one part of a magical week for Miller, who signed his national letter of intent to Belmont on Tuesday.

“It’s going to be exciting telling my coaches that I PR’d again and set a new school record,” Miller said. “It’s going to be pretty good. It’s going to give me a lot of momentum going into next season. It’s got me pretty excited.”

Although Miller is going out of state to continue his javelin career, Krom, King and Spain are staying close to home at Baker University. The Wildcats’ javelin crew will also include Free State senior Gabe del Valle, and currently has two Free State products in Tyler Winsor and Simeon Windibiziri, who both competed at the NAIA national meet on Thursday.

“It’s going to be great because it’s going to have the same kind of atmosphere and same kind of friends,” King, who took fourth with a throw of 187 feet, said. “It’ll be just like I’ve been doing for the past two years.”

Spain rounded out the placers from the Lawrence area with a seventh-place throw of 164 feet, 5 inches. One thing that helped Spain throughout the competition was having several people he could go to for tips.

“I was talking to my coach and talking to Bo, Hunter and Harry and I was just trying to get my point down. I was throwing a little high today,” Spain said. “There are just a lot of things that I need to keep working on when I go to Baker, like my arm speed and just keep looking at my point.”

The 6A boys javelin competition was one of the last events of the day for the 4A-6A session. Unruh and Harris took the runway in the morning shortly after an hourlong lightning delay. Unruh set a high bar for herself with a first throw of 142 feet, 4 inches. Although she wasn’t able to match her first throw in her final five attempts, she didn’t need to. The LHS junior finished second — only trailing Olathe North’s Dana Baker, who set a meet record with a throw of 168 feet, 8 inches. Baker is the No. 1 ranked high school girls javelin thrower in the nation.

Unruh etched her name in the Lawrence High record books early in the season, and she felt that the runner-up performance at state was a great way to close her junior campaign.

“It felt good to get second. Just throwing well throughout the season and getting second, as compared to last year when I got sixth,” Unruh said. “My goal was just to do better and do my best, and I think I did a good job of that.”

Joining Unruh on the awards podium was Harris, who placed sixth with a throw of 124 feet, 9 inches.

“That’s awesome to get more points,” Unruh said. “That means we’re that much closer to a state championship. It’s kind of weird doing a single event, but it’s also great to be a part of a team aspect as a whole.”

Lawrence High’s Hickerson, Tibke earn state medals

Unruh was one of two members of the LHS girls squad to come away with a second-place finish on Friday. Josie Hickerson cleared 11 feet, 6 inches to be the runner-up in the pole vault.

The Lawrence High girls squad also set itself up for some success in the preliminary events. Ashley Wildeman, Amaya Harris, Bella Kirkwood and Asjah Harris posted the top time of 48.04 in the 4-x-100-meter relay prelims. Ozi Ajekwu, Hannah Stewart, Asjah Harris and Evann Seratte clocked in at 4:01.85 to take second in the 4-x-400-meter relay prelims. Asjah Harris (second-place time of 24.87 in the 200-meter prelims) and Seratte (fourth-place time of 58.88 in the 400-meter prelims) also qualified for Saturday’s finals.

Bryce Tibke helped highlight Day 1 for the LHS boys team with a seventh-place throw of 155 feet, 1 inch in the discus.

Childress, Pettit place for Free State

Auna Childress paced the Firebirds on Friday with a second-place finish in the girls triple jump. Childress’ best jump was on her first attempt after getting a mark of 38 feet, 3.75 inches.

Free State senior Cameryn Thomas punched her ticket to the finals in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles with respective times of 15.76 and 48.19.

The Firebirds also had a medalist in the boys high jump after Michael Pettit cleared 6 feet, 2 inches to finish fifth. The key for the Free State sophomore was treating state like any other meet.

“I’d say just staying to myself and not letting the crowd get to me. I was just focusing on the bar and staying to myself,” Pettit said. “I was just not trying to think that everyone was watching me. It’s just me there jumping.”

Tonganoxie tandem places in boys shot put

Cole Sample and LeeRoi Johnson placed second and sixth, respectively, in the boys shot put to pace Tonganoxie.

Sample saved his best throw for last with a heave of 53 feet, 11.5 inches. Johnson’s best throw sailed 51 feet, 7 inches.

Lindenmeyer leads Baldwin girls

Baldwin High’s Carly Lindenmeyer also surged up the leadership on her final attempt to finish fourth in the long jump.

The Baldwin junior had a best jump of 17 feet, 2 inches.

Perry-Lecompton’s Mallonee medals

While Shane Quinlan and company positioned Perry-Lecompton to do some damage in the sprints on Saturday, Colton Mallonee scored the first points of the meet for the Kaws by finished fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 42 feet, 11.5 inches.

State track and field meet

Friday at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium

Day 1 of 2

6A girls team scores (through four events) — 1. Shawnee Mission Northwest, 20; T-2. Lawrence High, 19; T-2. Gardner Edgerton, 19; 4. Blue Valley, 17; 5. Olathe North, 13; 6. Shawnee Mission East, 13; 7. Free State, 8; 8. Garden City, 7.5; T-9. Olathe East, 6; T-9. Blue Valley Northwest, 6; T-11. Wichita East, 5; T-11. Washburn Rural, 5; T-14. Shawnee Mission North, 4; T-14. Manhattan, 4; 16. Dodge City, 3; T-17. Olathe South, 1; T-17. Haysville-Campus, 1.

6A boys team scores (seven scored events) — 1. Manhattan, 36; 2. Haysville-Campus, 28; 3. Shawnee Mission Northwest, 24; 4. Wichita Northwest, 17; T-5. Shawnee Mission West, 16; T-5. Blue Valley North, 16; 7. Lawrence High, 15; 8. Shawnee Mission South, 14; 9. Gardner Edgerton 13; T-10. Free State, 12; T-10. Olathe North, 12; 12. Hutchinson, 11; 13. Olathe East, 10; T-14. Olathe Northwest, 8; T-14. Shawnee Mission North, 8; T-16. Wichita East, 6; T-16. Topeka High, 6; T-19. Junction City, 5; T-19. Derby, 5; 21. Blue Valley West, 3; T-22. Blue Valley Northwest, 1; T-22. Wichita North, 1.

6A area results

Lawrence High girls

Pole vault — 2. Josie Hickerson, 11-06; Caroline Dunlap (no height).

Javelin — 2. Baylee Unruh, 142-04; 6. Amaya Harris, 124-09; 15. Michaela Cordova, 108-11.

4×100 relay prelims — 1. Ashley Wildeman, Amaya Harris, Bella Kirkwood, Asjah Harris, 48.04.

400 prelims — 4. Evann Seratte, 58.88.

200 prelims — 3. Asjah Harris, 24.87.

4×400 relay prelims — 2. Ozi Ajekwu, Hannah Stewart, Asjah Harris, Evann Seratte, 4:01.85.

Lawrence High boys

Discus — 7. Bryce Tibke, 155-01.

Shot put — 15. Bryce Tibke, 44-07.5.

Javelin — 2. Hunter Krom, 204-02; 4. Harrison King, 187-00.

4×100 relay prelims — 15. Chris Mumford, Relle Dye, Reggie Clemons, Graham Hough, 45.07.

Free State girls

3200 — 9. Julia Larkin, 11:41.89.

Javelin — 13. Erin Cushing, 111-02.

Triple jump — 2. Auna Childress, 38-03.75.

100 hurdles — 4. Cameryn Thomas, 15.76; 14. Liliana King-Wilson, 16.88.

300 hurdles — 5. Cameryn Thomas, 48.19; 14. Liliana King-Wilson, 50.85.

Free State boys

3200 — 10. Charlie Johnson, 9:58.80.

High jump — 5. Michael Pettit, 6-02.

Discus — 15. Spencer Roe, 107-00.

Long jump — 15. Jaxon Malone, 19-02.

Javelin — 3. Bo Miller, 198-10; 7. Nathan Spain, 164-05.

4×400 relay prelims — 10. Tyler Bowden, Cole Phillips, Tanner Cobb, Malachi Starr, 3:29.30.

400 prelims — 16. Cole Phillips, 53.75.

Other area results

Baldwin girls

Long jump — 4. Carly Lindenmeyer, 17-02.

4×100 relay prelims — 13. Tavia Crowe, Aubrey Mahaffey, Molly Higgins, Carly Lindenmeyer, 51.52.

4×400 relay prelims — 3. Abby Ogle, Natalie Beiter, Ambrynn Stewart, Carly Lindenmeyer, 4:07.17.

300 hurdles prelims — 5. Abby Ogle, 46.47.

Baldwin boys

3200 — 13. Jacob Bailey, 10:28.07.

Shot put — 14. Quinn Nichols, 45-03.75.

200 prelims — 6. Matthew Jackson, 22.64.

Tonganoxie girls

4×100 relay prelims — 8. Natalee Shepard, Corrin Searcy, Sierra Staatz, Trinity Touchton, 50.74.

200 prelims — 2. Natalee Shepard, 26.48.

400 prelims — 3. Corrin Searcy, 59.30; 9. Sierra Staatz, 1:01.18.

Discus throw — 10. Keagan Newberry, 112-01.

Shot put — 15. Keagan Newberry, 31-02.50.

Tonganoxie boys

Shot put — 2. Cole Sample, 53-11.5; 6. LeeRoi Johnson, 51-07; 10. Kyle Snyder, 48-03.75.

3200 — 14. Calvin Morgan, 10:29.88.

Eudora boys

Pole vault — 10. Garret Durr, 12-06.

110 hurdles prelims — Caleb Zimmerman (false start).

200 prelims — 13. Alaneon Ford, 23.09.

4×400 relay — 11. Alaneon Ford, Colby Lawhorn, Bobby Lounsbury, Noah Katzenmeier, 3:28.91.

Ottawa boys

Shot put — 13. Blake Jensen, 45-03.75; 16. Jayson Brown, 40-03.25.

3200 — 15. Josiah Jahn, 10:45.66.

4×400 relay prelims — 3. Triston Saavedra, Brandon Carlson, Travis Lutz, Kasey Spigle, 3:23.27.

Perry-Lecompton girls

4×100 relay prelims — 11. Rylee Paramore, Haley Kellum, Jolie Hirsch, Calie Coleman, 52.19.

Discus — 13. Mykiah McDaniel, 108-10.

Perry-Lecompton boys

Triple jump — 4. Colton Mallonee, 42-11.50.

Long jump — 12. Caden Dean, 19-10.25.

200 prelims — 3. Shane Quinlan, 22.70.

400 prelims — 1. Shane Quinlan, 50.01.

4×400 relay prelims — 3. Dalton Kellum, Ty Packard, Colton Mallonee, Shane Quinlan, 3:28.22.