By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The 2022 State Track Meet in Wichita was another resounding success for our area schools, with seven teams finishing inside the top ten in their respective classes and two walking away with state titles.
Here then is a closer look at those teams as well as some of the individuals who will be leaving Cessna Stadium with some hardware of their own.
Southeast of Saline Boys: (3A State Champions)
The Southeast of Saline Trojans dominated this year’s 3A boys meet, finishing 44 points clear of the next closest contender in Burlington.
Dylan Sprecker defended his state titles in both the 800 and 1600, tacking on a third win in the 3200 for good measure.
Chase Poague followed up by winning both the 110m and 300m hurdles in back-to-back years to give the Trojans a massive boost in the points.
Poague would also join Michael Murray on the 100m dash podium as part of an SES 2-3 with Murray getting the better of his teammate before finishing third in the 200.
Rounding out the podium finishers Nakari Morrical-Palmer brought home silver in the 400 before helping the Trojans do the same in the 4x4.
Smoky Valley Girls: 3A State Champions
The Smoky Valley Lady Vikings led the 3A girls' meet from wire to wire, starting strong on Friday and finishing even stronger on Saturday to secure their own back-to-back titles.
While this was a team victory, three names carried the lion's share of both points and podiums on a dominant day for the Lady Vikings.
Breanne Peters became an individual state champion in the 200m dash and came close to two more, finishing runner up in both the 100m dash and pole vault.
Gracie Lambert dominated in the distance races winning the 800 outright and placing second in the 1600.
Finally Abby Rose closed out the remaining distance with a state title in the 400, and all three were instrumental in helping Smoky Valley win the 4x8 and take second in the 4x4.
The Lady Vikings finished 40 points ahead of their closest competition in Eureka in a comfortable, well-deserved state win.
Salina Central Girls: 4th Place (5A)
The third best area finish belonged to the Salina Central Lady Mustangs, who spread their 47 points out among several top-ten finishers.
The anchor of the team, however, was undoubtedly Katelyn Rupe, who became a double-State Champion with a sweep of the 1600 and 3200 on back-to-back days.
Sacred Heart Girls: T-7th Place (2A)
As expected, the Lady Knight’s distance core saw them to a top-ten finish, as Sacred Heart collected a team victory in the 4x800 meter relay and followed it up with a third-place finish in the 1600 for Madisyn Ehrlich.
Southeast of Saline Girls: 8th Place (3A)
Like Sacred Heart, it was the Lady Trojan distance team that carried SES to state, as every member of their state team qualified in a race of 800m or longer.
Jentrie Alderson defended both of her state titles with big wins in the 1600 and 3200 as the Southeast senior sent herself off in style.
Chapman Girls: 8th Place (4A)
The Lady Irish found some key points in the field events, but the brunt of their haul came from Elyssa Frieze, who became the state champion in the 3200 on Friday and followed it up with a runner-up finish in Saturday’s 1600.
Abilene Girls: 10th Place (4A)
Finally, the Abilene Cowgirls vaulted themselves into the top-ten thanks to a variety of point scorers across the board following a strong showing at regionals. Abilene is the only team in the area to finish inside the top ten without the aid of a single top-three podium placer.
Individuals
Brogan Rowley (Ell-Saline) 2A boys high jump champion
Seth Madron (McPherson) 4A boys high jump champion
Lucas DeDonder (Abilene) 4A boys 20om dash runner up
Tailynn Buettgenbach (McPherson) 4A girls shot put runner up
McPherson girls 4x400m relay team runner up
Ell-Saline girls 4x800m relay team third place
Abilene boys 4x800m relay team third place