smetrack: 2009 Prospects
Tuesday, January 202009 Prospects
Shawnee Mission East has shown the district, as well as the rest of the state, they are a track powerhouse. The boy's team placed 3rd at state in 2006, 4th at state in 2007 and 2nd at state in 2008. The second place finish last season was the highest finish in SME's 50 year history. Look for the boy's and girl's teams from SME to represent at state again this year.
Returning to the team this season will be Curran Darling. Darling was the state champion in the high jump in 2008. Convinced by his friend to come out and try the jumps, he soon realized he had some natural talent for the sport. Although, it is difficult to repeat as state champion, expect Curran to again be at the top of the awards stand. Look for Curran to reach new heights and crush his pr of 6'6".
The boy's 4x100m relay team was state champ as well. The finals in the 6A boys 4x100m relay was the most exciting race of the State meet last year. The relay team got the stick around the track in 42.41seconds breaking the SME school record. One half of the relay team will be returning this season. Chris Clarke and Jordan Dietrich will provide the experience needed for this nerve racking event. Both athletes provided consistency in the late 2008 season leading to state. Which sprinter is going to fill the two open spots? Brandon Burch and Duncan McHenry contributed to the 4x 200 last year. Are you guys ready to represent in the 4x100? I understand Micheal Johnson is back at East. Zach Clements worked diligently this fall and winter to come into track season in shape. Anyone else??? With a few determined, hardworking underclassmen the 4x1 will be competing in the finals at state in May.
Alex Horvath returned to the halls of East last year. We are glad he came back to the land of the Lancers. Alex placed 4th in the high jump at state in '08. He also routinely placed in the top 4 in varsity meets last season. He plans to compete in some indoor invitationals this winter. Look for Alex to shatter his 6'4" pr this season. 1, 2 at state would not be a stretch for our high jumpers.
Chris Clarke has worked in the shadows of Terrance Thomas for the last couple of years. It is Chris' turn to be recognized as the fastest kid in Kansas. Last year Chris was plagued with minor nagging injuries, but still managed a 10.7 twice last season. He placed 6th at state in the 100m. During the off season Chris has worked to improve his strength and running form. Look for Chris to be in top 3 in both the 100m and 200m at state. He's got some wheels.
Jordan Dietrich, a vital member of the 4x100m relay team, will be sprinting for the Lancers again this season. Expect Jordan to carry more weight in the open sprints this season. He has been doing conditioning and strength training in the fall and winter to ready him for the season.
Last year the boy’s 4x800m relay team competed at state as well. The returning members are Connor Wilkins, Taylor Haviland, Brian Simpson and Steven Nichols. This experienced relay team placed in the top three in over half of the meets last season. We expect them to return to state this year, but also anticipate they will be on the podium.
Austin Stehl just missed qualifying for state last season in the triple jump. He scored a lot of points in meets last season. We will need his points again this spring. Austin is a competitor and has worked in the off season to turn up his game. Plan on Austin heading to the state meet in Triple jump come May.
Grant Stauffer pr’d in the long jump at regionals last year. He missed making it to state. We expect Grant to take off this year and score points not only through the season, but at state as well.
Kyle Engleken tied the freshman record last year in the pole vault at 11'1". During the summer he attended a pole vault camp and vaulted 12'6". This would have placed in top 8 at state last season. Will Penner is a returning letterman. The two should build off of '08 and score points for us this year.
Alex Rorie and Alex Carver are two javelin throwers that had prs late in the season last spring. As they perfect their styles and increase their strength their distances should continue to increase.
Mike Sullivan has been training this winter with the KC Flyers. I expect Mike to come into the season in shape and hurdle ready. Brandon Royle, plagued by his old man body claims he is in good shape. He is wrestling this winter and vows to be a factor this season. Arias Lockheart had success late last season and we anticipate it carrying over to '09. We have many returning hurdlers: Beck Johnson, Arias Lockheart, Ben Jensen, Alex Wilson, Spencer Low and Clark Waldon. Anyone of these gentlemen can make varsity this season. Coach P promises a new approach to hurdle practices. Early and often!!! Are you up for the challenge?
Last year our 4x4 team won state and dominated most of the season. The athletes that competed on that team have graduated. It is time to reload that all important 4x4 with determined, competitive, horses. SME has been known for their 4x4 teams for years and 2009 will not be an exception. But who is going to step up? We know Chris Clarke can run an awesome 400. Joe Turner, Zach Nutt, Jonathan Stiefel, David Hill, Brandon Royle have all shown promise. Scott Cantril and Griff Gans have moved to track from baseball and are interested. In fact Scott has been working this winter to improve his chances. No doubt he will be ready to run. The relay team is wide open. If you think you want to be a part of this 4x4 relay team you better come to track season in shape. The competition will be intense.
Two freshmen, Adam Simmons and Evan Nichols, had great success in cross country this fall. They are fierce competitors and will fit in well with the other distance and mid distance runners on East’s track team. Under the leadership of seniors Jordan Elliott and Patrick Mayfield look for points from the distance team. Connor Wilkens, Thomas Read, Zach Colby, Michael Payne all will be contributors to East's success. Michael Payne has been working with this winter to try and perfect his form and drop his times.
We expect Josh Mais to be in the mix this year in discus. We will need a few others to step up to the competition. Tyler Woltemath, Andrew Yeast are you up for the challenge?
Our girl’s were champions at state as well. The girl's 4x800 relay team was state champions last year. The team made up of Allie Marquis, Mallory Kirby, Hannah Jane Stradinger and Maddy Rich won the event 6 times last season and came in second twice. These girls know what it means to compete. They currently are second on East honor roll. Expect them to dominate the event again this season. Might as well reserve them a spot on top of the podium at state!!
We had a strong showing at state in several events. We continue to prove strong in running events and look to increase our presence in the field events. We are hoping to see some of those athletic young ladies from basketball, volleyball and tennis join us out at the track this spring.
Allie Marquis continues to be one of the top distance runners in the state of Kansas. She went to state in three events last spring. Allie placed 6th in the 3200 and 7th in the 1600m at the state meet. Allie had mono this past cross country season and is out to show the state of Kansas she is back stronger than ever.
Hanna Jane Stradinger placed third in the 800m run. She picked a great place to pr. Her time of 2:19.95 placed her ninth on the SME honor roll. Look for her to return to the podium at state this May.
The girls 4x400 relay team placed 7th last year at state. They blew their old pr away by almost 5 seconds in the prelims of the 4x4. They currently hold the fourth place on the East leader board. The girls return to punish their competitors again this season. The team consists of Mallory Kirby, Maddy Rich, Hannah Satterlee, Hannah Jane Stradiger and Alyx Delgado.
Elizabeth Beck ran in the 200m at state in 2008. She also made finals in the 100m at regionals. While she suffered a knee injury this fall we are hoping for her healthy return this spring.
Hannah Satterlee just missed making it to finals last season at state in the 400m. Look for Hannah to drop her pr even farther this year. Although she is a vital part of the 4x4 relay team she will be racking up points in the open event this year as well.
Alyx Delgado pr’d at regionals last season in the open 400. She had been dropping her times throughout the season. We look for that trend to continue as the new track season begins.
Several athletes are working in the winter season to come into track season in optimal condition. Mallory Kirby, Kirby Clements, Jesse Sykes and Emma Pennington are all spending evenings this winter improving their running skills and dropping their times. The coaches appreciate all of you who have been getting in shape by doing winter conditioning. The distance athletes have been out in force. Obviously, we can't list everyone who has been working out this winter, but we do thank you for your efforts. You won't regret it.
The coaches are eagerly a waiting the new season. We have faith that you will come in ready to make a difference. Do you have the guts? Are you willing to sweat, freeze, puke and sacrifice to be a part of the East tradition? See you on March 2nd…ready to work. Again this season we have track athletes represented in all of the winter sports. We wish them luck. Stay healthy, inshape and hungry to win.
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