WICHITA, Kan. – The central area of Ad Astra Radio saw many peak performances at the KSHSAA State Track & Field Championships on Friday and Saturday at Cessna Stadium. The Andale Indians brought home state titles in both the girls and boys ranks in Class 4A. Also, Hesston took home second place in the 3A girls ranks behind another dominant weekend from senior Ashley Lehman.
Lehman has medaled each of the last three years in all four of the events she has competed in for the Swathers. However, 2025 will go down in the record books. She opened her weekend in the field on Friday, winning the 3A girls pole vault with a mark of 12’4”. She also qualified for the finals in the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter dashes, registering the top preliminary time in all of those events. Saturday was when Lehman put on a show. Not only did she claim the state title in all three sprints, she also set 3A State meet records during every victory. Lehman won the 100 in 11.99, took the 200 in 24.63 and sandwiched in between, won the 400 in an astounding time of 54.65. The win in the 400m marked her third straight state title in the event, while she won both the 100m and 200m golds for the second straight year.
In the 4A ranks, Andale outshined the field on both the boys and girls sides. The Andale girls finished in first place overall with 91 points, running away from Eudora in second with 67. On the boys side, Andale finished with 68.5 points ahead of second place Buhler with 54.5. Chanute finished in third place with 50.5 points. Individually, the Indians brought home three state championships. Rylee Meyer highlighted things on the girls side with her second straight state title in the 4A 100 meter dash, setting a new meet record time of 12.06. Addy Orth took gold in the 4A girls javelin at 134’5”. On the boys track, Harrison Potucek was a state champion in the 110m high hurdles at 14.59.
Other notes on the team side of things in the area, after winning the 2A state title in 2024, Moundridge finished in second place on the boys side in 2025. Kaden Elmore took the state title in the 400 meter dash for the third time in his career, winning in 49.27. Henry Hecox won the 2A boys javelin title at 190’7”. On the girls side, the Wildcats won first in the 4x400m relay as the team of Avery Schrag, Cammi Unruh, Baylee Schriner and Halle Hecox finished with a time of 4:05.25.
Also, after winning the 2A girls title in 2024, Inman fell just a half point short of bringing home a trophy in fourth place. The Teutons had 43.5 points, finishing fourth place behind Smith Center and Wabaunsee, which tied for second with 44. Inman’s team of Katie Nichols, Brooklyn Black, Leah Black and Olivia Brunk did bring home the 4×100 meter relay title in a time of 50.03.
There were numerous other state champions in individual events and relays from the area. Central Christian swept the 1A high jump as Jayden Lindscheid took first place on the boys side at 6’4” and Jessa Losew won the girls gold at 5’8”. Caleb Muehler of McPherson won the 4A boys 3200 meter run in 9:59.26. Julia Kilgore of Sterling won the 2A girls 400 meter dash in a meet record time of 56.40. From Little River, Havana Olander repeated as the 1A girls triple jump champion with a mark of 37’9 ½”, while Jay Smith swept the 100 and 400 meter wheelchair races with times of 22.29 and 1:46.50, respectively. Berean Academy’s team of Randall Thiessen, Aiden Fasnacht, Titus Veer and Ryley Busenitz won the 2A boys 4×400 meter relay in 3:25.85. Sedgwick’s Noah Little took home two state championships in 2A, taking the long jump at 22’0” and the triple jump for the second straight year at 47’2”. From Remington, Emily O’Brien won the title in the 2A girls 100 meter hurdles at 15.20. Newton’s Mackenzie Sauerwein won both short sprints in 5A, taking the gold in the 100 meter at 12.32 and the 200 meter at 25.23. Finally, in the 1A boys pole vault, Will Wegerer of Cunningham took the championship with a vault of 16’1”.
In all, the schools that comprise the central area from Ad Astra Radio brought home over 200 state medals in various events. Full results can be found below for the meet and broken down by Ad Astra Radio area competitors.
KSHSAA State Track & Field Full Results
KSHSAA State Track & Field Ad Astra Radio Rundown
