The Iola Register, sports pages from June 1

McGowen the 3A who feet season. ending put event. 10th-

Sports Daily B

SILVER LININGS

dash Saturday at the state track meet. Willis took second, while breaking the

Willis nabs school record, takes 2nd

By RICHARD LUKEN The

Register

WICHITA — Iola High’s Brett Willis — deprived of competing in the state track meet the past two years — wanted to make his senior year participation worth his while.

Boy, did he, rewriting the IHS record books in the process.

But if you blinked, you may have missed the culmination, a stunning Class 4A 100-meter dash final, in

which the first through fifth places were separated by .11 seconds — about the time it takes to blink your eyes.

Right in the middle of it all was Willis, who captured the silver medal in an Iola-record 10.74 seconds.

“That race was nuts,” Iola head coach Dana Daugharthy said. “We were worried.”

How close was the finish?

Willis, in lane 4, finished .06 seconds behind Chanute’s Rawley Chard — more on him later — and .01 ahead of Jaylen Burch of Bishop

Miege. Burch, meanwhile, was .01 seconds faster than Buhler’s Cameron Campbell, who in turn beat out Toby Wahlmeier of Concordia by .03 seconds.

For those keeping track, that’s .11 seconds from first to fifth.

“I knew going in it was a fast group,” Willis said. “I was hoping for No. 1, but second’s not bad at all.”

Earning the school record was a nice consolation prize,

Humboldt athletes earn state hardware

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

WICHITA — Humboldt

High’s Drew Wilhite ended his high school athletic career with another piece of state hardware.

The HHS senior, who has signed to compete in track at Pittsburg State University next fall, placed sixth in the 400-meter dash at the Class 3A State Track Meet on Saturday.

Wilhite ran 51.58 seconds, nearly .4 seconds faster than his mark at regionals, despite running into the face of a brutal south wind for much of

Marmaton Valley High’s Jaedon Granere, center, leans across the nish line while taking third in the Class 1A 200-meter dash at Saturday’s state track meet. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Sibling revelry leads MV track

By RICHARD LUKEN The Iola Register

WICHITA — Jaedon Granere’s introduction to high school track ended on a high note Saturday.

The Marmaton Valley High freshman capped his year with a third-place finish in the boys 200-meter dash, running into the teeth of a brutal south wind, but still finishing in 24.07 seconds.

“I knew I might not be able to catch Bryson or Mason out there,” Granere said.

That would be event champion Bryson Turner of Madison, who won the event in 23.08 seconds. Mason Schurr of Osborne took silver in 23.25 seconds.

“I was able to start kicking it in at the end of the season,” Granere said. “I’m pretty happy.” Granere highlighted another memorable Class 1A State Track meet performance by a small, but productive, Marmaton Valley squad.

Older sister Janae Granere,

Lancers’ dream season ends with heartbreak

GREAT BEND — All the weeks, the months, the years of hitting and fielding drills, long road trips, steadily getting better, were leading to this.

Crest High’s Lancers, who had been steamrolling their opponents all season, were three innings away from their primary objective Friday, a chance to play for a state

championship.

But baseball has a funny way of laying waste to the best-laid plans.

In a span of a half inning, Crest’s 6-1 lead over Little River in the Class 2-1A state semifinal evaporated.

Lancer head coach Roland Weir put it succinctly: “The wheels fell off. We picked the absolute worst time to play

our worst. We just couldn’t make the plays we needed.”

The Redskins rallied to knot the score at 6-6 in the top of the fifth.

A bit shell-shocked, but no less determined, Crest had an answer, plating a go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 7-6 lead.

But another Little River run in the top of the sixth

tied the score. A scoreless seventh inning put the game into extra innings, where the Redskins erupted for three runs and a 10-7 lead in the top of the eighth. Was this the end of the line?

Not so fast, my friend.

The Lancers loaded the bases with nobody out, suddenly putting a charge in the sizable

contingent of Crest fans who had flocked to the Great Bend Sports Center. Holden Barker closed the gap to 10-8 with an RBI grounder, putting the tying runs in scoring position.

But that tying hit never came. Little River’s pitchers retired the final two Lancer batters, ending Crest’s state

Iola High’s Brett Willis (2577) crosses the line in a photo nish in the Class 4A 100-meter

school record at the same time. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Humboldt High’s Drew Wilhite takes o at the start of the Class 3A boys 400-meter dash Saturday at the state track meet. Wilhite nished sixth. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Iola

Greinke injured

CLEVELAND (AP)

— Kansas City veteran Zack Greinke was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday with a strained right forearm, the most significant in a flurry of roster moves by the Royals before opening a three-game series with the Guardians.

Cubs: Compete in Class 3A

Continued from B1

the race.

He was joined on the medal stand by classmate Levi McGowen — a Butler Community College signee — who took sixth in the 3A boys triple jump. McGowen cleared 42 feet, 6.75 inches.

Also taking home hardware was Anna Goforth, a senior, who earned an eighth-place medal in the girls javelin, clearing 111 feet with her throw, just a

few inches from her best mark of the season. Other Humboldt athletes also peaked at the right time, ending the season with career-best marks.

Humboldt’s Maddox Johnson, for example, threw the shot put 46’5.25”, a personal mark for the junior, to claim 12th in that event.

Senior Kirstyn Murrow also set a career high with her 10thplace javelin throw of

110’3”.

Class 3A State Track

Boys

400m

6. Drew Wilhite, 51.58

High jump

16. Wilhite, 5’8”

Shot put

12. Maddox Johnson, 45’5.25”

Javelin

— Johnson, foul

Triple jump

6. Levi McGowen, 42’6.75”

Girls Javelin

8. Anna Goforth, 111’

10. Kirstyn Murrow, 110’3”

The 38-year-old Greinke complained of tightness in his arm following Sunday’s start in Minnesota. He allowed five runs — all on three home runs — in four innings in a 7-3 loss to the Twins. Greinke is 0-4 with 5.05 ERA this season.

“Any guy who has been around as long as he has, he kind of know what he feels and knows what most likely will work,” manager Mike Matheny said. “We’re just trying to get ahead of it right now, just looks like it’s going to take a little time.”

A six-time All-Star, Greinke is in his second stint with the Royals, who signed him to a $13 million, one-year contract in March. He’s also pitched for Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondback and Houston Astros in 19 seasons.

The club also placed relievers Gabe Speier and Matt Peacock on the injured list, and outfielder Brewer Hicklen was returned to Triple-A Omaha.

Outfielder Kyle Isbel was reinstated from the injured list, left-hander Foster Griffin was recalled from Omaha and the Royals selected right-handers Jose Cuas and Arodys Vizcaino from Omaha.

Iola: Mustang athletes set personal marks at state track meet

Continued from B1

he admitted. “That’s been one of my main goals since my freshman year, so I’m happy with that.”

Willis, who has signed with Emporia State, added to his medal haul,

when he finished fourth in the 200-meter dash in 23.73 seconds later that afternoon.

That mark came while running straight into a fierce south wind.

“That wind was brutal,” Willis said.

Winning the 200 was a familiar foe, Chanute’s Chard, who almost single-handedly gave Chanute the team title at the state meet.

Chard was a four-time gold medalist, winning the 100, 200, 400 and a leg in Chanute’s 4x100-meter relay squad.

“That kid is something else,” Daugharthy agreed.

Willis would have been a strong contender for some state glory last year as a junior, but an injury at the regional meet ended his year early. In 2020, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic shelved all spring sports.

“We were talking about it earlier, but Brett was really kind of robbed of being on

this podium earlier,” Daugharthy said. “This was a good way for him to end his high school career.”

WHILE WILLIS earned Iola’s only state hardware, there were plenty of other highlights for the Mustang thinclads.

Jesse Taylor, a junior, shaved more than 10 seconds off his personal-best time in the 3200-meter run, finishing in 10 minutes, 10.29 seconds, good for 10th overall.

Freshman Karingten Hall also set a personal best in the girls 200-meter dash, finishing in 26.98, good for 11th.

Senior Sage Barney cleared a personal-best 8

feet in the pole vault to take 14th.

Eli Adams, a junior, took 14th in the 800-meter run, despite the fierce wind and a log jam of runners that prevented him from ending the race with his typical high-speed sprint.

“It’s all about the start in the 800,” Daugharthy said. “If you get caught up in traffic, it can be really hard to move to the front.”

DAUGHARTHY carries high hopes for Iola track in 2023, despite losing Willis and Barney to graduation, and potentially losing a couple other participants whose families are moving out of the Iola school district.

“We’ve got a lot of

young pieces,” he said. “Our throwers are gonna keep developing after two solid years of getting better. I expect them to challenge for a state spot next year. And we have some strong underclassmen coming in as well.”

Class 4A State Track Boys

100m

2. Brett Willis, 10.74

200m

4. Willis, 23.73

800m

14. Eli Adams, 2:10.65

3200m

10. Jesse Taylor, 10:10.29

Long jump

14. Willis, 19’1.75”

Girls

200m

11. Karingten Hall, 26.98

Pole vault

14. Sage Barney, 8’

Competing at the Class 4A State Track Meet Friday and Saturday were, from left, Iola High’s Karingten Hall, center, in the 200-meter dash; Jesse Taylor, in the 3200-meter run; and Sage Barney in the pole vault. Below, Eli Adams runs in the 800-meter run. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Humboldt High athletes competing at the Class 3A State Track Meet Friday and Saturday were, clockwise from top left, Levi McGowen in the triple jump; Anna Goforth in the javelin, Maddox Johnson in the shot put; and Kirstyn Murrow in the javelin. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

Clockwise from upper left, Marmaton Valley High’s Janae Granere medals in both the long jump and triple jump at the Class 1A State Track meet; Marmaton Valley’s Piper Barney, who later medals in the triple jump, runs the 300-meter hurdles; Crest High’s Mia Coleman clears a hurdle in the 100-meter hurdles prelims; Marmaton Valley’s Kaitlyn Drake clears the high jump bar; Crest High’s Brenton Edgerton crosses the nish line during the 100-meter dash prelims; Crest High’s Ethan Godderz competes in the long jump. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN

State: Small schools shine

Continued from A1

sophomore, added to the jumping medals she earned in 2021 by taking fourth in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump. Meanwhile, MV freshman Piper Barney took home the seventh-place medal in the triple jump.

Wildcat junior Kaitlyn Drake narrowly missed out on a medal, placing ninth in the girls high jump, 2 inch-

es out of a medal spot. (Medals go to the top eight finishers).

CREST HIGH also took a group of underclassmen to state, led by junior Ethan Godderz, who took 10th in the long jump and 12th in the triple jump. Sophomore Brenton Edgerton took 14th in the 100 meters. Mia Coleman took 14th in the 100-meter hurdles.

Gau struts her stu in Paris

Meanwhile, Josie Weers, the only Southern Coffey County High state participant, took 14th in the 1A girls javelin.

EACH OF the three schools’ participants carry a similarity — youth. All will get a chance to return to state in 2023.

Class 1A State Track Meet Marmaton Valley Boys 200m

3. Jaedon Granere, 24.07 Girls 300m hurdles

16. Piper Barney, 54.13 400m

13. Janae Granere, 1:03.15 High jump

9. Kaitlyn Drake, 4’10”; Long jump

8. Jan. Granere, 16’2.25” Triple jump

4. Jan. Granere 35’.25”

7. Barney, 33’10.75” Crest Boys 100m

14. Brenton Edgerton, 11.7 Long jump

10. Ethan Godderz, 19’10.5” Triple jump

12. Godderz, 40’6.5” Girls

100m hurdles

14. Mia Coleman, 17.46

Southern Co ey County Girls

Javelin

PARIS (AP) —

Coco Gauff left Roland Garros 12 months ago crestfallen, knowing she let a big lead slip away in her major quarterfinal debut. She vowed to remember that and learn from it.

Consider that done.

Gauff, still only 18, returned to that stage Tuesday for a second time and was not about to let this one end similarly, beating 2017 U.S. Open champion and 2018 French Open runner-up Sloane Stephens 7-5, 6-2 in a matchup between Americans at Court Philippe Chatrier to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

“It was just a mental challenge today,” said Gauff, who began this trip to Paris by taking photos near the Eiffel Tower while holding her recently earned high school diploma. “Last year in the quarterfinals, it was a tough loss for me and I think that match made me stronger and better prepared for the tough moments today.”

Gauff has seemed to be preparing for

this sort of moment for quite some time, even before she became the youngest qualifier in Wimbledon history at age 15 and beat Venus Williams en route to the fourth round there in 2019, even before she won the French Open junior title a year prior.

One measure of how she has continued to improve: Her forehand was long considered her weaker groundstroke, but against Stephens, that produced more winners than her backhand did.

“I believe in myself. Even last year, I was too focused on trying to fulfill other people’s expectations,” said Gauff, who hasn’t dropped a set through five matches. “I know no matter how good or bad my career is, I know I’m a good person, so I think that’s a good message for young people. ... Just know: If you love yourself, who cares what anyone else thinks?”

Her quick rise is quite a contrast from the long road her next opponent, Martina Trevisan of It-

aly, traveled along the way to her own first Slam semifinal at age 28.

The 59th-ranked Trevisan is emotive as can be, and she screamed while thrusting both arms overhead and letting her racket fly after eliminating U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, who was seeded 17th, by a 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3 score in a match between a pair of lefthanders.

Fernandez was treated by a trainer for a problem with her right foot after the match’s fifth game and her movement was hampered throughout. About three hours following the match, reporters were told that Fernandez would not speak to the media “on advice of the tournament medical team due to” the injury.

Trevisan eventually finished things off nearly an hour after holding her first match point while serving for the victory at 5-4 in the second set. She double-faulted twice in the ensuing tiebreaker.

Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Southern Co ey County’s Josie Weers competes in the javelin at the Class 1A State Track Meet Friday.

Crest: Takes fourth at 2-1A State Baseball Tournament

Continued from B1

title bid with a 10-8 victory.

“It was a tough game,” Weir said. “I take a share of the blame with this, too. We’re all a part of this team.”

Still stinging from the defeat, Crest took the field later afternoon in the third-place game against Valley Falls.

“But I don’t think we had recovered mentally,” Weir said.

Valley Falls broke a scoreless deadlock with a five-run third inning and eventually led 11-0 into the fifth inning.

The Lancers had one last salvo, scoring twice in the fifth and then four in the bottom of the sixth, with several underclassmen and reserves providing key hits as part of a fourrun rally.

“I was pleased with how we fought back,” Weir said.

But with the Lancer pitching staff running

on fumes by that point, Valley Falls put the game away with a fiverun seventh to win 16-6.

The defeats end Crest’s season with a 24-2 record and a fourthplace plaque Weir figures he and his players will appreciate as the sting of defeat fades.

“We learned some things,” Weir said. “We learned we have heart. We came back and gave

ourselves a chance to tie it and win it. It just didn’t happen. And we fought in the third-place game. We’re not gonna lay down for anybody.

“I’ve learned I’ve got to grow as well,” he said. “I think maybe we just need to take baby steps.”

THE LANCERS entered the 2022 season fresh off the team’s first

ever trip to the state tournament in 2021, which also ended in heartbreak with a late rally.

Crest was rarely threatened during the regular season, and even opened the state tournament with a win over perennial baseball power Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan on Thursday, buoying hopes for a historic conclusion to a monumental season.

Stetson Setter, who has been downright dominant both at the plate and on the mound, took the ball to start the game against Little River, and set the tone by stuffing the Redskin offense through the first four innings.

Setter allowed just one hit and struck out six, but four walks also added to his pitch count, and by the fifth inning, he was running out of gas.

Weir summoned Jack White, but a pair of errors, and an inability to

make routine plays on defense were costly, allowing the Redskins to knot the score. That set up the crazy back-and-forth. White struck out three over 3 innings. Avery Blaufuss came on in relief in the eighth, striking out the final two batters of the frame.

Trevor Church paced the offense, smacking three hits with a double, driving in four. White singled twice with two RBIs. Ryan Golden, Barker and Setter also had singles.

BLAUFUSS took the mound to open the third-place game.

“He pitched well,” Weir said. “Valley Falls is a scrappy team, and they’re pretty good.”

Blaufuss pitched into the fourth inning, striking out five. Kaden Nilges, Tucker Yocham and Setter came on in relief.

Setter led the offense with three hits, includ-

ing a triple. He drove in four. Church singled twice, while Ryan Golden, White, Rogan Weir, Nilges and Bryson Goodell also had singles.

Coach Weir was able to install several freshmen into the third-place game to give them a taste of state baseball experience.

FRIDAY’S heartbreak aside, Weir remains bullish on his Lancer team’s prospects for continued success.

After all, the Lancers lose only two seniors, Tucker Yocham and Bryson Goodell.

While Crest will miss their leadership, the core of the team — many of whom have played together since they were in elementary school — return for another go-around in 2023.

“We should have a really good shot again,” Weir said. “The future’s bright. I see a lot of good things with this team.”

Crest’s Tucker Yocham bats in a game earlier this season. REGISTER/RICHARD LUKEN