By CONOR NICHOLL
The Class 1A boys’ triple jump was expected to be one of the premier events of the state track and field meet Friday and Saturday at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium. Of the state’s top-36 triple jumpers, seven were from Class 1A, per Carol Swenson’s statewide list.
Madison junior Bryson Turner was ninth at 45 feet, 4 inches. Pawnee Heights junior Alec Carlson was 12th at 45 feet. Hanover senior Emmitt Jueneman was two spots behind at 44-9.5.
Frankfort’s Caden Dalinghaus was 19th at 44-2.5. It’s rare for a 1A event to have multiple performers in the top-20, but the quartet is highly accomplished multi-sport athletes. Turner, Carlson and Jueneman were player of the year finalists in football and/or basketball. Jueneman won 1A boys’ basketball player of the year in 2021. Dalinghaus holds his school record in the triple jump.
Turner, Carlson and Jueneman engaged in highly close competition in both the triple and long jumps Friday.
The top-36 in triple also included from 1A: Wetmore’s Jacob Carl (43-8.5), Pawnee Heights’ Braden Colglazier (43-7), and Hutchinson Central Christian’s Jack Losew (43-6). Losew has the CC school mark.
In a remarkable finish, Carlson won the triple jump competition with a leap of 46-5 on Friday afternoon. Jueneman took second with 46 feet.
Turner was third at 44-6.5. Colglazier took fourth at 42-9, and Losew was fifth at 42-8.5. Axtell’s Brandon Schmelzle, the national leader in eight-man touchdowns for freshmen last season, was sixth at 42.7.25. Dalinghaus finished ninth at 41-9.
After three attempts, Carlson was ahead of Jueneman, 45-9.5 to 45-8.5. On his sixth and last jump, Jueneman delivered his 46 foot mark.
Carlson trailed Jueneman entering the final jump – and then went a little further.
In a great moment, Carlson waited near the back of the pit for his mark and then exploded with joy. He took two big celebratory jumps in the air.
On Friday afternoon, Colglazier and Carlson finished 1-5 in the high jump. Colglazier won with a leap of 6-6, and Carlson fifth at 6-2. In another close competition, Colglazier edged Burlingame’s Matthew Heckman on misses.
It marked the first state track championships for Pawnee Heights since 2005. Carlson and Colglazier’s big showings helped PH take fourth in the 1A standings with 39 points. Heavy favorite Meade won with 69, while Madison was second with 52. Osborne finished third with 39. Pawnee Heights had its best team finish since 2005. Rick Carlson, Alec’s dad and an acclaimed high school/college jumper, is in his 21st season as head PH track coach.
The 1A triple jump top marks would have won several other classes.
The boys’ 4A triple jump winning mark was 44-6. That was the only jump above 43-7.75. In 3A, Thomas More Prep-Marian’s Jace Wentling, a four-sport standout who was the starting catcher for the Monarch’s state-qualifying baseball team, won the competition in 44-9. He won the long jump in 22-8.5.
Carlson and Jueneman would have finished 3-4 in 5A triple, an event contested with a big wind Saturday. In 6A, three jumpers went at least 46 feet, including Wichita Heights’ John Randle, who delivered 49-3.5, a top-15 jump all-time in Kansas annals. Sublette’s Tristan Friesen won the 2A in 45-5.25.
On Friday evening, Jueneman, Carlson and Turner delivered another close competition in the long jump.
This time, Jueneman won with a leap of 22-1. Carlson finished second at 22-0.75, a quarter inch behind. Jueneman told SIK’s Bethany Bowman at state track that he was upset with the triple jump finish and “popped off a good one” in long jump.
Turner was a couple of inches back in 21-10.25. Fowler’s Trace Sellars took fourth in 21-5.5. Losew finished fifth in 20-10.5. Schmelzle was sixth in 20-10.25, and Colglazier was seventh in 20-9.5.
This time, Jueneman held the lead and Carlson came up a quarter inch short on his final attempt.
Pawnee Heights enjoyed a significant improvement from last spring.
In 2021, Carlson took fourth in the high jump and fifth in the triple jump. Olivia Hands was sixth in the girls’ discus, and Jaden Carlson finished fifth in the long jump. Madison Polson was sixth in the triple jump. Jaden and Polson both graduated. The boys scored nine points at the 2021 state meet. Colglazier did not qualify for state in ’21.
In addition to Carlson and Colglazier, Hands, a sophomore, finished fourth in the discus at 113-9.
Pawnee Heights enjoyed its best finish since a third-place showing in 2005, per KSHSAA archives. That year, Brandon Gray delivered four top-five showings, including first in the 200 and long jump and second in the 400. Pawnee Heights captured the state title in 2002 when Rick Carlson was an assistant. Christian Smith, who later shined at Kansas State and qualified for the Olympics, was on that squad. PH also won the 2000 crown.
Carlson and Colglazier captured the first PH track titles since Gray in 2005.
Pawnee Heights boys’ basketball was a final four squad in 2021 and qualified for state this season, the best finishes for the program since the ‘70s. Carlson is a back-to-back first team all-state basketball player. Colglazier was key in basketball, too.
