By CONOR NICHOLL
The Granere siblings, sophomore Jaedon and junior Janae, have enjoyed another strong start for Marmaton Valley track. Both earned at least one top-three finish at the 1A state track and field meet in the past two seasons. Janae has not lost a long or triple jump competition in 2023 and is currently second in 1A in the long jump.
At the April 11 Pleasanton meet, Jaedon was second in the 100-meter dash to sensational Pleasanton senior Isaiah Bates. He ran 12.08 seconds. Jaedon was sixth in the 200 with 25.61 and second in the 400 with 55.76. He was also tenth in the long jump.
Janae won the long jump by 14 inches with a leap of 17-2.75. That is currently the second-best 1A jump, per track historian Carol Swenson’s statewide Sports In Kansas list. She trails only defending state champion Macy Hammerschmidt of Victoria’s leap of 17-5.
She also rolled in the triple jump with a leap of 34-7.25. Sophomore Piper Barney was second in the triple jump and third in the long jump. Seven 1A girls have cleared 35 feet in the triple jump, according to Swenson.
On the boys’ side, senior Evan Kent was second in the discus and third in the shot put. Sophomore Brayden Lawson was second in the javelin. The girls’ 1,600 relay finished second in 4:38.49.
In the April 4 Oswego meet, Janae won the triple jump in 34-6 and the long jump with 17-2. In the same competition, Jaedon was fourth in the 100 and second among Kansas runners with a 11.64. He took second in the 200 with 24.83, runner-up in the 400 with a 55.40 and the long jump with 17-11.
At the season-opening March 28 Uniontown meet, Janae posted a triple jump championship in 33-8.5 and a long jump title with 16-0.75.
Last season, Janae finished 13th in the 400-meter dash at the 1A state meet, eighth in the long jump at 16-2.25 and fourth in the triple jump at 35-0.25.
Jaedon was third in the 200 dash in 24.07. He and Axtell’s Brandon Schmelzle, the sixth-place finisher, were the two freshmen placers in a senior-heavy group. Five of the top-eight finishers in the event were seniors. Schmelzle is generally considered a top-5 football recruit in the Class of 2025.
In 2021, Janae took third in the long jump at state with a leap of 16-4.5 and was fifth in the triple jump at 33-5.25. Janae has started all three years in basketball and is a multiple-time first team all-league player, including this winter.
