By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- It's not really a secret that Highland Park senior star Tre Richardson has never been a big fan of track and field.
In fact, he considers track his No. 4 sport behind football, basketball and baseball.
Highland Park senior Tre Richardson (center) won the Class 5A boys 100-meter dash Saturday at Cessna Stadium, the first of his two state titles on the day. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Highland Park senior Tre Richardson won the Class 5A long jump, finished second in the triple jump and scored 33 total points in the state meet. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But like the sport or not, Richardson will be remembered as one of Highland Park's all-time greats track greats after capping his final appearance with a pair of state titles, a second-place finish and an injury-affected fourth in the Class 5A state meet at Cessna Stadium.
Richardson was a multiple-time state medalist for the third straight season and a state champ for the second straight year.
Richardson scored 33 points on the weekend, outscoring 22 other 5A schools that cracked the scoring column by himself as HIghland Park finished ninth as a team.
"I took my senior season out good,'' Richardson said
After finishing second to Topeka West's Alesecio Batson in Friday's triple jump with a best of 46 feet, 5.75 inches, Richardson won the 100-meter dash in 10.73 seconds and the long jump at 23-4.50 before limping to a fourth-place finish in the 200 in 22.49 on Saturday.
"I hurt myself doing long jump earlier on my last jump, pulled my groin,'' Richardson said. "That's why I didn't use blocks to get down. I just did enough to get in the top places.''
Richardson still threatened to win the event until coming up short at the end
"Without the injury I feel like I would have had three golds, one silver,'' said Richardson, who won the 200 in 2022.
"I wanted to get more golds than I did last year, so I did that.and then try to PR (personal record) every event I did and I did that three out of the four. Well, two and a half.''
Now Richardson will turn all of his focus on football at Hutchinson Community College after a record-setting career for the Scots.
"I leave Wednesday for school,'' he said.
City athletes earn runnerup finishes in 5A
In addition to Richardson's pair of state titles and a win by Shawnee Heights junior Jackson Esquibel in the 3,200 on Friday and a runnerup finish in Saturday's 1,600 (see related story on TSN), four other Topeka athletes came up just short in their bids for 5A championships.
Seaman senior Bethany Druse (1715) won three Class 5A state medals Saturday at Cessna Stadium, taking second in the 800 and helping the Vikings finish third and sixth in relays. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Ta'Mijha Nichols looks up at the Cessna Stadium scoreboard after finishing second in the Class 5A girls 100 for the second straight season. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Bethany Druse, who won the 5A girls 800 meters in 2022, battled down to the wire in Saturday's race before finishing second in 2 miutes, 17.29 seconds.
Blue Valley Southwest sophomore Isabella Ross won the event in 2:15.77.
Topeka West senior Ala'Jah Brooks was a very close second in the 5A girls 400 in 57.77 seconds, with Kapaun Mt. Carmel's Lillian Harris winning in 57.70.
Shawnee Heights senior Jordan Garvin was the runnerup in the 5A boys 300-meter hurdles in 39.68 seconds, less than three-10ths of a second behind Bishop Carroll junior Luke Holthusen (39.42), while Heights senior Ta'Mijha Nichols finished second in the 5A girls 100 dash for the second straight season, clocking a time of 12.17 seconds. Kapaun's Harris won the event in 12.00.
Druse ended her final state meet with three state medals, teaming with Ryin Miller, Jaida Stallbaumer and Taylin Stallbaumer to finish third in the 5A 4x400 relay (4:06.07) and with Leah Spurlock, Taylie Heston and Miller for a sixth-place finish in the 4x800 relay (9:57.46). J. Stallbaumer added a fifth-place finish in the 100 hurdles.
Brooks added a fourth-place finish in the girls 200 (25.66) while Garvin teamed with Liam Benz, Xavier Fisher and Payton Berry-Briggs for a sixth-place finish in the 5A boys 4x400 relay (3:27.78).
Other Shawnee County 6A and 5A state medalists on Saturday included Shawnee Heights' Jeremiah Smith, fifth in the 5A boys 100 (10.95); Topeka West's Makinsey Jones, sixth in the 5A girls high jump (5-0); Shawnee Heights' Taylor Rottinghaus in the 5A girls 400 (61.65); Washburn Rural's Liam Morrison, eighth after a fall in the 6A boys 300 hurdles (46.39), and Heights' Tyren Parker in the 5A boys 100 (11.02).
Seaman's foursome of Branen Moore, Zach Jowers, Landon Stuke and Brody Anderson took fourth in the 5A boys 4x800 relay in 8:08.40 while Washburn Rural's team of Payton Fink, Rylee Ismert, Brooklyn Nolte and Madeline Carter finished fifth in the 6A girls 4x800 relay in 9:52.27 and Rural's Morrison, Isaiah Terry, Draden Chooncharoen and Davn Rooney took fifth in the 6A boys 4x400 relay in 3:25.25.
