The Axtell boys and the Washington County girls repeated as 1A state track & field champions in Wichita over the weekend. The Eagles performance left no room for drama, unlike last year’s finish. They finished 31 points ahead of second-place finishers Quinter and Kiowa County. As for the Tigers, they were unable to clinch the title until the final event as they held off Clifton-Clyde by 11 points.

Axtell got a total of five first-place finishes. This includes two from Grady Buessing, who won the 800m run with a time of 2:01 and the 3200m run with a time of 9:50. He also placed second in the 1600m run. Brandon Schmelzle won the long jump with a leap of 21-feet-8-inches. Landon Schmitz got a win in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.99 in the prelims and a finals time of 15.19. Their 4x800m relay team got a massive win with a time of 8:23.

Other area athletes who took home individual gold medals include Jefferson County North’s Isaac Kane in the 2A high jump with a clearance of 6-feet-6-inches.

Pleasant Ridge’s Canon Duncan took home the gold in the 2A javelin throw with his best being in the prelims of 182-feet-9-inches.

The Frankfort boys’ 4x100 meter relay team placed first with a time of 43.61 seconds in the finals.

Other notable team finishes include the Nemaha Central girls placing fourth, just one point behind third place, and only two points behind second place.

The Jefferson County North boys also had a very respectable fifth-place finish in a tie with Kansas City Christian. The Chargers were just one point behind fourth place.