From left: Katy Richardson, Jordan Herring, Helena Buchmann, Brennan Williams, Mitch Daniel, Adam Simmons, Hanna Jane Stradinger, and Emily Kerr.

The Newbies
As coach Tricia Beahm announced the three mile run on the first day of cross country, a jumble of negative thoughts ran through sophomore Brennan William’s head, on top of which perched her neon-yellow “BAM!” bow.

“What am I doing here? I won’t be able to finish this run…I’m not a runner,” thought Williams.

But she did finish it. And all of the runs after that, since the beginning of the season.  Before those runs she never would’ve thought she’d be improving each day, or planning on running for the rest of her high school career. And, against her expectations, she was actually enjoying cross country.

“I always thought cross country wasn’t for me, but you can go your own pace, be your own person.  And I can still wear my bows.”

The Scandal Squad
Seniors Katy Richardson and Betsy Blessen walk side by side along the field as Richardson crams a handful of goldfish into her mouth. Chatting and munching, the two juniors remain oblivious to what is going on around them on the Fall morning. Only when the starter fires his gun signaling the beginning of the girls’ first Cross Country race do they realize they’re supposed to be running.

With a scream of surprise, they run off to join the rest of the girls in the C-Team race.

From talking on race mornings to chatting on runs, Richardson loves socializing at cross country. She runs to be with her friends, as well as to keep in shape. Richardson and her friends were passed down the honorable “Scandal Squad” name by the seniors who established the group the previous year.

“We [the Scandal Squad] aren’t looking to be Varsity runners, just looking to enjoy the sport,” says Richardson.

While Richardson and her friends always keep cross country fun, they know it’s hard work.
Next year, the Scandal Squad will pass down the honor to a group of the coming year’s C-Team senior girls with the same positive attitude, and who, of course, love to socialize. Because after all, that’s what the Scandal Squad is all about.

At the state meet, Stradinger was a member of the 4 x 400-meter relay, the 4 x 800-meter relay, and placed second in the 800-meter dash. Dunn was also a member of the state 4 x 400-meter relay and placed second in the 400-meter dash.

According to Stradinger, she’s used to the pressure her track achievments bring upon her. “Yeah, I’m okay with it. I just try and focus on me and my race, not the expectations.” Stradinger said.

The First Team Girl’s 4 x 400-meter relay consisted of Stradinger, Dunn, and East graduates Hannah Satterlee and Mallory Kirby. Throughout the year, the relay never lost a race and broke two school records. The relay also placed first at the Kansas Relays meet, the Sunflower League meet, and the State meet.

At State Clarke and Turner were both members of the 4 x 100-meter relay that placed third. In the 100 meter-dash, Clarke out stepped Turner, beating him by six hundredths of a second, taking fourth place and an honorable mention. Roles were reversed in the 200-meter dash, where Turner beat Clarke by 0.48 seconds to place second while Clarke finished seventh.Turner returned the favor to Clarke in the 200-meter dash, beating Clarke by 0.48 seconds to take second place with Clarke finishing seventh.

East ended up taking 5 of the 128 overall awards, which is one award for around every eight events. Only three of the 42 other schools that received awards had more awards than East; two from Kansas and one from Missouri.

The boys’ team started out the second day in 14th place with 4.33 points after the pole vault. Throughout the day seniors Joe Turner and Chris Clarke consistently dropped time and placed higher in their races than predicted, earning the Lancers unexpected points that pushed the boys up eight places by the end of the afternoon.

For the girls team, the weekend was highlighted by a repeat of last years relay successes. The Lady Lancers took first place in the 4 x 800 meter relay made up of junior Hanna Jane Stradinger and seniors Mallory Kirby, Hannah Satterlee and Maddy Rich. With the addition of sophomore Abby Dunn, Stradinger, Satterlee and Kirby also took home first in the 4 x 400 meter relay, setting a new school record of 3:56.28.

According to Stradinger, the emotions and attitudes the seniors had in their last races rubbed off on the rest of the team. “[The 4 x 400 relay] was Hanna Satterlee’s last race in her life, and she wanted to run her hardest and her fastest” said Stradinger “We tried to break the state record, but we broke the school record.”

Besides the relays, there were many standout individual performances throughout the meet. For the boys, this included a fifth place finish in the boys 400 meter dash by freshman Troy Wilkins, a second place in the boys 200 meter dash by Turner and a third place in boys pole vaulting by junior Kyle Engelken. From the girls squad, a second place by Dunn in the girls 400 meter run and a second place finish by Stradinger in the girls 800 meter open run were the peak of the individual events.

“The 4 x 400 was the last race of the day, and it was the last chance in the year for us to do really well, to do really strongly in,” said Stradinger, “And we did.”

See below for complete Track and Field placings

Boys 6A State Track and Field at Wichita:

The boys 4 x 100  relay placed third at state with a time of 42.22 seconds. The relay team was made up of seniors Chris Clarke, Jordan Dietrich, Joe Turner, and junior Andrew Goble.

The boys 4 x 800  relay of Evan Nichols, Jay Lehoczky, Cater Olander, and Mitch Daniel has placed 13th at state with a time of 8:26.79.

Seniors Chris Clarke and Joe Turner have placed fourth and sixth, respectively at state in the 100 meter dash. Clarke had a time of 10.94 seconds, and Turner had a time of 11.00 seconds.

Freshman Troy Wilkins has placed 5th at state in the 400 meter run with a time of 50.28.

Junior pole vaulter Kyle Engelken placed third at state with a vault of 13’6″.

Junior shot putter Brian Williamson placed seventh at state shot put with a throw of 50’4″.

Junior Perry placed ninth at state in the long jump with a jump of 20’0.75″.

Sophomore Adam Simmons has placed 14th at state in the 800 meter open run with a time of 2:08.81.

Seniors Joe Turner and Chris Clarke have placed second and seventh, respectively, at state in the 20o meter dash . Turner ran with a time of 22.36 seconds, and Clarke ran with a time of 22.84 seconds.

The boys 4 x 400 relay made up of Jack Fay, Joe Lewis, Tucker Styrkowicz, and Troy Wilkins placed fifth at the state meet with a time of 3:27.86.

The Boys Track and Field state team finished in sixth place with 32.33 points.

Girls 6A State Track and Field at Wichita:

The girls 4 x 800 relay placed first at state with a time of 9:30.20. The relay team was made up of Maddy Rich, Hannah Satterlee, Mallory Kirby, and Hanna Jane Stradinger.

Sophomore Abby Dunn ran the 400 meter run with a time of 58.30 seconds to place second at state. Senior Hanna Satterlee ran with a time of 59.41 to place fourth.

Senior Jessie Sykes has placed 12th at state in the 16oo meter run with a time of 5:31.58.

Junior Hanna Jane Stradinger and senior Mallory Kirby have placed second and seventh, respectively, in the 800 meter open run. Stradinger ran with a time of 2:18.52 and Kirby ran with a time of 2:22.95.

Junior Kelsey Kost has placed eighth in the javelin throw at state with a throw of 111’5″.

Freshman Grace Pickell and Junior Logan Weckbaugh have placed eighth and ninth, respectively at state in the high jump.

The 4 x 400 relay team made up of Hanna Jane Stradinger, Mallory Kirby, Abby Dunn and Hannah Satterlee placed first at state and broke the school record with a time of 3:56.28.

The Girls Track and Field state team finished in fifth place with 41 points.