Haven Lander was the only freshman competing in the Class 4 pole vault competition at the state meet. She ended up being the only freshman on the medal stand, too.
Lander tied a personal best with a jump of 11’0″, earning 6th place overall, and winning all-state honors in her first year. Sophomore Nicole Kallenberger of Lee’s Summit West, who finished 2nd, was the only other underclassman among the top eight. Senior Sierra Maddox of Jackson won the championship with a jump of 12’6″.
“I was hoping for a little higher, but I’m happy with what I got,” Lander says. “Warmups were really good…but as I was going along, I started getting tired and it messed me up a little bit.
“I’m excited for next year, and I’m going to aim for higher if I make it to state, and hopefully I do.”
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The season ended in disappointment for senior Ryan Way, who finished 12th overall in the 1600-meter run. Way ran the race in 4:25 — about five seconds off his personal best, and nine seconds short of Kenneth Bowling’s school record, which he had hoped to catch in his final race.
Way says he felt strong to start the race, but started losing steam around the midway point.
“It wasn’t until about halfway through the race that I started slowing down. Everything after that, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pick it back up,” he says. “It’s just one of those days. Things should have turned out differently. For some reason they didn’t, but I know God has a reason for it, and hopefully one day I’ll find out what that was.”
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