The 6A state girls track title came down to the last race, the 4×400 relay. Manhattan was ahead by one point, and Mill Valley needed a strong placement to win the title. Freshmen Madison Bausby and Nora Harmon and seniors Mollie Smith and Josie Benson placed second in the event, breaking the school record and securing the title. It was the girls first 6A state title, having won the 5A title in 2022. Also hoisting a trophy was the boys team, which placed third.
The podium finish was the capstone for a record-breaking season. By the season’s end, 15 school records were broken, many of them multiple times throughout the season.
Senior Dalamar Read, who set a new school record in the 3200-meter run with a time of 9:02.97, reflected on his performance during the KU Relays.
“It was cool to perform at my best during the event because the record I set is also my new PR,” Read said. “It was also a goal going into the season to set a record. I wanted to leave a mark, as it’s my last season running track here, so getting this meant a lot.”
Junior David Johnson reflected on how far he’s come after breaking his previously set 110 and 300-meter hurdle records with new times of 14.31 and 38.84 seconds.
“I’ve been working on my hurdles since seventh grade, and I didn’t think that it was going anywhere, but now that I’ve gotten good, I would love to do it in college,” Johnson said. “I feel with the amount of time and effort I put into it, if I don’t do anything with it, I wouldn’t feel as accomplished.”
Previously, back-to-back state champion junior Miley Strathman broke her own high jump record at 5-7 and won her second consecutive state title in that event. Strathman shared what motivated her.
“I’ve been motivated by the idea of breaking my records; it’s been a goal of mine going into meets,” Strathman said. “I also had the old record, so being able to break the school record is a good feeling. It felt like I was competing against myself, and that motivated me.”
Behind Read’s record-setting performance was hard work.
“I did a combination of workouts. We had two or three mileage days, and one day of thresholds where you do a lot of volume, so about 15 miles, and we try to up the tempo as much as we can,” Read said. “We’ll do a six-minute pace for as long as we can and a few sprints for extra aerobic development.”
Johnson explained how his accomplishments helped him push against the pain and fatigue of competition.
“After you do well in a race, there is still soreness. The accomplishment when you receive a medal makes it worth it,” Johnson said. “It’s a physical representation of all the effort you put in.”
Track athletes work hard all year to see results. Strathman expressed how the work makes track fun to her.
“I’m very committed to this sport because it brings me a lot of joy,” Strathman said. “I work hard and show up to practice everyday and I continue track during the winter, to me it’s worth it, and seeing your hard work pay off is my favorite part of track.”
