BY JIM MISUNAS
It’s amazing to see a track team capture a state championship trophy built on five field events.
But that’s exactly how Great Bend’s girls won the 5A state track championship in 2007. The Panthers scored 62 of their 80 points in five field events, an amazing statistic. The Panthers finished first and second in the discus, shot put and long jump to account for 54 points.
Former Great Bend coach Bo Black celebrated his only high school state championship as a track coach the same school year the Panthers were 5A state football runner-up to Stilwell-Blue Valley. The Panthers outscored St. Thomas Aquinas 80-76 with a hard-earned fourth-place finish in the 1,600-meter relay (4:02.85) with Chelsea Clanton, Kendra Reed, Alex Hartig and Caitlyn Murray competing.
“My favorite coaching memory is celebrating at the top of Cessna Stadium,” said Black, who coaches football at SM Northwest. “We placed fourth in the 1,600-meter relay and were jumping up-and-down hugging everybody like crazy. We placed fourth in the relay, but we won a state track championship with five girls scoring points. I’ll never forget that moment.”
Seven-time Kansas state champion Alex Hartig captured the 5A shot put (45-1) with a 5A state record and placed runner-up in the discus (136-4). Larissa Richards won the 5A discus (138-10) and placed runner-up in the shot put (43-7). Hartig swept four consecutive 5A shot put titles and three consecutive 5A discus championships.
“Alex Hartig and Larissa Richards were really special competitors,” Black said. “Richards became a great thrower at Pittsburg State. Alex Hartig enjoyed a great career at Arizona State. We were fortunate throws coach Cliff Burt was a special guy who did special things. Coach Burt did an awesome job. Alex was a great three-sport athlete who played volleyball and basketball. She was a super athletic thrower with speed and power. Her mother Bernie was a PE teacher.”
Arizona State’s Hartig earned academic All-Pac 10 honors with a 4.0 GPA. She placed runner-up and fifth in the Pac 10 javelin and third in the Pac 10 discus. Hartig owned career bests of javelin, 157-1, second all-time; shot put, 54-8, ninth all-time; discus, 179-11, ninth all-time; and hammer, 152-8.
Richards was a Pittsburg State University Division II All-American with career bests in the shot put (50-61/4); discus (181-0) and hammer (172-8). She placed runner-up, fourth and fifth in the NCAA shot put and runner-up, third and ninth in the NCAA discus.
Kendra Reed doubled up with a gold medal in the long jump (17-2) and a runner-up finish In the triple jump (36-111/2). Caitlyn Murray finished runner-up in the long jump (17-0).
“When we mapped out the state track meet, we figured we had to score 54 points out of 54 points in the shot, discus and long jump and that’s what we did,” Black said. “That’s hard to achieve because anything can happen.”
Murray was a dynamic performer with a fourth in the 400 (59.9) and a fifth in the 200 (26.96). Chelsea Clanton earned valuable points with a third in the 800 (2:20.98) and a fifth in the 1,600 (5:22.02).
“We needed every point and things lined up like we needed,” Black said. “We wouldn’t have won a state title without our points on the track.”
Hartig was a rare shot put/discus thrower who ran a 400-meter leg.
“It’s very unique when a state shot put champion runs the 1,600-meter relay, but Alex Hartig was the best all-around athlete I coached at Great Bend,” Black said. “She was a great runner who enjoyed helping her team. The girls knew what was at stake and got the job done.”
The Panther girls finished as 5A state track runner-up in 2006, but won the title in 2007.
“It’s very special remembering those days,” Black said. “Winning any state team championship is such a unique opportunity. It was so much fun celebrating a state track championship. Every track meet was fun because we enjoyed a good group of competitive boys and girls.”
Moments after the girls won a 5A state title, they celebrated when Great Bend’s boys (Aaron Scott, Keith Stickney, Tyler Saucedo, Sloane Kern) won the 5A 1,600-meter relay (3:21.54) to end the state meet. Kern, a 1,600-meter state champion and cross country 5A state champion, rallied past Hutchinson High’s Nathan Amberg to win the relay.
“That meet ended up perfect for Great Bend High School,” Black said.
PANTHERS 5A STATE
LONG JUMP—1—Kendra Reed, 17-2; 2—Kaitlyn Murray, 17-0
TRIPLE JUMP—2—Kendra Reed, 36-111/2
SHOT PUT—1—Alex Hartig, 45-1; 2—Larissa Richards, 43-7
DISCUS—1—Larissa Richards, 138-10; 2—Alex Hartig, 136-4
POLE VAULT—15—Veronica Chrest, 7-6; 15—Madison Moyd, 7-6
200m—5— Caitlyn Murray, 26.96
400m—4— Caitlyn Murray, 59.9
800m—3—Chelsea Clanton, 2:20.98
1,600m—5—Chelsea Clanton, 5:22.02
1,600m relay—4—Great Bend 4:02.85 (Chelsea Clanton, Kendra Reed, Alex Hartig, Caitlyn Murray)
5A REGIONAL
LONG JUMP—1—Kendra Reed, 17-1
TRIPLE JUMP—1—Kendra Reed, 33-03/4
SHOT PUT—1—Larissa Richards, 43-10
DISCUS—1—Larissa Richards, 141-10
WAC
LONG JUMP—1—Caitlyn Murray, 16-111/4
200m—1— Caitlyn Murray, 26.75
400m—1— Caitlyn Murray, 59.55
1,600m relay—1—Great Bend (Chelsea Clanton, Kendra Reed, Alex Hartig, Caitlyn Murray), 4:07.92
