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Taylor Latimer competes in the shot put May 27 at the state track meet. Latimer threw 44 feet, 9.5 inches to win the event.

Girls 7th, boys 10th at state track
By Taylor Messick
Last Updated: June 01, 2017

The Hornets shined at the 5A state track meet May 26 and 27 at Wichita State University.

Valley Center High School delivered some big performances by some of its best athletes, and both teams were able to finish in the top 10. The girls' team placed seventh and the boys' placed 10th.

The girls got the majority of their points from three-time state qualifier Taylor Latimer. Latimer earned first-place finishes in shot put and discus this year to take home her second and third state gold medals. Latimer won discus for the second year in a row with a throw of 142 feet, 6 inches. She won shot put with a distance of 44 feet, 9.5 inches, which was a personal and new VCHS school record. She also placed third in javelin this year with a toss of 135 feet, 1 inch.

"Honestly, this year went pretty well," said Latimer. "I couldn't have asked for a much better season. Even though I got third in javelin, that's pretty good for me because it's not my main event. I feel pretty great with how I ended my senior season. I went out with a bang."

The girls were able to rack up some more points in the throwing events from Emily Klusener. Klusener was fourth in shot put with a distance of 38 feet, 1 inch; she was also sixth in discus with a toss of 114 feet, 8 inches. Latimer jokingly referred to the two as "The Dynamic Duo."

Latimer will attend Kansas State and Klusener will attend Kansas next year. Klusener qualified for state in discus last year, but improved dramatically this season. She attributed some of her success to competing with a state champion throughout the season.

"It helps so much to have someone like her to compete with every day in practice," said Klusener. "She helps me a lot with form and we're almost kind of a team when it comes to practicing. I was happy with where I placed at state. I think I could have placed a little bit better but it was just a great experience."

On the boys' side, another pair of teammates said competing against each other in practice helped them to achieve success this season. Tyler Brown was a finalist in three different events at state this year and earned some key points for his team. Brown was fourth in high jump at 6 feet, 2 inches. He was seventh in pole vault and shattered his personal record by a foot at the state meet with a height of 13 feet, 6 inches. Brown was also seventh in long jump at 20 feet, 11.5 inches.

"I always want to be better," said Brown. "But I'm really happy with getting a (personal record) at state. The environment here is just crazy and I feed off of it; it really pushes me to be at my best."

Zach Williams placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.21 seconds. He also finished fourth in long jump with a distance of 21 feet, 6 inches. He shared the podium with Brown for the long jump awards ceremony and talked about how having a teammate to compete against helped him to keep improving. The underclassmen will both return next season.

"It helped a lot," said Williams. "At practice, all we do is push each other. It's always him or me back and forth at every meet. It's nice to have competition within your team; we compete but we both pick each other up and cheer each other on. It's nice getting points together, too."

Another athlete who competed in multiple events for the Hornets was Keyon Saunders. He ran a 10.98 in the 100 to place fourth and ran a 22.38 in the 200 to take fifth. Saunders also anchored the boys' 4x100-meter relay team (Thayer Terwilliger, Kory Martinez, Larry Russell, Saunders) that placed second behind a highly favored Leavenworth squad with a combined time of 43 seconds.

"I feel like I could've done better today," said Saunders. "But that's what God had in store for me. I didn't get a (personal record) today but I was under my target time so I was right where I wanted to be. I can't be too mad because there are a lot of people who would like to be up on the podium where I'm at. It's a pretty good feeling. I've been peaking at the right time and it's been a good senior season."

The final individual participant to place and earn points for Valley Center was Madison Runnion. Runnion finished her high school career as a four-time state placer in the high jump. She was sixth as a freshman, second as a sophomore, fourth as a junior and third as a senior this year with a height of 5 feet, 4 inches. She will attend Emporia State to compete in the event next season.

"I was able to clear 5-4 again, which is my personal best," said Runnion. "I was hoping for a new personal best today but it didn't happen. I'm still very happy with my placement and Mill Valley has some great girls so I couldn't ask for better competition. Overall, I'm pretty happy."

5A State Track

May 26-27

Cessna Stadium

Boys

1. St. Thomas Aquinas 80.5. 2. Bishop Carroll 65. 3. Leavenworth 62. 4. Newton 46. 5. Blue Valley Southwest 44. 6. Liberal 43. 7. Topeka Seaman 42. 8. Shawnee Heights 37. 8. Maize 37. 10. Valley Center 35. 11. Andover 31. 12. Great Bend 25. 13. Salina South 20. 14. Heights 19. 15. Emporia 18. 16. Pittsburg 15.5. 17. DeSoto 14. 17. KC Sumner 14. 19. Eisenhower 11. 19. Ark City 11. 21. KC Turner 10. 22. Kapaun Mt. Carmel 5. 22. Topeka West 5. 22. Lenexa St. James 5. 25. Shawnee Mill Valley 3. 26. Lansing 2. 27. Goddard 1.

VC Results

100 — 4. Keyon Saunders 10.98. 200 — 5. Keyon Saunders 22.38. 110 hurdles — 5. Zach Williams 15.21. 4x100 — 2. V.C. (Terwilliger, Martinez, Russell, Saunders) 43.00. High jump — 4. Tyler Brown 6-2. Pole vault — 7. Tyler Brown 13-6. Long jump — 4. Zach Williams 21-6; 7. Tyler Brown 20-11.5.

Girls

1. Newton 84. 2. Lenexa St. James 70. 3. Pittsburg 69. 4. Shawnee Mill Valley 67. 5. Eisenhower 42. 6. Bishop Carroll 41. 7. Valley Center 40. 8. Emporia 37.33. 9. Lansing 33. 10. Maize 30. 11. KC Sumner 28. 12. Blue Valley Southwest 22. 13. Great Bend 19.66. 14. St. Thomas Aquinas 17.50. 15. Kapaun Mt. Carmel 17. 16. Ark City 15. 17. Leavenworth 14. 18. Shawnee Heights 12. 18. Goddard 12. 20. Liberal 10. 21. Salina South 9. 22. Salina Central 3.5. 23. Heights 3. 23. DeSoto 3. 25. Topeka West 2. 26. Andover 1.

VC Results

High jump — 3. Madison Runnion 5-4. Shot put — 1. Taylor Latimer 44-9.5; 4. Emily Klusener 38-1. Discus — 1. Taylor Latimer 142-6; 6. Emily Klusener 114-8. Javelin — 3. Taylor Latimer 135-1.






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