ALTAMONT — In what has become a seemingly annual tradition, the Chanute Blue Comets boys won the SEK League title on Thursday at the league championships in Altamont with Labette County hosting the meet.
Chanute won the league title with 181 points.
“It was very exciting to see the boys perform as well as they did,” Chanute head coach Matt Kmiec said. “They’ve been putting together great performances all year. I have a great group of men of character. So it was awesome to see.”
Labette County finished runner-up with 114 points. Pittsburg was third with 85 points, followed by Parsons (70), Coffeyville (59), Independence (30) and Fort Scott (16).
In the girls’ standings, Labette County registered 195 points to win the SEK crown. Chanute was runner-up at 114 points, followed by Coffeyville (54), Fort Scott (52), Independence (49), Parsons (45) and Pittsburg (43).
“We decided to mix some entries up with our girls to try and make a run at it,” Kmiec said. “Labette County is a very talented squad. But runner-up isn’t a bad thing. The girls have had a great year.”
Six boys claim individual titles
Tyler Rowden won first place in the 800m run with a time of 2:03.
“He also runs the fastest leg on our 4x800m relay team and runs a leg on our 4x400m relay team, so he’s got his name all over the place,” Kmiec said. “He’s a super amazing kid and a great athlete.”
Jaron Powers won a pair of league crowns in the 1,600m run (4:37) and 3,200m run (10:14).
“He’s the school record holder in the mile and the two-mile, so it’s fair to say he’s the greatest distance runner in the history of Chanute High School,” Kmiec said. “He works hard in the offseason and is very humble. For him to have the success he’s had this year is amazing. It’s been tremendous for our team to have Jaron scoring points.”
Chanute’s 4x400m relay team of Eliott Stephenson, Eli Uhner, Rowden and Easton Colborn, as well as the 4x800m team of Rowden, Powers, Uhner and Tucker Applegate won league titles.
Colborn also dominated the high jump, winning with a mark of 6-6.
“He’s a phenomenal athlete and it’s cool to see how well he’s doing,” Kmiec said. “He’s got springs with his height and it’s a testament to how hard he works. He’s been a track kid for a long time. He’s got a chance to go after a state title.”
Jarvis Chatmon took first place in the pole vault with a mark of 11-0.
“It’s amazing to see what Jarvis has done this year. He went from a kid last year who hardly scored any points to us to scoring in multiple events,” Kmiec said. “He’s a student of the game, watches film and gets better every week.”
Owen Luttrell won the javelin league title, tossing 170-7.
“He’s another kid that’s fairly new to track,” Kmiec said. “He broke his finger last year but he’s had amazing success this year. Your heart goes out for a kid that struggled with injuries and now is having a great season. He’s on a roll right now.”
Canton Fitzmaurice rounded out Chanute’s individual league champions, winning the shot put with a heave of 52-6.
“We’ve been waiting for Canton to throw big,” Kmiec said. “He threw 164 in discus and got third and that was crazy. That mark wins state some years. For him to win shot put, he’s got a chance to finish the year out big at the state level.”
Chanute’s girls get runner-up
Claiming second as a team at the SEK League Championships, three girls from Chanute won individual crowns.
Macie Moore won the 3,200m run with a time of 12:54.
“She ran a great race — her best of the year,” Kmiec said. “She’s coming on at the right time and is a workhorse for us. She runs three hard races for us. She’s been doing that for a long time. Macie sets the tone for what hard work at a track meet looks like.”
Kiya Brown won the high jump with a mark of 5-0.
“She finally got to five feet several weeks ago and now she’s doing it every week,” Kmiec said. “She also had PRs in the long jump and triple jump. So she’s locked in and ready to go.”
Chanute’s 4x400m relay team of Laney Hillmon, Sarah Uhner, Maddie Kepley and Violet Stich won their race.
Averee Hicks won the league title in discus with a toss of 108-6.
“It can’t be understated how important it was for her to have a strong start,” Kmiec said. “It set the tone for how the whole meet was going to go. Her points have been extremely valuable for us.”
Up next
Chanute heads to the KSHSAA 4A regional meet in Louisburg on Thursday.
