Olathe North boys narrowly win state championship

The Olathe North boys 4x800-meter relay finished sixth. The Eagles won the Class 6A team state championship last month.

By Jimmy Gillispie

WICHITA — The Olathe North boys won only a single event at the Class 6A state track and field meet, but the Eagles scored enough points in other events to bring home a team championship.

Olathe North won the 6A state title with 57 points, beating Blue Valley Northwest and Olathe Northwest by four and five points, respectively.

The Eagles had the team title locked up before the 4x400-meter relay. They finished eighth in the event, while BVNW placed runner-up. 

The lone win by the Eagles was in the 4x100-meter relay. The team of Camron Porter, Akobi Bruce, Jackson Parker and Jayson Rush raced to victory in a time of 41.45 seconds.

Rush was a three-time individual state medalist at the meet. He finished fourth in the 100-meter dash, fourth in the 200-meter dash and third in the 400-meter dash. 

Parker also brought home two individual medals. He finished runner-up in the 110-meter hurdles and third in the 300-meter hurdles.

Grahe Shade earned some key points in the 3,200-meter run. He placed fifth for the Eagles.

In the field, Anthony Harris had a big runner-up finish in the high jump. He cleared 6 feet, 6 inches. Four competitors tied at that height, but the standings came down to misses at previous heights.

Landon Batten also placed eighth in the javelin for the Eagles.