Leavenworth’s Morrison sets state meet record in Kansas 5A shot put

It took just two throws Friday for Leavenworth thrower Willie Morrison to break the Kansas 5A state track and field meet record in boys shot put.

However, he was not done yet.

With the next throw he set the record for all classifications and record the nation’s second-best mark of the year at 69 feet, 4.5 inches at Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium. The previous Kansas record, set in 1980 by Shawnee Mission South’s Clint Johnson, was 69 feet, 1.25 inches.

“There’s a sweet spot on your hand and when it comes off of it, it feels great,” Morrison said. “(That one) felt awesome.”

Morrison carried that momentum into the discus, which he won with a toss of 185 feet, five inches. It was 11 feet, seven inches further than the runner up.

Morrison, who will compete for Indiana next year, leaves Leavenworth as a two-time champion in shot put and three-time champion in discus.

Teammate Jared Belardo repeated in triple jump with a leap of 48-8.

Jaguars dominate

Blue Valley West Christine LeMunyon went into the state meet with her eyes on the Class 5A pole vault record.

With the whole stadium clapping, she cleared the bar at 12-9 to best her own seed mark by a foot and three inches. Earlier in the season she set a program record and moved into third place all-time with a career best mark of 13 feet.

“I was really afraid because I started hitting the bar and sliding down and I was blowing through poles, but then on my second jump at 12-9 I fell and saw that it was still up there,” LeMunyon said. “I was so happy.”

Teammate Matthew Birzer bounced back from an Achilles injury sustained at regionals to win the 5A high jump title with a leap of 6-6.

Stuart McNutt added a title in the 3,200 meter run, finishing in nine minutes, 31.43 seconds.

Harrell best again

Maranatha senior Lauren Harrell could not have asked for a much better start to the final meet of her high school career.

She dropped 17.2 seconds from her seed time in her first race of the day to win the Class 2A 3,200 meter run in 11 minutes, 25.33 seconds. It was her second straight title in the event and her sixth individual first-place finish. The Eagles have three consecutive team titles as well.

“Last year was my first year running it so my coach told me to go out there and give it all you’ve got and to have fun with it,” Harrell said. “I’m super excited for this weekend.

Harrell will be busy on Saturday as she competes in the 1,600 meter run, the 1,600 meter relay and 3,200 meter relay. She is the two-time defending champion in the 1,600 meter run and the 1,600 meter relay set a new state meet record in preliminaries with a time of four minutes, 2.10 seconds.

Other notables

▪ BV Northwest’s Hannah VanBuskirk defended her 6A high jump title with a leap of 5-4.

▪ Gardner Edgerton’s Conner McGuire won the 6A pole vault title with a mark of 15-6.

▪ Lawrence’s Matia Finley won her third consecutive 6A discus title with a toss of 149-3, and Tae Shorter won a boys triple jump title with a mark of 45-8.

▪ Lawrence Free State’s Tye Carter won the 6A boys javelin with a toss of 191-9, and Caillie Hicks won the pole vault with a leap of 10-6.

▪ Olathe North’s Isaiah Simmons defended his 6A title in the long jump with a leap of 22-10.

▪ SM Northwest’s Molly Born won the 6A 3,200 meter run in 10:51.27.

▪ SM South’s Trent Flagler won the 6A discus with a toss of 162-2.

▪ St. James Academy’s Kelly McKee won the 5A triple jump with a leap of 39-3.5 and the long jump with a leap of 18-1.5. Jenna Gray won javelin with a toss of 145-5.

▪ St. Thomas Aquinas’ Emily Downey won the 5A 3,200 meter run in 11:07.76..

This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Leavenworth’s Morrison sets state meet record in Kansas 5A shot put."