FREDONIA — Iola High School seniors Mahailie Genoble and Bethany Miller, as well as juniors Keegan Hill and Austin Crooks will compete for state titles at Friday’s KSHSAA Track and Field Championship in Wichita.
Iola’s quartet of state competitors qualified at Friday’s regional in Fredonia, which included several gold, silver and bronze medals for the Mustangs, who finished sixth as a team on the boys’ side and 12th for the girls.
“We had some really good performances, I’m proud of the kids and we’re looking forward to next week,” Iola coach David Daugharthy said.
Hill qualified in two events. His first came in the high jump, where he won a three-way tiebreaker with a 5-foot,10-inch leap. Hill also qualified in the 1600-meter run, clearing the distance in 4 minutes, 46 seconds for second place. This will be Hill’s second attempt at a state title this school year. He competed in the KSHSAA cross country state championship last fall, where he finished 24th. In 2024, he
qualified as a freshman for the KSHSAA Track and Field Championship in the 3200, where he finished 15th.
“It feels good knowing I can compete with the guys,” Hill said. “It feels great going back to state. Today, it was the kind of meet where you run to place. At state, you just have to let it all out and see what you can get.”
Hot off wrapping up the baseball season in Girard, Crooks brought home Iola’s only regional title after taking fifth in the triple jump. Competing in one of track’s most technical events, Crooks credited a calm composure for his 40’11” leap. Friday will be Crooks try for a state medal.
“I started a little nervous, because I had never practiced or anything (until this year),” Crooks said. “I kept doing it, getting the technique down, and it felt more comfortable. Now, I’m putting up good numbers. Today was not my best, but it was enough to get me to state.”
Iola senior Bethany Miller qualified in shot put and discus after taking third and fourth respectively. Similar to Crooks, Miller credited punching her ticket to state to silencing her anxious mind and doing what she was trained to do. It seemed to work after she took third in the shot put with a 33’ 7” throw.
Miller’s 114’ 3” throw in discus put her on the hot seat for state, with only the highest of the fourth-place finishers across all regionals moving on to state. However, before the official reading of team results, Miller learned from Coach Daugharthy that online tracking showed she made it.
“Today was the culmination of everything I’ve been doing,” Miller said. “I’ve been doing this for six years now. It’s exciting just to have made it and feel all of the little things I never quite put together come together.”
Genoble was also on the hot seat in her return to state in the 300-meter hurdles. She took fourth after crossing the finish line in 48.86 seconds but did not learn until long after Friday’s meet that she qualified. Genoble will make her second appearance at state after qualifying last year, where she took tenth.
For Daugharthy, looking to have his athletes hit their peak at just the right time, he plans to work them light this week.
“We’re in our peak time, so we’re not trying to overdo anything,” Daugharthy said. “We’re just working on tiny details. Physically, we’re ready to go but mentally we’re just trying to visualize what things will look like on a bigger stage.”
Complete results:
Boys High Jump Finals: fifth, Keegan Hill, 5-10.
Boys Long Jump Finals: fourth, Austin Crooks, 19-10.50; seventh, Kevon Loving, 19-2.
