Mustangs medal at Thad Clements Invitational

The Iola Mustangs made the most of their opportunities against larger programs while competing in Chanute Friday.

May 11, 2026 - 5:13 PM

Iola junior Rohan Springer takes off in the pole vault. Photo by Jimmy Potts / Iola Register

CHANUTE — Despite facing larger programs from across the region, the Iola Mustangs more than held their own at Friday’s Thad Clements Invitational.

Junior Keegan Hill’s first-place finish in the 1600 meters and senior Mahailie Genoble’s first-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles were just the tip-top of a mountain of medals for the Mustangs.

The wins have Iola coach David Daugharthy looking to pull back so they do not peak too soon before the May 29-30 state meet for track and field.

Mahailie Genoble, Iola senior, clears the final hurdle in the 300 while taking first place.Photo by Jimmy Potts / Iola Register

“We liked the good competition, and this was a really good meet for us,” Daugharthy said.

“We had a lot of personal bests. More than we expected. We’ve been pushing our kids a lot the past few weeks and we’re about to peak, so we’ll have to pull back a bit.”

Along with taking first in the 1600, Hill took fourth in the high jump with a 5’ 8” leap and third in the 800-meter run. Senior Maddox Riley took fourth in the 110-meter high hurdles with a 16.67 run. Junior Rohan Springer took eighth in the pole vault with an 8’ 6” leap.

Following her 50.11-second winning run in the 300 hurdles, Genoble clocked a 28.48-second 200-meter dash for eighth place.

Fellow senior Bethany Miller posted a pair of top-10 finishes after taking fourth in the discus with a 101’ 6” throw and sixth in the shot put with a 32’ 7” throw.

Senior Ari Ramirez took sixth in the 1600 meters.

“We had 10 or 15 PRs today, and that doesn’t include the gold medals,” Coach Daugharthy said. “The kids fought well and hard. I’m proud of their effort. We have league next week, and we’re looking to make some noise.”

Iola will host a JV meet Monday, then the full team returns to action at Thursday’s Pioneer League Championship at Santa Fe High School. First events begin at 3 p.m.

“With every run we see Keegan run, we’re more comfortable about him getting to state, and we have other people, too,” Daugharthy said. “We have Mahailie in the hurdles, and even Maddox in the high hurdles. He’s making waves, too. There may be a relay in there, too. Bethany Miller had a 101-foot discus throw today, and she’s moving up the ranks. We’re seeing improvement and growth at the right time.”