Over fifty athletes from Wyandotte County high schools competed in the KSHSAA state track meet on Friday and Saturday, winning four events and earning medals in 34 others.
The 2025 meet stood out for the exceptional number of records broken — over 40 records falling in one weekend, including the 4A boys’ 100-meter dash where the record was broken in three successive races.
Tyler Holmes – Bishop Ward
Bishop Ward’s Tyler Holmes has been on a march for the top step in the 3A boys’ long jump for a while. Two years ago, he finished in third place, and last year was the runner-up.
Now in his senior year, he has been well ahead of the 3A competition all season. Coming into the state meet he had the longest jump in Kansas this season, across all classes — 23-feet, 5-inches, his mark to win the Shawnee Mission North Relays.
Holmes staked his claim early in the 3A competition Saturday morning, jumping 22-feet, 5-inches in the preliminary flight and holding on as the competition tried in vain to better it. Holmes was consistently excellent, with four of his six attempts over 22 feet.
He had plenty of praise to pass around after receiving his reward. “ I had a great coaching staff that always believed in me,” Holmes said as his teammates crowded around, egging him on.
“They always encouraged everything I did, just told me what I needed to do when I needed to do it. And a big shout out to Coach Duff and my friends, my teammates, and my family. I just give big thanks to all of them. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”
Newly graduated, the long-time Cyclones’ hoops standout is headed this fall to the University of St. Mary in Leavenworth to join the Spires basketball program. Holmes will also be competing in the USA Track & Field Under-20 National Championships in Eugene, Ore. on Jun. 19.
Bishop Ward Boys’ 4×100-meter Relay
Holmes doubled up his gold medal count running the anchor leg of the Ward’s boys’ 4×100-meter relay team. Joined by sprinter Davontae Davis, hurdler Jailen Jefferson, and relay specialist Micah Neely, the rapid Cyclones dominated Friday’s preliminary by over a half-second.
In Saturday’s final, however, they needed all the speed they could muster. finishing less than a tenth of a second ahead of second place Collegiate and third place Silver Lake.
The Cyclones will return all the relay team members next year except Holmes. Though they’ll miss his leadership, Ward looks set to continue its recent run of sprint excellence.
Davis also received medals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and Jefferson won a medal in the 110-meter hurdles.
Sommyr Moore – Sumner Academy
Like Holmes, Sumner Academy’s Sommyr Moore also saved the best for last in his long jump career, winning state gold in his final high school meet.
Moore qualified for state as a freshman, finishing 16th, but failed to make it back as a sophomore. He rebounded his junior year and finished third at state in both long jump and triple jump.
Unlike Holmes, Moore didn’t arrive at the state meet as the favorite, posting only the fifth-best mark in Class 5A. However, when it counted he was near his season-best, while rivals Noah Allen of Aquinas and Ethan Armendariz of Andover Central faded from their earlier marks.
Moore was in second place to Armendariz going into the finals then let fly a jump of 22-feet, 7 1/2-inches in his penultimate attempt, vaulting him into first. However, on his final attempt, he scratched, opening the door for his rival.
“That last round of jumps, it was anxious,” said Moore of the final flight. “I was over there pacing, talking about how close I am. I’ve just got to make it through one more round.”
“I sadly scratched my last one, so it made the very last jump really anxiety-inducing. But you know, I sat there at the end and once I found out he scratched, it was amazing. I was filled with euphoria.”
On Saturday, Moore rounded out his state medal collection with a third place showing in the triple jump.
Having finished his time at the Academy, Moore now heads to UMKC to study health sciences before advancing to dental school. He’s talking with Kangaroos’ coaches about a spot on the track roster for next season.
Nora Turney – Piper
Piper junior Nora Turney set a new personal best in the 100-meter hurdles to win the Class 5A championship. Turney has seen her times in both hurdles events drop considerably since last year, taking nearly a second off her 100-meter time and over two seconds off her 300-meter time since last year’s state meet.
Turney credited her work in the offseason for her improvement over past year. “Working with my teammates and doing indoor club track — it helped me a lot,” she said after the race. “I’ve been working on getting my technique down a bit more, and I think that helped a lot.”
“It feels great! Getting first place, it was my number one goal.”
KCK athletes had a big presence in the girls’ 300-meter hurdles, with Turner’s Alyasia Ollie and Schlagle’s Saniyah Sykes joining Turney in winning medals in the event.
Piper’s boys finished third in Class 5A as a team, the first state team trophy the school has won since moving up to 5A and the best showing by a 5A public school. Even without a gold medal, the Pirates racked up team points across all disciplines and had multiple point scorers in javelin, discus, 100-meter dash, and both hurdles races.
Cessna Stadium will have a different look for the 2026 state meet. Crews started demolition of the grass field and running track on Monday following the meet, to be replaced by a 9-lane track and widened field that accommodates a regulation soccer pitch.
For a full list of results and over a hundred photos of the events, go to Dotte Sports.
