Junior Lauren Schutter needed all six attempts to achieve gold at Saturday’s state track meet in Wichita.
Schutter, who medaled in the event as a freshman, took the lead on her second jump, 16’7.25”. It was good for a five-inch lead that looked like it might hold.
But right before her sixth and final jump, two competitors pulled ahead. Horton’s Maliyah Soto jumped 16’9” and Syracuse’s Katelynn Riley jumped 16’8”, moving Schutter to third place.
“I usually take a lot of time to warm up and prepare for the jump,” Schutter said. But not this time. “I wanted to go right away. I knew I needed my best jump.”
She got it. With a jump of 17’1.5”, Schutter secured her second career gold medal, but she didn’t know that right away.
“I couldn’t hear them when they measured, so it took a few moments for me to see it on the board. As soon as I realized I won I started jumping around and celebrating.”
Schutter, who also placed 4th in the triple jump and 8th in the 800, became the second WHS girl to win three medals at one state meet and only the third of either gender to win multiple state golds (she won the triple jump her freshman year).
Her five state medals places her behind Karsen Schultz’s seven, a record she will try to catch next season. It’s especially impressive when remembering that Schutter didn’t get a sophomore season due to COVID-19.
As a team, WHS had a solid showing, bringing home medals in four events. It’s the sixth time in a row that WHS has earned at least four medals.
Along with the boys 4×100 6th place finish, several events finished just outside of the podium. With 3 9th place finishes and a 10th place, the team nearly doubled its medal total.
“It’s a testament to the culture that has been built by the athletes in our program over the last decade plus,” coach Roger Alderman said.
2021 State medalists
Lauren Schutter
Long Jump – 1st
Triple Jump – 4th
100 – 8th
Aiden Boeckman, Dawson Schultz, Jace Reves, Angel Trujillo
4×100 – 6th
Other results
Boys 4X800 Relay: 8:37.78 – 9th
Jace Reves: 800 Run 2:05.95 – 9th
Girls 4X100 Relay: Madison Schurle, Sienna Jones, Sophia Castillo, Lauren Schutter 52.65 – 9th
Sienna Jones: Triple Jump 33’6 – 10th
Boys 4X400 Relay: Jace Reves, Dawson, Schultz, Eli Oliver, Angel Trujillo 3:44.10 – 12th
Angel Trujillo: 400 Dash 53.51 – 12th
Rebekah Stuhlsatz: 1600 Run 6:01.23 – 12th
Team Scores: Boys: 3 points, 37th (tie)
Girls: 16 points, 13th (tie)
The Charger 
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