Hare Named Champion in 400M, Runner-Up In 200M, Placed 6th In 100M; 4x100M Relay Placed 8th & Rose Buck Placed 6th in 800M
The Eureka Tornadoes were well represented at the Kansas Class 2A State Track and Field Championships held May 29-30 at Wichita State University, with senior Peyton Hare leading the way through a remarkable performance on the state’s biggest stage.
Hare earned medals in all four of his events, highlighted by a Class 2A state championship in the 400M dash. The senior crossed the finish line in 49.00 seconds to claim the title and setting a new school record. He previously set the record at 49.08 earlier this season.
He also turned in a personal- record performance in the 200M dash, finishing runner-up in 21.68 seconds, just behind the winning time of 21.57. He again set a school record, breaking his 21.99 time set in 2025. Hare added a sixthplace finish in the 100M dash with a time of 11.21 and helped the Tornadoes’ 4x100M relay team earn an eighth-place medal.
The boys’ 4x100 relay team of seniors Cole Ptacek and Hare, junior Christian Andrews, and freshman Eli Mason finished eighth in 45.19 seconds. The relay had qualified for the state finals with a season-best and school-record time of 43.43 in the preliminaries. That record-setting lineup included Ptacek, Hare, Andrews, and senior TJ Mills. The Tornadoes were forced to make a lineup adjustment after Mills suffered a hamstring injury during the preliminary round of the 100M hurdles, approximately 20 meters from the finish line.
On the girls’ side, senior Rose Buck earned a state medal in the 800M run, placing sixth with a time of 2:24.25.
Eureka was also represented by several other state qualifiers. The Lady Tornadoes’ 4x400M relay team of Buck, Lydia Mason, Britta Mongeau and McKenna McDonald competed at the state meet, along with the girls’ 4x100M relay team of L. Mason, Eileen Baxter, Sydney Lindamood and McDonald.
Additional state qualifiers included Mills in the 100M and 200M dashes, Mongeau in the 1,600M run, Andrews in the long jump and McDonald in the 400M dash.
