WICHITA — Tanner McNutt didn’t plan it the way it happened. His move to the front of the race down the backstretch put him in position for a gold medal.
In Saturday’s Class 3A boys’ 800-meter run, the Humboldt High junior was in the front pack during the first lap of the race. As the runner rounded the No. 2 curve on the second lap, McNutt sprinted to the lead.
No one caught him. McNutt recorded the fastest 800 meter time by all classes at the 2012 Kansas High School All-Class State Track and Field Championships.
McNutt won the championship in 1 minute, 56.29 seconds, a new Humboldt High record, and just two seconds off the Class 3A state mark.
“I was planning on a 58 second first lap in the race but they were setting a faster pace. I thought I had to move,” McNutt said.
McNutt earned four state medals in Class 3A competition over the weekend. He took third in the boy’s long jump on Friday with a leap of 21 feet, 8 1/2 inches.
About an hour before his championship run in the 800, McNutt lowered his own Humboldt High record in taking second in the 400-meter dash. He ran a 49.99 for the silver medal. McNutt has two silver medals in state 400-meter dash competition as he placed second in Class 2A a year ago.
But McNutt was happy after he anchored the Cubs’ 4×400-meter relay team to a fourth-place finish at the end of the day Saturday. Hayden Boring led off the race then handed the baton off to Nick Keazer.
Ethan Bartlett took the baton next then came McNutt. In Friday’s preliminaries, the Cub foursome ran a 3:28.56, whcih was only .36 seconds off of the HHS record.
Bartlett, a junior, was disappointed in his leadoff leg in the finals. He was upset with himself but his teammates kept telling him it was alright.
“We had our fastest time in the preliminary. I didn’t run well tonight either but it’s great we finished fourth,” Bartlett said, a freshman.
“It’s OK Hayden. We’re alright,” said Keazer, a junior who also qualified for state in the 400-meter dash. Keazer ran a 51.93 in the preliminaries on Friday and did not advance to the finals.
Keazer said the Cub 4×400-meter relay team had been undefeated during the regular season and through the 3A regional meet. They were the Tri-Valley League champions.
“It just feels great to be a state champion plus to help my teammates get a fourth-place medal,” McNutt said. “What’s really great is we’re all back for next year.”
The Cubs posted a 3:29.07 in the finals for fourth.
