WICHITA — Iola High’s Brett Willis — deprived of competing in the state track meet the past two years — wanted to make his senior year participation worth his while.
Boy, did he, rewriting the IHS record books in the process.
But if you blinked, you may have missed the culmination, a stunning Class 4A 100-meter dash final, in which the first through fifth places were separated by .11 seconds — about the time it takes to blink your eyes.
Right in the middle of it all was Willis, who captured the silver medal in an Iola-record 10.74 seconds.
“That race was nuts,” Iola head coach Dana Daugharthy said. “We were worried.”
How close was the finish?
Willis, in lane 4, finished .06 seconds behind Chanute’s Rawley Chard — more on him later — and .01 ahead of Jaylen Burch of Bishop Miege. Burch, meanwhile, was .01 seconds faster than Buhler’s Cameron Campbell, who in turn beat out Toby Wahlmeier of Concordia by .03 seconds.
For those keeping track, that’s .11 seconds from first to fifth.
“I knew going in it was a fast group,” Willis said. “I was hoping for No. 1, but second’s not bad at all.”
Earning the school record was a nice consolation prize he admitted. “That’s been one of my main goals since my freshman year, so I’m happy with that.”
Willis, who has signed with Emporia State, added to his medal haul, when he finished fourth in the 200-meter dash in 23.73 seconds later that afternoon.
That mark came while running straight into a fierce south wind.
“That wind was brutal,” Willis said.
Winning the 200 was a familiar foe, Chanute’s Chard, who almost single-handedly gave Chanute the team title at the state meet.
Chard was a four-time gold medalist, winning the 100, 200, 400 and a leg in Chanute’s 4×100-meter relay squad.
“That kid is something else,” Daugharthy agreed.
Willis would have been a strong contender for some state glory last year as a junior, but an injury at the regional meet ended his year early. In 2020, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic shelved all spring sports.
