Recent Yates Center graduate Hadley Splechter is arguably the best long distance runner southeast Kansas has ever seen, which is why readers chose him as the male athlete of the month for May.
In his time as a Wildcat runner, Splechter accumulated a slew of gold medals at the Class 2-A state track meets. Most recently this spring, Splechter brought home the gold in the 3200-meter, 1600-meter and 800-meter runs.
Despite being known for his long-distance accomplishments, those were not his initial intentions.
Actually, in middle school I thought I was going to be a sprinter. All my friends were sprinters and I thought I was going to be one, too, Splechter said. Except all my friends were fast and I wasnt. So the coach put me in hurdles, and after the first time I fell, I said Coach, Im not doing that. Then he stuck me in long distance because I was the slowest kid out there and nobody else was in distance.
It turned out that Splechter was a natural at distance. In his first middle school track meet, Splechter took third place behind two teammates. After that, Splechter figured hed stick with it.
His freshman year, Splechter was ranked first in the two-mile race following his impressive regional performance heading into the Class 2-A state meet. During the meet, Splechter was encouraged by a teammate, whose words he hangs on to this very day.
He told me man do you realize how cool it is that you are ranked first? I would do anything for that. I ended up doing pretty well. I think I got fourth in the two-mile race. After that, I thought if I run during the summer I might be pretty good.
Heading into his sophomore year, Splechter started to kick it in gear to become the areas top runner. In this day and age, many prep school athletes have personal trainers to help them perfect their styles. Not Splechter. He was homegrown.
Around here, nobody did it with me. That was probably the hardest thing, Splechter said. Finding the self-discipline was a challenge, he said.
It wasnt the actual running or working out that I found difficult, but the waking up early to make myself get to the track or gym in the off-season was hard. Forcing myself to do it every day alone was hard. I never had anyone tell me what to do.
I dont really know how I managed to keep at it, but I did.
Splechter said the winning is what made up for all grind and grit over the years.
For the outsider, any accomplished athlete makes his abilities appear simply God-given. Even the biggest of sports fanatics gets caught up in the mainstream events involving balls, bats, and other objects we see every day on television. But not every day do we hear about what makes a runner get to the top of the totem pole, and the struggles it takes to get there.
Its really hard to explain to people, because if they have never run competitively, they wouldnt know what it is like, Splechter said. Honestly, theres a lot of pain, but its that pain where you know you are getting something out of it. Whether its benefiting your health, or going for a medal, you know theres something that you are going to get from it. Unlike football, when you get hit and it hurts, and you cant really control that, youre choosing the pain that comes from running. And you can stop at any time in all reality, because you are the one controlling it.
That desire and willing to suffer over the course of his four years at Yates Center has helped Splechter become a standout Wildcat. This August he will report to Manhattan to join the rest of his Kansas State Cross Country teammates and begin a new life in college. Despite being heavily recruited by KU and Wichita State, Splechter said the atmosphere in the locker room along with the feel of Manhattan just felt right.
As the summer picks up, Splechter is getting ready for the cross country season. And no, that doesnt mean running to Iola and back to Yates Center every day as legend may say. But he does have another idea to perhaps cross off his bucket list before he leaves southeast Kansas.
