One of the greatest athletes in Yates Center history has decided where hes going to college.
On Thursday, senior cross country and track star Hadley Splechter surrounded by a small crowd of family, coaches, school officials and media members signed his national letter of intent and announced he would be taking his talents north to Kansas State.
I practiced at the Manhattan facility during indoor season and I met a lot of the guys while I was doing that, Splechter said. Plus I have a couple of friends that go there and my brother goes there and it just feels like home because Ive been up there so much.
K-State is also where his parents, Tim and Cassie, went to school and thus, despite having offers from the University of Kansas and Wichita State University, Splechter decided to become a Wildcat.
The decision comes after a stellar and unfinished string of success while hes been in high school, including two individual 2A cross country championships, leading Yates Center to its first state cross country team championship in school history back in 2017 as a junior, and racking up seven gold medals at the state track meet over the last two seasons.
Im really proud of him, Yates Center cross country coach Rex McVey said. Ive coached him since middle school and I knew how special he was going to be even then. As an eighth-grader, he ran a 4:45 mile and I knew that he was just going to continue to develop because he was such a hard worker and a great leader coming in as a freshman.
Splechter is known for his accomplishments and accolades, but is defined by the work that hes put in over the years to earn those including running multiple extra miles aside from what the Wildcat team normally runs in practice and training during the offseason.
Hes absolutely meant the world to our program, McVey said. Not only with his development but what he does to help develop younger kids and bringing in people who were going to help the program.
When asked about what excites him most about competing at the Division I level, Splechter lights up thinking about the added level of difficulty that competing against college runners will add.
Splechter has been so dominant over the past several years that in order to practice and run to his potential, hes been forced to leave others whether it be his teammates or runners from other schools in the dust.
Versus Big 12 competition, that will no longer be an issue.
Ill have people running workouts with me, Im not going to be just by myself, Splechter said. I feel like I can really hit a new level now that Ill have people running with me in practice and at every meet that I go to.
And dont worry about the small-school southeast Kansas kid struggling to adjust versus top runners from around the world. McVey insists that the added difficulty only makes the seniors competitive spirit burn brighter and hotter.
Hadley runs to his competition, McVey said with a smirk. So I see him being toward the top. The first couple of races, Im sure, will be an eye-opener to him but its just going to show the type of grit that the kid has because hell work harder than anyone else.
Now that this decision has been made, Splechter is looking forward to enjoying his final months in high school including his part on an X-X Wildcat basketball team that has its eyes set on a possible state tournament appearance.
