Track town

Three of the top prep athletes in the Midwest – including one of the top sprinters in the nation – will compete within a few miles of each other Saturday when Blue Springs plays host to the Class 4 District 8 track and field meet, and just a few miles south, Larry Stewart Memorial Stadium will be the home of the Class 4 District 7 meet on the campus of Blue Springs South High School.
Blue Springs South’s district event will offer a couple of runners who made headlines at the KU Relays.
South senior Keyen Porter won the 110 hurdles at the University of Kansas while Raytown South senior Maurice Mitchell won the 100 and followed that up with a sizzling 9.96 in the same event at the Suburban Middle Six Conference meet at Belton last week.
“To say we’re going to have some of the top athletes in the area at our district would be an understatement,” South activities director Mark Bubalo said. “It’s just a shame there are two great districts right across town from each other where fans have to pick one site or the other.”
Across town, Carlos Anderson and his Blue Springs teammates will continue to fine tune their squad as they set their sights on a state championship.
The Wildcats ran away from the competition in winning their first conference championship last week at William Chrisman High School and they hope to continue their success at district.
“I want to end my career with a ring,” said Anderson, who won the 100 and 200 and anchored the winning 800 and 1,600 relay teams at the Suburban Big Seven Conference meet.
“Winning conference was great, that was one of our first goals. We wanted to go undefeated in the regular season and win conference.
“Now, we’re looking at district. We’re just going to take everything one meet at a time.”
With Gus Toca and Jordan Chrisman leading the pack in the shot and discus, Blue Springs scored 41 points in the field events before Anderson and Co., took over on the track.
“This is a special group of kids,” said first-year Wildcats track coach Joe Cusack. “Carlos is as special an athlete as I have ever coached, and all the other guys are exceeding our expectations.
“I wish I could take credit for what’s going on this year, but everyone knows this is Coach (Gary) Parker’s team.”
Parker retired last year after spending nearly three decades at Blue Springs, where he developed the Wildcats into an area power.
“We have a lot of seniors on this team,” senior sprinter Evan McCray said, “and we want to go out with a championship. Every meet gets bigger and bigger and we want to improve every meet. District should be a lot of fun. We’re all looking forward to it.”
While Anderson will attract much of the attention on the Blue Springs team,  Porter is the big draw for the Jaguars.
Porter won both hurdling events and was third in the high jump and seventh in the long jump for 28 points to win the Golden Shoe Award at the conference meet.
Porter was so dominating in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles that he crossed the finish line before another runner was in the camera frame.
“I really need to savor these last few meets,” Blue Springs South coach Troy Harding said, “because you don’t get the chance to coach many athletes like Keyen. He’s good, real, real good.”
Porter became an attraction when he won the 110 hurdles in 14.14 seconds at the Kansas Relays, and he hasn’t stopped winning since.
“The depth of talent in the area isn’t as strong as it has been in the past, but that shouldn’t take away from what he’s accomplishing this season,” Harding added.
“I kind of feel like there’s a target on my back, because everyone wants to go out and beat me,” Porter said. “And that’s fine with me. I’m getting used to it.”
In fact, he kind of enjoys it.
“I get the sense that there is some excitement before the hurdles,” Porter said. “I want to help the team, win the event and put on a good show.”
Someone else who enjoys putting on a good show is the incomparable Mitchell, who has signed with Florida State University.
“I still don’t believe I ran that 9.96 at conference,” Mitchell said. “I was joking before the meet and told Coach (Tom) Lester I was going to run nine-something – but I was kidding. Then, I went out and did it. Sometimes I even surprise myself.”
Joining Blue Springs South and Raytown South at Larry Stewart Field are Lee’s Summit, Lee’s Summit North, Lee’s Summit West and Raytown high schools.
Blue Springs will be joined by Fort Osage, Truman and William Chrisman.