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Some of the best senior track athletes from Missouri and Kansas will gather Wednesday at William Chrisman High School to compete for their state.
The first annual Champions Meet starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday and will feature four athletes from each state in each event. The Kansas and Missouri athletes will compete against each other for bragging rights.
A number of local athletes will be featured in the innaugural event.
Lee’s Summit North’s Madison Smith, Blue Springs’ Jayce Thomas and Grain Valley’s Tyree Meadows are just a few of many Eastern Jackson County athletes competing for Missouri.
All these athletes were brought together by Fort Osage assistant track coach Chris Earley.
Earley said he put the Champions Meet together because he had been thinking about a postseason meet for a few years now.
When putting the meet together, Earley said he knew he wanted it to be sort of an all-star event.
He also wanted to keep the event local.
“Chrisman was the ideal place to have a meet like this,” Earley said.
Earley said local athletic directors Eric Holm (Truman) and Dan Ogle (Chrisman) were pivotal in securing Chrisman’s track for the event and allowing the meet to even happen.
“It certainly wouldn’t be possible without Independence allowing the field to be used,” Earley said.
What Earley didn’t know was quite what it would take to organize an event like the Champions Meet.
“I didn’t realize what an undertaking it was going to be to put on something like this,” he said. “This was a little more work than I thought it was going to be.”
One of Earley’s toughest challenges was finding talented senior track stars sign on to the meet.
“Getting the athletes to commit to come has been difficult,” Earley said. “Hopefully, next year the word will get out a little bit quicker.”
Still, Earley put together two teams mostly by talking to coaches and looking for nominations. From there he went about putting together the Missouri and Kansas teams.
Earley said it’s been a daunting task, especially in Kansas. It’s been a lot for him to handle in this first year, but he said the experience will help him next year.
“I definitely know what not to do,” Earley said.
One of the keys to success in the future is to get started sooner, he said.
There should be plenty of interest from now on. Earley said he’s hoping the Champions Meet will serve as a sort of postseason honor for senior track athletes.
The event will also recognize state champions and all-state competitors from Missouri and Kansas prior to the first event.
In addition to the seniors’ events, there will be three events for children from kindergarten through eighth grade.
In the future, Earley said he hopes to have uniforms for the athletes from each state.
Some of the best senior track athletes from Missouri and Kansas will gather Wednesday at William Chrisman High School to compete for their state.
The first annual Champions Meet starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday and will feature four athletes from each state in each event. The Kansas and Missouri athletes will compete against each other for bragging rights.
A number of local athletes will be featured in the innaugural event.
Lee’s Summit North’s Madison Smith, Blue Springs’ Jayce Thomas and Grain Valley’s Tyree Meadows are just a few of many Eastern Jackson County athletes competing for Missouri.
All these athletes were brought together by Fort Osage assistant track coach Chris Earley.
Earley said he put the Champions Meet together because he had been thinking about a postseason meet for a few years now.
When putting the meet together, Earley said he knew he wanted it to be sort of an all-star event.
He also wanted to keep the event local.
“Chrisman was the ideal place to have a meet like this,” Earley said.
Earley said local athletic directors Eric Holm (Truman) and Dan Ogle (Chrisman) were pivotal in securing Chrisman’s track for the event and allowing the meet to even happen.
“It certainly wouldn’t be possible without Independence allowing the field to be used,” Earley said.
What Earley didn’t know was quite what it would take to organize an event like the Champions Meet.
“I didn’t realize what an undertaking it was going to be to put on something like this,” he said. “This was a little more work than I thought it was going to be.”
One of Earley’s toughest challenges was finding talented senior track stars sign on to the meet.
“Getting the athletes to commit to come has been difficult,” Earley said. “Hopefully, next year the word will get out a little bit quicker.”
Still, Earley put together two teams mostly by talking to coaches and looking for nominations. From there he went about putting together the Missouri and Kansas teams.
Earley said it’s been a daunting task, especially in Kansas. It’s been a lot for him to handle in this first year, but he said the experience will help him next year.
“I definitely know what not to do,” Earley said.
One of the keys to success in the future is to get started sooner, he said.
There should be plenty of interest from now on. Earley said he’s hoping the Champions Meet will serve as a sort of postseason honor for senior track athletes.
The event will also recognize state champions and all-state competitors from Missouri and Kansas prior to the first event.
In addition to the seniors’ events, there will be three events for children from kindergarten through eighth grade.
In the future, Earley said he hopes to have uniforms for the athletes from each state.
