The 2026 spring track season is nearly upon us with the season officially starting on Monday, February 23rd and some of the first meets of the season kicking off the first weekend of March. Here are the biggest names to look out for going into the new season in Class 2A for the boys!
Sprints and Hurdles
When it comes to the sprints, there are a handful of names that will be returning this season in the 2A ranks, who have finished on the podium in the 100m, 200m, and/or the 400m. First, Ben McPherson of Byers High School has some of the best marks in those events. His PRs are a wind-aided 10.99, 22.34, and 49.57, and he is only a sophomore! Along with those times, he has finished 3rd in the 200m and 2nd in the 400m at the state meet. Eli Schuknecht of Buena Vista High School is the reigning state champion in the 100m and finished 4th in the 200m and 5th in the 400m. He has similar PRs with an 11.03, a wind-aided 22.39, and a 50.16.
Jonah Ritter of Mancos High School will be another name to look out for in the 100m and 200m. His PR in the 100m is very close to McPherson and Schuknecht, where he has run 11.05 and has the better 200m PR of 22.29. Finally, we have Caleb Kearse of Peyton High School who is strongest in the long sprints. He is the reigning 400m state champion and has one of the best times in the event of 48.76! He is also the top returner from the state meet in the 200m, where he finished 2nd overall in a time of 22.30.
The hurdles have been opened up a little bit with the graduation of Joe Prost. Aaron Tena of Wray High School is the top returner based on time. He has PRs of 15.61 in the 110m hurdles and 39.92, which he ran that time earning 3rd place at the state meet! He is the top returner from the state meet in that event as well.
Distance
For the distance events, with the graduation of Bobby Kiesewetter, these events will be wide open this season. Plus, with a handful of names showing immense improvement from the fall cross country season, the title for some of the events is anyone's game. First, in the 800m, the top returner is Cayson Burcham of Ignacio High School, who ran 1:57 last season. However, Rylan Griffith of SkyView Academy is the top returner from the state meet, finishing 2nd overall in a time of 1:58.
In the 1600m, Gabe Gatti of Peyton High School is the next best returner from the state meet, where he finished 2ndoverall in a time of 4:23. He was also 3rd in the 800m, and he finished 4th overall in the 3200m with a time of 9:47! Gatti did have a tough fall season, but has all the potential in the world to be one of the top names in any of the distance events.
Other names to consider for the 1600m also include Max Miller of The Vanguard School, Ethan Kiptui of St. Mary's High School and David Maroney of Rye High School. Miller has a PR of 4:27, Kiptui a PR of 4:30, and Maroney a PR of 4:31. Maroney also is the 2nd best returner in the 3200m with a personal best time of 9:52. When considering these times, we also have to consider the fall cross country season.
First, we have Miller, who was the 3A state champion in cross country. For track, The Vanguard School drops back down to 2A, so he adds a little excitement for the distance events. Miller also has one of the best 5k times on this list and finished 2nd overall in the 2A 3200m at the state meet, with a time of 9:42.
Then we have Kiptui, who is the 2A state champion in cross country. He may not have as fast of times as Miller, but he is extremely competitive and knows how to win when it counts. He is also very young, so he will only get faster going into this season, considering he is only a sophomore this year. Kiptui was also battling with another phenomenal runner in Nick Clark for Soroco High School at the cross country state meet. Though Soroco got out-leaned at the end, he still put up a good fight.
Finally, Thomas MacLaren's Braddock Hewitt and Shawn Kipchumba could play spoiler in any of these distance events. Hewitt was injured and unable to compete at the state cross country meet, but the Highlanders did incredibly well as a team, finishing 2nd overall. Though some of their runners do not have the best personal best times as other names on this list, their immense improvement from the fall season should shine through during the track season.
Field Events
In the discus, Josh Palic of Sedgwick County is the top returner with a personal best mark of 157-8. He placed 2ndoverall with that throw at the state meet, making him the top returner from the championship as well and the early favorite for this year's title contender. Mark Walker of Wiggins High School is one of the top returners in both discus and shot put. For the shot put, his personal best of 50-4 puts him a top of the 2A list. He finished 3rd overall at the state meet with that throw.
In the long jump, McPherson returns to the top of the list with a personal best just shy of 22 feet, jumping 21-11.25. Nevertheless, McPherson is usually incredibly busy at the state meet, so he does not always contest this event. Another name that could be up for this event is Brady Mollendor of Sedgwick County, who has a PR of 21-10.5, jumping that mark into a massive headwind! He is also the reigning state champion in long jump and the runner-up for high jump and triple jump. Mollendor could potentially be a triple state champion if he plays his cards right.