Munsch leads Hays High boys to second place finish in season opener
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays High sophomore Josh Munsch was surprised at the pace in the one mile run at the Alex Francis Classic/Fort Hays Invitational on Saturday. At the 800-meter mark, no runner had separated himself from the pack. Munsch was in fourth place with a time of 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
"I expected it to be a lot faster," he said.
In the last half of the race, Munsch decided to set his own pace, a pace that eventually separated him and Scott City's Kendrick Trace from the rest of the competitors.
Munsch, helped by a blistering 61-second final lap, outkicked Trace in the last 60 meters and won the mile in 4:43.
Munsch's title was the first of two first places he earned for the Indians. Munsch, who took home the 800-meters in similar fashion a few hours later, helped the Hays High boys finish second in the high school division to Hutchinson in the season's opening track meet.
The girls won their competition.
"I thought that our kids competed hard today and competed well," first-year Indian coach Rick Blosser said.
"I think that some of them may not have gotten the marks that they wanted, but it is early. I am very pleased with our kids' efforts today."
Munsch was one of several Indians to garner a title. Junior Tyler Riebel won the shot put with a throw of 47 feet, 11 inches, while senior Nathan Augustine took home the 1,500-meter steeplechase (5:30.3).
"I was surprised that he took first, but I wasn't surprised at what he threw," Blosser said of Riebel. "I knew he could throw that."
Seniors Kristen Fleharty, first in the 100-meter hurdles (16 seconds) and second in the 300-meter hurdles (50.25) and Brianna Hibbs (third in the pole vault) and sophomore Kylie Gaughan also performed well. Gaughan, ninth in the mile at state as a freshman, finished in third place in the mile with a time of 6:01.
"Today was not one of my best days," she said. "It was the first meet, so I will keep working at it. ... I am not all the way into shape yet. Hopefully, I can get better as the season progresses."
After Gaughan's bronze medal showing, Munsch, one of the state's best cross-country runners, delivered the first half of the best performance of any male distance runner at the meet.
"Josh is just a good competitor," Blosser said. "I was really pleased just to watch and see his competitiveness and his work ethic. He works so hard at practice.
"He just does a great job for us and stays focused," he added. "When he steps on the track, he is in compete mode and that is what I really like about him. He has got the desire to win."
Munsch certainly showed that in the mile.
Running in cold and windy conditions, Munsch was one of 15 runners in Heat 2, the faster of the two mile heats. The race started slowly and Munsch crossed the 400-meter mark in 75 seconds. After another 75-second lap, Munsch decided to quicken his stride.
"I thought we were going to take out a lot quicker," he said.
"I was feeling really good, so I knew I could start picking it up and I wanted to get a decent time."
Munsch ran a 72-second third lap -- and only Kendrick kept pace. He and Kendrick had a 10 to 15 meter lead on the rest of the field when they crossed the 1,200 mark. Munsch considered starting his final kick with 400 meters left, but decided to wait a little bit.
Instead, he waited until the final curve with about 150 meters to go. Then, Munsch started his sprint and passed Kendrick on the homestretch.
He ran the last 800 meters in 2:11 -- 19 seconds faster than he ran the first half mile and finished in 4:43, 15 seconds off his personal record.
"I think I can run a lot faster actually, but that 2:30 (in the first 800) really slowed it down," he said.
In the 800-meters, Munsch crossed the halfway point in 65 seconds. Then, he ran a negative split in the last half of the race and completed the half mile in 2:07, nearly three seconds ahead of the field.
"I was really pleased with his times today, but he has been working hard all season and in the offseason," Blosser said of Munsch.