Munsch breaks 31-year Hays High record in the 1600-meters

By CONOR NICHOLL

After Hays High School's Josh Munsch ran a career-best 4:29 in the 1,600-meter run at the Kearney Invitational earlier this spring, Indian distance coach Jerold Harris asked the sophomore a question:

Could he shave off a few more seconds and break the school record?

Five seconds lower would better the Indian mark of 4:24.40 set in 1977 by Brad Siebel.

This past weekend, Munsch received the perfect opportunity to eclipse the 31-year-old record at the KU Relays, one of the biggest regular season track meets.

The Relays featured elite high school runners from several states, including Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas and was run under perfect conditions.

"I really enjoyed it, because there was a lot of competition which made me want to push myself even harder," Munsch said.

Helped by his signature finishing kick, Munsch shaved more than seven seconds off his personal best and broke the school mark with a time of 4:21.99. He moved into the upper echelon of the all-time greatest Indian runners.

"Josh Munsch as a sophomore is exciting," Harris said. "He has got to be one of the tops that I have ever coached. ... Josh is a good-humored, quick witted, Christian kid that you just love to be around."

Munsch broke the fifth-oldest HHS' boys track and field record out of 24 events listed at hayshighindians.com. He joined senior Kristen Fleharty (110 hurdles) as the two Indians to set school records this spring. Overall, Munsch finished third overall out of 35 runners at KU.

"That was something that I was hoping to shoot for," he said of the record.

Munsch's time was also the second-best in the state by any boy in the 1,600 -- regardless of classification.

The only Kansas runner that has beaten him in the 1,600 this season is senior Scott Gillespie from Class 6A Shawnee Mission South, who ran a 4:19.92 to finish just ahead of Munsch at the KU Relays.

Munsch finished fifth on Hays High's 3200-meter relay his freshman year at state.

He is now considered one of the favorites to win a state title in the 1,600.

"I am happy that I have the fastest time but it kind of makes me nervous because I know that the other 5A guys are going to be after me," he said. "It is going to be interesting."

After he ran a 4:43 in a season-opening victory at the Alex Francis Classic/Fort Hays Invitational, Munsch had gradually dropped his time throughout the season.

He fashioned a new personal best of 4:29 at the Kearney meet and Harris and Munsch believed the school record was a possible goal. At KU, Munsch was placed in the second, "faster" heat.

The strategy was simple: stay with Emporia High School's Jacob Davies, a 5A runner who Munsch will likely see at the state meet, and try to break the school record. (Davies eventually finished at 4:32).

At 800 meters, Munsch was in sixth place with a time of 2:14. Because of the large amount of runners, Munsch had to run the first 1,000 meters in Lane 2 so he didn't get boxed out.

"He was behind race pace," Harris said.

Munsch also ran the first 800 meters about seven seconds faster than he normally does. The better competition forced a quicker pace.

"The pace was pretty fast," he said.

But Munsch had plenty left and delivered a terrific last half. He moved inside with 600 meters to go and finished the third lap in 66 seconds.

At that point, with 400 meters left, Harris believed Munsch could break Hays High's mark.

"We had 4:24 stuck in our heads as the school record," Harris said. "As soon he needed the 65-second (final lap) quarter, I really thought he had it."

Munsch's strength is his finishing kick, a burst that separates him from nearly every distance runner in the state.

"His finishing speed in a race is just so awesome," Harris said.

Munsch ran another negative split in the last lap, completing the 400 meters in 61 seconds. He ran the second half of the race in just under 2:06, eight seconds faster than his 800 meters.

Munsch started his final kick with 300 meters to go and steadily moved up three spots.

"I know I was kind of sitting about sixth on the last lap and then on the last 300, I started to pick it up a little bit and then I started catching some people around the 200 and then I started sprinting," he said.

Munsch crossed the finish line and looked at his time on the Jumbotron. At first, he didn't realize he broke the school mark.

Hays High senior Brogan Miller, whom Harris calls an "awesome mentor" for Munsch, was warming up for the 1600-meter relay when Munsch finished.

Munsch completed the race, grabbed some water and walked over to Miller.

"He was smiling and I asked if I got it and he told me that I ran a 4:21," Munsch said.

"He shook my hand and hugged me."

Munsch later enjoyed congratulations from Harris that completed the record-setting afternoon.

"I had to give him a big hug and tell him what an awesome job and how exciting of a race that was to watch," Harris said.