BHS TRACK: 8 qualify for state, devastating injury ends golden quest for top athlete
Bartlesville High School’s track team qualified eight athletes for the Class 6A state championship. Regionals were held Saturday in Owasso.
Courtesy photo
By Mike Tupa
May 12, 2025
BARTLESVILLE AREA SPORTS REPORT
Fate’s timing can be especially cruel sometimes.
One has no option but to take the blow, get up and rebuild a new promising future.
Thus it is for Bartlesville High School track legend Kadence Barnett — who head coach David Ayres described as a “generational talent.”
Barnett headed into Saturday’s Class 6A regional at Owasso guaranteed to qualify for four events at state — and once at state to challenge for multiple gold medals.
Disaster struck in an instant. During her warm-ups for the girls long jumps — an event she was likely to win — Barnett slipped on the board on the take-off and suffered a season-ending injury.
In addition to the long jump, Barnett entered the meet as a potential champion in high jump and the 100m dash and as a key member of the girls 4x100m relay team.
“This stinks for Kadence as a senior,” said Ayres.
It ruined her meet but didn’t dent her character. After she received medical attention she returned to root on her teammates, Ayres noted.
She had plenty of success by her ‘mates to cheer for.
Several qualified for next weekend’s Class 6A state meet at Western Heights High School.
Leading the way was senior distance dynamo Russell Miller who charged into state as the boys 800m run regional champion (1:57.93).
A handful of teammates finished second in their regional events — Michael Murphy III in the boys shot put (156-6), Kara Stose in the girls high jump (4-6) and Wesley Turner in the boys pole vault (15-0).
Other automatic state qualifiers included Evelynn Pratt (girls 200m dash, 3rd) and Logan Young (boys pole vault, 3rd).
Those Bartlesville athletes who qualified for the extra spots included: Hailey Taylor (girls 100m hurdles, 4th; and pole vault, 6th) and Cooper Middlebusher (discus, 5th).
That adds up to eight Bartlesville qualifiers in all. It might have been a few more but the girls’ 4x100m relay team just missed out due to the absence of Barnett.
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Bartlesville High School senior Kandance Barnett injured herself during Class 6A regional warm-ups, ending her high school track career. Below are the individual results of the Class 6A regionals held in Owasso.
Courtesy photo
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Following are the Bartlesville individual results at the regional:
BOYS 100m DASH
14th —Ivan Griffith (:11.67)
17th — Fenix Bolding (:11.87)
18th — Riley Hanson (:11.89)
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BOYS 200m DASH
14th — Riley Hanson (:24.11)
15th — Evan Goad (:24.11)
16th — Seth Rau (:24.28)
———
GIRLS 200m DASH
3rd — Evelynn Pratt (:26.25)
———
GIRLS 400m DASH
7th — Evelynn Pratt (1:03.07)
———
BOYS 800m RUN
1st — Russell Miller (1:57.93)
10th — Preston Shoesmith (2:07.79)
19th — Grayson Tesavis (2:24.05)
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GIRLS 800 m RUN
11th — Eliza Miller (2:44.58)
17th — Afton Miller (2:55.86)
———
BOYS 1600m RUN
4th — Russell Miller (4:39.7)
10th — Preston Shoesmith (4:51.58)
16th — Luke Bulleigh (5:10.0)
———
GIRLS 1600m RUN
17th — Eliza Miller (6:42.38)
18th — Afton Miller (6:46.98)
———
BOYS 3200m RUN
12th — Talmage King (11:12.26)
14th — Luke Bulleigh (11:34.25)
16th — Ben Lauritsen (11:54.44)
———
BOYS 110m HURDLES
6th — Michael Taylor (:15.79)
12th — Nick Davis (:18.41)
13th — Pierson Proctor (:18.45)
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GIRLS 100m HURDLES
4th — Hailey Taylor (:17.1)
7th — Alayna Nightingale (:17.81)
9th — Raylee Reeder (:18.0)
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BOYS 300m HURDLES
6th — Michael Taylor (:41.89)
15th — Nick Davis (:47.76)
16th — Solomon Mayberry (:49.04)
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GIRLS 300m HURDLES
7th — Alayna Nightingale (:52.52)
9th — Hailey Taylor (:53.31)
———
BOYS 4x100m RELAY
7th — :44.66
———
GIRLS 4x100m RELAY
4th — :50.75
———
GIRLS 4x200m RELAY
6th — 1:49.9
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GIRLS HIGH JUMP
2nd — Kara Stose (4-6)
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BOYS POLE VAULT
2nd — Wesley Turner (15-0)
3rd — Logan Young (14-6)
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GIRLS POLE VAULT
6th — Hailey Taylor (9-6)
7th — Emerson Casey (9-0)
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BOYS DISCUS
2nd — Michael Murphy III (156-6)
5th — Cooper Middlebusher (144-6)
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GIRLS DISCUS
12th — Braylyn Andrews (75-1)
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BOYS SHOT PUT
9th — Cooper Middlebusher (41-9.5)