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Osawatomie senior leaves state meet with four medals, leads Trojans to third-place

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Written by David Wolman

Friday, 02 July 2010 08:00

Brendan Soucie wasn’t about to leave Wichita with a second-place medal for the third straight season. The Osawatomie senior wouldn’t let that happen. He was determined to finish his high school career on top.

Each of the previous two seasons, he was one leg of Osawatomie’s boys’ 4x800-meter relay. Both times, the Trojans entered the state meet with the state’s fastest time. When they stepped off the track at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium, they broke their own school record, but it was bittersweet, as they had to settle for second place. alt

The agony of having to go through that disappointment was something Osawatomie, including Soucie, the Tri-County Spotlight Male Track and Field Athlete, didn’t have to go through this spring.

Soucie earned his first of four state medals on the first day of the two-day competition when he cleared the bar at 6 feet-even to tie for sixth place in the high jump.
Just a few hours later, however, the boys’ 4x400-meter relay of Soucie, Brandon Oakes, Jameson Greenwood and Dustin Kueser were all in complete control of the race, but a botched hand-off nearly cost the Trojans on the final exchange. Fortunately, they were well ahead of the competition and went on to win the heat and carry the second-fastest time into the final the following day.

The second day of the competition proved to be much better for Osawatomie.

For starters, Soucie ran to a second-place finish in the 1,600 meters. He held the lead going into the final straightaway, but that’s where Abilene’s James Wilson passed him and nipped Soucie at the finish line. Still, Soucie was happy to place second in an event he didn’t have too much prior experience in.

In the back of Soucie’s mind, he knew that his best event — 800 meters — was still to come. It would be a dominant performance by him in the event as he crossed the finish line in 1 minute, 54.48 seconds to earn his first state title.

“I was hoping for the record in that, but it’s OK I didn’t get the record, because I got first place,” he said. “It just took a lot of weight off my shoulders, because I finally accomplished my main goal. I told coach (Amber) Campbell and coach (Rodney) Madden that I always wanted to be a state champion. It’s an amazing feeling because all of the hard work I did finally paid off.”

Soucie wasn’t quite done. In the meet’s final event, the boys’ 4x400 relay, Osawatomie struck gold, crossing the finish line in a state meet record time of 3:21.44. No botched hand-offs this time, just a big celebration in the infield of Cessna Stadium.

“I would’ve taken second place in the 800 if it would’ve meant getting a first-place medal in the 4x400, because I really wanted Jameson (Greenwood) and Dustin (Kueser) to win,” Soucie said. “Those two have worked their butts off the past four years, as well as Brandon (Oakes), which will hopefully give him motivation for next year. It was just great because I got to share it with a team, four guys who really clicked this year.”

Osawatomie’s victory in the 4x400 helped to lift the Trojans to a third-place finish in the team standings and a plaque to show for their efforts.

“It’s one of those storybook endings,” Soucie said. “Nothing went right that Friday for us. Then Saturday, everything played out perfect for us. I’m still at a loss for words thinking back about it.”

Luke Wilson earns consideration: Paola senior Luke Wilson earned consideration for Tri-County Spotlight Male Athlete of the Year for winning Class 4A state titles in the discus and shot put. He had the state’s top distance in the shot put with a toss of 60 feet, 6 inches, helping lead the Panthers to their second straight boys’ team state title.

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