Nearly 10 percent of Axtell’s student body wins 4x800 relay

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - When only 44 students represent your student body, the odds of four of them representing the fastest two-mile relay in a classification are, well, not great.

Axtell’s boys 4x800-meter relay team scoffs at those odds, carrying by far the best time in Class 1A throughout the season and capping it with a state championship Saturday at Cessna Stadium.

The team of Isaac Detweiler, Evan Buessing, Daltyn Heinen and Grady Buessing ran 8:23.17, winning by nearly 10 seconds with a time that would stack up with many who qualified for the race in larger classes.

The feat isn’t a one-off for Axtell athletics. The Eagles are two-time defending 8-Man II football champs and reached the semifinals in boys basketball. Axtell is one of the smallest Class 1A schools, and it went on to win the state championship on Saturday.

“It’s super crazy that we have such a good turnout, boys and girls,” Detweiler said. “We have great athletes all around, so it’s just cool having that atmosphere.”

Detweiler said 33-34 of Axtell’s students participated in track and field, and 11 were represented in the state meet. The relay victory put the Eagles into third place in the team standings early Saturday afternoon.

Axtell had the best qualifying time in 1A, but beat that mark by more than seven seconds on Saturday. It was one of the last highlights in an athletic year full of them for the Eagles.

“It just helps a lot when a bunch of people come out and support us,” Heinen said. “Most of the town comes out.”