Santa Fe competes at State Track

On Thursday, May 21, Santa Fe High School held a State Track Send off for those athletes who qualified to compete at the State Meet held in Jefferson City on May 22 & 23. Here, athletes wave to onlookers as they are escorted out of town by the Alma Fire Department. From left: Sue Vandiver, Mae Vandiver, Brooke Summers, Elise Michael, Mia Lark, Brooke Dierking, Wyatt Doak, Koewen Dierker. (Santa Fe Times photo by Klarissa Olvera)
By Dan Rumsey

Santa Fe traveled over to the state capital on May 22 and 23 for the MSHSAA Class 1 State Track and Field Championships, held in Jefferson City at Adkins Field.

On the boys side, nationally ranked Wyatt Doak finished his superb sophomore campaign as a Silver Medalist in the high jump. Doak cleared 6’ 3.5” en route to this accomplishment. Fellow sophomore Koewen Dierker threw well and brought home a 5th place finish in Shot Put with a heave of 14.63m, and sixth-place finish in the discus competition for the Chiefs with a toss of 43.53m.

For the ladies team, Santa Fe’s Sue Vandiver finished in ninth place in the 800m with 2:29.67, a personal record and shy of the podium by about 1.5 seconds. Senior Brooke Dierking was 11th in the shot put throw at 9.75m, Mae Vandiver was 13th in the long jump at 4.83m, senior Mia Lark was 14th in the 300-meter hurdles, not qualifying for Saturday’s finals. On Friday of the state meet, the Lady Chiefs’ 4×200-meter relay team of Brooke Summers, Mia Lark, Mae Vandiver, and Sue Vandiver, was ninth in the prelims, unfortunately not moving on to the finals. That team also ran as the 4×400-meter relay team, finishing 10th, not qualifying for Saturday’s finals either.

Overall a great season of Track and Field for Santa Fe, and the seniors will be missed.

Brooke Summers competed at state in the 4x200m and 4x400m relays. (Photo by Gentry Lark)
The girls 4×200 and 4×400 relay teams, both featuring (from left) Brooke Summers, Mia Lark, Mae Vandiver and Sue Vandiver, qualified to compete at the State meet in Jefferson City. Here, the team stands with Coach Kim Begemann (right). (Photo by Gentry Lark)
Koewen Dierker competed at State in the discus and shot put. He placed 6th in the discus with a best throw of 43.54m and 5th in the shot put with a best throw of 14.62m. (Photo by Gentry Lark)
Wyatt Doak competed in the High Jump at the 2026 MSHSAA Track & Field Championship on Saturday, May 23. He ended up bringing home a silver medal in this event. (Photo by Pat Larkin)
Sue Vandiver also competed in three events at State, including the 800m run, 4x200m relay and the 4x400m relay. (Photo by Pat Larkin)
Brooke Dierking placed 11th in the State shot put event with a best throw of 9.75m. (Photo by Pat Larkin)
Mia Lark competed in three events at the State meet, including the 300m hurdles, the 4x200m relay and the 4x400m relay. (Photo by Pat Larkin)

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