Southwest High School Senior Robert Humphries medaled in both the mile and 2-mile on Friday and Saturday at the Class 2 State Track and Field Championships in Jefferson City.

Humphries ran the 2-mile in 10:08.87, bettering his time by more than 6 seconds and finishing seventh in the field of 16. The top eight finishers in each event achieve All-State Status.

A day later, Humphries ran another personal record in the mile in a time of 4:33.09 to finish seventh. Both races were run in sunny conditions with temperatures in the low 80s.

‘Distance runners have a grit and determination that’s difficult to explain,’ said Steve Voyak, Southwest coach. ‘Robert was disappointed when he didn’t make it last year, so he rededicated himself, and just to be sure, he made All-State twice in incredibly competitive events.’

Humphries became the third Trojan male athlete in the history of the school to earn two individual medals at state. He also earned his third state track medal, as he was part of the record-setting 4×800 relay team that finished fourth in 2022. In addition, he finished his career with two school records, in the 4×800 and the steeplechase, which he won this season at Southwest Baptist University, breaking the meet record as well.

‘Between track and cross country, he’s had an amazing career,’ Voyak said. ‘He’s ready for the next level, but the challenges will be even more formidable, both on the track and in the classroom. He will need another gear for both.’

Humphries plans to continue his running career at Kansas Wesleyan in Salina.

Southwest’s second state entry, freshman Bryar Llewellyn, also had an impressive showing in the 800. After being seeded 16 of 16 runners, Llewellyn ran a blistering personal record of 2:03.81 and defeated five seniors to finish 11th in the field. The top eight finishers all were under 2:01.