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While twin sprinting sensations Jonathan and Jeremy Walker still were blazing the track last year at Bonner Springs High School, BSHS coach Jim Mitchell knew there was plenty more talent on his team’s roster waiting to emerge.

With the Walker twins now off playing football at Fort Scott Community College, a new sprinting sensation has emerged in Bonner Springs: Cameron Callahan.

It was no surprise that Callahan was the heir to the sprinting throne. He joined the Walkers and Garron Wayne on the 400-meter relay team that qualified last year for state. Callahan was a sophomore surrounded by three seniors.

“It helped a lot,” Callahan said of the experience and confidence he gained from running with the upperclassmen. “And going to state was new for me because my freshman year I didn’t get a chance to run. Running with the twins really pushed me.”

While Callahan enjoyed a season full of first-place finishes at major track meets and the hype that came with stepping onto a relay team that set the Class 5A state record a year earlier, his season didn’t end on a happy note.

For all the experience Callahan gained, he never got to compete at the state meet. Sure, he got to make the trip to Wichita and soak up the spotlight of competing in a stadium filled with about 15,000 fans. He got to go through warm-ups and step onto the track. He even got to hear the starting gun when his event began.

The baton never reached him in the 400-meter relay preliminaries, however. A missed handoff at the first exchange zone earned the Braves a disqualification and cut Callahan’s season short.

Nearly a full year later the memory still haunts him.

“That has always been eating at me,” Callahan recalled a few weeks ago at the Bobcat Relays. “I will never forget that. It was crazy. I couldn’t believe it.”

BSHS track coach Jim Mitchell said the relay mishap remains a sore subject with Callahan.

“I made the mistake of mentioning it one time, and you just saw his face. You could tell that it hurts him,” Mitchell said.

Rather than feeling sorry for himself, Callahan has used the disappointment as motivation to work harder. He put in work during the offseason to become stronger and faster. He came into this season expecting to be faster, while also understanding that he could no longer follow the lead of other sprinters.

As the team’s fastest and most experienced sprinter, Callahan needed to set an example.

“He’s real motivated because he knows he’s the big guy,” Mitchell said. “He’s the guy that is taking the place of our top sprinters. He’s our top sprinter now, he’s the guy that’s going to have to show how it’s done. He’s taking over the leadership role, and that’s good.”

Mitchell also is pleased with Callahan’s performance so far.

Callahan won the 100-meter dash in 11.32 seconds at the first meet of the season at the Baldwin Invitational. He followed it up with a scorching 10.39 on his way to a first-place finish at the Bobcat Relays. That time ranks among the fastest in the state this year in any class and is one of the best times in BSHS history.

For Callahan, it’s simply another step toward achieving his goal of getting back to state — and getting his chance to compete at the highest level.

“I knew I was going to get a fast time later on in the season, but not this soon,” Callahan said. “It was kind of a shock to me. I’m just going to keep on progressing and see where it takes me.”

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