Dewey, Casey lead solid Plainville track squad

Aubree Dewey’s energy and enthusiasm carries over into every sport she plays.

Dewey is perhaps most well known for her success with the Plainville basketball team, but in the fall she succeeds in cross country and now in the spring she is one of the state's top track athletes. According to those close to her, it is Dewey’s dedication that stands out the most.

Plainville track and field head coach Norma Finnesy describes Dewey as reliable with a drive to compete. 

“Aubree is a very hard worker, I think she expects the people around her to have a work ethic too,” Finnesy said. “Her biggest strengths are her commitment and work ethic. She is the type of athlete that expects a lot out of herself and pays attention to who she needs to compete with and what she needs to do to get better. She gets along with her teammates and is supportive.”

Dewey’s work ethic continues to pay off. Finnesy has noticed continuous improvement in each of her events, and the results speak for themselves. 

Dewey set a personal record on April 5 in the 200m dash at Russell with a time of 25.83 seconds - the best time in 2A so far this year. Her 400m time of 1:02.32 is the fourth best in 2A and her 100 time of 12.96 is currently eighth.

“I personally think the 400 is her best race,” Finnesy said. “Her times have improved in the 100 and 200 this year. I also think she could be a great 800 runner as well as her short sprints have improved the most.”

Dewey is continuing her momentum from last year that she built at the state meet. Dewey owns a bronze medal in the 400m, and she is looking to improve off a 10th-place finish in the 200m and a 14th-place finish in the 100m in 2A. Dewey was second at the 2A state meet in the 400 as a freshman and fifth in the 200.

Those who follow Dewey know her potential. In the fall, Dewey earned all-state in cross country by finishing 15th at the state meet. Dewey, a Kansas Pregame Winter Sports Preview covergirl, is also an all-state caliber player in basketball, where she has been the focal point of the Plainville offense since day one. Check out Dewey’s feature from our Winter Preview in our digital edition at this link.

As a freshman, Dewey averaged 16.1 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.3 steals a game. The following year, Dewey upped her totals to 22.3 points, 5.8 assists, and 5.1 rebounds a game. This season she averaged nearly 30 points per game.

Dewey’s impact in terms of wins and losses is perhaps best exemplified on the basketball court. The year before Dewey entered high school, Plainville went 3-18. Her freshman season, Dewey led the team to its first winning record since 2010-'11 with an 11-10 record.  This past season, Plainville improved to 13-10 and was a win away from the state tournament and Dewey was the main reason why. She averaged 28.3 points per game, tying former Osborne standout Brooke Ubelaker for the best scoring average in Mid-Continent League history.

According to Finnesy, sports are an essential part of Dewey’s life. 

“I don't know if Aubree is really ever outside of sports,” Finnesy said. “She plays on a traveling basketball team during the season and the summer, and she spends a great deal of time in a gym or in the weight room.”

But Dewey is far from the only standout on the Plainville track and field team. 

Junior Jersey Kaiser is a hurdles machine. She broke the school record in the 300 hurdles last year with a time of 47.61, and she is currently the top-ranked runner in the 100 hurdles in 2A. As a freshman, Kaiser placed fifth at state in the 100 hurdles and eighth in the 300 hurdles. Last year, she took fourth in the 100 hurdles and seventh in the 300 hurdles.

Sophomore Brooklyn Staab is a versatile athlete for the Plainville girls. Staab was the state runner-up in the discus throw as a freshman last year and is currently ranked third in class 2A. She is also currently ranked seventh in the high jump and 12th in the javelin.

The Plainville boys feature one of the most formidable shot put lineups in the state. Junior Jared Casey finished third at state last year and is ranked second this year. He is also ranked third in the discus. Senior Brennan Staab is right there behind Casey as the state’s third-ranked shot putter in class 2A. Rounding out the order is senior Ryan Junkermeier, who is currently ranked fifth in the shot put in 2A.

Casey is also the second ranked discus thrower in 2A with a throw of 154'3" and Staab is just outside the top 10 with a throw of 142 feet.

Casey, Staab and Junkermeier are standout football players for the Cardinals with Staab heading to MidAmerica Nazarene to play football and throw the shot for the Pioneers and Junkermeier headed to Bethel to play football for the Threshers. Casey, one of the best all-around athletes in Kansas, will headline the Plainville football and basketball teams as a senior this fall. Casey scored 21 points per game during the basketball season and is receiving recruiting interest from FBS college football programs including the University of Kansas and the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

While Dewey and Casey will garner most of the headlines surrounding Cardinals’ athletics, there are a number of other Cardinals scoring points for the track team.

Jenae Holmes is back for her senior season after an injury sidelined her for all of 2018. Holmes is eighth in the 2A shot put with a 37'5" toss and 14th in the discus with a throw of 108'6". She plans to continue competing in track after high school at Cowley County Community College.

Junior Regan Wilkerson is fifth in the 2A girls' triple jump with a season best of 34'2" and 12th in the discus with a throw of 108'9".

Junior Jordan Finnesy currently has the seventh best boys' 300m hurdle time in 2A at 42.69 seconds and the ninth best long jump at 20'6.5".

Junior Cody Crawford has posted the third best long jump in 2A with a jump of 21'3" and the sixth best time in the 100m dash at 11.17 seconds.

Throws coach T.J. Staab shared this video of Casey recording a 53'5" shot put at Thursday's meet in WaKeeney:

Throws coach T.J. Staab shared this video of Brennan Staab recording a 53'3.75" shot put at Thursday's meet in WaKeeney:

Throws coach T.J. Staab shared this video of Ryan Junkermeier recording a 49'11" shot put at Thursday's meet in WaKeeney:

Plainville throwing coach T.J. Staab provided results and rankings for this article. Gallagher Martin is a sportswriter for Kansas Pregame and the McPherson Sentinel.