Kane is able

Special to Kansas Pregame 

One of Isaac Kane’s biggest fans continues to provide inspiration even five years after her death. 

“I’ve always lived to run and have always wanted to be the fastest kid from middle school till now,” the Jefferson County North senior standout said. “I ran for my grandma who passed in 7th grade. I used to run circles around the house and she’d time me. I was always her little track star and I want to live up to those standards.”

Her name was Carolyn Kane.

“She was an amazing mentor and I saw her almost everyday,” Kane said. “She was my best friend for awhile. She was 90 and more active than most middle age adults. She loved gardening and playing with her grandkids.”

Her spiritual presence was felt recently when Isaac signed a letter of intent to run track for Division I University of Missouri-Kansas City. 

“It’s an honor to be able to compete at this level and I hope that I can make a great impact on my team with whatever events I end up running,” Kane said. “It means a lot because I never thought I’d make it this far.”

Kane will leave his mark in the JCN lore as one of the greatest athletes in Chargers’ history. He’s a three-time powerlifting state champion and won the open 400 in last year’s Class 2A state track meet.

“Isaac pushes himself to be the best he can be not only in sports. He pushes others to work harder as well,” Charger teammate Will Elias said.

“Isaac is always working past his limits and inspiring those around him,” Evelyn Smith said.

He will run the 400 and 800 at UMKC and possibly compete in the high jump.

He may stand 5-foot-11 and weighs 150 pounds, but don’t let that fool you. He’s packed lean and mean as he squats 405 pounds, benches 265 and cleans 290 pounds.

“I like to say I’m a hybrid,” Kane said with a little chuckle in his voice. “I can run distance, mid distance, still throw down some solid sprint times and then outlift almost everyone.”

Maybe Hybrid with a capital H. 

“I just love being in the weight room and being lean and a medium build but being just as strong as the bigger guys,” Kane said. “I just enjoy lifting and winning and I put a lot of time and effort into it.”

Powerlifting has always been a joy of his, Kane said. 

“Everyone is always so impressed with my weight and how much I lift and I find joy in it,” he said. “I love the weight room and trying to be as strong as I can while also maintaining a good weight for cross country and track.

“I love competing and hate to lose so I always love to push the limits on my lifts. My favorite lift is clean because it shows my whole body strength and explosiveness. In the past three years I’ve only lost clean in a competition one or two times. None of those being in the last two years.”

There’s no secret to his success as a three-time state champion.

“I work hard and lift hard. I program what to do what day and I’m very specific about it,” he said. “I also listen to my body and I always take recovery seriously. I track what I eat and try to have a decent diet and cut junk food out almost completely.”

Success finds him early, often
King Kane began achieving greatness in middle school where he owns five school records. The JCN high jump record is also his only record in high school. 

For now.

“My goal is to have six by the end of this year,” Kane said. 

His freshman year, he made it to state in all four events and placed eighth in high jump, 4x4 and 4x8 and seventh in the 400. A year later, the Charger sensation made it to state cross country then won state in powerlifting, got third in the 400, second 2nd in high jump and seventh in the 4x4. 

He went to state in cross country his junior year, won powerlifting and then got first in the 400, fourth in high jump, sixth in the 4x4 and seventh in the 4x8. His Who’s Who accomplishments his senior year include an 18th-place medal in cross country, running a 17:06 which the year prior would’ve won it. His 3-peat in powerlifting was by the biggest margin yet. 

“I won lightweight lifter with my powers too for the second year in a row,” he added.

‘I just had a good feeling’
“Winning the 400 was surreal because I’ve been thinking since freshmen year I’d be able to win and wanted to win,” Kane said. “I didn’t run good in prelims and felt tight, but after 4x4 prelims I knew it was a fluke.

“Then the next day I did the 4x8 and ran a two-second pr and then immediately went into high jump and placed fourth. I just had a good feeling about running that 400 and felt like if I gave it my all I could win. Then I did just that.”

Kane was running fast and wasn’t feeling tired but knew he had to keep the pace up as he entered the homestretch. 

“I was in lane 7 and with 150 meters left I saw a kid out of the corner of my eye. I knew it was one of the top-ranked kids,” he said. “I knew if I kicked with 150m left and gave it my all I could get him and that’s what I did. Going down the homestretch I see one kid out of the corner of my eye and tell myself to stay tall, relax and keep my knees up and legs moving. I told myself get to that damn line you can win this thing. I closed in on the line and gave it a good lead and I was almost confident I had won.”

‘Almost confident’ became ‘for real’ confident after his 50.2-second run around the Wichita State’s Cessna Stadium oval.

Now he wants to end his JCN career with multiple state championships next month at State Outdoor.

“It would mean a lot to me especially because since middle school I’ve always been confident I could win at least once,” Kane said. “I think winning again will show that it wasn’t just a fluke and I’m the real deal and not someone to mess with. I want to show my coaches, friends and family that I can do it and I’m going to run way faster than last year.”

Season-opening success 
Kane got his senior track season started with a three-gold performance on Friday at McLouth.

He broke his own school high jump record with a 6-6 clearance. He also finished first in the 400 (51.8) and 4x4 relay consisting of William Elias, Ethan Noll and Calvin Manville.

“High jump I really wanted 6-4.5 because that would break the school record I tied last year at 6-4.25 but I decided to not only break it but then jump 6-6 which has been a goal of mine for a long time,” Kane said.

“I knew I was over it so when I landed and stood up, I let out a roar of excitement to the crowd because they clapped to hype me up,” he continued.

“I wasn’t happy with the 400m. I know with competition I can go a lot faster,” Kane, whose Chargers next compete Tuesday at Royal Valley, added. “Still a solid opener though.”

‘Grit and trusting the process’
“Track has taught me a lot about grit and trusting the process,” Kane said. “Doing things that no one else will do or even puts an effort into. The countless hours and days of going and doing work by myself when no one else is around drives me. I know I’m the only one doing it and it pushes me to do more.”

That John Wayne-type grit and determination are what fuels his frame as he becomes the best version of himself each day. 

“I hold myself highly and like to push the limits of what I can do,” said Kane, whose other college choice was Washburn. “I eat about 3k calories give or take a day and have around 150g of protein. I make sure to eat good food that will fuel me and what I do in my day. I also get 6-8 hours of sleep and drink at least a gallon of water a day.”

The future UMKC Kangaroo wants his name on that record board as many times as he can. 

“We’ve had a lot of great athletes come through JCN and I just want to be remembered as one of them,” he said. “I have a lot of wins under my belt along with weights records and much more that I hope will be remembered on the record boards.”

What’s his message to future Isaac 2.0 dawgs?

“Hard work beats talent and it’s up to you to how good you can become. Push the limits and trust the process,” he noted.

He was asked what his grandma would have told him on signing day.

“Probably to keep working how I am and don’t give up on myself,” Kane said.

His response to her would have been?

“I would have probably said yes ma’am or you got it and given her a hug and then just go do it,” he countered.

Grandma’s little track star is now among the greats in JCN history.