Written by Paige Feikert

Tayton Klein and Ashton Barkdull have competed against one another for almost their entire lives. The two grew up on opposite sides of Andover — Klein a Trojan, and Barkdull a Jaguar — from youth sports through middle and high schools, the multi-sport athletes battled on the track and the football field for years. That is until now, where Klein and Barkdull lead the KU track and field team together: co-captains and standout athletes both wearing the blue and crimson. 

“Whether it was football or track, we always managed to come across each other and I felt like, growing up, we always were kind of going back and forth — I would get him in this and he would get me in that,” Klein said. 

“You never knew which one of us was going to win,” Barkdull added. “There was never an easy or dull moment when we were competing against each other, it was always competitive and we were rivals on top of it.”

Clashing on the Field

The friendly rivalry was formed early on. Klein remembers competing against Barkdull in flag football at a young age. That eventually transformed into tackle football, a sport where Klein and Barkdull often clashed — literally. 

“I do remember in football there would always be this guy who would hit me out of nowhere, and I’d be like ‘Wow, that hurt,’ and it was always Tayton,” Barkdull said. “I can’t tell you how many touchdowns that guy saved.”

“I may have stopped a few touchdowns, but I definitely didn’t stop all of them, he definitely got a few on me as well,” Klein added. 

While the two went to school and practiced their respective sports only about three miles away from each other during high school, it wasn’t until joining the same track and field team at the University of Kansas that they really got to know each other. 

“It’s super cool to have someone like this to compete against and now get to cheer each other on,” Klein said.

Honors and Titles at KU

Both Klein and Barkdull are having incredible success this year at KU. In his senior season, Klein became the first Big 12 Indoor Champion for the Jayhawks in the men’s heptathlon, scoring a school record 5,923 points. His performance in the Big 12 Indoor Championship meet was the ninth best in the country and the 25th best in the world. He went on to finish 12th in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championship — his first trip to the national indoor meet in his college career — and earned second team All-American honors. 

“I’m definitely very happy and proud of the success that I’ve had on a conference and national level, whether it’s in the multi-events or open long jump or relay. I’m just happy that I’m able to help the team out any way that I can,” Klein said ahead of the national indoor championship. “I know I have a lot more to tap into and my sights are always going to be set forward regardless of what I accomplish.” 

“I’ve had a great time working with Ashton as a captain. I think both of us have taken leadership upon ourselves.” — Tayton Klein

Barkdull — a redshirt junior — completed the fifth highest pole vault clearance in the country at 5.71 meters at the Thane Baker Invitational in January. He became the runner-up at the Big 12 Indoor Championship behind teammate Anthony Meacham. At the NCAA Indoor Championship, Barkdull cleared a personal best 5.80 meters to claim the title — the second best performance in KU history and just the third Jayhawk to win an indoor pole vaulting national championship title. The title comes after finishing as the national runner-up in the NCAA Outdoor Championship last year. He called this year’s NCAA Indoor Championship “revenge season.”

“After last year I said, ‘It’s not happening again.’ Ever since that moment I’ve been saying, ‘It’s not happening again. I’m winning. I don’t care what people say, I don’t care how I’m jumping, I’m showing up here and I’m doing what I have to do to win,’ ” Barkdull said at a press conference after winning the national title. “I heard a saying not too long ago and it’s ‘DFQ’ — don’t freaking quit — and that’s kind of been my mindset. No matter what is thrown at you, don’t freaking quit. That’s all you got to do is keep your head forward, focus on what you have to do. And in practice I’ve been grinding, I’ve been working hard on the little things and it all lined up.”

Klein and Barkdull will continue to lead the team into the outdoor season, which started March 21. 

“I’ve had a great time working with Ashton as a captain,” Klein said. “I think both of us have taken leadership upon ourselves — whether it’s team meetings or on the track. We’ve become vocal leaders. We lead by example.”

Climbing Future Mountains

Both Klein and Barkdull hope to continue to pursue track after graduating from college, with ambitions to compete in the Olympics someday. Regardless of where the two end up in the sport that brought them full circle from rivals to teammates, Klein and Barkdull have formed a friendship that isn’t defined by titles and records, but by all of the moments in between. 

“That’s ultimately the goal of all of this is to create those lifelong connections,” Klein said. “I can see us five or ten years down the road sitting on a mountain somewhere in Colorado, that wouldn’t surprise me one bit.”

“I could see this friendship lasting way after college — we have similar interests in the outdoors and the world itself, how we ask questions,” Barkdull added. “It’s a great connection. We’ve already had some small adventures, and don’t really know what’s next.”