It was a banner weekend for the local track and field athletes as two girls’ teams came home with state championships while Festus claimed a long-waited state title on the boys’ side. It was also a record-setting weekend for Parkway Central’s Skyye Lee as she won four individual titles to pace the Colts to a third-place finish.
Let’s recap all of the track and field action in this week’s edition of the Monday Morning Wrap-Up sponsored by Triad Bank.
The Lutheran St. Charles girls won their third state title in Class 3 as the Cougars scored 51 points to hold off Eldon who scored 37 points and Centralia who scored 36 points. This is the first state title for Lutheran St. Charles since 2014.
Elle North paced the Cougars as she won the 400-meter dash with a time of 57.75 and then grabbed a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a mark of 25.54. Kennedy Williams also added points for Lutheran St. Charles as she earned a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.20 and added a fifth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles with a mark of 46.51.
In the Class 3 boys’ team chase, Herculaneum and Lutheran North earned a tie for third place with 30 points and finished behind champions Bowling Green who scored 74.5 points, and East Newton who earned the runners-up slot with 37 points.
Sam Vaughn led the way for the Blackcats, earning a second-place finish in the 3200-meter run with a time of 9:28.17 and a fifth-place finish in the 1600-meter run with a mark of 4:21.30. Nathaniel Wright also added points for Herculaneum with a fourth-place finish in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:21.25. Lutheran North earned points as their 4×200-meter relay team of Keith Bass, Jonathan Van Hook, Jordan Cater, and Michael Clark won the event with a time of 1:28.70, and then their 4×400-meter relay team of Carter, Clark, Sylvester Johnson, and Zahir Harvey claimed the title with a time of 3:23.51.
Parkway Central’s attempt for a second consecutive team title in Class 4 fell short as the Colts finished third with 48.5 points while Kearney won the team chase with 52 points with Pleasant Hill earning the second slot with 50 points. Ladue had an outstanding showing as the Rams finished on the podium with a fourth-place finish with 46 points.
Skyye Lee put on a show for the ages, winning four individual events in the meet to put herself in the MSHSAA record books as one of the only females to win four individual state championships and the first since before 2000. Lee started her meet by winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.67 and then won the 200-meter dash with a mark of 24.19. Lee then went on to win the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 13.36 and then finished her day by winning the 300-meter hurdles with a mark of 43.31.
In the Class 4 boys team battle, Festus held off Jefferson County rival Hillsboro to claim their first state track and field title in school history as the Tigers scored 76 points to finish just ahead of the Hawks who scored 63 points. Kearney earned the third-place spot with 47 points while Hazelwood East grabbed the fourth slot with 41 points.
Ian Schram paced the Festus efforts as he won the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:17.17 and then earned a second-place finish in the 3200-meter with a mark of 9:22.51. Schram joined Tate Riney, Bryson Rhine, and Tate Uding in placing second in the 4×800-meter relay with a time of 7:58.11. Arhmad Branch added points for the Tigers in the field events as he won the long jump with a leap of 7.12m and then he earned a third-place finish in the triple jump with a jump of 13.80m. Josh Allison was a key contributor for the Hawks as he joined Gavin Vaughn, Orville Mann, and Jonah Allison in winning the 4×800-meter relay in a time of 7:49.72. He then placed third in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:19.36 and then gained a fourth-place finish in the 3200-meter run with a mark of 9:30.11. Payton Brown added points to the Hillsboro team total as he finished second in the javelin throw with a toss of 54.93.
The Cardinal Ritter girls’ team claimed their third straight team championship in Class 5 as the Lions scored a meet-high 94 points while Blue Springs placed second with 63 points and Lafayette earned the third spot on the podium with 49 points.
Kyndall Spain got things going for Cardinal Ritter as she won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 42.48 and then she placed second in the 100-meter hurdles with a mark of 13.72. Aniyah Brown was also outstanding as she placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.79 while placing third in the 200-meter dash with a mark of 24.28. The Lions dominated the relay events as they won the 4×100-meter relay in a time of 47.39, the 4×200-meter with a mark of 1:39.66, and then the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:48.86. Lafayette was outstanding in the distance events as Natalie Barnard won the 3200-meter run with a time of 10:35.60 while grabbing a fourth-place finish in the 1600-meter run with a mark of 5:01.84. Grace Tyson also contributed points to the Lancers’ cause as she places second in the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:56.29 and then she added another second-place finish in the 3200-meter run with a mark of 10:47.39. Josie Baker of Kirkwood won the 1600-meter run with a time of 4:52.78 while Julia Ray from MICDS also earned a spot on the podium with a sixth-place finish in the 1600-meter run in a time of 5:02.59 and then Ray placed third in the 3200-meter run with a mark of 10:52.33.
In Class 5 boys’ action, Rock Bridge won the team chase with 73.5 points while Liberty North finished second with 58 points. St. Louis University High School was the highest finisher of the local teams as they placed 12th with 20 points.
Jacobi Oliphant paced the Jr. Bills with a pair of trips to the podium as he earned a seventh-place finish in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.76 and a second-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles with a mark of 38.32. Noah Isaia of Seckman finished his high school career by winning the Discus on the final throw of his career as he unleashed a throw of 59.23m to claim the title to add to his seventh-place finish in the shot put with a toss of 16.55.
There will be plenty of state championship previews this week as we will start with state baseball final four previews on Wednesday while we will look at the state semifinals of the state girls’ soccer championships Friday.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
