It’s not easy being Chase Riley these days; it seems like everyone is chasing the West Plains senior.
Opponents want to beat him and colleges want to recruit him. It’s fun, but it’s not always easy being the reigning Class 4 state champion in the high jump.
“It’s a little but different this time around, but there is still that pressure to repeat,” said Riley. “Everybody on my team talks about me repeating and I know there’s more pressure on me to do it, but this is the most confident that I’ve ever been because I know that I can do it.”
Riley handled the expectations and the field on Friday night, jumping 6’8” to win the Hillcrest Invitational.
Included in the field were Class 5 state qualifiers from last year Darius Clark (Blue Springs) and Marcus Walton (Parkview) and Reeds Spring’s Gabe Corn, an all-stater in Class 3. His teammates Jay Talton and Garrell McGinley also finished in the top 10.
“I love this meet, this is my favorite meet besides state because of the level of competition and you have schools from all over the state coming to compete; this is the best of the best,” said Riley. “I love coming here and seeing what I can do.”
With nearly 60 jumpers in the field it was a long day for everyone, but especially Riley, who completed his first jump at 6 p.m. and didn’t have the chance to jump again until almost 7 p.m.
The most accomplished jumper in the history of West Plains, Riley jumped 6’9.5” at an indoor meet in late January, one of the highest marks in the nation this year.
As he continues to push towards back-to-back state championships and sifting through D-1 interest, Riley still has bigger goals he would like to reach.
“I’m pleased with where I’m at right now, but at the end of the day my biggest goal is to continue to improve,” said Riley. “I want to hit 7-feet because it’s the magical number. Every day we are just working on whatever it takes, be it box jumps or my speed and just anything to keep getting better.”
Allison, Kempf battle it out in the discus
Seniors Gunnar Allison (Rogersville) and Chaz Kempf (Osage) are both chasing state championships in the discus this spring and on Friday the Class 4 state runner-up and Class 3 state runner-up went head-to-head.
Allison’s first throw, 166’3” was the best mark of the day before Kempf topped him with a PR and school-record 166’7” toss just 10 minutes later.
When Allison stepped into the ring for his final throw, sitting in second place, the old adage “pressure bursts pipes or creates diamonds” came into play.
“It was a pretty big throw; he has impeccable form and it’s really something to watch and try to model,” said Allison. “Him throwing that really put me on the line there and pushed me. It forced me to try to rise up.”
So, Allison did just that…
The Harvard signee also set a new PR and school record with a 183’11” monster to win the Hillcrest Invitational.
“That was really big for me,” said Allison. “The last time I set a PR was the third meet of the season, which is this time last year. It makes a big difference psychologically as we get ready for other meets and bigger competition. It takes a weight off of my shoulders.”
After winning state as a sophomore in the discus and finishing as the runner-up in shot put before last year’s state performance, Allison is eager to continue to challenge himself in both events and with his throw on Friday, as well as a 55’10” shot last week, the Rogersville senior is picking up steam heading into one of the biggest meets of the season.
“There are some great throwers in Class 4 and I’m definitely not the best thrower in Missouri right now,” said Allison. “KU Relays are coming up and I’ll get a glimpse at some of the competition from the Kansas City area and maybe St. Louis. This is just a good foot to start on moving forward.”
Kempf is nearly in an identical situation and hopes that Friday is something that can be a springboard for him moving forward.
“This is the biggest meet I come to all year with the exception of state, so to come here and see this kind of competition is huge,” said Kempf. “It makes it a lot of fun. You always throw further when you’re competing with people that are better than you. I’m hoping I can continue to build on this and compete for a state championship.”
Franklin regains form in loaded field
Hollister’s Cody Franklin has had a peculiar start to the 2016 season.
The defending Class 3 pole vault state champion will have quite the path in his journey to repeat considering right now his school doesn’t have a pit.
As the district continues to install a turf football field, the pits on the complex were dug up as part of the construction process leaving Franklin with minimal ability to practice. And, as the Vault House is in the middle of construction on a new facility, Franklin built a level of rust and it showed early this season.
But, Franklin was able to shake off the adversity and jump a 15’3”, going jump for jump with Class 5 all-staters KC Lightfoot (Lee’s Summit) and Joseph Nickell (Nixa) and Class 4 state runner-up Henry Eldringhoff.
“I wasn’t able to start the way I wanted to because of the construction, so I was in a rut for a while,” said Franklin. “The first meet I no-heighted and made some rookie mistakes. C of O has let me start jumping there a few days a week and hard work has kind of gotten me back to where I need to be. It feels great now to be jumping well again.”
The increased level of competition is the main reason Franklin and Hollister made the trip to Springfield for this year’s meet.
Franklin considers the Hillcrest Invitational the best regular season meet he’s been to and the experience overall was exactly what he was looking for.
“Last year I was pretty bummed about not being able to come here because I knew some of the best vaulters in the state would be here and I wanted to compete and she how I stack up,” said Franklin. “After the season I begged coach to get us in and being able to come here is pretty close to the feeling of being at state.”
Franklin will again be the favorite in Class 3, especially with state runner-up Kyle Borland (Hallsville) graduating, leaving Franklin more than a full foot better than any returning Class 3 jumper.
Quinn owns 800M and 1600M
You won’t see many guys running around in a track meet with no socks on, but you also won’t see many guys like Daylan Quinn running around period.
The all-state cross country and track athlete started his ritual as a sophomore, the year he finished sixth at state cross country, won state championships in the 1600M and 3200M, while also finishing as the state runner-up in the 800M.
Clearly the proof is in the pudding; running without socks works for Quinn.
“It’s really just a comfort thing,” said Quinn. “These shoes are basically like socks and I just like the way it feels. You can feel the air going between your toes as you run. Unless the shoe rubs too much, then you start to bleed, but that’s just part of it.”
Quinn, the defending Class 3 state champ in the 800M and 1600M defended his titles in each, holding off a field that included Glendale’s Luke Miller and Springfield Catholic standout Stephen Kielhofner.
On Friday he used his power in the 800M to not only win that event, but outkick everyone in the 1600M.
“In a perfect world you’d go 64-64-65 and then somewhere under 60 for the final lap,” said Quinn. “That was a pretty good race for me, the splits weren’t exactly what I wanted but I was able to pull it out. An 800 or under is basically just an all-out sprint in my mind so that’s how I approach it.”
He’s the most decorated senior distance runner in the Ozarks and could complete the distance sweep in this year’s state meet.
Last year he qualified for the Festival of Miles and returning to the KU Relays will give him another chance to make his presence known at the national level in both events.
While is college future is undecided, not from a lack of interest, Quinn continues to look towards certain times, not finishes, as the most important aspect of his senior season.
“There are times I want to hit in order to get certain things in college and that’s really my big focus now,” said Quinn. “But would be nice to go back and win state again.”
