Despite a 1.5 hour weather delay in the middle of the meet, SBU held the 3rd annual Bearcat Classic on Tuesday.
Here’s a look at some of the action in what has become the area’s premier regular season meet.
Riley clears 7-foot in high jump
Something about the Bearcat Classic seems to bring out the best in West Plains senior Chase Riley.
A year after battling Sarcoxie’s Lath Kisling to a tie in the event – a matchup of eventual state champions – Riley stole the show again this year as he cleared 7-foot to win the boys high jump.
“Coach says, ‘This is the state (meet) before the state (meet),’” Riley said. “We always just come up here and try to put everything together because this is the type of competition we’ll see at state. Everybody goes out and tries to PR every time. I love this venue and everything about it.”
Although he’s a defending state champ, Riley entered Tuesday’s meet with something to prove. Parkview’s Marcus Walton actually owned the best local jump (6’10”) this season.
“My coach told me, and at first, I thought he was just kidding to try to get me mad,” Riley said. “But, I saw it on (OzarksSportsZone.com) and was like, ‘OK.’ This is the first meet I actually got to see (Walton) at besides the (Hillcrest Invitational). I told my coach today, ‘I’m going to get 7 (feet).’
“I hate being second. I can’t stand losing. My coach and I have been practicing really hard lately, just doing every little thing we can to get me over 7 feet.”
Riley didn’t pass 6’8” until his third jump, but bested Walton at 6’10”. After scratching on his first two jumps at 7’0”, Riley got over on his third try, with the back of his legs lightly grazing the bar.
“After 6’10”, I was kind of contemplating just going 6’11” because I hit it once on 6’10”,” Riley said. “I didn’t know what to do but my coach was like, ‘You already got the school record, you already won, why not go for 7?’ I went for it and, luckily, put it all together, thank God.
“Whenever I was going over, I knew I hit it and I thought for sure it was off,” said Riley, who set a school and meet record. “Luckily, it stayed on and I got to go on to 7’1”.”
Riley failed on three tries at 7’1”, but now has a new goal in mind.
His performance on Tuesday is the best in the state this spring, surpassing the old mark of 6’10.25”. The national mark is 7’3”, held by University (Wash.) High School’s Noah Martin.
And Riley is coming for it.
“That’s where I’m shooting for, and obviously to repeat at state,” he said. “But I want to be the best in the nation. I strive to be the best.”
Glendale sweeps steeplechase
Simply for the novelty aspect, the 2000m steeplechase draws everyone’s attention. With hundreds gathering near the water jump, spectators await the “car-crash” element of the event.
Glendale senior Stephanie Penticuff, participating in her first live steeplechase, knew the pressure that awaited her.
“I looked over and I was like, ‘Oh my word, there are hundreds of people watching this one barrier – which is the most dangerous barrier you can go over – waiting for someone to slip and face-plant into the water,’” she said. “But it’s just you and the barrier, go for it. If you trip, you trip and you’re just going to laugh it out probably. But it is nerve-racking when a lot of people are watching you.”
Penticuff evidently wasn’t all that affected as she comfortably won the girls’ steeplechase. Her time of 7:42.07 set a new meet record and broke the old mark by more than 17 seconds.
An SBU commit, Penticuff was instantly drawn to the event after seeing it for the first time two years ago. But since steeplechase isn’t a MSHSAA championship event and is rarely held for any high school meet, Penticuff only recently started practice for Tuesday’s race.
“I practiced getting over the barriers and tried to get familiar with how my body should go over the barriers – how I should position my feet, where I should land, how I should land,” she said.
On the boys’ side, Glendale senior Dalton Edwards finished first with a time of 6:39.04. Edwards is following in the footsteps of his father, who ran the steeplechase in college.
“He said it was the most fun race he ever did,” Edwards said. “So I did it last year and it was a lot of fun.”
Coming off a 6:30.20 steeplechase performance at last weekend’s 89th Kansas Relays, Edwards said focusing on his movement helps ease any nervousness from extra on-lookers.
“I attempt to lean forward every time I land coming off a jump and focus on my form as I’m jumping,” Edwards said. “You kind of forget how everyone’s watching and stuff like that.”
Weber’s weightroom work paying off
Don’t let Tabitha Weber’s small stature fool you: the girl knows her way around a weight room.
And it’s bringing her success on the track this spring.
Weber had the best overall time in the 1600 on Tuesday, finishing in 5:09.10. It’s only the second time she’s ever ran the 1600 in less than 5:10, the other time being at state last year (5:05.60) when she placed fourth in Class 4.
“It’s a really good feeling because it shows all this work I’m doing is paying off and there’s also room to get better,” Weber said. “It’s great because it shows I’m pushing myself and that God’s allowing me to get these times.”
Weber already owned the area’s best mile time (5:17.10) this season, but shaved eight seconds off her previous best performance.
She credited Marshfield football coach/weight-lifting teacher Nate Thomas for giving her a lifting regimen that’s improved her performance on the track.
“I’ve been more diligent this year and Coach Thomas really pushes us,” Weber said. “He wants us to succeed like this.”
Squats, deadlifts, hang cleans and lower-body and core exercises highlight Weber’s normal workout routine.
“During the off-season, there’s basketball, so I did more weight and explosion,” Weber said. “Now that tracks around, we’re doing more reps and less weight. It’s really helping me a lot.”
Weber added that in addition to the 1600, she’s also hoping to make it to state in the 3200 this spring. A year ago, she placed 12th in the 800.
Nixa girls sweep 4×100, 4×200 relays
After a good start to the day, the 1.5 hour delay didn’t deter Nixa’s girls’ relay team from winning another event.
The Eagles’ 4×100 relay team (50.66) of Katalina Mitchell, Mia Vincent, Allison Brumley and anchor – and lone senior – Jesse Farrales edged Smith-Cotton (50.99) to claim first place.
Nixa ran a 50.29 – the best time in the area so far this season – at a recent meet, but Smith-Cotton (49.53) had the best seed time entering the event.
“It means everything to win that,” Farrales said. “We did super good in our 4×200 so we just wanted to keep the momentum going, especially after the delay. It was awesome.”
Nixa’s 4×200 relay team of Mitchell, Vincent, Meleah Ridenour (1:47.58) also topped Smith-Cotton – by .08 seconds – earlier in the meet.
Farrales said Nixa’s 4×100 relay team needs to improve by about 1.5 seconds to set the new school record.
“That’s going to be a lot of hand-off work,” said Farrales, who ended her day by winning the 200 dash in 26.59 seconds. “We just need to get (hand-offs) perfect because that all together can add up enough to get us (the record).”
Other results: State-best time in Girls 800; Okorie wins 3 events
Kickapoo’s Allison Bailey now owns the best 800 time in the state for 2016. Her run of 2:13.08 on Tuesday shattered the previous mark (2:16.53) by nearly 3.5 seconds.
Not far off from besting the previous state record herself was Bolivar senior Allison Porter, who finished second to Bailey at 2:16.89.
Kansas State commit and Waynesville senior Ariel Okorie was the overall winner in three events on Tuesday, taking first in the long jump (17’5”), 100 hurdles (15.19) and 300 hurdles (46.60).
Okorie owns the best long jump (19’3.5”) and 100 hurdle (14.24) performances in the state this spring.
She also participated in the javelin on Tuesday, but the event was not completed due to the weather delay.
