By Matt Turer — mturer@ky3.com
@MattTurer
Springfield, Mo. — In a meet dominated by budding rivalries, one slightly off center stage grew above the rest.
Kickapoo sophomore Kennedy Aurentz and Joplin senior Shelby Beaver got acquainted last season as the two established themselves as area-powers in the shot-put leading up to state, where Aurentz finished third and Beaver sixth.
“Last year she beat me at almost every meet up until districts, so I got a real hatred,” Aurentz said. “And then I beat her at districts, sectionals and state. When it counts.”
Aurentz brought that postseason fire to Thursday’s Girls Night Out meet at Parkview’s JFK Stadium. Beaver set the mark by throwing a 43-02.00, a number that would’ve been good enough for second at state last year.
“Then she turned around and was looking at me,” Aurentz said. “I got really pissed and decided that I should throw and show her that she didn’t have the win.”
Aurentz responded by putting a 44-08.00, just short of the 44-10.75 Class 5 record set at last year’s state meet by Lee Summit West’s MaKayla Kelby.
Both Aurentz and Beaver have established themselves as threats to Kelby’s state crown, which will be up for defense as Kelby is still just a junior.
Will that title stand? Not if you ask Aurentz, who also took top honors in the discus Thursday.
“I’m going to win state,” she said. “So, I’m gonna keep working. And I have my giraffe [stuffed animal] that helps me. He’s my good luck charm. He’s been at every meet I’ve done good at. His name is Greg.”
CLICK HERE FOR GIRLS NIGHT OUT FIELD EVENTS PHOTO GALLERY
Wiley And Camdenton Duo Battle In Hurdles
Kickapoo freshman Jaden Wiley has wasted no time establishing herself as one of the area’s top hurdlers alongside Camdenton’s Kylie Meier and Natalie Basham and Carl Junction’s Alexia Miller.
Miller enter Thursday the favorite by seed time in the 100-meter hurdles and ultimately finished second to Basham (15.88) by .02. Meier found herself in third, but the event took a bit of a turn when Wiley caught the second-to-last hurdle and tumbled to the track, finishing with a DQ.
CLICK HERE FOR GIRLS NIGHT OUT TRACK EVENTS PHOTO GALLERY
The real battle Thursday came in the 300-meter hurdles, where Meier returns as the Class 4 state champion. But despite that title, it was Wiley who claimed Thursday’s top seed in the event.
Wiley showed the hype is real, finishing first in the 300 with a meet record time of 44.72.
“That’s what I wanted,” Wiley said. “I was focusing more in on just making sure I get over each hurdle before moving on to the next one.”
Meier snagged second in 45.25, which beat her own seed time by over two full seconds.
“Coming in as a freshman, I didn’t really know where I stood,” Wiley said. “But coming into these bigger meets, it’s fun to see.”
Camdenton’s Sprinters Are Too Fast Right Now
Want dominance? Take a peek at Camdenton’s sprint times. Putting the Lakers’ success in the hurdles aside, Camdenton took first place in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 4×200-meter relay (1:47.74) and 4×400-meter relay (4:06.77). Plus, fifth in the 400-meter dash.
Grace Wormek took first in the 100-meter (12.61) and 200-meter (25.77).
The 4×200 relay team was made up of Katheryne Blackman, Meier, Basham and Wormek. The 4×400 relay was made up of Basham, Clare Holmes, Wormek and Meier.
Camdenton entered as the 2-seed in both the 4×200 and the 4×400, with the 4×200 upset of top-ranked Jefferson City making the biggest waves with Jeff City favored by over a full second.
“It felt pretty great,” Wormek said. “We’re really excited. We’ve definitely found our sprint relay. We’re very excited for the rest of the season to see where this relay goes.”
Ozark’s 4×200 team of Shylo Bogue, Katie Mayes, Ashley Childers and Morgan Doyle also topped Jeff City, finishing second (1:48.75) to Camdenton.
Nixa Sweeps Top Spots In Triple Jump
As expected, the Nixa pairing of Meleah Ridenour and Lisette Perez took first and second in Thursday’s triple jump.
Ridenour jumped 36-04.50 and Perez a 35-08.00. Kickapoo’s Tayte Kozlowski finished third with a 34-08.25, a big improvement over her seed time.
Ridenour also took first in the long jump with a 17-05.50 after entering as the 4-seed.
Spragg Tags Lander In Pole Vault
Republic’s Haven Lander and Logan-Rogersville’s Elleigh Spragg finished 1-2 in Class 4 at state last year, and while Republic’s jump to Class 5 puts a slight damper on the competition between the two, the intrigue is still there.
Both jumped 10-06.00 Thursday, but Spragg took the event with fewer vaults. Ozark’s Olivia Lyon placed third (10-00.00).
Getting A Look At Javelin
Jordan Sanders had a good showing as the returning state favorite in the first official year for the event. Sanders threw a 130-02.50, well above her seed time but below the 142-01 thrown at state last year. Branson’s Gracie Jaeger finished second (112-02.50) and Ozark’s Sidney Branson third (110-00).
