SBU hosted 46 Class 1-3 track teams for the second day of its high school invitational. The Lamar boys and Clever girls came away with the team titles.
Lamar, Clever showcase depth to win team titles
Lamar scored 91 points to easily win the team title ahead of runner-up Eldon’s 65-point output. The Tigers did it with their depth.
Lamar swept the 4×1, 4×2 and 4×4 relays while finishing third in the 4×800 relay to account for all of its top three finishes on the track. In the field, Terrill Davis won the triple jump with a mark of 42’2.25, and Cameron Sturgell won the javelin with a throw of 166’8 to give Lamar its lone individual first-place finishes.
Clever won two gold medals on its way to a total of 84 team points to edge out runner-up Mountain Grove which had 79 points.
The gold medals came at opposite ends of the meet. Maliya Clark won the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 16.39 in the second final of the day on the track. The Blue Jays closed out the meet with a 4×400-meter relay gold medal in a time of 4:13.74.
Jayleign Flood had three individual top three finishes placing second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and third in the 400-meter dash.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MEET
Mountain Grove sprints lead way
The Mountain Grove girls were the best sprinting team on the girls’ side of the meet on Tuesday. Led by Jozey Sharp-MacPherson, the Panthers swept the 4×100- and 4×200-meter relays.
They won the 400-meter relay in a time of 51.02 with Fair Grove placing second (52.87). The 800-meter relay was an even more dominant performance of 1:47.41, which is just off the class-leading mark of 1:47.23 by Lutheran (St. Charles).
The relays are comprised of a group of athletic multi-sport stars who have found success on the volleyball and basketball courts this year.
“It (playing volleyball together) helps insanely. We play basketball together too. We have always been together. I think that just works out with chemistry and being good teammates with everyone,” Sharp-MacPherson said.
Sharp-MacPherson was dominant in the individual sprints as well. She ran a personal best time of 12.50 in the 100-meter dash to win the race by almost a half second.
She closed her day with a 200-meter dash championship in a time of 26.47.
Hermitage boys chasing history
The defending Class 1 state champion Hermitage boys 3200-meter relay features Bennett Mantooth, Justin Horn, Justus Yates and DeJuan Chambers. That quartet comprised the top four of this past fall’s state championship cross country team.
They won the 3200-meter relay at the state meet in a time of 8:28.69 last year. This year, the group has already gone 8:09.99. On Tuesday, they ran splits of 2:02.59, 2:05.11, 2:03.76 and 2:02.44 for a time of 8:13.89 to win the race by four seconds.
“I really liked our ability to compete. It may not have been our fastest time, but that doesn’t matter. Competing is where it really matters,” Mantooth said.
History might be the biggest competition for Hermitage at the state meet this year. The Class 1 state record according to MSHSAA is 8:02.52 set by Greenwood in 2003. The second-best time is 8:12.08 set by Wellington-Napoleon in 1985.
A camaraderie among the entire distance crew has helped Hermitage rack up gold medals on the track and the cross-country course.
“We have run out of our minds. Every summer we train every morning. We do hills. We do speed workouts. We weight lift. On top of that, we have a great mindset,” Mantooth said. “We are all best friends. We all hang out. We joke with each other constantly on runs. If we are going on distance runs, we stay together. If one of us falls back, we go and retrieve him. We don’t like to leave each other behind.”
Mantooth had one of the most unique programs at the meet on Tuesday. After the 3200-meter relay, he won the 2,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 6:47.62. He followed that up by showcasing his speed with a runner-up finish the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 42.66 just behind Drew Ripko from Liberty who ran 42.36.
Nold continues Dora 400-meter dash tradition
Ashlynn Vanatter dominated the Class 1 400-meter dash for Dora just under a decade ago by winning state titles in the event in three consecutive years from 2014-16.
Autumn Nold is looking to carry on that tradition. She finished fourth at state last year but is poised for even more this season, leading Class 1 in the event with a season-best of 59.46.
On Tuesday, she came just shy of that mark running a 59.48 to beat out runner-up McKinli Mays from El Dorado Springs who ran 59.98.
Nold may be sitting No. 1 in the class right now, but she is still looking to improve heading into the stretch run.
“I feel confident about where I am,” Nold. “(At) state, everything changes when you get there. You can’t really count on seeding or anything. I am happy with the place I am in. I think I still have room to grow before we kick off the district season.”
Schwanke focused on state championship
Buffalo’s Brett Schwanke has been singularly focused on one goal since football season began: win a Class 3 state championship in the sprints.
“(My goal) is to win state right now. I am pretty close up there,” Schwanke said. “Today is not my Superbowl. I just have to keep working every day and get ready for state.”
Schwanke didn’t play basketball this season opting to run indoor track instead. The decision appears to be paying off. He has run under 10.8 in the event twice this year and has the leading mark in Class 3 in the event at 10.70 according to MoMileSplit.
Training hard has been a key.
“A lot of workouts have been 100% as fast as you can and long rests. (There is) not a lot of 80% running,” Schwanke said. “Train fast, be fast.”
Schwanke was fast again on Tuesday winning both the 100 and 200-meter dash. He ran 11.10 into a headwind to win the 100-meter dash. He closed out his day with a 22.40 in the 200-meter dash.
He wasn’t focused on the clock as much as the result on Tuesday.
“When you run in a meet this big you don’t want to race the time you just want to race everybody and compete,” Schwanke said. “My race plan went pretty well. I wasn’t chasing a time and just going out to compete and win.”
TOP THREE FINISHERS
BOYS
100-Meter
1. Brett Schwanke – Buffalo (11.10)
2. Marcus Jones – SCA (11.37)
3. Canyon Crowley – Fair Grove (11.42)
200-Meter
1. Brett Schwanke – Buffalo (22.40)
2. Canyon Crowley – Fair Grove (22.42)
3. Marcus Jones – SCA (22.47)
400-Meter
1. Marcus Jones – SCA (49.82)
2. Marcus Verbrugge – SCA (51.26)
3. Jay Baxter – Stockton (51.73)
800-Meter
1. Chase Sorrell – East Newton (1:57.61)
2. Cade Nold – Dora (1:58.10)
3. Conner Diaz – Steelville (1:58.91)
1600-Meter
1. Chase Sorrell – East Newton (4:21.48)
2. Conner Diaz – Steelville (4:24.68)
3. Caleb Leach – Cassville (4:34.46)
3200-Meter
1. Sean Walker – Buffalo (9:44.31)
2. Nathan Reynolds – Eldon (9:57.60)
3. Sinry Mendoza – Hollister (10:03.61)
110-Meter Hurdles
1. Dylan Davidson – Butler (16.33)
2. Evan Birdno – Eldon (17.11)
3. Devon Girard – Hollister (17.27)
300-Meter Hurdles
1. Drew Ripko – Liberty (42.36)
2. Bennett Mantooth – Hermitage (42.66)
3. Charles Elliott – Cassville (42.89)
2,000-Meter Steeplechase
1. Bennett Mantooth – Hermitage (6:47.62)
2. Caleb Phillips – Macks Creek (6:55.11)
3. Ben Smith – Norwood (7:14.80)
4×100 Relay
1. Lamar (44.04)
2. Eldon (44.77)
3. Fair Grove (45.31)
4×200 Relay
1. Lamar (1:33.02)
2. Fair Grove (1:35.21)
3. Hollister (1:35.71)
4×400 Relay
1. Lamar (3:29.10)
2. Cassville (3:31.25)
3. Fair Grove (3:35.13)
4×800 Relay
1. Hermitage (8:13.89)
2. Cassville (8:17.44)
3. Lamar (8:20.81)
Long Jump
1. Aaron Rice – Clever (20’7)
2. Andrew Pierce – SCA (20’4.5)
3. Briggs Gunter – Dora (19’8.25)
High Jump
1. Michael Crowe – East Newton (6’2.75)
2. Maliki Sherry – El Dorado Springs (6’2.75)
3. Carter Hays – Crane (6’0.75)
Triple Jump
1. Terrill Davis – Lamar (42’2.25)
2. Justin Brown – El Dorado Springs (42’00)
3. Drew Ripko – Liberty (39’6.5)
Shot Put
1. Jasper Deraffenreid – Eldon (52’3.75)
2. Joseph Bland – Versailles (50’0.75)
3. Virgil McGinnis – Humansville (46’1.5)
Discus
1. Dominic Shaw – East Newton (146’4)
2. Isaiah Waller – Versailles (143’7)
3. Brett Sartin – Fair Grove (140’5)
Javelin
1. Cameron Sturgell – Lamar (166’8)
2. Virgil McGinnis – Humansville (160’10)
3. Azlen Metscher – Skyline (159’7)
Pole Vault
1. Gatlin Jones – SCA (11’7.75)
2. Oscar Phillips – Licking (11’7.75)
3. Carson Sturgell – Lamar (10’8)
GIRLS
100-Meter
1. Jozey Sharp-MacPherson – Mountain Grove (12.50)
2. Jayleign Flood – Clever (12.95)
3. Laiysha Freeman – SCA (13.20)
200-Meter
1. Jozey Sharp-MacPherson – Mountain Grove (26.47)
2. Jayleign Flood – Clever (26.75)
3. Laiysha Freeman – SCA (27.17)
400-Meter
1. Autumn Nold – Dora (59.48)
2. McKinli Mays – El Dorado Springs (59.98)
3. Jayleign Flood – Clever (61.00)
800-Meter
1. Zoe Martonfi – Eldon (2:20.03)
2. Lily Hunsucker – Spokane (2:25.04)
3. Cera Eckenroth – NCA (2:25.88)
1600-Meter
1. Zoe Martonfi – Eldon (5:11.45)
2. Cera Exkenroth – NCA (5:16.00)
3. Katherine Schefer – Hollister (5:23.88)
3200-Meter
1. Cera Eckenroth – NCA (11:43.57)
2. Jolie Evans – Cassville (11:50.68)
3. Clara Trent – NCA (11:59.51)
100-Meter Hurdles
1. Maliya Clark – Clever (16.39)
2. Angela Konopasek – Warsaw (17.52)
3. Abbey Green – Fair Grove (17.61)
300-Meter Hurdles
1. Zoe Martonfi – Eldon (46.53)
2. Sydney Bryan – Spokane (49.21)
3. Annalee Gardner – Butler (49.84)
2,000-Meter Steeplechase
1. Lily Hunsucker – Spokane (8:04.62)
2. Chloe Smith – Clever (8:13.04)
3. Kayli Anderson – Cassville (8:47.26)
4×100 Relay
1. Mountain Grove (51.02)
2. Fair Grove (52.87)
3. Eldon (53.25)
4×200 Relay
1. Mountain Grove (1:47.41)
2. Fair Grove (1:50.91)
3. Clever (1:52.83)
4×400 Relay
1. Clever (4:13.74)
2. Skyline (4:14.73)
3. Eldon (4:21.81)
4×800 Relay
1. El Dorado Springs (10:07.04)
2. Cassville (10:08.78)
3. Lamar (10:28.40)
Long Jump
1. April Phillips – SCA (17’2.25)
2. Kailyn Wake – Mountain Grove (16’8.5)
3. Kylee Richey – Versailles (16’7.25)
High Jump
1. April Phillips – SCA (5’3)
2. Kylee Richey – Versailles (5’3)
3. Dorothea Gantert – Conway (5’3)
Triple Jump
1. April Phillips – SCA (36’10.25)
2. Montgomery Keck – Dixon (36’9)
3. Zoe Martonfi – Eldon (36’5)
Shot Put
1. Penelope Hansen – Sparta (33’4.75)
2. Josie Johnston – Butler (33’3)
3. Jamalynn Atkinson – Ash Grove (32’9.75)
Discus
1. Josie Johnston – Butler (116’11)
2. Jamalynn Atikons – Ash Grove (113’1)
3. Maliah Kenney – Humansville (96’5)
Javelin
1. Gibson Beckler – Conway (118’11)
2. Shelby Samek – Buffalo (117’0)
3. Isabella Sabala – Hermitage (112’3)
Pole Vault
1. Annalee Gardner – Butler (12’00)
2. Ashlen Garrett – Skyline (9’0.25)
3. Mara Reasoner – SCA (8’6.25)
