These aren't your brother's Lamar Tigers.
Gone are guys like Austin Boice, Ben and Sam Bailey and Jared Beshore which helped guide Lamar to Class 2 state titles in 2013 and 2014.
While the program couldn't make it a 3-peat in 2015, finishing third in the program’s first spring in Class 3, this group of Tigers will have a chance to start its own legacy behind a loaded crop of underclassmen.
Juniors Luke Hardman and Trey Mooney had dominant performancess, helping the Tigers win Tuesday's Hillbilly Relays hosted by Pierce City.
"They’re building their own identity now,” said Lamar coach Rodney Baldridge. “We knew this group was talented when they were freshmen and some of them contributed then so we knew there was quite a bit of talent there. It’s been neat to see them progress and come into their own.”
Hardman, one of the state's top football players, won three open events (100M, 300M hurdles, 200M) while also anchoring Lamar's 4x100M relay.
The all-state defensive back credited Lamar’s early exit in basketball for his hot start to the track season, including running a school-record 10.6 in the 100M last week.
“Since we got upset in basketball I’ve had more time to get in track shape and we are even coming in to get extra work on Saturdays and it has made a huge difference,” said Hardman. “We return a lot and think this can be a special season if we can stay healthy.”
His partner in crime, classmate Trey Mooney, had one of the day’s most impressive feats by edging one of the nation’s top high jumpers in Sarcoxie’s Lath Kisling.
Mooney, who jumped 6’6” on the day, also won the 110M hurdles on the day, part of a day that saw the Tigers win 12 of 18 events.
After tying the school record in the high jump for the second week in a row, Mooney is pleased with his start to the season.
“My whole plan this year has been to stay consistent, which I struggled with last year,” said Mooney. “I knew it was going to be tough with Lath here and I honestly thought I was going to lose, but I wanted to try to compete and do my best. It’s been a big couple of weeks so hopefully I can build on it.”
Finding a senior on the roster for Lamar is a rareity, but the Tigers do have one of the state’s best distance runners in senior Nicholas Ray.
Ray, a state champion in the 4x800M, state runner-up in the 1600M and an all-stater in the 800M, has maintained a leadership role for the young Tigers. He won both the 800M and 1600M on Tuesday.
“He’s been a leader for us since his sophomore year,” said Baldridge. “He’s been able to spread out some of that leadership but he’s always been a leader for those distance guys and he’s running really well.”
With so much success to start the season , Lamar isn’t just looking to get on the podium as a team for the fifth straight year, but the Tigers could make it three state titles in four years should they remain healthy.
“Each year we start the season with three goals and they haven’t changed much in the last four or five years which for us is a good thing,” said Baldridge. “We moved up to Class 3 last year and had a chance to see that competition and they’ve really come back and worked hard now that they know what it takes to compete at that level. It has really rejuvenated them.”
Other notables
Kisling had one of his worst days in the high jump (impressive considering he still went 6'4"), but the senior standout still took first in the long jump (21’) and triple jump (43’11.25”) while finishing second in the 200M. Kisling scored 38 of Sarcoxie’s 85 points, helping the team to a second-place finish.
Defending Class 2 1600M state champ Joe Stock finished second in the event and helped Crane to a 3:41.02 4x400M finish, good enough for first. The Pirates finished third as a team.
Crane girls impressive on Tuesday
Few groups have enjoyed more success than Crane lately and after a district championship in volleyball and its fourth straight Class 2 state championship in basketball, the Lady Pirates could be in the hunt for more hardware this spring.
Crane didn’t win Tuesday’s Hillbilly Relays, finishing as the runner-up to Class 3 Lamar, but Linda Jensen’s team that they could be a darkhorse for yet another district championship come May.
A district title in track would be even more special for a growing program that has struggled to get athletes out in recent years.
“When I started coaching this team four years ago I was barely able to fill a Suburban; we would still have an extra seat,” said Jensen. “Now between the boys and the girls we have a full bus and we still don’t actually have a track to practice on.”
No, that wasn’t a typo. Crane doesn’t have a track on its campus.
In fact, the Pirates use what they call a bus loop as a makeshift track, dodging buses and cars in order to get laps in.
The uphill loop could be the reason the Lady Pirates won the 4x200M and 4x400M, while senior Lexie Vaught won the 800M and finished third in the 400M.
Vaught, fresh off of being named as a finalist for Miss Show-Me Basketball, is one of several basketball players finding success this spring.
“The basketball team has been very good to me,” said Jensen. “It’s good when athletes play multiple sports because it just makes them more complete and well-rounded.”
Freshman Madison Hicks has stepped into the void left by Emma Lander admirably, winning the long jump (16’11”), triple jump (33’9”).
Hicks also ran on Crane’s first-place relay teams.
“She set PRs in the long and triple today and she’s capable of running an even faster 400; these girls are so competitive that when there is someone in front of they just aren’t going to let them win,” said Jensen. “Their competitiveness helps them in everything because they are just winners. They aren’t going to just let anyone take stuff away from them.”
Classmate and fellow basketball player Olivia Doto was the runner-up in the discus and finished fifth in the shot put.
Despite losing Lander, who is the two-time defending state champion in the triple jump and has five total all-state medals, Crane will have a chance to make program history this spring in Jeff City.
“I put the No. 1 times in Class 2 on my clipboard so that they can all take a look at what they need to accomplish to get there and it’s definitely motivation,” said Jensen. “We are really excited about possibly taking a bus to Jefferson City this year, which would be the first in our program’s history.”
Other notables
Standout Claire Workman continues to show just why she is the most dominant track athlete in the Ozarks, running an 11:05.44 3200M. The race was run in conjunction with the boys 3200M and Workman beat all but four boys. Her time would have set the Class 1 state record by 25 seconds. The junior also ran the 400M, one of the few times she’ll do so this year, and finished second (1:03.47). Her New Covenant teammates Katie and Claire McCune finished first and second in the 1600M respectively, while Claire also took second in the 800M and Katie finished third.
Lamar’s Kaelyn Sturgell is still a freak of nature. The senior is one of the only athletes in the Ozarks that can compete and place in any event and finished with a clean sweep on Tuesday, winning the 100M, 200M and 400M. She also finished as the runner-up in the long jump.
