Numerous area athletes participated and received medals, at this weekend’s Class 1 state track and field meet at Jefferson City High School. Team state championships were won by the New Haven girls (60 points) and Van Far boys (68 points). The Princeton girls scored 5 points to finish in 35th place, while Braymer and Southwest Livingston, both with 20 points, were in a 14th place tie. The Mound City Lady Panthers continued a strong run of athletic success with a runner-up total of 53 points.
Princeton sophomore sprinter Jaelyn Thomas finished a strong season with a pair of top-eight finishes, earning points for the Lady Tigers. Thomas was 6th in the 100 meter dash (13.23 seconds) and 7th in the 200 meter dash (27.26 seconds). Taking home a state championship for the Green City Lady Gophers was Katelyn Conner, winning the 300 meter hurdles in a time of 45.88 seconds. Conner also finished 4th in the 100 meter hurdles, with Anna Gladstone of Worth County beginning a flurry of top finishes with a runner-up effort. Gladstone was 5th in the high jump and 6th in the long jump for the Grant City school.
Grundy R-5 senior Matana Munday completed her athletic career with the Lady Panthers with 5th place in the discus toss. Kaylie Campbell of Southwest Livingston was 3rd and Meredith Spiers of Worth County 4th in that event.
Grace Schottel of King City had an exemplary weekend representing the Lady Wildkats in the sprinting events, with 3rd place in the 200 dash, and 4th place in the 100 and 400 meter races. Freshman Jasmine Taylor of the Braymer Lady Bobcats, in her first state experience, was 4th in the 200 and 3rd in the 400.
The Braymer Lady Bobcats were 5th in the 4 by 100 relay, with Stewartsville second. Stanberry was third in the 4 by 400 relay. Marissa Jensen of Stanberry took 3rd place in the high jump and Taylor Francis of Braymer 4th and Regan Allee of Worth County 5th in the pole vault.
For Southwest Livingston, Colee Webb took 4th place in the triple jump and 5th in the long jump, while Kaylie Campbell was 4th in the shot put. Nikita Powell of Green City was 8th in the long jump.
In the Class 1 boys state championships, the Hardin-Central Bulldogs, out of the CLAA, had a strong meet with 45 points, good for third place. The Bulldogs were paced by the work of Riley Gorham, who swept all three distance titles, winning the 800, 1600, and 3200 meter races. Ryan Layman took a second place finish in the 300 meter hurdles for HCHS.
Princeton’s strength, as has been the case all spring, was from its distance runners. Logan Dunkin earned a 7th place finish for the Tigers in the 3200, and was the finishing leg of the 4 by 800 relay (with Calvin Berwanger, Cameron Gittings, and Blaine Millburn) that finished 12th. The Polo boys were 10th in the 4 by 800. Dunkin was 14th and Preston Thomas 15th, representing the Princeton Tigers in the 1600 meter run.
Stewartsville’s Isaiah Parker won the 110 hurdles, with Denton Yager of the Cardinals second in the shot put.
Peyton Jones of Pattonsburg was 7th in the long jump and 5th in the triple jump, while Mack Anderson earned points for Southwest Livingston, as the Wildcat freshman was 8th in the long jump and high jump.
King City was third in the 4 by 100 relay, with Worth County 5th. Ryan Young of Meadville High School finished third in the triple jump, with Devin Fields of Green City in 9th place. Zane Roberts, from Novinger High School, was 6th in the discus and 9th in the javelin.
Photo credit – The Architects Alliance / Jefferson City, MO
