Milan Wildcats finish successful boy’s track season with 8 1/2 state points, Penney finishes 8th

The Class 2 boy’s state track and field meet was run on Friday and Saturday at Jefferson City High School, with Cleveland NJROTC winning the state title with 62 1/2 points, followed by Monroe City (53) and Charleston (43 1/2).  The Bishop LeBlond Golden Eagles scored 43 points in a 4th place finish, while the Penney (Hamilton) Hornets were 8th with 29 points, Lathrop 10th (24), and Marceline in 27th place with 8 1/2 points.  While very successful in getting athletes into the state meet, Milan struggled in efforts to pick up significant points during the two days in the “Capitol City”, with the Wildcats 8 3/4 points earning the “Green ‘n Gold” 26th place.

No athletes from the immediate area won a Class 2 event, although Bishop LeBlond’s Jack Hausman swept the 1600 and 3200 meter races.  James Gunn of Brookfield was 6th in the 3200.

For the Milan Wildcats, the team of Mauricio Curiel, Jesus Lopez, Hunter Shaw, and Colten Fordyce finished 8th in the 4 by 200 relay, while Daniel Anaya, Fordyce, Shaw, and Curiel were 8th the 4 by 400.  Carrollton was 5th and Hamilton 6th in that 4 by 400 race.  Curiel was 9th place for the Wildcats in the high jump (Drake Lewis of Lathrop was 2nd and Carson Quint of Putnam County 11th).  Milan’s top finish, a 3rd place effort of 41.37 seconds, came from Colten Fordyce in the 300 meter hurdles, with Brock Swindler of Hamilton 4th and Nicholas Cain of Marceline in 7th place.

Derek Dixon of Hamilton was 3rd in the 800 meter run, with Hamilton 4th, Marceline 8th, and Milan 9th in the 4 by 800 relay.  Dylan Wheeler of Marceline finished in a 3rd place tie with Gallatin’s Tanner Johnson in 7th place in the pole vault.  Brock Swindler of Hamilton was 4th in the triple jump, with Brock Lewis of Lathrop 5th.

Ryan Valentine of Putnam County was 3rd in the shot put, with Nick Kremer of Plattsburg in 7th place.  Owen Dobbins of Carrollton was 3rd and Jeremy Williams of Brookfield 8th in the boys javelin.  Lathrop’s Lewis and Hamilton’s Swindler finished 5th and 6th respectively in the long jump. Lewis added 6th place in the 110 hurdles for the Mules.