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TRACK & FIELD: Carthage boys win Stancell Stampede; College Heights girls finish third

ANDERSON, Mo. — The first track meet of the 2021 season went extremely well for the Carthage Tigers.

Led by seven event wins, Carthage’s boys took first place at McDonald County High School’s Stancell Stampede on Thursday.

The Tigers topped the team standings with 178 points. Cassville (106) and McDonald County (104) were second and third, respectively. There were 10 teams in attendance. 

On the girls side, Cassville (163.5), McDonald County (151.5) and College Heights Christian (99) were the top three teams.

 

CARTHAGE BOYS HIGHLIGHTS

The Tigers won seven events, including all four relays, and also finished second in four other events.  

Carthage’s 4×100-meter relay team of Cale Patrick, Tyler Burt, Aiden Rogers and Caleb Calvin took first in 44.16 seconds. 

The Tigers won the 4×200 relay in 1 minutes, 38 seconds, with Dennis Witt, Burt, Landen Schrader and Stephen Kurz competing.

Carthage’s 4×400 relay, which featured Miguel Solano, Ty Lewis, Rogers and Burt, finished in 3:37.

The Tigers’ 4×800 relay finished in 8:52 and featured Malcolm Robertson, Lewis, Mariques Strickland and Solano.

Rogers won the 100-meter dash in 11.9 seconds, while Schrader took first in the 400 (55.73) and Calvin won the 300 hurdles (43.71).

Patrick took second in the 200 and fourth in the 100, while Solano, Lewis and Richard Contreras finished second, third and fourth, respectively, in the 800. 

Robertson was the runner-up in the 3200, while Strickland finished third in both the 1600 and 3200.

George Laytham finished fourth in the 3200, while Robertson and Laytham were fourth and fifth in the 1600. 

Kurz was third in the 300 hurdles and the triple jump and fifth in the high jump. Schrader was sixth in the long jump, with Rogers seventh. 

In the throws, Hiram Schuur placed second in the shot put and Brian Zuniga Valencia was third in the discus. 

 

CARTHAGE GIRLS HIGHLIGHTS

Carthage’s girls finished fourth in the team standings with 82 points. 

Carthage finished second in the 4×100 relay, with Katie Crowe, Trisha Kanas, Ashlynn Patrick and Karly Sullivan competing. 

The Tigers also took second in the 4×200 relay, while the 4×400 relay finished third. 

Lilly Holmes was the runner-up in both the shot put and discus, while Joey Hettinger was the runner-up in the high jump.

Hadley McBride placed third in both the 1600 and 3200, while Hettinger finished fourth in both the 100 and 200. Jenna Wilson took fourth in the 3200. 

 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS GIRLS HIGHLIGHTS

College Heights’ girls won four events. 

The CHC team of Allie Fiscus, Jayli Johnson, Addie Lawrence and Lauren Ukena won the 4×100 relay in 52.26. The team of Johnson, Lawrence, Ukena and Katie Moss took first in the 4×400 in 4:34.

The Cougars finished third in the 4×800, with Moss, Avery Parker, Madi Carson and Sophia Moore running. 

Lawrence (27.44) and Ukena (28.76) finished first and second, respectively, in the 200. 

Lawrence (1:02) and Johnson (1:08) were the top two finishers in the 400. 

Johnson finished third in the 100, while Fiscus placed third in both hurdle races. Moss was fifth in the 800.  Maddy Colin took fourth in the high jump.

 

COLLEGE HEIGHTS BOYS HIGHLIGHTS

College Heights was seventh in the standings with 35 points.

The Cougars were second in the 4×100 relay (names  unavailable).

Colsen Dickens was third in the 400, Ethan Ukena finished fifth in the long jump and seventh in the triple jump, while Derrick McMillan was seventh in the 800 and Rolen Sanderson finished seventh in the 3200.

 

MCDONALD COUNTY HIGHLIGHTS

McDonald County’s Junior Eliam and Logan Harriman were first and second, respectively, in the discus. 

Andrew Moritz took third in the high jump, Andrew Watkins was third in the pole vault and Alexander Lewis took third in the long jump. 

Johnny Ciseneros was fourth in the pole vault, Samuel Barton was fourth in the 400, Saw Lae Eh was fourth in the long jump and Garrett Gricks took fourth in the shot put. 

Mac County’s 4×200 relay team of Lewis, Joshua Pacheco, Eh and Esteban Martinez-Olvera took second. The 4×100 was fourth. 

For the McDonald County girls, Sosha Howard won the long jump, while Howard and Reagan Myrick were second and third in the long jump. 

The team of Kaycee Factor, Savannah Leib, Corina Holland and Anna Price finished second in the 4×400 relay. 

The Mustangs were also second in the 4×800, with Factor, Price, Madison Burton and Melysia McCrory competing. 

McDonald County’s girls were third in the 4×200 relay and fourth in the 4×100. 

Melonie Gillming took second in the pole vault, with Price third. Factor placed third in the 200, while McCrory was third in the high jump. 

 

OTHER EVENT WINNERS

On the boys side, event winners included Jasper’s Jared Tidball (long jump and triple jump), Southwest’s Travis Sickles (1600 and 3200), East Newton’s Kelton Sorrell (800) and Matthew Knight (110 hurdles),  Cassville’s Eli Pickett (pole vault) and Braden Dickinson (shot put) and Wheaton’s Chad Meyer (200).

On the girls side, Cassville’s Kyren Postlewait won both the 100 and the shot put, while other event winners from Cassville were Marianne McCracken (300 hurdles), Sharayah Seymour (high jump), Annie Moore (pole vault) and Riley Morris (discus).

Other event winners: East Newton’s Ellie Hicks (800 and 1600) and Alonna Eytcheson (3200) and Diamond’s Ashlyn Daniel (100 hurdles) and Jacey Starks (long jump).

 

McDonald County Stancell Invitational
Boys team standings: Carthage 178, Cassville 106, McDonald County 104, East Newton 95, Southwest 46, Jasper 42, College Heights 35, Wheaton 30, Diamond 20, Purdy 18.
Girls team standings: Cassville 163.5, McDonald County 151.5, College Heights 99, Carthage 82, East Newton 56, Diamond 55, Jasper 22, Wheaton 13.

TRACK & FIELD: Joplin features returning state qualifiers; Eagles preparing for first meet

 

Five returning state qualifiers will lead the way for the Joplin High School track and field team this spring.

Seniors Micah Bruggeman, Nathan Glades and Trayshawn Thomas and junior Donovyn Fowler are the top returners for the Joplin boys, while junior Jennalee Dunn is expected to lead the JHS girls. 

Aside from the team’s returning standouts, the Eagles will feature many new faces in big roles.

“On the guys side, we have some big names that are coming back, but for the most part, we’re trying to figure out where the depth is going to come from for both the boys and girls teams,” Joplin coach Brandon Taute said. “Most years, you come into the season knowing who your top guy or girl is in each event. This year, other than a few spots, we don’t really know because we didn’t have a season last year. It’s exciting because there’s a lot of spots up for grabs. The kids are competing and trying to earn a varsity spot. It’s been fun. But how deep we’ll be is still to be determined.” 

Despite not having a season last spring, the Eagles feature a group of varsity veterans who return with prior state meet experience. 

“Micah will be solid in the distance events and Glades will lead us in the sprints and hurdles,” Taute said. “Fowler and Thomas will score a lot of points in the jumps. All of those guys are definitely looking to make a lot of noise at state this year.”  

Bruggeman capped a stellar sophomore season by placing third in the 800-meter run (1:55) and sixth in the 1,600 (4:19) at the 2019 Class 5 state meet. Bruggeman placed fifth in the state in the 800 as a freshman back in 2018. 

As a sophomore, Glades finished eighth in the 300 hurdles at the state meet after winning a sectional title in the event. Glades was also a sectional qualifier in the 100-meter dash. 

Fowler and Thomas both advanced to state in the triple jump in ’19. As a freshman, Fowler took ninth (44-6), while Thomas was 13th (43-8) as a sophomore. The pair finished third and fourth, respectively, in the event at the sectional. In addition to competing in both the jumps, Fowler and Thomas may also compete in the sprints. 

The distance events should also be a strength of the Eagles. 

“I think we’re going to get a lot of points out of our distance kids,” Taute said. “We’re excited about our depth on the distance side.” 

As far as the throws, junior Donovahn Watkins should be a key performer for the Eagles.

The top returner for the JHS girls team, Dunn is coming off a stellar cross country season, as she finished 18th at the Class 5 state meet.

“We’re really excited about Jennalee,” Taute said. “She had a great cross country season. She’s going to be fun to watch.” 

In ’19, Dunn advanced to state in the 1,600 while a student at Thomas Jefferson. 

Joplin’s girls won the COC cross country meet this past fall and the distance events should be a strength this spring. 

“We have a ton of depth in the distance events on the girls side,” Taute noted. 

Other areas are still a work in progress. 

“In the sprints and jumps, we have a lot of girls who competed as freshmen,” Taute said. “A lot of them did get experience at the varsity level. We’re excited to see how they do after a year off.” 

Taute noted preseason practices have been going well.

“The kids are working hard and that’s all you can really ask for,” Taute said. “The kids are hungry and I’m excited about their work ethic and commitment so far. I like how competitive this group is. We’ve got a great group of kids and I’m excited to see them compete.” 

 

FIRST MEET IS APRIL 1 

The Eagles will begin the season next Thursday at the Carthage Invitational. 

Webb City, Carl Junction and Neosho will also be competing with the host Tigers at David Haffner Stadium. The meet begins at 2 p.m.

And after missing out on a 2020 season, it’s safe to say the Eagles are more than ready to get the 2021 campaign underway.

“The kids definitely understand that you don’t always get these opportunities,” Taute said. “So you’ve got to make the most of those opportunities. I think our kids understand that, especially the seniors. They’re hungry to get back out there and prove they can make some noise.” 

 

STATE MEET UPDATE

According to MoMileSplit, the Missouri State High School Activities Association has decided that all five classes will have their own state track meet.

All state meets will be held at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City. The Class 5 event is scheduled for May 27. 

“I liked the two-day setup, but I understand it’s all about safety,” Taute said. “And we’re just happy that we’re getting the opportunity after losing it last year. And the last time these kids were at state (2019), it was a one-day event (due to the weather)…so it’s nothing new for them. I know our kids will make the most of the opportunity they get.”