The College Heights Christian, Thomas Jefferson, and McAuley Catholic boys and girls track and field squads each finished in the top three teams in the high school divisions Wednesday of the Ozark 7 Conference at Thomas Jefferson’s J.P. Humphreys Track and Field Complex.
College Heights finished with 232 points on the girls side, while Thomas Jefferson took second at 157.5 points and McAuley Catholic finished third with 62 points.
College Heights posted 199 points to win the Ozark 7 on the boys side, while Thomas Jefferson finished second with 145 points and McAuley Catholic third with 97 points.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS
Behind a pair of outstanding individual performers, as well as points in every facet Wednesday, both the College Heights boys and girls defended their conference titles.
“I was very pleased with the kids and their performances today,” College Heights coach Daniel Lewis said. “We’ve been battling a lot of injuries and we had a couple kids who this was their first day back, and they weren’t able to perform to the level they’re used to, but they helped us get the points that we needed. We had another kid get hurt during the meet and wasn’t able to finish the events. We relied on our sprinters a lot today.
“The highlights would be Jayli Johnson on the girls side. She won the 100, 200, and 400. On the boys side, Caleb Quade won the long jump, triple jump, and high jump, and ran on the winning 4×2. Obviously, they contributed a lot.
“We’ve got a bunch of good kids. Our three fastest boys sprinters have been injured and on the girls side, our fastest girl (Addie Lawrence) has been injured. She hasn’t run all year, either. For the position we’re in and how many injuries we’ve had, I’ve been very pleased with what we’ve done.”
On the girls side, Johnson won the 100-meter dash in 13.87 seconds, the 200 in 27.90, the 400 in 1:07.06, and the javelin with a toss of 69 feet, 5 inches, earning the Cougars 40 of their points alone from her four individual event victories.
Lauren Ukena placed second and Amelia Hagale fourth in the 100, Ukena finished second and Jesalin Bever third in the 200, Marla Anderegg finished second and Lilly Lackey fifth in the 800, Anderegg finished second in the 1600 and third in the 3200, and Bever won the 100 and 300 hurdles and Ukena placed second in both events.
College Heights finished second in the 4×100, won the 4×200, took second in the 4×400, and won the 4×800.
In the field events, Maddy Colin won gold and Bailey Peoples tied for third in the high jump, Allie Stout and Peoples finished second and third in the long jump, Peoples won the triple jump while Isabelle Clevenger and Lindsay Griesemer finished third and fourth, Peoples placed fourth in the shot put, Colin finished second and Lackey fifth in the discus, and Colin took second in the javelin.
On the boys side, jumpin’ junior Quade swept the long, triple, and high jump for 30 points and contributed to another 10 points by running the second leg on the winning 4×200 relay.
Steven Calandro, Ian Edwards and Jace Edwards finished third through fifth in the 110 hurdles, Logan Decker, Colsen Dickens and Derek Bowman finished second, fourth and fifth in the 100, Colton McMillan and Josiah Thomas placed fifth and sixth in the 1600, Ethan Ukena won the 400 and Levi Durling and Dickens finished third and fourth, Calandro took second, Ian Edwards fourth and Jace Edwards fifth in the 300 hurdles, Derrick McMillan and Quade finished third and fourth in the 800, Decker placed second in the 200, and Thomas finished second and Jace Edwards sixth in the 3200.
Out in the field, Decker finished second in the high jump and the long jump, Ukena placed second in the triple jump, Bowman took fourth in the long jump and the triple jump, Gavin Doll finished fifth in the shot put and discus, and Dickens took fifth in the javelin.
The 4×100 won first and both the 4×400 and the 4×800 finished second.
The Cougars have district and sectional competition ahead in the next month.
“We’re putting together some relays that I think can get us to state,” Lewis said. “We have a good opportunity there. Caleb Quade can probably make it in the jumps. Of course, the girls are up to Class 3 because we won Class 1 two years ago. Both the 4×200 and the 4×400 are probably going to go and then Jayli in the 4 has a good chance to go to state.”
THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGHLIGHTS
Thomas Jefferson had a series of solid individual and team performances to finish second on both the boys and girls side of the Ozark 7.
“I’m just proud of our team overall,” Thomas Jefferson coach Clayton Carnahan said. “Every one of our athletes gave 100 percent today and did their absolute best for themselves and their team. We saw a lot of personal records, we had at least one school record, and so I couldn’t be more pleased with the performance of the kids.
“I think all of our relay teams worked very well together and we’ve got a lot of good long-distance kids in eighth grade and coming up the line. I’m proud of their work.”
On the boys side, Thomas Jefferson senior Jay Ball won the discus with a school record of 111-7, finished third in the discus, and placed fourth in the javelin.
Kip Atteberry won the 800, the 1600 and the 3200, Tyler Brouhard won the 100 and the 200, Benji Carroll took second in the discus and fourth in the shot, Sheraz Anis finished second in the 110 hurdles and third in the 300 hurdles, and the Cavaliers’ 4×100 placed fourth, 4×200 second, 4×400 third, and 4×800 third.
On the girls side, meanwhile, the 4×100 and 4×400 relays won conference titles.
In the field events, Gabriella Hiebert and Nico Carlson finished second and third in the high jump, Hiebert won the long jump and Avery Hocker finished third in the long jump, Hocker placed second in the triple jump, Lannah Grigg finished second and Macie Shifferd fifth in the shot, and Grigg won the discus and finished third in the javelin.
Hocker placed fourth in the 100 hurdles, Carlson third in the 100, Sarah Mueller, Shifferd and Samantha Seto third through fifth in the 1600, Leah Studer third and Jenna Joseph fifth in the 400, Hiebert and Seto third and fourth in the 300 hurdles, Mueller and Joseph third and fourth in the 800, Haley Orr fifth and Studer sixth in the 200, and Shifferd second, Seto fourth and Mueller fifth in the 3200.
Postseason competition looms ahead for the Cavaliers and the rest of the state.
“We’ve done everything that we can at this point in the season,” Carnahan said. “There’s a little bit more grit before we get to districts and state, but we’re looking at taking the most amount of people to state that we ever have. I’m very happy with that.”
MCAULEY CATHOLIC HIGHLIGHTS
The Warriors’ day Wednesday included three conference titles on the boys side and a three-event conference champion on the girls side, as both teams finished third behind fellow Joplin schools College Heights and Thomas Jefferson.
“I am really proud of our effort and performances on such a windy day,” McAuley Catholic coach Andy Youngworth said. “We still have a long way to go to close the gap on College Heights and Thomas Jefferson, but I feel we took a step forward despite the point differential. We only had 11 (boys) athletes compete today and it is hard to cover all 19 events.
“(Our girls) finished fourth last year and our goal was to move up one place. Again, we lack the depth to compete against College Heights and Thomas Jefferson, but I am proud of their efforts as well.”
Individual winner Tripp Miller set a new school record in the javelin with a toss of 107-6, while the 4×400 and the 4×800 both won conference titles.
Michael Parrigon finished second in the 800, 1600, and 3200 behind Thomas Jefferson standout Kip Atteberry.
On the girls side, Kendall Ramsey won titles in the 800, 1600, and 3200, with times close to her PR or a little better, according to Youngworth, on a very windy day.
Ozark 7 Conference Track Meet
(At J.P. Humphreys Track and Field Complex)
Boys team scores: College Heights 199, Thomas Jefferson 145, McAuley Catholic 97, Wheaton 52, Verona 30, Exeter 16.
Girls team scores: College Heights 232, Thomas Jefferson 157.5, McAuley Catholic 62, Exeter 25, Wheaton 21, Verona 17, Golden City 0.5.
