This was the one Allie Heckemeyer wanted.
Sure, the St. Elizabeth junior had three other events on her plate at the Missouri State High School Activities Association Class 1-2 Track and Field Championships at Dwight T. Reed Stadium, but she had her eye on the triple jump.
Now Heckemeyer is the Class 1 state champion in that event with a distance of 34-73â„4.
"I would be completely happy," Heckemeyer said when asked how she'd feel if she just won the one event. "I told my coaches, "If I win triple jump, I don't care what happens.' Because I've been working for this forever and I really wanted to win it."
And now that she has?
"It's amazing," Heckemeyer said. "I've been working for it since freshman year. I've been here. I don't know if it's really sunk in yet, because I still feel like I have another meet, but it's just amazing. I love it."
The triple jump is Heckemeyer's best event of the four - long jump, 400-meter dash and 200-meter dash being the others. She was the top seed coming in, and her jump beat second-place finisher Samantha Fulte of Orrick by 31â„4 inches.
"I do well in others like the 400 and long jump, but if it wasn't for triple jump I wouldn't be in track," she said.
Her title-winning leap was more than an inch shorter than her seed jump, 35-8, but it was more than enough to get the job done.
"I'm happy because (the distance) won, obviously, but I'm not the happiest because normally I can jump 35s and that's where I should be at," Heckemeyer said. "I only jumped 34 today, but it was enough to win, so I'm happy with it."
After finishing fifth in both of the last two seasons, it was finally Heckemeyer's time to win the state title. Now she has her sights set on doing it again.
"It's getting tougher," she said. "So hopefully next year I can come back out and repeat."
Heckemeyer qualified for today's final in the 400, finishing fourth in Friday's prelims with a time of 1:00.56. The top qualifying time belongs to Columbia Independent's Nicole Neville, who finished in 59.09. That final is for 2:05 p.m. Saturday.
Heckemeyer barely missed qualifying in the 200, taking ninth in 27.37 and missing by just .27 of a second.
Heckemeyer will compete in the long jump starting at 2 p.m. today.
"I do (think I have a chance to win the long jump)," she said. "Last I heard from my coaches I'm second, but the top five girls are within one inch of each other.
"I should hopefully be up there."
Heckemeyer's 10 points for finishing first puts St. Elizabeth in fourth place in the team standings. Salisbury is first with 33, Mound City is second with 18 and Chamois is third with 15.
Makayla Otto, the only other Lady Hornet competing, took 16th in the 100-meter dash preliminaries with a time of 14.0 seconds. She won't advance to Saturday's final.
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Icing on the athletic year for Mehmert
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