Results are a funny thing - sometimes the exact same finish can mean two completely different things.
That was the case for Russellville's Jordan Barnhart during the Class 2 Missouri State High School Activities Track and Field Championships in Jefferson City on Saturday.
After posting a pair of second-place finishes in sprint races roughly two hours apart, the junior had an OK feeling about the first and a decidedly better feeling about the other.
The first race was the 100-meter dash, where Barnhart had the second-best time in the prelims. That held true to form, as the top qualifier, North Platte's Regan Nash, won in 12.29 seconds and Barnhart was second in a personal-record time of 12.35.
"I wanted the championship, but I'm sure everybody else did, too," Barnhardt said.
Barnhart's next event was the 200-meter dash, where she came in as the third seed. Barnhart beat everyone but Penney's Morgan Prather to the finish line, with Prather crossing in 25.32 and Barnhart in 25.82.
"Second feels a lot better in this one," she said with a smile.
Barnhart turned it on in the second half of the 200.
"My 100 meters is always my strongest - the 200 seems so far to sprint for me, I'm just a short-distance girl," she said. "But I wanted it, so I just had to push through.
"I got third (Friday in prelims), so I honestly didn't expect anything better than that."
Those two sprints were part of a busy day for Barnhart, who got Saturday started by finishing in a tie for fourth in the high jump by clearing 5 feet, 1 inch.
She finished the day by helping the Lady Indians finish fourth in the 4x400-meter relay.
"(The state meet) was awesome, it was a great experience," she said. "I wasn't expecting it - I've improved so much since last year. I'm very thankful for it, I hope I improve more for my senior year."
Outside of Barnhart, the best finish from an area competitor Saturday came from Linn's Harley Nale, who finished third in the 800-meter run in a school-record time of 2:24.05.
"I'm pretty excited about it - it was a good time," she said.
A good finishing kick helped Nale improve a few spots down the stretch.
"It was kind of scary - I knew I had to kick it in if I wanted to be up on the podium," she said.
She said failing to advance in the 400-meter dash prelims Friday helped her Saturday.
"It motivated me a lot," she said. "I wanted to get out here and do well in the 800."
Two other area girls earned medals for top-eight finishes. Russellville's Justice Miller finished sixth in the 400-meter dash (1:01.06), while Vienna's Rebecca Hertzing was seventh in the shot put (33-73/4).
Three relay teams were all-state performers. South Callaway took third in the 4x100-meter relay (51.25) with the squad of Sarah Jennings, Adrian Mann, Alexis Wetherell and Hannah Oberdiek; Russellville was fourth in the 4x400 (4:12.89) with Barnhart, Addie Kirchner, Sydney Robertson and Miller; and Eugene was fifth in the 4x400 (4:14.89) with Nicole Koetting, Payton Blank, Mikayla Payne and Lexi Dickerson.
Three individuals placed in the boys portion of the meet, led by South Callaway's Cory Hanger, who was fifth in the 400-meter dash (51.41). Russellville's Alex Thompson came in sixth in the 3,200-meter run (10:19.94), while South Callaway's Mason Shoemaker was seventh in the 100-meter dash (11.35).
Three boys relay teams also earned all-state laurels.
Russellville's Harrison Frank, Jamie Porter, Anthony Bertucci and Thompson were sixth in the 4x800-meter relay (8:31.38); South Callaway's Ajay Cave, Kaden Helsel, Hanger and Shoemaker were seventh in the 4x100 (44.87); and Terry Miles, Brandon Ward, Austin Meyer and Hanger teamed up to help South Callaway take seventh in the 4x400 (3:37.79).
Additional coverage:
St. Elizabeth's Styles second in Class 1 pole vault
Brentwood's Rivera sets Missouri mark in shot put
Prep Track: Class 1 and 2 state championship results
Prep Track: Area results from Class 1-2 state championship
Earlier coverage:
Oberdiek repeats as state champion