Jefferson City thrower Alexis Roberson won her second medal in the Class 5 track and field championships Saturday in Jefferson City, and the weekend's triumphs were as much mental accomplishments as physical ones.
One day after winning a state championship in the discus, Roberson earned a third-place finish in the shot put, overcoming some trying weather to uncork a best throw of 127 feet, 5 inches.
"It's hard enough to stay focused, but with these weather conditions, you had to just tune everything out and picture the perfect day in your head, like you're just at practice, and throw.
"Sometimes it's harder than others."
Competing at the point in the day Saturday where the rain was coming down - or more accurately, coming sideways - in heavy doses, holding on to the discus was tough.
"(The distance) was not what I wanted to do, at all," Roberson said. "I was definitely looking for a PR today, but I threw what I did and did pretty good."
Roberson started out with a mark of 96-2 on her first try and then upped it to 120-9 on her next attempt. She followed with 117-2 before getting her mark of record, then fouled on her final two attempts. She finished behind only Lee's Summit West's Makayla Kelby (145-8) and Blue Springs South's Shacasia Johnson (128-4).
"It was tougher than I thought it was going to be," Roberson said. "There was a lot of competition, but hey, who doesn't look forward to competition? It's what makes you better in the end."
The junior is already looking forward to throwing at state as a senior.
"It is very exciting, I know what to expect next year and hopefully I'll be back for Round 3," she said.
The Lady Jays had two other competitors in the event, as Andrea Hughes tied for eighth with a best effort of 113-10 and Jessica Rhoads was 10th at 110-3.
Matching Roberson for the best individual result of the day for a Lady Jay was Emma Elwood in the pole vault.
The event was won by Nicole Kallenberger of Lee's Summit West, who set an all-classes record by clearing 12-10 1/2. That beat the old mark of 12-10 set by her older sister, Brittany, in 2012.
Dominique Meyer of Francis Howell North was second at 12-0, while Elwood was next at 11-9.
"It was wonderful - I met my (personal record) from sectionals, so that was really great. I really enjoyed that," Elwood said.
Less enjoyable was the wind, which picked up for the event, which was the final one to finish.
"You had to time it for when the wind was stopped - it was crazy," Elwood said.
The approach for the vault was also in a different direction than normal for the state meet, adding another factor into the mix.
"It was so difficult, with the weather changes, and the wind going different ways and the pit being in a different spot. It was crazy," she said.
That might have factored into some early struggles. Elwood passed at 9-3 and 9-9 and started at 10-3, clearing that on her last attempt.
She then got in a groove, clearing 10-6, 10-9 and 11-0 on her first attempt. She made it over 11-3 on her second try, over 11-6 on her third and over 11-9 on her second before missing all three tries at 12-0.
"Wind is really terrifying," she said with a laugh. "It's really scary."
The Lady Jays were right in the mix for a team trophy, given for a top-four finish, as the final events of the day were winding down. When the pole vault finished to conclude the action, Jefferson City missed a trophy by just 1.5 points. McCluer North was first with 62, followed by Kirkwood (47.5), Blue Springs (47), Lafayette: Wildwood (45) and Jefferson City (43.5).
"It came down to the last events, we were waiting to see," Jefferson City coach Melvin Myers said. "It was exciting and it was fun for the girls. I'm proud of them."
After Roberson set a school record while winning the shot put Friday, the Lady Jays set two more Saturday.
Haley Watson set one while finishing fifth in the 300-meter hurdles (44.27), and the the 4x200-meter relay team of Louisa Nylander, Naomi Kerkula, Jacquelyn Walker and Watson pulled off the feat while coming in third (1:41.55).
"I was happy with our effort - we had a lot of PRs and a lot of school records were broken, and that's a big thing," Myers said. "Our kids gave it all they could."
Among the other results Saturday, the 4x100-meter relay team of Nylander, Nicole Martin, Walker and Kerkula was fifth (48.94), Lexie Stull was seventh in the triple jump (35-11) and Nylander was eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (16.04).
Additional coverage of Saturday's competition:
Helias' Frank has success in her favorite race
Jays' Schwartz takes fourth in 3,200
Squires' title seals trophy for California
Pair of overall marks fall on final day of state track
Prep Track: Class 3-5 state championship results
Additional coverage from Friday's competition:
Records fall at track and field championships
Roberson claims Class 5 shot put crown
Blair Oaks scores in two events
California's Pickering beats nerves to win title
Southern Boone's Crow advances in two events