It only took one event for the Jefferson City boys track and field team to show it had made a drastic improvement since last year's Class 5 state track and field championships.
The Jays started Friday with the 4x800-meter relay finals at Adkins Stadium and finished in second place with a time of 7:56.57. That event gave the Jays eight points in the team standings, which are more points than they tallied as a team in all 18 events combined last year at state.
"We only had six points last year between me and another guy," said Jacob Gourley, who ran the anchor leg of the Jays 4x800-meter relay. "This year, in the first event, we've already beaten that total score last year. That's pretty incredible."
The Jays stayed near the front of the pack throughout the relay and Gourley surpassed Blue Springs for second place during the final 100 meters of the race. But nobody was going to catch Lafayette (Wildwood).
The Lancers set the all-class state record in the 4x800, winning the race with a time of 7:40.29. The previous all-class record of 7:42.09 was set by University City in 1981.
"I knew Lafayette was a really good team and it would be hard to get them," Gourley said. "We tried our best to get them, but they have so much talent. So we just tried finishing second to them."
Also running the Jays 4x800 with Gourley were Jackson Schwartz, Thomas Nield and Brendan Bena.
Last year, Alexis Roberson won the inaugural Class 5 girls shot put, but she entered Friday's event as just the No. 4 seed in her attempt to retain the title.
The senior thrower set a personal record with her final throw of the day. Roberson's top throw of 43 feet, 0.75 inches landed her in second place.
"I'm kind of proud of myself," Roberson said. "I PR'd by almost two feet, so nothing to really be sad about today."
Roberson was sitting in fifth place before her final throw moved her up three spots. She will have another chance to medal today in the discus, where she is seeded second. The shot put has been her primary event, but her improvement this season in the discus has made her a strong state contender in both events. She said her goal now is to break the school record in the discus.
"I'd like to say I focus on both equally," Roberson said. "I do favor shot put obviously, but you have to give equal focus to discus as well."
Nicole Martin also repeated as an all-state medalist in the girls high jump. She came in fifth place after clearing a height of 5-2.
"Last year, I was super fidgety and nervous," said Martin, who tied for fourth place last year in the high jump. "This year, I noticed I was more calm going into it."
Martin was one of seven state qualifiers to reach a top height of 5-2 last weekend at sectionals, so she knew that height may not guarantee her a medal at state. On Friday, five girls each cleared 5-2, but Martin led them all because she cleared 5-0 and 5-2 on her first attempts.
Jefferson City already had six entries scheduled to take part in today's finals, but they'll be joined by many others that advanced past Friday's preliminaries.
Dennis Barnes is a state finalist in three events. He started the day by qualifying third in the boys 110-meter hurdles and later won his preliminary heat in the 300-meter hurdles. Barnes also ran on the Jays 4x100-meter relay, which narrowly made the cut for finals with an eighth-place finish in the preliminaries.
All three hurdlers for the Lady Jays made the top eight for today's finals. Brianna Holley qualified in seventh place in the 100-meter hurdles, while Haley Watson and Jacquelyn Walker both placed in the top-five during the preliminaries of the 300-meter hurdles.
The Lady Jays also had two relay teams advance to the finals. The 4x200-meter relay team finished third in the preliminaries with a personal record of 1:42.21. The 4x100 also took fifth place.
Friday's events were suspended shortly before 4:45 p.m. - following the conclusion of the Class 3 girls 800-meter run - because of inclement weather. The remaining Friday events have been pushed back to today, which includes Nathaniel Bustamante in the boys pole vault and the Lady Jays in the girls 4x400-meter relay. The pole vault competition will resume at 9 a.m. and the Lady Jays will now run a timed final - with no preliminiaries - at 6:52 p.m. in the 4x400.
The other finals events that will take place today for Jefferson City are: Roberson in the girls discus, the Lady Jays in the 4x800, Mekhi Burnley in the boys shot put, Bena in the boys 1,600-meter run, Rachel Holt in the girls pole vault and Lexie Stull in the girls triple jump.
After two events in the boys standings, Blue Springs leads with 12 points. Lafayette (Wildwood) and William Chrisman are tied for second with 10 points, Jackson is fourth with 9.5 points and Jefferson City is tied with Kirkwood for fifth place with eight points.
In the girls team standings after four completed events, Lee's Summit West is in first place with 20 points, followed by Lafayette (Wildwood) with 18 points. Waynesville is third with 13 points, followed by Jefferson City in fourth place with 12 points and Springfield Central in fifth with 10 points.