Homefield advantage served its purpose Saturday at Adkins Stadium.
The Jefferson City Lady Jays track and field team received its first Class 5 state trophy, finishing third at the state track and field championships with 53 points. The Lady Jays placed in the top four at state for the first time since 2008, when they won their fourth consecutive Class 4 state title.
"It's been really special," Jefferson City coach Melvin Myers said. "The kids really were excited and they worked really hard to be able to pull this through."
The Lady Jays were positioned in fourth place with two events remaining, with results in both the pole vault and 4x400-meter relay still to come. It appeared as if they had a state trophy in their grasp.
Then they exceeded their expectations.
Rachel Holt was participating at state for the first time and was seeded fifth in the pole vault. Holt, a junior, didn't quite match her personal record of 11 feet, 3 inches, finishing at 11-0, but she still posted Jefferson City's best finish of the day, taking second place.
"I'm just really excited that I got to be on the podium," Holt said. "That was my goal. I wanted to be on the podium, I didn't care what place."
Holt gave the Lady Jays eight points with her second-place finish. That moved Jefferson City past Lafayette (Wildwood) into third place in the team standings with one event to go.
The 4x400-meter relay secured a trophy in the final event. The team of Jacquelyn Walker, Lakia Newman, Nicole Martin and Haley Watson was seeded 11th entering the race, but they too exceeded expectations with a fifth-place finish. Their time was 3:57.11.
"Our coach has been stressing that this is our year," said Martin, who was an all-state medalist in three events. "People just say that, and it's like, 'Ah, OK.' But to actually do it? It feels really good. The hard work paid off."
Those two events helped Jefferson City secure a girls state trophy, but the 300-meter hurdles helped put the Lady Jays into contention. Haley Watson and Jacquelyn Walker finished third and fourth, respectively, to add 11 points to the team's score.
Watson, a senior, ran her race in 44.34 seconds, while Walker, a junior, finished in 44.85 seconds. It was the only event in which the Lady Jays had mutliple all-state medalists.
"It's just been kind of a great support system for me and Jacquelyn," Watson said. "We both know our goal at state was to go right next to each other and finish on the podium together."
Three of the runners inthe 4x400 also ran in the 4x200-meter relay Saturday. Naomi Kerkula joined Newman, Walker and Watson to post a third-place finish with a time of 1:42.30. Kerkula and Newman ran the first two legs of the relay and Walker and Watson finished the last two legs.
Watson and Walker both ran in four events Saturday. Watson took home three medals, while Walker was a medalist in all four of her events. She also finished sixth with the girls 4x100-meter relay, which clocked a time of 49.09 seconds.
The 4x400 was Watson's last high school race. She will run track next season at U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.
"It was an amazing experience for me to be able to train with Haley," Walker said. "I've always looked up to her as an underclassman."
Martin and Kerkula also ran on the Lady Jays 4x100, as did Niya Slaughter.
A majority of Jefferson City's events exceeded expectations at state, but one athlete wasn't as pleased with her finish Saturday.
Senior Alexis Roberson was the second seed in the discus and wanted to break the school record. Instead, two of her opponents broke the state record.
All six of Roberson's attempts landed beyond 130 feet. Her top throw of 136-11 put her in third place and gave her a second all-state medal this weekend. She finished second in the shot put on Friday.
"I definitely could have done better," Roberson said. "During this meet, I was still more consistent than I was at other meets. I'm still pretty proud of what I did, but there's always room for improvement."
Roberson will continue her track and field career next season at Southern Illinois-Carbondale.
Brianna Holley also posted a top-eight finish for the Lady Jays. The sophomore was seeded 13th in the 100-meter hurdle preliminaries, but she advanced to the finals and took sixth place with a time of 15.75 seconds.
Lee's Summit West won the Class 5 girls championship, scoring 96 points. Hazelwood Central took second with 76 points and Lafayette (Wildwood) came in fourth place with 45 points.
The Jefferson City boys track and field team finished Saturday in a tie for 11th place with Rock Bridge in the team standings. Both teams posted 20 points.
That more than tripled the Jays' point total at state last season.
"On our boys side, we just had them scrapping and getting whatever they can," Myers said. "We have talked about getting as many kids here as we can here, and then you find out what you can do."
The Jays had seven athletes competing Saturday, but none were more successful than junior Dennis Barnes. The team scored 12 of its 20 points on the second day of state track and Barnes played a role in scoring all 12 points.
He started the day with a third-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles, posting a time of 14.54 seconds. Then he ran the 300-meter hurdles and clocked a time of 38.61 seconds to take fifth place.
Between those two races, Barnes also ran with the Jays 4x100. He ran the opening leg and was followed by Carson Ridgeway, Adam Huff and Garrett Parker. The Jays finished seventh in the 4x100 finals with a time of 42.59 seconds.
"I didn't really place as good as I wanted to, but if I want to come back next year and win, I just have to work," Barnes said.
Barnes, a three-time all-state medalist this season, is already setting high expectations for himself next year. He said he wanted to return to state in all three events and qualify in a fourth event.
"Maybe the 4x200 or the 4x400," Barnes said.
Lafayette (Wildwood) won the Class 5 boys championship with 81 points. St. Louis University High came in second place with 59 points, just one point ahead of third-place Blue Springs. Hazelwood West finished fourth with 41 points.
Class 5 results
BOYS
Team scores: 1. Lafayette 81; 2. St. Louis University High 59; 3. Blue Springs 58; 4. Hazelwood West 41; 5. Liberty North 38; 6. Blue Springs South 33; 7. William Chrisman 27; 8. Raymore-Peculiar 23; 9. Lee's Summit 21.5; 10. Pattonville 21; 11. (tie) Jefferson City and Rock Bridge 20; 13. (tie) Park Hill and Lee's Summit North 19; 15. Kirkwood 18; 16. C.B.C. 17; 17. Rockhurst 16; 18. Parkway North 15; 19. Jackson 14.5; 20. Liberty 12; 21. (tie) Parkway South, Parkview and DeSmet 10; 24. (tie) Ruskin and Chaminade 9; 26. (tie) Nixa, Park Hill South and Hazelwood Central 8; 30. Lee's Summit West 7; 31. Francis Howell 6; 32. (tie) St. Joseph Central and Kickapoo 5; 34. Lindbergh 4; 35. (tie) Raytown, McCluer North, Timberland and Staley 3; 39. (tie) Fort Osage, Sedalia Smith-Cotton and Washington 2; 42. (tie) Fort Zumwalt West, Mehlville, Marquette and Battle 1.
110-meter hurdles: 1. Savion Cauveren, Blue Springs South, 14.02; 2. Daniel Isom, St. Louis University High, 14.45; 3. Dennis Barnes, Jefferson City, 14.54; 4. Christopher Mckinzy, Raymore-Peculiar, 14.81; 5. Jalen Kirk, Lee's Summit North, 14.878; 6. AJ Iverson, Lee's Summit, 14.94; 7. Theo Smith, Raytown, 15.15; 8. Isaiah Bynum, Mehlville, 15.18.
100-meter dash: 1. Micah Beaver, Raymore-Peculiar, 10.65; 2. Jon Redmond, Liberty North 10.67; 3. Jayson Ashford, St. Louis University High, 10.72; 4. Cameron Brown, C.B.C., 10.85; 5. Malik Johnson, Lindbergh, 10.87; 6. Brad Alexander, Lafayette, 10.92; 7. Cameron Dawkins, Lee's Summit Nroth, 10.92; 8. Tahj Williams, Hazelwood Central, 11.71.
4x200-meter relay: 1. Liberty North 1:27.32; 2. Hazelwood West 1:27.89; 3. Lee's Summit North 1:28.06; 4. Rockhurst 1:29.24; 5. Blue Springs South 1:29.43; 6. Parkway North 1:29.48; 7. Hazelwood Central 1:29.48; 8. C.B.C. 1:29.97.
1,600-meter run: 1. Dustan Davidson, St. Louis University High, 4:10.97; 2. Devin Meyrer, Lafayette, 4:11.85; 3. Alex Haines, Lafayette, 4:12.22; 4. Dylan Quisenberry, Lafayette, 4:16.07; 5. Victor Mugeche, Blue Springs, 4:18.45; 6. John Luder, Rockhurst, 4:19.58; 7. Peyton Burlingame, Lee's Summit West, 4:19.75; 8. Travis Line, Battle, 4:21.05.
4x100-meter relay: 1. Liberty North 41.88; 2. Blue Springs South 42.03; 3. C.B.C. 42.22; 4. Ruskin 42.39; 5. Pattonville 42.40; 6. Rockhurst 42.43; 7. Jefferson City 42.59; 8. Lee's Summit North 42.59.
400-meter dash: 1. Isaiah Cole, Hazelwood West, 47.21; 2. Nylo Clarke, Park Hill South, 48.00; 3. Jermaine Holt, Parkway North, 48.14; 4. Eric Hughey, Lee's Summit North, 48.39; 5. Jayson Ashford, St. Louis University High, 49.32; 6. Princeton Liggins, McCluer North, 49.44; 7. Patrick Bowen, Rockhurst, 49.75; 8. Adam Lauzy, Washington, 49.88.
300-meter hurdles: 1. Savion Cauveren, Blue Springs South, 37.41; 2. Chaaz Ferguson-Cooper, Rock Bridge, 38.26; 3. Jekeel Suber, Parkway North, 38.29; 4. AJ Iversen, Lee's Summit, 38.34; 5. Dennis Barnes, Jefferson City, 38.61; 6. Vonzell Kelley, Lee's Summit West, 39.94; 7. Christopher Roggenburg, Lafayette, 40.05; 8. Theo Smith, Raytown, 40.51.
800-meter run: 1. Dylan Quisenberry, Lafayette, 1:54.06; 2. Dustan Davidson, St. Louis University High, 1:54.71; 3. Walker Wetter, Francis Howell, 1:56.41; 4. Alex Haines, Lafayette, 1:56.85; 5. Colton Gurera, Blue Springs, 1:56.88; 6. Christian Blake Procell, Nixa, 1:56.92; 7. Joseph Reed, DeSmet, 1:57.37; 8. Christian Moreno, Lee's Summit, 1:58.91.
200-meter dash: 1. Jayson Ashford, St. Louis University High, 21.39; 2. Micah Beaver, Raymore-Peculiar, 21.56; 3. Isaiah Cole, Hazelwood West, 21.57; 4. Brad Alexander, Lafayette, 21.61; 5. James Croft, Hazelwood West, 21.83; 6. Lawan Alade-fa, Hazelwood Central, 22.05; 7. Hunter Drew, Seckman, 22.10; 8. Adam Gauzy, Washington, 22.17.
3,200-meter run: 1. Austin Hindman, Lafayette, 9:03.37; 2. Devin Meyrer, Lafayette, 9:10.29; 3. Alec Haines, Lafayette, 9:26.68; 4. Nathan Hall, Kickapoo, 9:33.28; 5. Samel Baumer, Rock Bridge, 9:33.56; 6. Cody Berry, Blue Springs, 9:37.46; 7. Victor Mugeche, Blue Springs, 9:39.59; 8. Austin Crowe, Timberland, 9:42.60.
4x400-meter relay: 1. Hazelwood West 3:17.12; 2. Rock Bridge 3:18.51; 3. Blue Springs 3:19.24; 4. St. Louis University High 3:21.38; 5. Liberty North 3:21.42; 6. Lafayette 3:21.46; 7. Lee's Summit 3:22.07; 8. Lee's Summit North 3:24.53.
Pole vault: 1. Christopher Nilsen, Park Hill, 16-9; 2. Kyle Rogers, Liberty, 15-6; 3. (tie) Dakota Maddox, Jackson and KC Lightfoot, Lee's Summit, 15-0; 5. Brandon Kimball, Blue Springs, 15-0; 6. Joseph Nickell, Nixa, 14-9; 7. Will Drury, Kirkwood, 14-0; 8, Michael Barlow, Chaminade, 13-6.
High jump: 1. Marcus Walton, Parkview, 6-6; 2. Ethan Erusha, DeSmet, 6-5; 3. Daniel McMurran, St. Louis University High, 6-5; 4. (tie) Christopher Nilsen, Park Hill and Alijah Gee, Park Hill, 6-4; 6. (tie) David Jackson. St. Louis University High, Darius Clark, Blue Springs and Chance Johnson, Sedalia Smith-Cotton, 6-4;
Long jump: 1. Christopher Gleghorn, Pattonville, 23-.25; 2. Damon Bonds, Chaminade, 22-9; 3. Tyler Lamport, Liberty North, 22-8.25; 4. Justin Hall, Blue Springs, 22-7.25; 5. Delshaun Presley, Lee's Summit, 22-7.5; 6. Erion Stevenson, Hazelwood West, 21-9.5; 7. Trevor Skaggs, Fort Osage, 21-8.5; 8. Wendall Bronner, Marquette, 21-6.75.
Triple jump: 1. Justin Hall, Blue Springs, 48-825; 2. Jordan Woods, William Chrisman, 46-6.5; 3. Tre' Wheaton, Blue Springs, 45-8.25; 4. Ryan Scott, C.B.C., 45-.25; 5. Rhochard Lawrence, Ruskin, 44-8.5; 6. Bradley Jenkins, Pattonville, 44-8; 7. Tajon Sutton, Timberland, 44-7.25; 8. D'Averiel Burns, Blue Springs South, 44-7.
Shot put: 1. Austin Lawless, Parkway South 58-6.75; 2. Reece Goddard, Kirkwood, 56-9.5; 3. James Bailey, William Chrisman, 56-4.75; 5. Jordan Wilkes, Pattonville, 53-11.5; 6. Daniel Carson, William Chrisman, 53-3.75; 7. Edward Becton, Hazelwood Central, 53-2.5; 8. Devante Wright, Lee's Summit, 52-11.5.
GIRLS
Team scores: 1. Lee's Summit West 96; 2. Hazelwood Central 76; 3. Jefferson City 54; 4. Lafayette 45; 5. Raymore-Peculiar 35; 6. (tie) Battle and Waynesville 31; 8. Kirkwood 30; 9. Liberty 27; 10. Springfield Central 26; 11. Marquette 21; 12. Rock Bridge 18; 13. (tie) Blue Springs and Ritenour 17; 15. (tie) Nerinx Hall and Kickapoo 16; 17. Sedalia Smith-Cotton 15; 18. Truman 12; 19. (tie) Francis Howell, Fort Osage and Jackson 11; 22. (tie) St. Joseph Central, Washington and North Kansas City 8; 25. McCluer North 7; 26. (tie) St. Joseph's Academy and Seckman 6; 28. (tie) Timberland and Lindbergh 5; 30. (tie) St. Teresa's Academy, Park Hill and Nixa 4; 33. (tie) Lee's Summit North, Joplin and Hazelwood East 3; 36. (tie) Pattonville, Blue Springs South, Park Hill South and Troy Buchanan 2; 40. (tie) Hickman and Holt 1; 42. (tie) Lee's Summit and Mehlville .5.
4x800-meter relay: 1. Lafayette 9:19.39; 2. Nerinx Hall 9:22.74; 3. Francis Howell 9:27.45; 4. Jackson 9:29.64; 5. Rock Bridge 9:31.52; 6. Lee's Summit North 9:36.74; 7. Liberty 8:40.30; 8. Blue Springs 9:44.03.
100-meter hurdles: 1. Ariel Okorie, Waynesville, 14.19; 2. Symiah Fulton, Hazelwood Central, 14.29; 3. Kelsey Hunn, Ritenour, 14.92; 4. Stevia Holmes, Rock Bridge, 15.28; 5. Lauren McCann, St. Teresa's 15.54; 6. Brianna Holley, Jefferson City, 15.75; 7. Dymeria Guillory, Park Hill South, 15.93; 8. Sarah Coy, Blue Springs, 15.97.
100-meter dash: 1. Deja Ingram, Hazelwood Central, 11.80; 2. Garionna Pearl, Raymore-Peculiar, 11.91; 3. Brittney Johnson, Hazelwood Central, 11.98; 4. Jaslyn Williams, Springfield Central, 11.99; 5. Alex Rosenberger, Lindbergh, 12.07; 6. Hava Turner, Kirkwood, 12.16; 7. Amanda Isom, St. Joseph's Academy 12.20; 8. Avrie Jones, Liberty, 12.31.
4x200-meter relay: 1. Hazelwood Central 11:39.50; 2. Lee's Summit West 1:39.82; 3. Jefferson City 1:42.30; 4. Liberty 1:42.83; 5. St. Joseph's Academy 1:43.14; 6. Hazelwood East 1:43.91; 7. Rock Bridge 1:44.63.
4x100-meter relay: 1. Sedalia Smith-Cotton 47.94; 2. Hazelwood Central 47.89; 3. Lee's Summit West 48.31; 4. Battle 48.78; 5. Raymore-Peculiar 48.96; 6. Jefferson City 49.09; 8. Liberty 49.32; 8. Lafaytte 49.33.
400-meter dash: 1. Erin Sermons, Lee's Summit West 55.71; 2. Kaitlyn Lewis, Liberty, 56.51; 3. Nicki Horn, Nerinx Hall, 56.76; 4. Destiney Nash, Hazelwood Central, 56.77; 5. Taiya Shelby, Park Hill, 57.20; 6. Kara Steele, Kirkwood, 57.37; 7. Jordan Roundtree, Kirkwood, 57.73.
300-meter hurdles: 1. Kyra Atkins, Lee's Summit West, 42.79; 2. Ariel Okorie, Waynesville, 42.87; 3. Haley Watson, Jefferson City, 44.34; 4. Jacquelyn Walker, Jefferson City, 44.85; 5. Devyn Torbert, Hazelwood Central, 44.88; 6. Kelsey Hunn, Ritenour, 45.23; 7. Andrea Kuehnlein, Kirkwood, 46.17; 8. Lillian Schakenberg, Truman, 48.62.
800-meter run: 1. Allison Bailey, Kickapoo, 2:10.02; 2. Paityn Howat, St. Joseph Central, 2:11.31; 3. Anna West, Lafayette, 2:12.53; 4. Jana Shawver, Lee's Summit West, 2:12.79; 5. Kami Tabor, Raymore-Peculiar, 2:13.01; 6. Madelynn Hill, Liberty, 2:16.71; 7. Carli Knott, Jackson, 2:18.87; 8. Erin Smith, Nerinx Hall, 2:20.20.
200-meter dash: 1. Deja Ingram, Hazelwood Central, 24.65; 2. Jaslyn Williams, Springfield Central, 25.04; 3. Garionna Pearl, Raymore-Peculiar, 25.20; 4. Monique Grant, Sedalia Smith-Cotton, 25.27; 5. Erin Sermons, Lee's Summit West, 25.48; 6. Hava Turner, Kirkwood, 25.58; 7. Destiney Nash, Hazelwood Central, 25.75; 8. Alex Rosenberger, Lindbergh, 25.83.
3,200-meter run: 1. Sarah Nicholson, Lafayette, 10:40.34; 2. Nikayla Reed, Washington, 10:55.86; 3. Hannah Pierson, Marquette, 10:58.19; 4. Danielle Mohrmann, Marquette, 11:12.60; 5. Kiley Deain, Raymore-Peculiar, 11:12.67; 6. Alex Marko, Lee's Summit West, 11:13.23; 7. Victoria Findley, Blue Springs South, 11:13.23; 8. Gemma Saathoff, Hickman, 11:14.54.
4x400-meter relay: 1. Lee's Summit West 3:52.00; 2. Kirkwood 3:52.14; 3. Hazelwood Central 3:56.11; 4. Blue Springs 3:57.08; 5. Jefferson City 3:57.11; 6. McCluer North 3:58.68; 7. Pattonville 3:59.09; 8. Nerinx Hall 3:59.57.
Pole vault: 1. Nicole Kallenberger, Lee's Summit West 11-9; 2. Rachel Holt, Jefferson City, 11-0; 3. Taylor Gross, Seckman, 11-0; 4. Jordan Banker, Rock Bridge, 10-9; 5. Katherine Schumer, Jackson, 10-9; 6. Elaina Roeder, Springfield Central, 10-6; 7. Emma Johnson, Timberland, 10-6; 8. Mara Meneely, Kirkwood, 10-6.
Triple jump: 1. Alexis Hart, Truman, 38-3; 2. Kara Steele, Kirkwood, 37-9.75; 3. Alexis Spikes, Battle, 37-7.25; 4. Leslie Brooks,; Ritenour, 37-4.25; 5. Meleah Ridenhour, Nixa, 37-0; 6. Jerrica Key, Battle, 36-7.5; 7. Alicia Starr, Blue Springs, 36-6; 8. Madison Rogers, Marquette, 36-5.75.
Discus: 1. Makayla Kelby, Lee's Summit West, 153-3; 2. Martana Stemmons, Battle, 145-11; 3. Alexis Roberson, Jefferson City, 136-11; 4. Paige Bunn, Fort Osage, 136-2; 5. Shaunice O'Neal, Hazelwood Central, 128-4; 6. Toni Martin, Raymore-Peculiar, 126-11; 7. Emily Montgomery, Troy, 125-11; 8. Makayla Hurst, Timberland, 124-9.