Several fifth- and sixth-place finishes at last week's sectional meet in Sedalia kept the number of Jefferson City state qualifiers down - five individuals and a relay team for the boys and two individuals for the girls - but the ones who kept their season alive are aiming to make the most of it.
"Looking at the points, if things go well, we still have a chance to do things that we talked about at the beginning of the season," Jefferson City track and field coach Melvin Myers said of the Jays.
Out of the seven events the Jefferson City boys team will compete in today and Saturday in the Class 5 state track and field championship at Adkins Stadium, the Jays are seeded to medal five times in four of the events.
The throwing events have proven to be the strong suit for the Jays and Lady Jays.
Devin Roberson, who was a tiebreaker short of becoming a state champion in the discus last year, will get a second chance at 9:30 a.m. today in the event. Fellow junior Corey Suttle will be in search for his first state medal in the event.
"Them two kind of work together and feed off of each other," Myers said.
Roberson's throw of 164 feet, 3 inches at sectionals has him seeded fifth, but his personal record is 188-4.
"I think he can easily go 190 (feet) in the discus," Myers said. "Corey, he's having a pretty good season, too. Who knows what he can throw. I'm excited to see what they do tomorrow."
Suttle tossed a 154-9 last week to be seeded sixth.
Last year, Suttle was a state qualifier in the shot put but not the discus. That is flipped this year.
"Going into the season I would have thought it would be the opposite, but it's just kind of how it went," Myers said. "He was kind of surprised by it but I think that's motivated him for the discus."
Roberson will be throwing in the shot put for the first time at state at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. He's seeded third with a mark of 55-3.
"He's kind of come along in it and it's been good to see him being strong in both events," Myers said. "He has a chance in both of them if he has a good day."
The Lady Jays will also have a pair of throwers in action. Jessica Rhoads will make her fourth state appearance at 1 p.m. today in the shot put. She'll also throw the discus along with junior Carlee Brehe, who's competing in the state meet for the first time, at 9 a.m. Saturday.
"I think it would be more like Jessica being big sister pulling little sister along," Myers said. "They work good together. They were just kind of excited about both of them making it here."
Rhoads is seeded fourth in the shot put and fifth in the discus. Brehe is the No. 4 seed in the discus.
"Last week was kind of surprising in the discus with Carlee beating her, but that was nice to see," Myers said. "We've known she's had that potential. It would be nice if both of them had a big day."
This will be the first time Rhoads will throw in both events in the state meet.
"She's worked her tail off in the offseason with me," Myers said. "We had speed and power days and she didn't miss one of those. And she was at the weight room and it's kind of spring-boarded her into this season."
Senior Mason York and sophomore Andrew Dyer will both be making their first state appearance today for the Jays.
Dyer will run in the 300-meter hurdles preliminaries at 3:28 p.m. and York will begin competition in the pole vault at 3:30 p.m.
"He's had some injuries that kind of hampered him," Myers said of York. "This year he's been healthy and has worked hard."
The battle could be for second place with KC Lightfoot of Lee's Summit being the favorite to win with a seed mark of 18-0. The meet record is 17-0 and the national mark is 18-4.75.
"You don't see that all the time, someone jumping 18 feet in high school," Myers said. "A lot of times at the state meet you go 16 you expect to win."
York is seeded fourth at 14-6 but has cleared 15-0 this season.
"I think he can even go past 15," Myers said. "He's a talented young man. I think we've only touched the edge of what he can do."
Rounding out the Jays individuals is senior Cole Biesemeyer, who'll run in the 3,200-meter run at 5:30 p.m. today and the 1,600 at 12:55 p.m. Saturday. He's seeded 12th and 14th, respectively.
The 4x400-meter relay team of Ryan Brooks, Khalil Foster, Dyer and Reggie Nketiah is seeded 16th and will run in the prelims at 6:05 p.m. today.