There's a spot on the wall Jefferson City's Devin Roberson has been eyeing for awhile.
Photo Gallery
UCA Homecoming
The festivities included a parade and tailgating before the game at First Security Stadium October 11.
Across from the track and field coaches' office, there's an empty space in a photo frame next to Alexis Roberson's photo from when she won a state title in the shot put in 2015.
That's the last time Jefferson City has had a state champion, until Friday.
Roberson threw the discus 182 feet, 3 inches to win the Class 5 state championship at Adkins Stadium.
Now the family portrait can be completed.
"She was pressuring me because she was a state champ," Roberson said of his sister Alexis.
The pressure was all on the competition after Roberson's first toss, which held up as the winning mark.
His final throw of the preliminaries was 180-9 and his best finals throw was 172-9, fouling on the other two attempts.
"On my prelims throws I kind of just went slow, and then on my last ones I was just going all out because there was nothing to lose," Roberson said.
And by the finals, Roberson's biggest competition was out of the running.
Daniel Parker of Blue Springs entered as the top seed at 183-2, but he could only record one distance in the prelims to end up 14th at 142-11.
So after having last year's event come down to a tiebreaker, which Roberson lost by one foot, two inches, Roberson got to enjoy a victory lap with the final throw of the day and become the first Jay to win a state title since Joey Burkett in 2012 in the pole vault.
"It hasn't really sunk in yet, but I think it will in the next few weeks," Roberson said. "It feels really good."
Teammate Corey Suttle threw 159-1 on his last attempt to finish seventh for his first state medal.
"As soon as he got his first throw in he was cool and relaxed," Roberson said.
The pair still have one more year left to add more to their collection. Roberson said he wants to throw 200 feet.
"Get in the weight room," he said.
This season, Roberson didn't get to 180 feet until April 28 in the Midwest Team Challenge at Paducah, Ky. His winning mark of 188-4 in that event is a personal best.
"I started out the year a little shaky and I wanted to break last year's PR and I did that in Kentucky," Roberson said. "I guess that's all you can ask for is to PR and be a state champion."
Roberson will have a chance to add another medal today when he competes in the shot put at 12:30 p.m. He's seeded third.
The Jays had another first-time state medalist Friday.
Mason York didn't have the best week of his high school track and field career, but he certainly had the best day he's ever had.
The Jefferson City senior finished third in the Class 5 pole vault, clearing a personal-record 15-6.
"I hadn't been doing so well in practice this week and it kind of all just came together today," York said. "Today I just didn't focus on the vault, I focused on myself."
And even though he was seeded fourth with a height of 14-6, York questioned how the day would go.
"At the beginning of the day I was like, 'I probably won't even place,'" he said. "As I progressed through my day, I was feeling better and took those negatives and turned them into positives."
Earlier this month, York vaulted 15-0 for what was a personal best.
On Friday, York decided to use a different pole. It made all the difference.
"It threw me up and I did everything right that I hadn't been doing before," York said. "It felt really good. It was about five pounds, that's it. That's what took me six inches higher."
York has been competing in the pole vault for four years, but had to wait until his junior year to get past the district meet and this year to qualify for state.
"I want to thank (coach Melvin Myers) and coach (Scott) Gschwender) for doing so much for me this year," York said. "I really appreciate them and I couldn't have done the things I did today without them."
KC Lightfoot of Lee's Summit kept the show going long after the second-place finisher cleared 15-9.
Lightfoot attempted to clear 18-5.5 to surpass the national record of 18-4.75, but the senior had to settle for an all-class record height of 18-0 to earn the convincing victory.
"Lightfoot is a whole other breed, man," York said. "He just does everything right. He competes with class and I just appreciate him for taking the time to help me out when he can."
The Jays sit in second place in the team standings with 18 points after the first day of competition.
Kirkwood leads with 23 points Lafayette (15) in third, and William Chrisman and Pattonville tied for fourth with 14 points.
The lone Lady Jay in action Friday earned her best finish at the state meet.
Jefferson City senior Jessica Rhoads earned a medal in the Class 5 shot put for the second straight year, finishing fifth with a throw of 41-5.
"It was not my best throw, but I'm definitely grateful I got a good throw out there," Rhoads said.
Rhoads said she worked with the sprinters in hopes it would give her a jolt with her throws.
"Definitely quicker and more agility," she said.
Rhoads' throws gradually went farther Friday, starting at 39-4.25 on her first toss, 40-10 on her third and 41-5 on the fifth attempt.
"I had a problem picking my right foot up and getting it under me," Rhoads said. "I got it under me more and more as we went."
Rhoads will try to cap off her high school career with a third state medal when she competes in the discus at 9 a.m. today.
She's seeded fifth behind teammate Carlee Brehe.
"Whatever places we get tomorrow we'll be happy," Rhoads said.
III
Class 5
BOYS
Team scores (through five events): 1. Kirkwood, 23; 2. Jefferson City, 18; 3. Lafayette, 15; 4. (tie) William Chrisman and Pattonville, 14; 6. Poplar Bluff, 11.50; 7.) Lee's Summit, 10; 8. (tie) Kickapoo and Branson, 8; 10. (tie) St. Louis University High, Blue Springs, Ruskin and Raymore-Peculiar, 6; 14. (tie) Lee's Summit North, North Kansas City, Hickman, Park Hill South and Battle, 5; 19. (tie) Waynesville and Lee's Summit West, 4; 21. Sedalia Smith-Cotton, 3.50; 22. (tie) Staley, Rockhurst and Fox, 3; Jackson, 2; 26. (tie) Lindbergh and Seckman, 1.
4x800-meter relay: 1. Kirkwood, 7:49.90; 2. Lafayette, 7:50.32; 3. St. Louis University High, 7:51.40; 4. Park Hill South, 7:53.39; 5. Lee's Summit West, 7:53.64; 6. Blue Springs, 7:56.70; 7. Raymore-Peculiar, 7:59.32; 8. Lindbergh, 8:00.94.
3,200-meter run: 1. Christian Baker, Kirkwood, 9:21.60; 2. Brenden Crews, Kickapoo, 9:23.58; 3. Harrison Brown, Lafayette, 9:27.03; 4. Chandler Gibbens, Hickman, 9:32.81; 5. Braden Zaner, Raymore-Peculiar, 9:36.12; 6. Thomas Seitzer, Rockhurst, 9:36.62; 7. Morgan Cauveren, Blue Springs, 9:37.94; 8. Nassim Oufattole, Lafayette, 9:39.36.
Pole vault: 1. KC Lightfoot, Lee's Summit, 18-0; 2. Reagan Ulrich, Branson, 15-9; 3. Mason York, Jefferson City, 15-6; 4. Darin Smalls, Battle, 15-6; 5. (tie) Nate McFail, Sedalia Smith-Cotton, and Brett Barousse, Poplar Bluff, 15-0; 7. Jackson Rinehart, Jackson, 14-9.
Triple jump: 1. Jordon Woods, William Chrisman, 48-1.50; 2. Michael Jackson, Pattonville, 47-2; 3. Aaron Jones, Ruskin, 46-10; 4. Devon Richardson, Lee's Summit North, 46-9.50; 5. Tracy Gates, Waynesville, 45-5.50; 6. Donald Hatfield, Fox, 45-4.50; 7. Cooper Wise, Kirkwood, 45-0.50; 8. Tre' Wheaton, Blue Springs, 44-9.50.
Discus: 1. Devin Roberson, Jefferson City, 182-03; 2. Makarius Bell, Poplar Bluff, 168-10; 3. Dakari Streeter, Pattonville, 166-9; 4. Adetomiwa Adebawor, North Kansas City, 164-6; 5. Daniel Carson, William Chrisman, 163-6; 6. Tyler Miller, Staley, 161-3; 7. Corey Suttle, Jefferson City, 159-1; 8. Dylan Clark, Seckman, 153-5.
GIRLS
Team scores (through six events): 1. Lee's Summit West, 48; 2. Liberty, 19; 3. St. Teresa's Academy, 15.50; 4. Park Hill South, 14; 5. North Kansas City, 13; 6. Ritenour, 12; 7. (tie) Kickapoo, Pattonville, Park Hill and Blue Springs South, 10; 11. Sedalia Smith-Cotton, 9; 12. (tie) Northwest and Republic, 8; 14. Raymore-Peculiar, 7; 15. Liberty North, 6; 16. (tie) Marquette and Blue Springs, 5; 18. Jefferson City, 4; 19. (tie) McCluer North, St. Joseph's Academy and William Chrisman, 3; 22. (tie) Francis Howell, Lee's Summit and Kirkwood, 2; 25. (tie) Hickman, Jackson, Timberland, Lindbergh and Ozark, 1; 30. Battle, 0.50.
1,600-meter run: 1. Victoria Findley, Blue Springs South, 4:51.07; 2. Emma Roth, Park Hill South, 5:03.91; 3. Madison Hulsey, Lee's Summit West, 5:05.05; 4. Tessa Valdivia, Blue Springs, 5:05.74; 5. Madelynn Hill, Liberty, 5:07.05; 6. Miranda Dick, Raymore-Peculiar, 5:10.22; 7. Erin Gilbert, Francis Howell, 5:10.67; 8. Alexis Barber, Ozark, 5:13.06.
800-meter run: 1. Taiya Shelby, Park Hill, 2:12.58; 2. Jana Shawver, Lee's Summit West, 2:12.99; 3. Emma Roth, Park Hill South, 2:15.42; 4. Addison Coppinger, St. Teresa's, 2:15.81; 5. Madelynn Hill, Liberty, 2:15.83; 6. Saige Peterson, Sedalia Smith-Cotton, 2:18.07; 7. Audrey Parson, Lee's Summit West, 2:19.04; 8. Kaylee Wilson, Jackson, 2:20.18.
High jump: 1. Jessica Haney, Lee's Summit West, 5-9; 2. Avylina Powell-qua, Republic, 5-6; 3. Caroline Crawford, Liberty, 5-4; 4. Erica Schamel, Northwest, 5-3; 5. Christa'nae Wright, Ritenour, 5-3; 6. Annmarie Tyson, St. Joseph's, 5-2; 7. Terrika Burks, Kirkwood, 5-2; 8. (tie) Delaney Hupke, St. Teresa's, and Carynton Marshall, Battle, 5-2.
Long jump: 1. Leah North, St. Teresa's, 18-10.75; 2. Diamond Riley, Ritenour, 18-10.25; 3. Monique Grant, Sedalia Smith-Cotton, 18-10; 4. Maegan Saleh, Marquette, 18-4; 5. Brooke Jenkins, Pattonville, 17-9.75; 6. Michelle Owens, McCluer North, 17-9.50; 7. Tayte Kozlowski, Kickapoo, 17-7.75; 8. Alexandria Rosenbe, Lindbergh, 17-7.50.
Shot put: 1. Makayla Kelby, Lee's Summit West, 46-7.25; 2. Kennedy Aurentz, Kickapoo, 44-1.25; 3. Diamond Richardson, Pattonville, 42-9.25; 4. Jordan Donley, North Kansas City, 42-1.50; 5. Jessica Rhoads, Jefferson City, 41-5; 6. Jacqueline David, William Chrisman, 41-2.50; 7. Maddie Harris, Lee's Summit West, 40-6.75; 8. J'Dyn Green, Timberland, 40-1.50.
Javelin: 1. Maddie Harris, Lee's Summit West, 138-2; 2. Jaide Rose, North Kansas City, 137-10; 3. Ava Curry, Liberty North, 137-7; 4. Autumn Avery, Liberty, 137-4; 5. Janae Thurston, Raymore-Peculiar, 134-7; 6. Megan Fortner, Northwest, 129-2; 7. Ashlyn Cook, Lee's Summit, 119-2; 8. Eryka Wanyonyi, Hickman, 119-1.