There's been chance after chance after chance for Tipton's Dalton Weaver to win a state medal.
It took until the final day of his high school track and field career to do so. And as a bonus, he walked away with two.
Weaver reached a mark of 43 feet, 0.25 inches in the boys triple jump Saturday to place third for his first state medal at the Class 2 state track and field championships at Adkins Stadium.
Medal No. 2 came in the final running event of the championships in the 4x400-meter relay. Weaver, Dylan Kuttenkuler, Isaac Ashton and Kodie Dick ran the event in 3:34.04 to place fifth.
Even though he finished higher in his individual event, the relay means a little more to Weaver.
"It's kind of been our dream to medal in a relay, so having this opportunity is just awesome," Weaver said. "It's something I'm never going to forget."
Weaver, Dick and Ashton have been running relays together then they were freshmen.
They made it to state in the 4x800 the three previous years, never finishing better than 11th. They got to stand on the podium together Saturday.
"We're a team, man," Weaver said. "Day in and day out we're pushing each other, sending each other messages all the time, just getting each other pumped up. That's what a team's made out of."
Finishing in the top eight in the triple jump has eluded Weaver with a 10th-place result as a sophomore and a ninth-place finish last year.
He came up short in the long jump Friday by ending up 11th.
"I've been trying to reach that goal as well trying to medal at state in a jumping event," Weaver said. "Finally achieving that my senior year, I'm super excited."
Dick also won a pair of medals Saturday by taking third in the 400-meter dash in 51.18 seconds.
"I was really pushing for first," Dick said. "I didn't want to be too satisfied, but I did what I could do out there and tried my hardest."
The plan was to get toward the front as quickly as possible, and he got to second about halfway through, but Monroe City's Blake Hays and Van-Far's Verlyn Johnson pulled away with times of 49.40 and 50.01, respectively.
"I was definitely nervous knowing that I had that good of competition ahead of me," Dick said. "I wanted to be in the 49s with them but I knew that was pushing the limit. But that's what I always go for. Set it high."
Calvary Lutheran's Emma Homfeldt had a similar approach to the girls 800-meter run.
She was in second spot 100 meters in before dropping to third at the 400-meter mark. Homfeldt was fifth as she entered the final 100 meters and ended up sixth in 2:29.85.
"Going in I wanted to make sure that I got into a good spot and not get boxed in," Homfeldt said, "and just to stay up with the front of the pack as much as I could and then basically at the 200-meter mark just give it all I have from there and try to pass as many people as I could."
This was the first time Homfeldt has competed in the Class 2 800 after winning the state title last season and taking third as a sophomore in Class 1.
"I never thought I would be where I am in my senior year," Homfeldt said. "I wasn't sure I wanted to run track my freshman year, but I am definitely very thankful for the experiences I've had. I've had amazing coaches and amazing teammates."
Lainy Williams of Cole Camp won the race with a time of 2:20.97, more than four seconds ahead of the runner-up spot.
"It's awesome to see a runner like her and you're like, 'Man, I wish I was as fast as her,'" Homfeldt said. "But honestly she's someone you can also use to push yourself."
Katy Allen and Sarah Johnson were also in action for the Lady Lions on Saturday. Allen was sixth in the long jump with a personal-best 16-4 while Johnson ended up 11th at 16-1.5.
Calvary Lutheran's Reece Going placed seventh in the boys 200-meter dash in 22.59 seconds.
New Bloomfield's Easton Ambler came away with a pair of state medals Saturday with a fourth-place finish in the 300-meter hurdles in 41.19 seconds and an eighth-place result in the 110-meter hurdles in 16.16 seconds.
Fellow Wildcat Caleb Distler ran the 3,200-meter run in 10:32.49 to take fifth.
The Linn girls had an individual medalist and a relay team take the podium.
Lindsey Lebel, Chloe Rhoden, Audrey Froning and Myra Baker clocked in at 4:19.56 in the girls 4x400 to finish sixth.
Lebel was seventh in the high jump by clearing 5-0.
For the Linn boys, Matthew Heckman placed seventh in the 300 hurdles in 42.16 seconds.
Linn's 4x400 relay team of Logan Klouzek, Lukas Oidtman, Ryan Platt and Cole Stephens finished eighth in 3:35.26.
Linn also had a four-time winner Saturday. David Horvath, a senior, earned a first-place medal in the para shot put with a throw of 18-0, the para 100-meter dash in 22.45 seconds, the para 200-meter dash in 40.06 seconds and the para 400-meter dash in 1:30.02.
All were state records.
For South Callaway, the girls 4x100 relay team of Adah Siegel, Hailee Potter, Raegan Brown and Paige Clubb finished sixth in 51.61 seconds.
South Callaway placed seventh in the boys 4x200 as Holden Adams, Hunter Martin-Hay, Vaught and Noah Reece clocked in at 1:35.39.
Monroe City claimed the boys team title with 57 points, 11 points ahead of Lathrop. Clark County was third with 44 points and Principia earned a team trophy with 40 points.
South Callaway tallied 22 points to finish ninth, while Tipton was 15th with 16 points. New Bloomfield tied for 18th with 13 points.
The girls team champion was West Platte with 50 points, beating out Jefferson: Festus by seven points. Adrian was third (41) and Summit Christian Academy finished fourth (39).
Calvary Lutheran totaled 10 points to tie for 23rd.
There were a pair of Class 2 girls records broken Saturday.
In the 4x100, Caruthersville clocked in a 48.87 seconds to beat the previous mark of 49.06 seconds, which was recorded in 1999 by Berkeley.
Principia senior Busiwa Asinga is the new record holder in the 300 hurdles with a time of 43.32 seconds. The previous record was 43.68 seconds in 2010.