COLUMBIA - The results speak for themselves for Eldon freshman Caroline Beckmann.
Appearing for the first time in the Class 3 state track and field championships Saturday at Walton Stadium on the University of Missouri campus, Beckmann had every reason to be overwhelmed, but she wasn't.
"You would think I would be, but I've been competing for three years," said Beckmann, who collected all-state medals in the girls high jump, long jump, triple jump and the 4x400-meter relay. "I just act like it's another meet."
Beckmann started in the long jump, where she finished third with a leap of 17 feet, 4 inches.
"I overcame some nerves, but once you get in your groove, it's easy to do the things that you know how to do," she said.
Then Beckmann had to compete simultaneously in the triple jump and the high jump. She finished the high jump first, coming in eighth place after clearing a height of 5-2.
"I haven't high-jumped the whole season, I started about halfway through," Beckmann said.
Seeded first in the triple jump after posting a school-record distance of 37-4 at sectionals, Beckmann took sixth at the state meet with a distance of 35-10.25.
"As the day wore on, my legs were getting kind of tired," Beckmann said. "But it was a good way to start the day."
Beckmann went 4-for-4 in medal finishes with the last event of the day, the 4x400. Joined by Kristan Wilson, Lauren Imler and Nicole Reynolds, Beckmann and the Lady Mustangs finished sixth in the event with a time of 4:09.55.
So with four state medals already in the bag, does Beckmann think she can add 12 more during the next three years for the maximum total of 16?
"That would be great if I could," Beckmann said. "That's a crazy thing to think about.
"Knowing that I have three more years to do the same thing and keep climbing up the rankings, that would be a fun thing to do."
The Eldon girls medaled in seven of their nine state events. Senior Haley Clifton accounted for both top-eight finishes in the field events.
Clifton began her day with a second-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 39-8, the best finish of her career at state.
"My goal was at least at 40," Clifton said. "I didn't get it, but I at least got points for my team, and that's all that really mattered."
In the afternoon, Clifton competed in the discus and finished in fourth place with a throw of 116-3. She ends her career with four state medals, two in each event.
"This was my first time medaling in both," said Clifton, who will throw next season at Missouri Southern. "Usually I get one or the other, and this is my first time getting in the top five in both. I've worked so hard the past four years."
Rachel Hanks finished in eighth place in the girls pole vault, clearing a height of 10-0.
Eldon took fifth place in the final girls team standings with 27 points, just two behind Knob Noster and Cardinal Ritter for a team trophy.
The Versailles girls finished with eight points to tie for 28th place.
Keely Gustafson medaled in two events for the Lady Tigers. She had the team's highest event finish, placing fourth in the 200-meter dash final with a time of 25.40 seconds, cutting 0.19 seconds off her time in the preliminaries.
Gustafson qualified for state in four events, adding the 4x200- and 4x400-meter relays, as well as the 400-meter dash.
"It makes it seem more like a district or sectional meet than a state meet," Gustafson said. " But once I got through the prelims in the 200, I knew I'd be fine."
Gustafson, Gracie Hamrick, Allison Taylor and Lauryn Shewmaker finished seventh in the 4x200 with a time of 1:46.95.
Carrie Hoffa also placed eighth in the shot put for the Lady Tigers with a throw of 37-1.
The School of the Osage girls tied for 26th place in the team standings with nine points.
The Lady Indians medaled in three individual events. Loren Melton placed fourth in the long jump with a leap of 17-3.25, while Sara Wolf finished sixth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:25.62. Cecilia Verslues added an eighth-place time of 12.71 seconds in the 100-meter dash final.
The Fatima girls tied for 20th place in the team standings with 10 points.
The Lady Comets' 4x800-meter relay of Kailey Woody, Katelyn Vanderfeltz, Alyssa Struemph and Sierra Sankey came in third place with a time of 10:07.29. Kendall Haller also placed fifth in the 3,200-meter run in 12:12.62.
The California and School of the Osage boys tied for 30th place in the team standing with six points each.
Robert Moore accounted for all of the Indians' team points with a third-place finish in the shot put. He threw a personal-best 48-8.5.
"This is my second year ever doing shot put," said Moore, who did not join the track and field team until his junior season. "It was good to go out on a bang my last year."
For California, Nathan Pickering took fourth place in the shot put behind Moore with a toss of 48-6.5. Isaac Ash also finished eighth in the triple jump with a distance of 43-0.
Dallas Waller scored all five points for Versailles, which tied for 38th place in the team standings. Waller came in fourth place in the boys triple jump with a leap of 44-2.75.
"I was happy with my performance," said Waller, who came into the event as the No. 4 seed. "I came in wanting to hit 45, but I'm happy with a 44 and fourth place."
The top-three finishers in the triple jump are seniors, which was encouraging to Waller, a junior.
"Throughout the year, I was winning every meet," he said. " Luckily I get to come back and hopefully win it next year."
Eldon senior Hunter Bushnell was a two-time state champion Saturday. Bushnell won the boys para 100-meter dash title with a time of 40.85 seconds.
He then won the para 200-meter dash in 1:11.58, competing against Holt's Allen Bublitz in both events.
"Sports were my whole life," said Bushnell, who suffered a spinal injury at football practice in September 2017 that left him paralyzed from the waist down. "I did football, wrestling and track.
"Sports are the No. 1 thing I wish I had back, so when I had the opportunity last year to compete (in para events) I was so determined, and I set goals and I hit them."
Bushnell said he plans to compete in the U.S. Paralympics Junior Nationals in July at Minnesota.
"I'm excited for it," he said. "That's going to be my opportunity to possibly go to the international games, or just get scouted for next year. I'm going to continue to do this."