Matthew Malmstrom’s journey to the medal stand began on a rainy day last year.
Helias’ track practice had been moved inside due to the weather and the then freshman Malmstrom was working out with some of his friends on the team.
“We were in the gym, I had done hurdles before high school, but I hadn’t really thought about what I wanted to do in track,” he said. “I was just messing around with a few of my buddies and they wanted me to do a hurdle for them and I said ‘sure.’”
A coach happened to see Malmstrom and called over head coach Phil Pitts to watch.
“He told me I was running hurdles tomorrow,” Malmstrom said. “I was like, wait, what?”
Helias headed to Ste. Genevieve the following day for a meet and Malmstrom finished third for a successful debut in the 300-meter hurdles.
“The rest is history,” Malmstrom said.
It is truly history as Malmstrom set a Helias school record with a time of 38.44 seconds Saturday afternoon to finish second in the Class 4 track and field state championships at Adkins Stadium.
“At the beginning of the season, I told myself I wanted that record and I got it today,” Malmstrom said.
That broke the mark of 39.0 held by Nathan Prenger.
“For him to go out and get that moment on a big stage like the state meet, I am so happy for him,” Pitts said.
Malmstrom made a big leap in the 300s after finishing eighth in the sectionals last year.
“After where I came from, I’m happy with second,” he said.
Malmstrom, who won his preliminary heat Friday in 39.55 to advance to Saturday, uses his athletic ability to be successful.
“It’s speed in between the hurdles,” Malmstrom said. “I don’t have the best form, but I have the speed to make up for some of that.”
Rhett Foster, a senior from Smithville, won the state title in 38.33.
Malmstrom failed to advance to the finals in the 110-meter hurdles, posting the ninth-best time Friday as the top eight advance.
“I would have liked to have been in the finals of the 110s, but not doing that gave me motivation for today,” he said.
Malmstrom earned a second state medal later Saturday, running the anchor leg of Helias’ 4x400-meter relay. The Crusaders -- with Korbin Fisher, Noah Voss and Ethan Wilson joining Malmstrom -- finished third in 3:24.38.
Those two events accounted for Helias’ 14 team points as the Crusaders finished in a three-way tie for 16th in the team standings.
Voss ran in Helias’ other event at state, finishing ninth Saturday in the 800-meter run in 2:01.21.
Kearney won the Class 4 boys team title with 64 points. West Plains was second with 40, followed by Festus (46) and MICDS (41).
III
Mikah Edwards got to add to her state medal collection Saturday as the Helias junior added three to the four she won last year.
“It went pretty good,” Edwards said. “To come out and place at state in three events, I’m pretty happy.”
Edwards started her day running the anchor leg in the 4x200-meter relay. Schyler Phillips, Isabelle Struemph and Kenadi Harrison joined Edwards in taking second in a school-record time of 1:43.13. That bettered the mark by more than a second.
“That was awesome,” Edwards said. “We’ve been working on that all year long and that means a lot to all of us.”
Edwards’ next event was the 400-meter dash.
“I was running against some great competition,” Edwards said.
Zaya Akins of Raytown South won the event with a meet-record time of 53.41. That was more than three seconds faster than anyone in the field.
“She is so good, it was a race for second place,” Edwards said.
Edwards finished third in 56.63 to break her own school record, just .04 behind runner-up Nnenna Okpara of Parkway Central.
“I wanted second place so bad, it was so close,” she said. “Next year is going to be my year.”
Edwards’ day ended with the 200-meter dash. She said she wasn’t confident heading into Friday’s preliminaries with just the eighth-best time in the 16-person field.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it to the finals,” Edwards said.
Instead, she finished second in her heat and entered Saturday’s final with the third-best time in 25.75.
It was time to adjust her thinking.
“I just wanted to get on the podium in the top three, hold my spot,” Edwards said.
She did just that, finishing third in 24.86. That was just .02 off from tying the Helias record.
“She’s incredible,” Pitts said. “Since the first day I’ve coached her, I’ve said she’s as tough as they come, she’s as strong as they come. I’m so proud of the day she had today.”
Edwards had a chance at a fourth medal Saturday as the Lady Crusaders’ 4x100-meter relay team had qualified for the finals. But the decision was made for her to get some rest before running the 400 and the 200.
The Lady Crusaders team of Phillips, Struemph, Harrison and Sammi Emhke finished seventh in 50.03.
“It was great to see those girls run, they did a great job,” Edwards said.
Ehmke earned a state medal in her senior season.
“Sammi has done so much for our program and our school and I’m so happy she had a chance to run at state for us,” Pitts said. “We are truly a team and they showed it today.”
That attitude showed again in the 4x800-meter relay as the Lady Crusaders finished 10th in 10:09.23 with the foursome of Lauren Verslues, Alexa Lamb, Ava Morrisey and Danielle Buker. Iris Morrisey, who ran in the event in the district and sectional meets, served as the alternate.
“All five of them have bought into the team concept of track,” Pitts said. “They have really supported each other and I’m proud of what they accomplished.”
The Lady Crusaders finished 14th in the team standings with 22 points. Parkway Central was first with 78 points, while West Plains was second with 52. Kearney (45) and Nerinx Hall (38) rounded out the trophy winners.