One expected to be at the top of the podium, the other was pleasantly surprised.
Regardless, both counted the same as state titles.
Southern Boone’s Connor Burns won the boys 1,600-meter run and School of the Osage’s Madison Kessler finished first in the girls pole vault Friday to lead the area athletes on Day 1 of the Class 3 track and field state championships at Adkins Stadium.
Earlier this month in California, Burns broke the national high school record in the 5,000-meter run, which was previously held by Galen Rupp, a two-time Olympic medalist.
He started his weekend at state by clocking a time of 4:13.52 in the 1,600, winning easily by 4.08 seconds ahead of East Newton’s Chase Sorrell.
“This weekend is more about doing it for the school, winning some championships for my teammates,” Burns said.
Gallery: Area Teams at Day 1 of 2023 Class 3 Track and Field State Championships
Burns maintained the No. 2 spot through the first two laps of the four-lap race. He then pulled ahead on the third lap and ran the final 400 meters in 57.75 seconds.
“The game plan was to relax and conserve as much energy as possible,” Burns said. “State is not about going for any records, it’s about getting it done as efficiently as possible.
“With about 600 (meters) to go, I dropped the hammer on the rest of the field.”
It’s the second track and field state title for Burns, who has two more events today: the 4x800-meter relay and the 3,200-meter run. The Eagles and Burns are the No. 1 seeds in both.
Winning two more state titles this weekend isn’t just a goal for Burns.
“It’s expected, there’s not much doubt in my mind as to what’s going to happen tomorrow,” he said.
Kessler became the third Osage track and field athlete to win a state title in as many years. Brockton McLaughlin swept titles in the boys 100- and 200-meter dashes last season and Sara Wolf won the girls 1,600 in 2021.
Kessler added to the run by winning the girls pole vault with a height of 10 feet, 9 inches.
“I did not think that was going to happen,” she said.
Kessler won the pole vault at sectionals, but she only cleared a height of 9-11¾ last Saturday.
“At sectionals, I injured my wrist, my neck felt weird and I had a headache, so it just was not my day,” Kessler said. “Today, my wrist was wrapped and I was feeling better.”
Kessler cleared each of the first five heights in the pole vault on her first attempt, which would go a long way to ensuring she would win a state title.
Kessler and Palmyra’s Abbey Redd both cleared 10-9 on their second attempts and both missed on all three tries at 10-11¾. However, Kessler cleared 10-6¼ on her first attempt, while it took Redd three tries, handing the tiebreaker for the state title in Kessler’s favor.
“The best thing that my coach told me was, ‘Reach for your PR, not the bar’ or ‘Reach up and not to the bar,’” Kessler said. “That helped me a lot, because I always reach out instead of up.”
Kessler, a senior, finished seventh in the pole vault in 2021 and placed fourth last season before winning a state title Friday.
“I was happy with what I got,” Kessler said.
Versailles sophomore Kylee Richey may have been the happiest second-place finisher Friday.
Richey was runner-up in the girls triple jump with a distance of 36-10½, but after the podium ceremony, she celebrated as if she had won the event.
“I had never been on the medal podium before, so I was just going to go balls to the wall out here and see what happens,” Richey said.
Richey was in the lead at 36-4 with one attempt to go. Summit Christian’s April Phillips passed Richey on her final attempt with a distance of 37-6¾. Richey followed with her best jump of the day, but it wasn’t enough to retake the lead.
“She took it from me on the very last jump. I was like, ‘Gosh dang it, April!’” Richey said with a laugh.
Eldon’s Zoe Martonfi took third place in the girls triple jump at 34-9¾ for her seventh career track and field all-state honor. Martonfi also won her heat of the 300-meter hurdles preliminaries in 45.40 seconds and will be seeded first in that event today, as well as the 800- and 1,600-meter runs.
Also earning state medals Friday:
• Versailles’ Joseph Bland placed third in the boys shot put with a throw of 54-1. Eldon’s Jasper DeGraffenreid finished fourth in the event with a toss of 51-7¾.
• Fatima’s Tyler Kloeppel came in third place in the boys 800-meter run with a time of 1:56.79.
• Osage’s Bayley Johnson, Katherine Wolf, Anderson Job and Macey Kessler placed fourth in the girls 4x800-meter relay with a time of 10:01.39.
• Osage’s Konner Vaughn brought home two all-state medals, finishing fourth in the boys javelin (158-2) and eighth in the long jump (21-2½). California’s Ayden Bryant finished just ahead of him at seventh in the long jump at 21-2¾.
• Eldon’s Will Richardson placed seventh in the boys high jump, clearing the bar at 6-2.
Also competing in finals events Friday but finishing outside the top eight were: Eldon’s Delaney McGhay (ninth, 105-5) and Corin Davis (14th, 93-7) in the girls discus; Southern Boone’s Aiden McDaniel in the boys shot put (11th, 47-9¾); Eldon’s Nathan Reynolds in the boys 1,600 (13th, 4:36.14); and Osage’s Drake Williams in the boys high jump (tied for 12th, 5-10).
The following area athletes and teams finished in the top eight in Friday’s preliminaries to advance to today’s finals:
• Osage took third in the boys 4x200-meter relay (1:30.17) and finished sixth in the 4x100-meter relay (43.55 seconds).
• Osage’s Noah Northrip, who ran the anchor leg on both relays, also placed seventh in the boys 100-meter dash preliminaries (11.05 seconds). He scratched his fourth event, the 200-meter dash.
• Eldon finished eighth in the girls 4x400-meter relay preliminaries in a time of 4:13.49.
Also competing in Friday’s preliminaries but finishing out the top eight were: Eldon in the boys 4x100 relay (ninth, 43.96 seconds); California in the girls 4x400 relay (ninth, 4:14.19); Fatima’s Caleigh Huot in the girls 200 (10th, 26.41 seconds); Osage’s Andrew Groos in the boys 300 hurdles (11th, 41.79 seconds); Southern Boone’s Taylor Germann in the girls 400-meter dash (12th, 1:01.86); Eldon’s Andrew Beanland in the boys 100 (13th, 11.19 seconds); and Southern Boone in the boys 4x200 relay (16th, 1:33.89).