The East Atchison Lady Wolves captured their first ever state championship, scoring 70 combined team points at the MSHSAA State Track & Field Championships to beat Drexel by 10 points. Pictured, from left to right, are: front row – Coach Madison Hagey and Coach Joe Unternahrer; and back row – Dylan Drummond, Grace Oswald, Natalie Hedlund, Faith Anderson, Tommi Martin, Lizzie Schlueter, and Claire Martin.
Faith Anderson is standing on top of the medal podium receiving her gold medal for the high jump. Faith would find herself there four times. She also received gold medals for the 300 meter hurdles, the 4×200 meter relay, and the 4×400 meter relay.
On the stand for the 300 meter hurdles were state champion Faith Anderson (EA), followed by Lizzie Schlueter (EA), who placed 3rd, and Ella Meyerkorth (RP), who placed 6th.
East Atchison’s state champion 4×200 meter relay team consisted of Grace Oswald, Natalie Hedlund, Lizzie Schlueter, and Faith Anderson.
East Atchison’s 4×400 meter relay, consisting of Faith Anderson, Tommi Martin, Grace Oswald, and Lizzie Schlueter, stand on top of the podium with their plaque.
Tommi Martin threw the javelin 35.96 meters to place sixth. She also won gold medals in the 800 meter run and the 4×400 meter relay, and a silver medal in the 4×800 meter relay.
Jarrett Spinnato gets a good start out of the blocks in the 100 meter dash. It was definitely a photo finish as Jarrett won by .01 seconds. He also placed fifth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.85.
Tommi Martin, Natalie Hedlund, Claire Martin, and Grace Oswald combined to run the 4×800 meter relay and placed second at state.
Lizzie Schlueter clears the last hurdle in the 100 meter hurdles to place sixth with a time of 16.98 seconds. She also placed sixth in the 300 meter hurdles, and earned gold medals in the 4×200 meter relay and the 4×400 meter relay.
The Rock Port girls came home with some hardware as they placed fourth as a team with 34 points. Pictured above, from left to right, are: Coach Phil Vogler, Coach Becky Meyerkorth, Norah Watkins, Avery Meyerkorth, Rylee Jenkins, Mikayla Makings, Ella Meyerkorth, Jacoby Driskell, and Coach Carrie Driskell.
The Rock Port 4×800 meter relay team, consisting of Ella Meyerkorth, Rylee Jenkins, Norah Watkins, and Avery Meyerkorth, set the tone for the start of the 2023 State Track and Field Meet by winning in a time of 10:13.23.
Rylee Jenkins continues her domination in the discus as she threw 38.99 meters or 127’ 11” to take first place in the event. Rylee was the defending state champion in the discus. She earned a second gold medal as a member of the first place 4×800 relay team.
Avery Meyerkorth ran well in the 800 meter run, placing third with a time of 2:24.83. She also earned a gold medal in the 4×800 relay.
Norah Watkins gives a smile as she gets her seventh place medal. Norah ran personal bests in both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs. She placed seventh in the 1600 with a time of 5:40.51 and sixth in the 3200 with a time of 12:17.80 and earned a gold medal in the 4×800 relay.
Blue Jay Caleb Lucas ran the 3200 meter run at the MSHSAA State Track & Field Championships, placing 14th with a time of 11:15.84.
The Class 1 and 2 State Track meet was held this last weekend at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City, Missouri. Over 700 girls and 700 boys earned the right to participate at state. Northwest Missouri, on the girls’ side of things, dominated with the top four teams all coming from Sectional 4 and three coming from the 275 Conference. Winning a first-ever state title was East Atchison scoring 70 points followed by Drexel with 60, Platte Valley with 39, and Rock Port finishing fourth with 34.
East Atchison girls had a dominating performance with five first place finishes, one second, one third place, and two sixth place finishes.
EA started their run for the title with their 4×800 meter relay, which placed second with a time of 10:17.30. Grace Oswald started, followed by Claire Martin to Natalie Hedlund to anchor Tommi Martin.
Faith Anderson gave EA its first state champion for the meet in the high jump. Faith cleared 1.59 meters or 5’ 2.5”. Faith would follow that up with three more state titles to finish her senior career with four gold at state track. In the 300 hurdles, Faith finished with a time of 45.72 seconds to take first.
The EA 4×200 meter relay team beat the field by more than two seconds with a time of 1:48.63 run by Grace Oswald, Natalie Hedlund, Lizzie Schlueter, and Faith Anderson.
Tommi Martin wrapped up her junior year with three firsts and a sixth place finish. Tommi dominated by more than four seconds in the 800 with a 2:19.95 setting – a new personal best. Tommi finished sixth in the javelin with a throw of 35.96 meters or 118’.
Lizzie Schlueter added to the team’s title run with her sixth place finish in the 100 meter hurdles (16.98) and a third place finish in the 300 meter hurdles (47.50).
East Atchison would finish out Friday by winning the final event of the day, the 4×400 meter relay. Led off by Faith Anderson to Tommi Martin to Grace Oswald to anchor Lizzie Schlueter, EA would run a 4:08.27, dominating the field by more than four seconds.
The Rock Port girls started off their state track experience with a state title in the 4×800 meter relay, setting a new personal recored of 10:13.23, four seconds ahead of EA’s 4×800 team. Leading off for the Jays was Ella Meyerkorth to Rylee Jenkins to Norah Watkins to Avery Meyerkorth.
Rylee Jenkins had another great day with two golds – one in the 4×800 relay and the other in the discus. This would be Rylee’s second state title in the discus with a throw of 38.99 meters or127’ 11”.
Avery Meyerkorth would set a new personal best in her 800 meter run with a time of 2:24.83 to place third overall.
Norah Watkins ran both the 1600 and the 3200 meter runs. In the 1600 meter run, Norah finished in seventh place with a time of 5:40.51, setting a new personal best, and she would also PR in the 3200 as well, running a time of 12:17.80 to place sixth.
Ella Meyerkorth qualified in three events as a freshman – the 100 meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles and the 4×800 meter relay. With a gold under her belt, Ella’s next race was the 100 meter hurdles. Unfortunately, on the next to last hurdle in prelims, Ella hit the hurdle and went down to finish 15th overall. Ella finished out her first state track meet with the 300 meter hurdles, where she finished in sixth place with a time of 48.18 seconds.
On the boys’ side of things, East Atchison’s Jarrett Spinnato would bring home the gold in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.08 seconds and a fifth place finish in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.85.
Rock Port’s Caleb Lucas qualified in the 3200 meter run, where he finished in 14th place with a time of 11:15.84.
