Meyerkorth closes career as KMAland Missouri Female Track & Field Athlete of the Year
By KMA’s Derek Martin
A legendary track and field career recently came to an end at the Missouri State High School Activities Association Track & Field Championships. Now, there’s another honor for that career, as Rock Port’s Ella Meyerkorth has been named the KMAland Missouri Girls’ Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
“I thought it went pretty good,” Meyerkorth said of her senior season. “I definitely wish that long jump went better at state, but that’s really all I can complain about, for sure.”
Meyerkorth, who will take her talents to the University of Northern Iowa, took third in the javelin and seventh in the long jump on day one before taking second in the 100 meter hurdles and the state championship in the 300 meter hurdles for the third time. Her 300 meter hurdles time of 44.39 set a new Class 1 record.
“First meet of the year, I broke 40 in the javelin and I was really excited about that,” Meyerkorth said. “And then, at state, I broke 15 in the 100 hurdles and that was really awesome for me. The 300 hurdles also had a crazy PR at state, so I can’t complain about that. And long jump, I also got a PR of 5.38, so I was really excited about my PRs this year.”
Meyerkorth pretty well spent most of her time on those four events, showing off her amazing versatility, which is also something she will continue to do at UNI in the multis.
“It just keeps me entertained being able to switch from seven events that I can choose from,” Meyerkorth said. “I really do like how I can compete with my main four in high school and then add the shot put and the 200 outside of school. I just have to put in the work and be dedicated.”
Meyerkorth wraps up her high school career with 12 state medals. She also won four medals as a junior, took three as a sophomore, and was on the 4×800 meter relay championship team as a freshman.
“It was a super great experience,” Meyerkorth said of her career. “I’m just really grateful for my team and my coaches, who have helped me throughout all my four years. But it is really nice to compete at that level and be there at state. It’s just been really fun.”
Watkins and Meyerkorth named to the All-KMAland Girls’ Track & Field Team
By KMA’s Trevor Maeder
KMA Sports continues its 2026 track & field awards with the All-KMAland Girls’ Track & Field Team. Eligible individuals for this team include those from the Bluegrass, Corner, Hawkeye Ten, Pride of Iowa, Rolling Valley and Western Iowa Conferences plus all Council Bluffs schools and all KMAland Nebraska and Missouri schools. No individual will be selected for more than one event. This creates some challenges with putting the team together, but also allows for as many deserving KMAland athletes as possible to claim this honor.
Rock Port senior Norah Watkins was selected for the 3200 meter run as a repeat honoree. Watkins wrapped up her stellar running career with a pair of Missouri Class 1 state medals. She was eighth in the 1600 meter run, but her best performance came in the 3200, where she placed second.
Rock Port senior Ella Meyerkorth was also a repeat honoree with this year’s javelin selection. The 2026 KMAland Missouri Girls’ Track & Field Athlete of the Year left Jefferson City with four state medals and one championship title. Her first place finish was a state-record performance in the 300 meter hurdles. She also took second in the 100 hurdles, third in the javelin, and seventh in the long jump.
Other honorees include: field at-large – Ellery Bird, Clarinda; track at-large – Brylee Acklin, Maryville (repeat selection); triple jump – Lily Madison (Lourdes Central Catholic); long jump – Molly Weber (Johnson County Central); high jump – Aubree Shields, Mount Ayr (repeat selection); pole vault – Ellie Dias, Stanberry; discus – Maggie Osburn, Mound City; shot put – Sophia Fenner, Riverside; 100 meter hurdles – Rylee Hemmingsen, Treynor; 300 meter hurdles – Addison Darnell, Auburn (repeat selection); 400 meter hurdles – Ada Hansen, CAM (repeat selection); 100 meter dash – Morgan Hast, Boyer Valley; 200 meter dash – Lana Alley, Fremont-Mills (repeat selection); 400 meter dash – Emma Reynolds, Mount Ayr; 800 meter run – Maclaine German, Martensdale-St. Mary’s; 1500 meter run – Karson Oberender, Martensdale-St. Mary’s; 1600 meter run – Mallory Robbins, Plattsmouth; and 3000 meter run – Lili Denton, St. Albert (repeat selection).
East Atchison’s Gavyn Irvine named to All-KMAland Boys’ Track & Field Team
By KMA’s Derek Martin
The latest piece of the KMA Sports Track & Field Awards is the 2026 All-KMAland Boys’ Track & Field Team. Eligible individuals for this team include those from the Bluegrass, Corner, Hawkeye Ten, Pride of Iowa, Rolling Valley and Western Iowa Conferences plus all Council Bluffs schools and all KMAland Nebraska and Missouri schools. No individual will be selected for more than one event. This creates some challenges with putting the team together, but also allows for as many deserving KMAland athletes as possible to claim this honor.
East Atchison senior Gavyn Irvine was selected as the Triple Jump honoree. Irvine was jumping his best at the end of the year and earned a fourth place finish in the Missouri Class 1 state meet.
Other honorees include: 100 meter dash – Cauy Konz, Treynor (repeat selection); 200 meter dash – Liam Jensen, Ashland-Greenwood; 400 meter dash – Colin Harder, AHSTW; 800 meter run – Dawson Henderson, Riverside; 1600 meter run – Haven Weers, Tri-Center; 3200 meter run – Kevin Coots, Lewis Central; 110 meter hurdles – Jaxon Gordon, Riverside; 300 meter hurdles – Oliver Eylar, Syracuse; 400 meter hurdles – Tayden Hull, Underwood; shot put – Morgan Cooley, East Union; discus – Mace McKim, Maryville; javelin – Bruce Otto, Platte Valley; pole vault – Ernie Peters, Mound City (repeat selection); high jump – Trevon Keely, Paton-Churdan (repeat selection); long jump – Adrian Jessen, St. Albert; track at-large – Cale Hall, Red Oak; and field at-large – Hunter Infanger, Lewis Central.
Cook named KMAland Missouri Male Golfer of the Year
By KMA’s Derek Martin
The top-finishing golfer in KMAland Missouri is honored with another win. KMA Sports selected Rock Port’s Tayden Cook as the KMAland Missouri Male Golfer of the Year for the second time in three years.
“It was definitely (a season) full of ups and downs and highlighted by a pretty solid performance at state,” Cook told KMA Sports. “I’ve always wanted to perform a little better down there, but I wasn’t upset with how this one ended.”
Cook shot a 156 over the two-day tournament and finished in sixth place to lead the Blue Jays to a ninth place state finish.
“This group of guys is a lot of fun,” Cook said. “All these guys are young, too, so they should be able to continue having success and great times in the future without me. I just hope I left my imprint well enough that they can continue on the good culture of golf there.”
Cook maintained strong con-sistency throughout the course of the season, winning the Stanberry Tournament and taking top-four finishes at the Savannah and Maryville Invitationals. He earned a trip to state with a fifth place finish in the district tournament.
At state, Cook found himself in medal position following the first day and he improved his standing with a strong day two.
“Kind of got off to a rocky start day one, but I managed to at least find the ropes a little bit and make a lot of pars,” he said. “The conditions weren’t obviously great, but everybody was playing in them so I came out better day two. I played a little smarter. I wish I could have at least made one birdie at the tournament, but pars are what you go for and with enough of those you can put together a good score.”
Closing out his career with a state medal, Cook is excited to continue playing at the next level with Southwestern Community College in Creston. Overall, he feels his senior season will prepare him for that future.
“So much of golf is mental,” Cook said. “Just making the right decisions out there, not even hitting the perfect shots. Just making sure that your game IQ is on point and where to put yourself in the best positions. Whenever you’re doing that and you’re putting well, you can score well anywhere.”
All-KMAland Missouri Boys’ Golf Team
By KMA’s Derek Martin
KMA Sports is honoring several Missouri high school golfers with All-KMAland Missouri Boys’ Golf Team honors. Rock Port, Savannah, Stanberry and Maryville are all represented on this year’s team, which includes one senior, two juniors, two sophomores, and one freshman.
Rock Port senior Tayden Cook was named the KMAland Missouri Boys’ Golfer of the Year for a second time and now is a two-time All-KMAland Missouri Boys’ Golf Team selection (this is just the second year of the KMAland team). Cook finished with the highest state medal in KMAland Missouri this year (6th). He was one of the most consistent golfers across the area all season.
Rock Port sophomore Ryzer Hale was also named to the All-KMAland Missouri Boys’ Golf Team. Hale broke out with a big sophomore campaign that helped him continually hang around the top of any tournament or meet he competed in. He had a tough opening day at state, but bounced back with a seven-stroke improvement and finished in 85th place in Class 1.
Other members of the team are: juniors – Aiden Graham (Stanberry) and Levi Lindley (Savannah); sophomore – Kenton Dudeck (Savannah); and freshman – Colin Hoffmann (Maryville).
