By The Blink of an Eye
Eric Duncan can’t say he didn’t put up a fight. After two victories yesterday, today was his shot to put his name in the record books as someone who won four open events at State. His favorite of the four, the triple jump, went as planned as he added another first place finish to begin the day. It all came down to the 100, the toughest of his four. For the entire race it was a deadlock between Duncan and Nick Jones of Missouri School for the Deaf. It came out – Jones won by the blink of an eye, literally. 11.22 to 11.24. The smallest of margins separated the two as Duncan racked up 38 of Rock Port’s 41 points – good enough for third on the team side.
Niendick Gets the Gold
After three years of finishing second in the 110 hurdles, this had to be Brandon Niendick’s year for gold. Despite tearing his knee in the first football game back in the fall, Niendick came in the favorite in this event. However, a sophomore, Dustin Ellis stepped up big when it mattered most, defeating Niendick to add his fifth silver medal to his collection. He still had two great chances for gold – the 4x200 and 300H. The 4x200 was the same story, another second place finish. The 300 hurdles, like the 110’s, was an event he was favored in. He defeated Ellis this time, but Seth Shurvington got out strong and kept the lead across the finish line. Niendick had come close so many times, seven second place finishes with zero first place finishes, until…… The story doesn’t end there for the Wellington-Napoleon senior. In large part due to his efforts, he got to stand on top of the podium when all was said in done. His team defeated Midway to claim the team title 48 to 44. Niendick left Jefferson City with his gold medal after all.
Lamar Throws Complete Sweep
24 points in the Discus just wasn’t enough for the Lamar throwers. After a third place finish in the discus for Austin Boice, he defended his 2012 title throwing 53-4.25. The two events brought Lamar 34 points – a good chunk of their incredible 79 points. Their total nearly doubled the next team, defending champs Cleveland NJROTC. A year ago Cleveland took the team title by a single point (Lamar got disqualified a final, which would have resulted in at least a tie)
Ricketts Posts Strong 800
While Deko Ricketts attempt to defend his 1600 title fell short, he was still able to lay claim to a state championship in the 800 Meter Run. The quick pace set by Fatima’s Tom Zeilman set the stage for a fast time. Ricketts surged to the lead, running a 57.5 last lap to set a new Class 2 record – 1:54.78. This is not only the top time in Class 2, but also one of the fastest times for the entire state.
All Wells
Cleveland NJROTC was second this year with 40 points in the Class 2 Boys team standing – all of which Michael Wells had a hand in. While he didn’t get the record that we thought he might, he won both the 100 and 200 with quick times of 10.79 and 22.02. Wells also ran on both the 4x100 and 4x200, both of which came out on top.