The 2009 season has come to a close and with it, the most anticipated meet of the season; The Missouri Class 3-4 State Championships. With near perfect weather on Friday the stage was set for the thrills to begin. As luck would have it though, on Saturday the heat rose and the wind showed up to play spoiler through the afternoon finals.
Festivaties got off with a bang as the Parkway Central Lady Colts 4X800 squad made history on Friday. The girls ran away from the field in running 9:06.89 to win by over eleven seconds and break the existing record of 9:09.09 which was set by Eureka five years before.
Emily Sisson added the individual titles in the 1600 and the 3200 meter runs to her resume in addition to her part of the 4X800 victory that was claimed by Parkway Central. Sisson took control of the 3200 meter run on day one of the Class 4 state meet and never relinquished it. Sisson covered the eight lap race in record breaking time. Her 10:24.12 was fast enough to break the existing record of 10:25.95 by Megan Thompson of Hazelwood Central which had stood up to numerous attacks since 1990. Sisson then came back on Saturday to take the crown in the 1600 meter run with her 4:52.15.
Bethany Buell, of Rockwood Summit, vaulted her way into the history books with her performance in the Class 4 pole vault. Buell vaulted 12’2” which broke the existing state record by one inch and earn her the individual championship by nearly one foot.
Jill Rushin became the state champion in both the discuss throw and the shot put. The junior hurler from Jackson, won the discuss on Friday with a throw of 146’3” to win by exactly three feet. She also dominated the field in the shot put on Saturday with her throw of 47’4.50” which was only a few inches off of the state record. The throw gained Rushin her seconds gold medal on the weekend and a win by nearly six feet. Look for huge things from this young woman next year, as she returns for her senior season.
Ashli Mosby performed the double in the Class 4 100 and 300 meter hurdles. The senior from Raytown South ran 14.4 in the 100 meter hurdles to claim victory, and came back in the 300 hurdles to run 45.11 and defeat the field of eight to claim her second individual gold medal of the weekend.
Olivia Lewis took the sprint trifecta in the 100, 200, and 400 meter dashes in exciting fashion. The senior from Gateway won the closest race of the day in the 100 meter dash that saw the top three competitors in the race finish only .02 seconds away from each other. Lewis also won the 200 meter dash with her 23.97 to win by nearly a second, and finally Lewis won the 400 meter dash in 54.95 to complete her triple crown.
In the class 4 boys events, Colbie Snyder, the senior from Joplin, became the Class 4 Pole Vault Champion and erased a nine year old state record from the books with his 16’4.5” vault. The previous record was held by Philip Brown, formerly of Poplar Bluff, who vaulted 16’4.25”.
Ronnie Wingo sprinted to victory in both the 100 and 200 meter dashes at the Class 4 state meet. The senior from SLUH ran 10.59 for the 100 meter dash and 21.44 for the 200 meter dash.
Nick Happe from Francis Howell North won the 1600 and 3200 meter runs in convincing fashion at the Class 4 state meet. Happe made his mark on the field during the final lap of the 1600 running a 4:13.07 and winning the race by nearly three full seconds over second place finisher Austin Cookson of SLUH. He then came back the second day, in blazing hot conditions, and won the 3200 meter run in 9:22.72, which gave Happe the victory by five seconds over his future Arizona State roommate Matt Estlund of Chaminade.
In Class 3 action, the second race of the day on Friday saw the Festus Girls 4X800 break the two year old state record of 9:26.42 set by McCluer South-Berkeley by winning the race with a 9:24.44. Running the anchor leg, Allison brought a stand full screaming spectators to their feet, when she received the baton with over a seventy meter deficit behind Kearney and ran a 2:07.3 anchor leg to rocket Festus to the victory and a new class 3 state record.
Allison became one of the few athletes in Missouri history to win four gold medals at the state meet, three of which were from individual performances. The first of the gold
medals came in the 4X800 in which the existing record was demolished. Next, Allison repeated as champion in the 3200 meter run winning the race in a commanding fashion by twelve seconds. The third gold that Allison added to her collection from this meet was the 1600 meter run which she had won the previous two years as well. Allison’s final victory of the weekend came in the 800 meter run. Setting up a rematch from a year ago, Allison once again dueled with Berkeley junior Kianna Ruff for the entirety of the two lap race until finally breaking her in the final stretch of the race. With this final race Allison ended a prep career that saw her become the state record holder in the 1600 (2008-4:51.70) and the 3200 (2008-10:48.58), a two time 3200 meter champion, a three time 800 meter champion, and a three time 1600 meter champion. Allison will continue her career next year at the University of Arkansas.
Briana Isom-Brummer tied the existing state record in the HJ with her 5’7” jump. The senior from Villa became the state champion by beating Ty’Risha Chambers of Center in a jump in which they both tied the old state record.
Lauren Hollingsworth of Villa blazed through the 100 and 200 in becoming the state champion in both, and coming close to both state records set by Alishea Usery. Lauren will continue her career next at the University of Mississippi.
Junior hurdler Tiffany McReynolds of Pembroke Hills became the Class 3 state champion in both the 100 meter hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles. In doing so McReynolds broke the existing 100 meter hurdle record of 14.37 with her 14.33 in the preliminary race. McReynolds demolished her record in the final, but due to wind her state record qualifying time was not improved upon.
Jacob Swearingen, of Potosi, became the Class 3 state champion in both the 1600 and 3200 meter runs. The senior came from behind down the homestretch during the 1600, on Friday, to defeat sophomore Daniel Everette 4:13.45 to 4:14.01 in one of the most exciting finishes of the day. Swearingen then came back in the 3200 meter run the next day and defended his title while beating teammate Nick Niggemann 9:22.48 to 9:23.60.
Cal Lane of Sikeston won the individual titles in both the long jump and triple jump. Lane jumped 23’3.75” and 49’9” to win the two events and in doing so also helped propel his team into the lead for the team championship by providing twenty of Sikeston’s forty-four points.
Corey Jones, of Boonville, added to his legacy by defending his title in the shot put from the previous year while also dominating the Class 3 field in the discuss throw. Jones, who set the Class 3 state record in the shot put last year, heaved the massive ball 61’5” which gave him the victory by over six feet. The most impressive of the two victories came in the discuss throw when Jones hurled the flying disc 186’5” to break the existing Class 3 record of 176’6” and win the event by nearly twenty feet.