Better this year
There were a few state champions that were close to winning last year.
Harrisonville senior Joseph Michel won the 100-meter dash after taking second last year. Michel entered the finals this year with the third-fastest time but ran a 10.53 to take the final and title. He added a runner-up finish in the 200 this year as well.
The boys 100-meter dash was a great battle of standouts as the top-4 finishers were separated by just 11/100ths of a second. Harrisonville's Joseph Michael (left) won in 10.53, West Plains Heston Miller (middle right) was 2nd in 10.58, Grandview's Griouard Weddington (middle left) 3rd in 10.63, and Camdenton's Angel Dickerson 4th in 10.64. All but Joseph will return next year, as he is the only senior.
Kearney's Logan Arellano was the runner-up in the 400 last year, but ran 48.66 to take home the crown for the Class 4 team champions. Arellano also ran a leg on the Bulldogs runner-up 4x400 squad.
Kearney's Logan Arellano edged Rockwood Summit's Drew Krobath (left) and MICDS' Novo Onovwerosuoke (right) to win the 400-meter dash.
Another runner-up moving up to the top of the awards podium this year was Webb City's Grayson Smith, who won the pole vault with a jump of 4.72-meters/15-5.75''. He took three attempts at the elite 5-meter barrier (16-4.75''), which he cleared at Districts, but came up short, battling a crosswind on the Northeast/Southwest runway, those in the Class 3 and 5 boys' competitions on the Northwest/Southeast runway, didn't have to deal with, and had as a tailwind.
Webb City junior Grayson Smith won the pole vault a year after taking 2nd. He was one of two Missouri boys to clear the 5-meter/16-4.75'' barrier earlier in the season.
Rolla's Ethan Crouch won the shot put with a new personal record (PR) of 18.79-meters/61-7.75''. It was the sixth meet this season that Crouch went over the 60-foot barrier. Crouch was also sixth in the discus - with another PR, improving on his marks and state meet places from last Spring, when he took third in shot put and eighth in discus as a junior.
Rolla's Ethan Crouch put the shot over 60-feet in five meets this year before going 61-7.75'' to PR and win the state title.
Read more about the Class 4 boys state rack recap on the next page