JEFFERSON CITY – Arcadia Valley’s Saga Barzowski seemed to be in prime position to defend her Class 3 1,600-meter title.

She split away from the field on the second lap and looked to be stretching her lead. After she settled into a comfortable pace, Fulton’s Jenny McCarty pulled up alongside Barzowski to challenge her on the third lap.

A Barzowski surge again placed her out in front, but Smithville’s Katie Tuck came on strong on the final 200 meters and the two girls were in an all-out sprint down the final straightaway for the finish line.

Barzowski was able to fend off Tuck and repeat as state champion in 5:04.97. Tuck bounded in behind her in 5:05.38.

“Really it was pretty simple – have a really fast first lap and then just get faster,” said Barzowski who won as a sophomore in 5:05.77. “I’m glad there were so many girls behind me to push me because I got a PR by .3 seconds. I didn’t expect so many people, but I feel pretty secure about my kick.”

The medal presentation for the long jump was doubly satisfying for Sullivan.

Macy Ritter redeemed herself after a runner-up finish in the event last year by claiming the title with a jump of 18 feet to earn Sullivan’s first girls’ state title. Ritter was trailing heading into her final jump after Lincoln’s Kayla McGee hit 17-10 ½.

“That kind of scared me a little, but I somehow pulled out an 18,” Ritter said. “I usually do well under pressure.”

Ritter claimed teammate Bria Bartolotta’s encouraging words helped her find a little something extra to put into her final winning jump.

“At every one of her events I sit there and give her little speeches, and it gets her going somehow,” said Bartolotta, who finished fifth at 16-9. “I was like, ‘You got second last year; you’ve jumped over 17-10 before; you can do this.’ And she went out and did it.”

The duo gave Sullivan the first-day advantage in the team standings. Sullivan is in first after four events by a half point over Warrensburg with the 14 points Ritter and Bartolotta earned.

Cydnee Reese tossed the winning discus distance of 144 feet, 11 inches in preliminaries, and then waited to see if it would hold up while she struggled through her three final throws.

“I think the heat got to me a little bit, and that’s not good,” Reese said. “I tried to come with it in finals and get a PR, but that didn’t happen. It was great competition. I don’t listen to the other numbers – I don’t listen to mine usually – but I had to work hard all the way through.

“I had an idea that I had won, but you never know. (Grandview’s D’Andria Blow) came out there with a (134-2) on her last throw, and that was great. You never know; the last throw is all you need.”

 

 

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