Recent meets in the state have provided some of the best-ever regular season event competitions like the boys 3200-meters at the Festus McCullough-Douglas and William Chrisman Bill Summa Invitationals as well as the boys 1600-meters at the Holt Invitational. Girls Night Out did the same in the long jump, and Kickapoo's Taylor Mayo jumped to victory and into the national stratosphere
Kickapoo junior Taylor Mayo jumped to 31st on the national performance list with a big PR in the long jump, to beat the two Missouri record holders. Above, Mayo jumped to 6th and 2nd place finishes at the 2021 Class 5 State Track Meet.
Mayo, a junior who took 6th at the Class 5 State Meet last year, entered the meet with a personal best of 5.56m/18-2.75''. She left the meet with the win, a huge personal record, and a spot in the top-35 on the national performance list. She also did it by beating the two women at the top of the Missouri long jump record book. Mayo's winning jump of 5.86m/19-2.5' was the #2 best mark in Missouri on the season and puts her 31st nationally at last check. It also gave her the win over current season leader Kiara Strayhorn of Capital City (5.87/19-3'') who took 2nd with a 576m/18-10.75''. Branson senior star Cali Essick took third with a 5.60m/18-4.25'', which is a MO#4 mark on the season.
Branson senior Cali Essick jumped to the top of the record book last summer. She and Kiara Strayhorn both went 6.20m/20-4'' in the long jump last June to share the state record.
Last June, Essick and Strayhorn both jumped to state records of 6.2m/20-4 in consecutive weeks. Mizzou-signee Essick made her leap on June 5th at the AAU Missouri Valley qualifier in Hays, Kansas, while USC-signee Strayhorn did so at an AAU Missouri Valley qualifier the following week at Liberty North High School in Liberty.
Mayo also captured the triple jump in Springfield, going 11.43m/37-6'', giving her the MO#4 mark on the season. She beat the field and Cali Essick, who settled for second with a 10.92m/35-9.75''.