A little later in the 800, the pace was quick at 400-meters with Festus' Jacob Meyers leading and Central-CG's Seabaugh, Union's Bryson Pickard, and East Newton's Kelton Sorrell close behind. Hitting the homestretch, Meyers had a stride or two on Sorrell while he had a 10-meter or more lead on the rest of the field, unable to sustain the swift tempo. Already with the MO#1 1:54.52 800 clocking at the time, Meyers cruised to the win in 1:56.83 for another top-25 state performance. Sorrell pushed to the finish with a light drizzle falling from the skies. While he was fighting for the school record, coach Holt was watching his stopwatch and appeared to raise an arm in celebration as Sorrel neared the finish.
The boys 800-meters at the halfway mark.
1:57.09! Not only a school record, but the 6th fastest time in Class 3 this year and 18th best in the state. Meyers and Sorrell shared a congratulatory handshake before the rest of the East Newton squad surrounded Sorrell for celebratory hugs and to hold up his fatigued body. That performance alone may have made the trip worthwhile.
Festus senior Jacob Meyers runs to victory in the 800 while East Newton's Kelton Sorrell runs to a 2nd-place finish and school record of 1:57.09 as coach Jack Holt (red hoodie) reacts as his senior heads to the finish ahead of the record pace.
That was just the latest time Festus star senior Jacob Meyers has pulled and pushed others to PRs. After a runner-up finish in the Class 4 State Cross Country Championship to lead the Tigers to an 8th-straight state title, the Wichita State signee has left a lot of coaches wishing they'd recruited him more and sooner. Meyers has posted personal records of 1:54.52, 4:19.92, and 9:09.92 in the 800/1600/3200 this season. Those marks put him atop the Class 4 performance lists and 2nd, 18th, and 4th on the state performance lists.
After brother Josh won the 1600m, brother Jonah Allison held on for 3rd in the 800 in a 1:59.37, good enough to tie for 10th on the Class 4 list and a state top-50 mark. Union's Bryson Pickard held on for 4th in 1:59.71.
In the 3200, the top six boys ran to PRs under the lights. Jackson junior Hunter Wendel rolled to a 9:45 victory and top-50 state performance list spot. Hillsboro junior Orville Mann made it two under 10-minutes, taking 2nd in 9:58.