JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The first day of the MSHSAA Class 1-2 Track & Field Championships was cut short because of rain and lightning Friday, but not before new records were made and attempted.
Roughly two hours after the state track meet began at Lincoln University’s Dwight T. Reed Stadium, lightning caused meet officials to suspend the event. Two hours later the meet was postponed due to persistent rain. The officials opted to resume all events at 11 a.m. on Saturday, assuming the weather clears.
Before the weather interruption, the meet was able to get through the first section of field events, the 3,200-meter relay and the prelims of the 100-meter dash and the 110-meter hurdles. All remaining events will be reseeded and run as finals against time on Saturday.
The short window of action was more than enough time for Carrolton’s Chase Ewing to take down the Class 2 discus record. Ewing edged out Lafayette County’s Tim Opfer for the new record by one inch with a throw of 173 feet, 11 inches. Opfer set his record in 2007.
Ewing’s previous best throw was at the 2010 state meet when he hit 166-3 to take second place. He entered the state meet as the top seed with a sectional toss of 164-9, but he found something a little extra in the discus ring at Lincoln University.
“It’s just an adrenaline push; I just got so hyped up I unleashed a good throw,” Ewing said of competing at state. “It was the farthest I will throw in high school, so I went out with a bang.
“When I released it, I was screaming the whole time I was spinning in the ring. I couldn’t help myself I had to let out a grunt. Every time I let out a grunt, it seems I throw farther.”
While the officials were measuring to confirm Ewing’s record, Bucklin’s Marc Finney made an attempt at the Class 1 high jump record. Finney had already won the event, and he asked to raise the bar to 6 feet, 10 ½ inches. He walked away after two attempts satisfied with his 6-6 state championship, even though he didn’t realize he had initially cleared the winning height.
“The caller thought we were going by one inch, but the people that were raising the bar were going by two inches, so they actually called it at 6-3,” Finney said. “The guy asked me what I wanted them to set it at, and I said 6-6, and he said, ‘Well you just jumped 6-6. They messed up.’ I thought I only jumped 6-3. I was excited after he came and told me.”
Penney’s Lindsay Vollmer began chasing a different kind of record on Friday. Vollmer won the first of what could be four gold medals at this year’s state meet, which would tie her with two others for the most individual first-place finishes. Renae Miller of Worth County and Alishea Usery of Berkeley are the only two athletes to claim 12 gold medals during their high school careers.
Vollmer held the Class 2 long jump record briefly as a freshman before Crystal City’s Precious Selmon reset the bar at 19-3 ¼ the following year. Vollmer did not hit a record-setting distance on Friday, but she did more than enough to win her ninth gold medal with a jump of 18 feet, 1 inch. She hit the mark on her first attempt in the finals and then scratched on her next two attempts.
“I came out here and did what I wanted, which was to win the competition,” said Vollmer, who will compete at the University of Kansas next year. “It felt pretty good. You always can tell when you hit the spring board and you fly off, you know it’s going to be a good one. And you’re just hoping they don’t raise that red flag.
“They measured the last one and said it was about 18-6, so I wasn’t quite at that 19 mark, but I did the best I could.”
Vollmer said the cooler, cloudy weather limited her a little because she would prefer to jump in hotter conditions to help loosen her muscles. She followed her long jump victory by qualifying without challenge in the 100-meter hurdles (15.16).
And while the gold medals are the focus, Vollmer said she wants to post impressive marks in all her events, too.
“I want to have some pride and run those fast times,” Vollmer said.
New Franklin’s Samantha Kircher didn’t set any records, not even for herself. But she added more than two feet to her sectional triple jump to finally climb the podium with the Class 1 gold medal around her neck her leap of 34 feet, 9 ½ inches. Kircher, who was fourth in the event in 2010, was not concerned with her distance. She only wanted to stand atop the podium.
“It was really windy (at sectionals), and we were jumping into the wind so I knew I could do better,” said Kircher, who has a personal best of 35-7. “I qualified three years now, and I finally got to the top, so I’m pretty happy.
“I just knew I need to get high 34s to win it. Once I got through the prelims, I was feeling a lot better.”