JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Friday’s 1,600-meter run could not have gone more perfect for twin brothers Daniel and David Everett of Westminster.
The twins had long talked about finishing state going 1-2, and they almost did it last fall at the state cross country meet. The dream was fulfilled when they swept the top two spots at the Class 3 track and field championships at Lincoln University’s Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
Daniel took off from the opening gun in pursuit of a qualifying time to get into the Adidas meet. He needed to eclipse 4:09.5, and he did so with a three-second PR of 4:08.43. “I could’ve postponed it a little bit and gone for it at the Festival of Miles, but I really wanted to knock it out of the way,” Daniel said. “I was afraid I’d be dead and my whole weekend would be ruined, but as of right now I feel good. “I wanted to win it more than anything, but that time has been so important to me because it’s what I’ve been working for all of my high school career.”
While Daniel calmly slept for more than 10 hours Thursday night, David was a little more anxious and awoke early. Once the race started, David trailed his brother, but the duo quickly created separation on the rest of the field. “I knew he was probably going to go for it, so I was like, just let him go for it and run my own race and see what I can do by myself,” David said. “If I ran my race, I knew I could get second.
“I was just trying to go for 4:18 is what I wanted. I wanted to come through in 2:08 for the first 800, but I came through in 2:04 and was like, ‘What am I doing?’”
David ran a nine-second PR with a 4:12.85 to capture second place and give the Everett’s their picture-perfect podium snapshot. “It was the goal all along, and we’ve had these types of goals before and it never came through,” David said. “To finally get it together is really, really rewarding to finally get it done.”
And in true synchronicity, it was also the twins’ birthdays. “Just everything, going 1-2 with David, getting the time, and the fact that it’s our birthday, it’s the perfect race,” Daniel said.
CONTACT SPORT
In the Class 4 1,600-meter run, Holt’s Kenny Cushing and Summit’s Daniel Mazar got tangled in the final strides to the finish line. Mazar stumbled as he crossed the line, and Cushing earned the victory, 4:12.50 to 4:12.51. “I was so tired I couldn’t hold my lane completely, and me and Mazar our feet got caught up,” Cushing said. “At the very end, we kind of knocked into each other and he fell.”
Cushing had every right to be exhausted. He had just completed a 400-meter long kick that took him from 12th place with a lap to go to Class 4 champion. “I just knew coming in I had a strong enough finish that I could go from 400 meters all the way to the front, and I just did it,” Cushing said. “I was a little further back than I thought. Whenever I saw how far back I was, I just had to push even harder than I thought I could.”
Cushing set a PR by seven seconds, crediting his ability to close out races this year, and he was told his final lap clocked in at less than 60 seconds.
Rock Bridge’s Caleb Wilfong led the first three laps of the race, and he even surged back into the lead on the backstretch during the final lap when SLUH’s Tim Rackers pulled even with a challenge.
Wilfong could not hold off the late charge from Cushing and Mazar as the three came down the final 20 meters three wide. Wilfong was edged out and took third in 4:12.89.
“I wanted to put it at a pace where a lot of the guys that can’t run as fast as me in the 800, it’s a little bit uncomfortable for them and easier for me,” Wilfong said. “With 50 to go I thought I had the state title wrapped up, but God bless these two guys that just beat me. They’re fast. “Last year it was won in 4:12, and this year three guys came across in 4:12. It just goes to show that 2011 is a strong year for the mile.”
REDEEMING SMILE
Cameron’s Sawyer Marley has a unique smile, especially when he opts to pop his false tooth out. Marley had plenty of reasons to smile after he captured the Class 3 shot put title with a throw of 52-9 ¼.
It was a big leap for a thrower that didn’t make the finals last year. But Marley said he wasn’t quite himself when he got to state. He suffered his injury that cost him his tooth when he passed out just prior to throwing at sectionals last year. "I blacked out and ate a sink,” Marley said. “I don’t know if I got too hot or what happened.”
The stitches in his mouth limited his intake, and Marley said he felt the effects at state. “I normally eat meals a day, and I was down to about one or two,” Marley said. “It really hurt me. I was just weak. “It motivated me to hit the gym hard and get after it.”
Marley hit his winning throw on his second attempt. He scratched his last two while trying to add just a little more distance, but his early throw stood up.
WINNING TOUCH
Evan Boehm knew he had a winning discus throw as soon as it left his hand.
“Our school record is 183, and all week I was telling our coach that I was going to hit that 183-3 mark,” said Boehm, a senior at Lee’s Summit West. “But throwing a 182, I PR’d by 18 feet in the past week all together so I’m pleased with what I’ve done this past couple weeks.”
Boehm had a 179-foot, 2-inch toss on his second attempt, which had him in the lead. On his final throw, he was able to relax and push his winning throw even further.
DEPTH OF TALENT
Cape Girardeau Central’s Matt Deisher said he used the deep field in the Class 4 boys’ pole vault as motivation.
“This is by far the best and toughest state I’ve competed in the past four years,” Deisher said. “All the years before, maybe two guys made it past 15 (feet). This year we had four guys at 15, so it was definitely the most competitive year, and I knew I would have to fight for a victory.”
Deisher cleared 15 feet, 6 inches on his first attempt, giving him the advantage over Branson’s Josh Morgan, who needed a second attempt to clear the height and finished runner-up.
“I made it on my first attempt, so it got my adrenaline pumping because I thought I was getting a new PR today, but then when 15-9 came around, it wasn’t my best jumps,” said Deisher, who will vault at the U.S. Naval Academy next year.
Deisher came within an inch of his personal record height of 15-7 he cleared at conference, and he made three attempts at 15-9 in an effort to extend that. His final attempt came up short, and Deisher slid right back down the pole into the box. “I got really impatient, and I tend to do that when it’s my last attempt at a really high height,” Deisher said. “I swing up too early, so that causes me to not get very deep, and I paid for it and landed in the box.”