JEFFERSON CITY – The Class 2 boys’ 3,200-meter run appeared to have a loaded field set for an entertaining showdown.

The face-off never fully materialized, and Herculaneum’s Ryan Jackson turned the final three laps into his own race against the clock and won convincingly in 9:41.37 at Friday’s Class 2 state track meet at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.

“I was really wanting to break the record, and we got in that first mile, and it was a fast first mile and we were on pace, but then I could tell that heat was starting to push everyone back,” Jackson said. “I just focused on getting first, and it’s exciting.”

Herculaneum’s Jacob Coffman finished fifth (9:57.08) and Drake Smelser was eighth (10:08.96), and the three Blackcats helped push Herculaneum to the top of the first-day rankings through five events with 23 points.

Brandon Shemonia of Scott City was forced to scratch because of an injury, which may have contributed to the disjointed pace. Shemonia injured his calf during the meet’s opening event, the 3,200-meter relay, and he was forced to pull out of the 800 and 3,200.

“I talked to him, and he said to go out and win it for him,” Jackson said. “It’s sad it happened that way, but he didn’t want to hurt it worse before going to college (Southern Illinois) next year.”

Herculaneum doubled its gold medal haul when Kaitlyn Fischer repeated as the girls’ 1,600-meter champion in 5:11.49. She had a moment of brevity on the medal stand when they awarded her a broken medal, but the damaged award was in no way an indication of her race. Fischer bolted to the front and started pulling away from the field from the start. The gap continued to grow throughout the race until she built nearly a 10-second advantage.

“I was hoping to get 5:01, but it was a lot hotter than I expected, and I thought Savannah Beaver (College Heights Christian) was going to be right behind me the whole time helping me,” Fischer said. “It’s definitely weird for state (to be alone up front), because it’s never happened to me before. As much as it’s a safe feeling that you know that you’re in front, but it’s kind of a disappointment at the same time because I wanted to PR.”

Beaver finished second in 5:17.23.          

California’s Sydney Deeken got a small taste of state success last year as freshman when she won the high jump. She defended that title with a jump of 5 feet, 4 inches in the afternoon session of the field events.

Some of the state pressure had already been removed in the morning when she claimed the triple jump with a 36-8 ¾, the same event she placed third in last year.

“I think it’s because I know what the state meet was all about,” Deeken said. “This year it was just a normal track meet, and that’s all I thought about.

“(The distance) is horrible. My furthest is 38-4, but it got me first so I guess I’m happy with it.”

The Class 2 boys had first crack at the high jump, and Karter Moran of Ash Grove took home the gold after clearing 6-7. Moran has cleared 6-9, but he had an off week during the sectional meet and only hit 6-4.

“I was going to go for 6-9, but I decided to go up for the state record (6-10 ¼),” Moran said. “The first two jumps were not really close. The third jump I thought I cleared it, but my heel hit it. I was disappointed with that, but I’m still happy that I won.

“I was a little nervous coming in and watching everybody. The heat last year got to me and I didn’t do well, but I stayed in the shade this year, and I feel great.”

South Shelby’s Lexie Wilt saw everything finally come together during the shot put to earn her state title with a throw of 40-2 ¼. She finished sixth last year in the event.

“I started off not very good but ended with one of my best throws,” Wilt said. “None of these girls were having their best day either, so I knew I could do it if I just threw the right one. I felt like I was getting more warmed up for my throws.”

Even though it was just a preliminary race and Cleveland NJROTC sophomore Michael Wells was trying to do just enough to qualify for Saturday’s finals, Wells still managed to tie the Class 2 mark in the 100-meter dash with his 10.74. The mark was first set in 1992 by Eric Safford of Maplewood-Richmond Heights.

“I was shocked; I didn’t think I was running that fast,” said Wells, who also qualified for the 200 finals. “I want to win the 100, 200 with times to show people I can do it and put Cleveland on the map.”

In the other heat of the 200 prelims, Metro’s Antonio Marcano Jr. was also tying a Class 2 record with a time of 21.87.

 

 

Complete Coverage of the Class 1-2 State Championship