JEFFERSON CITY – Lee’s Summit West is in search of its second girls’ state title in three years. The Titans have the numbers to amass some points over the weekend, and high jumper Brittany Kallenberger gave the team a little bonus in the standings.
“I know they didn’t have me coming in as first,” Kallenberger said. “They had me ranked somewhere, and they were like, ‘If you could just do this then it’s important to just get points.’ I mean 10 points is awesome for the team.”
Kallenberger added three inches to her personal best to win the event at 5-8. She cleared the height with Fort Zumwalt West’s Kylie Ellison, but Kallenberger won out with fewer misses. The final showdown between the two had Kallenberger on edge.
“(I was) freaking out,” said Kallenberger, who will compete at the University of Central Missouri next year. “Because my best jump all year was 5-5. I just kind of closed my eyes and looked at the ground. I couldn’t look at the bar at all because it would freak me out. I’m 5-5, so that was three inches above my own height.”
The Titans are in second place with 17 points after Friday’s four event finals. Kallenberger should add more points to the Titans’ total on Saturday after she qualified for the 100-meter hurdle finals.
The lone running final for the girls Friday was the 1,600-meter run, and it was another opportunity for Eureka freshman Hannah Long to try to usurp the distance title from Blue Springs South senior Samantha Nightingale.
Long moved to the front of the pack on the third lap as the field began to stretch out. But she could not build enough distance to fully separate herself. Nightingale stalked Long for nearly a lap and with just a little more than 100 meters left, Nightingale unleashed a kick that surprised many spectators, winning in 4:56.06.
“I’ve had it for a while; I was a 400, 800 girl and freshman year I took eighth in the 800,” Nightingale said. “I have speed in me, but no one can ever see it.”
The kick also caught Long off guard.
“I tried to go with her, but she was going pretty fast,” said Long, who was second in 4:58.56. “It did catch me by surprise. I knew there was at least three of them up with me, but I wasn’t really sure how far she was behind.”
Nightingale has the 3,200-meter run remaining on Saturday as her last chance to capture more Missouri gold. She smashed her toe moving a table at her hotel Friday morning, and she said she was hopeful the injury wouldn’t affect her other race.
“I looked at my foot and saw there was blood on the floor and seeping through my sock and thought, ‘This isn’t going to be good,’” Nightingale said. “I felt it whenever I turned corners, but when Hannah Long was in front of me I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m going to catch her.’ Then I looked down and thought, ‘I’m not going to let my foot be the reason why I can’t catch this young lady.’”
Fort Osage sophomore Asia Cole got a taste of the state meet as a freshman thrower and took second in the shot put. She came back this year and knew exactly what she needed to do to get on top of the medal stand, which she did with a throw of 46 feet, 1 inch.
“I finally put it together and got one out there that broke our school record,” Cole said. “I had a lot of nerves coming in because I knew I was still kind of young.
“I’m still pretty nervous about the disc, but I’m relieved the shot is over with and I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
Holt’s Nataliyah Friar defended her triple jump title with a leap of 39-0 ¾. She had little time to enjoy the spotlight on the podium as she had to rush over to run her 100-meter prelim. She qualified sixth for the finals, and then she was able to smile about her repeat title.
“You never know what could happen, so you just go out and give it your all. I was glad; at least I’m hitting 39s now consistently,” said Friar, who is competing despite tendonitis in her ankle. “My ankle is killing me right now, so I’m just trying to give it my all.”
