JEFFERSON CITY – Grandview proved just how powerful of a track program it has become.
Written off by an ESPN magazine story in the preseason, the Bulldogs were driven to repeat as Class 3 state track champions.
Their goal took a hit during Friday’s preliminaries when their 800-meter relay was disqualified. That left the coaches counting points and almost sure they had surrendered their likely position as the team to beat.
“This entire month, and today, we’ve been counting points – how many points is Hannibal going to get? How many points is Festus going to get? They have this guy, what if he does this, this, this?” Grandview hurdle champion Dapo Akinmoladun said. “Coming into today we thought they were going to win by nine. Just to win is overwhelming because it’s not for sure.”
Akinmoladun did his part by tallying 20 points in the two hurdle races, and he added another four with a fifth-place finish in the 200. The Bulldogs’ biggest points splash came in the 100-meter dash. Jaron Alexander won the 100 with a new Class 3 record time of 10.65, and he was joined the podium by Jaymes Kelly in third (10.93) and Larry Smith in fourth (11.02) to give the Bulldogs 21 points in one event.
“It’s fun because you practice with these guys every day,” Alexander said. “I knew I had to get out and finish strong, otherwise these guys would be right up my hip. The more points we get now … we need all of them. It gives us a better chance to repeat.”
And the 400-meter relay made up for the missing 800 relay with a victory in 42.47, which all led to Grandview running away with the Class 3 title. The Bulldogs amassed 64 points to Platte County’s 44 and Hannibal’s 42.
University City was considered as a favorite for the girls’ Class 3 title, and the Lions followed through with the early predictions by garnering 66 points. Affton was runner-up with 53 ½, and Sullivan took third with 36.
The Lions leaned on their relays to do the heavy lifting when it came to scoring points. They won the 400-meter relay (48.85) and the 800-meter relay (1:41.14).
The journey was made more difficult after the resignation of first-year coach Sean Burris midway through the season.
“It feels great because our girls have never won state before,” U. City senior Amani Borders said. “We’re trying to do it for coach Burris who couldn’t be here with us. He talks to all the other coaches to tell us exactly what we need to do, and before he left he instilled in us that a hard work ethic would get us a long way, and here we are.”
Grandview interview with Ben Rosario