Hazelwood Central continued its boys track dynasty by winning its third consecutive Class 4 state title at the Class 4 State Championships in Jefferson City last weekend.
The Hawks led a near-Suburban North Conference sweep of the top four teams with 40 points. McCluer was second with 34 points while McCluer North was fourth with 32 points.
Central utilized a solid team effort led by the 4×200-meter relay team of Matt Quarelis, Deandre Wade, Marc Franks and Sean Wills, who won the state title in 1 minute 27.32 seconds. The Hawks also finished second in the 4×400 and third in the 4×100.
Picking up points in individual events were Chris Wright (fifth in 300-meter intermediate hurdles and eighth in 110-meter high hurdles), Wills (seventh in 100 and fifth in 200 and Quarelis (sixth in 400).
McCluer’s second-place finish was led by senior Darrion Dillard, who won the triple jump with an effort of 48 feet 6 1/2 inches. The Comets also finished second in the 4×200 and fourth in the 4×400.
McCluer North was led by junior Aaron Mallet, who won the state title in the 110-meter high hurdles and finished second in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.
U City, Francis Howell champs
The girls from University City and Francis Howell brought home state championships as U. City won the Class 3 state title while Howell took the Class 4 state crown.
University City’s depth was too much for the rest of the field as the Lions scored 66 points to win their first state title. U. City’s championship performances came in the 4×100- and 4×200-meter relays. The team of Chantel Bethune, Kayla Heidelberg, Jamesha Howard and Jordan Jennings won the 4×200 in 1:41.14 while the team of Heidelberg, Jennings, Amani Borders and Taylor Gibson won the 4×100 in 48.36.
In the individual events, Heidelberg finished third in the 100-meter high hurdles while Quindana Jackson was fifth. Heidelberg and Jennings finished fourth and seventh in the 200; Howard was eighth in the 400 and Borders and Jackson finished second and seventh in the 300-meter low hurdles, respectively.
Francis Howell won its first state title by scoring 48 points, edging second-place Lee Summit West by one point. Junior sprinter Whitney Adams paced the Vikings by winning the 400-meter dash, finishing fifth in the 400 and fourth in the 200. Adams nailed down the state title for the Vikings by anchoring the 4×400-meter relay to a state title. Valeska Halamicek won the 800-meter run while Leah Krause was fourth in the 3,200-meter run. Howell’s 4×800-meter relay team also finished in fifth place.
Three medals for Chesson
Ladue’s Jehu Chesson II enjoyed an excellent state meet with three medals. Chesson won the 100-meter dash and 300-meter intermediate hurdles and finished second in the 110-meter high hurdles. Chesson is headed to Michigan on a football scholarship.
Sprinters at Nerinx
Nerinx Hall took home a fourth-place team trophy on the strength of sprinters Peyton Chaney and Alexandria Isom. Chaney finished second in the 100, 200 and third in the 400 while Ison was sixth in the 100, fifth in the 200 and eighth in the 800. Together, they paced the Markers to a state title in the 4×100-meter relay.
Kirkwood takes third
Kirkwood finished third in the Class 4 girls team race. The Pioneers got second-place finishes from Bria McWoods in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and Elisa Steele in the 400. Amber Solomon finished seventh in the 100-meter hurdles while Kayla Gutierrez was fourth in the discus. The Pioneers were also third in the 4×800 and fifth in the 4×400.
McCluer North hurdler
McCluer North’s Kimberlin Simon won the girls Class 4 300-meter low hurdles title with an incredible close to edge Kirkwood’s Bria McWoods at the finish line. Simon also finished fifth in the 100-meter high hurdles.
Second triple-jump title
Wentzville Holt junior Nataliyah Friar successfully defended her state title in the Class 4 girls triple jump with an effort of 39 feet 0 ¾ inches. Friar also finished second in the long jump and seventh in the 100.
Shot putter at Burroughs
Freshman Jordan McClendon of John Burroughs won the Class 3 girls shot put with a throw of 40 feet 4 3/4 inches.
Triple jumper in U City Senior Emmanuel Price of University City won the Class 3 boys triple jump with a jump of 48-5.
Three for Aiehsa
Aiehsa Irvin-Muhammad of St. Elizabeth Academy took home three medals in the Class 3 girls as she finished second in the 100 and 200 and third as the anchor of the 4×200 relay.
Ezekiel nets two silvers
John Burroughs junior Ezekiel Elliott took home two silver medals by finishing second in the 110-meter high hurdles and 300-meter intermediate hurdles.
