The small schools take center stage in the state capital this weekend at the Missouri Class 1-2 State Track and Field Championships in Jefferson City.
Friday’s prelims begin at 11 a.m. with the field events. The running events will begin at noon. On Saturday, the championship races will get underway at noon.
One of the St. Louis area’s top individual performers will be senior Aiesha Irvin-Muhammad of St. Elizabeth, who will be one of the favorites in the Class 2, 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. Muhammad swept all three races at last week’s Class 2 sectional meet at Principia, posting winning times of 11.89 in the 100, 24.72 in the 200 and 56.88 in the 400. She was an All-State performer in Class 3 last year as a junior.
Also looking to have a big meet is junior Michael Wells of Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC. Wells is the top-ranked sprinter entering the weekend. He won the sectional title in the 100 with a time of 10.57 seconds and the 200 with a 21.64. He also anchors the Commanders’ sectional champion 4×100- and 4×200-meter relay teams. Wells led the Commanders to the Class 2 state championship a year ago.
Maplewood, Principia and Herculaneum are three teams that figure to join Cleveland in the hunt for a state team trophy. Maplewood is led by jumper/sprinter Lawrence Hogue, sprinter Marquise White and two relays. Herculaneum has a talented crew of middle distance and distance runners while Principia is led by hurdler Joe Fisher.
Herculaneum’s girls also figure to be in the mix for a team trophy as they feature standout distance runner Kaitlyn Fisher along with athletes in eight events. Brentwood’s Sophie Rivera has a chance to win double-gold in the throws. She won the sectional title in the discus with a throw of 125 feet 11 inches and the shot put with a heave of 40-5. Maplewood’s Britney Bell was right behind Rivera in both throws at sectionals. Metro’s Angel Mitchell enters the meet as a sectional champion in the 100-meter high hurdles.
In the Class 1 meet, the boys from McKinley Classical Leadership will take several athletes to state. They are led by sectional champion Anthony Williams in the triple jump, 400 and 200, distance runner Darius Williamson, hurdlers Chris Maxwell, Benjamin Clark and a couple of relay teams.
IHSA girls state
The IHSA girls state championships will held this weekend in Charleston, Ill. on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. Edwardsville will be trying to defend its Class 3A state championship behind star senior Emmonnie Henderson in the throws. She is the state record holder in the shot put and discus. In Class 2A, East St. Louis and Cahokia will be in the hunt for a state championship with several state qualifiers. The Flyerettes are led by standout hurdler Markita Rush while Cahokia features jumper Dasha Thomas.
Sectional competition
The Missouri Class 3 and 4 schools will be competing in sectional competition on Saturday. The local Class 3 sectional will be held at MICDS
while Class 4 area schools will be competing at Parkway North. The top four finishers in each sectional meet will qualify for next week’s state championships in Jefferson City.
IHSA boys sectional
The IHSA boys sectional competition will get underway this weekend. The top qualifiers will head to Charleston, Ill for next weekend’s state championships. Defending Class 2A state champion Cahokia leads the field at the Salem Sectional, which begins today at 4 p.m. East St. Louis is also in the field. Metro east schools in Class 3A will be competing at the Rock Island Sectional on Friday.
