The road to the Missouri state track and field championships got underway last weekend with district competition around the state at the Class 1,2 and 3 levels.
St. Louis area small schools participated at the Class 3, District 2 meet at Lutheran North last Saturday. The top four finishers in each event qualified for this weekend’s sectionals, which will be held at Park Hills Central.
On the boys side, host Lutheran North had a big district meet as it produced eight district champions and qualified athletes in 10 different events for the upcoming sectionals. Sophomore sprinter Michael Clark was a district champion in the 200- and 400-meter dashes. Clark turned in winning times of 22.18 in the 200 and 50.2 in the 400.
Sophomore Jaquiveon Whitfield finished first in the 800-meter run while sophomore Joshua Hastings finished first in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles. In the field events, Karvon Jefferson finished first in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet 4 inches.
The Crusaders also took home district titles in the 4×200- and 4×400-meter relays. The 4×200 posted a winning time of 1 minute 28.66 seconds and the 4×400 posted a time of 3:31.21. The Crusaders also finished second in the 4×800 to qualify.
Other Lutheran North athletes who moved on to sectionals are senior Jordan Carter, who finished third in the 400 and second in the long jump. Joshua Hastins finished third in the triple jump and Lonnie Johnson was fourth in the discus.
Senior Jaydon Marley of Metro had a very productive district meet as he finished first in the 100, second in the 200 and third in the 400. Jacobi Green of Vashon was a double-winner in the shot put and discus. Green won with winning throws of 161-6 ½ in the discus and 45-11 ¼ in the shot put.
Senior Nassir Binion of Vashon won the high jump with a clearance of 6’2 ¾. The 6’5” Binion was an all-state basketball player on the Wolverines’ Class 4 state championship team.
Other district champions include senior Marnell Gregory of STEAM Academy at McCluer South-Berkeley in the 110-meter high hurdles, senior Keteyian Cole of Metro in the 3,200-meter run, senior Ben Long of Lutheran South in the triple jump
On the girls side, Incarnate Word Academy had a very productive day with district championships in eight different events. The Red Knights will be taking a strong group of athletes to Saturday’s sectional meet.
Sophomore Chloe Hutchinson, freshman Bailey Hensgens and senior Kamari Brown were all double winners for the Red Knights. Hutchinson won both the 100-meter high hurdles and 300-meter low hurdles while also finishing second in the triple jump.
Brown swept both the throwing events as she won the shot put with a heave of 40-9 ¼ and the discus with a throw of 120-10 ½. Hensgens won the high jump with a clearance of 5-5 and the long jump with a leap of 16-6.
The Red Knights also won a district title in the 4×200. Sophomore Ava Tobias finished first in the 200, second in the 100 and third in the 400.
Other district champions include Leah Macon-Ford from Metro, who finished first in the 100. Senior Chantrel “Tutu” Clayton of Vashon finished first in the 400. Clayton came out for track this season after a stellar basketball career for the Wolverines. Sophomore Lucy Luetkemeyer of Metro was a double winner in the 1,600 and 3,200.
*Big school district meets upcoming
The big schools will take center stage in district competition this weekend with Class 4 and 5 meets around the state. St. Louis area schools will be competing at four different locations on Saturday. Festus will host the Class 4 and 5 District 1 meets. Class Class 4 and 5 District 2 meets will be held at Ladue. The Class 4 and 5 District 3 meets will be held at Wentzville North Point while the Class 4 and 5 District 5 meets will be held at Northwest Cedar Hill.
