The road to the Missouri state track and field championships began last weekend for small school teams in district competition.
Lutheran North hosted both the Class 3, District 2 and Class 2, District 2 meets, which featured the area’s St. Louis area teams. The meet featured four excellent teams in Cardinal Ritter, Collegiate School of Medicine and Bio Science, St. Mary’s and host Lutheran North. All four teams qualified a big group of athletes to next weekend’s sectional meet.
Cardinal Ritter won three district championships and qualified athletes in 12 events for the sectionals. Senior sprinter Manny Ellis won the 100-meter dash in 10.61 seconds and also ran legs on the Lions’ first-place 4×100- and 4×200-meter relay teams. The Lions also finished second in the 4×400 and 4×800.
Sprinter Ryan Richmond-McDavis finished third in the 100 and fourth in the 200. Rolandis Nash finished second in the 110-meter high hurdles. In the field events, Anthony Hudson finished third in the discus, Parker Lemon was fourth in the javelin, Andre Mayne was third in the high jump and Bruce Clayborn was fourth in the long jump.
Host Lutheran North was led by senior Michael Clark, who won the 200-meter dash in 21.46 seconds and the 400 in 48.92 seconds. Cameron Oliver finished second to Clark in both events. The Crusaders also won the 4×400-meter relay in 3 minutes 19.22 seconds. North’s other district champion was Jeremiah Jadallah, who won the javelin.
Collegiate School of Medicine and Bio Science dominated the middle distance, distance and field events throughout the day. Owen Garrett won district titles in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs. His winning time for the 800 meters was 1:56.78. Evan Moll finished first in the 3,200-meter run. Clyde Jackson-Cameron finished third in the 800 and Moll was second in the 1,600. They also won the district title in the 4×800-meter relay.
St. Mary’s won four individual events and qualified athletes in eight events for sectionals. The Dragons did much of their damage in the field events. Senior Gary Johnson won the high jump by clearing 6 feet 6 inches. Elijah Stueckel won both the shot put and discus while Elijah Knowles placed second in the shot put. Junior Xavier Clar was the other district champion for St. Mary’s, winning the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.
The Dragons also finished second in the 4×100 relay and third in the 4×400 relay. Also qualifying for the Dragons were Greg Hollis in the 100, Ric’Khy McCaw in the 110-meter high hurdles and Davonta Hays in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.
On the girls’ side, Metro looked dominant, winning district championships in eight different events, including three athletes who won multiple district titles. Jersey Douglas finished first in the long jump and triple jump. Lucy Divis finished first in the discus and javelin while Lucy Luetkemeyer won the 1,600 and 3,200.
Tessa Link had a big day in the field events, winning the shot put and finishing second in the javelin and discus. Divis also placed second in the shot put. Kenly Bohler won the high jump, completing a sweep of the field events for Metro. Metro also finished first in the 4×800 and third in the 4×400. Mia Roy was second in the 800, Ella Berg was second in the 1,600 and Rowan Erhard was second in the 3,200.
Lift for Life had a big district meet in the sprint relays as it won the 4×100-, 4×200 and 4×400. The Hawks posted winning times of 49.76 in the 4×100, 1:46.17 in the 4×200 and 4:25.58 in the 4×400. Sprinter Kynnedi Billingsley also finished first in the 100 in 12.37. The Hawks also got second-place finishes from Jayden Walker in the 400 and Amani Hollins-Phillips in the 300-meter low hurdles.
The top individual performer in the meet was Gabrielle Campbell of Bayless, who won district championships in the 200, 400 and 800, which is a rare triple in track and field. Teammate Lauryn Marshalls was a double winner in the 100-meter high hurdles and 300-meter low hurdles.
The top four athletes in each event qualified for the sectional meet at Centralia on Saturday.
The Class 2, District 2 meet at Lutheran North featured some excellent individual performances. Genesis Gardner of Lutheran North was one of the top girls’ performers that day. She finished first in the 100-meter dash in 11.95 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 24.41 seconds. She also finished second in the 400-meter dash. The Crusaders also finished second in the 4×200 and 4×400.
Kensington Curd of Brentwood dominated the distance events, finishing first in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. On the boys side, Demeterius Thompson of Brentwood finished first in the long jump, triple jump and 300-meter intermediate hurdles. He was also second in the 110-meter high hurdles.