The lanes to the state championships opened for Missouri small school prep track and field athletes district meets last weekend.
Most St. Louis area athletes were at Lutheran North to compete in the Class 2, District 3 meet. The top four finishers in each event qualified for Saturday’s (May 15) Sectional in Monroe City.
It was a productive day for the girls of STEAM Academy at McCluer South-Berkeley. It had nine district champions while qualifying for sectionals in six individual events and three relays.
Junior Leah Thames was a district champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, while senior Cheyenne
Melvin won the 400-meter dash and 800-meter run, respectively.
Senior Chelby Melvin swept the 100-meter high hurdles and 300-meter low hurdles. STEAM also swept the sprint relays, winning the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400-meter relays. The winning time in the 4×200 was an impressive 1 minute 41.9 seconds.
Also qualifying for sectionals were junior Safiyah Reed in the 100, junior Myah Coleman in the 200 and senior Arnezsia Kimbrough in the 400.
On the boys’ side, the Lutheran North Crusaders also enjoyed a huge day as they qualified athletes for sectionals in nine individual events and four relays, while winning five district championships.
North’s top individual performer was senior Bryce Oliver, who dominated field events with victories in the long jump and triple jump.
Junior Nicholas Bellinger also won a district title in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.
The Crusaders also came up big in the sprint relays, as they won the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 races.
The Crusaders’ other sectional qualifiers include junior Ali Wells in the 100, senior Jordynn Parker and sophomore Jonathan Van Hook in the 200, Parker in the 400, junior Brian Brown in the 800, Oliver in the 110-meter high hurdles and senior Jerrell Carter in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.
The top individual performer at the district meet was sophomore Issam Asingna of Principia, who swept the sprints with victories in the 100, 200 and 400.
Large school meets looming
District track meets at the Class 3, 4 and 5 levels are Saturday (May 15) with St. Louis area teams competing throughout the metropolitan area. Area athletes will be at Class 5 meets at Poplar Bluff, Francis Howell Central, Wentzville Liberty and Columbia Battle.
Festus, Hillsboro, St. Dominic and Mexico will host Class 4 meets, while area Class 3 schools will compete at Lutheran St. Charles and Wright City.
Football players on track
Star second-year wide receiver DK Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks tried his hand at track and field last weekend, competing at the USA Golden Games in Walnut, Calif. His hope was to gain a spot at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Competing in a 100-meter dash heat, Metcalf finished ninth in a time of 10.36 seconds. Although many may scoff at his finish, the fact a 6’3” 240-pound man ran a 10.36 in the 100-meter dash is incredible.
Watching DK run brings back memories of the late, great Bob Hayes, who became an NFL star with the Dallas Cowboys after his outstanding track career. He remains the only athlete to win an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl.
In 1964, Hayes set the track and field world on fire when he won a 100-meter dash gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in a then world-record time of 10.06 seconds.
He also turned in a legendary anchor leg in the 4×100-meter relay to rally the USA from way behind to capture another gold medal. Hayes was timed at 8.6 seconds on his incredible relay run to glory, the fastest in history.
The previous year, Hayes set a world record in the 100-yard dash with a 9.1 second time at the AAU Nationals at Public Schools Stadium in St. Louis. The Florida A&M product also helped the Cowboys win the Super Bowl in 1972. He was inducted into the Pro Football League Hall of Fame in 2009.
