The St. Louis metropolitan area was represented well with four more state championships coming out of this weekend’s state track and field action in Missouri and Illinois.
The girls from Cardinal Ritter and Ladue came away with state championships on the Missouri side while the boys from Edwardsville and East St. Louis brought home state titles from the Illinois side.
Cardinal Ritter’s girls continued its dynastic run by winning the Class 5 state championship at Jefferson City High last weekend. The Lions have won three consecutive Class 5 state titles after winning a Class 3 title in 2021, which makes for a four-peat.
The Lions won six events as they dominated the sprints and relays to score 103 points, which was 28 more than their nearest competitor. Senior sprinter Aniyah Brown closed out her great career by winning the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.6 seconds. She also finished second in the 200 and fifth in the 400.
Junior Kyndall Spain swept the hurdles titles as she won the 100-meter high hurdles in 13.64 seconds and the 300-meter low hurdles in 42.53. She also finished fifth in the 200. Senior Hannah Wallace won the triple jump with an effort of 39 feet 10 ¾ and finished second in the high jump. Wallace is a Saint Louis University basketball recruit.
The Lions also raced to state championships in the 4×100- and 4×200-meter relays. The 4×100 team finished first in 47.71 seconds while the 4×200 crew won the state title in 1:40.25. They also finished second in the 4×400.
Other Lions who came home with All-State medals were Brooklyn Brady, who finished fourth in both the 100 and 200, and Takia Tiller who finished eighth in the triple jump.
*Ladue Girls win Class 4 State Crown
The Ladue Rams won the Class 4 state championship by scoring 68 points. The Rams lone individual state title came from Bella Jones, who won the high jump by clearing 5 feet 4 ½ inches. Ladue also brought home state titles in the 4×200- and 4×400 meter relays. Sprinter Delaney Brinker finished second in the 400 and sixth in the 200. In the 800, a pair of Rams earned All-State medals as Aaliyah Rogers finished second and Karina Griffin finished in sixth place. The Rams also finished second in the 4×800.
*Skyye Lee takes home three gold medals
Parkway Central Skyye Lee finished her stellar career by taking home three individual state championships. Lee finished first in the 200 in 23.93 seconds while sweeping both hurdles events. She won the 100-meter high hurdles in 13.34 seconds and the 300-meter low hurdles in 42.61 seconds.
*Edwardsville and East St. Louis bring home state titles to the metro east
The Edwardsville Tigers won a share of the IHSA Class 3A state championship last weekend in Charleston. The Tigers scored 49 points to finish in a first-place tie with Oak Park River Forest for the state title.
Senior Malik Allen was tremendous in winning the state title in the triple jump with an effort of 50 feet 6 inches. The Tigers also won the state title in the 4×100 in 41.65. Edwardsville also got second-place finishes from Iose Epenesa in the discus, Clayton Lakatos in the 200 and from the 4×200-meter relay team. Zach Lane also finished fifth in the 200.
East St. Louis won the Class 2A state championship with 50 points, just nine points ahead of second-place Mascoutah. The Flyers lone individual state champion was Kenneth Buchanon, who won the 200 in 21.73. Darris Ivy finished second in the 800 and Shamond McClain was second in the triple jump.
In the field events, Andrew Bownes was third in the discus and Elmo Gillian finished sixth in the shot put. Darius Ivy finished eighth in the 200 and the 4×400-meter relay team finished in sixth place.
