The postseason track and field state series began last weekend with small school district competitions throughout Missouri.
St. Louis area athletes participated in the Class 1 meet at Hillsboro and Class 2 district competition at New Haven. The Principia blazed to a possible outstanding postseason run by winning eight events and qualifying for the sectional meet in 13. The Panthers are in Class 1 this season after moving down from Class 2.
Principia is led by outstanding junior sprinter Issam Asingna, who was the dominant individual performer at last year’s Class 2 state championships in Jefferson City. Asingna was a triple crown winner in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes at last year’s state meet. He established himself as one of the top sprinters in the state, regardless of class. Last weekend, he easily won district titles in the 100 and 200 with winning times of 10.8 and 22.06 seconds, respectively.
He has posted some of the area’s top times in the sprints this season heading into the district meet. The Panthers qualified all four of their relay teams for the sectional meet while distance runner Rex Heath was a double-winner in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs.
Lutheran North, Whitfield times two
The Lutheran North Crusaders and Whitfield Warriors put together excellent performances at the Class 2, District 2 meet at New Haven. Both boys’ teams had five district champions in individual events, along with several other sectional qualifiers. Lutheran North was very productive in the sprints as Jaylin Carson finished first in the 100 and Keith Bass took home first place in the 200.
The Crusaders also won the 4×100- and 4×200-meter relays and finished second in the 4×400. Julian Juszczyk was also a district champion in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles.
Whitfield did much of its damage in the sprints and middle-distance events. Charles Bobo finished first in the 400-meter dash and Jackson Brungart won the 3,200-meter run. The Warriors also finished first in the 4×400- and 4×800-meter relays. The Warriors won the 4×400 in 3 minutes 28.76 seconds while the 4×800 relay team turned in a very impressive time of 7:58.93.
The Warriors also finished first and second in the pole vault with Jackson Courtney winning the district title and David Goldstein taking home runner-up honors.
The girls’ teams from Lutheran North and Whitfield were just as productive as their male counterparts at last weekend’s Class 2, District 2 meet at New Haven. Lutheran North won district titles in five different events and qualified athletes in seven events for this weekend’s sectionals at Lutheran North.
Junior Taylor Carr was a double winner as she finished first in the 100 and 200. She also led the Crusaders to first-place finishes in the 4×100 and 4×200. Catharyn Ryden also took home a district championship as she won the high jump.
Whitfield won district championships in four events while qualifying athletes in seven events for the upcoming sectionals. Elinor Rose finished first in the 400, Hadley Wilkins won the 800 and Dalia Al-sagr finished first in the 3,200. The Warriors also finished first in the 4×400-meter relay.
More district meets on mark
With the athletes from the small schools advancing to sectional competition this weekend, the schools in Classes 3,4 and 5. Area athletes in Class 5 will be spread out in district meets at Poplar Bluff, Marquette, Parkway Central, Columbia Rock Bridge and Eureka. Class 4 district meets with St. Louis teams will be held at Cape Girardeau, Summit, Parkway Central and North Point while Class 3 athletes will be competing at Herculaneum and Wright City. The top four finishers in each district event will advance to sectional competition next Saturday.
IHSA Girls Sectionals on tap
The postseason for girls’ track and field on the Illinois side gets underway this week with sectional competition around the state. Metro east teams will be participating in Class 3A sectional action at Danville. The meet will be held today, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Area Class 2A teams will be competing at Triad this afternoon, beginning at 2 p.m. The top qualifiers in each event will advance to next weekend’s IHSA State Championships at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
Jackson-Durrett takes over at UMKC
I want to give a shout out to former Parkway West girls’ basketball standout Dionnah Jackson-Durrett, who was recently named the head women’s coach at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Jackson-Durrett was the St. Louis American Player of the Year in 2001 before embarking on a successful collegiate career at Oklahoma. She helped the Sooners reach the national championship game of the NCAA Tournament. Over the past 12 years, Jackson-Durrett has successfully moved up the coaching ranks with stops at Southeast Missouri State, George Mason, Mississippi State and, most recently, at Texas.
