The fast lane!

It was a season of first in boys track and field in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

We witnessed the crowning of a first-time state champion in the Mascoutah Indians in the state of Illinois.

We also saw dynamic sprinters in senior Brandon Battle of Edwardsville and sophomore Issam Asinga of Principia. Both were dominant in sweeping the sprints at their respective state meets. Francis Howell’s dynamic duo of Mason Brock and Bryce Kazmaier comprised one of the nation’s best 1-2 tandems in the javelin.

To officially bring the season to a close, we present to you the St. Louis American All-Area Boys Track and Field team for 2021.

First Team

100-meter dash: Issam Asinga, Principia (Soph.) and Brandon Battle, Edwardsville (Sr.) – Both won state championships in 10.6 seconds at the Missouri Class 2 and Illinois Class 3A state meets, respectively.
200-meter dash: Issam Asinga, Principia (Soph.) – Won the Class 2 state champion with a meet record of 21.6 seconds.
400-meter dash: Brandon Battle, Edwardsville (Sr.) – The Illinois Class 3A state champion recorded one of the nation’s best times, 46.48 seconds.
800-meter run: Baker Pashea, SLUH (Jr.) – Finished second in the Class 5 state meet.
1,600-meter run: Johnny Martin, Ladue (Sr.) – Finished third in the Class 5 state meet.
3,200-meter run: Andrew Smock, Ladue (Jr.) – Finished third in the Class 5 state meet.
110-meter high hurdles: Devontae Ford, East St. Louis (Sr.) – The Illinois Class 2A state champion in 14.07 seconds.
300-meter intermediate hurdles: Sam Wright, Hillsboro (Sr.) – The Class 4 state champion in 39.0 seconds.
4×100-meter relay: St. Mary’s – The Class 3 state champions in 42.6
4×200-meter relay: East St. Louis – The Illinois Class 2A runners-up.
4×400-meter relay: Ladue – Finished third at the Class 5 state meet.
4×800-meter relay: Marquette – Finished second at the Class 5 state meet.
Long jump: Shawn Putman, MICDS (Sr.) – The Class 3 state champion with a jump of 22 feet 4 inches.
Triple jump: Myles Norwood, Trinity (Sr.) – The Class 4 state champion with a jump of 48 feet 6 inches.
High jump: Brendan Goellner, St. Charles West (Jr.) – Had the area’s best jump at 6 feet 9 inches.
Pole vault: Sullivan Gleason, Fort Zumwalt North (Jr.) – The Class 5 state champion with a clearance of 14 feet 8 ¾ inches.
Shot Put: Barry Evans, Mascoutah (Sr.) – The Illinois Class 2A runner-up with a throw of 54 feet 7 inches.
Discus: Barry Evans, Mascoutah (Sr.) – The Illinois Class 2 state champion with a throw of 176 feet 8 inches.
Javelin: Mason Brock, Francis Howell (Sr.) – The Class 5 state champion with a throw of 194 feet 3 inches.