Track standouts heads to championship meets

The high school track and field season closes this weekend with state championship competitions in Missouri and Illinois.

The Missouri Class 3,4, and 5 state championships will be held this weekend at Jefferson City High. The field events will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the running events beginning at 11 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday. The IHSA Boys state championships will be held at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, beginning on Thursday, and concluding on Saturday.

Metro east powerhouse programs East St. Louis and Cahokia will be teams to watch at the Illinois Class 2 meet this weekend. Both teams will be taking a large contingent of athletes to Charleston this weekend. East St. Louis will be taking athletes in 11 individual events and all four relays to the state meet. They won the Class 2A sectional meet at Wood River last week with 156 points. Cahokia will be taking athletes in eight individual events and three relays after finishing second at the sectionals with 113 points.

East St. Louis had six sectional champions, led by Demarlynn Taylor, who won the 110-meter-high hurdles and 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Keith Buchanon won the 100-meter dash and Devion Montgomery finished first in the 400. The Flyers also won the 4x100- and 4x00-meter relays. Cahokia's lone sectional champion was field events standout Nicholas Deloach, who finished first in the long jump, triple jump, and high jump.

*Highlights from last weekend's Missouri Sectionals

*Junior Antwon McKay of Cardinal Ritter finished first in the 110-meter-high hurdles and 300-meter intermediate hurdles at the Class 4, Sectional 1 meet at Hillsboro.

*Junior A'laji Bradley of Pattonville finished first in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes at the Class 5, Sectional 1 meet at Poplar Bluff.

*Senior Ahrmad Branch of Festus finished first in the long jump and triple jump at the Class 4, Sectional 1 meet at Hillsboro.

*Sophomore Melvin Sledge of Hazelwood East finished first in the 200 and 400 at the Class 4, Sectional 2 meet at Mexico.

*Junior Skyye Lee of Parkway Central finished first in the 100, 200, 100-meter-high hurdles and 300-meter low hurdles at the Class 4, Sectional 2 meet at Mexico

*Senior Winston Moore of MICDS finished first in the 100 and ran legs on the first place 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays at the Class 4, Sectional 1 meet at Hillsboro.

*The Cardinal Ritter girls won the 4x100 (46.95 seconds), 4x200 (1:41.82) and 4x400 (3:49.3) at the Class 5, Sectional 1 meet at Poplar Bluff

*Senior Mason Meinershagen of Oakville finished first in the high jump and pole vault at the Class 5, Sectional 1 meet at Poplar Bluff.

*Sophomore Grant Stevener of Kirkwood finished first in the 800 and 1,600-meter runs at the Class 5, Sectional 1 meet at Poplar Bluff

*Senior Ladarius Williams of Hazelwood East won the 110-meter-high hurdles and 300-meter intermediate hurdles at the Class 4, Sectional 2 meet at Mexico.

*Junior Cameron Clayborn of Cardinal Ritter won the shot put and discus at the Class 4, Sectional 1 meet at Hillsboro.

*Cahokia Girls Take Third

The Cahokia Comanches brought home a third-place trophy from last weekend's IHSA Class 2A girls state championships in Charleston. Junior sprinter Kayda Austin was one of the meet's top individual standouts with victories in the 100 and 200. Her winning times were 11.85 seconds in the 100 and 24.23 seconds in the 200. Junior Keymora Hayes finished second in the 200, fourth in the 400 and fifth in the long jump. 

The East St. Louis Flyerettes got all-state performances from Janiyah Brown, who finished sixth in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump. East Side also finished in the 4x200 and sixth in the 4x400.

*Missouri Class 2 State Meet Highlights

The Lutheran North girls and Christian boys brought home trophies from last weekend's Missouri Class 2 state championships in Jefferson City. Lutheran North finished tied for fourth place with 29 points. The Crusaders won the state championship in the 4x200-meter relay. Genesis Dixon finished second in the 200 and 400. Christian's boys were led by senior Austin Ball, who won both the 110-meter-high hurdles and 300-meter intermediate hurdles. Tarrion Walker-Townsend of Valley Park brought home two all-state medals after finishing eighth in the 100 and long jump.