The Festus track program likes to start each season in late March with a bang – its own aptly-named Early Bird Invitational, featuring dozens of schools from all over the St. Louis area and beyond.
The Early Birds, about 1,700 strong, were flying (and running and throwing) for three days, March 23-25, on the Tigers’ oval. Middle-school athletes competed Thursday in the Janice Williams Invitational while junior varsity competitors met Friday in the McCullough-Douglas Invitational. The varsity took center stage on Friday and Saturday.
“This meet has some of the best competition in the state,” said Alex Rouggly, who coaches the Jefferson boys and girls track teams. “That’s why we come here; we want them to see the best. Coach (John) Crites and coach (Chris) Partney do an excellent job running this meet.”
Neither Crites, who coaches the Festus girls, nor Partney, the Tiger boys’ coach, get to see much of the varsity meet because they’re working on making sure the athletes are where they’re supposed to be for each event.
“Our kids competed well and that’s all we can ask for them to do is give us their best effort and the rest of it will come down the road when it matters,” Crites said of his girls squad.
Jefferson City won the girls meet with 103 points. Lafayette (99 points), Francis Howell (78.5) and Nerinx Hall (65) rounded out the top four teams. Jefferson was fifth with 60 points, followed by Festus in eighth (47 points), Windsor 10th (42), Hillsboro 11th (31) and Herculaneum 13th (26).
Jefferson’s fifth-place finish is impressive considering the Blue Jays are a Class 2 program and all four schools ahead of them Saturday are in Class 5.
Sydney Weik finished fourth in the high jump, leaping 4-8, while Blue Jay Jenna Courtois spanned 33-7.5 to win the triple jump. Jefferson junior Anna Heacock won two events, the long jump (16-7) and the 100-meter hurdles, clocking a school-record 15.99. She also placed fourth in the 300-meter hurdles.
Jefferson senior Sarah Handrahan, better known as an all-state pitcher in softball, showed she could toss the discus pretty well, too, finishing second at 108 feet, six inches. Teammate Carlee Brehe was third with a throw of 105-11.
“The girls have done a phenomenal job these last two days,” Rouggly said. “All of the girls keep working hard in practice and improving every day. If they keep doing that we’ll have a lot of fun at the end of the year.”
The Festus girls 4x800-meter relay team of Lily Uding, Maddy Wiskirchen, Melissa Wolk and Taylor Cruzado won in 23:26.84. Herculaneum’s quartet of Alex Becker, Emily Enghauser, Danielle Prince and Chloe Richardson came in second in 24:06.88.
The Blackcats and Tigers swapped places in the distance medley relay as Becker, Enghauser, Prince and Haley Damkroger won it for Herky in 14:02.18, 29 seconds ahead of Festus.
The first meet of the season gives coaches a good baseline for performance expectations in the weeks ahead, as Herculaneum head coach Dave Cook noted.
“We’re looking at where they are right now as compared to where they were a year ago,” said Cook, who coaches the boys and girls. “Distance runners had a good (Friday night) at Festus.”
Returning state medalist Caitlin Reed finished third for Festus in the pole vault, clearing 10 feet. Nicole Barton of Windsor was sixth with a vault of 9-6.
Windsor junior Taylor Richey nearly pulled off a sprint trifecta, capturing the 100 in 12.88 and finishing second in the 200 (27.05) and 400 (1:02.71). Emma Hirstein finished third in the 400 for Hillsboro.
Festus finishes best among JCAA boys
On the boys side, the host Tigers relied as usual on a strong showing by their distance runners to lead Festus to third place with 77.3 points, trailing Jefferson City (112) and Lafayette (103.3). The Tigers are a Class 4 program while Jeff City and Lafayette compete in Class 5.
“Jeff City and Lafayette are fantastic teams in a class above us when it comes to state competition,” Festus boys head coach Chris Partney said. “It helps the boys get ready for big competition at the end. We were right there in it until a few events to go.”
Matt Thomas, Charlie Samarzich, Noah Hunter and Max McDaniel, all members of the Tigers’ state-champion cross country team, brought Festus home first in both the 4x800 and 4x1600 relays, clocking 8:15.69 and 18:36.88 respectively. Hunter also finished second in the 800 in 1:59.83, a crisp performance for late March.
“That’s a great time,” Partney said of his team’s 4x1600 performance. “We’ve been wanting to get into this event for a while and that’s a phenomenal time. We’ve had the best distance runners Festus has (ever) had, (just) in the past six to eight years.”
Hillsboro’s foursome of Colton Vaughn, Mike Ramsey, Isaiah Martin and Kevin Koester finished first in the distance medley relay in 10:56.34, 38 seconds faster than second-place Festus. Koester, an all-state cross country runner, also finished second in the 1,600-meter run in 4:30.99.
Corey Sellers of Festus won the pole vault with a vault of 13-6, six inches better than second place.
Martin excels
Hillsboro junior Isaiah Martin dreams of competing in a decathlon in Africa this summer. He did the challenging 10-event test last year in the AAU national junior (18-U) meet and will try again this summer to qualify for the decathlon at the IAAF World Junior meet July 12-16 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Martin, a junior, already has had an incredible year as an athlete. He was an all-conference wide receiver on the Hawks’ football team and helped the basketball team win a district championship. On Saturday, Martin set an Early Bird record in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.67 and also won the 300 hurdles in 40.25. He finished fifth in the 110 hurdles in Class 4 last season as a sophomore.
“I love every sport,” Martin said. “I just love competing.
“Everything was right (today). I thought it was going to be windy and rainy but all of that was gone when I ran the race.”
The Hawks finished sixth in the boys team competition with 68.3 points.
Windsor senior Brandon Fouts ran for 2,115 yards on the football field last fall, earning all-state recognition. He traded his football cleats for track spikes Saturday, placing fourth in the 100 meters in 11.54, two-tenths behind winner Garrett Parker of Jefferson City.
Also making the transition from football to track Saturday were four Jefferson athletes. Tanner Davis set a Blue Jay record with a pole vault of 10-6. Daniel Straughan took third in the discus with a throw of 133-4, also a school record. In the 4x200 relay, Andrew Graves, Gunnison Heine, Brandon Perry and Dustin Govro together clocked 1:35.41, yet another Jefferson record.
Allen picks up where he left off
Three-time state medalist Lamont Allen of De Soto led the Dragon boys to a sixth-place finish Saturday at the Lindenwood University High School Open in St. Charles.
Allen, last year’s JCAA male track athlete of the year, won his signature event, the high jump, with a leap of 6-8.25, a little off his personal best (and school record) 6-10.
“He was probably 7-1 in the air, but he clipped his heel (on the bar), which is his bogeyman,” De Soto head coach Terry Frank said.
Allen also captured the triple jump Saturday, bounding 44-9.5. His personal best is 46 feet, set in the sectional meet last year.
In the long jump, Allen finished third at 20 feet, but he spiked himself and didn’t continue after.
“So we shut him down,” said Frank, who now coaches both the boys and girls after previously overseeing just the girls. “He’s got a nice little gash on his knee.
“We weren’t that focused on winning. We were more focused on him getting good approaches and good marks.”
Other placers among the Dragon boys were Zach Smith (fifth in the javelin at 133-10) and Cole Koch (third in the 2,000-meter steeplechase in 7:08.08).
The De Soto girls finished seventh. Kayleigh Eberhardt and Kaitlyn McGinnitey finished fifth and seventh respectively in the long jump while Madison Tolbert was seventh in the triple jump. Pole vaulters Allison Portell and Paisley Thompson finished fourth and fifth. Lillie Kaempfe was third in the 3,200 in 12:41.32 and Abigail Sampson was third in the javelin throw in 92-3. .
“(McGinnitey) ran really strong in the hurdles and if she hadn’t clipped the last hurdle she would have run a state-like time,” Frank said.
Blackcats pull double duty
After competing at the Early Bird meet Friday night, the Herculaneum boys and girls teams were in St. Charles for the Lindenwood meet on Saturday. Jake McCutchen finished fifth in the boys discus with a throw of 124-7. Teammate Corben Clubb was fourth in the 400 in 53.63. On the girls side, Emily Fischer was eighth in the 400 in 1:04.63.
Festus Early Bird Invitational
Girls team scores: 5. Jefferson, 60; 8. Festus, 47; 10. Windsor, 32; 11. Hillsboro, 31; 13. Herculaneum, 26; 18 Eureka, 13.
4x1600 meter relay: 1. Festus, 23:26.84; Herculaneum, 24:06.88.
Distance medley: 1. Herculaneum: Alex Becker, Haley Damkroger, Emily Enghauser, Danielle Prince, 14:02.18; 2. Festus, 14:31.86.
5,000: 2. Danielle Prince, Herculaneum 19:57.67; 5. Erika McIntyre, Festus 23:08.61.
Discus: 2. Sarah Handrahan, Jefferson 108-06; 6. Sara Hoffman, Festus 96-00; 8. Ashleigh Wick, Hillsboro 93-05; 16. Alea Farmer, Eureka, 82-04; 17. Julia Land, Hillsboro 78-07; 20. Izzy Smith, Festus 77-05; 23. Bella Marco, Windsor 73-10; 25. Jada Shelton-Davis, Eureka 73-06; 31. Emily Reiter, Windsor 59-09.
Shot Put: 6. Kelsey Boyd, Hillsboro 33-10.50; 9, Sara Hoffman, Festus 32-03.25; 11. Alexa Sumpter, Festus 31-09.50; 13. Kristen Reese, Jefferson 29-10.00; 15. Sarah Handrahan, Jefferson 29-03.25; 21. Ashleigh Wick, Hillsboro 28-02.00; 22. Emily Reiter, Windsor 27-06.25; 31. Kaylee Comia, Windsor 19-07.50.
Pole Vault: 3. Caitlin Reed, Festus 10-00.00; 6. Nicole Barton, Windsor 9-06.00; 7. Hannah Reed, Festus 9-00.00.
High Jump: 3. Rihana O’Malley, Eureka 4-08.00; 4. Sydney Weik, Jefferson 4-08.00; 6. Morgan Hanephin, Eureka 4-06.00; 8. Elaina Readnour, Hillsboro 4-06.00; 11. Alyvia Dean, Hillsboro 4-04.00.
Triple Jump: 1. Jenna Courtois, Jefferson 33-07.50; 5. Abby McMillan, Festus 31-05.00; 11. Nicole Barton: Windsor 29-07.75; 12. Hanna Floyd, Jefferson 28-11.50; 13. Alyvia Dean, Hillsboro 28-04.25; 14. Shawna Hromnak, Windsor 27-08.75; 16. Elaina Readnour, Hillsboro 25-10.00.
Long Jump: 1. Anna Heacock, Jefferson 16-07.00; 10. Hanna Floyd, Jefferson 13-07.25; 11. Tori Bowen, Windsor 13-05.00; 14. Alyvia Dean Hillsboro 13-01.50; 18. Morgan Hanephin, Eureka 12-00.00; 20.Elaina Readnour, Hillsboro 11-08.50; 21. Rihana O’Malley, Eureka 11-06.25.
4x800 relay: 3. Festus B: Taylor Cruzado, Lilly Uding, Maddie Welsh, Maddy Wiskirchen, 10:22.72; 5. Hillsboro, 10:42.09; 6. Eureka: Adyson Delaney, Courtney Reid, Sydney Reid, Alyssa Jakcsy, 10:50.12; 9. Festus A: Sophia Leftwich, Bailey Moore, Tasmine Schaaf, Page Treon, 11:26.58; 11. Windsor: Tori Bowen, Taylor Duncan, Olivia Miloscia, Ali Perry, 11:29.39.
100 hurdles: 1. Anna Heacock, 15.99; 5. Makayla Roney, Hillsboro 17.70; 6. Rose Weber, Hillsboro 18.08; 9. Heather Korman, Windsor 18.64; 15, Madi Miller, Windsor 19.33; 16. Rihana O’Malley, Eureka 19.64.
100: 1. Taylor Richey, Windsor 12.88; 9. April Dixon-Boyd, Eureka 13.77; 13. Sabrina Jung, Eureka 14.12; 20. Abby Young, Windsor 14.94; 22. Kylie Swaney, Hillsboro 15.59.
4x200 relay: 4. Jefferson: Jenna Courtois, Hanna Floyd, Sydney Weik, Holly Welker, 1:53.60; 7. Hillsboro, 1:54.04; 9. Windsor: Tori Bowen, Shawna Hromnak, Heather Korman, Ali Perry, 1:59.27.
1,600: 8. Kelly Koester, Hillsboro 5:35.72; 9, Maddy Wiskirchen, Festus 5:43.44; 11. Allison Payne, Festus 5:49.17; 19, Courtney Reid, Eureka 6:13.02.
4x100 relay: 5. Jefferson: Jenna Courtois, Hanna Floyd, Sydney Weik, Holly Welker, 53.67; 8. Eureka: Ja’nia Lewis, Ayrianna Dixon, April Dixon-Boyd, Marleea Brown, 54.66; 11. Hillsboro, 57.83.
400: 2. Taylor Richey, Windsor 1:02.71; 3. Emma Hirstein, Hillsboro 1:04.03; 14. Shawna Hromnak, Windsor 1:12.89; 16. Morgan Hanephin, Eureka 1:18.48.
300 hurdles: 4. Anna Heacock, Jefferson 50.07; 5. Makayla Roney, Hillsboro 50.94; 9. Rose Weber, Hillsboro 53.79; 10, Madi Miller, Windsor 54.86; 14. Heather Korman, Windsor 55.48.
800: 6. Lilly Uding, Festus 2:32.42; 10. Kendall Runzi, Jefferson 2:38.88; 15. Maddie Welsh, Festus 2:45.11; 17. Madison Sargent, Eureka 2:46.74; 20, Olivia Miloscia, Windsor 2:55.87; 25. Sydney Reid, Eureka 3:03.64.
200: 2. Taylor Richey, Windsor 27.05; 6. Holly Welker, Jefferson 28.01; 17. Sabrina Jung, Eureka, 30.58; 18. Hannah Voisey, Hillsboro 30.80; 19. Kylie Swaney, Hillsboro 32.10.
3,200: 8. Melissa Wolk, 12:11.88; 13. Allison Payne, Festus 12:23.26; 15. Adyson Delaney, Eureka 12:26.35; 16. Jordan Heacock, Jefferson 12:51.02; 18. Alyssa Jakcsy, Eureka 12:59.93.
4x400 relay: 6. Windsor: Nicole Barton, Tori Bowen, Ali Perry, Taylor Richey, 4:30.23; 7. Hillsboro, 4:34.83; 9. Festus, 4:38.08.
Boys team scores: 3. Festus, 77.33; 4. Eureka, 73; 6. Hillsboro 68.33; 11. Jefferson, 21; 13. Herculaneum, 17; 15. Windsor, 13.
4x1600 relay: 1. Festus, 18:36.88; 2. Herculaneum: Jacob Arnold, Blake Cobb, Loki Cortner, Ryan Duvall, 20:11.96.
Distance medley: 1. Hillsboro: Colton Vaughn, Mike Ramsey, Isaiah Martin, Kevin Koester, 10:56.34; 3. Festus, 11:34.74; 6. Herculaneum: Blake Cobb, Loki Cortner, Ryan Duvall, John Maddox, 12:05.52.
5,000: 3. Jacob Arnold, Herculaneum 17:51.75; 4. Alec Whitener, Festus 18:01.35; 6. James Ziesmer, Festus 18:06.08.
Discus: 4. Dan Straughan, Jefferson 133-04; 5. Jamal Pittman, Eureka 132-02; 7. Jake McNeese, Hillsboro 126-10; 8. Dylan Roth, Jefferson 125-00; 23. Kane Cochran, Hillsboro 102-05; 25. Chris Meczkowski, Festus 97-05; 26. Reese Montgomery, Festus 92-04; 27. Grant Hogan, Windsor 90-00; 30. Myles Ragsdale, Eureka 84-11.
Shot put: 5. Jake McNeese, Hillsboro 45-07.25; 7. Braden Leuthauser, Eureka 44-10.50; 9, Mike Lalk, Hillsboro 44-04.50; 10. Myles Ragsdale, Eureka 43-11.00; 19. Jacob Vaughn, Windsor 40-04.00; 22. Grant Hogan, Windsor 39-03.00; 24. Dan Straughan, Jefferson 38-11.75; 30. Reese Montgomery, Festus 34-10.25; 33. Dakota Jakoubek, Jefferson 33-03.75; 34. Chris Meczkowski, Festus 33-03.50.
Pole vault: 1. Corey Sellers, Festus 13-06.00; 8. Chase Green, Hillsboro 11-00.00; 8. Tim Uskiwich, Festus 11-00.00.
High jump: 1. Cam’Ron Like, Eureka 6-02.00; 9. Isaac Readnour, Hillsboro 5-02.00; 11. Keagon Cohen, Hillsboro 5-02.00.
Triple jump: 3. Joel Farmer, Windsor 41-01.50; 4. Cam’Ron Like, Eureka 40-07.00; 10, Isaac Readnour, Hillsboro 38-04.25; 11. Chance Gotsch, Festus 37-09.25; 14. Sean Emmerson, Eureka 36-10.75; 17. Gavin Grant, Festus 34-08.25; 18. Trevor Davison, Jefferson 34-06.00; 20. Kevin Pratt, Hillsboro 33-10.50.
Long jump: 1. Hassan Haskins, Eureka, 21-06.00; 2. Zach Valentine, Eureka 19-11.00; 8. Isaac Readnour, Hillsboro 19-00.50; 9. A.J. McKenzie, Festus 18-11.00; 13. Jacob Pauly, Festus 17-11.00; 14. Keagon Cohen, Hillsboro 17-10.00; 16. Trevor Davison, Jefferson 17-03.00; 18. Connor Richey, Windsor 16-10.00; 20. Tanner Davis, Jefferson 15-11.50.
4x800 relay: 1. Festus A, 8:15.69; 6. Eureka: Zach Christensen, Santiago Patino, Jacob Detering, Sam Cottam, 8:41.49; 7. Festus B, 8:42.26; 8. Hillsboro: Ethan Schlegal, Logan Galczynski, Justin Fitzpatrick, Mike Ramsey, 9:25.89.
110 hurdles: 1. Isaiah Martin, Hillsboro 14.67; 4. Zach Valentine, Eureka 16.77; 6. Jake McNeese, Hillsboro 17.38; 7. Stephen Beeler, Eureka 17.40; 8. Jacob Pauly, Festus 17.54; 9. Harrison Stoudt, Windsor 17.93; 12. Kalen Jarnegen, Windsor 18.58; 15. Brian Diaz, Festus 20.25.
100: 4. Brandon Fouts, Windsor 11.54; 5. Aldryn Bustos, Festus 11.62; 6. Andrew Graves, Jefferson 11.64; 17. Lukas Skaggs, Hillsboro 12.09; 18. C.J. Glaze, Festus 12.15; 20. Dustin Govro, Jefferson 12.31; 22. Joe Garner, Hillsboro 12.65.
4x200 relay: 4. Jefferson: Andrew Graves, Gunnison Heine, Brandon Perry, Dustin Govro, 1:35.41; 8. Hillsboro: Justin Sanders, Keagon Cohen, Luke Skaggs, Joe Marschuetz, 1:37.75; 9. Windsor: Jason Deckard, Joel Farmer, Brandon Fouts, Connor Richey, 1:39.04; 11. Festus A, 1:40.85; 13. Festus B, 1:43.75.
1,600: 2. Kevin Koester, Hillsboro 4:30.99; 3. Brandan Pratt, Festus 4:37.04; 4. Colton Vaughn, Hillsboro 4:40.57; 5. Max McDaniel, Festus 4:41.22; 9. Greg Glickert, Eureka 4:50.57; 15. Jacob Detering, Eureka 4:56.83; 23. Clayton Kusmec, Windsor 5:13.17; 24. Josh Sarette, Windsor 5:19.84.
4x100 relay: 3. Eureka: Hassan Haskins, Zach Valentine, Josh Jackson, Norrim Holder, 45.11; 5. Festus A, 46.18; 6. Jefferson: Andrew Graves, Gunnison Heine, Brandon Perry, Dustin Govro, 46.20; 8. Hillsboro, Justin Sanders, Joe Marschuetz, Joe Garner, Luke Skaggs, 46.55; 12. Windsor: Jason Deckard, Joel Farmer, Brandon Fouts, Connor Richey, 47.63; 14. Festus B, 50.32.
400: 6. Tanner Luedte, Eureka 53.49; 7. Chris Krichhahn, Eureka 53.73; 16. Adam Brody, Hillsboro 56.63; 18. Jacob Pauly, Festus 57.11; 19. Collin Gosnell, Jefferson 57.54; 21. Kevin Pratt, Hillsboro 59.54.
300 hurdles: 1. Isaiah Martin, Hillsboro 40.25; 5. Josh Jackson, Eureka 44.33; 7. Kalen Jarnegen, Windsor 44.77; 8. Stephen Beeler, Eureka 45.13; 10. Isaac Readnour, Hillsboro 45.45; 11. Brian Diaz, Festus 45.49; 12. Harrison Stoudt, Windsor 45.64; 16. Chance Gotsch, Festus 47.54.
800: 2. Noah Hunter: Festus 1:59.83; 9. Mike Ramsey, Hillsboro 2:07.19; 10. Ethan Schlegal, Hillsboro 2:08.21; 14. Brandon Seidensticker, Eureka 2:10.49; 17. Matthew Thomas, Festus 2:12.91; 21. Santiago Patino, Eureka 2:18.55; 22. Josh Sarette, Windsor 2:23.15; 23. Clayton Kusmec, Windsor 2:24.66.
200: 5. Andrew Graves, Jefferson 23.67; 6. Joe Marschuetz, Hillsboro 23.82; 9. Sian Emmerson, Eureka 24.57; 10. Aldryn Bustos, Festus 24.61; 12. Jacob Haller, Eureka 24.92; 17. Justin Sanders, Hillsboro 25.43; 18. C.J. Glaze, Festus 25.76.
3,200: 5. Kevin Koester: 9:52.69; 6. Charlie Samarzich, Festus 9:56.32; 8. Brendan Pratt, Festus 10:01.06; 10. Zach Christensen, Eureka 10:03.53; 13. Colton Vaughn, Hillsboro 10:28.70; 15. Sam Cottam, Eureka 10:30.85.
4x400 relay: 2. Eureka: Sean Emmerson, Norrim Holder, Josh Jackson, Chris Hrickhahn, 3:37.99; 4. Hillsboro: Adam Brody, Mike Ramsey, Joe Marschuetz, Isaiah Martin, 3:38.77; 9. Festus A, 3:52.18; 10. Jefferson: Tanner Davis, Brandon Perry, Zack Rarick, Collin Gosnell, 3:52.87; 11. Windsor: Jason Deckard, Joel Farmer, Kalen Jarnegen, Connor Richey, 3:54.49; 12. Festus B, 3:59.44.