The two best male track and field athletes in Jefferson County put their talents on vivid display on April 27 at the Jefferson County Activities Association championships at Festus.
De Soto senior Lamont Allen and Hillsboro junior Isaiah Martin each have high aspirations for the Class 4 state meet May 26-27 at Jefferson City, but the JCAA meet served as an important stepping stone for both as they led their teams to high finishes in the team standings.
Hillsboro won with 166 points, followed by the host Tigers in second (133) and De Soto third (104).
For the second straight year, Allen ran away with the male most valuable athlete award, winning the 100-meter dash (11.41), high jump (6-6), triple jump (44-7) and long jump (21-6.25), a 40-point haul. He set a conference record in the high jump, breaking the 2005 mark of 6-5 held by Hillsboro’s Kyle Proemsey. Allen’s personal best in his top event is 6-10.25, which is also the school record.
If it weren’t for the Dragon standout, Hillsboro’s Martin would have been an easy pick for the MVP honor. The versatile Hawk ran away from the field in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking 15.7, a full second ahead of runner-up Owen Johnson of Grandview. Martin also won the 300 hurdles (40.25) and the javelin throw (153-1) and took third in the long jump, the only event in which he and Allen went head-to-head.
Martin’s winning toss in the javelin was 14 feet longer than the second-place throw of De Soto’s Zach Smith.
“Last year the best I could muster was 150 feet,” Martin said. “I’ve spent a lot of time practicing my form and technique. Over the summer I was throwing every day.”
The hurdling hasn’t suffered in the meantime.
“I know he’s going to perform at a high level,” Hillsboro head coach Todd Medley said. “Each meet is a chess match because I can put him in almost everything and he’ll excel.”
Another Hawk who excelled at Festus was senior Jake McNees, who won the shot put and discus. He tossed the shot a personal record 50-1, about four inches farther than teammate Mike Lalk’s second-place throw. In the discus, McNees reached 114-5, also four inches better than second place, taken by Dan Straugan of Jefferson.
“(McNees) has been really wanting to hit 50 feet,” Medley said. “And Mike threw a (46-6) and he’s been toying around with 43 and 44 all year.
“(Lalk) was running down the stairs at me, so I knew he’d done something good because he doesn’t show emotion a lot. I didn’t know to brace myself for a big hug or what.”
Hillsboro’s Joe Marschuetz didn’t win any events, but his second-place finishes in the 100, 200 and 400 helped push the Hawks over the top in the team standings. Also contributing were the Hillsboro relay teams, which took third place at all four distances – the 4x800, 4x200, 4x100 and 4x400, in event order. The 4x100 team of Joe Garner, Justin Sanders, Luke Skaggs and Joe Gregory ran its season-best, 46.36.
“The handoffs were real good,” Medley said.
Festus flexed its considerable muscle in the distance events. The Tigers’ winning 4x800 relay team of Max McDaniel, Matt Thomas, Brendan Pratt and Noah Hunter set a JCAA record of 8:10.50, eclipsing Perryville’s 1995 mark of 8:13.80. Hunter, who won the open 800 in 1:59.31, anchored the record-setting quartet.
“I knew I had about 60 meters on the next runner,” Hunter said. “We don’t want to be overconfident, but we trust in each other and we know what we have to do to get it done.”
Pratt raced to victory in the 1,600 (4:34.12) and 3,200 (9:48.64), finishing just seconds ahead of McDaniel in both.
“Brendan took off (in the 1,600) because I told him we had to have a last good 800, said assistant coach Bryant Wright. “So that’s a pretty nice race for us.”
C.J. Glaze flashed some Tiger speed in anchoring the Festus 4x100 (with Aldryn Bustos, Luke Dudgen and Jalen Watson) to victory in 46.08, two-tenths of a second ahead of second-place De Soto. It was sweet redemption after Glaze pulled a hamstring muscle in this same event a year ago.
“The handoff had been perfect all year, except for that meet,” Glaze said about last season’s 4x100 loss, painful in more ways than one. “I grabbed (the baton) and took off and I was catching the guy in front of me and (the hamstring) popped. You’re at full speed and basically you just stop and try not to fall over.
“I’ve been thinking about it since that day,” Glaze added. “I referred to this event as the recovery relay. Getting first feels great. When I got the handoff, I thought there’s no way I’m losing it. I’m only looking at the finish line and the person in front of me.”
Grandview’s Johnson started pole vaulting in the seventh grade but didn’t take the event seriously until he got to high school. Now the junior is the JCAA champion. He cleared 14 feet, a foot above second-place Corey Sellers of Festus.
“Instead of focusing on winning, I’m focusing on what I need to do instead of whatever everyone else does,” Johnson said. “That’s one of the most important things I’ve improved on.”
Herculaneum took second in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays, with the same foursome in both: Corben Clubb, Blake Cobb, Loki Cortner and John Maddox. Cortner also placed third in the 1,600, helping the Blackcats to a fourth-place finished with 92.5 points.