Paced by its distance crew, sophomore Cannon Kisner finishing second in the 100-meter dash, and junior Josh Golightly’s third-place finish in the 110 and 300 hurdles, the De Soto boys track and field team scored 97 points and won its own meet April 17.
“They had some great performances on the track and in the field, our most solid performance of the year so far,” said Robert Hyde, head coach of the Dragon boys and girls teams. “That’s where we want to be right now. The distance squad and hurdles had a great night. Our sprints have been performing well all season and will get better as the year progresses.”
Senior Carson Koerber has had to run in the shadow of Festus senior Carson Driemeier on cross country courses and track for four years. That’s never deterred Koerber from his own high standards as a three-time state qualifier in cross country (he was fourth in Class 4 last November in Columbia) and state medalist in track and field in Jefferson City. At the Dragon invitational, Koerber won the 1,600 in 4:30.68 and the 3,200 in 9:58.70. As the season progresses, Koerber will eventually be added permanently to the 4x800 relay, which won by 14 seconds at home with a lineup of junior Clayton Rozycki, freshman Keyon Aubuchon and juniors Jacob Schuenemeyer and Cruz Anders, who was sixth at state cross country.
“We’re getting his legs prepped for multiple races in a week,” Hyde said of Koerber, who holds the school record in the 3,200 in 9:24.09. “That was one of the only times I’ll be able to run him in the 1,600 and 3,200 on the same day before districts. I expect him to break that (3,200) record again.”
Hyde said Anders and Koerber could challenge the 1,600 school record of 4:21, and he expects the 4x800 record of 8:14 to fall.
Kelly senior Evan Shoaf won the 100 in 10.90 seconds and Kisner was second in 11.14. Kisner ran the 100 in 10.94 earlier this year and he anchors the 4x100 and 4x200, which was first at De Soto in 1:32.03 with sophomore Victor Kemper, Golightly and sophomore Damian Pogue.
“As a sophomore, the sky’s the limit and (Kisner’s) a tremendous athlete,” Hyde said. “He’s as gifted as they come.”
Golightly was third in the 110 hurdles in 16.09, and Hillsboro junior Auston Ross was second in 15.32. Ross ran second in the 300 hurdles in 40.14, with Golightly close behind in 40.18.
A Class 5 school, Seckman won the girls side at De Soto with 115 points. Windsor’s girls continued their strong season by finishing second with 86 points, and De Soto was third with 63.
Jefferson junior Zoie Bradley was a Class 2 state medalist in the 100 and on the 4x100 and 4x200 relays last season. At De Soto, Bradley won the 100 in 12.40 and the 200 in 25.70, and was third in the 400 in 1:03.83. Seckman senior Lilli Morie was second in the 100 (12.71) and the 200 (26.26).
The Jaguars won the two open distance events when sophomore Grace Andrews captured the 1,600 in 5:32.03 and freshman Harper Goddard won the 3,200 in 12:46.38.
De Soto junior Payton Stearns was second in the 100 hurdles in 16.93 and won the 300 hurdles in 48.33. Junior Abigail Reese was the other Dragon to win her event, throwing the discus 34.72 meters.
“We’ve got a lot of first-year kids and they’re starting to see some things come around,” Hyde said about his girls team. “The 4x200 ran a season-best by two seconds. The 4x800 had a season-best by 30 seconds. The group is getting used to putting that athletic talent on the track.
“I look at these meets as growing as a team and the distance pace was slower than normal because they didn’t have the competition. They’re going to make some noise going forward.”
De Soto’s chief Jefferson County Activities Association rivals from Festus sent both the boys and girls teams to Rockwood Summit on April 18 for the Corey Siebert/Lakeshia Finch Invitational.
Competing against some of the top Class 5 athletes and teams in the state, the Tiger girls dominated the 18-team field with 117 points, while the boys scored 76 points, which was second to the host Falcons’ 107.
“It was a great meet, with solid performances across all event groups,” said Festus girls head coach Wes Armbruster, who led the Tigers to the state title last year. “We continue to take steps toward being a team that’s capable of something special.”
Festus champions were senior Carson Driemeier (800, 1:59.13), boys 4x100 (42.80), senior Jessica Hawkins (100 hurdles, 15.08), sophomore Hadley Joy Munoz (300 hurdles, 47.54), girls 4x100 (50.78), girls 4x800 (10:04.03) and senior Addison Walden (pole vault, 3.36).