I’m always amazed at the efficient management of the large prep track and field meets I cover every spring. Hundreds of athletes perform like moving parts in a machine, spread across a bustling stadium. It’s the closest high school sports gets to a three-ring circus.
That was certainly the case May 11 at Festus when Classes 4-5 converged to host their District 1 meets. Blessed with spectacular weather, organizers, officials and coaches kept the proceedings moving. The events on the track were spaced out a bit too much, but the day went off without a hitch.
In the middle of the maelstrom were the Festus head coaches, Chris Partney for the boys and Wes Armbruster for the girls. They were constantly checking with each other, at the finish line or across the stadium at the field events.
Partney’s squad, the defending Class 4 state champions, is built for speed and intent on repeating at Jefferson City. In his responsibility as district host, Partney got to school at the crack of dawn. The 4x400 relay, the traditional final event on the track, was scheduled for 6:20 p.m., so he was looking at a 12-hour workday.
I was curious how many steps Partney walked, since I covered four miles that morning walking my dog, Ranger, and would have many more steps at the meet. In the afternoon he showed me the fitness device on his wrist, indicating 30,000 steps. Later that night he updated me with the final total: 38,950, equal to 18 miles!
Amazing. Partney demonstrates how coaching track and field is different from all the other sports; there’s no calling plays from the sideline or signaling time out.
(My walking regimen always picks up this time of year as I prepare for the state meets two weeks in a row; just getting to Adkins Stadium from a distant parking space can be half the battle.)
Despite the postponed javelin competition holding up the final scores, the Festus boys and girls breezed to district titles. The Tiger boys will push through as many athletes as they can at sectionals Saturday to give themselves their best shot at repeating. With the way the Festus baseball team has played this year, we could be looking at another twin-bill of state champions by month’s end. What a way to cap the school year – again.
Partney knows his chief rivals from Hillsboro will have something to say about it.
“I’ve got tunnel vision with what we’re doing,” he said. “You don’t have to look back, you just assume (Hillsboro is) going to be there because they do a great job. We’d love to go (to state) and get a (trophy) and keep that streak going. We’re going to be loaded with seniors next year and are excited.”
The Hawk boys were second at state last year. They’re led by senior Nick Marchetti, who’s capable of scoring high in four events. Marchetti, Clayton Brown and Dalton Ross finished 1-2-3 in the 110 high hurdles at districts. Marchetti also looked strong in winning the 200.
“Our hurdlers have done really well, as anticipated,” Hillsboro head coach Todd Medley said. “Our distance kids did what we thought. You could make the case (Festus) is deeper than they were last year.”
Also on Saturday, district tournaments got underway for girls soccer and I wish I had better news to report. But in Classes 3-4, the only county school to survive was Seckman, which beat Mehlville 3-2 in Class 4 District 1. Also in that district, Lindbergh shut out Northwest 3-0 and Oakville outlasted Fox 2-1 in overtime on penalty kicks. The Jaguars (13-5), seeded fourth, played top-seeded Jackson (15-3) in the semifinals Tuesday, after the Leader deadline.
In Class 3 District 1, No. 8 De Soto finished 0-18-1 after being shut out 8-0 by No. 1 seed Cape Girardeau Notre Dame (13-6), while No. 4 Hillsboro (9-10-1) fell 4-1 to fifth-seed Sikeston (12-11). Festus (8-7-1), an eight-seed like De Soto, had to face top-seeded St. Joseph’s Academy on its home field in District 2, and the undefeated Angels (20-0) sent the Tigers packing 8-0.
Before that loss, Festus shut out Hillsboro 2-0 on Senior Night. Pixie Willis scored both goals, the first on a shot from the outside after gathering up a cross by Addi Katinsky, and the other from a through pass by defender Riley Zustiak. It was the Tigers’ sixth shutout this year, thanks to a strong defense anchored by center backs Alyzah Scaggs and Madison Souders and wing backs Zustiak, Addi Cupp, and Ava Lucas. Goalie Mady Geiler kept the defense on track with direction and positive field vision.
Windsor had won 12 straight games before falling to Seckman in its final game before the Class 3 District 2 tournament. The JCAA champion Owls (17-4) saw their promising season end to Webster Groves in a 3-1 district defeat.
St. Pius X was the No. 2 seed in Class 2 District 1 and crushed No. 7 Gateway (3-9) 10-0 in the first round. After beating Affton 2-0 on Monday, the Lancers were shutout 2-0 by top-seeded Perryville i the district final on Wednesday.
District baseball also is underway and two county small schools were eliminated in Class 3 District 4. Grandview avoided a winless season by beating Kingston in the game before districts, but the No. 5 Eagles (1-11) were no match for fourth-seeded Hancock (5-11) in a 19-5 defeat. St. Pius X was seeded second and got a first-round bye before the Lancers (11-11) fell 3-2 to No. 3 Bishop DuBourg (8-10) in the semifinals.
In the Class 4 District 2 tournament, sixth-seeded Herculaneum (6-13) lost 6-1 to No. 3 Bayless (16-4).