The Blue Jays are back.
After losing the Jefferson County Activities Association crown they’d held for three years on April 24-25, Jefferson was primed to bounce back toward the team that finished second in the state in Class 2 the last two years.
Jefferson was bolstered by the return of senior Taya Allen, who didn’t compete at the conference meet, and a healthier senior Anna Heacock. The Blue Jays crushed the Class 2 District 2 competition at The Principia on Saturday with 239 points, the most Jefferson has ever scored in a district meet.
Overshadowing the girls finish and Jefferson’s boys scoring 122 points and finishing third in the district was a rules violation by Cleveland NJROTC that altered the final standings for the boys. Cleveland sophomore Mark Hutchinson was disqualified for participating in five events; the state limit is four.
On Monday, officials from the Missouri State High School Activities Association responded to protests for the violation and disqualified Hutchinson from the meet, stripping away 28 points and the Commanders’ district title. The host Panthers won the meet with 138 points, while Cleveland finished second with 123.
“There were a couple issues with the team scores. It overshadowed what we did a little,” said Alex Rouggly, who is the head coach for Jefferson’s boys and girls. “We knew we had won the girls championship, but they weren’t comfortable handing out the plaques. It was neat to see our girls enjoy themselves. They work when they have to and enjoy themselves outside of that.”
Read this entire story in Thursday's Leader.