The late baseball legend Yogi Berra famously noted that in sports, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
Uh, Yogi, you never saw the Festus track team.
The Tiger boys and girls squads combined for nearly 400 points to overpower the competition at Saturday’s Class 4 District 1 meet at Festus – even though the meet didn’t officially end.
The grass runway for the javelin throw was deemed too soggy, so the event was moved to Monday.
Both Festus squads cleaned up in 19 events, the girls raking in 225 1/3 points, 130 more than second-place Hillsboro, while the boys scored 178 and Hillsboro leapfrogged Farmington to second place with 153.5 after the javelin.
The Tigers weren’t the whole show, however. Other athletes from the Jefferson County Activities Association grabbed many of the top-four finishes that earn qualification for the Class 4 sectional meet Saturday at Hillsboro. From there, the top four per event will advance to the state meet May 24-25 at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City.
In the girls meet at Festus, JCAA athletes swept the top four spots in seven events (the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the 1,600 and 3,200 and the long jump).
Standing out from all the winners was Tiger freshman sensation Jahmeshia Patterson, who swept to victory in both hurdles races (15.08 and 46.69) as well as the 100 (12.17) and 200 (24.56), racking up 40 points.
If she weren’t limited by the rules to four events, Patterson could score big in the jumps as well. Festus girls head coach Wes Armbruster chose to confine her to the track and the decision paid off when Tiger sophomore Jessica Hawkins finished second in the long jump in 4.95 and senior Delaney Willis was third in 4.93.
“We had three girls make the (district) standard in the long jump and we could have jumped all three, but we look at what’s best for our team going forward with state trophy aspirations,” Armbruster said. “We told Jahmeshia she’s not done being a long-jumper because we think she has all-state, championship caliber in the future.”
The Tigers tallied another 40 points by winning all four relays. The 4x800 team of Hannah Blessing, Olivia Cole, Bailee Tolbert and Ella Jo Jokerst won in 10:10.77, 19 seconds ahead of second-place Farmington. In the 4x200, Amiah Pittman, Olivia Gillam, Makayla DeClue and Constance Hawkins took first in 1:44.94, less than a second ahead of the Windsor quartet of Keira Dixon, Natalie Krause, SheaLee Mancuso and Ty Schenck, who clocked 1:45.74, breaking the school record.
Festus and Windsor dueled again in the 4x100, and the Tiger foursome of Ella Muellersman, DeClue, Gillam and Jessica Hawkins nipped the same Owl lineup, 49.62 to 50.34 (another Windsor record). The Hawkins sisters, DeClue and Pittman won the 4x400 in 4:04.49, with Windsor (Dixon, Mancuso, Schenk and Kiley Johnson) again settling for second place in 4:17.21.
“We’ve been hoping to break a bunch of school records and we hoped to break these two and we finally did, and we’re proud of that,” Dixon said. “Sprint as fast as you can, good handoffs and be ready.”
Schenck also qualified for sectionals in the 100, finishing third in 13.05.
“She’s a racer and I’m very proud of her because she’s a freshman,” Windsor head coach Stephany Dueker-Richmond said. “As far as sectionals, we’ve got to do one (meet) at a time.”
Armbruster said the buildup to his team’s success this spring (including the JCAA championship) started in the offseason.
“We’re not just a Jahmeshia or Jessica show,” he said. “Ella’s been in the weight room. CeCe (Constance Hawkins) has been working hard. (DeClue) runs in the 4x200 and 4x400, so our sprint group is six to 10 people who can all take a role. Part of it is to get them to this point healthy and coach (Terry Frank) does a great job. It’s not his first rodeo, he’s been around quite a while and has been successful. The kids do the little things right, away from school, and all the things they do for recovery.”
Hillsboro senior Krysta Miller, who finished fifth in the long jump and eighth in the triple jump at state last season, won district crowns Saturday in both events, bounding 11.16 meters in the triple and 5.8 meters in the long jump.
Runners again set pace for defending champ Tigers
Festus 2023 graduates Ian Schram (now at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale) and Arhmad Branch (Purdue University) were on hand Saturday to watch their former teammates win. Last year the two standouts won or medaled in six events to power Festus to its first-ever team championship.
Running in Schram’s footsteps is Tiger sophomore Carson Driemeier, who won the district 1,600 (4:21.28) and 3,200 (9:31.40) and anchored the winning 4x800 relay (8:14.82), joined by Jimmy Wacker, Aidan Cole and Chris Courtois.
Trey Lacey, a junior, figuratively took the handoff from Branch to place second in the triple jump in 13.01 and run a leg on the second-place 4x100 relay (43.93).
Festus head coach Chris Partney has tinkered with athlete assignments all spring and used what he considered to be his best lineup to capture the JCAA title last month. He took a different approach for the district meet.
“There were 11 or 12 events we thought if we could get (qualifiers) to sectionals, (then) we could regroup and see what we had, then move on to build for state,” Partney said. “There were a lot of events (today) where we said, let’s put some kids in and see how we do.
“We’re doing a great job. I thought we might be out of it because we’re focused on the next two weeks, but in the end the kids are performing well.
“To replace guys at the level of an Ian and Arhmad with Carson and Trey, even in the same events, is kind of odd, but by next year they could be fully in those shoes. They’re approaching it this year. That’s great for the program and keeps us relevant in the postseason.”
Hillsboro senior Nick Marchetti is winding down his remarkable four-year career as a multi-sport standout for the Hawks. Last fall he was the kicker on the football team, helping it make the Class 4 championship game. He set scoring records for the soccer team as well and played basketball over the winter. On Saturday he won the 200 (22.92) and 110-meter hurdles (14.70) and finished third in the 300 hurdles in 39.89.
But his work wasn’t done. In the last event of the meet, the 4x400 relay, he anchored Hillsboro to victory in 3:27.41, joined by Clayton Brown, Cooper McGrath and Clayton Schneider.
Marchetti had about an hour to rest between the 300 hurdles and 200. He sat in the shade and drank plenty of water.
“Just grit, I guess,” Marchetti said after the 200. “I was a little tired from the 300 (hurdles), but I knew I had to get in the top four.”
Another Hawk multi-sporter, junior Preston Brown, contributed 14 points, taking second in the long jump in 6.63 and third in the shot put (3.29), with a chance for more points in Monday’s javelin competition.
Last year the Hawks finished second in the state, behind Festus. Hillsboro head coach Todd Medley said the Tigers could be even deeper than they were in 2023.
“They’ve got some good kids, and obviously we do, too,” Medley said. “You’ve got to throw Farmington in there because they have a tough squad. Traditionally, when you get through districts, it almost seems easier to get to state.”
Noah Harman, Windsor’s lone state qualifier (200) last year, won the district 100 Saturday in 11.17. Avery Edwards of Festus was second in 11.29 and Owl junior William Kalisch came in third in 11.39.
Windsor junior Layton Hollis, one of the best basketball players in the JCAA, squeezed into sectionals in the long jump with a fourth-place finish of 6.52.
“That competition came down to millimeters,” Windsor head coach Jeff Stoffey said.
Wright leads Blackcats to Class 3 state championships
Herculaneum boys and girls track and field head coach Kyle Davis said the decision by the Missouri State High School Activities Association to move the Class 3 state competition one week earlier, alongside Classes 1-2, has its pros and cons.
Since 2015, when MSHSAA expanded track and field to five classes, Classes 1-2 had competed the week before Classes 3-5, with the larger classes always scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend. The Blackcats have been in Class 3 since the 2015 expansion.
“The biggest con is we’ll miss seeing the Class 4 and 5 schools,” Davis said. “We’re going from the little guy to the big guy. The season felt like it went by quicker because of the one-week difference. It’s going to be nice to have more time to close down the season afterward, because we have a week of school (left).”
The Herculaneum boys finished second with 122 points and the Blackcat girls third with 88.5 at the District 1 meet in Cape Girardeau May 4. Then they competed in sectionals May 11 at Park Hills Central. Team scores weren’t kept for sectionals, where the top four finishers in each event qualified for the state meet Friday and Saturday at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City.
Senior Eddyson Reeves, a two-time all-state wrestler, now has qualified for state track for the third time. Last year, Reeves was seventh in the state in the pole vault and qualified for the 100- and 300-meter hurdles. She is going back in the 100 hurdles, after finishing fourth at sectionals in 16.97 seconds, and in the pole vault, where she was second at 3.05 meters.
“She’s consistently been in that 10-foot range,” Davis said.
Macy Pope, a state qualifier in the shot put as a freshman last year, threw the discus 32.92 to finish second at districts, and her heave of 32.70 at sectionals was good for third.
“She started off with a bang as a freshman,” Davis said. “She went to state and had some booming throws this year. She just missed (qualifying) in the shot. She’s on track to being school record-holder before she graduates.”
Kendall Huber, Claira Davis, Emerson Reeves and Finley Hamtil combined to finish fourth in the 4x800 relay in 10:48.59. Claira is Kyle’s daughter and Hamtil is the granddaughter of longtime Herky coach Jim Kasten.
Blackcat junior Nate Wright has a family connection as well; his uncle is Festus boys cross country coach Bryant Wright, who hopes to lead the Tigers to their 12th state championship this fall. The Wrights can say it truly “runs in the family” because Nate is an all-state performer in cross country and heads to state track as a sectional double champion, clocking 2:01 in the 800 and 4:28.08 in the 1,600.
Herky’s Marco Giuliano, a foreign-exchange student from Italy, was third in the 1,600 in 4:39.06. Senior Ashton Parrish was second at districts in the 3,200 and won it at sectionals in 10:33.63.
In the 4x800 relay, Wright, Giuliano, Brandon Marshall and Ty Greenlee placed second at districts, but they improved by 27 seconds to win at Park Hills in 8:14.57.
Senior Jacob Moreland came in second at the district meet in the shot put but won the event at sectionals with a toss of 15.65 meters. He finished seventh in the state last year and has a PR of 16.1.
“He’s going to be right there winning the whole thing,” Davis said. “He’s got one thing to focus on and is ready to launch a big one.”
A week after sweeping district titles in Class 2, Jefferson’s boys and girls teams will be well represented in Jefferson City this week. Grandview junior Catherine Wakeland has been out front in both hurdles events since the Jefferson County Activities Association championships, and after winning district crowns, she’s going to state, taking first in the 300 and second in the 100 at the sectional meet.
Class 2 sectionals
at Park Hills Central, May 11
Class 2
BOYS
(County state qualifiers, top four)
100: 1. Mathew Waltman, Jefferson, 11.15
200: 1. Matthew Waltman, Jefferson, 22.18
400: 2. Brandon Burford, Jefferson, 50.35; 4. Mathew Waltman, Jefferson, 52.10
800: 4. Braeden Caldwell, Jefferson, 2:02.81
110 high hurdles: 1. Camden Mayes, Crystal City, 14.79
4x100 relay: 2. Crystal City, 44.14
4x400 relay: 1. Jefferson, 3:31.03
High jump: 3. Kanden Bolton, Crystal City, 1.93
Pole vault: 1. Blake Brown, Grandview, 3.73; 2. Brendan Martin, Grandview, 3.51; 4. Joseph Manno, Jefferson, 3.05
Long jump: 1. Kanden Bolton, Crystal City, 7.03; 4. Camden Mayes, Crystal City, 6.54
Triple jump: 1. Kanden Bolton, Crystal City, 13.20
Shot put: 2. Daniel DeGeare, St. Pius X, 14.56; 4. Alex Roth, Jefferson, 13.76
Discus: 1. Carter McCabe, Jefferson, 46.00; 3. Phillip Smith, Grandview, 43.79
GIRLS
3,200: 4. Katelyn Terrell, Grandview, 12:35.11
100: 2. Margaret Wrigley, Jefferson, 12.49; 3. Zoie Bradley, Jefferson, 12.50
200: 2. Margaret Wrigley, Jefferson, 25.96; 4. Zoie Bradley, Jefferson, 26.13
300 hurdles: 1. Catherine Wakeland, Grandview, 47.56
Javelin: 2. Elana Ruble, St. Pius X, 35.67; 3. Madelyn Barbagallo, Jefferson, 33.51
400: 4. Harper Gass, St. Pius X, 1:04.43
100 hurdles: 2. Catherine Wakeland, Grandview, 16.34
4x100 relay: 1. Jefferson, 49.48; 4. St. Pius X, 52.02
4x400 relay: 3. St. Pius X, 4:19.72
High jump: 4. Madelyn Martin, Grandview, 1.43
Pole vault: 3. Katelyn Tipton, Crystal City, 2.29
Long jump: 2. Margaret Wrigley, Jefferson, 5.48; 4. Carly Roussin, Crystal City, 4.92
Triple jump: 3. Brooke Lunsford, Grandview, 10.23
Shot put: 1. Megan Wood, Jefferson, 10.56; 2. Carolyne Argana, St. Pius X, 10.51
Discus: 1. Carolyne Argana, St. Pius X, 35.07
Class 3 sectionals
at Park Hills Central, May 11
GIRLS
(Herculaneum state qualifiers, top four)
100-meter hurdles: 4. Eddyson Reeves, 16.97 seconds
Pole vault: 2. Eddyson Reeves, 3.05
Discus: 3. Macey Pope, 32.70
4x800 relay: 4. 10:48.59
BOYS
(Herculaneum state qualifiers, top four)
200: 4. Ayden Hodges, 22.66
800: 1. Nate Wright, 2:01
1,600: 1. Nate Wright, 4:28.08; 2. Marco Giuliano, 4:39.06
Pole vault: 4. Keaton Reeves, 3.20
Shot put: 1. Jacob Moreland, 15.65
3,200: 1. Ashton Parrish, 10:33.63
4x800 relay: 1. 8:14.57
Javelin: 2. Luke Brice, 46.20
Class 4 District 1 at Festus, May 11
BOYS
County team scores: 1. Festus 178; 2. Hillsboro 153.5; 4. Windsor 147; 9. De Soto 27
(County finishers; top four
qualify for sectionals)
Pole vault: 3. Wyatt Johnson, Festus, 3.81 meters
Shot put: 2. Austin Schutte, Festus, 13.75; 3. Preston Brown, Hillsboro, 13.28; 4. Isaiah Desmarais, Festus, 12.31
Long jump: 2. Preston Brown, Hillsboro, 6.63; 4. Layton Hollis, Windsor, 6.52
Triple jump: 2. Trey Lacey, Festus, 13.02; 4. Amyas Edwards, Festus, 12.65
Discus: 3. Austin Schutte, Festus, 42.11; 4. Owyn Daugherty, Festus, 41.79
High jump: 1. Amyas Edwards, Festus, 1.92
4x800 relay: 1. Festus, 8:14.82; 4. Hillsboro, 8:24.13
110 high hurdles: 1. Nick Marchetti, Hillsboro, 14.70; 2. Clayton Brown, Hillsboro, 14.88; 3. Dalton Ross, Hillsboro, 14.97
100: 1. Noah Harman, Windsor, 11.17; 2. Avery Edwards, Festus, 11.29; 3. William Kalisch, Windsor, 11.39
4x200 relay: 3. Festus, 1:32.28; 4. Windsor, 1:34.07
1,600: 1. Carson Driemeier, Festus, 4:21.28; 3. Tate Uding, Festus, 4:21.98; 4. Greg Mann, Hillsboro, 4:22.99
4x100 relay: 2. Festus, 43.93
400: 1. Cooper McGrath, Hillsboro, 41.76; 2. Hunter Bates, Festus, 52.34
300 hurdles: 3. Nick Marchetti, Hillsboro, 39.89; 4. Clayton Brown, Hillsboro, 40.62
800: 2. Clayton Schneider, Hillsboro, 1:59.98; 3. Greg Mann, Hillsboro, 2:00.29; 4. Jimmy Wacker, Festus, 2:00.39
200: 1. Nick Marchetti, Hillsboro, 22.92; 4. Clayton Brown, Hillsboro, 23.60
3,200: 1. Carson Driemeier, Festus, 9:31.40; 3. Landon Pogue, Hillsboro, 9:40.83; 4. Carson Koerber, De Soto, 9:42.09
4x400 relay: 1. Hillsboro, 3:27.41; 2. Festus, 3:27.45
Javelin: 1. Preston Brown, Hillsboro, 53.3; 2. Cody Evans, Festus, 47.72; 4. Chase Sucharski, Hillsboro, 43.98
GIRLS
County team scores: 1. Festus 225.3; 3. Hillsboro 95.3; 4. De Soto 69; 6. Windsor 46.3
(County finishers; top four
qualify for sectionals)
Triple jump: 1. Krysta Miller, Hillsboro, 11.16 meters; 2. Kinzie Kerr, Festus, 10.22; 4. Jayleigh Fitzgerald, Festus, 10.01
Discus: 2. Leinna Smith, Festus, 33.35; 4. Ciara McDonald, Festus, 32.42
Pole vault: 1. Maleah Lambrich, Hillsboro, 3.05; 2. Alexandra Yates, Festus, 3.05
Long jump: 1. Krysta Miller, Hillsboro, 5.80; 2. Jessica Hawkins, Festus, 4.95; 3. Delaney Willis, Festus, 4.93; 4. Charleigh Smith,
De Soto, 4.90
Shot put: 3. Ciara McDonald, Festus, 10.09; 4. Elsa Muellersman, Festus, 9.96
4x800 relay: 1. Festus, 10:10.77; 3. Hillsboro, 10:47.13
100 hurdles: 1. Jahmeshia Patterson, Festus, 15.08; 2. Jessica Hawkins, Festus, 15.96; 3. Emily Wright, Hillsboro, 16.05; 4. Erin Brandenburg, Hillsboro, 16.66
100: 1. Jahmeshia Patterson, Festus, 12.17; 2. Neo Bourn, De Soto, 12.73; 3. Ty Schenck, Windsor, 13.05; 4. Krysta Miller, Hillsboro, 13.10
4x200 relay: 1. Festus, 1:44.94; 2. Windsor, 1:45.74; 3. De Soto, 1:48.52
1,600: 2. Jailey Pigg, De Soto, 5:39.57; 3. Lucy Boyer, Festus, 5:42.56; 4. Katelyn Thurman, Festus, 5:43.25
4x100 relay: 1. Festus, 49.62; 2. Windsor, 50.34; 3. De Soto, 51.35
400: 1. Amiah Pittman, Festus, 1:02.73; 3. Autymn Crady, De Soto, 1:04.76
300 hurdles: 1. Jahmeshia Patterson, Festus, 46.69; 2. Jessica Hawkins, Festus, 47.91; 3. Emily Wright, Hillsboro, 48.66. 4. Payton Stearns, De Soto, 49.62
800: 2. Lucy Boyer, Festus, 2:26.54; 4. Katelyn Thurman, Festus, 2:30.94
200: Jahmeshia Patterson, Festus, 24.56; 2. Neo Bourn, De Soto, 25.91; 3. SheaLee Mancuso, Windsor, 26.69; 4. Olivia Gillam, Festus, 27.45
3,200: 2. Jeannie Thornborrow, Festus, 12:13; 3. Jailey Pigg, De Soto, 12:33.53; 4. Kendall Counts, Festus, 12:36.24
4x400 relay: 1. Festus, 4:04.49; 2. Windsor, 4:17.21; 3. De Soto, 4:18.22
Javelin: 2. Ciara McDonald, Festus, 40.29; 3. Lauren Nichols, Hillsboro, 37.87; 4. Emily Wright, Hillsboro, 33.49
Class 5 District 1 at Festus, May 11
GIRLS
County team scores: 6. Seckman 80.5; 10. Fox 4
(County finishers; top four
qualify for sectionals)
High jump: 1. Haley Sexton, Seckman, 1.57 meters
Pole vault: 2. Haley Sexton, Seckman, 3.35
4x800 relay: 2. Seckman, 10:23.75
100 hurdles: 4. Sabrina Formby, Seckman, 16.74
4x200 relay: 4. Seckman, 1:49.13
400: 4. Ariel Laird, Seckman, 1:02.51
300 hurdles: 4. Sabrina Formby, Seckman, 50.18
200: 3. Lilli Morie, Seckman, 26.78
4x400 relay: 2. Seckman, 4:11.68
BOYS
County team scores: 7. Seckman 53; 10. Fox 40o
(County finishers; top four
qualify for sectionals)
Long jump: 3. Keagan Heitert, Seckman, 6.30
Shot put: 1. Tyler Jackson, Seckman, 15.04
4x800 relay: 3. Seckman, 8:16.04
4x200 relay: 4. Seckman, 1:34.33
4x100 relay: 4. Seckman, 44.70
4x400 relay: 4. Seckman, 3:32.95
Javelin: 4. Charles Butler. Seckman, 42.59