As the sun sank lower in the sky, the bar in the boys pole vault kept getting pushed higher and higher.
Grandview senior Owen Johnson and De Soto senior Mayson DeRousse on Thursday (April 26) took notice, as they were locked in a duel to see who was going to be the Jefferson County Activities Association track and field champion in the event.
When the bar reached 14 feet, the first call for the 4x200-meter relay was broadcast over the speakers at Hillsboro. DeRousse and Johnson cleared 14-0, then sprinted across the football field, changed their shoes and ran their legs of the relay. The Dragons won the race in 1:31.85 and the Eagles were third with 1:36.92.
Done with the race, it was back to the pole vault area. Johnson made it; DeRousse didn’t. Festus graduate Zach Reed set the conference record (14-6) in the pole vault in 2013 and Johnson broke it first by clearing 14-9, then setting a new standard at 15 feet.
“When you work hard for something and you finally get it, it’s a big sigh of relief and then you can have fun,” Johnson said after missing three attempts at 15-6.
DeRousse and Johnson have been competing against each other in the pole vault since they were in seventh grade. DeRousse had a simple request for Johnson when he fell out at 14-0.
“Once I scratched out, I told him, ‘Go get 15 (feet)’. That’s all I wanted him to do,” DeRousse said.
Both vaulters said running the relays sapped some of their strength as they charged down the runway in the pole vault.
“Well, I mean, yeah,” Johnson said catching his breath after his day was complete. “We all run races and it took away a lot of our capability in the (pole vault).”
DeRousse has a personal best of 14-6 in the pole vault. He said this season has been a struggle because of poor weather for most of the spring.
“We can’t seem to get past the cold,” DeRousse said. “Today was perfect. It’s not too hot. You’re not going to crush any poles. There was a nice breeze at your back that allowed you to use bigger poles if you wanted to.”
Both claimed medals at the state meet last year. Johnson vaulted 14-0 to come in fifth in Class 3, while DeRousse made it over 13-0 to slip onto the podium in eighth. No matter how incremental the advancement is, Johnson said it’s always worth it.
“Even if it’s just an inch every week, it stacks on top of each other,” Johnson said.
A wicked set of storms in Jefferson City delayed the state meet for about five hours last year. Combined with a sharp decrease in the temperature, DeRousse said the conditions played a part in not getting higher.
“My pole stopped bending,” he said. “I haven’t seen poles break because of weather. They break because people vault on a pole that’s too small.”
Since finishing third in Class 3 last spring with a school-record time (43.39 seconds) in the 4x100, the Dragons have been chasing that standard all year. DeRousse, Wyatt Radford, JaDan Brown and Trevor Johnson, who make up the Dragons’ 4x100 and 4x200 teams, claimed championships in both events Thursday. Their time of 44.04 in the 4x100 set a conference record and the 1:31.85 they finished in the 4x200 broke a school mark that had been around since the 1990s.
“It was stressful trying to get Mayson over from the pole vault, change shoes and run the 4x200,” De Soto head coach Mike Genge said. “They ran a solid time and that group just keeps doing good things.
“Mayson literally had to run, vault, run. They’re vaulting at 14 feet, so he’s trying to clear that. Then he has to run across the track, change his shoes and run the relay. He’s a tough kid and I’m proud of his effort.”
De Soto senior Trevor Johnson won both sprint events (100, 200) , beating two different runners from Perryville in the process by tenths of a second.
On the backs of their field athletes, the Hillsboro boys claimed their second straight conference title with 92 points. Festus was a distant second with 68.
Hillsboro senior Micheal Keller won the high jump by clearing 6-0. Junior Isaac Readnour was second in the long jump in 21-1.25 and won the triple jump in 43-4. Senior Mike Lalk was five feet better than the second-place throw in the discus at 139-8 and also won the shot put with a heave of 47-3.
“Historically, we’ve been average in the field but they’re really helping us out this year,” Hillsboro head coach Todd Medley said.
Junior Max McDaniel won the 1,600 (4:23.81) and 3,200 for Festus. He led the pack in the latter race by 50 or more yards at times during the first lap. McDaniel finished second to Herculaneum’s Corben Clubb (1:59.09) in the 800 in 2:04.50.
“If I’d ran a bit smarter, I might have ran the time I wanted to,” McDaniel said after winning the 3,200. I was going for the win. I felt alright and ran a 4:40 in the first mile, but the second mile caught up to me and I wasn’t feeling it today. In the mile, I went out pretty hard and tried to get a gap on the field. It worked pretty well. I had a gap from the start.”
Blue Jays dominate girls field
Sundays are work days for Jefferson head coach Alex Rouggly and his staff. They spend that time moving their athletes around in events like pieces on a chess board.
A second-place finish by one point by his girls in last year’s Class 2 state championships spurred Rouggly to take this accomplished group and win the school’s first state title next month.
“I love this sport because it’s like a chess match,” Rouggly said. “Our coaches put in countless hours to prepare for this meet. Sundays are long days for me and our staff trying to put our athletes in a position to succeed. I feel like Rain Man a little bit with all of the numbers going through my head.”
Jefferson repeated as conference champions with 84 points, just ahead of surging De Soto’s 76.
Junior Anna Heacock won three events (100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump) and was second in the 200 behind Windsor senior Taylor Richey, who’s owned the event for two springs. None of Heacock’s times matched her best, but Rouggly said with the onset of warmer weather, they’re sure to improve.
“She attacked each hurdle real well,” Rouggly said. “We’ve tried to eliminate one of her steps to the first hurdle and she did that. She competed the way we needed her to in a big moment.”
Richey won the 100 in 12.58 and Jefferson sophomore Abi Chipps was second in 13.22. Richey repeated as conference champion in the 100, 200 and 400. Grandview senior Allison Wakeland won the 800 with a time of 2:29.65.
Herculaneum junior Nautica Stricklin won the 1,600 in 5:29.90 and the 3,200 in 12:03.99. Festus junior Melissa Wolk was second in both events.
Heacock and Richey battled it out for the championship in the long jump with Heacock planting the winning distance of 16-10. Jefferson junior Taya Allen won the high jump (5-0), needing one fewer jump than St. Pius X senior Melissa Steed who also cleared 5-0.
De Soto had the two top finishes in the triple jump with sophomore Emma Portell winning with a leap of 35-2.5 and senior Kayleigh Eberhardt jumping 34-0.
Festus senior Caitlin Reed won the pole vault after clearing 10-0. Grandview senior Melina Eaker was second with 9-6.
In the throwing events, Jefferson senior Josey Parr continued her strong season with a second-place finish in the discus in 113-9. Hillsboro junior Halle Roland crushed the competition in the javelin with a throw of 130-6, 24 feet longer than second place. Hillsboro junior Kelsey Boyd won the shot put with a toss of 38-8.