The leaders out of the gate after winning the 4x800-meter relay, the Jefferson boys track and field team led the Class 2 state championships wire-to-wire.
The Blue Jays scored points in nine of the 19 events, took first place in the 200, 400 and 4x400, 4x800 and scored 66 points May 22-23 at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City to capture the first boys state team title in school history. Jefferson was third in the state in 2025.
Brentwood finished second and senior Demeterius Thompson scored all 38 of the Eagles’ points when he won the 110 and 300 hurdles, the long jump and was second in the triple jump. North Platte (third, 35) and Paris (fourth, 33) were the other team trophy winners. St. Pius X finished ninth (22) and Grandview, which was in second place the first day, came in 11th (19.75).
In his final performance as a Blue Jay, Matthew Waltman matched Thompson’s production, scoring 23 points in his three open events, and anchoring the meet’s final event – the 4x400 – to victory to nail down the title. Waltman set a Class 2 record in the 400 with a time of 48.03 seconds. That event was sandwiched between Waltman coming in sixth in the 100 in 11.08, and defending his state title in the 200 in 21.54. Braeden Caldwell, Ethan McVey and Darius Lemons ran the other three legs of the 4x400.
Waltman said he pulled a hamstring running the 200 at sectionals on May 16.
“So for me (the first day at state) I was just fighting to get through to the finals,” Waltman said. “(Day 2 of state) my (100) start was awful. But that’s all I could do. I was just praying I could catch them at the end, and it worked out. I got a couple of points.”
After setting his class’s record in the 400, Waltman said he’d been building toward that time since winning the event at state in 49.55 last year.
“The last place I saw anyone was probably 260 meters in, and at that point, I felt some people coming up, and I just put it into another gear,” Waltman said. “I was like, ‘Hey, I’m not losing this.’ So I gave it everything I had.”
“He had to race eight times in two days,” said Paul Lipp, who’s Jefferson’s head coach for the boys and girls. “He’s very in tune with his body, so I talked to him after each race. Coming out of the blocks was a problem for him, so he wanted to start slow and crank it at the end.”
Thousands of spectators packed the main grandstand at Adkins Stadium both days. After runners took the last turn, the energy and noise rose to a crescendo each time.
“There’s so much adrenaline, and I’m so focused on just running my own race,” Waltman said. “If I see someone coming up, most of the time, I do my own thing. As soon as the stagger is gone, I can feel if I’m winning. Until then, I hear some footsteps, and I can’t let them get close to me.”
Caldwell was on both winning relay teams, and finished third in the 800 in 1:56.75. Bryant Horn, Darius Lemons and Ethan McVey were the other three legs in the 4x800, which won in 8:10.32.
An Achille’s tear and stress fracture in his lower back sidelined Caldwell for six months last year. He started training again last summer.
“It feels so great to run with everyone again,” Caldwell said. “Looking at everyone’s performances last year, I knew once I came back there was no stopping us to win a state championship.”
After finishing fifth in the discus as a junior, Troy Edwards finished his career at Jefferson finishing second in the shot in 16.28, which tied his PR and second in the discus in 53.51, a school record. Edwards was up against familiar competition with Grandview’s Phillip Smith and Tucker Rhinehart. All three have been throwing against each other for three years as members of the Jefferson County Activities Association and other meets. Smith won the state title in the shot by almost a meter with a throw of 17.24, and was also fifth in the discus in 44.52. Rhinehart was eighth in shot at 15.23.
“I knew I wanted to be next to Phillip on the podium (in shot), so I wanted to try my hardest,” Edwards said.
“Troy had a good two days,” Lipp said.
Smith and Rhinehart were outstanding two-way starting linemen for Grandview’s football team, which last fall enjoyed its finest season in a generation. Both recently graduated.
“I’ll miss his corny jokes,” said Rhinehart, who will continue playing football at Grand View University in Iowa. “They’re the worst ones I’ve ever heard. But I end up laughing anyway.”
“It’s really nice to see big throws from Tucker,” Smith said.
Smith described what he was thinking about before his state-winning throw.
“Man, I just took a deep breath, sang a couple of hymns before I jumped into the ring,” he said. “Before I got in, I pictured myself being in that front position, visualized the throw, got to the back, took a deep breath, and let her rip. We’ve all been throwing together for three or four years now, so it’s good competition.”
Lexington won the Class 2 girls title with 65 points. Penney (second, 54), Fayette (third, 41) and North Platte (29) were the other award winners. Jefferson was 27th with 10 points, and St. Pius X was 35th with eight.
Junior Zoie Bradley scored all of the Blue Jays’ points by finishing third in the 100 in 12.18 seconds and fifth in the 200 in 25.41. It’s Bradley’s second state medal in the 100.
“The competition is amazing,” Bradley said after running the 100. “The environment year-round and all of the support you get from everyone. They’re so nice. Even if they don’t know you, they cheer for you.”
Lipp said there were 20 girls on the team to start season, and it dwindled down to 13 mostly because of injuries.
“We’ve had such predominantly good girls teams in the past, we could mix and match them to see what they’re good at,” he said. “Zoie is the driving force, and without the other girls, we don’t come close to winning meets. We’re trying to talk Zoie into doing other things. I think she can be all-state in the long jump. We’ve got some younger girls coming up.”
When you’re the head coach of the boys and girls, everything is multiplied by two. Lipp coaches the throwers, and the rest of the training is spread out among assistant coaches Charity and John Heacock, Becky Alden, Tim Davis and Paul Waltman.
“You’re only as good as the coaches around you,” Lipp said. “I rely heavily on their expertise.”
Lancers grab their share of state medals
The St. Pius boys won state medals in seven events. Brody Ervin and K’Vion Flores will be seniors this fall. Ervin set a PR in the javelin of 54.06 meters in sectionals and finished sixth at state in 49.05. He was also on the school’s golf team this spring.
“You have to keep consistency with your speed on the runway and throwing it the right height,” Ervin said. “It’s more how the javelin flies than the effort your put into it.”
Flores was sixth in the 200 in 22.55, second in the 100 hurdles in 14.78 and fifth in the 300 hurdles in 40.11.
“I’ve been wanting to get into the 39s (in the 300 hurdles), but with doing four events, it’s hard,” Flores said. “I injured my hip a few days ago. I’ve been trying to get through that.”
Like Ervin, Jack Michaud was a key member in St. Pius finishing second in the state in Class 2 in football in December. Michaud will continue playing football at Missouri Baptist University. He finished seventh in the 100 in 11.10, and along with Flores, was on the 4x800 that was eighth in 1:32.24.
“We had a great year, and I had a lot of fun doing it,” Michaud said.
Elena Ruble was part of the school’s girls volleyball state championship team in 2024, its second-place team last year, and she won state medals in the javelin the past two years. She finished her Lancer career with consecutive second-place state finishes in the javelin, this year with a throw of 41.16.
“It’s been a fun ride, but it is bittersweet because I’ll probably never throw the jav again,” said Ruble, who’s signed to play volleyball at Mineral Area College.
very in tune with his body, so I talked to him after each race. Coming out of the blocks was a problem for him, so he wanted to start slow and crank it at the end.”
Thousands of spectators packed the main grandstand at Adkins Stadium both days. After runners took the last turn, the energy and noise rose to a crescendo each time.
“There’s so much adrenaline, and I’m so focused on just running my own race,” Waltman said. “If I see someone coming up, most of the time, I do my own thing. As soon as the stagger is gone, I can feel if I’m winning. Until then, I hear some footsteps, and I can’t let them get close to me.”
Caldwell was on both winning relay teams, and finished third in the 800 in 1:56.75. Bryant Horn, Darius Lemons and Ethan McVey were the other three legs in the 4x800, which won in 8:10.32.
An Achille’s tear and stress fracture in his lower back sidelined Caldwell for six months last year. He started training again last summer.
“It feels so great to run with everyone again,” Caldwell said. “Looking at everyone’s performances last year, I knew once I came back there was no stopping us to win a state championship.”
After finishing fifth in the discus as a junior, Troy Edwards finished his career at Jefferson finishing second in the shot in 16.28, which tied his PR, and second in the discus in 53.51, a school record. Edwards was up against familiar competition with Grandview’s Phillip Smith and Tucker Rhinehart. All three have been throwing against each other for three years as members of the Jefferson County Activities Association at other meets. Smith won the state title in the shot by almost a meter with a throw of 17.24, and was also fifth in the discus in 44.52. Rhinehart was eighth in shot at 15.23.
“I knew I wanted to be next to Phillip on the podium (in shot), so I wanted to try my hardest,” Edwards said.
“Troy had a good two days,” Lipp said.
Smith and Rhinehart were outstanding two-way starting linemen for Grandview’s football team, which last fall enjoyed its finest season in a generation. Both recently graduated.
“I’ll miss his corny jokes,” said Rhinehart, who will continue playing football at Grand View University in Iowa. “They’re the worst ones I’ve ever heard. But I end up laughing anyway.”
“It’s really nice to see big throws from Tucker,” Smith said.
Smith described what he was thinking about before his state-winning throw.
“Man, I just took a deep breath, sang a couple of hymns before I jumped into the ring,” he said. “Before I got in, I pictured myself being in that front position, visualized the throw, got to the back, took a deep breath, and let her rip. We’ve all been throwing together for three or four years now, so it’s good competition.”
Lexington won the Class 2 girls title with 65 points. Penney (second, 54), Fayette (third, 41) and North Platte (29) were the other award winners. Jefferson was 27th with 10 points, and St. Pius X was 35th with eight.
Junior Zoie Bradley scored all of the Blue Jays’ points by finishing third in the 100 in 12.18 seconds and fifth in the 200 in 25.41. It’s Bradley’s second state medal in the 100.
“The competition is amazing,” Bradley said after running the 100. “The environment year-round and all of the support you get from everyone. They’re so nice. Even if they don’t know you, they cheer for you.”
Lipp said there were 20 girls on the team to start the season, and it dwindled down to 13 mostly because of injuries.
“We’ve had such predominantly good girls teams in the past, we could mix and match them to see what they’re good at,” he said. “Zoie is the driving force, and without the other girls, we don’t come close to winning meets. We’re trying to talk Zoie into doing other things. I think she can be all-state in the long jump. We’ve got some younger girls coming up.”
When you’re the head coach of the boys and girls, everything is multiplied by two. Lipp coaches the throwers, and the rest of the training is spread out among assistant coaches Charity and John Heacock, Becky Alden, Tim Davis and Paul Waltman.
“You’re only as good as the coaches around you,” Lipp said. “I rely heavily on their expertise.”
Lancers grab their share of state medals
The St. Pius boys won state medals in seven events. Brody Ervin and K’Vion Flores will be seniors this fall. Ervin set a PR in the javelin of 54.06 meters in sectionals and finished sixth at state in 49.05. He was also on the school’s golf team this spring.
“You have to keep consistency with your speed on the runway and throwing it the right height,” Ervin said.
Flores was sixth in the 200 in 22.55, second in the 100 hurdles in 14.78 and fifth in the 300 hurdles in 40.11.
“I’ve been wanting to get into the 39s (in the 300 hurdles), but with doing four events, it’s hard,” Flores said. “I injured my hip a few days ago. I’ve been trying to get through that.”
Like Ervin, Jack Michaud was a key member in St. Pius finishing second in the state in Class 2 in football in December. Michaud will continue playing football at Missouri Baptist University. He finished seventh in the 100 in 11.10, and along with Flores, was on the 4x200 that was eighth in 1:32.24.
“We had a great year, and I had a lot of fun doing it,” Michaud said.
Elena Ruble was part of the school’s girls volleyball state championship team in 2024, its second-place team last year, and she won state medals in the javelin the past two years. She finished her Lancer career with consecutive second-place state finishes in the javelin, this year with a throw of 41.16.
“It’s been a fun ride, but it is bittersweet because I’ll probably never throw the jav again,” said Ruble, who’s signed to play volleyball at Mineral Area College.