Todd Medley was filled with pride and emotion after guiding the Herculaneum girls track and field team to third place in the state with 42 points in Class 3 in his first season as head coach.
Medley graduated from the school, played sports there and was teaching and coaching at Hillsboro before coming back to his alma mater. He believes in the principle of its former athletes, “Once a Blackcat, always a Blackcat.”
For the better part of two days (May 22-23) at Adkins Stadium in Jefferson City, Herculaneum’s girls challenged for the state championship. When freshman Jazlyn Bolden finished seventh in the 400-meter run in 1:00.25, the Blackcats jumped to a one-point lead. But there were five events remaining, and New Madrid County Central jumped them to win the title with 53 points, and Cape Girardeau Notre Dame finished second with 50. The three teams were in District 1 together, finishing: Notre Dame, first, 159; Herculaneum, second, 130; New Madrid, fourth, 97. Herculaneum has finished in the top four at state five times and won Class 3A in 1983.
“The entire team had a real good showing,” Medley said. “The places for some of them might not have been what they wanted, but the times they had were incredible. Everybody surpassed their best or was near to it.”
Emerson Reeves capped her school-year long state tour with a third-place finish in the 800-meter run in 2:21.3, second place in the 1,600 in 5:12.11 and as part of the 4x800 relay with sophomore Amaya Ferguson, junior Finley Hamtil and Bolden. Reeves was all-state during cross country season at Gans Creek in Columbia and finished third in the state at 110 pounds at Mizzou Arena during wrestling season.
Reeves managed to make it through all three seasons virtually unscathed, although Medley said she worked this spring with coach Kyle Davis on treating and a training plan for a lower leg issue.
“We’re calling her a beast over the last couple days,” Medley said. “She’s got to be historically at Herculaneum one of the more decorated varsity athletes in three sports. She always wants more and performs. I’m at a loss for words about how to describe her. It’s amazing what she was able to do over the course of the season.”
While Reeves was a constant source of points on the track, the same could be said for Macy Pope in the field, throwing the shot and discus. A new graduate, Pope finished her career in style by throwing PRs in both events (shot, 12 meters; discus, 39.63).
Medley choked up when talking about what Pope and senior Mackenzie Lawson meant to the team. Lawson ran on the 4x200 that was seventh in 1:45.30.
“She’s a different breed too,” Medley said of Pope. “She’s been a solid rock all four years. She’s such a good teammate. To see what she did was special. Everybody loves her. All of her family cheers and has all kinds of signs. It’s something special to see and for her to end that way was cool.
“Mackenzie and Macy are that inseparable duo, even though one is on the track and the other’s on the field. They’re best friends.”
Medley believes Bolden is fast becoming one of the best young runners in the Jefferson County Activities Association.
“She battled constantly,” he said. “We were concerned about the workload with a lot of these kids, going back-to-back days (at state). Our conference is a two-day meet, but that wear and tear and pressure doesn’t compare to what you see here. After every race, we’d ask them how they feel. Every time we talked to Jaz, she smiled and said, ‘I feel great.’”
Of the seven Herculaneum boys who competed at state, sophomore Lennox Eaves won the Blackcats’ lone medal, coming in sixth in the 300 hurdles in 40.42 seconds. Medley said after two long days of competition, when the bus pulled back into Herculaneum and unloaded, Eaves asked when he could start working on next year.
The JCAA already produced a state champion – Jefferson boys, Class 2 – and a third-place team. This Friday and Saturday in Jefferson City promises more hardware for county teams with the Festus girls defending their Class 4 state title, and the Tiger boys looking every bit as ready to win their second crown since 2023.
“It’s talked about every year, we get together in the conference meet and go head-to-head hard against each other,” Medley said. “To see each other supporting each other is really cool. The girls from St. Vincent performed extremely well. They’re part of our conference, so there’s some camaraderie there. I don’t have the words to describe the impact the teams in our area have against the rest of the state.”