As he stepped into the ring for his final throw in the shot put, Jefferson High senior Troy Edwards said the thought of having to walk home from Hillsboro High weighed on his mind.
“My parents were telling me I had to throw 16 (meters) or I was walking home, so I felt that pressure,” Edwards said after throwing the shot 16.19 meters to win the Jefferson County Activities Association championship on April 30.
Edwards was laughing when he made it clear his ride home was secure either way, and what he was really thinking about on his final attempt in the shot was the Class 2 District 1 meet at Saxony Lutheran High in Jackson on May 15-16.
“I really did. I wanted to get a big throw in before districts to see where I’m at,” said Edwards, who threw his PR of 16.28 at De Soto this season.
Edwards finished fifth in the state in the discus last year with a throw of 44.28. He won the JCAA title in the discus with a PR of 51.51.
“You don’t need to have as much technique in the shot as in the discus,” Edwards said. “I like discus because you can have a big throw out of nowhere and PR if you get the technique down.”
There are five classes for boys and girls state track and field. Teams in the JCAA range from Class 1 (St. Vincent), Class 2 (Crystal City, Grandview, Jefferson), Class 3 (Herculaneum) and Class 4 (De Soto, Festus, Hillsboro, Perryville, Windsor). The Festus boys repeated as conference champions with 196 points, and the Blue Jays were second with 100, more than double the points they had at last year’s conference meet.
Jefferson senior Matthew Waltman defended his JCAA title in the 400-meter by winning it in a season best 49.52. The reigning state champion in the 200, Waltman won the conference race in 22.17. He was third in the 100 in 11.20 and ran anchor of the second-place 4x400 relay (3:30.40).
Waltman was obviously in a bit of physical distress after winning the 200.
“I’ve had a couple issues with injuries but nothing severe,” he said. “I’ve got something going on with my chest that’s still not completely fixed. I’ve had a couple tests done. I can’t breathe. My lungs stop and I can’t inhale. My mom’s a doctor. Mom and my doctor think it’s pericarditis. I’ll be fine (by districts).”
Festus junior Antonio Pinkston shuffled back and forth between the shot put and javelin competition, which ran concurrently on the second day of the meet. After finishing fifth in the shot with a PR of 14.80, Pinkston walked the few yards between events to finish his throws in the javelin. His PR of 49.10 won the JCAA crown.
Pinkston was a 6-3, 235-pound force at defensive end for the football team and the defensive player of the year for the Mississippi Area Football Conference in 2025.
Pinkston said his right arm felt “juiced up” after all of the throwing in a short time.
“It’s just about breathing and building off adrenaline. I’m a go-getter. I just want to get it and win,” Pinkston said.
Pinkston was second in the conference last year to Preston Brown, the 2025 Hillsboro graduate who threw the javelin 60.96 to win the state championship.
“It’s crazy how big of a throw (Brown) had and he maintained football, so he’s a role model because he excelled in each sport and I hope I can as well,” Pinkston said.
The week after senior Jackson Frank set the Festus record in the 100 in 10.93, he flew to victory in the event at conference in 11.13, was second in the 200 in 22.44 and ran anchor on the champion 4x100 relay that set a JCAA record in 42.97.
“We want to keep going after it and keep getting better every day,” Frank said of the relay.
Festus junior Elijah Brown was the only one in the conference to clear 4.35 in the pole vault, and Brown won the JCAA title with his PR. Hillsboro freshman Brandon Smith (second) and Grandview senior Blake Brown (third) both cleared 3.84.
Brown said he’s been competing in the pole vault since eighth grade, and said being able to run, having good form and listening to your coach are all equally important.
“I’m really nervous. I can’t lie,” Brown said a few minutes after competition ended. “I haven’t been able to get on that pole all year. I’m going for a longer run.”
Festus senior Carson Driemeier was named the boys MVP after he won the 800 in a PR of 1:55.66, the 1,600 in 4:20.19, the 3,200 in 9:19.79 and was part of the winning 4x800 relay in 8:09.64.
Dalton Ross finished sixth in the state in the 110 hurdles in 2024, the year
Hillsboro was fourth in Class 4. The Hawks finished fifth at the conference meet with 58 points. Junior Auston Ross carried on the family tradition in the hurdles by winning the JCAAs in the 110 in 15.41 and the 300 in 40.32, just a shade ahead of Herculaneum sophomore Lennox Eaves’ PR of 40.35.
With Eaves in hot pursuit, Ross wasn’t standing when he crossed the finish line.
“I dove on purpose,” Ross said. “I struggled on most of my hurdles, which I normally don’t do, but I saw Lenny come up by my side and I didn’t want to lose. No damage to my knees.
“Both of my times were slow today. I didn’t get to practice too much (last) week because of the rain. We have an invitational this week, and I want to get back into the 14s in the 110 and to 39 in the 300.
“I’m following my brother’s tradition. He basically taught me everything.”