Fun in the Sun!
The 2006 Missouri State Track and Field Championships

Jefferson City , Mo. — Scorching heat, scorching times and one of the hottest team battles in recent memory. Beginning with a sprint to the finish between Oak Park's Blake Choplin and Lee's Summit North's Jacob Boone in the boys 4x800 on Friday and ending with a record-setting carry from McCluer South Berkeley's Alishea Usery late Saturday afternoon in the girls 4x400 the 2006 Class 3 and Class 4 MSHSAA Track and Field Championships provided two full days of thrills for a packed stadium of fans at Lincoln University in the State's Capitol.

Day One

With temperatures already in the upper 80s, things kicked off with the boys 4x800s at high noon on Friday. In the Class 4 race after three and a half legs of the usual back and forth jostling for position it came down to pre-race favorites Lee's Summit North with star distance man Jacob Boone on the anchor and Oak Park with 800 ace Blake Choplin carrying the stick for the Northmen. Boone, the defending champ in the 3200, moved early attempting a long kick for home but Choplin used his superior speed over the last 100 meters to pull away for the victory in 7 minutes, 51.11 seconds. The Class 3 race was even tighter with Lee's Summit West and Ladue Horton Watkins locked in an exciting stretch duel when Potosi anchor Josh Thebeau tried to ruin the party with a 1:52.3 anchor as he closed hard and passed Ladue's Josh Sams but could not pass LSW's Josh Ehrhard.  

The theme for the meet quickly became the race for the team title in the Boys Class 4 division. Lee's Summit North entered the meet with tons of depth, having easily outdistanced Raytown South at districts two weeks earlier. Raytown , despite having less qualifiers than LSN, brought several possible State Champions which meant the potential for lots of points. Across the State the boys from St. Louis University High brought a little of both and were led by superstar sprinter Paul Chaney who would be running his signature 100 and 200 meter dashes as well as anchoring the teams 800 and 1600 meter relays. With LSN putting up eight points in the 4x800 the drama unfolded quickly even on day one.   The Class 4 110 meter hurdles saw favorite Andrew McDowell qualify first with a 14.30, but it was SLUH's Eric Hunt's untimely spill over the last hurdle that sent the first scare to the Jr. Bill faithful. Their heads were not held low for long however, as the 100 meter preliminaries were next on the track. SLUH had three qualifiers in the event and they sent a quick message that it was going to be a special weekend. Paul Chaney won heat one in a scant 10.64 seconds, but just behind him was freshman teammate Ronnie Wingo in 10.76. Then Stephen Simmons shocked Raytown South's Maurice Mitchell in heat 2 with the 10.68 to 10.76 victory setting up an unprecedented final in which SLUH would occupy lanes three, four and five.  

There was no rest for the weary as all three schools had squads looking to make the finals in the 4x200 relay. Once again it was SLUH who put a stamp on the preliminaries by setting a State record 1:26.11 with the foursome of Hunt, Wingo, Simmons and Chaney. Raytown and LSN also qualified through but the gauntlet had been laid firmly down.

After all the 800 relay prelims were complete it was time for the ladies to shine. Eureka 's Merideth Snow, a nine time State Champion, took to the track for the first of what would be five times over the weekend. With temperatures in the 90s the stage seemed less than ideal for a run at Meghan Thompson's State Record of 4:47.53. Snow let the pack take her around for less than a lap before heading to the front to attack the record. Needing a blazing last lap to have a shot Snow fought gamely down the backstretch, lengthening her stride and bringing the crowd to its feet before coming home a mere two seconds short in a PR of 4:49.8. Make that ten State titles and three more chances to come. The Class 3 race was fast as well with Lindsay Pierson of Lee's Summit West bringing home the title in 5:02.51, an important ten points for her team who would battle Ladue Horton Watkins down to the wire for the team championship.

After the 4x100 and 300 meter hurdle prelims went pretty much true to form the next final on the track was the girls 800 meter run. Because of the heat it seemed to be a brutal double for anyone coming back from the 1600. No one told Rock Bridge sophomore Laura Borduin though. The tall, powerful runner took charge from the gun and brought home the Championship in a blazing 2:09.98, just two tenths of a second off of the State record set by Hazelwood Central's Ann Heffner in 1992. A mass finish in the Class 3 race saw Festus freshman Alyssa Allison take the title in 2:15.72, a tick ahead of Pierson who grabbed eight more points for LSW with Ladue's Molly Schlamb picking up fifth place and four points for the Rams.

The 200 prelims saw the attention turn to the boys Class 4 team battle once again as Raytown South's Mitchell brothers qualified first and eighth with sophomore Maurice winning heat one in 21.39 and senior Mark taking the last spot in the final finishing third in heat 2 in 22.30. SLUH countered with Chaney taking the top spot in heat 2 with a 21.52 and the freshman Wingo once again stepping up and taking second in heat one in a PR of 21.77. Lee's Summit North lost a chance for a point when senior Chris Leverette tied for ninth, just missing a spot in the finals.

The last final of the day was the boys 3200 meter run. When temperatures are above 90 degrees for a distance race over a mile long things often go out slowly. Not if you are Jacob Boone. The LSN senior circled the track in 62 seconds for the first lap, dragging only SLUH's Ben Murphy-Baum along for the ride. Hitting 800 in 2:09 with Murphy-Baum already a second back it was clear Boone had his sights set on not only a win but a shot at Matt Tegenkamp's State record as well. Boone came through halfway in 4:28 , on pace, but the combination of the heat and the hot early pace took its toll over the next few laps. Still, Boone cruised to a comfortable win in 9:16.27 and defended his title from a year ago. Murphy-Baum was not as fortunate and faded to fourth in 9:29.71. The Class 3 race was the Potosi show as juniors Josh Mathis and Josh Thebeau took the top two spots with freshman Nick Niggeman finishing fourth for a grand total of 23 points in the event.

Friday's field event finals for the boys included the Class 4 high jump, long jump, and shot put and the Class 3 triple jump, discus and pole vault. The performance of the day was turned in by Jason Clark, a senior from William Chrisman, who cleared 7 feet even in the high jump and attempted 7-1 before bowing out to a huge ovation from the crowd. C.J. Johnson of Marquette took home the long jump title with a leap of 22-9 and Michael Duschen of Rockhurst put 59-6.5 for championship honors. Ryan Blackwell of Westminster went 45-1 for the Class 3 triple jump title. Chillicothe 's Drew Frizzell launched a winning toss of 163-10 to take the top spot in the discus and would go on to win the shot put title on day two. MICDS junior Mickey Defilippo captured the pole vault with a solid 15-6 clearance.

The field highlight of the day, and maybe of the meet, for the girls was the new overall State record in the Pole Vault set by Tara Diebold of Branson. The junior vaulted 12-4, breaking the old mark by four inches and the Class 3 mark by five. It was a day for the 11 th graders in Class 3 as McKenzie Rhea of Webb City took the Long Jump in 17-5 and Clinton 's Hope Harris grabbed the Disc title in 148-5. In Class 4 it was Jefferson City senior Leandra McGruder winning the Triple Jump in a solid 39-9. McGruder also took home the Long Jump championship on day two. Katie Nanarsdall of Fort Osage won the Shot Put in 42-7 and Sydney Winslow of Farmington cleared 5-8 to win the High Jump crown.

Day Two

The second day of the meet is show time. In the case of the boys Class 4 team title hunt it was show down time as nearly all the track races featured head to head battles between SLUH, Raytown South and Lee's Summit North. First up was the girls 4x800 though and another chance for Merideth Snow to add another State title to the mantle in Class 4 and another match-up between Lee's Summit West and Ladue in Class 3.

There were no surprises in the Class 4 race as Eureka continued its domination in the event. By the time Snow got the baton for her anchor leg the Wildcats already had a gap on the field. Snow only lengthened the lead and cruised to the victory in 9:21.31. The Class 3 race was much tighter with LSW distance ace Pierson once again crossing the line first, barely out-leaning Ste. Genevieve for the title 9:37.14 to 9:37.78. Ladue finished fifth but at this point still trailed LSW by 20 points.

The high hurdles races saw close races across the board. In the Class 4 girls it was Katie Wenger of St. Joseph Central over Lindbergh's Lauren Begany though Begany turned the tables later in the day by besting Wegner in the 300 hurdles. Tyresha Chambers, a freshman from Lincoln Prep, won the Class 3 race in 14.68. The Class 3 boys race saw Platte County senior Jason Ciemega take the win in an impressive 14.24. Ciemiega would be the only athlete to win both hurdle races, later taking home the 300s in 38.49. The Class 4 110s was a tight battle between pre-meet favorite McDowell of Raytown South and Rockwood Summit's Eddie Calvin. Calvin got out well as he and McDowell quickly pulled away from the rest of the field. Never relinquishing his slight lead, Calvin got the victory in 14.11 while McDowell took the runner-up spot in 14.20.

The 100 meter dash, considered by many to be highest profile race in track and field, was up next and it did not disappoint. Berkeley 's Alishea Usery predictably ran away with the Class 3 girls race, speeding down the track in 11.73 seconds for a new Class 3 record. Hazelwood Central junior Danielle Parish won the Class 4 race in 12.10, barely edging Kirkwood 's Diona Graves. On the boys side it was Warrensburg senior Terrel Cotton in 10.68 over Sumner's Michael Clerk. Cotton would go on to take the 200 title as well at the end of the day. The Class 4 race was the real show-stopper. With SLUH in lanes three, four and five it was up to Raytown 's Maurice Mitchell to break them up and prevent a sweep that would have surely put the Jr. Bills in the driver's seat in the team race. SLUH's Chaney got off to his signature great start and did not look back from there, equaling his championship time from a year ago in 10.52. Mitchell did indeed break things up by taking second in 10.64, but Simmons and Wingo came home in third and fourth giving SLUH 21 big points to start the day.

With not much time to recover all four headed to the bullpen to get ready for the 4x200 relay. SLUH's trio plus hurdler Eric Hunt was too much too overcome and they backed up their state record from Friday with a convincing win. Hazelwood Central helped the cause by taking second and relegating Raytown to third, a four point swing for the Jr. Bills. LSW took the Class 3 race in 1:27.87. The girls races were won by Hazelwood East in Class 4 and Ladue in Class 3. LSW was second, giving two points back to the Rams in the team battle.

The boys 1600 was next on the track and looked to be vital for both the Class 4 and Class 3 team races. The Class 4 race featured 3200 champ Boone from LSN, Geoff Hughes from Raytown South and Murphy-Baum from SLUH. Unlike the previous day's 3200 the race went out at a crawl as no one wanted to lead in the fierce heat. Laps of 67 and 68 went by with no major moves, but that was enough and the penultimate lap was covered in 61 seconds by Boone who moved to the front with 600 to go. From there he could not be caught and came home in 4:17.05, roughly 2:01 for his final 800. Murphy-Baum moved from seventh to third in the final lap, passing Hughes in the process and garnering 6 huge points for his team. Hughes was fifth in 4:21.50, a solid performance and four more points for Raytown South. The Class 3 race was another chance for the boys from Potosi to put up huge points for their squad. Like in the 3200 it was a 1-2 finish, but this time it was Thebeau in front in 4:17.45 and Mathis second in 4:19.56. Ricky Armstrong nabbed the eighth spot as well making it eighteen total points for Potosi..

The 4x100 was next and served as a chance for SLUH and LSN to score some points in a rare sprint event that Raytown was not a part of. Score they did, with LSN placing second and SLUH grabbing fifth. Hazelwood West won the race in 42.14 while Lee's Summit West nabbed the Class 3 title in 42.38. On the girls side it was Grandview taking home the title and a new State record of 47.69, besting the old mark of 47.74 set in 2004 by Gateway. Center won the Class3 title in 49.13.

The 400 meter dash was the second chance for the day two crowd to see Alishea Usery in action. Already the 100 meter champ, Usery took to the blocks in the one-lapper already owning the overall State record that she set a year ago. Once again her long strides pulled her quickly away from her competitors but she was unable to best her record, settling for the win in 55.94. The Class 4 Title went to Grandview senior Orrianna Rackley in 57.00. On the boys side Andre Thomas of Fort Zumwalt South won the Class 4 race in 48.89 with Center's Jarron Forte taking the Class 3 championship in 48.01.

As the meet winded down to its last four events it seemed the 300 hurdles would be vital for the team title in the Class 4 boys race. Raytown South boasted pre-meet favorite McDowell, LSN had Darius Walker and SLUH countered with Simmons and Hunt. As the competitors lined up though it was clear that lane seven was empty. Simmons was done for the day, having torn his hamstring at the end of his leg on the 4x200 relay. The pressure was on Hunt to score big for the Jr. Bills. McDowell came through with the win in 37.57, beating Calvin who had bested him in the 110s. Walker was a strong third. Hunt struggled through some missteps early on and a stumble late to finish fourth in 39.20. Coupled with 13 points in the Pole Vault from Scott Betsher's win (15-0) and Kyle Wineinger's sixth (14-0) it was clear that LSN would have the lead going into the 4x400 at the end of the day.

The boys Class 4 800 meter final played no role in the team battle but did provide one of the meet's deepest fields. Oak Park 's Choplin, already a state champ in the relay, made his move with 150 to go and only Oakville 's Steve Headrick mounted a challenge. The two battled down the homestretch with Choplin hanging on for the win in 1:53.29. All told, nine runners went under 1:56 with four under 1:55 . The Class 3 race was even more exciting and did serve as the last chance for Potosi to score points for their bid at a Team title. With 120 meters to go Ladue's Josh Sams appeared to have things wrapped up with a 10 meter gap on the field and Potosi 's Thebeau in fourth. Thebeau was not done though. He seemingly morphed into a sprinter as he entered the straightaway, flying past second and third before catching Sams with about five meters to go and getting the win in 1:55.21. Teammate Mathis was sixth, bringing Potosi 's point total to 65 which would be good enough to win the Class 3 Championship. Counting the 4x800 relay, Thebeau and Mathis accounted for 57 of those points.

At this point there were only two events left on the track, the 200 meter and the 4x400 relay. The field events were all but done at this point as well. There was another pole vault record for the girls with Jefferson City 's Vera Neuenswander setting a new Class 4 mark of 12-1. Her win guaranteed the Team title for the Lady Jays who won with 58 total points. Sophomore Megan Collins of Lee's Summit North won the discus in 131-9. In Class 3 Brittany Borman of Festus won the high jump in 5-4 and Rickael Roach of Lutheran South won the shot put with a toss of 43-7. Danielle Oliver got ten big points for Ladue Horton Watkins by winning the triple jump in 37-3. Geoffrey Daniel of Webster Groves went 46-10 to take the boys Class 4 title in the same event. Troy 's Brandon Colbert easily outdistanced his competitors in the discus with a mark of 186-4.

The 200 meter promised to be quite a show, highlighted by Usery in the Class 3 girls race and Chaney versus Mitchell in Class 4 boys. The boys were up first and Mitchell shot out of the blocks like a man possessed, burning up the curve and making up the stagger on Chaney to his outside. As they entered the straight though it was Chaney who turned on the afterburners, blazing the final 100 and tying the State record of 21.04 for his fifth career State championship. Mitchell was second, his brother Mark was fourth and SLUH's Wingo was seventh. That meant that going into the 4x400 LSN had 72.5, SLUH had 69 and Raytown had 63.5. Usery stepped up in yet another event where she is the overall State record holder. This time she sped the half-lap in 24.00, not quite a record but still a national class time and she still had one relay leg to go. Nicole Jackson of Cape Girardeau Central won the Class 4 title in 24.90.  

The stage was now set for the 4x400 relay. Most of the capacity crowd had stayed around despite the heat to see the showdowns in each division. The Class 4 girls race may have been the least compelling in terms of drama, but it was certainly impressive as McCluer ran away with the championship in 3:54.48. The Class 3 boys race was the closest race in terms of time with the quartet from Jennings besting St. Dominic 3:22.55 to 3:22.75. The two most exciting battles were predictably in the Class 3 girls and Class 4 boys races. The girls race would determine the team title between Lee's Summit West and Ladue and it served as a chance for Usery to accomplish the rare feat of four State titles in one meet. Entering the relay with 77 points Ladue needed to beat LSW soundly to win the overall championship. As the bell sounded for the final leg, Ladue was in first but Usery got the baton in second for McCluer South Berkeley. She promptly split an incredible 52.3 to win her team the race and set an overall State record of 3:51.40 with Ladue hanging on for second. LSW was next to cross the line, meaning they were State Champions with a final score of 86 to Ladue's 85.

The Class 4 boys race was an even bigger math problem. Raytown South needed ten points to overtake LSN and have any chance of winning the meet. If that happened, SLUH then needed fourth or better to remain ahead of them and claim the title for themselves. Raytown got our front early and never looked back, winning the race in 3:18.51 over second place Hazelwood Central. The excitement was from the SLUH crowd who watched their first leg hand off in seventh before Hunt blazed the second leg in 48.9 and took them into third. Then it was back to sixth after last-second replacement Peter Kidd ran a valiant third leg replacing the injured Simmons. At that point it was up to Paul Chaney and the star of the meet did not disappoint. He covered his final lap at Lincoln University in 47.2, taking the Jr. Bills into third and securing the Team title with 75 points.