By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
George in the hunt for another state javelin title
For multi-sport, multi-event standouts, track meets can present a logistical challenge.
Monett’s Kaesha George knows this scenario all too well.
In addition to the javelin, her bread-and-butter event, the Class 3 defending state champion also ran the 400 meter dash and a leg on the 4×200 relay for the Lady Cubs.
After posting a 1:02.68 personal best in the 400, George hurried over to the javelin area.
Because her flight had already started, there wasn’t an opportunity to get in any practice throws on the runway.
Turns out it didn’t matter.
George’s first throw of 32 feet, 10 inches was good enough to secure the win.
Parkview’s Cheyenne White finished second with a throw of 15-09.
The junior attributed her early-throw success to being focused on the task at hand — despite rushing over from the track just minutes beforehand.
“Usually, my first one is my best one, because I’m very relaxed,” George said. “It just felt great coming out.”
Her state-championship throw of 138-11 attracted the attention of college coaches and caused George, who also plays softball and basketball, to commit to focusing on javelin as a college path.
For that to happen, George needs to develop her technique.
“I’m just trying to figure out that it’s OK to take a step back to be better at the end of the season,” George said. “You can only go so far with power. I’m just trying to change up my technique a little bit so I can put that with my power and get some big throws this year.”
As for the added pressure that comes with being a defending state champion?
George takes it all in stride.
“It’s been tough because I’m that person I always wanted to be chasing, but I kind of like that,” George said. “It kind of pumps me up even more and makes me work harder at practice knowing that I can’t just be okay with this throw — I always want better.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TRACK EVENTS
Huhn notches pole vault victory
Harrison Huhn only cleared one height during Tuesday night’s pole vault competition.
As it turns out, that’s the only one he needed.
The Carl Junction senior posted a vault of 13 feet, 6 inches on his opening attempt, besting Monett senior Luke Allcock’s second-place height of 13-00.
After securing the victory, Huhn missed his next three attempts at 14-06. While a bit disappointed, the Bulldog vaulter attributed his misses to easily-correctable mistakes.
“We only got 13-06 today,” Huhn said. “I’m just blowing up my poles. I need to go up now, but it’s okay because I know what I need to work on at practice.”
Huhn, who notched a personal best 15-00 at last week’s Hillcrest Invitational, also has his eyes set on a bigger prize later this week.
“After 15-00 last week, I’m hoping for 15-04 to break our school record at Pitt State on Friday,” Huhn said. “Right now, I need to move up to some longer poles, and then, I need to improve some technique.”
Huhn also credited Branson’s Reagan Ulrich for inspiring him to compete at the highest level. While the two compete in different state classifications, the desire to be the best knows no boundaries.
After Ulrich cleared 15-06 during the Branson Invitational to best Huhn’s mark of 14-06, the Carl Junction standout is eager to return the favor.
“It’s nice to have [Ulrich] in our conference and nearby, because it keeps me focused all the time,” Huhn said. “It makes it to where I can’t ever relax, because I always have to be ready to jump higher.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE FIELD EVENTS
Barber twins displaying event versatility this season
While many track athletes participate in a variety of events, few dominate the span of distances as Alexis and Brocklyn Barber.
On Tuesday, the Ozark seniors notched wins in the 1600 meter run, 800 meter run and 4×400 meter relay, and a third-place finish in the 4×800 meter relay.
In the 1600 meter run, the twins swept the first two spots, with Alexis posting a first-place time of 5:27.73, and Brocklyn finishing in 5:37.89.
Later in the meet, the two flip-flopped spots in the 800 meter run, with Brocklyn’s 2:25.69 edging out Alexis’s 2:27.11.
While the two usually both run in the 4×800 relay, Ozark head coach David Brewer split the twins up in the long relays for the meet, which is usually a surprise decision for the pair prior to meets.
“Honestly, it’s always kind of a surprise,” Alexis said. “This meet, I didn’t know what I was running until we got here, and he split us up today.”
After storied cross country careers, it’s hard to wrap your arms around the fact the Barber twins had yet to participate in the 3200 meter run on the track prior to this season, but they checked that box off during last week’s Girls Night Out event.
“Previously, like in freshman and sophomore years, we’ve always run the 800 and the 4×400,” Brocklyn said. “We did pretty well in that, so he never put us in the two mile. After this cross country season, our coach was like, ‘I think we’re going to put you in the two mile. Definitely nerve-racking, but it was fun to go out there and try something new.”
While the two finished second and third behind Blue Springs’ Tessa Valdiva, Alexis also broke the Ozark school record in the process with an 11:37.69.
“It was nerve-racking, but it was exciting,” Alexis Barber said. “We had the goal to go out there and stay as close to our school record as we could, which was 11:39. The girl that we ran it with was Tessa Valdivia, and she’s going to [Southwest Baptist University] with us next year. My goal was just to stick with her, so I stayed right on her heels all eight laps.”
Despite the runner-up finishes at Girls Night Out, both girls prefer the bigger meets stocked with prime competition.
“My favorite meets are the ones where we get the competition like Girls Night Out,” Alexis said. “I just feel like it’s so much easier to run faster, but I also love meets like this because we get to go out there and push ourselves and see what we can do together.”
