By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
NIXA — Smith Wheeler was able to walk off his home track at Nixa on Saturday for the final time after a meet with a feeling of fulfillment.
Wheeler won gold medals in four events as the Eagles and Lady Eagles both took Class 5 District 6 team titles.
“This a good way to go out,” said Wheeler, a senior sprinter. “I’m glad we got a District championship because that’s something we’ve been chasing all year.
“This definitely puts me at peace, with this being my last race on this track,” he added. “There have been a lot of memories over the last four years. Every day you want to go home with nothing but gold and today that happened. I couldn’t be happier.”
Wheeler has been used to winning, but was in position to gain revenge on Joplin’s Donovyn Fowler in the 200. At last week’s COC Meet, Fowler was second in the 200 and Wheeler was third.
This time around, Wheeler was first with a 22.9, while Fowler was second with a 23.42.
“I knew he was going to be the competition,” Wheeler said. “I started out in front of him, so my goal was to make sure at no point in the race I would see him. It worked out. He was never there. I had a great block start and a good drive face. Once I got off the corner and couldn’t see anyone in my peripheral (vision), I knew I had it.”
Wheeler also won the 400 (50.68) and ran the anchor leg on Nixa’s winning 4 x 100 relay (44.31) and 4 x 400 relay (3:27).
In the 4 x 400 relay, the Eagles gained the lead during Spencer Ward’s third leg. However, Ward was involved in a collision with a Republic runner after handing the baton to Wheeler.
Republic went from leading the race after two legs to finishing sixth.
The Eagles felt fortunate not to have had their relay disqualified for obstruction.
“Earlier this year at the SBU Meet and I’m pretty sure it was the same officials as today, Spencer slowed down and stopped and got hit by somebody in the back,” Wheeler said. “The officials said it was iffy and they weren’t sure if they were going to disqualify him. They didn’t DQ him, but said to keep that in mind because they won’t let that slide at Districts and State. We’ve told him when he hands it off to me, just keep going to a slow jog, let everyone pass and then walk off the track. There would be nothing worse than DQ’d like that. That would have been terrible.”
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Johnson, Hitt combine for seven gold medals
Ozark’s Sydney Johnson was a runaway four-time winner while helping the Lady Tigers’ 4 x 400 relay record a personal record by two seconds.
Johnson claimed individual gold in the 100 (12.39) and 200 (25.42) and ran the anchor leg on Ozark’s winning 4 x 200 relay (1:46.41) and 4 x 400 relay (4:06).
Johnson’s biggest challenge was the rain.
“I was a little worried about footing at the beginning of the 100 because it was so slick,” Johnson said. “It was in the back of my mind. I tried to not let that get the best of me and still get out fast.
“It was stressful not knowing where to warm without getting completely soaked,” she added. “We adapted, warmed up under the bleachers and luckily the rain died off.”
Anna Hitt also was part of Ozark’s 4 x 200 relay and 4 x 400 relay and finished first in the 400 (59.41).
Memorable week for Joplin’s Campbell
Joplin sophomore Hobbs Campbell followed up qualifying for the Class 5 State Golf Tournament on Monday by winning District championships in both the 1,600 (4:27) and 3,200 (9.37).
Campbell is lettering in track and golf this spring. He shot a 77 at Districts to finish sixth and earn his berth to State.
“It’s been a really fun spring,” Campbell said. “To go to state in both sports would be amazing. That’s been my goal all year. It would be a dream.”
Campbell originally planned to follow the lead of his older brother, Fielding, and play golf and baseball. Fielding is the Eagles’ lead-off hitter and shortstop in baseball and also qualified for state in golf.
“Up until two weeks before track season, I still thought I was going to play baseball,” Hobbs said. “I played baseball my freshman year until (the season) got cancelled due to COVID. I made a snap decision this year and chose track. I’m really good in track and that’s probably what I’m going to do in college.
“This spring has been amazing for our family,” he added. “It’s kept our parents and grandparents really busy.”
Campbell wishes he could have also squeezed baseball into his spring.
“There’s no way the coaches would let me,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m pretty sure if they would have let me, that’s what I would have ended up doing.”
Campbell said his biggest obstacle running in the rain was getting himself warmed up.
“We’ve had to wait to warm up until it wasn’t absolutely pouring,” he said. “You’re not really warming up if you’re getting absolutely drenched. It stopped raining during the girls’ mile so we got to warm up then. But then it started pouring during our race.”
Nixa’s Brumley records upset
Nixa’s Carlee Brumley won the 300 hurdles in 49.02 while beating runner-up Kailtyn Ragsdale, of Republic, for the first time. Ragsdale ran a 49.83.
“She has always beaten me and I did not expect to beat her today,” Brumley said.
Brumley felt her start was the difference.
“This entire season, I haven’t been taking off as quickly as I needed to because I was afraid I would be drained at the end,” Brumley said. “But at COC last week I told myself, ‘Let’s just do it.’ I ran my PR. That gave me much-needed confidence I could start quickly and running cross country during the fall, the endurance I gained there saved me.”
Pirates’ Conway bounces back for win
Branson’s Coleson Conway went from being a heavy favorite to sweep the hurdles to a sentimental underdog the fans were happy to cheer on.
Conway, the 110 hurdles and 300 hurdles COC champion, stumbled and fell in the 110 hurdles. He earned redemption while rallying to win the 300 hurdles in 41.52.
“The 110s was really rough,” Conway said. “No physical pain from the 110s, but mentally it was a good test for me. I knew I had to go on. Usually, with a loss like that you think about it. But with this being Districts, I knew I just had to go. I didn’t have a choice, I had to go. I pushed it to the back of my head and killed it in the 300s.
“I had a lot of people tell me they were cheering for me to win,” he added. ‘That made me feel good. It’s my favorite win of the year.”
Conway was hindered by a pinched nerve in his left foot he suffered at a practice during the week.
“I haven’t been able to run on my toes on my left foot all week,” Conway said. “We were praying going into this week that it would magically disappear. But it didn’t turn out that way. I had to run flat. I couldn’t run on my toes. Coming down off the hurdles was hard. Usually, you can explode off the hurdle and drive to the next hurdle.
Conway added the wet conditions made things even more challenging.
“That was the worst conditions I ever ran in, with the pouring rain and a soaked track,” he said.
Branson’s McCormick runner-up twice
Branson’s Payton McCormick was mindful to stay positive while coping with the rain. He was runner-up in the 110 hurdles in 15.77 and the 300 hurdles in 41.74.
“I’ve never done this before, but it was fun,” McCormick said. “It was a good, fun experience one time. The track is a little slippery, a little bit of a slimy feeling. But it’s not horrible. It’s not ideal weather. I had to get under a tent to do my stretches. It wasn’t what we were hoping for. But you can’t let that get to your head. You’ve got to deal with what you’ve got.”
