By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SPRINGFIELD, MO – While 43 teams competed during Thursday’s Girls Night Out event, a quartet of northern schools dominated a majority of the afternoon spoils.
Athletes from Blue Springs, Columbia Hickman, Capital City and Jefferson City won 13 of the meet’s 20 events.
Hickman senior Athena Peterson led the northern charge, capturing first place in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump.
Hedger wins distance double
Not to be outdone by her out-of-area peers, Webb City’s Brook Hedger took home a pair of her own first place finishes in the 1600- and 800-meter runs.
“It’s my first time racing both of those events, so I’m happy with how it went,” Hedger said. “I think that gives me a lot of confidence. I felt unsure and unprepared about what I was going to do in those races, but now I feel a lot better.”
In the 1600, Hedger ran with the lead pack before pulling away in the final 600 meters to win with a time of 5:04.27. Rockwood Summit senior Caterina Rossomanno finished second in 5:09.78.
“In the 1600, I ran 5:04 and kind of negative split the second half,” Hedger said. “The mile honestly felt good. I’m really, really happy with that.”
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After running away with the 1600, Hedger found herself under duress in the 800, as Branson freshman Alexis Carter applied pressure throughout the race.
“I did (feel pressure), because I could kind of still hear them behind me,” Hedger said. “So I was like, ‘I just need to finish; I just need to hammer it home.’ My coach was kind of yelling at me to do that, so I just tried to kick hard.”
Hedger’s kick over the final 300 meters proved to be the difference-maker, propelling her to a 2:17.69 finish. Carter finished in second with a time of 2:20.43.
Olds initial throw good enough for javelin gold
With a five-meter seed advantage, Madi Olds headed into Thursday’s javelin competition as a prohibitive favorite.
After her very first throw hit the 42.99 meter mark, the Carl Junction thrower erased any doubts concerning her chances in the event.
“I came out and threw 42, and that allowed me to have confidence in the rest of my throws and just focus on the little things,” Olds said. “I scooted back and threw a 41, and then I tried to switch something else and I threw another. I threw 40, then I threw 39.”
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Nixa junior Gwen Kubik finished second with a distance of 39.80 meters.
“At the end of the day, I want to throw a 50,” Olds said when asked about future goals this season. “I think that would be really cool, but I definitely need to get to work and just keep building on what I’ve been doing.”
Waynesville relay showcases veteran depth
Just one year removed from a sixth-place finish at the state meet, Waynesville sprinters Lenayah Thomas, A’Nyyah Tollison, Amalexia Bigelow and Madison Roberts are all back to chase another 4×100 relay podium finish.
The quartet took a big step Thursday afternoon with a first-place finish and 49.21 time, besting runner-up Joplin’s 49.47.
“It’s been kind of fun,” head coach Mike Rawlings said. “30 years of working with sprinters and working with relayers. That same group of four took sixth in state last year in Class 5. Probably the first time we’ve had an all-state team at Waynesville that had all four of them coming back, so we expected to do well. We didn’t expect to do quite that well.”
Rawlings credited his team’s smooth exchanges as a huge reason for Thursday’s victory.
“I can’t say just one leg (won the race), but we spend a lot of time on handoffs,” Rawlings said. “We’d take those three handoffs any meet we go to the rest of the year. The girls have put in a lot of time. We don’t really have one standout right there. We’ve got four girls with a goal to be back at the podium in May, and that’s what they’ve been working on for the last month and a half.”
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Roberts, who cruised to a sixth-place finish in the 100 prior to the relay, proved to be a primary benefactor of those handoffs and held off a flurry of challengers down the final stretch for the victory.
“We were close to first when she got the baton,” Rawlings said. “We knew where we had to be. She is probably our fastest right now. Big thing was, when the girls started closing, she kept her composure, finished out the race and did a great job for us.”
“I was really nervous at first,” Roberts said of her race. “But I just held faith in our third leg, because I know she’s a really strong runner. I was really just focused on bringing it home for the girls. We worked really hard for this. We put a lot of effort into this at practice and off and on the track, and we have a really good bond.”
Adams runner-up finish nets personal best, school record
For West Plains triple jumper Mylea Adams, competition seems to bring out her best.
Especially when it’s against a Class 5 preseason favorite in Hickman’s Athena Peterson.
The duel proved to be mutually beneficial, as both Peterson and Adams set personal and respective school records during the afternoon event.
“I started off strong with a 10-6,” Adams said. “I just wanted to get over 11, and then I made it happen. I’ve had one jump over 11, hit a big PR and that was definitely a motivator.”
While Peterson’s winning mark of 12.39m was a good distance farther than Adams’ own 11.34m, the Zizzer jumper believes she’ll continue to improve as a result of the battle.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS OF THE MEET
“Having (Peterson) here really pushed me,” Adams said. “It’s definitely motivating. I was looking at mile split, and the marks are all up there, but I think I can hold with them if I keep continuing to progress throughout the season.”
Adams’ jump bests the former West Plains record of 11.30 meters set in 2004.
Moving forward, she believes bigger jumps will come and is hoping for that one pure monster leap at the end of the season when it matters most.
“I’m definitely going to try to get 38 feet (11.58 meters),” Adams said. “I think that’s definitely doable if I just continue to grow throughout the season.”
Additional area winners on Thursday
The Ozarks area schools captured three additional first-place finishes Thursday.
In the high jump, Webb City senior Chase Stilley cleared 1.62 meters, besting a trio of rivals at 1.60 meters, including Jefferson City freshman Rae’na Muhammad, Lebanon senior Addyson Rebmann and Clever junior Valerie Cowles.
Joplin’s 4×200 relay team of Abigayle Lowery, Ne’Aysha Madison, Aly Modras and Kendall Nyarango edged out a narrow victory over runner-up Helias Catholic with a time of 1:45.58 in the event. Helias’ second-place time was 1:45.95.
The Marshfield team of Kailan Sarkissian, Gracelyn Bull, Madelyn Beckner and Atley Rost won the 4×100 throwers’ relay race with a time of 55.55. Helias Catholic finished second with a time of 57.70.
