By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SARCOXIE – Featuring nine rivals competing for bragging rights, Thursday’s Southwest Conference track and field meet had all the makings for a classic showdown.
With near-perfect weather conditions in the mid-60s, the meet did not disappoint, either, as the Stockton boys and Pierce City girls captured overall team titles.
BOYS EVENTS
Throughout the day, Stockton’s boys squad – consisting of only a dozen members – battled back and forth with Pierce City for top honors.
The Tigers compiled 157 points on the afternoon, while runner-up Pierce City finished with 139.6. Sarcoxie rounded out the top three with 104.
For Stockton head coach Jill Burchett, every point was critical.
“We talked all week about how everyone had to play their part, and nobody could be a wimp today.” Burchett said. “Everyone had to pull together and just be a team. We had throwers in sprint relays and all kinds of things they weren’t used to.”
The Tigers captured wins in 4 of the 19 events on the afternoon, with junior Daveon Williams notching a pair of victories in the triple jump and the 1600-meter run.
Typically used to field events and shorter distances, Williams was placed in the event by Burchett to pick up valuable points.
“Like all the coaches, we text a lot over the week and we’re emailing each other,” Burchett said. “What can we do to spread this out some more; what can we do to get some more points? We went back and forth a lot talking about different scenarios.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE TRACK EVENTS
“Daveon came out and ran the mile for the first time today and won it, so yeah, that was kind of a shock. We thought he would do well, but we didn’t expect him to win, and then he came out and won the triple, too. So he was pretty integral and in a lot of things.”
For Williams, the race was just a matter of finding someone to pace behind and then kicking past them at the finish.
“I just went out there, turned off my brain and stuck with the person in front of me. Coach told me, ‘Don’t take it too seriously. Otherwise, you’ll probably not do very great. Just think of it as an everyday kind of thing,’ and so that’s basically what I did.”
Williams’ time of 4:54.82 was just enough to capture the victory over Pierce City’s Eli Adams (4:57.46 and Stockton teammates Finnegan Swopes (5:10.31) and Carter Thorton (5:20.60).
In the triple jump, Williams recorded a personal best distance of 12.85 meters to seal the victory.
Stockton’s other winners on the day were Swopes in the 3200 (11:14.69) and the 4×800 relay team of Aldyn Austin, Andrew Jackson, Noah Schick and Swopes (9:36.43).
GIRLS EVENTS
In the girls competition, Pierce City jumped out to an early advantage and never looked back.
The Eagles rumbled to victories in 5 of 19 events and finished with 142 points. Marionville finished second with 98, and Skyline was third with 95.
Pierce City seniors Addison Avondet and Paige Fenske led the way with two wins each.
Avondet set the tone early, capturing a win in the 100-meter hurdles. Later on, she followed up with another hurdles victory in the 300-meter version.
“Today was all about redemption,” Avondet said. “Last meet – here, actually – I didn’t do the best. I knew that I didn’t want to feel like I did the last time, and it was time to step it up. I like to focus in before my run, so I’ll close my eyes and envision myself running, and that usually helps.”
Following her hurdle wins, Avondet also was thrust into duty in the 4×400-meter relay – a race she’d never run previously.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE FIELD EVENTS
“It’s definitely scary,” Avondet said of her feelings prior to the relay. “We’ve never run it before. We tried in practice, what, two days ago and were like, ‘yeah, we can do this,’ so we switched into that, and it obviously helped us out a little bit.”
For Pierce City head coach Brad Hocker, consistency has been the name of the game. The victory marks the third-straight conference title for his squad.
The Eagles will also look to lock down a fourth-straight district title shortly.
“This would be the first group I ever had at Pierce City to do that,” Hocker said. “We’ve had many that did three in a row, but we’ve never had any that have done four. They’re just a special group. They do everything right when people aren’t watching. I think that’s the thing you want to have with a team.”
Fenske added two more Pierce City victories in the pole vault and triple jump (10.68m), equalling her personal best mark in the former.
“I started off with a smaller pole and just worked my way up,” Fenske said. “I’ve been clearing nine feet consistently these past few meets, and 9-foot-6 was a huge breakthrough for me.”
Pierce City also secured victories in the 1600 (Emma Hunt) and discus (Elizabeth Sharp).
“Conference is a big deal,” Hocker said. “I think it’s more pride than anything, and when seniors like this – whenever they push themselves like this – the younger kids want to contribute and make sure they do their part, too. I think that’s kind of how you develop a culture. I feel privileged to be able to be around and coach them.”
