The goal of all coaches is to have their teams and athletes peaking at the end of the season.
At the Missouri Class 4 Sectional 1 Track and Field Championships on May 18, at West Plains High School, the McDonald County High School track team proved Henri Whitehead, Darbi Stancell and the rest of the track coaches couldn't have done a greater job of doing just that.
McDonald County advanced three athletes in four events to this week's state track meet, including sectional winner Michael Williams.
Williams set a personal record of 21-11 to win the long jump. But it was his second-best jump of 21-4 that tied his previous best that actually gave him the win.
Williams and Jaylan Watson of Festus both had best jumps of 21-11, but Williams' second-best jump of 21-4 beat Watson by three inches.
"I did not really think I had a shot to win," Williams said. "I don't know how it happened. I had a bunch of adrenaline. My goal now is to make all-state (top eight finish at the state meet)."
Track coach Henri Whitehead said Williams has known all year he could do something special.
"Sometimes he loses his confidence but, when he has it, he is as good as anyone in the state," Whitehead said. "When he gets his mind in the right place, he is tough to beat. I told the kids not to look at rankings and don't think about who beat you earlier in the year because you never know what can happen."
Elliott Wolfe qualified in two events. Wolfe finished in fourth in the shot put with a throw of 46-2.25.
In the discus, Wolfe was in seventh place with a best throw of 137 feet before the senior unleashed a throw of 150-9 on his final throw to move all the way to second place. The throw set a personal best by about nine feet.
Wolfe said he went into his last throw vowing to give it all he had.
"I was just thinking this could be my last throw in discus and I had to put something together," Wolfe said. "I hit it and it felt good."
Wolfe said he is excited about heading to state in two events and, with a good week of practice, he is shooting for the school record in shot put at state.
"Elliott has been the ultimate senior leader," Whitehead said. "He has done everything we have asked him to do. He is a great teammate. He has been really supportive of everyone on the team and we are really proud of him."
The third Mustang qualifier is Corbin Jones, who advances in the 100-meter dash. Jones finished in 11.74 seconds, running into a strong wind. Elijah Aye of Willard won the race in 11.47.
"Last year Corbin didn't realize until the end of the year what he had," Whitehead said. "This year he got to see that early in the year. I felt like there was no way he wasn't going to go to state. That kid was determined to go in the 100."
Jones failed to advance in the triple jump, finishing fifth with a best of 42-6. Mekhi Garrard of Webb City won the event with a leap of 45-0.25.
Also failing to advance was Ragan Wilson in the 800 meters and the boys' and girls' 4x800 relay teams. Wilson came into the event with the eighth best time but ran a personal best of 2:30.74 to take fifth place.
"Ragan had a big personal record last week and again had a big best in this race," Whitehead said. "You can't ask for any more and it does set up a path for her next year."
"Both relays came in seeded eighth, but the boys' took sixth with a time of 8:21.28. Bolivar won the event in a time of 7:59.70. The team consisted of Elijah Habert, Jack Teague, Cale Adamson and Garrett Spears.
"They ran a personal record by nine seconds," Stancell said of the boys' team. "Everyone ran well, but we knew at what district we were paired with at sectionals it would be tough. They have historically been one of the best distance districts in the state. They beat a team they hadn't beaten all year and had a personal record by nine seconds, so they all had a good race. They are all back next year and, hopefully, they will be able to get to state."
The girls' team took seventh in a time of 11:09.49. Farmington won the race in a time of 9:51.03. Team members were Adyson Sanny, Ruby Palomo, Addy Mick and Wilson.
"We were pleased to get to sectionals and we knew it was going to be a long shot, but they gave it all they had," Stancell said of the girls' team.
The McDonald County boys' took ninth place out of 22 teams represented at sectionals. The girls' were 19th out of 21 teams. Festus won the boys' team title, while Notre Dame (Cape Girardeau) claimed the girls' title.
The McDonald County state qualifiers will travel to Jefferson City High School on May 24-25, for the Missouri Class 4 State Track and Field Championships.
Sports on 05/23/2019