Mariana Salas took second in the javelin and Melysia McCrory took third in the 1600 to lead the McDonald County High School girls' track team to an eighth-place finish at the Big 8 Conference Track and Field Championships held on May 5 at Monett High School.
Salas had a best throw of 32.22 meters to finish second behind Kiana Massie of Marshfield, who had a winning throw of 34.17 meters.
McCrory had a personal best time of 6:00.21 in the 1600 for third place. Kierstan Potter won the race in a time of 5:48.71, while Jordyn Stafford of Cassville was second in 5:56.19.
McCrory also had a second-place finish as a member of the 4x800 relay team. Other members of the team were Nevaeh Dodson, Kaycee Factor and Anna Belle Price. The Lady Mustangs finished with a time of 10:52.1 while Cassville won the race in 10:37.71.
Rounding out the top eight finishes for McDonald County were Melanie Gillming, fourth, pole vault, 2.45; Factor, fifth, 400, 1:04.32; 4x400 relay team of Factor, Dodson, Price and Reagan Myrick, fifth, 4:29.28; Sosha Howard, sixth, triple jump, 9.92; Howard, eighth, long jump, 4.48; McCrory, eighth, 800, 2:48.28; Madison Burton, eighth, 3200, 14:35; and the 4x200 relay team of Dodson, Factor, Myrick and Gissele Reyes-Luna, eighth, 1:54.98.
Marshfield cruised to the team title with 166 points to top Nevada in second with 77.50 points. Mount Vernon was third with 77 points, followed by Cassville 69.50, Logan-Rogersville 67, Lamar 54.50, Monett 47, McDonald County 41.50, Hollister 41, Aurora 31, Reeds Spring and East Newton 20, Seneca 18 and Springfield Catholic 10.
Boys
The top finish by the boys' team was a third-place finish by Andrew Watkins. The junior took third in the pole vault by clearing a height of 3.35 meters. Travis Greenfield of Marshfield won the event with a vault of 3.80, while Dylan Beachler was second at 3.65.
Junior Eliam just missed earning a medal, with fourth place in the discus (37.95 meters).
Other top-eight finishes for the Mustangs were Josh Pacheco, fifth, triple jump, 12.01; 4x200 relay team of Pacheco, Chazz Jacks, Jared Mora and Estaban Martinez-Olvera, fifth, 1:37.01; 4x800 relay team of Hunter Leach, Mark Wilson, Tyler Rothrock and Sam Barton, sixth, 9:14.54; Martinez-Olvera, seventh, long jump, 5.80; Logan Harriman, seventh, discus, 36-06; Kaidan Campbell, seventh, shot put, 12.92; and, 4x100 relay team of Jacks, Mora, Martinez-Olvera and Saw Eh, eighth, 47.27.
Lamar easily won the boys' team title with 136 points while East Newton was second with 80.50. Rounding out the team results were Marshfield with 68.50 points, Reeds Spring and Logan-Rogersville 61, Hollister 59, Monett 51, Mount Vernon 42, Cassville 41.50, Nevada 41, Springfield Catholic 38.50, Aurora 32 and McDonald County 29.
McDonald County's next meet is the Missouri Class 4 District 6 Track and Field Championships on May 15 at Carl Junction High School.
