McDonald County High School will be represented at the Missouri Class 4 State Track and Field Championships by a track team of one.
Junior Mariana Salas was the lone member of the boys' and girls' teams to crack the top four at sectionals to earn a trip to the state meet set for May 28 at Jefferson City High School.
Salas, coming off an injury that nagged her at districts, had a best throw of 33.35 meters (109-5) in the javelin to take fourth, the final qualifying spot for state.
"Mariana has been dealing with some back soreness and stiffness, but she gutted it this week and took care of herself," said coach Chris Kane. "Today, she went out and threw pretty close to her PR (personal record) which was good enough to get to state. Hopefully, she can have a good throw at the state meet and get a medal."
Kianna Massie of Marshfield won the event with a throw of 35.13 (115-3). Haidyn Berry of Webb City was second (34.20) followed by Reagan Reedy of Rolla in third (33.84) and Salas in fourth.
Salas was nearly joined in qualifying by boys' team javelin thrower sophomore Andrew Moritz.
Moritz set a new school record with a throw of 43.52 meters (142-9) to take sixth. He missed fourth by .28 meters (11 inches)
"Andrew threw the best he has all year," Kane said. "He had a couple of personal records, but just came up a little bit short. He is going to add to his form for next year. He is looking forward to making it to the state meet the next two years."
The winning throw was 47.45 meters (155-8) by Waylon Kinder of Rolla.
McDonald County also had a pair of triple jumpers just miss earning a trip to state. Freshman Josh Pacheco got as close as you could to qualifying without earning a spot.
Pacheco took fifth with a jump of 12.35 meters (40.6.25) while Brayden Sheppard of Camdenton finished fourth with a jump of 12.36 meters. In the imperial system, the difference was one-half inch.
Peyton McBride of Marshfield won the event with a jump of 14.29 meters (46-10.75).
"Pacheco had a great jump, but missed out by a centimeter," said coach Ashleigh McFarland. "He is just a freshman and has a ton of potential in multiple events. He is going to be pretty good."
Sosha Howard also took fifth with a jump of 10.18 meters (33-4.75) but missed out on fourth by a whopping four and a half inches. Olivia Vediz of Carl Junction took fourth with a jump of 10.29 meters.
Freshman Abigail McBride of Marshfield made it a family affair in winning the triple jump. Her best jump of 10.92 meters (35-10) won the event by five and a half inches.
"Sosha tied her personal record she set last week at districts down to the centimeter," McFarland said. "She jumped well, but it just wasn't in the cards today."
On the track, senior Kaycee Factor had the best finish for McDonald County. Factor had a personal best time of 1:02.90 to take sixth in the 400 meters.
The boys' and girls' 4x800 relay teams both settled for eighth place.
The girls' team of Nevaeh Dodson, Anna Belle Price, Madison Burton and Factor finished in a time of 11.03.73.
The boys' team of Hunter Leach, Tyler Rothrock, Mark Wilson and Sam Barton was also eighth (9:17.31).
The girls' 4x200 relay of Gissele Reyes-Luna, Katelyn Townsend, Reagan Myrick and Corina Holland was seventh in a time of 1:55.38. The 4x400 team of Myrick, Dodson, Price and Factor was also seventh in a time of 4:24.97.
"The 4x800 girls ran 50 seconds better than they did at the first meet, so they had a good year and improved a lot," McFarland said. "They are all young except for Kaycee. The 4x200 did what they were supposed to do. They got the same time and ran the same race they did at districts. Coming here and being so young sets up for a good future. I am proud of everybody who competed today. They put a lot of pressure and stress on themselves and were a little bit discouraged. They all should be proud of themselves."
